Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

JETT

By the time Coach has given us a few quick comments and I've showered and cleaned up and head to the family room to meet Jenna, Devin, and my dad, the game has been over for thirty minutes. When I walk in, my dad, Devin, and Jenna are talking to Gabriella and Ava. The expressions on Ava's and Jenna's face say that they've picked up right where they were before Ava broke up with me. I'm not sure how to feel about it. My ideal way of handling this would be to avoid Ava as much as possible to lessen any possible drama or distractions that might come up. But she's closer to Gabriella than I realized, and there may be no way around spending time with her.

When I saw her next to Gabriella at the beginning of the game, I worried it would affect my game. But I played an even better game than last week. Was I showing off? Look how over you I am. I'm playing better than ever.

Colby comes out behind me, and Gabriella moves to him, Ava stepping away with her, although she stays at a polite distance while Gabriella and Colby hug and kiss.

"Great game, little bro," Devin says, giving me a high-five and then a pat on the back.

"Great job getting the ball out quick to the edges. You really let your receivers run today." Dad hugs me, stepping back with a proud smile that he's worn at the end of every game for the last three years. It doesn't get old, and it always makes me grin back.

"Thanks, guys." I let the tension that's been building since I saw Ava in the room ebb a little more and give my full attention to my family. Well, I try. As we talk, Jenna darts glances between me and Ava, her expression guilty, like she was caught talking to the enemy. Now I'm the one feeling guilty. Jenna's friendship with Ava shouldn't be forbidden just because Ava and I broke up years ago. It's been so long, and I've got to be an adult about the whole thing. I walk with my family to the door, and once we're far enough away, Jenna leans into me.

"Have you guys talked?" she asks, her voice hushed.

"Yeah…" I shrug.

She frowns. "Like really talked? Settled the past?"

I sigh. "It was a long time ago. I don't think we need to rehash it." But her words remind me of Miss Maggie's insistence that I deal with the hurt and anger.

"The way you were glaring at her earlier says you need to do something."

"I wasn't glaring," I insist. I'm tired. She must just be misinterpreting my expressions.

"Combs!" Colby calls out to me as we get closer to the exit, stopping Jenna from responding. He comes toward us with Gabriella and Ava trailing behind. "We're doing dinner and a replay at my house. You coming?"

I share a look with Jenna and turn. We all played well today, so we'll watch the best plays again tonight. We don't do that unless we've had a good game. Colby's not looking over at Ava, but I know she's going to be there. So what do I do? Colby will understand if I say I'm too tired or that I don't want to watch a replay tonight. That would be understandable. But putting Ava into the equation makes everything different. Makes me wonder what they'll really think. I told Colby my past relationship with Ava wouldn't be a problem, and I want to try harder to not cause the drama he's worried about. How will they interpret me skipping out?

"If we see you, we see you," Colby says, getting me out of answering right now. "Dev? Jenna? Mr. McCombs? You're all welcome too."

Dad shakes his head and chuckles, but it's Devin who answers for all three of them. "I wish. We already left the kids with Mom for long enough. She might rescind babysitting privileges if we don't reclaim them."

We all laugh at that. Mom has always supported me playing football. And Devin playing, too, back in high school. But she doesn't love the sport. She's happy to have it on in the background at home while watching Devin's kids so he can come with Dad and support me. She comes to a couple of games a year, and that's enough for me.

Devin, Jenna, and Dad all hug me and then they take off. I wave at Colby and Gabriella before I leave, and ignore Ava. I'm still trying to decide what to do when I get into my truck. There's no sense driving all the way home to turn around and come back into Houston to go to Colby's place, so I have to make a choice now.

The way Colby announced the dinner to me in the family room says that I'm not the only one invited, so in the end I decide to go over. We did have a great game, and I want to celebrate. Avoiding Ava doesn't need to ruin my night with my team.

I stop at a grocery store to grab some chips and drinks to bring along with me before heading over to Colby's. I take my time, wanting to make sure it's not just Colby, Gabriella, and Ava at his house when I get there. Thankfully, when I do pull through the gate into the circular driveway of Colby's colonial-style house, I recognize more than a few teammates' cars.

