Chapter7
“Thanks for everything, Marie. I mean it. I don’t know what I would have done without you.” Jared hugged his surrogate mother tightly. “Please come visit me soon. I’ll pay for the tickets and you can all stay with me, okay?”
“Sure, Jay.” Rick nodded. “Let us know when and we’ll be there.”
“You bet, Jay.” Marie wiped at her eyes. “It’s been an honor and a pleasure having you around these past few months.”
“I am so grateful to all of you.” Jared felt like he was gushing but there were no words to convey his gratitude to this family for taking him in. The horn blared outside indicating his hour was up. “I’m sorry, I had no idea this was happening so fast. I really have to go.”
“Take care of yourself, Jay.” Rick extended his hand and shook Jared’s firmly.
“You too, Rick.” Jared bobbed his head and walked out.
He hated missing the rest of the family but Marie and Rick assured him they would understand. Jared got the feeling that none of them expected to see him again at all and that left him feeling uneasy. He walked slowly back to the limo, dreading the next stop. The rec center had been easier than he imagined, Rick and Marie tougher than he thought, but nothing could make his last stop anything but painful.
“Where to next?” the driver called back. Derek and the PR suit from the team were already at the airport so it was just Jared, the straight-laced limo driver, and the security detail.
“Amherst Hospital.” Jared slid into the limo where the security detail nodded approvingly. “What? It’s not like you all are giving me much choice.”
“It’s not like that, Jump.” The driver did all the talking.
Neither of the security guys seemed to have a voice, just nods and shakes of the head. They were all huge, built like linemen and probably with more than a little experience hitting other men. Hell, the driver was most likely part of the security package. Derek and the team clearly weren’t willing to risk him running.
“Listen, I only took a half hour at the rec center and a half hour with Rick, can I have two hours at the hospital? These people did a lot for me and I want to make sure they know how much they mean to me.” So Jared lied, a little bit, more stretching the truth really. “I will still get to the airport on time.”
The security team exchanged looks with the driver, almost imperceptible nods and shakes remained the extent of their conversation. Finally, the driver answered, “I don’t see what it would hurt so long as there are no incidents.”
“Excellent.” Jared’s spirits lifted slightly. Two hours with A.J. seemed better than one, he just hoped she would understand. He’d been dreaming up ways to explain his feelings and the ideas he came up with on how they could still see each other. Jared worked over the conversation in his head as the limo rolled through the streets toward the hospital. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t see the trouble until it was too late.
As they pulled up to the hospital’s main lot, the driver yelled back, “Change of plans,” and peeled off in the opposite direction. Jared looked out the back window to see media vans and fans with signs filled the parking lot and streamed off the sidewalk in both directions – all cheering for him.
“Wait! I have to go in there!” Jared pleaded. “Please, I have to.”
“I’m sure you can send them something nice when you are back in L.A.,” the driver answered sharply, “our orders are to keep you away from the media and that’s what we’re doing. The hospital has been compromised. You cannot go.”
“At least give me back my phone so I can let somebody know I won’t be there. I had an appointment today,” Jared lied smoothly.
“We will let Derek know,” the driver said firmly and put the window up cutting himself off from Jared and the two silent soldiers.
Surrendering his phone had been part of the deal to be able to say his good-byes. Now he bitterly regretted it as they pulled away from the hospital and headed straight for the airport. Jared wanted to see A.J. one more time before leaving, kiss her, hold her, trace the curve of her jawline, but he would call her as soon as he had his phone back and explain everything. She would understand, wouldn’t she?
**
“No, Jump. No phone until you are back at home.” Derek shook his head. “You shouldn’t have told Jessica Klein that your phone died. How can you be tweeting if your phone is dead and you don’t have a charger?”
“Um, I could have picked one up at the airport and charged it in the terminal?” Jared snapped, his agent really wasn’t picking up any points with him on this trip. “Seriously, Derek. I’m not a teenager, give me the damn phone.”
“Afraid not, Jump.” Derek stood firm. “You called me a douche and it hurt my feelings.”
“Are you trying to be funny? Cuz, you’re not. At all. I had an appointment today and it’s not going to look so hot if I just skipped it.” Jared persisted with his white lie.
Derek glared at him from across the plane. “I already handled that. Why don’t you have a drink and take a nap? I’m going to sit with Jim and try to smooth things over for you.”
“Who’s Jim?” Jared blinked at Derek.
“The head of PR for your team,” Derek growled. “Seriously, Jump. Get your shit together.” He spun on his patent leather heel and left Jared to mope in the back of the plane.
