“I saw your foundation mentioned on TV,” Jared says to defenseman Devin Miller, who started a nonprofit to help men find the help they need to provide for their families.
“It’s going really well,” Devin says, nodding his head while taking off his shoulder pads.
“I saw a clip on the news. Your foundation has a new facility in Seattle.”
“Oh, yeah,” he says with a grin. “My wife is really proud of it. We’ve already helped so many men get back on their feet.”
“It’s a good cause,” he says.
“What’s going on with you? Seeing anybody?” Devin asks.
Jared doesn’t look up as he loosens his laces. “Kinda.”
“No one special, then?”
“I don’t know. Still new.”
“Not serious? That’s okay. You’ll find one. You’re young.”
“I like her,” Jared says, surprising himself. He really does like Meghan. She is refreshing to be with. Not needy or clingy like the others. Maybe she didn’t like him as much as he liked her.
“What’s the problem?”
“I don’t know.”
“She’s not like that girl you’re trying to get away from?”
Jared takes his skate off and puts it to the side. “My ex?” he asks. “Not at all.” He ravels clear tape around his socks.
“It’s hard to find someone when you have this career. You want someone real. When this career is over, will you still like her?”
Jared chuckles as he wipes down his blades with a rag. “I guess you’re right.” His heart swells as he thinks of Meghan. What happens if she doesn’t want him as a boyfriend? Maybe this fling is all she wants. Jared’s stomach tightens. He wants to get to know her more. When he gets back from the road trip, he needs to do something about it. At least talk to her and find out what her intentions are. He knows what he wants. They can only carry on this affair for so long until one of them lets go and finds someone else. He can’t let that happen. He likes her, he tells himself. He’s just not sure what to do about it.
Meghan and Brie meet up at a restaurant near the mall.
“Are you up for a little shopping after lunch?” Meghan asks. “I need to look for a cocktail dress for the black-tie event. I still haven’t found anything and I don’t want to leave it until the last minute.”
“You gotta get something Jared will drool over, like a short skirt, none of this long, flowy, waste-of-fabric type dress.”
“I’ll be wearing it for a work function. It has to be somewhat sophisticated.”
“And Jared will be there, right?”
“I told you there’s nothing between Jared and me,” Meghan says, holding back a giggle. Every time she thinks about him, she gets all giddy inside.
“Come on,” Brie says, “I saw the way he took your arm at the party and led you out like a prince capturing his princess. He came for you. Swept you away.” Brie waves her arms, her straight, brown hair moving with her actions. “Not many guys go out of their way for a woman. So what’s he like?” She blinks. “Is he an animal in bed, or a charmer, making you fall into his spell?”
“He’s a romantic.” She gives a sideways grin.
“Is that right?”
“Amazing.”
“I told you you’d find someone at work.”
“I still can’t believe it.”
“When are you seeing him again?”
“I don’t know. He’s on the road.”
“You haven’t spoken to him?”
“Three days ago.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. He’s on the road.”
“You’re scared. I can tell. You don’t pursue and take action. Do you have competition or somethin’?”
“I think so. Jared’s in Carolina as we speak. I’m sure he has a woman there.”
“You don’t know that.”
“It’s where he was traded from. A hot guy like him? I can only imagine the women he has.”
“But you slept with him?” her friend reminds her.
“Yeah. I’m not expecting anything from him,” she stresses, pushing her wavy hair that feels all frizzy from the cooler weather.
“You should if you like him.”
“I don’t want to get hurt.”
“If you found out he was with someone, would it bother you?”
“Of course it would!”
“Then why not do something about it?”
Meghan thinks for a moment. “I don’t think he wants anything more from me, that’s why.”
“You know that for sure?”
“Well, no . . . I’m saying it because look at him! He’s a celebrity here,” she hushes, getting her face up close. “You don’t think he’s going to want to be with someone like . . . uh, a model or someone with a name?”
“You do have a name,” her friend interjects. “You are Meghan O’Riley, Public Relations Coordinator for the Warriors. That’s a name.” Brie snaps her finger.
Meghan smiles. “You know what I mean.”
“You are that person, Megs. I think he wants you. You need to talk to him.”
“And say what? Marry me, please!”
The friends laugh.
“He doesn’t take my job seriously. He hardly shows up to events that I ask him to, or he’s late.” She nibbles on a crumb of her sandwich that she tore apart. “I’m afraid the practice is over.”
“That’s it? It can’t be over!”
“Now what? I haven’t heard from him since Saturday, not like I was planning on it this soon, but I was hopeful. You know? I’m glad it’s turning out like this. Easier to let him go. I can move on. I’m pretty sure I have succeeded and now I’ll be ready for when someone else pops into my life.”
“Just like that? The guy is just going to appear?” Brie snickers.
Meghan shrugs and takes a bite of her sandwich.
