More Than A Friend Request

by Julie Prestsater

  Adam shook his head to clear his thoughts and powered on his reader. He scanned all the reading suggestions on his home page before settling on the latest John Grisham novel. There was just something he found compelling about a good book about lawyers. Maybe it was because of his own career. He had no interest in reading medical fiction. There were plenty of books about people dying from cancer, and there were too many to count with a medical examiner as the main character, but he wasn’t interested. He wanted to be wrapped up in the suspense and mystery of the law.

  On second thought, he wanted to be wrapped up in his sheets with Hannah.

  Adam groaned. He really needed to get his mind off this woman or he’d never get any reading done. He wouldn’t be able to sleep either. And he was going to have to take care of the situation growing in his boxers if she invaded his thoughts any longer.

  Fortunately, Danny got home early and was able to occupy his dad’s time. Adam got out of bed when he heard the door and went downstairs to meet his son. They opted to throw in a movie and chow down on the kettle corn Adam had made earlier. When they finally agreed on an action film, they relaxed in the family room with their feet on the leather ottoman and a tub of licorice in between them. They watched in silence as cars blew up on the 52 inch plasma screen and endless amounts of gunfire blared through the speakers of their surround sound system. When they finished the first batch of popcorn, Danny ran to the kitchen to make some more, and Adam refilled their Dr Pepper.

  This scene wasn’t uncommon at the Cooper household. Adam loved spending time with his son. It would have been cliché to say his son was like his best friend, but it would have been accurate. It wasn’t like Adam was trying to be a cool dad or anything. He didn’t let Danny get away with much and was fairly tough on the young man, but they had a great relationship. They had a mutual respect that allowed them to get along unusually well for a parent and a teenager.

  Adam looked over at his son who had a large mason jar full of soda between his legs, popcorn spilling out his mouth, and a handful of red vines. He then took one of the ropes and bit the ends off each side before sloshing it in his drink. He lifted the cup to his lips and took a swig, using the licorice as a straw. Adam chuckled inside. He could do this for the rest of his life and be totally content.

  Only one thing could make it better.

  And this time, he was determined to make it work.

  Chapter 3

  Sunday morning, Adam woke up to the sound of football. He looked at the clock and couldn’t believe he slept in past ten. His eyes burned and he had a headache. And even worse, his teeth felt like felt. Did he really forget to brush his teeth last night after all that junk they ate? He smiled. One would think since he was a doctor, a pediatrician even, he’d feed his son healthier food. But first and foremost, he was a dad and a man. And today they were going to order pizza and wings and watch some PIGSKIN. Maybe later they’d get around to showering and getting dressed.

  During halftime of the morning game, Adam heard an alert come through on his phone. He picked it up and was pleasantly surprised to see a message from Hannah.

  Afternoon game today. U ready?

  Adam shook his head with a chuckle. God, he missed this woman. How could he have forgotten her love for football? She was just as insane as he was when it came to their beloved Lonestars.

  Do you really have to ask? How about you?

  U kidding me? I even watched all the pregame shows.

  You’re awesome.

  Flattery will get you everywhere. Lol.

  Hmm. He’d have to keep that in mind. He headed to his office to fire up the desktop. Danny could text all day on his phone, but he was not that savvy. His hands started cramping up and he hated straining his eyes on the little screen. It was one thing to send a text message to his son to tell him he’d be home late, it was another to actually have a conversation. For that, he needed a full keyboard that would accommodate his large fingers, and a large flat screen monitor that wouldn’t kill his vision.

  Have you been to a game yet?

  They had always talked about making the trek across the country to see a game live, but he’d never made it. He wondered if she had.

  Nope. Just a few more San Diego games. Preseason sucks though. Starters rarely play more than a series.

  I love it when you talk football.

  Haha. Well, I better let you go. Halftime is almost over.

  Already? He wasn’t ready to cut their conversation so short. Was he really going to say it? He was thinking it. He’d rather miss the game and stay on the computer, chatting with her on FaceSpace.

  All right. When will I talk to you again?

  That sounded desperate. But he didn’t care. He hated not knowing when he’d talk to her next.

  Maybe sometime during the week. Late though. Definitely over the weekend. How does that sound?

  Good. I’ll be looking for you online. Have fun watching the Boys.

  You too.

  Adam went back to the family room with a smile on his face, and spent the rest of the day snacking and watching football with his son. Every once in awhile, he’d check his phone on the off chance she sent him another message.

  She stared at her phone with a silly grin. It was unbelievable how giddy he made her feel with so few words. With just a little chitchat about football, she felt complete and happy.

  She started watching the Lonestars game alone with a bucket of buffalo wings. She made a mess and had sauce all over her face and hands, but she didn’t care. She loved her Sundays during football season when she’d stay in her jammies all day and watch game after game, snacking on junk food and drinking disgusting amounts of soda. Whenever her brother came over, they’d polish off a twelve pack of beer, but that didn’t happen often—which was a good thing because she always had a terrible headache the next day at work.