“I wasn’t that mean to him,” Jared mumbled to himself. He may have been harsh with the suit but the guy creeped him out. Why did he have to ask all of those questions about his injury and how it felt inside and the pain of rehab? What the hell? Who asked that kind of stuff?
The pilot broke over the speaker. “We are making our approach so please buckle in for the remainder of your trip.”
Jared buckled in and stared out the window at the familiar skyline. It had never seemed so lonely before. Now it felt like a prison. “Dead Man Walking,” he muttered to himself.
**
They touched down smoothly and Jared was almost immediately accosted by Derek and the PR guy. He hadn’t even unbuckled when the two men set on him.
“Smooth your hair, no, wait, shake it out. It’s going to create a stir that your hair is so short.” The PR guy prattled on. “You should have shaved, that burly look works for linemen but not you.” He called out frantically to the flight crew, “Got a razor around here? Shaving cream? Anything?”
“Tuck your shirt in, it will look better,” Derek advised.
“Guys, what’s the deal? I’m just going home, I can shave tonight and nobody’s there to care if my shirt’s tucked in or note.” Jared unbuckled and pushed past them toward the front of the plane but Derek stopped him.
“That’s not exactly true,” the PR guy sputtered. “We may have leaked your return.”
“WHAT!?” Jared bellowed. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Calm down, Jump. You know we have to spin all of this the right way. It’s big news.” Derek tried to soothe him but Jared felt his blood pressure rise.
“I will NOT calm down. This is bullshit Derek!” Jared wrenched his arm away from his agent. “This is fucking shit! I just want to go home. You ambushed me, forced me to leave before I was ready, and now I have to play nice with God knows what out there. You’re a fucking prick.” Jared spun on his heel, took a breath, and plastered on his golden boy smile as the screams of fans echoed through the cabin, audible now that the door was open. He descended the steps to be greeted by the entire L.A. cheerleading squad, a throng of fans, and, fortunately, a few of his teammates who embraced him and staved off the masses.
“Welcome back, Jump!” a voice screamed.
“I love you, Jump!” A shriek from the other direction.
“I think that chick wants to marry you, bro,” Trey, the number two wide-out yelled in his ear and pointed toward a sign with a huge glittering ring on it and the words ‘please ask me.’
Jared just grinned and played along, caught up in the excitement of the moment. Who wouldn’t be. Two of the cheerleaders popped up beside him, he couldn’t remember the blonde’s name because she was newer but Amanda, the redhead, was a familiar face. She’d made the squad his rookie season and had been dating Jared’s attorney for the past few years. She wrapped her arm about his waist in a side-hug and stretched up to whisper in his ear.
“Good to see you, Jared.” Amanda grinned up at him. “Matt finally proposed!”
“That’s great!” Jared beamed down at his petite friend and wrapped her up in a warm. “Congratulations!”
“Thanks!” Amanda gestured for the other cheerleaders to help his teammates escort Jared through the crowd of people. Flashes snapped from all angles but, mercifully, the team’s SUVs were in sight.
“Ride with me, I want to hear about it.” Jared took her hand so they wouldn’t get separated. He left his concerns about Derek behind and climbed into the first SUV, tugging Amanda behind him. The perky blonde followed her and Trey popped into the passenger seat.
“Welcome back, Jump!” the driver exclaimed and put the car in gear.
“Jared, do you remember Kyra?” Amanda introduced the blonde who extended a delicate, manicured hand to him.
“Of course I do,” Jared lied smoothly and shook her hand lightly, “it’s nice to see you again.”
Kyra just blushed and giggled. She played at the poms in her lap and watched him as if he weren’t quite real.
Jared winked at her before turning his attention back to Amanda. “So, when’s the wedding?”
“Nah, man. None of that talk,” Trey interjected from the front seat. “You’re back, we’re gonna party like rock stars and wedding talk is just a downer.”
Amanda launched one of her poms at Trey. “He can handle a little wedding talk if it’s from me. Then you can have him for the rest of the night while I go home to my fiancé.” She put extra emphasis on the fiancé part and flushed. “He proposed at the cabin last weekend. I wanted to call you but I heard you were coming back so I figured I’d just tell you in person.”
“That’s great, Amanda. I’m really happy for you.” Jared gave Amanda a little squeeze on her knee. “I’m guessing you haven’t made any plans yet?”
“No, not really. We obviously want to do it in the off-season so probably some time next spring,” Amanda answered, ever the practical one and so opposite the person she played on the field.
He remembered Matt’s reservations about going on a date with the bubbly redhead he’d only seen on the football field. Jared thought how A.J. would get along with Amanda and what an interesting meeting that would be.
