Chapter Eighteen
Rob
I’d never played a worse game in my life. Not even in Little League, when I had growing pains in my legs so bad I could barely run. Heidi was in my brain and I couldn’t get her out. Not even to play baseball. And maybe it wasn’t just my brain that was filled with her. She’d settled in to my heart and soul, too, and that’s what scared me most. Because I’d blown it with her big time. But before I could fix the situation with her, I had to deal with Brittany and the media machine.
The game ended with a loss. I had to endure a lecture from Coach and worried looks from my teammates, but everyone had experienced a bad day and knew better than to pry. Nico tried, but I shot him a look so dark that he held up his hands and backed away.
One dragon down. The next came in the form of one hyperactive brunette. Gia bounced on her toes as she waited for me outside the locker room. She started speaking before I’d taken a single step through the doorway.
“I know you sucked today, but now’s the time to start turning that to your advantage. Brittany’s out front looking amazing. She’s all set to cheer you up.” She shoved a boxed corsage into my hand. “There’s media to take pictures as you pin this on her—”
“This isn’t a prom date, Gia.”
“I know, but—”
I pushed the corsage back into her hand. “I’ve got the flowers all taken care of.”
She blinked. “You do?”
I flashed what my agent, Marc, called my million-dollar smile. I thought of it more as charm with teeth. Either way, it made her blink. “I’ve got this covered, Gia. Promise.”
“But—”
“I look okay, right?” I’d dressed in casual style, every piece picked out by Marc as perfect for a hot date. In fact, he’d gotten the designer to give me it for free if I mentioned his name to the press.
“You look incredible,” Gia said. “Is that Brioni?” She reached out a hand to touch the leather jacket but didn’t dare connect.
“Yeah,” I said, human enough to preen. Two days ago, I hadn’t heard of the man’s name and now I had to drop it into casual conversation while the press was snapping pictures. Honestly, every thought I had as I adjusted the leather was that Heidi’s skin was softer and I really wanted to be touching her right then. “Let’s get this over with,” I said as I headed up to the owner’s box where Brittany would be waiting.
“Not the right attitude!” Gia said as she rushed to follow me.
I barely stopped myself from snorting. If she thought this was a bad attitude, she was not going to like what was coming next.
By the time we made it to the owner’s box, Gia was panting in her high heels. I paused a moment before pushing through the door to make sure every hair was smoothed down and my expression was appropriately mopey. Not a hard feat given how badly I felt about everything. Then right when Gia started to give me last-minute tips, I pushed open the door and tried not to flinch at the flash of cameras.
God, they were everywhere. Somehow Gia and Brittany had made this date into a publicity event. I saw a dozen reporters, a few important somebodies in suits—including Joe DeLuce—and of course, perfectly framed by the sunset view of the park was Brittany, looking just like the girl I’d thought I’d one day marry. Blond hair, blue eyes, freckles smoothed into nonexistence by smartly applied makeup, and a tasteful dress that emphasized ample cleavage.
I wanted none of it. Straight, dark hair captivated me and almond-shaped eyes on smooth yellow-gold skin. I found Brittany overblown, especially when she pursed her lips as she came forward to give me an Obsession-scented hug.
“There you are. I’m so excited we finally get to spend an evening together.”
“Sorry about missing things earlier. You know how the season goes. I’m busy all the time.”
“I know,” she crooned. Then she angled her hips to the camera and tilted her head just right, so her hair spilled over her shoulder to tease at the edge of her cleavage. “You were at that children’s hospital on Monday and the cancer fundraiser right afterwards. And my goodness, don’t you look fabulous in this jacket.”
This was why Brittany was a media darling. She knew all the right publicity moves to make…even when greeting her date. And she looked gorgeous doing it.
“It’s a gift from Brioni. He’s a big Bobcats fan, and I just love his clothes.”
Brittany waxed poetic about the way the jacket fit my broad shoulders, blah blah blah. Then she made a sympathetic sound as she pursed her bow-shaped lips. “I’m so sorry about tonight’s game. I tried to help. Did you see me standing and watching?”
I had. Everyone had. And I was never more grateful to have to focus on a baseball and nothing else. It hadn’t worked, but I’d certainly tried.
“Yeah, about that…” I said as I put on my best sad puppy face. That’s what my mom called it and it had never worked with her, but the cameras were eating it up. “I’m just a simple Nebraska boy who loves baseball. All this fuss is overwhelming.”
“Oh you poor—”
“And you are just too beautiful for me.” That was bullshit, of course. She wasn’t beautiful at all in my mind. But social media liked having a story about me, so I was giving them something that I could live with.
“Don’t be silly.”
I did an “aw-shucks” shrug, and then continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “You are, Brittany. You’re just too much woman for me and it’s messing with my concentration.”
