Spanish tapas used to be one of my favorite things back when I still ate meat. There’s still a surprising amount of eat though for vegetarians. Most of it includes amazing cheeses. I didn’t care, really. I had gotten the call. I think I won the competition.
I felt kinda bad about it. Kyle and Carey were great guys. They deserved a great woman like Lexi and a woman like her only comes once in a lifetime. I couldn’t bare to see Kyle shack up some groupie he met on the rebound. Knowing him, he’d get her pregnant and then feel obligated to marry her. God, I hoped that didn’t end up happening.
Carey’s the complete opposite, of course. The guy was so much of a playa sometimes. If he didn’t find someone like Lexi, he might spend the rest of his life single. Sure, he’d have money and fame, but without family, you’re nothing. He’d probably be one of those sad, lonely rich old guys dating stripper chicks in their 20’s.
When I got to the restaurant, Lexi was outside on the phone with her producer. She was wearing a bright yellow dress that seemed to accentuate her hair and eyes. Lexi was not only hot, she knew how to put together a look. She smiled that incredible smile of hers and then held up a finger.
“Yes, okay. That’s great. Bye!” she finished. “That was my producer. They just ran our interview segment on Sports Ring and it was one of the highest ratings the network ever had.”
“That’s great, Lexi. Congrats.”
“I can’t thank you guys enough for that. My producer says I have a real future at the network!”
“Hey, I could’ve told you that. Thanks for coming to the tiger exhibit yesterday. We raised a good amount of money for the tigers. Plus the press coverage was great.”
“Did the paparazzi get our pictures in the paper?”
“You know, I didn’t see anything, I hope so. Would be great exposure for you.”
“For me?”
“Sure. You’re on TV. The more they talk about you in the news, the more people will tune in, right?”
“That would make my producer at Sports Ring happy. Not to mention my cameraman, Baker.”
“Your cameraman? Why would he care?”
“He’ll get more work with me. Plus he’s kind of an older guy. Watches out for me.”
“That’s cool.”
“Aren’t you worried about what the tabloids will say about you?”
“What are they going to say? Handsome quarterback dates beautiful woman? People love that kind of— well, I was going to say rumor, but it’s an actual fact we’re dating, right?”
“True. You want to go inside?”
“Yeah, but first…”
I kissed her. Kissing her was just like kissing her the first time. I was light headed. Her lips and body were warm. There was nothing and everything between us in that moment. I pulled away, almost drunk on her essence.
“Can I say? You smell amazing.”
“So do you.”
“I thought about you all last night. I can’t get my mind off of you.”
“Don’t forget, you have a Super Bowl to win.”
“That seems small compared to this competition. I like this prize much better than a ring.”
“I have a little surprise by the way. Just trust me, okay?”
“Sure, I trust you.”
This was weird. What’s this all about? Should I trust this girl? I barely knew her, yet I felt like I’ve known her my entire life. The dynamic between us was just so natural. So unrushed.
“This way, sir,” the hostess guided.
The hostess led us through the main room of the restaurant and brought us into a back room. It was a table for four and each plate had a hand folded napkin on top. It was an intimate setting that was dimly lit with a lot of wood paneling. I thanked the hostess and she left the room.
“Table for four,” I said to Lexi. “Are we doing another interview?”
“Yeah, kinda. But this one is just for us.”
“Us meaning…”
“You, me…”
Just then Carey walked in.
“Jackson? What are you doing here?”
“I invited you all,” Lexi announced. “Kyle should be here any minute.”
Right on cue, Kyle arrived. He was holding a bouquet of flowers.
“You two are here too? I didn’t bring enough flowers,” Kyle joked.
“I’m sorry to deceive you all,” said Lexi. “But I have a proposal that I wanted you to all think about. I wanted total honesty and I wanted to tell you all together.”
Carey looked a little antsy.
“Okay, whatever,” he said. “Plus who don’t like tapas?”
Kyle, as always, just rolled with the punches.
“Sounds good,” he said, handing Lexi the flowers and sitting down. “I’m game for whatever.”
“And me too,” I assured her.
“Great, let’s have a seat and we’ll begin.”
This Lexi was full of surprises. I’ve seen a lot in my time on the road, but never any woman so strong as to pull together something like this. It was ambitious. She hadn’t asked yet, but I knew what she was going to say. She wanted to have a relationship with all three of us.
My gut instinct was more traditional. It would’ve said, “What? Are you crazy? You can’t have a relationship with three men!” That probably would’ve been true with a lot of other women and in a previous time, but not Lexi. Lexi was strong. She could handle three guys. She could handle anything.
Quite frankly, I just wouldn’t mind it. In fact, this would probably be the best thing for all of us. It would keep Kyle from getting trapped in an awful marriage and keep Carey from being alone the rest of his life. As for me, I’d finally have someone to save the tigers with. Changing the world can be fun, but not if you do it alone. Plus I would have my two best friends around.
You know, a few years ago this all would’ve sounded crazy to me. Times change and I guess people do too. I was ready for this. This just felt right.