by Erica Hobbs
“So, did you think she was pretty? Must have been if you care what she thought of you.”
Why did Rebecca know how I thought about girls? Why did she make it sound like I was so shallow?
“God, she was something else. Blond hair, dark liquid eyes, and sass. I don’t think anyone has ever spoken to me like that. Not since I became famous, at least.”
People always treated me as if I was a demi-god.
“Did she know who you were?” Rebecca asked.
I shrugged and bit off a chunk of my cone. “I don’t think so. She said she did, though. ‘The arrogant asshole who thinks he is better than me.’ Those were her exact words.”
Rebecca looked at me, her green eyes already dancing with laughter that burst out of her lips instantly, loud and proud.
“It’s not funny,” I said, but I was smiling. “She insulted me.”
Rebecca collected herself. When she answered me, her voice was still laced with humor.
“God forbid, big bro!”
I pulled a face at her and kept on with my cone. The truth was she really had been something else. She’d been beautiful – not in an artificial way so many girls were these days, but all natural. Her clothes looked thrown on as an afterthought, not carefully planned to show off her assets. And there had been no makeup I could see. She was all pure; I’d never seen someone more fascinating. If I’d been in a better mood, I would have hit on her or asked for her number or something.
I would have done anything to see her again. I should have been nicer when she’d spoken to me. I had gone over that conversation in my mind so many times it was ridiculous. I’d been antsy before the game, though. Irritated the guys couldn’t get along. I’d been nervous about the stats, too. One more loss would have pushed us down on the log.
I closed my eyes and thought back to the game. The tunnel closed around me again, and I was back in the belly of the beat, the stadium thundering all around us, enveloping us in a cocoon of fanatic passion and excitement.
My mind was usually on the prize – I was focused on the goal and nothing else. But she’d distracted me. Probably a Jets fan, judging by the lack of orange and blue, but she’d stood there like she had every right to be who she wanted to be. And there was nothing I could do about it.
And when I walked out onto the field there weren’t a million fans cheering for me. In the sea of seventy-five thousand faces, I knew of just one that would be looking at me. Perhaps in disgust, but she would be looking at me. And I wished I could find her in the crowd, her deep dark eyes.
“So,” Rebecca said, pulling me back to the present. My ice cream was finished, and I bunched a tissue in my hands, twisting it into a tiny ball. “Do you want to see her again?”
I hesitated for a moment, and then I nodded. I would love to see her again. Rebecca reached over and tried to dust the chocolate off my shirt. The melted chocolate had formed small stripes on my shirt.
“You’re filthy,” she said and gave up. “What are you going to do to make it happen?”
I blinked at her and then realized she was talking about the girl again. I shrugged.
“I don’t know. There’s nothing I can do. I don’t know who she is or where I could find her. Denver is a big place and without anything to go by… she might not even be from around here.”
Rebecca shook her head. “And to think, you can buy anything you like, and you still don’t get what you want.”
I nudged her, and she giggled.
“Seriously, though,” she added. “You’re alone too much. Those girls I read about…” she waved her hand, “you need someone better. Someone real, you know? You can’t be like that for the rest of your life.”
“Ha, the rest of my life! I’m only twenty-six. I’m hardly dying of old age.”
She shrugged. “You know what I mean. Get a nice girl.”
I smiled and shook my head, looking around the park. I had girls. Lots of them. And they all pretended to be good. I didn’t keep them around long enough to find out if it was true or not. I didn’t need all that. I was happy with the way things were for the moment. The only women I needed in my life were Aunt Maurine and Rebecca. I had yet to meet someone who would knock me off my feet.
Chapter 8
Alyssa
“I’m home,” I called at the front door when I got back from work on Friday. “I stopped on the way and picked up some wine.”
I put my bag and the bottle of wine on the counter and wandered deeper into the house, looking for my parents. I found my dad in the bedroom, pulling on a checkered shirt; it was so last season I cringed.
“Nice shirt, dad,” I said sarcastically. I grinned at him. Mom sat on the bed, her shoes on the floor and her bare feet tucked underneath herself. She winked at me.
“You guys can’t team up against me,” Dad said, glancing at mom through the mirror. “Besides, I’m not looking for anything when I go out. I have everything I need right here.”
Mom blushed, and I rolled my eyes. My parents were so cheesy together. It was sweet, but who wants to see their parents flirt? It’s right above making out on the gross list.
“I got wine,” I said to my mom who hadn’t heard me the first time.
“Oh, thank you,” she said and got off the bed. “I got the DVD.”