Not one to miss such a thing, Amanda arched an eyebrow at him. “What are you smiling about, Jared?”
“Huh?” Jared played dumb. It seemed the smart move with Kyra and Trey in the car.
“Don’t play dumb with me,” Amanda scolded. “I know that smile. What happened while you were gone?”
“I worked hard and rehabbed.” Jared shrugged. “I met a really great family and attended their daughter’s wedding. It was nice.”
“You went to a wedding, bro? What the fuck happened to you in the sticks?” Trey seemed offended. “Did you go soft on us?”
“No. I just enjoyed the wedding. It’s not like there was a lot to do while I was there. Especially since I had to work to get my leg back,” Jared pointed out and, in an effort to smooth things over with his teammate, “I’m probably just a little jet-lagged. I’m sure a shower and fresh clothes will have me ready to party.”
“You better be ready. The boys planned some big stuff. Everybody’s coming.” Trey looked back, his expression stern. “Even Xander and Trent agreed to be there.”
“What?” Jared gaped. The Panther veterans, cornerback Alexander Tate and tight end Trent Roberts, never attended events. They were family men who avoided the party life at all costs.
“Yeah, man. Everybody’s happy you’re back,” Trey confirmed.
“It’s true, Jared,” Amanda said quietly, which made Jared suspect there was more to the story.
“We’re all happy you’re back,” Kyra gushed. Okay, so she was a stereotypical cheerleader. “We worked real hard to make things perfect for your welcome back party.”
Her southern drawl only added to the stereotype. Kyra would have the trifecta if she happened to hail from the great state of Texas. Jared almost asked but couldn’t make himself care enough to engage the woman any more than he needed to.
“I can’t believe Xander and Trent are gonna party.” Jared shook his head. “How did that happen?”
Amanda squeezed his knee gently. So there was more to the story. Shit, now what did Derek pull to force his teammates out of the quiet life? Dammit.
“They just want to be there for you,” Amanda covered but gave him a meaningful look.
“That’s great. I’d love to have a drink with them.”
Jared really did want to talk to Xander and Trent, he wanted to ask how they made it work, how they bowed out of the limelight but still managed to be beloved by fans and two of the best at their positions. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Xander and Trent would be there. Somehow, he didn’t think so.
“Hey, Jump, before I forget, let me give you my number so you can let me know when you’re ready.” Kyra looked at him expectantly, clearly waiting for him to react.
“Um, why do you need to know when I’m ready?” Jared had a bad feeling about where this was going.
“I’m your date for tonight, silly.” Kyra rolled her eyes. “Obviously, Mandy can’t be your date cuz she’s going with Matt. I won the contest so it’s you and me!”
“Contest? Wait, what is going on here?” Jared’s stomach rolled. He thought he might vomit all over the perky blonde.
Amanda glared at Kyra and patted his leg. “It’s no big deal. They just wanted to make sure you had an escort from the team for the night. They had a little competition among the single cheerleaders to pick one as your escort.” Amanda quickly added, “it was a charity event so all of the money went to a good cause.”
“Oh, well if it was all for a good cause, then by all means.” Jared’s voice dripped with sarcasm but Amanda seemed to be the only one who picked up on it since Trey and the driver were engaged in a heated debate and Kyra just glowed with excitement.
“Yep! It was for a great charity!” Kyra prattled on about a mini golf outing. “The Tates put it on to raise money for the Children’s Hospital here in L.A. It was really fun and I’m really good at mini golf so I knew I would win.”
She continued on but Jared had lost interest. He felt Amanda’s eyes on him, like twin weights surveying every inch of him.
Kyra nudged his knee and asked again, “So, let me give you my number and I promise we’ll have a great time.”
Shit. Jared realized just how much Derek had screwed him over. “I don’t have my phone.” Amanda flashed him a “don’t be mean” look and Kyra looked wounded. Jared didn’t want to look like an asshole. “Seriously. Derek took it from me and he was supposed to give it back at home but then we left and he’s still got it.”
“I’m sure he’ll get it back to you.” Amanda’s face flushed, her eyebrows knitted together. He knew that look, she’d crossed from the land of frustrated to the realm of pissed off. “Kyra, I’ve got your number, I’ll make sure Jump has it and we’ll all go together, okay?”
Kyra bit her lip. “I guess that would be okay.”
“It will be,” Amanda confirmed. “Matt planned on driving anyway. We’ll pick you up and then head over to get Jared, ‘kay?”
“That works for me,” Jared said quickly, “it will be fun, Kyra.” He flashed the lop-sided smile the ladies all seemed to favor and Kyra melted.