“I don’t have any doubt that Jared is seeing someone right now. He used to live in Carolina, you don’t think an ex-girlfriend is calling him up, asking him to come on over for a quickie?”
“I don’t know about that. Call him. Find out! Then you’ll know where you stand.”
“I know where I stand. He likes his freedom of having women at his disposal.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Then why hasn’t he settled down? He’s twenty-eight. Most of the guys his age who are professional athletes have a wife and kids by now.”
“Maybe he’s looking for someone like you.”
Meghan chuckles. “Not me. I haven’t seen him.”
“Call him. You should call him right now.”
“I can’t. He’s working.”
“You can call him. He’s practically your boyfriend.”
The thought of Jared as her boyfriend makes Meghan’s stomach feel like she’s just gotten off a roller coaster. A combination of nerves and excitement floods her body. “I can’t,” she manages to say, pushing her plate away. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Ask him when he’s coming back and if he wants to hang out when he’s home.”
She tilts her head. “He’s back here in a few days and I’m sure he has an excuse not to see me. He’s a professional lady charmer, I swear.”
Her friend laughs. “Isn’t it worth a try? At least talk to him and find out where you stand. Then you’ll know for sure whether to move on.” Brie’s eyes are filled with concern.
“I’m not sure if I want to. I like him. I need to leave it at that.”
“You’re going to forget about him? Just like that? Let him meet someone else and pretend this fling you two share never happened?”
“I am.”
“I don’t believe you,” Brie says, leaning forward. “You’re going to regret it.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Yes, you will,” Brie says, firmly.
Meghan holds her friend’s stare. It’s as if she can read her mind and she knows what she’s going to say next.
> “You don’t want to let him go. I bet Colton has regrets.”
Meghan opens her mouth to speak. She hasn’t heard her ex’s name in a long time. “I doubt it.”
“He does. Sara and I ran into him—”
“You ran into Colton? Where?”
“He was taking a yoga class.”
Meghan bursts into laughter. “He would not do yoga.”
“He was doing it,” she says.
“With whom?”
“I don’t know. Sara and I were at the other side of the room, but I saw him. There’s only a couple of guys there.”
“Was he with someone?”
“Not sure,” Brie says, sounding skeptical. “I talked to him after class. He was asking how you were doing and if you settled down. I told him you were with someone.” Brie looks down and picks up her napkin, folding it over and over.
“I’m not with anyone.”
“I know.”
“You told him I was with Stu?” Meghan grumbles.
“I told him you were seeing Jared Landry.”
“You didn’t!”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“You kind of are.”
“There’s no kind of. I’m not. We’re not together.” Meghan holds her head. “I can’t let that go around. What if it gets back to Jared and he denies it? I’ll look like a loser.”
“Not at all. Colton was surprised, naturally, but wished you the best.”
“He didn’t say he regretted us breaking up, then.”
“Well, no. But I could tell by his face he did.”
“I’m sure he’s doing fine.”
“Are you going to call Jared?” Brie looks at her watch. “What’s the time difference?”
“I don’t know, but it’s gotta be late afternoon there and I don’t want to talk to him while he’s on the road.”
“Are you afraid that if you find out he has a girlfriend you’ll be crushed?”
“Not at all!” Meghan says with a forced smile. Her stomach flutters as she thinks about Jared and the intimacy they shared. It was a dream. She had never given herself so freely to someone before, until now. He was all she could think about. The way he kissed her neck, massaged her foot, caressed her body. “It was—” She sinks into the booth. She remembers the way his lips felt against her skin. The tingling feeling she didn’t want to let go of.
“Are you sure?” Brie asks, her eyes a cold stare as if she didn’t believe her.
“I think he has a girlfriend anyway. I’ll give him space.”
“And when he calls you and wants to have sex with you, you’re okay with that?”
“It was a onetime thing, okay? It’s not going to happen again. I’m sure of it.”
Brie makes a face.
“I’m serious!” Meghan says.
“So am I.”
“It won’t happen again. I promise you. I won’t let it happen. I’m not going to be that girl, the one he calls up when he feels like it and I jump for his every move. No way.”
“You like him a lot.”
“Yeah, I like him.”
“Then, call him! At least you’ll know where you stand with him.”
“I told you, he doesn’t like-like me, you know, in a meaningful kind of way?”
“Don’t you want to know so you can move on, if you have to?”
“I used him to practice my skills.”
“And now you can tell him you like him and want something more.”
“I’m not ready for that.”
“Call him.”
Meghan holds her phone, looking at it as though expecting it to ring. “He’s not going to answer.”
“At least leave a message.”
Meghan thinks about what she’s going to say. “Okay. I’ll leave a message. He won’t answer.” She finds his number and presses the screen, confident that Jared is busy working. She holds her phone between her shoulder and ear, reassured that her brief message will satisfy Brie and she can put this to rest. If she can get over Jared and their amazing night they shared, it will be easier to move on.
“Hello?”
