Tackling Life: A Sports Romance (Tackling Romance Series Book 2)

by Kathleen Kelly

  The next morning, I wake up with Gray snoring lightly beside me. Rolling over, I put my feet on the floor, and next to the bed is a large bowl. I’m guessing Tyson put that there. Standing, a wave of nausea sweeps through me, and I run for the bathroom. With my head over the toilet bowl, I bring up what little is in my stomach.

  “Oh, honey,” coos Gray as he holds my hair back.

  “S-Sorry,” I blurt out as my body tries to expel everything out of me.

  “No need to apologize.”

  Gray leaves me for a moment and comes back with a washcloth, which he runs under the cold water tap and hands it to me. I wipe my face and sit down next to the toilet.

  “I didn’t even hear you come in last night.”

  “Tyson Reed let me in. You were out.”

  “He stayed?”

  Gray nods. “Yeah, he seems like a good guy.”

  “How was dinner with your mom?”

  “She’s worried about you.”

  “Honestly, it’s just a bug.”

  “Can I get you something to eat?”

  My stomach turns over on itself at the thought of food. “Ugh, no.”

  “I’m going to ring my mom.”

  I fold the washcloth in half and put it across my eyes. Gray’s footsteps tell me he’s back in the room, and then I feel him sit next to me.

  “I’m going to get you water, and Mom said dry toast will help settle you.”

  “I need a shower.”

  “You’re still in your work clothes.”

  I pull the cloth off my face and look down. “Yep.”

  Gray stands and holds out his hands to me. “Come on, let’s get you naked and clean.”

  “I’m so sorry, Gray.” He pulls me to my feet. “It’s not the best way to spend Christmas.”

  “I forgot.” His face lights up. “Merry Christmas, beautiful.” Gray kisses me on the forehead. “Do you need help in the shower?”

  “No. I’ll be fine.”

  He kisses me again and leaves me alone. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, my hair is standing up in all different directions, and I have circles under my eyes.

  “Damn, you look bad,” I whisper to myself.

  Gray pops his head back into the bathroom. “Did you say something?”

  “Just talking to myself.” I lock eyes with him in the mirror. “You should be with your mom.”

  “I will be, a little later. I need to make sure you’re okay first. It’s our second Christmas together. We need to make it special.”

  “Me throwing up is super special.”

  Gray laughs. “It’s definitely different.”

  After my shower, I feel a little better. Wrapping myself up in my fluffy, pink bathrobe, I walk into my kitchen to find Gray has made coffee and toast and strung up some tinsel.

  “Aww, thank you, baby.”

  He also has tinsel draped around his neck.

  “Do you feel better?”

  “Yeah.”

  Gray hands me a coffee, and I hold it up to my nose and inhale its rich scent. My stomach doesn’t protest, so I take a small sip.

  “Go sit on the couch, and I’ll bring everything in.”

  Sitting down, I tuck my feet up underneath me and wait for Gray. He comes in with a plate of toast and a coffee cup in his hand.

  “Do you want your present now?”

  Instantly forgetting my nausea, I say, “Now!”

  Gray laughs, hands me the toast, and puts his coffee cup down. I have a small tree set up in the corner of my apartment. Gray goes over to the tree and pulls out a tiny, navy box from its branches.

  “How long has that been hidden in there?”

  Gray shrugs. “A while. It was safer to hide it here than at home or with my mom.”

  “Yours is the big red box.”

  Gray retrieves his present and puts it on my coffee table. “You first.”

  The little velvet box has a silver ribbon tied around it. I undo the ribbon and open the box. Inside is a gold band with engraving around it. I take the ring out of the box, and on the inside of it are the words, Promise, love Gray.

  Gray takes the ring from me and puts it on my right ring finger. “It’s a promise ring. But it’s more than that. It’s my vow to you. I love you, Dee, and when I’ve established myself, and I’m worthy of you, you’ll be mine forever.”

  Tears well in my eyes as I stare at the intricate gold band on my finger. “It’s beautiful, Gray.” A tear escapes and falls down my cheek. “But you are worthy.” I throw my arms around him. “I love it, thank you.”

