by S A Clayton
This is gonna be a fun day.
17
Harper
This is not a good idea.
I say this over and over and over again to myself as I sit in my car and stare at a house that I swore I would never set foot in again. I can’t get those photos out of my head, and I can’t get rid of this nagging feeling that Cole had something to do with it. So here I am, sitting outside his house that is filled with memories I would rather forget. But I need to get answers and the only way I can do that is to walk through that front door.
The second I knock on the front door I wonder if I’ve actually lost my mind, and as I wait for Cole to answer, I secretly hope he isn’t home so I can walk away and never come back. But before I can run like I want, I hear his footsteps and before I know it, the door is open and I’m staring at the man that has harassed me for the past few months.
“Well, well, well. I knew you would come crawling back. Josh not doing it for you anymore?”
I roll my eyes, needing to get this over with so I can leave and forget I was ever in love with this man.
“Nice try, Cole, that’s not why I’m here.” I’m still standing on the porch, his large shoulders and imposing physique taking up the entire doorway. “Can I come in?”
He raises an eyebrow and that seductive smirk crosses his face and I take a deep breath.
“Please Cole, I know you hate Josh and the fact that we’re seeing each other is something you still can’t comprehend, but I really need to talk to you, and I would rather not do it out here on your porch.”
For a second, I think he’s going to tell me to fuck off, but after a beat, that smug look vanishes and a somber one takes its place right before he steps aside and lets me in.
“If you’re not here because you and Josh are done, why should I care?”
I suppress a laugh, not understanding how one gigantic ego can fit into this one man.
“Can you just shut your mouth for one minute and listen to me? I know for the three years we were together, it wasn’t something you wanted to do, but please… just listen.” I watch as the ego I know so well leaves his body and he deflates into the couch behind him.
“What do you want, Harper.”
“I need to ask you something and I need you to be one-hundred-percent honest with me.”
He sighs audibly, leaning back as his head tilts back. I take a seat on the chair opposite him and lace my fingers together.
“A couple of weeks ago I got sent some pictures of Josh and I that were…” I trail off, not really knowing how to put this, and yet when I look at Cole and I see that blank look on his face it tells me I need to be blunt, or we’ll be here forever. “Someone took pictures of Josh and I while we were having sex in his truck…” I cringe as the last part leaves my mouth and Cole bursts into a fit of laughter.
“You’re kidding me! You fucked him in his truck? Do you know how many times I begged you to do that and you refused?”
For fuck’s sake, why does everything have to come back to him.
“Yes, I fucked him in his truck, get over it, Cole.”
“So why are you telling me? Just to rub in the fact that you’re doing things with him you refused to do with me? Or just to gloat about how hot you look in those pictures because if I remember correctly when you come…”
I hold up my hand to stop him from speaking.
“Shut the fuck up, Cole. We’re not here to discuss whether or not we looked hot in the photos.” Although we did. “I want to know if you took them.”
His eyes widen and he sits up immediately.
“You think I followed you, took these pictures, and am what, blackmailing you?”
I nod my head because he’s the only one I can see doing that to me. To us.
“Why is this such a stretch, Cole? You were more than intrusive with my relationship with Josh when it first started, you were borderline stalking me for the first few weeks and you think it’s out of line for me to come to the conclusion that you would do something like this?”
He shakes his head, getting up from the couch and starts pacing.
“I also went to the cops,” I say, hoping that gets something out of him and it does.
He stops all movements and turns to face me.
“You went to the cops to what? Blame me?”
I shake my head and get up to walk to where he’s standing. The worry is washing off him and right now I have no idea what is happening.
“No. I went to the cops to see if they could help me find out who sent them.”
Cole peers at me as if I have all the answers when in truth, I have none, and that’s exactly why I’m here.
“And?”
“And the second they asked if I had an angry ex and they heard your name, they refused to help me.”
He chuckles at this, causing my back to arch up and my anger to boil over.
“You think this is funny? You think it’s funny that I have someone stalking my boyfriend and me to the point where they’re blackmailing me with these pictures so I’ll break up with him.”
He continues to smile.
“It sucks, yes. But I’m pissed that I didn’t think of it first.”
I groan, stomping my foot like a fucking toddler because he’s acting like a douchebag. I can’t handle this anymore, so I start walking away.
“You know what?” I say on my way out. “As much as I know you hate Josh, I thought you would care about me enough to see how much this is hurting me. But I guess the man I fell in love with is long gone, huh?” I open the front door and walk out with more questions than answers. Just as I get to my car, I hear my name called. I turn and see Cole come running out of his house, he stops at the edge of his porch.
“It’s not me.”
I tilt my head to the side and wonder what he’s getting at.
