The One He Never Claimed

It's hot today.

He said he was on his way, that was three hours ago.

He doesn't live that far but even if he did, couldn't he just text to say he's running late? Or that something came up and he can't make it anymore. Anything would've been better than silence.

It takes me a while but I finally decide not to wait anymore and then get ready to meet the girls like I'd originally planned, before he made me cancel. There's a party tonight that I honestly would've much rather missed. But now that he stood me up, I don't want to spend the rest of my evening overthinking about it. That's certainly happened before.

I know he's not going to be happy but I'm also not happy that once again, he failed to show up for me.

I shuffle through my closet for a short tight dress that's also not too revealing but I end up settling for a pair of high-waisted bum shorts with a tight blacktop.

I fix my bra so my cleavage is not showing too much and I throw on a pair of black Yeezy's to complete my simple look.

He doesn't like it when I stand out because he hates it when other guys look at me as he's not able to do anything about it. This is of course because of the fear of exposing our relationship. So I always make it a point to dress down as much as possible so I don't have to suffer through his complaints that I was 'practically naked'. That's probably his favorite sentence to use on me.

I text Liz to tell her I'm ready and I know she's going to be in my driveway in no time so I make my way downstairs to wait for her to come to pick me up. Dad's working late tonight so I don't have to worry about curfew.

This is another reason why today would've been perfect for him to come, we would've had the house all to ourselves without dad's constant distractions. Dad is his biggest fan so whenever he's around he constantly disturbs our bonding time with football questions. I know Ezra doesn't mind, but I do.

I'm now too in a good mood to be stressed about this so I decide to just let it linger in the back of my mind, I'll have a long talk with him tomorrow.

Soon I hear a car hoot and I waste no time getting out of the house, Lizzy hates waiting. We embrace each other in a hug and I compliment her on her outfit. She looks incredible, as always.

We're soon on our way to pick up Emily and Ashley then head to our destination for the night where we'll be meeting the rest of the girls.

Loud music, sweaty bodies, and red cups are three of the most noticeable features as we drive past the main house of the house party venue looking for parking. It's so incredibly full that there are cars parked in the middle of the road, that's hardly a surprise. I look at Liz with an 'I told you so' face but she just shrugs it away.

One would be crazy to drive to one of Bruno Steiner's parties and expect to find parking. I told Liz we should Uber there but my dear friend is beyond stubborn. What makes me even madder is that this is not the first time this has happened. I know she prefers the comfort of her own car but that's not always ideal. Evidently.

We end up parking about two miles away from the party and walk all the way there, to our utter dismay. I feel thankful I didn't wear heels but I can't say the same for my dear friend Liz. It serves her well though.

It takes us a while but we get there eventually . And then,

"Yo Liz, what's up girl?"

"Hey, Lizzy."

"Liz Liz!!"

Did I mention my friend is very popular?

She gets on my nerves a lot of the time but she's a genuine soul that everyone can't help but gravitate towards, myself included. She's incredible to be around and I still can't believe that she's my best friend.

She smiles, waves and hugs a few people as we get closer to the mini-mansion that's overfilled with drunk teenagers.

The first thing we do when we get inside is seek alcohol, after the long walk we had, we need it.

Bruno Steiner always has a designated counter full of alcohol and we find it just as we walk through the door. We're happy when we finally reunite with the rest of the girls once we've gotten our drinks.

Liz has a lot of female friends that I guess are my friends too by default. I'm not very close with them but we do have occasional chitchats whenever I see them at parties. Which happens to be all the time because parties are a given when you're friends with Liz. She hardly gives you a choice.

"We need shots!!" I hear the girl shout from a distance. She was going around greeting and hugging people as I stayed behind with some of the other girls. Someone seemed to have heard her because in no time, a tray is brought to us with shot glasses and a bottle of Jagermeister.

Everyone takes a glass after they've been filled with the alcohol content and we raise them as one of the girls makes a toast,

"To the greatest, most bomb friends in the universe and to an even greater summer,"

We all make random loud noises in celebration. Varsity has been tough and we're all excited to finally just let go and have fun. I know I'm certainly happy that the school term is over, it's been a crazy one for me in more ways than one.

