Chapter Eighteen - Kyle
She was in a light floral dress, and I thought I could detect a slight baby bump on her already. Her hair was glossy, golden, and parted on the side. She had big sunglasses on, covering her eyes. Her lips were pink. This was the mother of my child, and I was delighted to see her.
I had asked Lewis to bring her to the back room, behind the locker rooms, so we could have our privacy. And she didn’t look happy to be brought there. There was discomfort on her face, and I immediately regretted asking her to come here. I didn’t want her to think that she was being forced into doing something she didn’t want to do.
“Hello, Erica,” I said, folding my arms. I was leaning against the table that was in the middle of the small stock room. There was one light bulb hanging from the ceiling between us.
“Hello, Kyle,” she said, keeping her distance from me. Lewis shut the door behind him, and I let out a huge breath.
“Thank you for coming to the game,” I said, trying to force a smile on my face.
“You won, again,” she said, still unsmiling.
“Despite your prediction,” I said jokingly as she slowly pulled the glasses off her face. Her eyes were dark today, a deep rich blue.
“I didn’t wish you ill,” she said.
I nodded my head. “I know, of course. It was only a joke.”
“And I also didn’t mean to cause a scene. I just wanted to watch the game. I had the ticket,” she continued. I continued nodding my head.
“Of course. You should come to all the games, by all means. You’re a sports journalist after all.” I tried to laugh again, but she wasn’t joining me.
“I don’t know why people keep calling me that. I used to be a sports journalist. I’m not one anymore.” She looked away from me, but she didn’t look sad. She looked sure of herself, as confident as ever. I wanted to hold her, I wanted her to let it all out.
“How are you feeling?” I asked and she jerked her head to look at me.
“With the child you mean?”
“With my child, yes.”
“I feel fine.” She waved the sunglasses in her hand, and I stared at her. I wanted her to tell me the truth.
“Can I see the baby when it’s born?” I asked, I knew I had to tread carefully.
“I didn’t think you wanted to,” she said, looking keenly back at me.
“Of course I want to. It’s my child. It’s our child, Erica.” I took a few steps towards her, and I was glad to find that she didn’t move away.
“But it was a mistake.”
“A happy mistake. I’m going to be a father. That feels great and I want to be a part of its life.” I took a few more steps towards her.
“I was planning on leaving the city, going back to my hometown,” she said, still looking at me.
“For a while? Not for very long, I hope. I don’t want to live far away from my child.” I didn’t know what else to say. My heart was breaking to hear that she had planned to go away. Ten days apart had been enough for me to know that I couldn’t live without her.
“I need my family’s support.”
“But you have mine.”
“Lewis asked me to stay away.”
“Lewis is an asshole,” I blurted out, and I saw the smile in her eyes. It encouraged me to edge closer to her. “He has no idea how I feel about you.”
Erica was silent, but she was asking the question with her eyes. How do you feel about me?
“That relationship may have been fake, Erica, but my feelings for you are not. I think I’m in love with you,” I said. The lightbulb above us was swinging. Her face was lit and then not lit, lit and then not lit. I thought I saw a smile spreading across her face, but I couldn’t be sure yet.
“Kyle, how can this be possible?” she asked, and I reached for her hand.
“I don’t know Erica, but it’s not impossible either,” I said. She let me hold her hand.
“No, I mean, how can this be possible? I thought I was the only one who was feeling this way. I’ve missed you, Kyle,” she said and she was in my arms in the next second. Her face was on my shoulder and I was stroking her hair.
My heart was beating fast, the warmth of her body was enough to make me happy. I was smiling.
“Why did you stay away from me for so long?” I asked her. She remained on my chest, her hair spread over my shoulders.
“Because I didn’t think you wanted me. I thought you were happy to see me go. I couldn’t imagine that you would want a baby.” Erica was speaking softly as I held her close to me.
“That’s crazy talk. All I’ve done since I first saw you in that hallway after that first game is think about you. I’ve wanted your body, and now I want your soul,” I said and I felt her smile against my jersey.
We were both silent for several minutes, enjoying the warmth of each other’s body.
“What about that photograph? The one in your locker room?” Erica asked suddenly.
“I never found out who did it. Must have been one of my teammates. But it doesn’t matter anymore. We would never have been together if it wasn’t for that photograph,” I said, stroking her hair. She smiled at me and nodded.