“The photos. I didn’t take them. As much as I hate seeing you with that guy and hate the fact that you’re happy with someone like him. I would never do something like that to you. I promise.”
For some reason the words paired with the sad look in his eyes causes me to believe him. So I nod, open my car door and get in, taking a deep breath and realize that I’m back to square one.
I have no idea who is doing this.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come see a game when I get back?” Josh asks as he packs his bag for his next road trip. I shake my head, looking away as I try and get the right words.
“Honestly? I would love to watch you play, but right now I don’t think I can go in there…” I chance a look at Josh who has stopped packing and is now standing right in front of me.
“Sweetheart.” His fingers trace the line of my jaw. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. I get it, you never have to hide your fears from me. You let me know when you’re ready and I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re okay.”
I have no words. This man keeps surprising me, and God, I love him.
Wait.
I love him?
Do I?
I look up and see only happiness reflected toward me and I know in my bones that I love this man more than I thought I could. Josh grabs my hips, bringing me closer so that almost every inch of my body is touching his.
“You gonna miss me?” he asks as I shake my head.
“Nope, not at all. I’m actually looking forward to the break.”
His fingers start to tickle my sides as I squeal. “Take that back right now, Harper Stevens.”
“Never!” I scream, the tickling getting more and more aggressive the harder I fight.
“Fine!” I relent. “Fine, I yield!” I scream as he finally stops. Trying to catch my breath, I say, “I’ll miss you a lot. Happy now?”
He says nothing, only kisses me lightly.
“Yup.” He smacks my ass as he goes into the bathroom. “Before I head out, I have something for you.”
I roll my eyes. “I am not wearing one of your uniforms as foreplay again… I told you
that is never happening again.”
He shakes his head as I remember the last time he asked me to do that. We were talking about fantasies and his was a girl in a baseball uniform, so I thought I’d make it happen for him and picked up the extra one in his closet. Little did I know I would look like the after photo of a weight-loss commercial. I was drowning in fabric and although it was meant to be sexy, we spent the next hour laughing until we both collapsed.
“No, smart-ass. I have something I want to give you. Sit on the bed and close your eyes.”
“I am not falling for that again!” I say through a smirk. “Last time you said that, we ended up in bed for at least three hours. You don’t have time for that.”
Josh rolls his eyes and gives me a stern look from the doorway.
“Fine,” I mutter, sitting down on the bed and closing my eyes.
I hear his footsteps on the hardwood floor as he makes his way over to me, and after a few seconds, a metal object is placed in my hands.
“Open,” he whispers as I look down and see a plain silver key in my hands.
“Thanks?” I question as Josh starts laughing and I peer up at him as if he has two heads.
“It’s a key to my apartment.”
My entire body locks in place. That was not what I was expecting. We haven’t even said “I love you,” yet and he’s giving me a key to his place?
He must notice the panic written all over my face, our eyes locking. “This is not me asking you to move in.”
I let out a breath. Thank God, I am NOT ready for that yet.
“Although I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”
I give him a look.
“This is for when I’m away. You can come here and hang out.”
Wait, for what? He’s not opposed to us moving in together? Did he really just say that?
“You’re not opposed to me moving in with you…” I mutter as he sits down next to me and takes my hand in his.
“That’s what you took from that?” he questions as our eyes meet. “I just want you to be comfortable here, even when I’m not here.”
“Seriously?” I ask because this doesn’t seem real.
“Yes. I like the idea of you being here. That way when I come home, my place will smell like you…” He leans over and kisses me softly, which then quickly turns into a passionate kiss that leaves me on my back with Josh on top of me, both of us breathless. “Please promise me you’ll use it. For me,” he pleads as he gets up, taking me with him.
The longer I look into his eyes, the more I realize he really wants this, and my resolve crumbles.
“Well, if you insist,” I say. This could be fun.
18
Josh
I hate leaving Harper, especially when I know I won’t be back for a at least a week, but knowing she’ll be staying at my place causes that unease to level out just a little bit. I take out my phone and see a message from my girl, wishing me a safe flight. I text her back really quick just as Will plops himself down next to me, leaning over and making kissing noises like some kind of middle school idiot.
“Are you done?” I ask, putting my phone back in my pocket as my eyes scan the plane and when they land back on Will, he gives me a knowing smirk.
“He’s not coming.”
I try to act nonchalant, but we both know who I’m looking for.
“He got sent back down to the minors last night.”
The shit-eating grin grows even though I try and hide it.
“I figured that would make you happy.”
I peer toward the front of the plane only to see Coach’s eyes on me, when our gazes meet, he gives me a slight nod before going back to talking to his assistant.
“This road trip is gonna be the best we’ve had in weeks,” I mutter, loving the fact that I don’t have to worry about that fucker coming after me before and after each game, trying to stir up trouble.