A bunch of people join us in taking shots and we're soon dancing to the rhythm of the loud music as we continue drinking and conversing incoherently.

Liz ignores all the guys who try to hit on her and I laugh at that. They stand no chance. When she's with her friends, it's like no one else exists. She shuts out the world and only allows in the people that matter to her.

Like the infamous Bruno Steiner that we're all here for tonight. The boy makes his way to us to say hello and showers us with compliments, as we hug him.

Bruno Steiner is one of the most popular guys, not just in varsity but... everywhere. That should explain the number of people who made it to his party tonight. If Bruno knows you by name then you are a somebody. I'm clearly not a somebody and that's why he doesn't know my name. He's never even addressed me individually. He just knows me as the girl who's friends with Liz and the other girls. Honestly, I'm ok with that, I prefer to not be known.

Did I also mention that he happens to be best friends with the man who brings me sleepless nights? Well, he is. They've known each other since they were kids and they've pretty much been inseparable since. He, just like everyone else doesn't know about my relationship with Ezra. I used to be ok with that but I'm not sure if I still am.

Speaking of people who are in trouble, I hear a bunch of people yell out his name before I see him approaching us, and by us, I mean Bruno who's still chatting with some of the girls.

Our eyes meet for a split second before he diverts his to Bruno. I feel my heart break a little at that.

I know it's so people don't suspect anything but it still hurts. He whispers something to the boy and they soon disappear into the crowd.

"Gosh Ezra is so hot," I hear one of the girls say and I nod my head in agreement.

He's also very much mine.

I want more than anything to scream it so the world knows, but I know I can't do that. He'd probably deny it and never speak to me again. So I instead decide to text him,

'Looking good' with a bunch of wink face emojis. And he replies saying,

'You too my love'

I can't stop the smile that spreads across my face. I can already feel my heart forgiving him for standing me up tonight. I can never stay mad at him anyway.

"What are you smiling about?" Emily's question catches me off guard but I recover quickly and then tell her I just saw a funny meme. She doesn't seem to believe me but doesn't press on it and I appreciate that.

I hate that I've become such a pro at lying but that just comes with dating the MVP of the most popular football club in the country right now. Lying means I don't have to go through questions like,

'How do you feel about girls constantly throwing themselves at him?'

To answer this question that I've never been asked, I don't feel great. It sucks and I hate it, but I also know I'm the only girl who occupies his mind and his heart.

I'm the one he calls before he goes to sleep and texts when he wakes up.

I'm the one he loves. I guess that makes it suck a little less.

Yes, people think he's single and always ready to mingle but that is all just for his image.

Midnight approaches sooner than we'd been expecting and we're forced to request Uber to go home because none of us are in the right state to drive. Another reason why we should've Uber'd to the party in the first place but I'm too drunk to scold Liz about that.

It takes me a while but I'm soon back at home in the comfort of my bed. I see him calling just as I tuck myself in. Right on time.

"Hey you," I say sweetly to him but,

"You didn't tell me you were going out tonight!" His voice is accusatory and... angry.

I sigh to calm myself down before saying, "I didn't think I was either but you failed to show up. Again," I try hard not to sound irritated.

"You could've still told me you were going out." He says to me in a duh tone and I resist the urge to hang up on him. I instead say,

"I'm sorry babe. I'll say something next time."

I'm tired and if I scold him too then this is going to happen for the whole night and well - I'm in no mood to argue. But clearly he is because,

"There better not be a next time," he says before hanging up the phone.

I love you too.

I'm too tired and annoyed to call him back and find out what his problem is so I instead just text him,

'Goodnight. Luv you always' before I drift off into a nice and long slumber.

After my countless tosses and turns, I finally decide to make my way downstairs to see who's disturbing my peaceful sleep. The whole point of summer is that I don't have to worry about waking up early.

"Dad!" I shout when the excruciatingly loud noise gets louder as I get closer. What is he doing?

"In here Hunny," he shouts back and I finally reach the garage where my darling father and my dear friend and neighbor, Cody seem to be welding onto a metal case, seemingly trying to open it.

Could this seriously not have waited until everyone's stopped dreaming?

"What are you guys doing?" I ask rhetorically as I put the palm of my hands against my ears to block out the noise.

