Caught Looking (Hot-Lanta Series)

by Quinn, Meghan

  “Then fucking bench me! I don’t give a shit if you don’t like the way I’ve been performing you have no clue what I have been through in the past couple of days. My girlfriend who I thought was going to be my wife one day got beaten up by her ex, she found Laney trying to take me to bed when I wanted nothing to do with her then Jane wound up getting in a serious car accident and all I want to do is make sure she is ok but oh no, she won’t fucking see me because she thinks I cheated on her with that bitch, Laney, who set me up and had paparazzi standing outside my house ready to capture the whole disgusting encounter that is now so eloquently displayed on your fucking desk. So if you want to bench me please do so. If you want to trade me, please by all means go right on ahead. If you want to end my career please put me out of my misery because it could not be any worse than what I am going through right now.”

  Brady turned to leave Deek’s office when Deek shouted to him to pick up the chair he threw and sit down. Brady was about to ignore Deek but something in his head told him to listen. He grabbed the chair and sat down, as he stared the man in the eye.

  “Are you done with your temper tantrum?”

  Brady just gritted his teeth, the man was one hell of a manager but had zero amount of compassion. Brady just nodded not wanting to be sucked into another screaming match with the man.

  “Good, I know you’ve been through a lot. I talked to Marc yesterday after the game and he told me everything. I’m sorry to hear about Jane.”

  Holy shit was that compassion from Deek? The stone faced shit head? Brady almost passed out in surprise.

  “I’m not married and I never gave my love life a chance. I was too busy focusing on my career, I regret it now. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you. I’m putting you on the temporary disabled list. You have fifteen days to figure your life out.”

  Brady could not believe what he was hearing. Was his manager actually giving him time to fix his life? Was that something that actually could happen?

  Deek continued, “I expect you in this time off to fix your life and to continue to train. If things don’t work out the way you want them, I don’t want it showing in your performance, do you hear me? I need you this season so that is why I’m giving you this time off. Get your shit together Matthews.”

  Brady was shocked. “Thank you sir, are you sure this is ok? What is the media going to say?”

  Deek waved his hand in the air, “Don’t worry about those blood suckers. I have a conference with them later and I’m simply going to say you have been nursing a sore hamstring and instead of pushing it we are letting you strengthen it before we get too far into the season. You have fifteen days. Fix things Matthews!”

  “Yes Sir, thank you.” Brady shook Deek’s hand and left his office.

  He could not believe his manager just gave him fifteen days off to try to get Jane back. How was he going to do that? She would not even let him in her apartment. Brady went to his locker to grab his bag he was going to take to Philly and ran into Michael. He looked terrible.

  “Hey Michael, how’s Jane?”

  Michael scowled at him, what happened? “Oh just fine, just using me as a toy in her plans to get back at you?”

  Get back at Brady? What did she do? Brady’s blood started to boil, Michael better not have touched her. He just about ran to Michael’s locker and asked him in a stern tone, “What did you do to her?”

  Michael pushed Brady away from him and said, “Fuck you man. I did nothing to her but care for her and take care of her while you were sucking it up on the ball field.”

  “You piece of shit! You know I would give anything to be with her but she won’t even let me near her. You think this has been easy on me?”

  Michael interrupted him. “Easy on you? What about me? I’m her second choice, always have been. I get to sit there and take care of her but never get the love I give her in return. How do you think that makes me feel? I will never be good enough for her but I’m good enough for her to kiss when she wants to get back at you.”

  Brady’s vision went red. He kissed Jane?

  Michael added, “What, you want to punch me now that you know she kissed me well guess what dickhead? I stopped her. I knew what was happening was not right because she had no passion behind those gorgeous lips of hers. So you win, she wants nothing to do with me. I always knew it, but it felt great to have it confirmed mere hours ago.”

  Brady watched Michael dig into his pocket and pull out a key. He flung it at Brady and said, “Here it is, a key to her apartment. Why don’t you go patch things up because lord knows all of us are sick and tired of dealing with your little melodrama.” Michael gathered his stuff and left.

  Brady had so many different feelings flowing through his body right now. Jane kissed Michael? Why would she do that? He could go find out. He finally had access to Jane, there was nothing standing in his way. He had to go see her and get his woman back. He sent Molly a quick text to say he would take care of Jane and to not worry about her shift. No matter what Jane did, he wouldn’t leave her sight. He had fifteen days to make things better and he only planned on using a couple of hours to make things better and the rest of the days to make up for lost time. First he would stop by the store and get some items for Jane he knew she would enjoy.

  Chapter 27

  Jane was still lying on her bathroom floor when she heard someone come in the front door. That was weird. She didn’t expect Molly for a while. Did Michael lock up before he left? She heard heavy footsteps and she rapidly started to panic. She curled in the corner of the bathroom between the toilet and the shower. She pulled her hairbrush off the counter and positioned it in front of her as a weapon. The footsteps grew louder and traveled into her bedroom. Jane wanted to scream but decided to stay quiet. Hopefully the intruder would not look into the bathroom.

  “Jane?”

  Who was that? Was that Brady? Jane couldn’t do anything but cry…

  ***

  Brady heard crying in the bathroom and ran toward that direction. When he walked in her apartment and saw her crutches sprawled out in the hallway his heart dropped. He didn’t even have to use the key Michael threw at him because the door was already unlocked. Brady’s heart panicked and that’s when he started to run around the apartment to look for Jane. When he didn’t see her in her bed, he almost threw up because his mind went straight to thinking some crazed fan found out where she lived and abducted her.

