I decided to take off work for the Super Bowl, so I could watch the game intensely without having to look through my lens the entire game.
Miles went nuts getting my friends and me a suite. I thought it was the sweetest gesture. The box is filled with the Titans' friends and family. Of course, his parents are coming, and I get to meet his sister for the first time. Hopefully, she is more enjoyable than her parents. Amber and her father are also here; I've been avoiding her the entire time. I have no desire to even make eye contact with her. My favorite thing about this day is that Miles also invited my parents to come. They are psyched to meet Miles and his family, though I've warned them about his parents.
I forget Miles has all this money to play with. He could buy anything he wanted. Super Bowl tickets aren't cheap, and neither are the boxes. I can't imagine how much money he spent on this.
The game is being held in New York City at the MetLife stadium. It's freezing here. Snow covers the ground of the big city, and Miles has made it a point to show me around the city, no matter how cold I was. I don't think I could have survived being on the field tonight; The snow is sprinkling in on the field.
I wore black head-to-toe with a long blue coat with fur to keep me warm. My hair was pin-straight, my blonde hair flowing almost to my elbows.
A hand is placed on my shoulder from behind, "Julia, it's lovely to see you again." I turn to face Miles's mother.
I smile, hugging her from the side, "Likewise. How was your trip here?" I have to be on my best behavior to win Rebecca's love, though Miles is still pissed at her for telling on her son for our relationship. Miles doesn't speak to her often anymore, as he still sulks over the memory. He speaks to his dad all the time.
"I wasn't expecting it to be so damn cold here," Mike shivers. "I figured you'd be on the field." He makes an imaginary camera with his fingers.
My smile is painfully big, "I decided to take off so I could watch the game without having to work. I'm glad I did because the snow is coming down pretty well. I would have been miserable."
"I love that photo you sent us of our Miles. I had it framed," his mother says.
That's a point for me. I had taken a fantastic shot of Miles a few weeks ago and decided to send it to his parents for bonus points. He was annoyed with me afterward, but it turned out well.
A blonde-headed girl steps around Rebecca with a drink in her hand, "Is this Julia?" She whispers in her ear.
She nods, "Julia, this is our daughter, Madison. Madison, this is Julia."
I grin at her, shaking her hand, "It's nice to meet you finally." She looked just like her mother with the beautiful curly hair that Miles also had. She wore an expensive-looking outfit, making me wonder if she was the favorite child.
She hugs me, and I can smell the alcohol on her breath. How many drinks had she already had? "Oh-Em-Gee. I've been waiting for this day for so long! Miles never shuts up about you. I'm sorry it took so long, but the Super Bowl being here was perfect. I didn't have to miss classes or anything."
"You go to Juilliard, correct?" I try to think of everything Miles told me about his family. His sister was five years younger than him, and she was only a junior in college. She must have serious talent if she attends there.
She nods eagerly, "Yes. Have you ever seen the school? It's the prettiest place on the planet. Miles needs to bring you to my place. You can see Central Park from my window."
Rebecca places her hand on my shoulder, "Sorry, she talks a lot when she drinks." With that, she walks away, leaving the two of us alone.
I spot Emma and Riley gathered at a table near the windows. Ignoring everything about visiting her apartment, I changed the subject. "Would you like to come and sit with my friends and me?"
"Yes, of course! By the way, please call me Maddy. Madison is so formal." Her perkiness kind of annoys me. I wish she were mellow and quiet like her parents.
We walk towards my friends, who look at me wide-eyed and confused when they scoot down to make room for the two of us. "Emma and Julia, this is Miles's sister, Maddy. Maddy, these are my best friends, Emma and Riley." I force the thoughts out when I think of Amber and how she's also in this room. I point toward Emma, "Emma is a country singer in Nashville," and I point towards Riley, "Riley is a bartender and dancer."
She sips her strong-smelling drink, "Of course, you guys have cool jobs. You look like you do."
Emma laughs, "You're studying what in school?"
