CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.
Jack sat on the team plane as it headed to New Jersey and tried to figure out how he was going to get Ana to listen to him. Last night had ended in a shit storm, and he knew it was going to take a damn miracle for her ever to forgive him.
He felt sick to his stomach, and the anxiety running through his body killed any hope of pulling out a good game on Sunday. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t care because all he wanted to do was stay in Miami and fix his relationship.
Not that much could be done until his innocence was proved. And even when that happened, he wasn’t sure it was going to be enough.
He watched Clark make his way down the aisle and take the seat next to him and knew only a close friend would risk getting close. Everyone had given him a wide berth all day because the mad he had going was no joke. “Do you have any news for me?”
Clark shook his head. “The women have closed ranks, and there’s radio silence. Whatever is happening at Ronnie’s is not going to be revealed. I’m not sure if they’re arranging a contract on your life, having a spell put on you, or simply stabbing large pins in a doll with your face on it.” He leaned back and crossed his arms. “All three of those are real possibilities.”
“I wonder how Ana is doing.”
“I imagine she’s doing as well as any woman who had the pleasure of watching a sex tape of her boyfriend in the ladies’ room. I understand that Gerald has taken over her care and providing whatever she needs.”
Wiping his hand down his face, he let out a breath. “I confirmed with Joel there’s security at Ronnie’s because the last thing I want is someone getting to Ana. I don’t know how she’s ever going to forgive me, but I have to find a way.” When Clark had no response, he knew what a long shot it was going to be. “You know that wasn’t me in those tapes.”
Clark held up his hands and smiled. “No judgment from me, man. You were single, and what you did in your free time is not my business.”
“You know me better than that. Someone edited it and made it look like me, and the one image of my back was from the locker room. The team manager thinks someone who had access to the locker room and showers is selling pictures to the highest bidder. Apparently, there have been a couple of incidents over the last couple of months and players have chosen to pay the ransom as opposed to fighting it.”
“What the fuck?” Clark replied as he sat up.
“Coach Bellows reamed my ass this morning, and after he was done, we had a meeting with the powers that be and apparently I’m not the first player this has happened to. The team attorney didn’t tell anyone about the shakedown because the players who were threatened wanted to keep it quiet.”
“That’s bullshit,” Clark responded.
“I agree, and it ends with me because I’m not paying the criminals who are behind this. I’d hoped my attorney could stop it before the crap got posted, but clearly, that didn’t happen, and the gamble has cost me the most important thing in my life.”
“For now,” Clark replied. “I bet when all the facts come to light, you and Ana work this thing out.”
“I’m praying and plan on doing everything I can to make it possible, but I wouldn’t blame her if she dropped my ass. Between the woman accusing me of fathering a child, seeing my naked ass on YouTube, and having women say horrible things about her, there doesn’t seem to be too much upside to being with me.”
“When you put it that way, you’re right.”
“The only thing I’ve got going for me is that she loves me and I’m not sure if that’s enough.”
Clark sat back and crossed his arms. “I’m not going to ask if you used the L word ‘cause I know you did.”
“No shame in my game; it’s been her from the moment I laid eyes on her. And it’s never changing, so one way or another, I have to make this right.”
“What’s the next step?”
“The team attorney is working on finding the leak, and I’m meeting with my own team when we touch down in New Jersey.”
“This whole thing sucks.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. Someone sees this team as a bank they can use as an ATM.” Leaning back, he closed his eyes and knew the stuff out there wasn’t true, and it would soon be proven. He’d instructed his attorney to make sure the two women who made the claims were prosecuted, and he meant it, no matter how much it cost him.
Digging his phone out of his pocket, he stared at his screensaver with the picture he and Ana had taken last night before everything went to hell. Their arms were around one another as they shared big smiles and he knew that was the truth of them, and one way or another he was going to find a way back.
***
Ana lay in bed with the covers around her chin and a box of Milk Duds within reach as she watched an old movie and silently thanked Gerald for providing all of the necessary things for her impending breakdown.
