Unsportsmanlike Conduct

by Melody Heck Gatto

  "I won't forget," she said, putting her hand on her stomach. "Let Ben explain whatever is going on, okay?" She smiled and waved as she shut the door.

  Gia walked upstairs to her apartment. She was sick to her stomach. Between all the media chatter about a trade, and waiting for Tyler, she felt like she might puke. Then a wave of nausea came over her and she rushed into the bathroom.

  After unpleasantly relieving this morning’s breakfast, she felt better. Staring in the mirror, she rinsed her mouth and brushed her teeth again.

  The buzzer rang; it was Tyler. She hit the button to let him in the security doors. Her stomach again felt queasy; her nerves were a mess. She looked out the window at his little sports car and clung to her stomach. She tried to hold whatever was left of breakfast down.

  She thought about Patrick, about his arms wrapped around her. A warmth washed over her body. She drifted off at the thought of his wavy hair and kind blue eyes until the knock at the door.

  She slowly opened the door to Tyler. She was used to opening the door to his smiling face. However, things had changed. Now he stood there, serious and quiet.

  "Tyler. Hi. C'mon in." She moved back into her apartment, giving him room to walk by. She didn't expect him to hug her or anything, but she didn't really expect him to be so standoffish. She wasn’t used to this cold and quiet Tyler.

  "Hi, Gia. I brought sandwiches."

  ****

  PATRICK

  Patrick drove home with his mind on Gia and Tyler. Tyler… was he the reason Ben needed to talk to him? His mind raced. His mouth went dry and his heart pounded heavily in his chest. His nerves were getting the better of him.

  Would she call him? Would that be the last time he held her? I can’t think about that now or I might get sick. She was never his to take to begin with. She'd always belonged to Tyler. It was better that I never told her how I felt.

  He couldn't wait to talk to Ben and find out what the hell was going on. Twitter was a huge rumor mill in the off-season. Normally, he didn't even look at it. He hated social media. But right now, he was getting mad. What if it were true? How could he leave Gia? Gia … What if it was Tyler’s baby and he wanted her back?

  He pulled the Hummer into his parking space and slunk up to his door. He kept his head down as he walked inside, shutting it abruptly behind him. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down, hoping Gia had called or texted already.

  Nothing.

  "Dammit!!" Patrick yelled aloud. Frustrated, he kicked over the closest end table in his living room before sitting down on the couch.

  Maybe they already made up? Maybe they were nope, can't think about that.

  "One thing at a time Pat, deal with this first and give Gia some time." He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Ben's number; he couldn't wait any longer to talk to him.

  ****

  GIA

  "Sandwiches, thanks," Gia said as her stomach growled. She was hungrier than she realized.

  Tyler took the deli bag over to the table and set it down.

  "I'll go get some dishes and drinks," Gia said as she went into the kitchen. She grabbed two plates and bottles of water. "I'm hungry, so let's eat first, okay?" Gia said as she sat down at the table. She knew if she didn’t eat her stomach would rebel, and she didn’t need to get sick in front of Tyler.

  Tyler just nodded.

  Gia unwrapped her sandwich, it smelled really good. It was her favorite from the deli, a Panini sandwich with pepperoni, salami, ham, provolone cheese, and a little mayonnaise. She thought she might be drooling as she moved the sandwich towards her lips. "You remembered my favorite sandwich," she commented as she took a bite. "Yum, so good … Thanks."

  He looked around her apartment as she enjoyed her sandwich. "So, you feeling okay?"

  Gia kept her attention on the food; it was easier than trying to interact with Tyler.

  "Yeah, I guess. Little more hungry than normal, and making sure to eat." She took another bite. She was almost finished with her sandwich but Tyler had only taken a few bites. "I was kinda sick earlier."

  "Oh." He watched her eat. "Hungry, huh? That's good though. You need to keep your strength up, especially after the other night." Then he took some time and ate his simple turkey and swiss on rye.

  "So, how've you been?" She looked at him. He looked a million miles away. He was unshaven and in need of a haircut. She finished her sandwich and then nibbled on the pickle spear while she waited for his answer.