Mom and I did girls’ night the last Friday of every month. It was nice to have a set appointment, spend time together and catch up on girl talk. Dad made sure he wasn’t home, and Matt spent time with his parents, for what it was worth. We usually got take away, drank wine, watched chick flicks and gossiped about everything the way you did with your best friend.
Dad finished up, and we followed him to the door. Mom hugged him and told him to be safe. I waved him off before going to the kitchen. I didn’t want to be around when they did their soppy goodbyes. When the front door closed, mom joined me in the kitchen.
“What did you get to watch?” I asked.
“I don’t know what it is about, the guy behind the counter swore by it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You think he knows what will make a girls’ night great?”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
We ordered Chinese and poured some wine, sitting down in front of the television. I pushed play on the remote, and the previews started rolling. My phone rang in my pocket. I pulled it out, and Tanya’s name flashed on the screen.
“Two seconds, mom,” I said and walked into the passageway.
“What’s up?”
“Impromptu girls’ night! We’re going to Lemon. Come over, we can get ready together.”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me.
“Sorry, T. I can’t tonight, I have a thing with my mom.”
She groaned. “You’re missing out, big time,” she said. I pushed the idea I might be away and ended the call. When I walked back into the living room and sat down the movie was just starting.
Two minutes had only passed when my mom’s phone rang.
“Looks like it’s one of those nights,” she said and pulled out her phone, pausing the movie. I waited for her as she walked out the same way I did a moment ago. When she came back, she looked troubled.
“That was from the office, honey. I’m going to have to get there. They have an emergency, and you know how it is – only I know what to do to fix this.”
I put down the Chinese I was eating and glanced at the screen.
“Don’t worry, mom. We can always postpone this. Until next week?”
She nodded. “Looks like we’ll have to. Sorry about that. I have to go and get dressed.”
She disappeared into the main bedroom, and I took another bite of Chinese. I stared at the screen with its still images. When mom returned, she was dressed in jeans and a turtleneck – not office clothes but polite enough to run in for an emergency on a Friday.
“I’m sorry again, sweetie,” she said and kissed me on the forehead before she headed out the door. The door closing echoed through the
empty house, and I got up, stretching out and looking around. What now? I was stranded at home alone, my girls’ night interrupted, with nothing to do.
I pulled my phone out. No reason I couldn’t still have a girls’ night. I was giving ‘impromptu’ a run for its money.
I put the uneaten food in the fridge and gulped down a glass of wine, feeling my head spin with the sudden alcohol assault in my blood. This was going to be a good night, after all. I could feel it.
The girls were happy I would join them. I got ready, changing into black shorts, a lime green top with black piping around low neckline and wedges. I pulled my hair up into a bun and applied some lipstick and smoky eye shadow. When I looked in the mirror, I liked what I saw. I looked sexy in an I-just-threw-it-on kind of way. My makeup was subtle but eye-catching, and I liked the way the top cinched at the waist, and my shorts were shorter than a dress could have been.
I left the house and got into a cab which took me downtown.
Tanya waited for me outside when I arrived. I got out, paid the driver, and walked over to her. She looked me up and down and smiled when I reached her, hugging me. She wore the same red dress I had the last time we went out together.
“You look beautiful,” she said. “I’m so glad you could make it!”
I eyed her. “You look so much better in that dress than I do,” I said.
“Don’t be silly,” she said, brushing it off. We walked into the club and straight to the bar. Grace was already in line. She wore a white skirt with a black top. Cute. When she saw me, she hugged me, too.
“What are you having?” She asked.
I shrugged. “Whatever. Surprise me.”
She grinned and ordered three Tequilas and three cocktails. I rolled my eyes but smiled.
“You’re starting off with a bang,” she said.
“And hopefully we’ll finish with a bang,” Tanya said. “Have you seen the number of guys out tonight?”
I looked around. I hadn’t noticed, but there were a lot of them. Clusters of men stood all over the main floor, eyeing the girls walking past them, either talking to each other summoning up the courage to go and speak to them.
“You have to at least kiss someone tonight,” Tanya said to me. I shrugged.
“I’ll see what I can find.”
She shrugged, happy with an answer that wasn’t a complete shutdown. I looked around again. There were a lot of guys. I’d grown comfortable with my independence. I didn’t want to be in a relationship. But there was nothing wrong with a bit of fun, right? Besides, I wouldn’t know if there was anyone better than James out there if I didn’t at least try.
I noticed a group of guys at the far end and recognized some of them as the burly guys we’d met the last time. There were more of them this time – the group had brought along some friends. Well, it was an opening since I already knew some of them, and I was in the mood for networking again.
