Page 23 of Blinded By Hate

“You look great.” Natalia smiles, radiance glowing from her.

Right now, we are at a small coffee shop having lunch. I decided to take my lunch early because she wanted to catch up and she recommended this coffee shop down the street from my office.

Natalia looks happy and healthy.

I remember in college she would look drained despite the smile on her face that she would give everyone. She still has an amazing jawline but her face looks more filled out. She has the same beautiful smile that people wish they had. Her hair is a gorgeous golden blonde color which makes me assume she dyed it because she used to have dirty blonde hair.

She looks stunning as usual and it’s nice to see her so healthy and glowing.

I smile. “Me? Look at you. You look so healthy and beautiful. Not that you didn’t before but something has changed about you.”

Natalia blushes. “Well, having a baby gives you a different kind of happiness.”

My eyes widen in response.

That’s something I didn’t expect her to say.

I trail my eyes down to her breasts and they definitely look bigger. She always had small boobs.

Fuck, I hope I don’t look different to the point where she notices.

I didn’t know Natalia had a baby. I never looked at her Instagram or anything and Hayden doesn’t ever post his family on social media so I was never curious.

“A baby? How old?”

“Around 4.”

Natalia pulls out her phone and turns it to me.

I see a girl with bright blonde hair and blue eyes smiling at the camera. She’s wearing a pink dress and hugging a stuffed frog.

I smile. “She’s beautiful Natalia, what’s her name?”

“Lilah. She’s amazing, Jaclyn. I never knew a kid could make me so happy. Chris is great with her and she’s just a little ball of happiness. I wish I could take her everywhere with me.”

I get what she means. Right now, all I want to do is go home to Junior and sit on the couch to watch TV with him.

“You're still with Chris?”

Natalia nods. “Yes. We’re married now. We got married right after graduation. He proposed right when I told him I was pregnant. He told me at the time he’s been wanting to propose for a while but with Lilah, he just thought it was the perfect time. But we’re still together. He’s playing for the Giants.”

“Nice. Does he like it?”

“Yea, he loves his teammates a lot. He fits in and is great with the other players. They work well together.”

“Is that why you moved out here?”

“Yea. He needed to be close to the training center and since Hayden lives out here we thought it’d be good.”

“Nice. Do you like it out here?”

“Yea. It’s very different from Utah and Arizona. It's a bit loud and chaotic but I love it,” she says, still with a small smile on her face. “But things are really good for me. I’m really happy. And I saw your interview with Hayden and just had to see you.”

I nod my head lightly. “Yea, I’m happy you came. It’s great to see you and that you’re doing good. I wish I stayed in contact.”

Natalia’s smile changes into a sad one. “Yea I know. You just needed time.” I stay quiet because I have no clue what to say to her. “How have you been lately? Are you doing good? You look a lot skinnier. I wish I could look like you.”

I smile shyly while rubbing my palms against my dress pants.