  "Good," he mumbled in between bites. He finished his sandwich in silence then took their plates into the kitchen. Pausing for a moment at the sink to take a deep breath, he called, "Got any beer?"

  "Don't think so, you can look though."

  Tyler returned. "No beer." He grabbed his water off the table. "Okay Gia, now that we’ve eaten, let’s talk."

  She nodded and took a sip of water and put one hand on her belly.

  "I've been thinking." He stared at Gia. "I really miss you."

  She noticed his hazel eyes looked dull and sad; the usual glimmer now gone.

  Gia took in a breath. Why did he have to say that? "Tyler …" Hearing those words didn’t comfort her. Her breath caught and she froze with panic. She was afraid he wanted her back. At that moment she knew what she wanted, and it was no longer him. Please don't say you want me back, she begged silently.

  "Wait." He put his hand up. "Let me talk. I do miss you Gia, but we were never going to work, don't you see?" he asked, and she nodded sadly. "I love you. I always will. I miss what we had. But after what you did …" He looked down at his hands. "Twice, for god’s sake. I don't think we can go back."

  Gia felt his pain; she’d really hurt him. She needed to sit there and take whatever he had to say to her because this situation was her fault. Taking a deep breath, she felt sick again but continued to listen.

  "I've thought long and hard about this and I tried to forgive you. I just can't do it again." A single tear ran down his cheek as he ruffled his hair with his hand. "And Patrick, well, I don't know what to do. I have to tell you that out of spite, I told Ben I wanted him traded."

  "You WHAT?" Gia yelled. "What the hell? How could you?" The Twitter rumors were true. This was all her fault. Pain radiated through her stomach.

  "I talked to Ben last week. I was angry and wanted him gone before the season started. Ben told me to think about what I was saying. Sure, he's a huge part of our team, but I don't know if I can look at him every day. I don't know if I can play with him and trust him on the ice like I used to," Tyler confessed. He pinched his nose with his forefinger and thumb, letting out a sigh. “So many teams are salivating at the chance to trade for him, and I won’t ever have to look at his ugly mug again.”

  "Tyler, what the fuck were you thinking?" Gia was still yelling. "Damn you!" She stood up and paced the room. Her head spun and her stomach hurt. She was trying hard to keep down her sandwich. Gia crossed her arms against her chest and glared at Tyler.

  "I don't know Gia! Maybe I was thinking he fucked my girlfriend while I was out of town. Then after I swallowed my pride and forgave him, it happened again! How can I go back out on the ice with a guy like that?" Tyler yelled. He slammed his fist on the table causing Gia to jump. "Aw hell, Gia." He got up and walked across the room.

  He had a point, even if she didn’t like it. "You're being childish, Tyler. You’re supposed to be the captain of the team, not some jealous boyfriend who makes decisions based on his hurt feelings. It wasn't Patrick's fault; it was mine. You brought him here. You wanted him to play on your team," Gia spat. "Did you leak it to Twitter as well? He’s sick over that!" she asked. She was so angry, she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. Her chest was tight and her throat was raw from yelling.

  "Gia, you defend him an awful lot. I guess I should've expected that, considering you spend an awful lot of time in his bed." Tyler scowled at her.

  Gia didn't say a word; she just glared at him.

  "That'
s what I thought. And for your information, I didn't leak anything; I've only talked to Ben."

  "Fuck you, Tyler!" Gia wiped away the tears that fell from her eyes. She hadn’t expected him to come over here and lash out at her like this. She turned her back to him and moved to the window. She had to catch her breath, she was so sick. Her body leaned against the side of the window as she gasped for air.

  "Do you love him?" Tyler asked as she spun around to look at him. He took in a breath.

  "Does it even matter?" she said through tears. She bowed her head, hiding her face from him as she sobbed. What was she going to do if they traded Patrick? "Tyler, you walked away from me. You refused to talk to me for weeks. Did you really think I was sitting at home still planning our future together? I know I screwed up, but you left me. What was I supposed to think?" Gia sniffed, wiping away the tears that sat on her face.

