Playing at Love

by Ophelia London

  “Pete,” Jack said, tossing the coach a piece of chalk. “Show us your ideas. You have the floor. Bryson.” He pointed at the young coach then at his office door. “I need to speak to you alone.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Tess had just nodded off when there was a knock on her door. Good thing, because she had way too much to do before even thinking of going to bed. Regionals was tomorrow. Finally! Or had it come too soon? Tess was still too sleepy to decide.

  She pushed back the scraps of material and the glue gun and stood up from the table, trying to brush off the glitter that was sticking to her palms and probably her face.

  She glanced at the clock as she walked to the door. Ten thirty? Who would be dropping by so late? The glory days of pop-in visits didn’t exist anymore thanks to cell phones. No one had an excuse.

  “Who is it?” Tess called out. When no one replied, she stopped walking and stood a few feet from the door. The strangest feeling was coming over her. Not déjà vu exactly, but…

  “Who is it?” she repeated, a little louder that time.

  “It’s Jack.”

  Tess stared at the door. Not because she was surprised, but because she’d known it was him. Or maybe she was still asleep at the kitchen table, taking a quick catnap while gluing together swagger props for the show choir’s costumes.

  She had been dreaming about him lately. Well, not lately—more like constantly, every night since she’d said good-bye to him in the parking lot, exactly one week ago tonight. So it wasn’t a huge surprise that she would imagine him suddenly appearing on her doorstep so late at night. Her dreams usually went further than that, but when there was a louder knock that actually rattled the vase on the end table, Tess knew she was awake.

  “Tess? Open up.”

  Still not quite conscious enough to control her actions, Tess grabbed the knob and opened the door. It was Jack, all right, standing in her apartment hallway wearing jeans and a thin black sweater. Tess’s still-half-asleep body went on autopilot, causing her heart to pound and her breathing to shallow at the mere sight of him. The physical pull toward him was almost uncontrollable, but luckily she shook herself awake enough to not do anything she would regret.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, making sure she concentrated on his eyes only and not the way she could make out the shape of his chest muscles through his sweater.

  Jack frowned. “What do you mean?”

  She gripped the door, not allowing it to open all the way. “It’s a pretty simple question. What are you doing at my house?”

  Still frowning, Jack lifted his cell phone. “Mac said to meet here. Didn’t you get the same message?”

  “What message?”

  Silently, he passed Tess his cell.

  “Meet at Tess’s now. 911. Mac.” Tess looked up. “So dramatic,” she muttered. “What is she talking about?”

  “Can I please come in?” Jack asked, his eyes sliding to the left. “Your neighbor keeps poking her head out and glaring.”

  “Sure.” Tess stepped back and Jack entered.

  “So, you didn’t get a text?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Let me check.” She left him by the door and found her phone buried under a pile of material on the table. “Huh, fifteen minutes ago. Just says she’s coming over,” Tess called out to him. But when she stepped back, Jack was right behind her.

  “Tess.”

  She quickly stepped forward. It was hard enough dreaming about him, but being in such close proximity and knowing that she couldn’t have him made her feel empty and frustrated.

  “Jack.” She swallowed. “Don’t.”

  He lifted his hands and backed away, looking surprised at his own actions. “Sorry.” He plunged his hands in his pockets. “So, what am I doing here?”

  She lifted her eyebrows. “I have no idea. You show up with some mystery message from my friend that I know nothing about and—”

  “Hey! Tess!”

  Tess jumped about a mile when Mac banged on the door.

  “Wake up!”

  After rolling her eyes, Tess groaned and stepped past Jack. “What’s going on?” she said as she swung open the door. Tess felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, about ready to slam the door shut as she realized it wasn’t only Mac standing there. It was Rick Duffy.

  “Mac?” Tess said, staring at her friend. “What the…?”

  “He came to tell you something,” Mac said, jerking her head toward Rick. When Rick didn’t say anything, she turned to him and planted her hands on her hips. He was almost a whole head taller than her. “Rick?” she snapped as she looked up at him.