The thing was sitting out there on the edge of the horizon, and she could see it coming closer and closer as each moment passed.
Thankfully, the initial rage had passed, and now all she was left with was numbness, which she knew was her mind’s way of dealing with the trauma.
And that’s exactly what having her heart broken was; an ordeal she had no expectations of ever getting over.
Was it a dramatic overstatement?
Perhaps, but that’s what happened when the man you thought you might marry turned out to be a…a what? She didn’t even know what he was. Her head began to pound again, so she ate a couple more Milk Duds and returned her attention to the movie; An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. Now there was heartbreak.
Hearing a light knock on the door, Ana grunted and watched it open. Ronnie and Ella stood just inside the door with crossed arms. “I’m still mid-trauma.”
Ronnie walked in and collected the empty boxes of milk duds and threw them in the trash. “Are we ready for stage two of your recovery?”
Looking up at her two best friends, she felt a small measure of hope and knew if she had women like this in her life, how bad could it all be? So what if the love of her life trampled every hope and dream she held. These two would never allow her to fall completely apart. “I’ll be ready for the next stage after the movie is finished. I need another good cry first.”
Ronnie sat on one side and Ella on the other, and each took a hand. “Thank you,” she mumbled. “I don’t know what I would do without you two.”
“Something you’ll never have to worry about,” Ella replied firmly. “When this movie is over, we’re going to throw you in the shower and then feast, drink too much, and dance under the moonlight. Because it’s the only proper response to a man acting like a dog.”
“Not the only one,” Ronnie responded. “But the one that won’t get us arrested.”
“I told you we wouldn’t get arrested if went with my other plan.”
Ronnie lifted an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “I don’t have the same trust you do in your criminal buddies for covering our trail.”
“Pfff,” Ella responded. “So little faith.”
“Anyway,” Ronnie said as she smoothed out Ana’s blankets. “I enjoyed wearing a caftan the other week, so I ordered several for us, and that’s what we’re wearing tonight for our celebration. Gerald has our dinner planned, and we’re going to drink until we flush this bullshit out of our systems.”
“I’ve been thinking…” Ella said quietly.
“Uh oh,” Ronnie replied.
“I think Jack’s sex tape is a sign from God.”
“What?” Ana asked as she sat up.
“Not that kind of sign, more of a warning. If Jack has a sex tape, then Clark probably has ten.” Twirling her hands in the air, she let out a groan. “Football players are bad news, no matter how you slice it. First Brian cheated on Ronnie and then lied to try and get his ass out of the fire. Then Jack has a woman running around town claiming he’s her baby daddy and now has a sex tape with over a million views.”
“A million?” Ana asked quietly.
“Last time I checked,” Ronnie replied quietly.
“We need to stay away from professional athletes,” Ella said firmly. “And I don’t need to wait around and see what kind of shenanigans Clark is going to come up with.” Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she nodded. “I’m ending it.”
“But, he hasn’t done anything yet,” Ana replied. “He’s not guilty by association.”
“Yes, he is, and I’m not waiting around to see what of.”
“Are you sure?” Ronnie asked as she put her hand on Ella’s arm.
“Sure as sugar,” Ella replied as she began typing.
“I’m sorry,” Ana said as she moved her hair out of her face and felt tears run down her face as she watched Cary and Deborah admit they were meant to be together in the final scene. Too bad nothing like it was possible in real life.
***
Jack walked into the hotel room with Clark following and threw his bag on the bed and realized they had about an hour before they needed to be at the stadium for their workout. Before the door had shut entirely, he heard Clark let out a stream of curses. “What the hell, man?”
“That’s bullshit,” he bellowed.
“You want to share what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Ella just broke up with me, and it’s all your fault.” Throwing his phone across the room, it hit the wall and tumbled to the floor. “You need to fix this sex tape crap because it’s affecting my life.”
Jack felt a surge of rage fill his chest as he looked at his friend. “What the fuck, Clark?”
“Ella doesn’t want to see me anymore because she doesn’t want to see all the sex tapes that I’ve been in.”
“How many do you have?”