She shook her head. “But it didn’t in practice. And at the White Sox game—”
“You’re like holding a firecracker, Brittany. You burst so bright that I get mesmerized.” I knew there would be social media memes with her face and firecrackers going off behind her. “But I don’t want the team to get burned. Nothing is more important to me than playing my very best for the Bobcats.”
I gestured to Joe DeLuce, and he nodded as if he were a proud papa. More camera clicks.
“But don’t get sad,” I said as I caught a flash of annoyance in Brittany’s eyes. After all, no one wants to be rejected on camera. “There are a few other guys who have been dying to spend some time with you.”
And right on cue, the door opened and in walked Jake with his square jaw, rugged features, and a Lothario twinkle to round out his megawatt smile. He was carrying a rose which he presented to her with a flourish. And when she reached for it, he grabbed her hand and kissed it like a knight-errant.
“Of course, you know Jake, our shortstop,” I said. “Did you know he used to be a firefighter? They’ve been bugging him for months to get to meet you.”
Then in walked every single model from Jake’s firefighter calendar, each carrying a rose to present to Brittany. Jake was a local boy, so all the guys were from the Indianapolis Fire Department and every single one of them made good camera bait.
“Oh yeah. And let’s not forget the Indigos,” I said, mentioning my old AAA team that fed into the Bobcats. I’d spent half my free time convincing the guys to hotfoot over to Indianapolis for tonight. All the available Indigos strolled into the room and mugged for the camera as each presented his rose to Brittany.
By the time it was done, she was holding almost three dozen roses and looking like The Bachelorette at the beginning of the season.
“My goodness,” she breathed over the bouquet, her cheeks blushing prettily. “I don’t know what to say. Except that Indianapolis has the best firefighters in the world. And of course, we couldn’t be prouder of our Indigo players.” Then she looked at me. “But Rob, what about our dinner?”
Our intimate dinner for two. That was the part she wasn’t saying. “It’s all arranged,” I said, “Ruth’s Chris has a room specially reserved for everyone. Mr. DeLuce, why don’t you join us?” Then I turned to wink at an openmouthed Gia. “You, too, Gia. I’m sure you’d like to get names and stats on all these handsome guys.”
She’d have to, just to keep up with the press pictures.
“Um, sure.” She had to pause a moment while the guys lifted Brittany up in their arms. I couldn’t tell if it was the baseball guys or the firefighters, but either way, the cameras were clicking nonstop.
And while that was going on, Gia came to my side. “You did this all to get out of one date?”
“You wanted a media event.” I gestured to the guys as they vied for Brittany’s attention. “Let her bring each date to the games. She’ll stop distracting the players, you get all the social media hits you want, and—”
“Tickets, Rob. The whole idea is to sell Bobcats tickets.”
“If you spin all this around our games, then we suddenly become—”
“A trending topic,” she answered for me, and I could tell her mind was working overtime with possibilities. “And trending topics sell tickets.”
I wondered if that was a tongue twister that she practiced every morning. “Exactly.”
Her eyes abruptly narrowed. “But you can’t go flaunting another girl now. In fact, you have to be out of the spotlight completely, since Brittany’s too firecracker bright.” The sarcasm in her tone told me she hadn’t been fooled by my bashful smile any more than my mother ever was.
“That’s exactly what I want.”
Gia shook her head. “It’ll hurt your star power, Rob. Is that girlfriend of yours worth that?”
I didn’t even hesitate. “Definitely.” I just had to convince Heidi that I was worthy of her.
I planned to leave right then and head straight to Heidi’s apartment, but Mr. DeLuce stopped me. He pulled me aside and told me that a media splash was all well and good, especially since it was likely to put Brittany in a good mood, but I’d been hired to hit home runs. So while Gia made sure that all those handsome men were photographed with Bobcats paraphernalia, I received another stern lecture on discipline. About how nothing was more important to me than baseball, and I better not forget it.
By the time I escaped the ballpark, I was tired and wrung out. Damn it, this was just like in high school when I’d had too many things competing with baseball. It had fried my brain for a time. The only difference now was that baseball wasn’t coming out on top like it had when I was sixteen. Right now, Heidi was all I could think about. But I couldn’t get her on the phone and she wasn’t at her apartment, either. Which left me to grumble my way home while I tried to regroup.
Except what greeted my eyes as I stepped into the lobby of my apartment was someone I hadn’t expected. Someone who’d been out of my life since high school.
“Tommy? What are you doing here?”
My former best friend stood up from a seat in the lobby. He had a brand-new Bobcats cap in his hand and a hangdog expression. “Hey. I, um… Got a minute?”
I nodded and led the way past security. And as he headed to the elevator, I got a chance to check out the man he’d become, and I wasn’t impressed. His eyes were bloodshot and his skin seemed to hang beneath his eyes and jowls. He’d put on a ton of weight and, where he’d once been all muscle, he was now soft with a definite paunch.
“I, um, was driving through Indiana and took a chance you’d be home,” he said.
“Driving?”