  “Everything is falling into place, Dee. Everything I’ve worked for is coming together. We’re going to have the best life.”

  “Gray, we have a good life.”

  “It will be better. Once I’ve established myself and you’ve got your dream job.”

  It all comes back to his five-year plan. He says he’d change it all in a heartbeat for me, but I know he’s worked too hard for too long to do that. And I’d never ask him to. Looking down at the ring, I know it’s his way of telling me he loves me and that, in time, we’ll get married. Maybe it’s the fact I’m not feeling well or that it’s Christmas, the first one I haven’t spent with my family, but I wish Gray didn’t find it necessary to plan everything in his life down to the last detail.

  “Open yours.”

  Gray rips the wrapping off the box, then removes the lid. Inside is a charcoal-colored cashmere sweater that cost me a small fortune. Gray pulls it out, letting the box fall to the floor.

  Gray holds the soft sweater to his face for a moment, then cups my face in his hands. “I love it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, babe, it’s perfect.”

  Getting up off the couch, I retrieve his Christmas card from under the tree.

  With a smilie, I hand it over to Gray. He takes it off me and weighs it in his hand.

  “There’s something else inside of here.”

  “Just a little something extra.”

  Gray rips open the envelope, and a small silver necklace with a pendant falls out of the card. It’s Scrosoppi, the patron saint of footballers, and on the back I had them engrave a G, a heart, and a D.

  He holds it up, a smile creeps across his face. “The sweater was nice, but this, this is amazing. I love it.”

  “To keep you safe on the field.”

  “With you, my mom, football, and this, what could go wrong?”

  DIANDRA

  Four days later, I’m sitting in my doctor’s office. I’ve felt ill for days. The gods smiled down on me, and I was lucky to get an appointment between Christmas and New Year’s—the kind receptionist squeezed me in. Dr. Hale is an older lady. I’ve seen her a few times since I’ve lived here. She’s always very blunt and to the point. My stomach won’t settle. It doesn’t seem to matter what I eat or drink or think about, I feel horrible, so she’s taken some blood and a urine sample.

  The door opens, and Dr. Hale walks in. She gives me a tight smile as she takes her place behind her desk. “How are you feeling?”

  “The same as before. Queasy. Do I have a bug, Doc?”

  Dr. Hale arranges her hands on her desk and smiles at me. “When was your last menstrual cycle?”

  No.

  Shit, I’m late.

  Dr. Hale nods at me. “Yes, Diandra, you’re pregnant.”

  “I’m on the pill.”

  Dr. Hale nods again. “It’s not infallible. It has the potential to be ninety-nine percent effective. Nine out of one hundred women fall pregnant while on the pill every year.”

  “No,” I whisper.

  Dr. Hale pushes some pamphlets toward me on the desk. “You’re young. There are options. You can choose to keep the child, you could put it up for adoption, or you can terminate the pregnancy. You have time to decide.”

  Glancing down, I look at Gray’s promise ring. This isn’t in his plan.

  “Diandra?” I look up at Dr. Hale. “Do you have family? Is the
young man still in the picture?”

  “He doesn’t want children yet. He’s got a five-year plan, and this isn’t part of his plan.”

  Dr. Hale smiles. “Well, not everything goes to plan. Sometimes we have to make changes.”

  “You don’t understand.” I pick up the pamphlets off her desk. “He’s worked his entire life to get where he is. This would ruin everything.”

  “Talk to the young man. You don’t have to go through this on your own. Do you have family close by?”

  “My mom lives here, and my dad lives in New York.”

  “Good. It’s good you have a support system.”

  I stand, slightly dazed and not knowing what to do.

  “Diandra?”

  “Hmm?”

  “The morning sickness should stop at about fourteen weeks. Until then, dry toast and crackers. There’s been some research to suggest ginger will help alleviate the symptoms.” Dr. Hale stands and walks around her desk. “I know before my pregnancy, I used to love tuna, but while pregnant, I couldn’t stand the smell. We’re all different. If you keep the baby, you might have cravings, but remember, everything in moderation.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Hale.” I hold up the pamphlets and walk out of her office.