  Tyler's glare softened. He sighed, shaking his head. "Look, Gia, I'm sorry. I did ask Ben to trade Pat and I wanted to own up to that. But of course, Ben told me to take some time and think about it. I don't think he intends to listen to me on this one. I can demand a lot of him, but I could see it on his face. This wasn't something he agreed with. Pat and he go way back and he was thrilled to bring him here."

  Gia remembered Ben wanted to talk to Patrick today. Shit, she thought. "You better be right about that," she said softly as she wiped the tears away.

  "Gia, I didn't come here to fight with you. And yes, I knew you would be mad that I asked to have him traded. However, I also knew if you overreacted to him being traded, you’d already made up your mind on who you wanted to be with. If that's Patrick, then he's one lucky guy. I knew the day I walked out, I wasn’t coming back." Tyler stopped, looking down at the ground.

  "I don't want us to fight like this, G. That's in the past. And I didn't intend on this being a yelling match. I just wanted to talk. Maybe I was hurt and reacted badly when I asked Ben about trading him. I’ll talk to him again."

  Gia couldn't stop the tears from falling.

  "Gia, I'm sorry." He reached out to her.

  Tyler pulled her into a hug and she crumbled into his arms. She knew he didn't mean to hurt her; he acted on his emotions and she couldn't blame him. This was all her fault.

  "Oh my God!" She screeched and grabbed at the twinge in her belly.

  "Is the baby okay? I forgot … I'm sorry … I didn't mean to …" Tyler said nervously. "Oh shit."

  "The baby’s fine." She thought so anyway. The twinge was odd, but it went away.

  ****

  TYLER

  Tyler could see the hurt in her eyes. The second he told Ben to trade Pat, he knew it was the wrong decision. He felt a little relieved knowing Ben did not intend to listen to him on this one. What was he doing? He didn't want to yell at her; he didn't want to fight.

  Sure he was hurt, but he didn't think how much walking out would hurt her. He had really loved Gia.

  Right now he was frantic that all the stress of their arguing had done something to hurt the baby. What was I thinking? She was just in the hospital. "Okay. Look, I'll do my best to deal with Pat and I'm going to call Ben tonight. I'll take care of it. I promise." He put his hand on her belly, still so flat it was hard to imagine there was something, er, a person growing in there.

  "I'm so sorry I hurt you," Gia whimpered. "I didn't mean to. I hope I didn't mess up our friendsh–"

  "Don't apologize. I loved you. Just because you hurt me, doesn’t give me the right to yell at you. I'm sorry for that." Tyler held his arms out to her. "I really am sorry …"

  Gia moved into his arms. He kissed her on her forehead. "Please keep me updated on the baby, okay? I am here for you and if there’s anything I can do, just let me know." He meant it. He was so nervous about the baby. It was too early to know who the father was, so he tried his best not to think about it. If she needed him, he would be there.

  "I will," she said as she pulled away, crossing her arms across her chest. A calm smile spread across her face.

  "Look, I’ll make sure Ben doesn't trade him, okay?" He flashed her a small smile back. "Alright, I think I've upset you enough. I better go. Call me if you need anything." Tyler kissed her on her head. "I just want you to be happy. That's all. If Pat makes you happy–"

  "He does."

  Tyler looked back at her one last time and left.

  CHAPTER 21

  PATRICK

  "What? I can't believe he actually did that. Unbelievable!" Patrick yelled into the phone. Fuck.

  "He said he wants you traded before the season starts. Now Pat, I–" Ben started to explain.

  "What the fuck, Ben?" Patrick yelled. "What the fuck?" The season started in just a few short weeks and Tyler was pulling this shit now?

  "Pat, let me finish. I told him to think about things carefully. I’m the team owner and I have no intention of trading you," Ben said. "No intention," he reiterated.

  Patrick felt a bit better but still pissed. "Okay. You’re being truthful with me, right?"

  "We’ve known each other for a long time. I will always be truthful with you. Tyler was reacting to his emotions, I wouldn’t worry about it. I gave him time to reconsider. He may be the team captain and the face of the league, but when it comes to decisions like that, I have the final say. So don't worry. But I wanted you to know what was going on, especially since my son told me about the social media rumors."

