Dirty Player - A Football Romance (A Maxwell Family Romance)

by Alycia Taylor

  I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that I was the only person in the cell. I nodded to the guard and took a seat. Again, the minutes seemed to stretch, and I felt myself growing more and more impatient. When I heard footsteps, I thought it was going to be for me, but it was just the guard, bringing someone else into the cell with me. The guy looked to be about my age, and he looked nervous. He took a seat and regarded me with suspicion, and I got the impression that he wasn’t a bad person. He was probably just scared that I was the bad one. I smiled at him, and he quickly looked down at his feet. It took a while for him to eventually catch my eye and I gave him a knowing nod.

  “I hope I don’t have to spend the night,” he said to me.

  “You and me both. I really shouldn’t be in here.”

  “Yeah, me too. The whole thing was just a stupid mistake,” he said.

  “Yeah, same here. Well, at least we’re both in here together. Earlier I was sharing the cell with two rather scary looking guys. I was very uncomfortable.”

  He smiled. “I was worried when I saw you sitting here. But I feel better now. Remind me to never do anything stupid ever again. If I’m scared here, I would hate to think what I would be like I if I had to actually go to jail.”

  “Oh yeah, me too. So, think you’re going to get out today?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. You?”

  I nodded. “I hope so.”

  Neither of us asked the other one what we had done to get ourselves in this position. We were both just happy to be together. Now, even if someone else got put in, at least we had each other.

  “How long do you think we’ve been here?” he asked a bit later.

  “I have no idea. It feels like hours, but who knows; it might only be one.”

  Some more time passed, and then we heard the footsteps of the guard coming our way. We looked at each other in anticipation. We could only hear one set of footsteps, which meant the guard was more than likely coming to take one of us away. The guard came forward and opened the door. He nodded at me.

  “Dominic Aarons. You’re free to go. Come with me.”

  I looked at the other guy and felt instantly bad that I was the one to go first. I realized that I didn’t even know his name. I was just about to say something when he smiled at me and wished me luck. I smiled back.

  “You too. Hope you’re out soon.”

  “No talking. Come on, out you go, Dominic.”

  I walked out, sad to leave him on his own, but happy to be out regardless. The moment I got out, I saw Candice. She was yelling at some police officer, and he was holding her back. Behind her, I saw her mother, standing there with a bemused look on her face. When she saw me, she pushed past him and ran straight toward me. Tears were streaming down her face.

  “Nicky!” she yelled, and I noticed the guards looking at her with a confused look on their face at the different name.

  “Candy! It’s so good to see you,” I said as she ran right into my arms. I kissed her forehead and squeezed her towards me. I knew then that I never wanted to let her go. No matter what was going to happen or what we had been through, we were meant to be together, and nobody could tell us otherwise. I didn’t want to let her go.

  “I’m so sorry about all of this,” she said. “Are you okay? I’ve been going out of my mind with worry, but nobody would let me see you.”

  I nodded and wiped away her tears. “I’m fine. I’m fine. And it’s not your fault. Not at all. But damn, it’s so good to see you.”

  “Okay you two, you can do that outside. You’re making a scene now,” the officer said, but I could see that a part of him was touched. It was hard not to be taken aback by Candice. Even with tears streaming down her face, she was still the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. When we pulled away, he gave me a look that I could clearly see meant he was a little jealous of me for getting a girl like that. I didn’t blame him. I took her hand and walked out. The moment we got out, I looked at her and asked her what was going on.

  “My mom was going to bail you out of jail. That’s why we came here. But, as it turns out, we didn’t have to. The charges were dropped anyway. There’s no reason for you to be here when you’ve done nothing wrong. We can all vouch for that. And I know you didn’t try to abduct me, obviously, and my mother believes me too. So . . . we came to get you out.”

  “Wow, so your mother . . .”

  “She was going to help. She’s . . . .” Candice said and turned around to find her mother. “She’s here. Mom, come say hi.”

  I turned around and smiled at her mother. Now that Candice was older, I could see that she got her good looks from her mother. The two of them were clearly related. I hadn’t seen Marian for such a long time, and it was good to see her friendly face again. The long blonde hair that I remembered her having when I was a child was now cut into a short bob, and she looked tired and a little too thin. But other than that, she was still absolutely beautiful. She was smiling at me, and I could see, just by the way she looked at me, that she didn’t hate me. It was a relief to know that I at least had someone in the family rooting for me for a change.

  “I’m so sorry about everything,” I said. “You have to know that I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Candice.” I desperately needed her to know that I wasn’t the bad guy. Her approval meant more to me than her husband’s did. Far more.

  She smiled. “I know you wouldn’t. Trust me, I know. And it’s good to see you again, Dominic. I can’t believe how much you’ve changed. You were so young when I saw you last. I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up and how fast time has gone. I’m . . . well, I’m sorry for everything that happened. I want you to know that.”

  I nodded. “It’s not your fault, but thank you. And thank you for not being upset with me now. Candice is a special girl.”