  I keep walking, not knowing where I’m going. Eventually, I find myself on my mother’s doorstep. I knock on the red wooden door, and Mom opens it. Her face turns into one big smile, and she hugs me.

  “Well, this is unexpected! What are you doing here, baby girl?”

  Mom guides me to her kitchen table, and I sit down. The pamphlets from the doctor’s office are still in my hands, and I put them in front of her.

  Mom frowns, then picks one up, then another, and another. Her eyes well with tears, then she drops them and grasps my hands. “Say it’s not so.”

  I nod, unable to speak.

  “Oh, honey, what are you going to do? Have you told Grayson?”

  “No, and promise me you won’t tell anyone,” I plead.

  “It’s Grayson’s problem too.”

  “You don’t understand, Mom. He’s wanted to play professional ball his entire life, this will complicate things.”

  Tears course down her face. “Honey, you can’t do this on your own. Grayson loves you.”

  “He does, and I love him. But I need to decide what’s best for me. Promise me, Mom, you won’t tell a soul.”

  Mom puts both hands to her face and wipes away her tears. “You’ve always known what to do.” She reaches out and puts one of her hands over mine. “You’ve never been a bother even when Daddy and I got divorced. I sometimes felt like you were the grownup.” She sighs. “If you want to keep it a secret, no matter what you decide, I’m here for you, honey.”

  The tears I’d been holding in spill over, and sobs wrack my body.

  Mom instantly stands and holds me to her, both of us crying and clinging to each other. When I’m done, Mom drags her chair closer to me and sits down. She picks up one of the pamphlets on abortion, and her lips turn down. “Do you know what you want to do?”

  I shake my head. “No.” I take the brochure off her and toss it further away on the table. “But not that. I don’t think I can do that.”

  Mom pats my arm. “Whatever you decide, I’m here for you.”

  “And you can’t tell Minerva.”

  Mom’s mouth drops open slightly, then she clamps it shut and nods. “I won’t even tell your daddy if you don’t want me to.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  “Oh, sugar, I love you to the moon and back.”

  I’m standing downwind of Bruno’s food truck. The smell of hotdogs makes me ill. Dr. Hale was right, ginger tea settles my stomach. I made some and have it in a to-go cup while I wait for Gray.

  It’s been two days since my appointment with the doctor. There never seems to be a good time to tell Gray. He’s received an offer from the New England Warriors, and it’s all he can talk about.

  I see Gray in the distance. He’s with Colton, and the pair of them are laughing. When he sees me, Gray jogs toward me with Colton following close behind.

  “Hey, baby.” He kisses my lips, takes my to-go cup out of my hand, takes a sip, then spits it out. “What is that?”

  “Ginger tea.”

  Colt and I both laugh at him. “That’s it, laugh it up, you two. I’m going to grab a hotdog, do you want one?”

  “No.” My stomach still isn’t great.

  “Colt?”

  “You buying?” Gray nods at him. “Then, yes, I’ll have one with the lot.”

  Colt puts his arm around me and guides me to a seat.

  “Keep your hands off my girl, you’re in enough trouble as it is!” yells Gray.

  I giggle as we sit. Colt makes a big show of sitting close to me.

  “He’s so jealous.”

  “Can you blame him? You’re not exactly the shy, quiet type.”

  Colt feigns shock with his mouth hanging open and a hand dramatically clutching his chest. “You wound me!”

  “Colton Anders, you should’ve studied acting.”

  Colt drops the façade and nods. “Maybe?”

  I chuckle at him. “Why are you in trouble?”

  “Ahh, you caught that, did you?” Colt moves slightly away from me and picks up a leaf from the table, twirling it in his fingers. “Do you remember Cindy?”

  “Downward dog, Cindy?”

  Colt rolls his eyes. “Yeah, that’s her.” He tosses the leaf away and clasps his hands together on the table. “She had a pregnancy scare.”

  “Is she?”