  Rick cleared his throat and glanced at Tess. “It was unethical, what I did.” He lifted a hand to cough in his fist, like he was gagging on his words. “Last week…writing what I did about the choir. You were right; it wasn’t fair.”

  “Well…,” Tess began, a little too blindsided to come up with a clever rebuttal.

  “And?” Mac prompted, shooting Rick another withering glance.

  “And I’m sorry.” He ran a hand through his blond hair. “I realize I’m a week too late, but the online story is down. There’s nothing I can do to take back the information I divulged, and I am sorry about that. I understand much better now.”

  “I appreciate you saying that,” Tess said. She was almost about to rake him over the coals for it again, but she didn’t think it was worth it. So she swallowed and said, “Thank you.”

  Rick opened his mouth but didn’t speak.

  “That’s not all,” Mac said, elbowing Rick. “Show them.”

  A bit reluctantly, Rick flipped open the carrier bag over his shoulder and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here,” he said, holding it to Tess.

  “What is it?” Tess asked, folding her arms.

  “It’s for him, too,” Mac said, gesturing at Jack.

  Tess turned to Jack, totally confused now.

  …

  Jack stepped up and took the paper, making sure he stared Duffy in the eyes for a good few seconds first. He still didn’t like the guy and didn’t trust him, even after his apology to Tess.

  “What is this?” he asked, running his eyes over the paper. The first few lines were confusing; the last few were utterly baffling.

  “It’s the piece I’m running in the paper tomorrow,” Rick answered.

  Jack glanced up at him for a moment then went back to reading.

  “What does it say?” Tess asked.

  Silently, Jack passed her the paper and watched as she read. By her changing expression and body language, Tess was obviously reacting the same way Jack had.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, frowning down at the paper. There was a cute little notch between her eyebrows and Jack imagined running his finger along it. But then he shook himself awake.

  “It’s a public apology,” Mac said.

  “Uh, Mac.” Tess held up the paper. “It’s way more than that.”

  “And,” Mac added, “it’s a promise to never do anything like that again and to lift the quality of the newspaper to higher standards.” She turned to Rick. “That’s what you wrote, right?”

  Jack couldn’t help noticing the satisfaction in Mac’s voice. Was there something going on between her and the reporter? Had she talked him into writing such a piece?

  Jack folded his arms. “How did you get your editor to run a story like this?” he asked Rick. “This is pretty ballsy stuff.” He gestured at the paper, feeling just a bit more respect for the guy, and just a touch of pity. “Taken the wrong way, it could be detrimental to the newspaper and its owners, especially.”

  “It’s not detrimental,” Mac argued impatiently. “It’s an apology from an upstart reporter who was trying to make a name for himself.” She narrowed her eyes at Rick. “Right?”

  “What about the scholarship?” Jack asked, pointing at the paper.

  “Just what it says,” Rick replied. “The Franklin Standard will offer a ten thousan
d dollar college scholarship to one graduating senior at Franklin High.” He slid his hands in his pockets. “From either the show choir or the football team.”

  “You mean,” Tess slowly began, “whichever side wins, someone on that side will also get a scholarship?”

  “Not necessarily the winning side,” Rick clarified. “In fact, the paper won’t take that into consideration; it shouldn’t matter. I’ve seen a lot of talent on both sides. I have my favorites, of course, but the paper will form a board to determine the recipient.”

  “Oh. That’s…generous.” Tess’s voice shared all the confusion that Jack was feeling.

  “What scholarship?” Mac asked. “What are you talking about?”

  “Mac,” Tess said, “did you even read this?”

  “Not really,” Mac admitted, blinking.

  Tess held out the paper then shot a glance at Jack. Jack could only puff out his cheeks and shrug, feeling at a total loss.