  Sometime during the game, she thought about the first professional football game she’d been too. She remembered thinking as they pulled into the parking lot three hours before the game, it was better than going to Disneyland when she was a kid. Tailgating was interesting considering they were the few people decked out in navy blue jerseys and stars on their hats. She had laughed when people walked by shouting, “Lonestars suck!” She knew better than to say anything back. For one, she’d let the final score speak for itself. And two, it was preseason. It’s not like the game mattered for anything.

  Once inside the stadium, Hannah almost came to tears. It was massive and overwhelming. She’d always wanted to attend a game but it had just never happened. Adam surprised her with tickets claiming it was a birthday gift, although her birthday was still months away. When the game got underway, she sat at the edge of the seat only for a moment before she was on her feet, yelling at the refs, and the coaches for what she considered bonehead calls. She flipped the bird at some hecklers. It was all in fun.

  She could feel the roar of the crowd and the sound of crashing helmets and pads all the way down to her toes. The whole thing was so exciting that she didn’t want to leave. She remembered being sad when the game was over, even if it was just a preseason game and the starters only played for one drive. It was long enough for her to use her new camera to take some amazing photos of her favorite players. She had run out and bought a new camera with the highest amount of megapixels and strongest zoom. She knew she couldn’t take a telephoto lens in the stadium without a press pass or she may have been tempted to splurge even more.

  A Lonestar touchdown brought her back to reality. She couldn’t resist picking up her phone and sending Adam a message.

  Nothing like a good punt return for a touchdown to get the heart pumping.

  She laughed as she hit send. She didn’t know how long she could keep it up. Sooner rather than later she was going to cave and agree to meet up with the man. She already couldn’t keep her hands off her phone. She needed something more.

  Tell me about it. That kid has some speed.

  She texte
d back a smiley face and put her phone on the coffee table. If it was more than an arm’s length away, maybe she wouldn’t send him another message. She smiled again, thinking that it wasn’t likely to work.

  Her phone buzzed on the table.

  I know you’re not ready to see me but how about a phone call? You game?

  She thought about it for a good five minutes before she sent him a reply. She thought long about how hearing his voice would either make her melt or break her heart all over again. She could almost hear his words like a broken record stuttering the same sentences over and over again. Hannah, I’m sorry but we need to break up. I can’t start medical school while we’re in a relationship. It wouldn’t be fair to you and it wouldn’t be fair to me. I’ve worked so hard to get accepted to a good school. I can’t let anything get in the way of my goals. The words rang through her mind as clear as the day he spoke them.

  When she heard his voice again, would it be tainted with memories of the last time she had spoken to him? She couldn’t see how she could talk to him and not want to cry over all the lost time they had over the years. What she needed was to forget about the past. She needed to move past that, if she was going to try having him in her life again, whether it be a small role as an acquaintance or as a … something more. Maybe hearing him speak again would give her a chance to create a new memory. One that didn’t break her heart.

  When she was ready, she finally messaged back.

  Sure, if our boys win, you can have my number.

  She may as well have said an emphatic, YES. Their team was up by twenty points going into the fourth quarter. But hey, on any given Sunday, anything was possible.

  Sounds like a plan. I’ll call you later tonight. Around 11ish.

  Even after fifteen years, things seemed very familiar between her and Adam. Back when they were together, when they weren’t staying over at each other’s places, they often went to bed with their phones to their ears talking and laughing throughout the night until either of them was almost asleep. When Adam told her he’d call her so late, Hannah felt a mixture of excitement and unease. She couldn’t figure out which one was stronger.

  Like many other Lonestars games, it was a nail biter to the end. Even with their enormous lead, the defense managed to allow the win to come down to a field goal. Luckily for Hannah, their opponent shanked it to the left, and our team won. She still had about six hours before Adam would call her and she didn’t know what she was going to do to pass the time without pulling out her hair, strand by strand. There was always the Sunday night game, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to focus on the game like she had before. There would be no yelling at the TV as if anything she said would change the outcome. There would be no flipping channels to see red zone action. That night, she’d be going nuts.

  She decided to eat an early dinner. She warmed up left over wings and pizza in the microwave and searched in the refrigerator for a beer. She found an amber lager from a local brewery in the back and took out a bottle opener. She couldn’t watch football with a glass of wine in her hand. That was just as wimpy as some of the new rules the LEAGUE had been initiating lately.