  “No, no!” Colt shakes his head vigorously. “I’m out of the woods.” He nods toward Gray. “It was touch and go for a couple of days, but Gray helped me through it. We came up with a game plan if she was pregnant.”

  Glancing at Gray, I ask, “What was the game plan?”

  “Gray said a baby would ruin everything for me, and he’s right. Can you imagine having a baby now? We’ve both been signed with the New England Warriors, and it’s not the time to be having kids, especially with a girl like Cindy.”

  I bristle at his comment and scowl at him. “A girl like Cindy?”

  Colt nods. “Yeah, who’d want to have a kid now? We’re just getting started. The next few years are all about establishing ourselves, striving forward. Like Gray said, no one wants to be tied to some girl he has a fling with in college for the rest of his life because of a kid. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. False alarm.” Colt lets out a long breath. “I’m free.”

  “Gray said that a baby would ruin everything?”

  Gray flops onto the bench seat opposite us, handing Colt his hotdog. “It sure would. Our boy here got lucky!” Gray grins. “Can you imagine having a kid now?” He shakes his head. “Professional suicide, no one wants to do a sponsorship deal with a guy who can’t handle his business. I made him go to a lawyer and draw up papers to protect himself.” Whatever Gray sees on my face, he reaches over and takes my hand. “Cindy is a nice girl, but how do we know it was his? Colt needed to make sure he had all his bases covered.”

  “So it would’ve been Cindy’s problem?”

  Gray nods at me. “Until the paperwork came back saying it was his, but all this is moot, she’s not pregnant, and Colt, here, is going to be more careful from now on. Isn’t that right?”

  “Damn straight,” agrees Colt. “We’re way too young to be having children. Your mom would kill me.”

  Gray chuckles. “You got that right. She’d whoop both our asses. You for not being careful and me for not watching out for you.”

  “Because a child would ruin everything?”

  Gray and Colt both nod as they devour their hotdogs. My heart sinks. There’s no way I can tell him I’m pregnant. He’ll either think I am after a payday or that I’m trying to ruin his life. Sipping my tea, I watch them both eat. It seems like the two of them have it all figured out. If the girl gets pregnant, you draw up papers protecting yourself, treating her lik
e she’s the enemy.

  “Dee? Dee, are you listening?” Gray is waving a hand in my face.

  Shaking myself, I shake my head. “What?”

  “You’re coming tonight, aren’t you?”

  Tyson Reed is hosting a big celebration party to welcome the new blood into the team. Gray and Colt are the guests of honor.

  “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  DIANDRA

  Tyson Reed’s New Year’s Eve party is at one of the hottest nightclubs in town. I’m wearing a red, glittery dress with a V-neck, and I’ve paired it with six-inch black heels. Gray’s mouth actually dropped open when he came to pick me up.

  “Red looks good on you,” compliments Tyson Reed.

  Blushing, I smile at him. “Thank you. And thanks for inviting us to the party.” Reaching out, I touch his arm. “And thank you for looking after me on Christmas Eve. It’s so nice of you.”

  “I’ve always wanted to be the knight in shining armor.” He chuckles. “And this party is for the team. The new get to meet the old players. An ice-breaker before I start to change things up. Are you having a good time?”

  He offers me a glass of champagne, but I shake my head. “No.”

  “Stomach still upset?”

  “You could say that.”

  Tyson raises an eyebrow. “Is everything okay, Diandra?”

  “Tonight is for the boys… it’s not about me.”

  Tyson drinks one of the glasses of champagne and puts the glass on a passing server’s tray.

  “This sounds serious. Care to share?”

  Tyson is good-looking, and he knows it, so I smile and shake my head. My emotions are far too close to the surface to have this conversation with him, especially as I haven’t told Gray, and I’m not sure I ever will. Tyson grabs me by the upper arm and leads me to the VIP section. No one else is in here, and he guides me to a small table. The noise level in here is much quieter. A server comes up, and Tyson orders a whiskey neat even though he still has a glass of champagne on the table.

  “Diandra, have you eaten?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”