When was the last time I had felt like I could face a guy and perhaps the prospect of dating? Maybe going to that Football game had changed my mind about the caliber of a man.
Not.
But it was a good feeling to be, if not back in the game itself, considering it at least.
“Our friends are here,” Tanya said, turning around with two cocktails on hand. I took one from her. Bright orange with a yellow fade in.
“Sex on the beach, just for you,” Tanya said and flashed a naughty grin.
How apt.
“I noticed they were here,” I said. “We should go and say hello.”
“Are you offering to speak to guys?” Grace asked, joining us with her own cocktail. “Did you drink before you came?”
I laughed, ignoring the quip and leaving out the fact I had indeed had some wine. It wasn’t the alcohol enforcing me with courage. At least, I didn’t think so.
I did feel light and airy, though. Light, airy, and invincible.
“A girl’s allowed to flaunt her assets if she has them,” I said and took another sip. Tanya and Grace looked at each other with mock-surprise. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help but smile. Something was different tonight. Something had cracked open, and I felt better. James was in the distant past for a change, and not some dark ghost haunting me like it had all happened yesterday.
“Come on,” I said.
We walked together over to the group of meatheads, and I stepped in front, greeting the big one who had sponsored our alcohol the last time.
“Hey, Clyde,” I said. “It’s nice to see you’re out with the boys again.”
He grinned at me, his eyes sliding down my body like he was thirsty for something other than his drink. I stepped from one foot to the other, feeling a little uncomfortable. I wasn’t feeling that invincible.
“Looks like you made some friends,” another guy said and stepped toward us. He was a lot smaller than Clyde in height even though he was just as compact muscle-wise. His eyes were like ice, and his black hair was slicked back in a way that made him look kind of dangerous.
“Hi…” I was unsure about him. I glanced up at Clyde who had turned his back. Great. I looked over my shoulder at Tanya who was tapping her foot and Grace who looked indifferent.
“Leave the poor women alone, Damien. They look like they wanted to talk to Clyde.”
The man addressed as Damien looked irritated, his hands clenched in fists. I had no doubt he would use them. I looked over his shoulder at the man who’d spoken and frowned. He had brown hair, a styled mess, green eyes that pierced through my soul and a mouth set in a very familiar way. I glanced him up and down, trying to place him. Built body with arms bigger than my thighs. Chiseled. He was in fantastic shape and that face… I melted a little. This was man candy. When I looked back into his eyes, they were laughing at me. He’d followed my eyes and raised his eyebrows and folded his arms, leaning against one of the tall tables.
That laid back attitude, the cocky smirk that came with it, and the laughing eyes all fell into place. I knew this guy. My attraction faded instantly and was replaced by irritation.
“Oh,” I said, making no effort to hide my disgust. “It’s you.”
He chuckled. Damien looked from me to the football player and back, his face dropping into something that very much resembled anger.
“Whatever,” he said and walked to the bar, so I faced the football player head on.
“Yes, it’s me,” he said. “I thought you didn’t know who I was.”
I put my hand on my hip and cocked it to the side, throwing some attitude of my own. I wasn’t going to let this guy trample me twice. In my other hand, I held onto the cocktail. The alcohol already in my blood made me confident, and I wasn’t in the mood to be talked down to.
“I know exactly who you are,” I said. Behind me, I could feel Tanya and Grace’s interest as they watched our little face off. “Powerhouse Jake.”
He grinned, his face lighting up and his eyes seeming greener in the dim light of the club.
“I thought you were going to call me an arrogant asshole again.”
“I thought you were going to act like one again. The night is still young, though.”
He pushed away from the table and stepped forward, holding out his hand.
“Well, you know who I am. You can just call me Jake, though. The nickname stays behind on the field.”
I hesitated before I took his hand. The moment I touched him my skin tingled. The atmosphere charged all around us. I looked down at our hands.
“And you are?” he asked when I didn’t respond. I shook my head and looked back into his eyes. They were like jewels, deep and intent.
“Alyssa,” I said. He held onto my hand for longer than necessary. Only when I pulled back did he release it, glancing down at our hands like he hadn’t realized he’d been doing it.
“Can I buy you a drink?” He asked. “You know, to make up for what happened.”
I shook my head and held up my cocktail. “Already taken care of, thank you.”
&
nbsp; He blinked at me. Someone tapped me on the shoulder, bringing me back to reality and I turned to the side to allow my friends into the conversation.
“This is Tanya and Grace,” I said, introducing them. They both shook hands with Jake, but his eyes were still on mine. Even when Tanya asked her to introduce her to the rest of his friends, he was looking at me. It was warming and disconcerting at the same time.
What was he looking at?
Chapter 9