  “She really is.”

  “But what about Lionel? Is he here too?”

  She shook her head. “Don’t worry about him right now. I’m just glad that you and Candice are safe and sound.”

  “Oh, look, there’s my father,” I said as I saw my father walking towards me. “Hey, Pop. I’m out,” I said and grinned at him. I wasn’t mad at him anymore. I was just so happy to finally be out of that place.

  My father smiled at me and then grinned at Marian.

  “Marian? Wow. It’s been a long time. It’s good to see you. You’re looking well. Thanks for coming here and for doing all of this.”

  Marian waved his compliment away. “I should be the one to thank you. I still remember how good both you and your son were to my daughter. It was a hard time for me back then. Candice got picked on a lot. But you were so good to her. I will never forget what you did for her confidence. And I never got a chance to really thank you. I’m just so glad I get to do that now. Thank you both for everything.”

  “Oh, Candice is a wonderful woman. And thank you for all this today.”

  She smiled. “Well, I think it’s safe to say that we’re even now.”

  Marian turned towards Candice and told her that it was time to leave. I asked if Candice could come back with me. I wasn’t ready to leave her. Candice looked at her mother and asked if it would be okay.

  “It’s fine. You can go. But keep your phone on, in case.”

  Candice nodded. “Trust me; my phone is not going off ever again. What about Dad? What’s he going to say about all this?” she asked. I was glad she asked. I had been wondering the same thing. I half expected him to appear any minute and drag me back into jail.

  “Don’t worry about him. I’ll figure something out,” she said. Then when Candice wasn’t watching, she looked at me. “Just stay together.”

  I nodded. I wasn’t sure what that meant or what was going to happen, but I didn’t want to make a scene. I knew that things were far from over. There was no way that Lionel was just going to roll over and let us be together. He was still going to do his best to tear us apart, I was sure of it. But right then, there was nothing else to do but wait and see
what happened. I gave Marian a big hug and told her to call me if anything happened.

  “Come on,” I said to Candice. “Let’s go.”

  “You’re coming back to my place,” my father said. “No arguing.”

  I didn’t care where we went, as long as I had Candice with me. I took her hand, and we followed my father to his car. I squeezed Candice’s hand to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. We might not have her father’s approval, but we still had a lot more people on our side than before. And, above all, we had each other.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Candice

  It was so good to be back with Dominic again. I still had no idea what had really happened. One minute I was sitting at home, the next I was traveling with my mother to get him. My mother had a strange look on her face the whole time, as if she knew something I didn’t. She seemed to want to prove something to me too. I think she still felt bad about everything that had happened. I was just relieved that for the first time she was listening to me and doing the right thing and not just the thing that my father wanted her to do. I was proud of her. The moment we left the police station, we headed off to Dominic’s father’s house. We questioned him, but he said he didn’t want us to go to back to the college dorm yet. He said he wanted things to cool down and for Lionel to come forward and have his say. College was starting up again on Monday, and he wanted us to lay low until then. I didn’t mind. I didn’t actually care where we were as long as we were with each other.

  Thankfully, Dominic’s father had turned Dominic’s room into a guest bedroom and had shifted all his things into the garage. The garage was separate from the house and offered us the opportunity to spend some time with each other without his father constantly around. I liked Dominic’s father a lot, but I was still feeling a little awkward about everything that had happened. I didn’t want him to blame me for getting Dominic in so much trouble. Even though it hadn't been my fault, it was still obvious that without me, none of this would’ve happened. And none of us knew what all of this still meant for Dominic’s future of football. It was something that we hadn’t bought up yet, but I was sure it lingered in his mind as much as it did in mine.

  When we got back, we spent some time just holding each other and kissing. Then, Dominic said that he was going to go back into the house to take a shower.

  “I desperately need to rub the smell of jail off me,” he said. “Will you be okay here?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I’m good. Actually, I’m going to phone Lily if that’s okay. She’s back now, and I know she’s dying to find out what is happening.”

  “Of course. I’ll bring us something to eat when I finish in the shower.”

  “Thank you,” I said and smiled at him.

  Lily picked up after the first ring, almost like she had been sitting by her phone just waiting for me to call her.

  “Oh, thank goodness you called. I’ve been dying to know what is going on. Are you okay? Tell me everything! Hang on, I’m going to call you back. It’s too expensive for you to call here.”

  I smiled as she cut the call. She could get into trouble with her father for the phone call but she was putting me first. Lily had I had gotten close when Dominic and I had broken up. I couldn’t wait for him to get to know him properly when we were back at school. As soon as she called back, I launched into the whole tale, telling her everything that had happened and being sure not to leave out a thing.

  “So you’re at his dad’s house now?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sitting in his room. Well, the garage really. He’s inside taking a shower. I just had to let you know what was happening. Crazy, huh?”

  “So crazy. What does this all mean though? What does your father say? Is he going to let the two of you stay together?”

