Chapter Twelve

Caleb

It’s been two weeks since Selena’s shit of an interview. I would be lying if I said I didn’t follow up on her. We kept in touch via phone calls and text messages, but last week she stopped. I never got around to telling her about Evelyn and me. I wanted to, but it would have been selfish of me. I want her badly.

“Selena Lane…Selena fucking Lane. Was she your girlfriend? Damn. I gotta hand it to you, bro, that is one fine piece of ass.”

“Watch it, Tyrell.”

I’m at football practice and the guys can’t stop bringing her up. They can’t believe I once dated the “Ice Queen.” Athletes have crowned her that because she never gives us the time of day. She only goes for models, singers, and actors. Hell, even a normal guy has better luck than us athletes.

Our quarterback Nathan pats me on the back. “Oh, come on, Cal. You kept this from us; I thought we were family. Was she any good?”

“Nate man, don’t disrespect me.” I shove him. Nathan and I have a love-hate relationship. He once was the quarterback for the Saints. A beast on and off the field, he is ruthless with the ladies—a serial player. He asked Selena out a couple of years ago and she turned him down hard. I am pretty sure he came up with the Ice Queen name.

“Whoa relax, man. I was just kidding.” He holds his hands up like he’s surrendering. I look around at the fellas and shake my head.

“Alright you bunch of pussies, since you all want to gossip like a bunch of women, give me thirty suicides,” our coach shouts from across the field.

“Damn,” John, another linebacker, groans. “My wife is going to kill me. All thanks to you dicks.”

“What you and Nikka do…doesn’t concern us. We don’t want to be a part of anything concerning Nikka.” Tyrell laughs, but it is true John has the most headstrong, don’t-take-no-shit kind of wife. Coach normally invites her to the training; she is a real ball buster. On the other hand, she is a sweet lady.

“Thirty suicides! Nikka is going to want to fuck tonight and I am going to be exhausted.”

“Whoa!” we all say in unison.

“That is too much fucking information.” I walk backward slowly. I can see the couch heading our way. “Love to stay and chat, but ball buster number one is heading this way.” The guys look behind them, and everyone takes off running.

Practice lasts for two hours, and for the first time, I am glad it is done. The guys wouldn’t quit making Selena jokes and comments. I know she has feelings for me because I finally saw the entire interview; I was the top choice of conversation for the first twenty minutes. I guess when I turned on the television they had just started to talk about the termination.

I thought everything between us was going great. She didn’t want to meet in person yet, but talking to her on the phone had been good enough—a start. Until she went MIA on me. I sent countless text messages, but she never once responded. Even reached out to her crazy assistant and even her phone was going to straight to voicemail.

“Caleb!”

I turn to my left and see Evelyn. “What are you doing here?” This woman is going to give me a damn headache.

“I want to talk to you. You aren’t answering my calls or texts, and the guard won’t let me through the front gate of your home. So, if I have to wait outside the stadium to talk to you, then so be it.”

My driver opens the SUV door. “I don’t have time to talk right now.”

“We need to talk, Caleb,” she protests again.

“No, we don’t…whatever you are doing ends now. Evelyn, we are done, ok? The arrangement is no longer valid.” I get into the SUV. Ending what she thought we had once and for all. I call Selena and her phone goes to voicemail after the third ring. She denied my call, so she is purposely ignoring me.

“Jared, I need to be dropped off at the airport.”

“Do you need to grab any bags from home? I can stop there before we head out.”

“That won’t be necessary, thank you.”

***

“Caleb! Over here, Caleb! Look this way.”

What a warm welcome I get in LA. Someone must have tipped the paps off that I was flying in. Nonetheless, I’m thrilled to be back in this bloodsucking town. I slide my shades on and keep moving. Finally, two security guards make their way towards us. Now I can make a quick exit.

“Caleb, one question.”

I look over at the fortyish male. “Sure.”

“Are you considering moving to LA? Staying closer to Selena.”

“Kansas City is where I am. My team and family are there. That’s home for me,” I say politely and get into another SUV waiting out front. I don’t need to give him instructions because he knows. They always know. Forty minutes in the car and I am growing restless. I need to see…feel her underneath my fingertips.

When she left me five years ago, I was heartbroken. I saw us as soul mates; she was going to be my wife. I had every intention to follow her to Hollywood after college. The Oakland Raiders wanted me, but after seeing Selena move on so quickly, I stuck with the Chiefs.

The first couple months with her gone and seeing her happy with another guy on magazines drove me to the bottle. I almost lost my spot on the team for that. Her family wouldn’t speak to me. As if I was the one in the wrong. Like I threw our relationship to hell. I was never the bad guy, and I didn’t need to explain myself to her family. Their daughter fucked up, moved to another time zone, and I was being blamed for it

“Sir, we have arrived. Shall I wait for you?”

“No, that will be all. Thank you.” He closes the door behind me. I exhale loudly and make my way to her front door. It’s now or never. I knock lightly…no answer. I knock a little harder and she yells for whoever it is to hold the hell up. I tuck my hands in my pockets as the front door opens. She opens her mouth to say something but just looks like a fish. Her hair in a messy bun and she’s wearing sweatpants and a tank top. Breathtaking.

Finally, she motions for me to enter her home and closes the door behind us. I walk far enough inside to get a good look at her living room. Ed Sheeran is playing, her fireplace is lit, a bottle of water is on the table, and a throw blanket is in a ball on the couch. I turn to see her watching me intensively.

“What are you doing here?” she finally says. 

“You went MIA. What happened to you?” I look back to the living room. “Did someone die? Anna?”

“No one died. I just like to relax after a long night shoot. Is that a crime?” She places her hands on her hips.

“Not at all.”

“Anna is very much alive and kicking. You look like shit—do you want a glass of water?” She doesn’t wait for an answer, already walking towards the kitchen. I, on the other hand, walk into the living room. I don’t believe the whole night shoot lie. Something else is up with her. I spot her phone on the end table on top of a paper that looks like it has been held day in and day out.

“Caleb?” I turn around and see Selena, her eyebrows drawn together. “The kitchen is this way.”

“Right. Must have slipped my mind.”

“Yeah…I’ll meet you in there.”

She stands there until I move. I walk down the hallway, my mind racing to the paper on the end table. What the hell could it be? Probably nothing, but then again, the last time I saw Selena in an environment like this was a week before she broke up with me. I’ll take a glance at the paper before I leave.