  “Fine.” Mac snatched it from her and began to read. At first her foot was tapping impatiently, but the more she read, the less she tapped. “Why did you write this?” she said, turning her chin toward Rick, who was watching her very closely. “And how did you get permission to give a ten thousand dollar scholarship? If this gets printed, your boss is going to fire you.”

  “No, he won’t.” Rick took a deep inhale. “I am the boss.”

  Mac lowered the paper and gaped at him. “What does that mean?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Jack caught how Tess leaned forward, as if wanting to catch every word of the conversation going on two feet in front of her.

  Rick shrugged one shoulder. “I own the paper,” he said. Jack noticed that the guy was standing just a little taller. “My family, actually,” he tagged on. “It’s a long story, but basically, I inherited my grandfather’s controlling share when I turned thirty.”

  Mac gaped at him, her hands back on her hips. “And all this time you’ve been playing the role of lowly scrub reporter? Why?”

  “Uh.” He rubbed his chin. “That was in the will, too. I had to learn the ropes before I took over.” He lifted a tiny smile. “Grandfather was a twisted old SOB.”

  Jack felt like laughing. He was starting to like Rick—just a little.

  “So, that means y-you’re…umm…” Mac stuttered. “I mean, you’ve got a lot of…of…”

  “Money—yes,” Rick said.

  Mac scoffed. “Since when?”

  “Well, since always.”

  “Oh, dear,” Jack heard Tess breathe out in a very low whisper.

  Not hearing that, Mac released a furious huff. “Rick! Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I couldn’t tell anyone, Mackenzie,” Rick said, and Jack was shocked at the amount of warmth behind his words, especially when he’d spoken her name.

  “You own the newspaper,” Mac repeated, her voice morphing into an accusatory pout. “Like you own it?”

  “Yes,” Rick confirmed.

  Mac huffed and glanced at Tess for backup. But Tess seemed just as taken aback as Jack felt. So, she only shook her head in speechless disbelief.

  “The other night at my house.” Mac turned back to Rick, not bothering to lower her voice. “You didn’t think to tell me then?”

  “Mac,” Rick said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  Jack suddenly felt very intrusive and very trapped. He was in Tess’s front hallway and Mac and Rick were blocking the door, obviously discussing something that had happened between them. He glanced at Tess, whose eyes had gone wide as she stared back and forth from Mac to Rick.

  “Umm, why don’t we just…,” Jack said, and then as inconspicuously as possible, he reached out and slowly closed the door on the arguing couple, who didn’t even seem to notice.

  “What…the…what?” Tess stood in place, staring at the door.

  Jack couldn’t help chuckling. “I have no idea, but I suddenly felt like we were in the middle of a lovers’ quarrel.”

  After a moment, Tess’s hands flew to her mouth and she burst out laughing. “That was insane,” she said. “Mac hates rich guys; she loathes old money.”

  Jack laughed again. “Remind me to never piss her off.”

  “If he’s lucky, she’ll only eat him alive—”

  “With relish,” they said together, completing the old joke they’d shared as teenagers.

  They both stopped laughing and Jack looked at Tess, who slowly lifted her eyes to him. She had glitter stuck to the side of her face. His hand raised an inch to wipe it off, but then he thought better of it and kept his hands in his pockets.

  “Well, this changes things,” Tess said. “A scholarship; that’s huge.”

  “You have someone in mind?” Jack asked.

  Tess nodded. “I sure do. Someone who could really use it.”

  Jack gazed at her, at the new smile playing at the corner of her mouth. He was dying to ask her who it was, but he knew that was no longer his business.

  “I think they’re gone,” Tess said after a minute, tilting her head toward the door as if she was listening.

  Jack was still watching her, feeling his chest ache for her with every heartbeat. “Okay,” he said, reaching for the doorknob. With heavy feet, he crossed the threshold and out into the empty hallway.

  Just as she was shutting the door, Jack stopped and turned around. “I thought you should know…last week, I found out who leaked the story.”

  “What?” Tess said, taking a step into the hall.