  I sighed. “Who knows? But whether he lets me or not it doesn’t change a thing. I’m old enough to decide who I want to be with, and I have no doubt in my mind that I want to be with Dominic. This has only just confirmed it for me.”

  “Good. I think Dominic sounds perfect for you. Don’t let anyone get in your way.”

  “I’m so glad I’m going to be seeing you next week. I think I’m going to need the support. There is no way that all of this is going to be kept quiet. I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone knows about it by the time we get back. Poor Dominic; they’re all going to be talking about the fact that he went to jail because of me.”

  “You’ll be fine. I’m sure you’re used to scandals anyway. Isn’t that what politicians are known for?” she asked.

  I laughed. “Yeah, but I’m not usually the one involved in the scandals.”

  “That’s true. Don’t worry, people love rumors and scandals, but they just as easily forget about them.”

  We talked a little bit more, and then when Dominic walked in carrying a tray of food, I told her I had to go. I ended the call and put the phone away, making sure that it was not on silent in case my mother called.

  “You didn’t have to stop the call,” he said. He looked so handsome when he walked in, his messy dark hair washed and shiny.

  “Nah, I would rather talk to you.”

  He smiled and put down a tray of sandwiches, snacks, and drinks.

  “This is amazing,” I said. “Thank you. I’m starving.”

  “Yeah, so am I. This was all I could find to make in the fridge. I thought of ordering pizza, but I couldn’t wait that long. But maybe we can get pizza tonight.”

  “That sound great. Thanks, Dominic. How was your shower?”

  “Amazing. I’m so glad to be out of that place. And knowing that you were waiting for me in my room helped a lot. I’m glad that my father put all my stuff in the garage. At least we have some privacy now.”

  We sat for a while, just eating and talking. I could tell that Dominic was worried, despite the relief of being out. Every now and again he just went completely quiet, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. My heart went out to him. I didn’t know what to do. We were both obviously worried about my father, and what he was going to do. It didn’t sit well with us that he hadn’t contacted us yet. I think we both just wanted to know what was going to happen. It was hard to prepare yourself when you didn’t know what you were preparing yourself for. I hoped my mother would at least call me to let me know what was going on. I wondered if she was sitting at home now, arguing with him. There was only so much that she could do. There was even a chance that her standing up to him had made things worse in the long run. I was just about to say something to Dominic when his phone rang, and we both jumped up in surprise. He looked at it and sighed.

  “It’s Axel. Ah, man, I really don’t feel like talking right now.”

  “Want me to get it?”

  “Okay, thanks,” he said and handed me the phone.

  I told Axel that Dominic was in the shower, but that everything was fine. I assured him that we were both just exhausted and promised him that Dominic would call once things had settled down a bit more. Afterwards, I cut the call and handed the phone back to Dominic.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’m sorry, I just don’t feel like talking to anyone.”

  “You’re worried, huh? About my father? So am I,” I admitted. “But we have each other, and that’s the main thing. We’re a strong force together, Dominic. We can’t let him win.”

  He nodded and sighed. “I know, and I agree. I know I wasn’t in jail for a long time, but I did get a lot of time to myself to just think about everything. I promised myself that I would do anything to get you back and not to let anything stand in my way. But, now that I’m out, I’m starting to wonder if I’m doing the right thing.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I just . . . I’m just so sorry. I’m wondering now if I’m just being selfish by being with you.”

  “Selfish? Why would being with me make you selfish? It’s what we both want. Isn’t it?” I asked.

  “Of course. It’s definitely what I w
ant. But, we have so many odds against us. This is the second time that we’ve been pushed away from each other like this. And, Candice, I’m tearing your family apart. Things were fine with you and your father before I came along. I just don’t want to be the cause of all your unhappiness. I just love you too much. Too damn much! I hate the idea that I have caused such a rift in your family. Before I was here, you were living a good and happy life. Now you’re bailing me out of jail and fighting with your father. How can I do that to you? If I love you as much as I know I do, I shouldn’t let you go through all that. I should walk away and let you live your life.”

  I shook my head. I had not gone through all of this just be alone all over again. No! I was going to fight for him.

  “You’re wrong, Dominic. You’re so wrong. You are the only one that makes me happy. There’s no way I want you out of my life. Not after everything we’ve been through together.”

  “But I can’t do this to you, Candy. I can’t. It’s not fair to you, and I don’t want to be the cause of your unhappiness. I need to do the right thing.”

  “You are the only thing that makes me happy. If you want to do the right thing then you will stay with me and help me through this time. Don’t you dare leave me, Dominic Aarons. Not again. Not when I found you again after all this time. I can’t lose you again. A little time in jail is not going to change anything for me. In fact, I’m so proud of us for sticking up for each other and for going against my father. We can’t let him win. I know you think that things were fine before you got here, but that’s not true at all. I only got along with my father because I listened to what he had to say, regardless of whether I agreed with it or not. But that’s not how I want to live my life. I want to be with you and nothing or nobody is going to stop that from happening.”