I put my hand on his shoulder. His whole body was trembling. Such a nice kid! “No problem, kids. And remember. It’s always Sean to you.”
I told them about some tactics and motivated them for the actual game. “Believe in yourself. That’s the key,” I said and high-fived with everyone.
I caught a glimpse of Kayla whose eyes shone. She was proud of me. It showed on her face. I demonstrated to her that I was good around kids and that earned me some points with her. Whoa, wait a bit! What points? Was I fighting for Kayla’s love or for Mia’s love? Everything was a hurricane in my mind. I didn’t know what to think or what to say anymore. Kayla and Mia’s smile. Yeah. That was something I could focus on.
The boys ran some more and I had to give it to them, they did pretty good for juniors. Yea, they needed a lot still for the professional league. But hey, we had all been there before. The beginnings were excruciatingly important in this business.
The practice ended with a touchdown as the piercing whistle shook my eardrums. The reporters didn’t stop for a single second—their cameras flashing and making that annoying ticking sound. How did they sort through more than a thousand photos of the same event? I admit, I couldn’t do it.
The boys hugged me, which would make Brent very happy. I was sure of that. I said goodbye to every single one of the boys in the team and gave them some final words of advice. I was really getting deep into this shit. In that moment I thought of myself as an experienced coach. And who knew? Perhaps I would be one many, many, many years down the road. It would be a waste of talent and potential for me to become a coach now.
I was still deep in thought when the boys went into the locker room and the cheerleaders came on the field. And that meant only one thing. I was well aware of it. I knew it. Trouble. In all capital letters. TROUBLE.
They were all dressed in pink and once they saw me, they threw their equipment or whatever on the ground and ran towards me. I was taken aback. I wasn’t supposed to deal with this.
“Sean! Sean Coleman! My baby! My hubby! Bae!” They screamed as they ran, making so much noise that I thought my ears would bleed from the sound. It was awful. But I couldn’t let my face speak my emotions. Fans were fans and they were all equal before my eyes. Blah, blah, blah.
I didn’t have to say anything. Apparently my appearance was enough. One blondie commented on my looks, another on my muscles and still another about my rod. Seriously? What the heck? I knew I had to get out of here.
“I’m sorry, ladies,” I said and started to shove them so that I could escape. But I couldn’t. There were so many of them. Like a colony of ants.
They were giving me their numbers written on small pieces of paper. They put them in my hands, in my shirt, in my pockets. I was going out of my mind. I didn’t expect this frenzy. What the fuck was happening?
My eyes scanned for the crowd and saw Kayla and Mia leaving. Kayla’s face was red and furious. I could understand where she was coming from. This looked so wrong from the stands. Any one would think the same.
“Ladies, can you please make way?” I said, but in vain.
And then I remembered. There were cameras everywhere. I couldn’t run after Kayla. They would film everything and a scandal would follow. The camera would catch me attempting to reconcile with Kayla. And boom! Kayla would once again be in the spotlight of the media. I would blow our cover. And plus I had promised Brent that I wouldn’t hint at being close with the two beautiful girls. What was I going to do? I was completely paralyzed. I realized that I ruined everything.
Checkmate, brother!
13
Kayla
It was going to be a great day. Until my cell started ringing like crazy, that was.
The morning had been a pleasant one. One with the sun shining, the birds chirping and everyone was singing that happy song from the animated movie. Thanks to Mia I had learned the difference between an animated movie and a cartoon. I was awakened by my cellphone’s special ringtone for Sean. Sean? What the heck, man? Chill out!
I stood up from bed and hurried in the bathroom. I took a quick shower and put on my business clothes. When I went back into the room, my cell was still ringing. What a bore of a man! After yesterday, my thoughts were settled. I had once again proven what kind of a man Sean Coleman was. A man I should stay away from. Mia as well.
“Honey,” I shouted. “C’mon, it’s time for school!”
I heard only grunting noises in return which made me chuckle. Weren’t all kids the same?
“You’re gonna be late. I made you some breakfast, hon. Mommy has to go to work. See you later, sweetie. Take care!” I yelled back and exited our apartment. She was a smart kid and would get everything under control.
My cell beeped again. Shit! It was a message from Sean. This guy wasn’t going to give up, it seemed. I clicked the message.
He was apologizing for yesterday. He apparently hadn’t known that cheerleaders would be there. He wrote that he had done absolutely nothing wrong and pleaded with me to call him.
Oh, no, sir. I put my cell on silent mode. I wasn’t going to go about my day with Sean calling me every five minutes or so. Understand the signals, would you?
Climbing into my car, I put my bag in the back and started the stereo. Music blared from the speakers as I headed towards work. Sadly, my dreams hadn’t come entirely true; I wasn’t working in my own law firm, but this was what it was. I should be content with what I have, right? I smiled to myself.
The law firm I worked for was located in a skyscraper downtown and was one of the most successful firms in the country. I was proud of my ability to handle even the toughest of cases they sent my way. It made me feel like they thought I was a valuable member of the firm.
I greeted some of my fellow colleagues on the way into my office, and then I noticed a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on my desk.
“What’s this?” I asked my assistant.