“None.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. If you’d asked me last week if this was a possibility, I would’ve laughed in your face. But look at me now.” Shaking out his hands, he looked at the ground. “Everyone is vulnerable. The only answer is to find the woman you love and get married because that’s the only way to get a teammate for life. You wife her up at the first possible moment and you’ll have someone who’ll always have your best interest at heart. No one can get to you if you have a happy life with a woman who loves you.”
Clark let out a long breath. “What do you think I’ve been trying to do? I went to Texas for the holidays and charmed my way into her family, and I was planning on taking her home for Christmas and showing her that I’m a good guy.” He ran his hand through his hair and gave his friend a dark look. “We need to fix this fast because I’m taking that girl home to meet my mama, and you’re not going to ruin it for me.”
Jack threw a magazine at Clark’s head. “Yeah, man, it’s all about you. Forget about my life and how the woman I love is suffering.”
Clark sat on the bed and started to laugh. “If anyone heard this conversation, we’d get our man-cards pulled for sure.”
“I don’t care because all that matters is fixing this and having a chance to make this right with Ana.”
“When are you meeting with your team again?”
“First thing in the morning and I can tell you they better start earning the money I pay them or I’m getting rid of all of them.”
“That’s a good idea because this is why they’re on the payroll.”
“Exactly,” Jack replied as he picked up his phone and saw a blank screen. “I miss the fuck out of her and can’t even begin to conceive of a life without her.”
“Then, don’t,” Clark replied. “No one can get past you on the field, and this is the same damn thing.”
“I hope you’re right because she’s the only one for me.”
“I know, and before too long this whole thing will only be a memory.”
“Can’t wait until that’s true.”
***
Ana sat with Ella and Ronnie at the table in the backyard and drank her martini like it was water. “Maybe we should give up on men and just sit around and drink.”
Ella tipped her glass in Ana’s direction and missed by a mile. “We’re on our third or fourth, and I second that.”
“Are you sad about your decision to end things with Clark?” Ronnie asked as she crossed her legs. “I know you believe it was the right thing to do, but so often that sort of thing feels lousy.”
“Yes,” Ella replied. “I wanted to believe in him much the same way I want to believe in unicorns.”
“The problem is that you have an extraordinary brain and it doesn’t give you much room for believing in those mythical creatures or that professional athletes are truly good men,” Ronnie said.
“No matter how much we wish in the deep dark part of our hearts that miracles truly are possible,” Anna added as she lifted her drink. “To caftans! These things are the hidden gem of fashion. Who knew you could be elegant while getting shitfaced?”
Ronnie let out an inelegant laugh and nodded. “It’s the secret to being a southern woman.”
“Is this the part of the evening where the truth is spoken?” Ana asked.
Ronnie ran her finger around the rim of her glass and nodded. “What if it wasn’t him?”
Ana set her glass heavily down on the table and gasped. “What are you trying to say?”
“It just doesn’t add up. Jack is the last man that would be caught in a scandal, and certainly not a sex tape. Something about it just doesn’t add up, and I can’t figure it out yet because I’m drunk. But when I sober up in the morning, I’m hoping for a revelation.” She held up her hand and smiled. “I’m not defending him, and don’t think that he should be forgiven if it is true, but something is fishy.”
Ella nodded her head and poured another drink. “I have to agree with Ronnie. As much as I hate to admit it, it just doesn’t add up.”
Ana stood unsteadily and flapped her arms in frustration. “I saw the video and his tattoos. There’s no mistaking it was him.”
Ronnie took Ana’s hand. “I know, but these things can be edited.”
Collapsing into her chair, Ana took another sip of her drink. “I can’t entertain the possibility. My heart is in a million pieces, and that’s all I can deal with. The man who I thought would be the father of my children broke it, and that’s not something you get over.”
“I know,” Ronnie replied as she lifted the pitcher and topped them all off.
Staring into her glass, Ana felt tears slip down her face because, deep in her heart, she wanted nothing more than for Jack to be precisely the person she thought he was. But unicorns and faithful men were pretty damn impossible to find.