CHAPTER NINE
HENRY
I know there is no point in playing today. My heart’s not in the game and everyone knows it.
Man, she turned me down? I snap to myself. After I opened up and told her things I hadn’t been ready to admit even to myself? And what kind of woman resists a guy who gives her a kitten? Because I’m sure she found it and she still didn’t show up to the airport last night.
She must be some sort of supernatural being. A demon maybe. It’s the only explanation for why I feel possessed by her.
I suit up and keep to myself. I’ve already decided to go out there and tell Coach I’ll sit on the bench. There are a hundred scouts at this game, including the one who’s made a preliminary offer to my agent. It was contingent upon my having a good season and not getting injured, of course. But I have to face facts—I never played the game in my head. I’ve always played with my heart. Maybe that’s why I was better than most. But I never dreamed that a nerdy little chick with a genius IQ and a sharp tongue could work her way in and upset my mojo. Not after I’d already endured a hell of a lot of bullshit from my parents, who tried every emotional trick in the book to get me to stop playing football.
I’m the last to leave the locker room, following behind a small army of Pirates in their black and red uniforms. I walk straight over to the coach, who’s talking to Hunter about a change in a play.
I wait for Coach to finish talking.
“What is it, Walton?” he snaps.
Hunter stares at me, and I see this weird look in his eyes. Like he’s panicking or something.
That’s kind of sweet, dude. But you guys will play better without me, I think to myself.
I look Coach squarely in the eyes. “I just wanted to tell you that I won’t be—”
“Fucking up,” Hunter interrupts. “He won’t be fucking anything up because his new motivational coach is working out really well.”
I look at Hunter, who mouths the word Elle and jerks his head over toward the stands.
Elle? Elle’s here? I look for her smiling face but don’t see it.
“Glad to hear it, Walton,” Coach says. “But words don’t impress me. I want solid defense today.” He walks away, and I turn my attention back to Hunter.
“Tass texted me,” he says. “Elle couldn’t show up last night, so she needed to borrow money to buy a ticket for the first flight out this morning. I’m sure she’s already here.”
“Seriously?” I feel a rush in my veins and my heartbeat accelerates.
“Yeah, man.” Hunter claps me hard on the back. “Now let’s go kick some Ohio ass.”
I can’t believe it. My lucky charm decided to give me a chance. I don’t know what makes me happier. That or the fact that I am going to kick ass while she watches and then spend the rest of the day and night kissing her, licking her, and fucking the hell out of her until she makes that little squeaky sound I love so much. It feels like my risk paid off, and now the pieces of my life are sliding back into place. With Elle by my side.
ELLE
I cannot believe how freaking awesome Henry is. It’s like he’s been pumped with Scooby snacks and is taking down everyone in his path like they were made of papier-mâché. I freaking hate football, but watching him break through the offensive line and sack the other team’s quarterback ten times in one game is nothing shy of amazing. It’s psychological warfare at its finest.
I think I might actually start liking this sport! I bet the data analysis part of it is fun.
Of course, what does data matter when the other side is so frustrated that they begin making random mistakes like dropping the ball and running into each other? I’ve never seen so many large men freaking the hell out, practically crying.
Damn. It’s such a shame I couldn’t be there, I think, watching on my tiny phone.
“Can’t you go any faster? The game is almost over,” I bark at the cab driver, who couldn’t care less about my romantic predicament.
“This is the limit. I drive the limit. And it’s not my fault you’re late.” He mumbles that last bit.
“It’s not my fault either.” I had a connecting flight in Denver and that flight got cancelled due to equipment issues. They put me on the first flight out, but then that flight got delayed due to weather. With any luck, I’ll show up right as the stadium empties. But I need to be there. Henry needs to know I showed up—maybe not for the game, but for us.
Suddenly, I notice the cab’s not moving. “What the hell?” I look up and there’s a logjam.
“People must be leaving the game early—clogs up all the roads,” says the driver.
“Early?” I feel my heart deflate. But of course they’re leaving early. No one wants to stick around just to see their home team lose bigger.
I debate texting Henry and telling him I really tried to make it, but what good would it do? He’s on the field. His cell is in the locker room.
Exhausted from flying all morning and being stuck in airports, I fold my arms over my chest and close my eyes. Well, at least Henry’s got his groove back. He played an awesome game. And now he and I can start off on a new foot. I guess today won’t be a complete loss.
HENRY
I fucking crushed it today, and it’s just one more piece of evidence that Elle and I belong together. I’m not saying I’m nothing without her, because I got where I am today on my own, but there’s no doubt in my mind that she’s the secret sauce moving forward.
