Chapter 12
Garrett
“You...” Lucas said as he recognized me.
Lucas looked similar to how I remembered him. He wore a vintage tee and fashionably distressed jeans with no shoes. His hair was pulled back and his beard longer now than it had once been.
The fiery look in his eyes dashed my hopes that he'd have forgotten me.
“It's been awhile.” I stood up to greet him and extended a hand. Let bygones be bygones.
He brought his hand up, but it wasn't to shake mine.
Lucas threw his weight forward and decked me. The half full glass of wine I was holding smashed against the floor. The blow wasn't hard enough to knock me down, but I'd be feeling it for the next week or so. I exhaled, snapping my head back to guard against another strike and deliver one of my own.
Instead I got an accusing finger pointed into my chest.
“How dare you come into my home after what you did to me in Berlin!” Lucas roared, ignoring the startled cries of Judy and Molly who looked on in horror.
“What I did to you?” I wiped the smear of blood from the corner of my lip. I slapped his hand away and shoved him. That buried anger I felt for him bubbled to the surface. I was an idiot to think he'd changed. Guys like him were always selfish assholes. “You got what you deserved.”
“My band dropped me for that!” Lucas shouted. “You opened your big fucking mouth to complain, instead of settling it with me like a man! Aaron Miller was right about you.”
My eyes narrowed to slits. I was a heartbeat from putting this spoiled rock star on his ass.
“Lucas.” Molly stepped between us, her sharp, dark eyes stared daggers into her husband. “The kids are here.”
Sure enough, Will and Jackie stood in the hallway and watched their fathers get ready to kick the crap out of each other. The two cowered together in fear. I felt horrible. God, this whole night was such a mistake. I should've known better.
What the fuck was I thinking?
I quickly scooped Jackie up and reassured her that everything was OK. To his credit Lucas did roughly the same with his son. Jackie was shaking when I picked her up. She hugged me like she thought she was never going to see me again.
As hits went, I'd taken harder. Looking down at her cherub face made me wonder how she would've dealt with seeing me get tackled by a three-hundred pound football player. I was reminded exactly why I left the sport and was again glad I did.
“Holy crap, are you alright?” Judy asked me, rushing over.
Almost automatically she touched the side of my face. Her fingertips felt like fire on my bruised cheek, but I didn't recoil. I didn't mind the pain. Having her that close and feeling her concern was like a warm cup of hot chocolate, after being out in the cold all day.
I couldn't remember the last time anyone tried to comfort me.
“I'll get the coats.” Judy glanced back at Lucas angrily, then stormed off.
He and Molly were arguing about what just happened. I didn't care as long as I could get Jaclyn out of here quickly. I wish she and her friend hadn't seen that.
“Are you OK, Dad?” She asked when we got to the door.
“Yeah, sweetie. Adults are just...” I couldn't find the word I was looking for.
“Adults,” Jackie said, with wisdom far beyond her years.
I scoffed, seeing the truth in the innocent statement. “Yeah. Never grow up, Coconut. Being an adult is overrated.”
Judy came back with a pile of clothing and began handing them out. I noticed that she had her own puffy coat in the pile.
“Would you mind dropping me off?” She asked with eyebrows turned up slightly. It wasn't an urgent pleading expression, but she obviously didn't want to be here anymore. “I know it’s bad out there, but I don’t think I'm too far out of your way.”
I couldn't blame her; I sure as hell didn't want to be here either.
“Sure,” I replied, helping Jackie into the last of her winter coat, gloves, scarf, and hat. “My driver, Byron, is a Marine vet. He can drive anywhere.”
The snow had picked up while we were at the King residence, enough so that the ride to her place took twice as long as it would've otherwise. My limo driver was from here and assured me that it wouldn't be a problem, as long as they went slow.
At some point Jackie had fallen asleep laid out between us; she had her head on my lap and her legs on Judy. I'd asked Judy if she minded, but she didn't. It looked like she enjoyed it even.
“You ever thought about having kids?” I asked.
“I've thought about it.” Judy laughed, looking down at Jackie wistfully. “I love kids, but come on...”
“You're great with her,” I said. Judy shrugged and looked out the window. Odd. Was that a sore subject? “I understand kids aren't for everyone. Hell they definitely weren't for me back in my MVP days.”
“What changed?” Judy asked distantly, gazing at the heavy snowfall through the tinted windows.
“Fate, I guess.” Fate was also cruel. It gives and it takes away.
For a few minutes we sat in silence and the lights automatically dimmed into a low, cool driving hue. I pushed away thoughts of Heidi.
Judy battled whatever was going on in her own head. I wished I knew Judy better. I wanted to remove some of the anguish that was plainly written across her face.
Five years ago Judy danced into my life so briefly at the exact wrong time, and now again at the exact wrong time we had these three not-dates before we parted ways forever. It was almost déjà vu, but so much worse.
We we're reliving a moment that never happened.
“What happened in Germany?” Judy asked abruptly. “I mean I know the story, the one on the news at least. Lucas naked and drugged out of his mind, crashed through all the band equipment during a show. But...” She turned to face me. The soft blue lighting in the accents, doors and ceiling cast her in an ethereal glow. “What role did you play?”
It looked like she was made of stardust.
Beautiful.
“Why did he deck me, you mean?” I glanced at her. The dull pain throbbed like it was taking a nap and woke up by me mentioning it.
“That. Yeah.” She cringed at what I might say. Her face crinkled up as if it were sore too.