  “Yeah.” Jack dropped his eyes, staring at the space between his shoes. “It was one of my coaches. He heard a group of your students talking about it. There’s no excuse for what he did, except he’s young and stupid.” Jack lifted his chin. “I fired him.”

  “Oh.” Tess didn’t look happy. There was nothing happy about their situation. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.

  He was glad she wasn’t rubbing it in or blaming him, even though it had been a member of his staff who had blabbed her secret to the press. But of course Tess wouldn’t have done that. She was kind and understanding. And he loved her for that.

  After a moment, Jack exhaled. “Yeah, I’m sorry, too.”

  With nothing left for either of them to say, Tess stepped inside. Right as Jack turned to leave, he stopped again. “Good luck tomorrow,” he said. “Big competition.”

  Tess pushed opened the door an inch, looking at Jack with an expression that was unfamiliar to him. But it looked as if she might burst out crying. A moment later, she blinked and lifted a tiny smile. “And a big game for you,” she said. “Good luck.”

  “Thank you,” he said, feeling the same sad smile on his face that Tess was wearing.

  “Good night,” she said, starting to back inside.

  Jack nodded once. “Good night, Tess.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Tess tossed and turned all night. First she dreamed that Penny suddenly contracted laryngitis. Then there was the nightmare that someone sold the new show choir costumes on eBay. But the worst was when she dreamed that she had forgotten altogether that today was the day of the Regionals competition—the day they’d been preparing for all semester. After that, Tess finally rolled out of bed to take a run before starting the long-awaited, pivotal day.

  Penny sat in the passenger seat as Tess drove her own car behind the school bus carrying the rest of the choir. It was only a forty-five-minute drive to Indianapolis, but for Tess—and probably for Penny—it felt longer than a Celine Dion concert.

  She hadn’t felt nerves like this since her audition for Carousel when she was seventeen. And since she wasn’t the one with the big solo today, she knew Penny must be even more nervous.

  Tess still regretted that the choir hadn’t been able to compete at Invitationals, just to get them extra geared up for Regionals. But believe it or not, her team was ready.

  “My parents are coming,” Penny said while chewing on her thumbnail.

  “Oh, cool!” Tess acted pleasantly su
rprised, even though she wasn’t. This was the biggest singing event Penny had ever competed in; of course her parents were coming.

  “Mine are, too,” Tess added, adjusting her visor as they drove into the morning sun.

  “Even though you’re not really singing?” Penny asked, pulling her hand from her mouth.

  “They like to be supportive,” Tess explained. “That is, unless there happens to be a Cheers marathon on TV. They won’t step foot outside the house if Cheers is on.”

  “Really?” Penny said. “What’s Cheers?”

  Tess turned to look at the young girl blinking at her, and she almost laughed.

  “Anyway,” Tess said, “when we get to the venue, you catch up with the rest of the group while I check us in. Each school has its own section in the overflow behind the stage. There will be a big sign on the wall with our name on it. Our spot will be right underneath.”

  “We don’t get our own rehearsal room?” Penny asked, sounding alarmed.

  “No one does,” Tess said. “And anyway, rehearsal time is over, right, kiddo?”

  When she glanced at Penny, she noticed how pale she’d gone.

  The girl nodded, then slowly turned to stare out the windshield, her thumbnail back between her teeth.

  “Our spot will be a place to hang out and relax and warm up before each round,” Tess continued, knowing that the more information Penny had, the calmer she would feel once they arrived. “The first round is at ten. It’s alphabetical so we’ll be pretty near the front of the line.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Penny lower her hand.

  “If we move on to round two, that’s after lunch. The semifinals are at three and the finals usually start around seven. Any questions?”

  “‘If’?” Penny said after a moment.

  “What?” Tess asked, turning to her. “What was that?”

  “You said if, Jo…if we make it to the next round.”

  Tess stared at her, dumbfounded.

  “It’s when,” Penny continued. “When we move on to round two and the semis and the finals. And it’s when we win. When.”