She sucks in a breath at the sound of his voice. His voice message sounds like he actually answered the phone.
“Hello?” There’s his voice again, but he’s not saying anything else. Her eyes widen and she takes a deep breath. “Jared?”
“Hello?”
“It’s Meghan O—”
“Hi, Meg! How are you?”
“Good. How are you?” He called me Meg.
“Great. On my way to the arena. Game tonight.”
“Yes, I know. Sorry, I shouldn’t have called.” Meghan looks at Brie who is waving her hand for her to carry on.
“We have one more game after tonight and then we’re on our way home. Maybe we could hook up,” he says in a low voice like he doesn’t want anyone around him to hear.
“Right, yes, about that.”
“Everything okay?”
Meghan looks at Brie. She bites her bottom lip and closes her eyes to clear her mind. “I don’t want you to think we have this thing going on.”
“A thing?”
“Well, you know, you, me, getting together.” She lets the word linger, trying to think how she should phrase their connection. Her cheeks are burning and stomach is sinking....
“We’ll hook up when I’m home,” he says.
“Oh, no, that’s not what I mean,” she says, hearing sudden loud voices on the other end.
“Landry!”
“I have to get going,” he tells her. “Coach doesn’t like us distracted before a game.”
Then why did he answer his phone?
“Okay. Sure. There’s an event I need you at when you’re home.”
“I’ll call you!”
“Good luck!” she says into the phone, but he’s already gone. She tucks her phone into her purse.
“What did he say? What?” Brie asks, talking with her hands.
“I don’t think he heard a word I said.”
“Sorry,” Brie says, scrunching up her nose and twisting her lips.
“He was distracted. I should have known. It was a bad time. I’m sure he has a girlfriend.” She pouts.
“See? You do care about him or you wouldn’t be disappointed.”
“Maybe I do like him. I like the sound of his voice. I miss him.” She sinks low to the table and puts her head down.
“That’s good!”
She looks up. “He’s going to make some girl very happy one day,” Meghan says. “Or he already has.”
Chapter 13
“Hi, baby.”
Jared’s spine lengthens at the breathy voice on the phone.
“Hey,” he answers, waiting for the woman to identify herself.
“Are you home yet?”
“Depends,” he says, trying to place her.
“I’m coming over,” she tells him. “I’ve missed you.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
“It never stopped you before.”
“I have to go,” he says.
“I’m on my way over. I’m wearing your favorite outfit. The red one,” she says with a seductive laugh.
“Lauren, this isn’t the time,” he says.
“I know how much you like to unwind after a road trip.”
Jared runs his hand through his hair. “I’m tired.”
“I’ll see you in fifteen.”
“You can’t come over.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m on my way out.”
“Before lunch? Do you have practice?”
“I’m going out.”
“I know, you said. Where are you going?”
“It doesn’t matter. We’re not together anymore. I don’t have to explain.”
“I gave you a break.”
“We’re not getting back together. It’s over.”
“I gave you your space that you asked for.”
Jared can hea
r her voice change. He pictures her pouting, puppy-dog eyes, the way she did to get her way. It wasn’t going to work with him anymore. She is trying to get him to cave. He won’t do it. He won’t let her get to him. He can resist her. Meghan is more important. She means something to him. He chuckles to himself. He hardly knows Meghan, but knows her enough that he wants to date her and be with her whenever he can. If he could call her up right now and hang out with her, he would.
“Jared?”
“Yes?” He shakes the thought of Meghan, but keeps thinking about the cat costume and hopes she didn’t have to pay too much to replace it. He should have given her money for it.
“I gave you space.” Her voice is getting forceful. “Why did you leave Mason’s party?”
“About that. How did you get in?”
“I showed up.”
“How did you know about it?”
“I came to one of your events,” she says, sweetening her voice like she wants something. “I spoke to Mason. He was talking to someone about his party and I happened to be there.”
“You happened to be right there?” He doesn’t buy it. “Please don’t show up to things. We’re not together. You need to realize that.” His neck is feeling hot, his face changing color.
“Did you like my costume?”
“It was a wedding dress,” he says.
“I bought it for us.”
“You didn’t.”
“I did.”
He has chills from her laugh.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Come on!” Her voice changes. “You’ll change your mind. Jared, I’m the wife you need. You need to be married to me. People are talking.”
“They’re not talking.”
“They’re wondering about you.”
He doesn’t buy it. “I have to go. I have somewhere to be.”
“You have an event to attend.”
“How did you know?”
“I know what’s going on.”
Of course you do.
“It doesn’t start until noon.”
“I have other things to do,” he says.
“Like what?”
“What’s with the questions?” He’s getting impatient. “I don’t have to tell you what I’m doing. We’re not together.”
“We should be.”
“I don’t love you,” he says, feeling the pull in his chest. He didn’t want to tell her that, didn’t want to sound heartless, but how is he supposed to tell her to leave him alone?
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