"This was Cody's dad's sweetheart. He found it in the basement and we just want to see what's inside," he answers clearly not getting the question behind the question I was asking, or rather the meaning behind it.

"Dad, this is really loud. Could it not wait until a bit later on?" I decide to stop speaking in riddles and that seems to work because he switches off the machine then says,

"I'm sorry sweetheart. Didn't even realize it was still so early." He says now looking at his watch. I get that, Dad wakes up early. Too early.

"What time's Ezra picking you up?" He asks and I ignore the exaggerated eye roll from Cody. I'm not in the mood for his judgment.

"He should be here in, Oh sh..."

"Watch it!"

"He should've been here 30 minutes ago. He must be running late, I know he's got practice. I'm gonna go get ready now." I say already running back into the house to shower.

He's got a big game later today.

Usually when that happens he picks me up in the morning after practice. We drive to the stadium together and then he leaves me in the VIP section where Michaela comes and joins me later, as well as the rest of the VIP people.

Michaela is one of his teammates' wives and one of the very few people who know about us. She's about 15 years older than me but doesn't look it at all, she's stunning.

We didn't even have to tell her anything, she said she could tell by the way we acted around each other. Like all we wanted was to be around one another but we couldn't. Of course she keeps our secret. She still doesn't understand why it's a secret to start with but she respects us nonetheless.

It's now a week since Bruno's party and things are back to being great with us. We'd fought and fought until we forgot what we were even fighting about and then made up. That happens a lot with us.

I finish getting ready in no time and then I wait. He's never late to pick me up when he's got a game, mostly because he has to work around a schedule so it's extremely weird that he's not here yet.

"Bun-bun!" I hear my dad call from downstairs, clearly to tell me he's here.

I jump off the bed, take my bag then go downstairs to see dad still in his night robe and a coffee mug in hand.

"Where is he?"

He usually comes in and waits with him while I get ready.

"There's a car outside waiting for you," he says wiggling his eyebrows and I internally scream. Ew.

I find it odd that he didn't come out to even say hi to dad but I don't waste a second thinking about it. I know he's probably running late so,

"Thanks, dad. I love you" I say then kiss him on the cheek as I make my way out.

I step outside to see an all-black Land Rover I've never seen before waiting. I hesitate a bit before I get closer to it and then the driver's door opens making me jump slightly.

"Hey, pretty one. Are you ready to go?" A bearded, chubby fellow asks and I feel my heart calm down.

"I'll go to the end of the world with you Mickey." I respond to him with a smile as he opens the back door for me to get in.

My heart breaks a little that he sent his driver to come to pick me up and not him. Mickey is beyond great but I would rather have him with me right now, so I can give him my calming words before the game. He always says seeing me is his good luck charm.

"I see you got a new car." I say to the man as we continue on our journey. They've seemingly upgraded from a smaller Land Rover to a much bigger and darker one. Ezra is getting more and more famous every day and I guess they wanted something a little more private and intimidating.

"Yea. He's always wanted this one." He says.

I pick up the flowers that are placed next to my seat with a box of chocolates and a teddy bear. I take out the note that reads,

'My darling Alex,

We've got to do press today before the game and that messed up my schedule a bit. I hope you can forgive me for not being there right now to pick you up. I sent you this teddy bear to cuddle you and protect you until I'm able to.

Love you always and forever,

Ez'

I smile.

He definitely knows how to make my heart skip a beat.

Mickey looks at me knowingly through the rear-view mirror making me smile wider. He knows probably more than anyone else what Ezra and I have. He gets it.

Everyone else secretly judges and I can always see it through their eyes. They judge Ezra for wanting to keep me a secret and they judge me for taking it.

I don't care. They'll just never get it and that's fine.

We're soon at the incredibly big stadium where the game will be taking place. The gates are still closed but they let us in once they see it's Mickey. We drive down to the private car park and Mickey opens the door for me to come out. He's always insisted to be chivalrous despite my not wanting him to. I can open my own door. He says that's just how he was raised and eventually I gave up trying to change him.

He's going to be an amazing husband to a very lucky lady one day.

He then tells me to enjoy the game as I make my way to the private basement elevator.

"I will Mickey you too."