“Flowers. They were brought in this morning. For you.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered under my breath because I already knew who sent them. They were beautiful roses with a white card attached to them in the middle of the bouquet. It said, I’m so terribly sorry if I offended you or did something wrong. Forgive me. You know that I’m a stupid jerk. Please call me. SC
I had completely forgotten that this man was so persistent. Maybe he was changing.
“Who are they from?” my assistant asked.
“Um… No one special really. My aunt from Europe I had lunch with yesterday.” I lied. It was in my job description, so I was really good at it.
“Oh, okay,” she replied. I detected a grin on her face.
I picked up the flowers and threw them in the bin. Although the roses were my favorite type, which he knew, and they were so pretty, I had to do that. For myself.
The rest of the day was lazy and uneventful, which made it much harder for me. No matter what I was doing, a part of my brain insisted on focusing on Sean and us. Now that us consisted of three. It hurt to see him surrounded by all those women. He was a playboy and a womanizer. That was a fact and it was in his blood. As simple as that. The question was if I could live with that. If Mia could have a father like that. I recalled the days when we had dated at university. Girls had been constantly hitting on him, making me feel like the odd one out. It was a horrible feeling. To have to compete with other girls all the time. It drained all of my energy. That wasn’t for me. I sighed.
When I came home Mia was watching TV and proudly informed me that she had finished her homework.
“My smart girl! Well done!” I kissed her forehead. After I had taken off my coat, she brought her homework for me to check.
She was a brilliant girl and every day she made me remember why I loved being her mother. Basically anyone would love to be a mother to this beautiful angel. She had done all the tasks amazingly and was rewarded with an hour more of television. All these generations cared about, was the TV and their computers and phones.
“Mom?” Mia turned to me before she went into the living room.
“Yes, baby?”
“When is the big man coming again?”
There was a pang in my chest. My daughter was asking for Sean. What was I going to tell her? Shoot! I was absolutely taken aback. I definitely hadn’t seen this coming.
“Err… Well… He’s very busy, you know. He works a lot. Do you like him?” I asked her in my tiny voice as I pushed a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Yes. I miss him. He was really funny and we played games together. The nanny doesn’t know those games, but he does. I want to play with him again. And he likes to play with me as well.” Mia smiled at me.
“He’ll visit us soon enough, I’m sure. I didn’t know you like him so much,” I said and she ran to the couch and turned on the TV.
I turned on my cell’s ringer and immediately it began to ring. I didn’t know what I’d do if it was Sean.
“Yes?” I picked up without seeing who it was.
“Honey, how are you? How’s my sweet little girl?” My mom’s voice came from the other side. I let out a breath of relief.
“Oh, I’m not your sweet little girl anymore, right?” I chuckled, teasing her.
“Of course, you are, baby. You’ll always be my little baby and my sweetest angel,” my mom replied with a smile.
“I know, Mom. I do. We’re great…just a bit tired from work,” I said. I was tired from Sean as well. But, hey, I wasn’t going to tell my mom about that.
“Aw, I’m sorry, honey. Just called to invite you to our place for a while. We miss our daughter and our granddaughter,” Mom said. “And here’s your dad as well.”
“Okay.” I chuckled.
“Hi, my dear Kay,” Dad said in his rusty voice. “Please visit us, babe. We’re old people, you know. We want to see as much of you as possible.”
“Dad, come on.” I hated it when they spoke like that.
“But it’s true, baby,” my dad said.
What was I going to do? When I was at their place all they did was pester me about my life choices. They were asking me about my partners, if I had anyone in my life. They urged me to find someone… Blah, blah, blah. I didn’t think I was ready for that. Always the same questions and the same answers. It was getting old.
On the other hand, I thought of Sean. He had always been so good with people, especially with my parents. They loved him. Sometimes I think even more than me. He had been joking with them and had always seemed to ask the right things and answer even better. He was charming, yes, and he had charmed my parents.
Suddenly, someone was pulling on my sleeve. It was Mia.
“Come, please,” she whispered. “The big man is on the TV.”
She pulled me with her while my mother and father changed the phone back and forth, persuading me to visit them. I remained silent, still in shock and surprise.
They played yesterday’s junior league training on the TV. The segment showed Sean exchanging high-fives with the kids, jumping with them, smiling with them. He ruffled one boy’s hair. Adorable. I was reminded again that he was really great with kids and above all he was a people person. He left his soul on the field and he was giving it all for those kids.
“You coming, baby? Please,” mom said finally.
“Yeah. We’ll come,” I replied.
Mom and Dad started cheering. If that didn’t burst my eardrums, I didn’t know what would. I giggled lightly and hung up.
I looked at Mia who was watching the screen as if hypnotized. Her eyes were glued on Sean and his every move. I smiled.
Dialing a number, I pressed the green button and waited.
“Kayla! Thank God, you called. I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been calling you all day,” Sean said in one breath.
A wide grin appeared on my face. “It’s okay. Do you want to come with us to my parents’? With me and Mia?”