“Yeah. I’m a long-haul trucker. It was shit trying to park in Indianapolis.”
“I’ll bet.”
We made it up to my apartment and I watched his eyes take in the space. Growing up he’d had the nicer home, but we’d hung out in my garage as easily as we’d played Nintendo in his living room. But now his gaze roved hungrily over my entertainment center and leather couch, and suddenly I was feeling defensive. I’d worked hard to afford this place. Sure there was a lot of luck involved and it could all disappear in a second, but I wasn’t going to apologize for making something of myself.
Turns out, I didn’t have to.
“Look, I can’t stay long,” he said as he shuffled his feet. “I, um, I just came to say Jill called me.”
I stiffened. Oh hell. I opened my mouth to say something, what I didn’t know. Maybe the same old song about how Jill and I were just friends and I’d never hurt her. But he held up his hand.
“She told me that you didn’t get her pregnant. She told me it was Bennie. You remember that kid who got trashed at homecoming and broke into a sporting goods store?”
“I remember.”
His gaze slid away from mine as he fiddled with this Bobcats cap. “Yeah. Mom and Dad would have gone ballistic. Bad enough she got pregnant, but he ended up in juvie.” He lifted his shoulders almost to his ears. “Dad would have beaten her for sure. For starters.”
“I know.” That’s one of the reasons I’d poured my savings into helping Jill. I knew her father had a violent temper.
“Anyway, she told me everything. She said you helped her. And that you promised to let everybody think it was your kid. That you’d been the one who’d…you know. You were going off to college and she didn’t think anybody would care.”
No one had. No one except him. “I’m sorry, Tommy. If I’d told you the truth, you’d have gone looking for the real father.”
“And I’d have found Bennie. Then it would have gone from bad to worse.” He grimaced. “Anyway, she’s doing fine now. Real grateful to you.”
I knew. She and I had talked nearly every Christmas at church. I knew she had a good job and a husband she loved. They were thinking of starting a family.
Meanwhile, Tommy had started gripping the ballcap so tight his knuckles had turned white. And while he shifted his feet awkwardly, he did eventually look me in the eyes. “Look, it wasn’t just about Jill. I got a shit life and you don’t. That pissed me off.”
“I worked hard for my life.”
“Yeah, I know. And I’m sorry.”
That was it. No more. But maybe between old friends that was all we needed. I wasn’t angry at him. How could I be when I was one torn ligament away from being flat on my ass with no job and no future?
Suddenly I was smiling and gesturing him into my living room. “You want to sit down? We could order pizza and beer. There’s got to be some sort of game on cable.”
“Nah, I gotta go. Can’t leave the truck where it is.”
Well that hurt a little. But I knew from experience that once Tommy made the effort, the rest would follow. I just had to be patient. Fortunately, I was good at that. “Okay. But did you want some tickets? Pick a date, I’ll get tickets, and we could hang out afterward.”
He looked up, his hazel eyes bright with tears. “I’d like that. Jill would, too, if that’s okay.”
“That would be fantastic,” I said with a grin.
Then he smiled at me, and I knew we were okay. Finally, I had my best friend back.
“So, um, there’s something else. That girl reporter. The Chinese one. She talked to Jill.”
I winced. Of course she did. Because Heidi would never let a story go even when I begged her to.
“What did Jill say?”
“Everything. The honest truth. And then she called me and chewed my ass out.”
I made a sympathetic sound. “Jill does know how to make a guy feel like shit.”
“Ain’t that right?” he groused. “The thing is, that Chinese girl? We all know you were seeing her in Broken Bow. We all know she’s important to you.”
So much for dating Heidi incognito. I thought we’d been so careful.
“Anyway, Jill said that while they were talking, she got an email.” He took a deep breath. “Something about her application to UCLA.”
My heart lurched. UCLA was Heidi’s first choice in law school. The one with a program for journalists. Could she be planning to go there? To Los Angeles which was a hell of a long way from Indianapolis.
“Oh shit,” I mumbled, my mind already racing. “I have to call her.” I had to find a way to fix things between us before she moved to California.
Fortunately, Tommy took the cue and held out his hand. “Good luck, Rob. I’m sorry I’ve been a shit.”
I took his hand, but it wasn’t enough. I pulled him into a hug and it felt damned good. He must have felt it, too, because he was slapping my back just like he had when we were in high school. And when we separated, he got me with an old jab.
“You still drop your shoulder too much when you throw.”
He was right. “And you still smell like cheese farts.”
He snorted. “You try sitting in a company truck for sixteen hours. You won’t smell pretty, either.”
I laughed. “I’ve sat on a Bobcats bus. That’s disgusting enough.”
He was still chuckling as he left. I watched him until he got on the elevator, but the moment the doors closed, I was back in my apartment and firing up my computer.
Three years ago, I hadn’t had Heidi’s phone number and I’d let that stop me from finding her. This time, I was pulling out all the stops. No matter what, she and I were going to talk.