I get on the elevator, then press the button to get to the highest level.

It's always so quiet when I get here. People are running around cleaning and getting ready for the game later that day.

Everyone's already used to seeing me but I know they still wonder who I am. The VIP is for the wives and girlfriends of the players, as well as incredibly wealthy people.

Although, most of the wives and girlfriends prefer to be down by the field cheering on their significant others. I would prefer that too honestly, but I can't.

I know Michaela sits up here as well because she doesn't want me to be by myself even though she claims it's because there's always a lot going on by the field. So she's the only known significant other of one of the players who sit by the VIP, everyone else is usually on the sidelines of the field.

But basically, not just anyone can have access to the VIP section. So everyone stares at me but they don't ask any questions. I appreciate that.

"Hi. Alex Brown for the Eagles." I say to the nicely dressed gentleman behind the counter once I reach where I'm going. He smiles then opens the door for me to get through.

It's empty.

There's about 5 hours left still for the match to start.

All the other teammates are probably with their significant others right now. They let them see them before the game, I'm guessing to get them in a happy mood.

I walk closer to the big glass window overlooking the stadium and then sigh. I hate this part.

It sucks that I can't be down there with him right now. It sucks that if I go to the players' section, no one will know who I am and he'll probably act like he doesn't know me too.

He always says he needs me to understand, and I do, I guess. But it still hurts.

So I sit just letting my thoughts run wild for almost an hour before I finally let my tears go. I stare at nothing and make no attempt to dry my cheeks. I know my face is probably a mess right now from the mixture of my light makeup and tears but I don't let myself worry about that. I still have a lot of hours left so I'll redo my face later.

I continue to sit now watching cartoons playing on a big screen in a corner when,

"Hey," I hear a voice sound gently.

I turn around to face the boy who brings me so much light and darkness at the same time and I force a smile.

His face is soft because he knows I'm not happy.

"You look great," he then compliments and I mouth him a 'thank you.'

I probably don't really look great at all right now. I feel exhausted from waiting and I probably have tear stains on my cheeks.

He's wearing his team's track pants and a plain white shirt, and he's standing at a distance because there are cameras in the VIP. I mentally facepalm myself when I remember I had a breakdown earlier that whoever's monitoring the cameras has now seen.

"I'm sorry." He mouths back to me now putting his hands in his pockets. "I know." I mouth back.

Now that I'm looking at him, I know that he feels what I feel. I know that he wants more than anything to run to me and kiss me like the world was ending. I can see his body craving my proximity and touch.

I give him a genuine smile and say, "You're gonna kill it today." He always does. He's the best player on the team and he knows that but he gives me a genuine smile right back then says, "You think so?" Like I just made the world's wildest prediction.

One of the many things I love about Ezra is how humble he is.

I nod slightly making him blush.

'I love you.' He mouthes to me and I mouth to him that I love him too before he turns around to leave just when the cleaning ladies enter the VIP, I'm guessing to make final checks before the game starts.

I go to the bathroom to get myself together and then head back to the VIP with my head held high and a new fresh frame of mind.

My man's going to kill it today.

It's intense.

Everyone in the VIP room and everyone down on the field and the bleachers is beyond stressed. The players are all dirty from throwing themselves on the dirty grass and sweaty from all the running around they'd been doing. Michaela is holding on to my hand so tight it feels numb. It's so quiet.

The camera points at Ezra and the commentator says something about how even he is stressed.

He's sweating and rocking his body side to side slightly. I know he's got his thinking cap on when he does that. I smile gently because they have no idea what's coming. He's about to blow their minds.

Two minutes on the clock and the score is a tie. The players line up facing each other then bend down so that their chests are facing the ground. The opposing team has the ball.

Soon the players start tackling each other roughly fighting for the ball that's now passed in the air to be caught by their team player but is instead caught by Ezra.

They don't call him the lightning for nothing because as soon as he gets the ball, he passes everyone in lightning speed, barely getting touched then soon hits touchdown, making the whole stadium roar in celebration.

"Did you see that? Ezra Michaels has done it again! Amazing!" The commentator practically shouts yet he's barely audible because there's so much noise from the beyond exhilarated fans.