Maddy's gaze lingers on Emma briefly before she takes another sip of her drink, "I'm a musical theatre major. At Juilliard. I'm going to work on Broadway."
"Holy shit. Juilliard? Why are you dropping that so casually?" Riley whisper-shouts.
Maddy smiles, "Well, I don't like to brag about it. The more casual I speak about it, the less people expect the most from me."
"So, you can, like, sing-sing," Emma says, her eyes twinkling in fascination. I wonder if she feels intimidated by her being a musical theatre major.
"I'd love to harmonize with you one day," she says with a wink that almost makes me spit out my drink. "Did you go to school l, Emma?"
She nods, "I went to Belmont and tried that route, but I didn't like the formality, so I dropped out and started singing in bars, praying one day a record label would notice me."
"I'm sure you'll make it one day. I sometimes wish I hadn't gone to school or chosen a different major, like Marketing. Have you considered going on one of those singing shows, like The Voice?"
I look to Riley, who I think is thinking the same thing I am. I hadn't even said a word since we sat down. I think these two are going to like each other.
My eyes wander around the box, seeing if I see anyone familiar. I spot my parents speaking to Amber's father. I should say hello to him while she's not around him. I don't see Amber around; Maybe she's with her new friends. "Excuse me," I say, sliding out of the booth and wandering over to them.
"There's our favorite child!" My mother gushes, hugging me.
"Hi," I say, giving my mother and father a hug. "How was the flight?" I walked over to Amber's father and hugged him as well. He was basically my second father.
"Fine. I had to go to a store and buy a coat as soon as we arrived. I wasn't expecting it to be this cold. It didn't call for snow on the forecast," my mother says.
I look around the suite once again, looking for familiar eyes. "I would introduce you to Miles's parents, but I have no clue where they went."
My father wraps his hand around my bicep and slowly squeezes it, "No worries. We've got all night. We are going to grab a drink at the bar."
They walk away, leaving Adam Abram and me alone. "Haven't seen you in a while, Jules. Everything going okay?"
Lie to him. "Yes, sir. Just been wrapped up in this whole new career and boyfriend."
He stares at me like he knows I'm lying. Did my mother say something? I spilled my guys to her the day after we told Amber to get lost. She probably said something to him. Or Amber said something to him. "Amber said you guys had a fight. She didn't give details."
I close my eyes, purse my lips, and nod. "Unfortunate series of events," is all I say, tearing my eyes away from his gaze.
"Amber has been very upset this week. I've noticed a change. She hasn't been her normal self. She's barely left the house. No boyfriend. No friends. I'm surprised she's even here now. Whatever happened, she's devastated about it. I know my daughter; I know she has a temper." Yet, she won't apologize. That's all I want.
I sigh, spotting her in a chair, sitting by herself. Should I talk to her? "She said a few things I think she regrets but hasn't apologized, " I tell him honestly. Maybe he would talk some sense into her.
He clears his throat, "I get it. Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's have fun tonight." He presses his hand to my shoulder and walks towards his daughter.
I turn the other way and head towards the bar, where I see Riley swirling a straw in her drink. "Had enough?" I tease, taking the seat next to her.
She looks up at me, rolling her eyes, "Oh my God, what the hell was that? I got up finally because I felt like I was intruding on a damn date! Is she..." She trails off.
I shrugged. "I have no clue. Miles never said she was. Maybe she's like Emma. Or we are totally reading the situation wrong." We both look down the suites to see Maddy and Emma sitting inches apart. I turned back to Riley, and we gave each other a look to make sure that we read the situation correctly.
"Julia! Riley!" A voice shouts across the room. I look to Riley, who also seems to be looking for the person calling our names. I see Caitlyn waving her arms on the other side of the box near the windows. I smile at her, grab my drink, and make our way over to the group of girls. "You look hot," She coos, already drunk before the game starts.
"Thanks. I love the jacket." She wore a custom denim jacket with a painting of her husband, Asher Barnett, on the back. The front had the words TITANS painted in the teams' blue colors.