“Yeah, sure,” Will mumbles as he sits back and takes out the magazine that’s in the pouch in front of him. “Can we just forget that turdwad and just enjoy the flight please?”
I roll my eyes just as my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out thinking it’s another text from Harper but when I see it’s an email and from an address I don’t recognize, I open it. Curiosity piquing.
The second I open the email I regret it.
Hi Josh,
I never wanted to send this email, but I thought you should know what your precious girlfriend is hiding from you. I have attached a few of the photos she received weeks ago, and although many people told her to tell you about them, she refused.
I just wanted you to know the kind of person you’re dating.
All the best,
Concerned fan.
I read the message about five times before I decide to open the attachment. Was it smart to open something from someone I don’t know? Probably not, but my curiosity got the best of me and the second after the pictures loaded, my heart sank to the floor beneath me.
“Fucking hell…” I murmur, flipping through photo after photo of Harper and me in my truck.
I’ve heard of scandals like this happening to other players, I’ve seen how they can ruin lives, destroy careers and change the course of someone’s life forever. The longer I stare, the less pissed I am that they exist. I’m not mad that someone took them—well that’s not entirely true—I am mad that someone followed us and took pictures of us, but the anger that’s bubbling up inside me? The rage that is starting to course through every vein inside my body is not directed at the person who took these photos, but at the person who lied right to my face.
“Holy shit!” Will yells when he catches sight of what I’m looking at. “Is that…?” he questions as I slowly nod my head. “Holy shit,” he mumbles before taking the phone out of my hands, minimizing the photos and reading the email. “Do you know who this is from?”
I shake my head, clearly my vocal cords are not working as I try and figure out what the hell is going on.
“You know you have to send these to Justin, right? Or at least tell him what’s going on.”
I say nothing for a few seconds as Will eyes me, waiting.
“I know!” I mutter under my breath. “I need to figure out what the fuck is going on first, then I’ll fill Justin in on what’s going on.” My hands are shaking as I take my phone back and pull up Harper’s number. My fingers hover over the keys as my brain tries to figure out what the hell I want to say, but everything that’s coming to mind is either mean or accusatory and honestly, I don’t want to be like that with her.
“Can everyone please be seated and fasten your seat belts? We are taking off in a few,” the flight attendant states over the intercom as I turn off my phone and place it back into my pocket, feeling its weight with every passing second.
“What are you going to do?” Will asks as the plane engines rumble and we start to taxi toward the runway.
“How the hell am I supposed to answer that? Apparently, someone has been stalking me and my girlfriend, sent the photos to her and she never told me. For weeks she’s been carrying around these photos, knowing they exist, and I’m here worried about my swing and how not to get benched when I should have been figuring this shit out with her.”
Will says jack shit as I sit there and stare out the window as the plane takes off.
“Josh, you have to talk to her about this. There might be a reason she didn’t tell you.”
I roll my eyes because every excuse that comes to mind isn’t good enough. This is something that directly affects me and my career, it also makes me shake with rage that someone violated Harper like that. I can’t imagine what she felt when she saw those photos for the first time and for some reason, that right there is the reason I’m so mad.
“Will, I should have protected her from this shit. If I knew about it, I might have been able to make it go away, I might have been able to figure out who sent them and who took them.”
“You’re pissed because s
he took away your protective instincts.”
I nod my head just as I lower my face into the palms of my hands.
“She didn’t give me the chance to protect her, to protect us.”
Will leans back as his head tilts to look my way.
“Did you think that maybe she didn’t tell you because she was trying to protect you? Because if you think about it from her perspective, your career is affected more than hers. So those photos getting out mean more for you than for her.”
I know he’s right. It doesn’t take away the fact that I’m still pissed as hell that she lied to me over and over when I asked if she was okay. I knew something was bothering her, yet she just kept it all from me. How can I be with someone that keeps something like that from me?
“What are you going to do?” Will asks quietly.
“Well, right now I can’t do shit.”
“What about Harper?”
It’s a fair question. Yet when I think about talking to her, all I want to do is yell obscenities.
“Right now, I want to send these emails, eat the shitty ass food they give us, land and get to our hotel room. After that I’ll figure it out. But to be honest? Right now, I don’t want to talk about Harper, okay?”
Will’s eyes go wide as he nods his head ever so slightly. “Yeah man, I get it. Let me know what you need and I’ll help.”
This is why he’s my best friend. Right now, I need to concentrate on who the fuck is following us, and then I can try to figure out what’s going to happen between Harper and me.
19
Harper
“Please tell me you told him about the pictures,” Mel says the second I walk into the office.
Shit.
“I haven’t.” I’ve spent the past two hours searching every gossip site imaginable, trying to see if there was even a whisper of the pictures, but nothing so far.