The score? Sixty-two to seven.
“Great job, man.” My teammates take turns patting my back. Of course, Hunter and our wide receiver, Ryan, scored all the touchdowns, but I shut out the other team’s chance of scoring for over ninety percent of the game. It’s the kind of moment sports-related wet dreams are made of.
We do the obligatory handshakes with the other team and I head over to the stands, which are already half empty. Any moment, I’m expecting to see Elle, with her little face and those giant glasses, to prance up and complete the victorious day.
But I wait and I wait. No Elle.
I look around the stadium and there’s no sign of her. I see Hunter talking to a reporter, doing an interview. I don’t do interviews because they always try to sneak in questions about my dad or the company.
“Hey, man, seen Elle?” I say to Hunter.
Hunter raises his finger to the woman holding a microphone. “Hold on. One second.”
I repeat my question.
“Sorry. Can’t say I have.” Hunter goes back to his little moment in the spotlight and it dawns on me.
Elle’s not here. Why would Hunter tell me she’s here when clearly she’s not?
“Wait. Did you lie?” I growl.
Hunter looks over at me. “No, man. I didn’t lie. Tass said she was coming,” he says dismissively.
I’m not buying it. I’m especially not buying the way Hunter is brushing me off. He fucking lied. I thought we were friends.
I grab his shoulder, spin him around, and then grab him by the jersey. “You fucking piece of shit.”
“Get your hands off me, Henry,” he growls.
“Or what?” I scowl back.
“What’s the fucking deal? We won. You won. You didn’t need her for that. It was all you, Henry. Be happy.”
“So you did lie.” I throw a punch, and it lands right on Hunter’s jaw. He flies back with an oomph! and I seize the moment. I jump on top of him and cock my fist, but someone’s grabbing my arm and people are yelling. In the recesses of my mind, I know it’s my teammates. I know the cameras are rolling, too, but I don’t care. My best friend fucking lied to me, after I helped him, gave him a place to live.
But maybe that’s not really why I’m so mad. He just happens to be an easy outlet. Really, I’m pissed because Elle didn’t come. Everything in my world felt right for a few short hours and then it was taken from me.
I manage to break free and tackle Hunter again, who’s halfway up. I’ve got him pinned because I’m bigger and stronger than he is.
“You’re right,” I snarl. “I don’t need her. And I don’t need you. I never did.” I land one more punch before I’m dragged off him. “You and her are just like my father, manipulative fucking liars. Tell Elle to go fuck herself. And you go with her.”
From the corner of my eye I see two big brown eyes staring at me from behind chunky black glasses with the tape in the middle.
“Elle?” I pause my rant just long enough to watch her run the fuck away.
“Let me go!” I yell. “Elle! Elle!” She’s gone before I have a chance to sort this shit out or come to grips with what I’ve just done. I’ve just fucked everything up. Everything. And I know that this time, there aren’t enough kittens in the world to fix it.
ELLE
I can’t believe what I just saw. This big beautiful man turned into a beast before my eyes, filled with rage and ready to tear apart his best friend in front of the world.
I don’t believe for a moment that Henry is a violent man or would ever hurt me. That’s not what this is about. The shocking part was that I saw myself in that moment; all the pain coming loose like an avalanche of emotions, unstoppable, crushing everything good in its path. It’s exactly how I felt the moment I tore into Henry on Thanksgiving and told my father he was foolish for hoping.
That is what disturbs me; that I’ve just realized how similar Henry and I are. Yet you’d never, ever know it from simply looking at us. He’s this huge guy, ripped from head to toe, awe-inspiring really. He has the kind of looks and confidence that open any door and draw people to him. Me? I’m five two and weigh a hundred and twenty pounds. I look like the girl who probably ate paste in the first grade, though I had really been making rockets. The kind you get national science fair awards for. But still, underneath it all, I’ve now realized that Henry and I are exactly the same—ready to tell the world to fuck off, filled with fight and a whole hell of a lot of resentment. It keeps us from trusting. It keeps us from connecting.
Still, it all starts making sense—why I was drawn to him and why I really didn’t want to start a relationship. It was never about being different. It was always about the fear of having to take a good hard look at myself.
I start to laugh, snorting and hiccupping—the full nine yards. Henry is me. Henry is me. I can’t control the goddamned need to laugh.
My phone beeps, and I slip it from my pocket, not even bothering to check the caller ID. I know it’s Tass.
“He-hello?” I chuckle.
“Elle, honey, it’s your dad.”
“Dad?” My blood pressure takes a nosedive. “What’s the matter?”
“Baby, it’s your mother.”