“The reason Lucas was naked was because he was fucking my date during the band's instrumental solos.” I said the words flatly. I barely remembered the girl now, but I was fuming back then. I think at the time I was angrier that he made me look like a chump than I was upset about my date.
I was such a different person now, that it felt like it happened to someone else.
“Really?” Judy was all wide-eyed and jaw agape. She couldn’t believe it. “How did you not kill Luke for that? I'd have been pissed.”
“I was there for the all-star games that year. I was going to beat the shit out of him, but he was already such a mess on drugs that it wouldn't have been satisfying. I told the tourism committee that one of us was leaving in a body bag if they didn't get him the fuck out of Berlin. They ended up banning his whole band from playing anywhere in that city.”
“That's why his band dropped him...” Judy pushed her air out, as if finally putting some puzzle pieces together in her head.
“I guess.” Once I flew back home, I buried myself in pussy and football until I eventually met my wife. I kept that part to myself, not because I was ashamed of any of it, it just led to... dark places that I didn't want to think or talk about.
“He never actually told me the whole story.” Judy mused.
“Probably because it made him look like an asshole,” I replied. Jackie stirred on my lap, so I brushed down her hair until she settled again.
“What was he talking about? Who's Aaron Miller? Lucas mentioned him earlier. My dad actually mentioned him to me, too, right before you jumped out of your helicopter.”
Fucking Aaron Miller.
I rubbed my forehead. “He was my coach. This short, angry man with a sadistic chip on his shoulder. He felt that I owed all my success to him because he originally scouted me. I broke my contract and retired right before the championship game that would’ve made him statistically one of the best coaches of all time. They lost because of it and the history books passed him by.
“To put it nicely, we didn't get along.”
We fucking hated each other.
“Oh yeah!” Judy lit up. “I saw his interview on Oprah. Well, part of it. I turned it off when he went on and on about you diluting the 'integrity of the game'.”
“That whole thing was part of his retaliation against me.” I exhaled darkly. That was right after the accident. That fucking asshole.
That was a long time ago, I reminded myself. I took a deep breath and changed the subject to something less infuriating. “Why can't the King family fund the stadium? Their net worth has only risen since Richard took over all facets of the family business.”
“They didn't want it built in the first place.” Judy shrugged
I chuckled and muttered, “Of all the things to agree with them on... But still Caldwell Hope is synonymous with that family.”
“It's... a long story. But due to some crazy shenanigans that brought the brothers back together, they're kind of broke now. I mean by billionaire standards,” Judy clarified. “Gloria explained it once to me and it made my head spin.”
The car slowed to a stop just outside Judy's condo.
“This is me.” She scooched as carefully as possible, trying to prevent Jackie from waking up. Jackie flopped over gracelessly and did her best sleeping starfish impression.
“It's slippery out there.” I prevented my daughter from falling off the seat, then laid her down more comfortably. I grabbed a small blanket to cover her then stepped out of the car. “I'll walk you out.”
“Oh, you don't have to,” Judy said, carefully walking around the back of the limo to the walkway. Then she fell.
I reached out, snapped my arms around her shoulders and just barely caught her. I was surprised that I didn't topple over with her.
“You were saying?” I asked, looking down at her.
“I'm OK!” She cried. Her feet kicked out and slid against the ice-covered walkway, then eventually found their footing. You're fast. How'd you even do that?”
“I'm good with my hands.” I held her a little longer than was necessary before letting her go. It felt nice to have her in my arms.
“I'm sorry about dinner—” She started when we reached her door.
“You didn't know.” I put an arm against the wall for extra support. I couldn't believe how icy everything was. Someone could get really hurt. Who was supposed to maintain this area?
Judy unlocked and opened the door slowly. Despite what happened at the King's house I didn't want the night to end just yet. Time slowed when she turned to face me, her green eyes shone brightly in the dim light. Red, from the cold, touched her cheeks. The air quietly crackled between us. I felt like a high schooler bringing his date home.
Had I ever had this moment, I wondered? Even back then I'd never been on traditional dates. Between studying and football practice, I never had the time.
“I had a lot of fun kicking your ass in video games earlier.” Her lips spread mischievously; the winter chill robbed them of their rosy glow. The snow had tapered off; residual flakes were swept up in the cutting breeze. Judy recoiled against a burst that peppered the side of her face.
“What did Molly whisper to you at the arcade?” I pulled my glove off and thumbed the cold white specks from her cheeks.
“She said that you were the best kind of trouble and warned me to be careful.” She opened her eyes and stared into mine.
“That’s at least two warnings now.” I slid my hand into the back of her hood and pulled her closer. “Do you think she’s right?”
“I think you’re a lot of things,” Judy closed her eyes again and allowed herself to feel my hot breath on her lips. Her words became nearly inaudible. They were meant only for me. “Trouble is definitely one of them.”
Her lips were tinged with cold, but past that she was fire and lust. She all but fell into me as the brief peck I gave her turned into something more. I took my time with her, tasting and feeling her mouth with my own. Every flick of our tongues against one another was magic, and lights, and warmth.
I wanted to stay in that moment until the sun burned out of the sky.
“Dad?” Jackie asked loudly through a crack in the window.
All good things... I thought with no small degree of disappointment. Our lips parted with a small pop. Judy lurched forward a few inches, not wanting the kiss to end either. Being a parent was the best thing that ever happened to me, but Goddamn if it wasn't inconvenient now and then.
“Mr. Walker... I—” Judy gasped in breath, as if she'd only now remembered that she needed air to survive.
“Call me Garrett,” I smiled at her, then turned back toward the limo and my daughter.