  "Okay, I trust you. But if he really wants me out, let me know," Patrick said, still worried. What would he do if Tyler really wanted him traded? What about Gia? What about the baby? "I really want to stay," he added. "I really want to stay."

  "Don't stress over it. I know you want to stay. Pittsburgh loves you, and that's good for business. He's still young. He’ll learn--business is business and the personal stuff needs to stay out of it," he said as his phone clicked. "Oh hey, there he is now. I'll call you if anything changes, okay? In the meantime, don't worry about it. I brought you here and I want you in Pittsburgh, got it? I'll see you at training camp."

  ****

  GIA

  Gia crumbled onto her couch. What just happened? Tyler tried to get Patrick traded? What would I do if Ben agreed to that? Gia curled up on the couch, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was hurt at his words, but he wasn't wrong. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Patrick's number.

  "Hey, Patrick. You okay?" Gia asked, trying not to sound like she had been crying. She knew what his conversation with Ben consisted of. He sounded mad and she hoped Ben hadn’t already made a deal.

  "Um, yeah, everything’s okay. We can talk about that later. Did things go okay with Tyler?"

  "I know what Tyler did. It was just jealousy and he’s calling Ben to fix it." Hearing the anger in Patrick's voice, she didn't blame him.

  "Okay yeah, he did call Ben just as we finished our conversation, actually. So things are okay with you then?" he asked again.

  "Can you come pick me up?"

  "Yeah, um, yeah, I’ll be right over."

  "Great, I’ll be waiting." She knew the poor guy was confused. Telling him anything over the phone was not how she wanted to do this. She needed to see his face, to have him hold her, to taste his kisses. She packed a bag and headed down to the lobby to wait for Patrick.

  Her stomach growled as she sat down on the wall outside the front door of her apartment building. She was still worried about the trade situation. She watched Patrick's white Hummer pull up to the curb and chuckled to herself. The thing was always spotless. How many times a week did he wash it?

  She opened the door just as Patrick put the Hummer in park and jumped out to help her in.

  "Hey cutie," Patrick said as he walked up beside her. "Here, give me that bag." He tossed it in the back seat.

  "Hey," Gia said, smiling as he turned his attention back to her after putting her stuff in the backseat.

  "Hey." She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close to her. Standing on her tiptoes, she kissed his lips lightly. They c
an't trade him, they just can't. She wanted to cry again at the thought.

  He pulled back slightly and smiled at her. "So, everything's good?"

  "Now that I'm with you. I thought we could stop for ice cream before we go back to your place." She smiled. His blue eyes watched her every movement.

  "Yeah, uh, sure."

  Gia scooted up into the Hummer as Patrick shut the door. He hurried around to his side of the car.

  "So, ice cream it is," Patrick said as he drove to the local ice cream spot, The Twist. "So …"

  "Ben explained things to you then?" she asked, looking out the window.

  "I guess. I was so mad, I'm not sure I heard all of it." He shook his head and let out a little chuckle. "That might have been important to listen to, huh?"

  Gia nodded, her heart felt heavy. "It's all my fault," she said quietly.

  "How could it be your fault? Tyler is the one who demanded my trade." He paused for a second, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, he did it because of you and me? Baby girl, it’ll be okay." He reached over and grabbed her knee.

  "I flipped out on him and he realized how vindictive this all was. He was going to call Ben and tell him to forget it.”

  Patrick shook his head and laughed.

  “You don't look surprised? So Ben wasn't calling to tell you who your new coach is going to be?" She looked at him. "Who leaked that stuff to the media?"

  Patrick shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. But no, Ben wasn't. Alright, we're here. Let’s go get some ice cream."

  "So, he isn't trading you?" Gia tilted her head in confusion. She worried about having to make that decision: stay here and lose Patrick, or go with him and leave her family. She didn't want him to go.

  Pat shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."

  He kissed her lips as she took his hand. Gia looked at him; there was nothing special about how he was dressed. Typical jeans with a t-shirt, but there was something about him right at that moment that she found irresistible. A warmth spread through her body as she watched him move. They may have only been a pair of jeans, but he wore them well. The t-shirt clung to his muscles as he walked. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Her hands itched to wrap around him, simply to feel his body surround her.