The other girls watch the jumbotron as the team stretches on the field. The camera jumps to Miles as he stretches, showing no emotion on his face. His game face. "They are so obsessed with Moore. I mean down-right obsessed," Willow says, turning away and looking at me.
"Miles loves the attention. He eats it up. The day another hot quarterback comes, and they forget about him, he will quit," I say, sitting in one of the chairs. I look across the box where Amber sits alone with her father, and behind them sits Emma and Maddy. "Why isn't Amber over here?" I ask casually, and I hear Riley snicker beside me.
"Didn't you hear? She and Tessa got into a pretty heated argument the other day. Tessa said she didn't want to see her face again," Caitlyn says.
I sit up in my seat, "What was it about?"
Caitlyn leaned in closer so the other girls wouldn't hear her, "I heard it was about you. Tessa made a rude comment, and Amber went psycho on her." I knew some of the girls would have an issue. You can't please everyone. Someone is going to be jealous of you at all times. "You know how girls are. They get jealous over everything, and Tessa didn't like how you were becoming more famous than she is."
I blush in embarrassment. I'm the reason Amber is sitting alone. She took up for me. I snort, trying to act casual, "I would hardly call myself famous."
"Well, the paparazzi sure think you are. You don't go anywhere without a photo of you being uploaded to the tabloids."
"Miles is famous. I'm just the girl standing beside him. As the girls on the internet say, "I'm nobody." Surely, she gets plenty of attention. She's married to the hottest running back to exist."
Willow snickers beside her, "But you're dating to marry the hottest quarterback ever to exist. I say that is above running back."
I sigh, "You're not helping my case."
"Julia, don't take it to heart. All the girls talk shit. Every female in this room will have their name spat on. That's how you know you're doing good. When they hate you," Jada says, flicking her braids behind her shoulder.
I say nothing but continue to stare in Amber's direction. She took up for me without anyone asking her to. Her father gets up to take a call, and I decide now is my chance. I turn to Riley, who gives me a soft smile. She understands. "Excuse me," I say, getting up and walking over to her.
"Riley, can you tell us the tea with those two? I thought they were attached at the hip," Willow says. They die for the gossip.
I sit down in the plush chair without warning, making her jump. "Hey," I say quietly.
She glances over at me, obviously shocked to see me. "Hey."
I say nothing for a moment, feeling awkward about the situation. I swallow, "Thank you."
She furrows her eyebrows, sipping her cocktail, "For what?"
"Sticking up for me. They told me what happened."
She shrugs, "Not a big deal. She was out of line and wasn't gonna shut it till I told her to."
"I wouldn't want you to lose friendships over that."
She shrugs again. Is that her new thing? To shrug. "You said they weren't good to hang around, and I finally realized you were right. All it took was one comment to flush it down the toilet." She meets my eyes finally, "Just like I did with you guys." I don't respond immediately as her lips begin to move, but nothing comes out. "I- I'm sorry. For everything. I've felt guilty about what I said for days. They just got in my head."
The weight is released off my shoulders. The apology I've been waiting for. I know I shouldn't forgive her so quickly, but it's all I wanted. I knew she didn't mean the words she said. I've known her for too long to know that it was all just peer pressure. I reach across the table for her hand, slowly brushing my fingers over her knuckles, "Do you want to come over there with us?"
She softly smiles, "I need to apologize to Emma."
I point behind us, "She's busy. She and Miles's sister just hit it off when I introduced them. We have no clue what's happening there."
Her smile grows wider as she stands up, fixing the creases in her skirt, and follows me back to the group of girls. I see her father with my parents and pause when I see Miles's parents talking with them. Well, I guess they found each other.
When we sit down again, we see the smoke coming from the tunnel as the Titans come out running, ready to play.
"Titan Up," Caitlyn says, raising her drink in the air to cheer.
"Titan up," we all say before taking a sip.