  When the game finished, she hopped in the shower. She liked a hot shower and the glass fogged in no time. She wrote Adam’s name in the steam with her finger and smiled. She had no idea why she felt compelled to do that. The thought just came to her and she acted on it. She had seen his name quite a few times in the last two days. Sometimes she still couldn’t believe it. She took her time washing her hair. While the conditioner sat in her locks to moisturize, she slowly and meticulously shaved her legs. She laughed when she thought that she was glad she wasn’t seeing him tonight. With her legs all smooth and silky, she doubted she’d be able to stay out of bed with him. Then, she thought about how terrible it would be to sleep with him the first time she saw him again. No, that wasn’t going to happen. She couldn’t let it.

  By the time she got out of the shower, and completed her nightly routine of exfoliating her face and applying night creams, eye gels, and moisturizers, it was close to eleven. She picked out a silver silk chemise to sleep in. Normally, she’d sleep in some knit boy shorts and a tank, but she felt the need to be sexy tonight. It’s not like Adam would be able to see her, she was just in that kind of mood.

  Just before eleven, Hannah’s phone went off. One new message. From Adam.

  Looks like we all won tonight. What’s your number, Hannah?

  She sent him the number for her home. She thought that would be safe. She wasn’t ready to have constant access to him yet through their cells. She needed to maintain some amount of self control and she didn’t know if she could keep herself from sending the occasional text message because it would be so easy to do so.

  It felt like she just hit send when she heard her phone ring.

  The caller ID showed: Cooper, Dr. Adam. Wow. A doctor calling her house.

  “Hello,” she answered, bringing her comforter up to her chin.

  The voice on the other end of the line was deep and smooth. “Hello, Hannah.”

  And just like that, she lost it. Tears pooled in her eyes and her throat tightened. She wanted more than anything for this to work. She was just having a hard time trying to find the words. Sending messages on FaceSpace was one thing, but actually speaking to Adam Cooper was another. It was his voice singing in her ear. It was really him. All he did was say her name and she wanted him there with her with his arms wrapped around her making her feel special and safe, the way he had done in the past. How she could want that so badly frightened her. How could she possibly just forget that he had left her and never looked back? But somehow, that didn’t seem to matter to her. Not now, when he was that close.

  “Hannah, are you there?” Adam called out to her.

  She took a deep breath and began talking. “Yes, I’m here. This is just a little more difficult than I thought it would be.”

  “I’m sorry.” He paused. “I really am. If this is too much for you, I’ll understand. I’ll be really disappointed, but I get it if you don’t want to talk to me after all.”

  Hannah chuckled through her tears. “Are you kidding me? I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve thought of this moment. You’re not going to get off the hook that easy. So don’t you go hanging up just yet.”

  “Good. I’m not going anywhere. So, how are you?”

  She thought about it for a second or two. “Actually, I’m doing okay. Great, really. I have no complaints. You?”

  “I’m good. Busy, but good.”

  There was an awkward silence for a few beats before Hannah chimed in. “I’m really happy to hear your plans worked out for you. I never had any doubts that you’d be a doctor. That has to be so exciting.”

  “Thank you. It wasn’t easy. I hit a few bumps in the road but we … I made it. Sometimes when I’m at work, I look around and still can’t believe it’s all mine. It seems like a dream.”

  Hannah’s mind raced when she heard him say, “we”. He did say we, didn’t he? She wasn’t imagining it, right? She felt a bit deflated. She thought he was a single man. And if he wasn’t, what was he doing calling her?

  Her voice was shaky. “That’s great.”

  “So … good game tonight, huh?”

  She was thankful for something to talk about. “Yeah, but I wouldn’t mind just kicking the shit out of a team every once in awhile. These down to the wire games are going to cost me a lot of money on manicures every week.” She looked at her hands, noticing only her thumb had fallen victim to her nerves.

  “You’re still very funny, Hannah. I’m glad you still have that sense of humor of yours.”

  “I’m still the same person, Adam.”

  “Just more beautiful. In your profile pic, you look gorgeous.”

  “Why thank you. You look pretty darn good yourself.”

  “You wanna get a better look?” Before she had a chance to answer, he continued, “Just dinner. During the week. No pressure.
Just two friends catching a bite to eat after work. What do you say?”

  The sound of his deep voice combined with his easy going words caused Hannah to drop her guard. How bad could it be? She did want to get a better look. More than she wanted to win the lotto. More than she wanted her next breath of air. Speaking to him was not going to be enough. It never was going to be. And she knew that. She had to see him.

  “Why not? You already got me on the phone. Let’s do dinner.”

  Chapter 4

  He nearly fell out of his bed with excitement after Hannah accepted his invitation to dinner. He wasn’t sure what she’d say but he had to at least ask. Now that she’d said yes, what the hell was he going to do? Where was he going to take her? He knew that dinner would need to be casual. Someplace that was friendly and easy going. He couldn’t take her somewhere with candlelit tables and menus without prices. First, she just wasn’t that kind of woman. And secondly, she wasn’t ready for him to be romantic with her. She needed to feel safe with him before that happened. He knew her all too well which was evidence enough that they belonged together.