Everyone is so surprised yet not so surprised at the touchdown. It's like they know this is what he does but it's amazing every time.

Ezra doesn't just practice football, he studies it. He puts psychology into it and that's what makes him so amazing at it.

I stand on the glass window looking around hoping to catch him but I don't. His teammates have probably carried him away like they always do.

Crowds of people are running on the field and there's now music playing in the stadium.

I tell Michaela that I'm leaving after a while. I do this so she can go and join her husband in celebration on the field. If I don't leave then she won't too and I don't want that.

'You were amazing my love. So proud of you.' I text Ezra as I make my way to the Land Rover. I don't expect him to respond anytime soon as I know his phone's probably nowhere to be found right now. I wait for a while knowing Mickey's probably celebrating with everyone. He left the car open for me and I'm thankful.

I pick up the card Ezra wrote for me with a smile. This is the man the world is crazy about right now, his schedule is crazy busy yet he's got time to write me a cute letter. I know I'm hard on him but he tries.

I met him before he started blowing up and now he's this huge celebrity so obviously certain things are going to change. He won't be picking me up and dropping me off after games anymore and I guess that's fine.

As long as he keeps me in his heart.

About an hour later, a very excited Mickey shows up.

"Hey, lady of the night." He says to me and I roll my eyes jokingly at him. He calls me that every time Ezra wins.

"Where is he?" I ask him and he just shrugs his shoulders then says,

"Everyone's probably fighting for his attention right now."

Is it selfish that I want him all to myself right now? I'm understanding he's got millions of fans wanting his attention but when will I get mine?

"Yeah." I respond with a chuckle hoping it doesn't sound too fake.

Mickey has the radio playing in the background of what's happening at the stadium right now as we drive. I feel bad that he's not there because of me.

I don't like staying after his games. I know he wants me to be there while he plays, he says something about how knowing I'm there makes him good at what he does. His words, not mine.

But after he's all done, I don't stay around for the celebration. I like to celebrate with just him at home. Not with a bunch of people I don't know. Even though Michaela insists to stay with me, I know she would rather go and celebrate with her husband. Understandably. The only reason I'm not there celebrating with Ezra right now is because I can't.

I thank Mickey after he's dropped me off and I make my way into my house where my dad too is celebrating the win.

"Oh Hunny." He says as he approaches me to pick me up.

"Dad, I'm not 10." I nag him making him put me back down.

"Are you ok sweetheart?" He can always sense my uneasiness.

"Yea of course dad. Did you see how amazing he was?" I say enthusiastically and he hesitates for a bit before,

"He's a damn machine!" He says going back to the screen where he seemingly has people live on a video call and I laugh slightly at that.

The world we live in today.

I make my way upstairs to my room and head straight to the shower. I spend a lot of time in there before coming out and spending another hour on my hair, face, and body. I'd decided to have a self-care day.

It's now 8 in the evening and he hasn't called. I don't want to call him because I'll seem like I'm nagging him. I know he's probably out with his teammates right now but a simple message telling me he's out or something would've been much appreciated.

I always feel guilty when I have these thoughts. I know what's happening in his life right now was inevitable and I want to play the understanding girlfriend role so bad, but how do I play the role when he's never around anymore?

We went from seeing each other every day, to a few times a week and now it's just some days. I wish he would understand the toll it's taking on me just like I'm understanding this is his life now.

After getting myself all comfy, I climb my bed and get ready to have an early night.

I get on Instagram to see what my friends are up to and I like all their pictures. Ezra's win is all over my feed and so I decide to just put my phone down.

But before doing that, I click on the Twitter notification feed that says, 'Ezra and mystery girl kissing'.

I feel my heart stop for just a bit.

I'd thought about when the world would know about us a few times before. Either he'd decide to just tell everyone or like in this case, people would just find out. It's always a distant thought that goes away as soon as it comes and so I've never thought about what I'd do if it happened.

I mean I guess we live in a small world that's also very digital. A picture was bound to be taken one of these days.

But what happens now? I'm suddenly understanding why Ezra wanted to keep this a secret. I don't know if I'll be able to handle that life. The life of constant scrutiny and judgment.

But all those worries suddenly disappear as I stare at the man who owns my heart kissing someone else. Someone else who's not me.