Chapter Fifteen

Caleb

“Skins versus shirts, boys!” Coach Hamilton slaps my back. “Hemsworth, Hunting, Walsh, Riley, Burr…” He looks around at us rattling off name after name. “You guys are skins. Everyone else—shirts.” Coach claps his hands telling everyone to break. The skins walk to the other side of the field…I hear my name being called.

“What now?” I turn around to see Bruce, a linebacker, running towards me.

“Let’s switch teams. You must be tired of taking your shirt off all the time with all that modeling.”

“No.”

“Aww come on, man. I can’t be on the opposite team of Leon. You remember what happened last time. I don’t want to go through that again.” He shakes his head probably trying to rid those images in his mind.

“I am not trading teams with you. Ask someone else, but I am pretty sure the answer will be no from everyone,” I tell him, pulling my shirt over my head, tossing it to the side.

Leon and Bruce have some unfinished business. No one in their right mind is going to step between those two. Bruce did the unforgivable, and Leon makes him pay for it every chance he gets. Bruce runs over to Tyrell and begins his speech. I chuckle, shaking my head.

“Ross, get your ass back over here!” Coach yells. “Now. Or the whole team does suicides until I say stop.” The entire team yells for Bruce to get his ass back over to his side.

“Hey, Leon!” I walk over to him. “I can’t tell you to do anything, but Bruce is shitting bricks over there.” I pat him on the shoulder.

“He should be. I lost everything be—”

“Hey, big man, let’s just leave it alone. I don’t want you to kill him.” I walk away from him, not wanting him to get fired up again before the game, else Bruce would definitely be on a stretcher to the hospital.

“I won’t. Football season is approaching!” he shouts.

“Alright you pussies, get in formation!” Coach yells.

“Ready boys!” Nathan yells from behind us. “Let’s try out the new play. Ocean blitz.” He claps his hands.

Someone is bound to get hurt with this play. Thirty minutes into the game and Bruce is already out injured—Leon made sure that his tackle left him in pain. The game gets intense from there on out. Shirts look like they are out for blood…our blood. Granted we are all on the same team, but we are a very competitive team and don’t hold back for anything.

Of course, we still won by a landslide.

Coach calls us in for a huddle and I nearly trip over my own feet when I see Selena standing along the sidelines.

Nathan looks over at me. “Is that the Ice Queen?” She shouldn’t be here. She isn’t supposed to be here. “I believe it is.” He raises his eyebrows at me.

“Holy fuck! Those yoga pants lo—”

“Shut the fuck up!” I growl at Tyrell walking faster towards her. She is standing next to one of the other coaches laughing. Is she outright flirting with someone in front of me?

“Selena.” When she sees me she takes a step away from Coach Alex and towards me.

Good.

“Caleb…you looked great out there.” Her eyes stay on my bare chest five seconds too long. I clear my throat to get her attention and her cheeks flush. “Umm…yeah…Alex—he was just keeping me company until—how are you?” she rambles.

“I am great.” I take her hand and walk over to the door, out of earshot of everyone. “What are you doing here?”

“I really wanted to see you, and I have a couple days off from shooting. I wanted to know what happened to you. You left without a single word, and then I see Evelyn is pregnant. What is going on? Is it true?” She snatches her hand away from me.

“Selena, can we talk about this later? Come over to my house tonight.”

“No, we can talk now. I flew all the way from LA so we can talk.” Her body language tells me she isn’t going anywhere until I start talking. “Now, Caleb.”

“We will talk right after practice is over. I ju—”

“It looks over to me.” I turn to see the fellas walking towards us. Great, just what I need. One of the guys being an ass to her.

“Come on—”

“Selena Lane, what a pleasant surprise to see you here.” Nathan stops next to me, extending his hand. She looks down at it then to me.

“Caleb can we go somewhere private.”

She dismissed Nathan…ouch. I would laugh at him, but Tyrell, Bruce, and John beat me to it. I am ready for any smart comeback he has for her since I know it’s coming. He hates to be humiliated in front of the guys. Something like that does a number on a man’s ego and pride.

“Now, Selena, is that any way to talk to me? The guy who you begged to stay the night with two years ago—after the Oscars.”

What the hell is he talking about? I look over to Selena. I never knew they had an encounter, other than when he asked her out years before and she turned him down. Then again, the media always puts their own twist on a story.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She folds her arms over her chest, giving her breasts an extra lift, and I can’t look away.

“I’m sure you don’t. You were pretty trashed during the after party. So, if you still want to spe—”

“Nathan, shut the fuck up, dude,” John snaps, and I remove my eyes from Selena’s chest to John. “Don’t go lying on this young lady. Just take the L and keep it moving. Can’t you see she came for Caleb? Come on.”

“Not until she admits she wants me.”

“Nate, I think it’s time you move along. I won’t be held responsible for what happens next if you harass my woman again.” I turn my body, shielding Selena behind me. Nathan doesn’t stand a chance. I’m a linebacker, and he’s a quarterback, an Eli Manning body type. I will snap him in half.

“There will be no fighting. Football season is coming up, and Bruce already seems like he might not recover in time. Leon really did a number on him. So, Caleb, you and Ms. Selena can go on and talk, and we’ll see you at practice tomorrow.” Coach Alex moves in between us, always the peacemaker.

“Come on, Caleb.” Selena places her hands on my bicep. “Let’s go.” I look back at her and see she is worried I might do something stupid. I never got into a fistfight when we were together, so the new me must come as a shock to her. “Please.” She squeezes my bicep softly.

“Fine,” I say through gritted teeth.

I knew it had to be too good to be true. Something was bound to go wrong, and that something had to be Evelyn, standing in the locker room with Babies “R” Us bags at her feet. This isn’t going great at all.

“Should I go?” Selena asks, and I can hear the hurt in her voice. “I think I should.”

“Don’t.” I look down at her; I want to kiss her badly and let her know she is the one for me, but I don’t want to upset Evelyn and the baby. “Let me just talk to her, and then we can talk.”

Evelyn turns her nose up at Selena. “Care to explain why she is here?”

“Evelyn, I don’t have to explain anything to you. We aren’t together, and we never will be. What are you doing here? And what’s with all those damn bags?”

“I want to know that same thing for her. So why is she here?” She looks over at Selena. “You are a long way from Hollywood, princess.”

“Evelyn, enough.” I let go of Selena’s hand. “Can you give us a minute? I will be right out to talk to you.”

She nods her head. “Sure.” This is too easy; Selena is too calm right now. I need to speed this up with Evelyn before Selena tries to do another disappearing act.

“I came to show you the sonogram pictures of our bundle of joy,” Evelyn says loud and clear before Selena has time to leave the room. I watch Selena jerk in her movement before quickly walking out the room. Then the outside door slams shut. Shit, she is leaving. I look back at Evelyn then at the door.

I am going to regret this decision in the long haul. Either way, Evelyn or Selena is going to hate me, and I rather it be…