I head around the house. Some of the guys are lounging out on the patio next to the pool rather than inside, and I stop to give a few high-fives and chat before heading in. I make sure to tell a couple of the offensive linemen how awesome they were today. I had a great deep pass that wouldn't have been possible without the full five seconds of protection they got for me.

When I get inside, I can't help that my gaze lands on Ava first, sitting at the bar that runs alongside one wall with a guy I don't recognize at first. When I saw her at the game, I couldn't help but stare for a moment. It was like I'd gone back in time, turning to find her in the stands. She wears the same type of outfit she always used to, though she's kicked her sandals off and they're lying on the floor next to her. The Pumas tank she's wearing makes my chest warm. Sure, of course she's a Pumas fan. She grew up in Houston. But it feels personal. I want it to be personal for her to be wearing a shirt with my team's logo on it.

Then it hits me who she's talking to. Dalton King. We all went to high school together, and his crush on Ava was never a secret. I tried not to let it bug me back then, but it got hard when King and I graduated and he stayed in Houston while I went off to UNR. He was there when she came back too, and I spent too much time wondering if that was part of the reason she left. It was ridiculous, but I was grasping at straws, trying to come to grips with something unfathomable to me. When nothing ever came of their relationship beyond friendship, it faded from my mind. He meets my eye and nods. I nod back but head to the table to drop off the food I brought.

"What's Dalton King doing here?" I ask Colby when he meets me by the table already filled with snacks and drinks. The question tumbles out of my mouth before I think better of it.

Colby's eyes narrow. The jealousy must have been pretty obvious, and after my last interaction with Ava, he's likely wary of what I'm going to stir up with some guy flirting with her.

He doesn't comment though. "You know Dalton? He's friends with Gab and Ava from college."

"Yeah," I grunt. "He went to high school with me and Ava."

"We saw him coming out of the game, so Gab invited him," Colby says. "She didn't want Ava to feel like she was surrounded by just the football team and their girlfriends." I nod, understanding that at least. Ava would know as much as anyone what a tightknit group the players and their partners are. But why does it have to be Dalton King?

Inwardly I shake myself. It doesn't matter. The only thing I ever had against him was his crush on Ava, and since she and I are a thing of the past, there's no reason to be jealous.

"That's cool that he and Gabriella keep in touch." This comment is a fishing expedition, and I'll bet Colby knows it.

He smirks. "He works PR for a bank here in town. Gabriella hired him when we started planning to do some consulting for her on the side. He's met with her a bunch of times to help outline handling the publicity."

Colby's being chill about my interrogation about Dalton, so I keep my comments about publicity for his wedding to myself. It makes sense that Gabriella and Ava would turn to Dalton for help if they were all good friends before.

"Why'd Gabriella choose Ava to plan the wedding?" I ask. It's petty, but I want Colby to confirm that Ava is here because of her fundraising experience. Maybe because it will justify all the irritation I've built up about this event, even if I do need to let it go.

Colby's expression turns wary, and I regret the subtle attack. "According to Gab, Ava is a master of events, and Gab wants her on board when she starts her campaign."

This is a chance to understand something I didn't the other night when Ava got prickly about me saying that she was already doing fundraising for Gabriella. "She doesn't want to help?"

Colby shrugs. "Gab says she can't get Ava to agree to anything past the wedding, and Gab had a heck of a time getting her on board even for that."

I scowl. "Why wouldn't Ava want to plan her friend's wedding?" Especially one so high profile.

"She kept telling Gab that she didn't do events for friends. Gab almost ended up hiring someone else, but Ava caved in the end." He straightens and eyes me. "Whatever happened the other night, you need to fix things with Ava tonight. Work something out. It's important to Gab that Ava wants to be a part of her goals, and she thinks if you make things hard for Ava, it'll make up her mind before Gab has a chance to change it."

"Me? Me make things hard?" My jaw drops until I remember how I did kind of step in it with Ava at the dinner before she took off.

"Look, I know things were serious between you two back in college and you don't like the way things ended. But just promise me you'll leave the past in the past and just be friends." He turns to face me fully. "Gab really wants Ava on her team, so I'm going to help her do that. I don't want that to change our friendship."

"I'll talk to her," I say.

Colby pats me on the shoulder and retreats to the huge sectional in front of his giant TV, getting ready to queue up the game. I follow and take a seat on the sectional. I just said I'd talk to her. It doesn't have to be right now.