While I was talking to him, a scene popped up before my eyes. It had been in my parents’ house after a big match. Sean was talking vigorously with my father, giving him all the exclusive details. My dad, instead, watched him with eyes like Mia’s. Not moving. Deeply fascinated. Whereas Mom was making Sean cookies and threw a word or two in between. Those had been nice times.
14
Sean
I counted down the hours until the trip to Mr. and Mrs. Vaughn. My whole body was buzzing with excitement and so was the room I was in. Everything around me seemed better and lighter. As if the world’s atmosphere had changed for the better. That was the power of the good mood.
I wasn’t interested in anything anymore. Having nothing to do, I double checked the route to Kayla’s parents and mapped out all of the sights that lay between here and there. I was going to make the voyage a spectacular one that the girls wouldn’t forget for a long time.
At first, yesterday, I had thought that it was over. Things had looked pretty bad as I had fallen into a depression of some sort. Everything I had done had been undone with only one stupid move that I hadn’t really made. The worst part had been that I hadn’t known what was going through Kayla’s head. She had left me in the dark, not picking up the phone, not answering my texts nor had she said anything about the flowers. It had been awful. I couldn’t believe that I had lost Kayla again.
And now this…
This was a miracle from God. She gave me another chance to prove myself and I couldn’t let her down again. If this didn’t turn out well, it was going to be the end. I was sure of it.
Chasing the grim thoughts out of my head, I put my mind to work. I had an amazing plan that was going to be put into reality.
I grabbed my jacket and went out. My milk white BMW suv was waiting in the garage. In the trunk was my suitcase with enough clothes for a few days.
The asphalt screeched beneath the tires as I wove through the streets of the busy city. “Kayla, here I come,” I said to myself and sped up. A true gentleman never left women waiting for him and I wanted to stay true to that principle.
The adrenaline was rushing through my blood as I looked forward to the three of us spending time together. Woohoo, baby!
I waited impatiently at the stoplight. After the next right, I would be in Kayla’s driveway. I took a deep breath and did so. Her neighborhood was a peaceful one. And I liked it. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the both of them with three or four bags on the ground. Mia was waving and so was I. Her smile revealed a pearly white smile.
Pressing my foot on the brake, I stopped and got out of my car. I was dressed in a white cashmere sweater and cream pants. I put my shades on the top of my head.
“Hey, ladies. How are we feeling today?” I said.
“Awesome!” Mia shouted and launched herself towards me. I met her crouching and lifted her up.
“Oh, you’ve grown since the last time I saw you. You’re getting heavy,” I said as if through gritted teeth. In reality she was very thin and had a light weight. Just like her mother.
Mia hugged me tightly, giggling. In return I patted her head and fondled her long, curly hair. Just like her mother’s.
As a matter of fact, I noticed her mother watching us. I winked at her and she nodded smiling.
“Are you prepared for the best trip ever?” I whispered into Mia’s ear.
“Yeah!” she shouted.
“I didn’t hear you!” I chuckled.
“YES!” she screamed from the top of her lungs and the three of us burst loud laughter. I put her back onto the ground. And then went to greet Kayla.
I hugged her and pecked her on the cheek. Her skin was burning. It felt nice to have her smooth face next to mine. My hands enveloped all of her and I sensed her gasp when I did that. Her whole body trembled as my fingertips caressed the exposed skin on her back.
She was wearing a long yellow dress with white heels while Mia wore a small pink dress with white sandals. The perks of having a fashionista mother, I guessed.
“Come on ladies. Let the fun beg
in!” I said and helped them with their bags. We put everything in the trunk and sat on the leather seats. “Any special musical wishes?”
“Disney!” Mia shouted and I smiled. Sliding a CD in the stereo, familiar music boomed from the speakers.
The song was surely the one from the ice princess movie that was literally everywhere. Mia instantly started singing the words, warming up our hearts.
“We’re not taking the plane,” I announced and looked at Kayla.
“What do you mean? We’re going on a road trip?” She raised her eyebrows, but a wide smile graced her face. The girl liked surprises. And I knew the girl.
“Well, I have to keep a low profile, you see. And besides we’ll have a blast like this, don’t you think?” I was in a wonderful mood and nothing could change that.
“Yeah, it’s a great idea,” Kayla replied with a smile. Her attitude towards me was very different and odd. What the hell was going on inside her pretty head? Only she knew that. She was sometimes cold, sometimes really warm towards me and sometimes a hundred percent neutral. Just like a housewife in her midlife crisis.
“And I promise that we’ll be making several stops along the way, so that we can visit some sights. Especially Mia,” I said and the both of them clapped.
I put the car into first gear and off we went.
“I’m so excited, Kayla. My heart is beating so fast. I feel like a small child again.” I giggled. She did, too.
With my free hand I reached for hers. Once I caught it, I placed it on my chest. She inhaled. “Wow, you’re buzzing,” she whispered.
I nodded and shifted my eyes to the road.
The city was quickly replaced with the rural scenes. Mia was particularly stunned by everything she saw outside. Question after question she asked me or her mother about everything. It was amazing to see how curious a small girl can be. The windows were filled with the marvelous green color of the grass and the woods. We totally relaxed, singing along and laughing.
Line of Scrimmage: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (Pass To Win Book 2) Page 8