  It wasn’t until he heard someone crying in the bathroom that he realized he had not checked there yet. He flew the door open and saw Jane curled in a tiny ball holding a hairbrush out as if she was going to defend herself with the hair filled bristles. Her eyes were bright red from what looked like crying and her bad foot was not in the most comfortable looking position. Even though she was a complete mess he had never seen anything more beautiful than her.

  He walked toward her and started to bend down to pick her up when she waved her hairbrush in front of his face and said “Don’t come near me. What are you doing here? Leave, I don’t want you here.”

  Brady refused to play games this time. He grabbed the brush from Jane put it in the sink and picked her up. She started to kick and fling her arms about saying something about how just because she was small didn’t mean she could be man handled. He brought her over to her bed and grabbed some pillows to place under her bad foot to give it elevation. He was pretty sure the position she had it in on the bathroom floor was not the best angle for her foot.

  Jane dropped her head and shook it in despair. “Brady, please just leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere you are just going to have to deal with me being here and if you feel like talking about what happened between us that would be preferable.”

  ***

  Jane did not want Brady in her apartment. She was too weak. The minute she heard his voice she lost what control she had left in her body. She just wanted to curl into his strong, comforting hold. She was about to when images of Brady and L
aney together, holding each other, flashed through her head.

  She got furious and shouted, “You want to talk Brady, alright let’s talk about how you cheated on me. How you shattered my heart to pieces and left me alone on a night that I was beaten by my ex-boyfriend. Let’s talk about that.”

  Jane saw fury pass through Brady’s eyes. She didn’t think she had ever seen him so mad before.

  Jane was nearly blown over by Brady’s anger. “God damn it Jane, I did not fucking cheat on you! You really think after being cheated on myself, I would go and do it to you, especially after I knew your relationship background? Do you honestly think that low of me?”

  Jane didn’t know what to say. He was so angry with her. Why was he the angry one? She was the one who was hurt, not him. She fought back.

  “Then why don’t you enlighten me. Tell me why the night I was abused by my ex, I found my boyfriend, the man that I love, wet, in a towel with his Hollywood ex wrapped around his neck.”

  Brady lowered his head and shook it. “I don’t know why I’m even here. You are never going to believe me. You already have your mind set. You don’t even care to listen to me. When did I lose that trust, Jane?”

  “You lost that trust when I walked in on you and Laney holding each other intimately.” She retorted.

  “You walked in on nothing!” Brady yelled as he threw his arms in the air. He got up and started to pace the room. “When I got home I noticed all the things you did to my house and could not wait for you to come over later. I decided to go for a swim and unlocked the door…”

  Jane interrupted him. “I don’t want to hear it Brady, just leave. I have heard all the excuses in the book.”

  Brady sat on her bed and grabbed her by the shoulders. “I’m not giving you excuses. You are going to sit here and listen to what I fucking have to say, damn it. I’m not leaving here until you hear what I have to say then you can kick me out.”

  He continued, “I unlocked the door so you could just pop in and join me in the pool. I left my phone in the kitchen, which come to find out, would end up being one of the biggest mistakes of my life. When I was swimming I heard the sliding glass door open, I thought it was you and beamed in excitement. When I turned to look, it was Laney. I instantly got out of the pool, wrapped the towel around my waist and told her to get the fuck out. She kept throwing herself at me but I kept pushing her away. I was just leading her out the door when she tried one last time to hold on to me, that’s when you walked in. I know it looked bad and the look on your face is forever engrained in my brain. I should never have let you drive away. I’m the reason you are like this right now and I will never let myself live it down.”

  Brady became very quiet and stroked her arm. “I’m so sorry Jane, I’m so fucking sorry. Please believe me.”

  Jane looked away, she started to cry like an idiot. She wanted to believe him, she wanted to so badly. Both Molly and Michael said she needed to listen to him. Did they believe him? They must have or else they never would have let him speak to her. So if her friends could believe him why was she having such a hard time doing the same thing? Oh that’s right, because he could not even tell her about the text messages he received from Laney for Lord knows how long.

  “What about the text messages and naked picture Brady? How come that was such a big secret? I thought we were open and honest with each other.”

  Brady ran his hand over his face. “I was planning on telling you…”

  Jane interjected, “Oh how convenient.”

  “For fucks sake Jane, just listen, please!”

  Jane just waved her hand in front of him indicating for him to continue.

  “Jesus, I was going to tell you but our relationship was already on rocky ground when Laney first text me and I didn’t want you running on me so I decided to tell you when our relationship was a little more stable. I was going to tell you the day you went to Dolly’s but then you freaked out about the gossip you heard about Laney and clearly that was not a good time. You can ask Marc, I wanted to tell you, I hated keeping it from you. It ate away at me. I just could not find a good enough time to tell you and then everything fell apart so fast. I have not been able to function.”

  Jane just sat there, why did she believe him? Probably because he was so sincere when he told her how everything went down. His eyes were crystal clear when he looked at her and when he told her he looked directly into her eyes and spoke to her soul. She knew he was telling the truth.

  “Please speak to me, Jane. Please say something.”

  Jane turned her head and tears filled her eyes. Brady wiped her face with his thumb pads. His touch was so warm, so familiar, everything she craved. All she could say was, “I hate you so much Brady.” She watched Brady drop his head on the side of the bed as if he symbolically surrendered.

  ***

  She hated him, Brady lost all hope. His heart fell to the ground and he could not even move. There was no hope he had to learn to live without Jane. He didn’t think that was possible. The last couple of days were horrific. He couldn’t imagine life getting any easier without her, not after he experienced a small glimpse of what life would have been like with her. Then Jane spoke again.

  “I hate you Brady but I still love you so much it hurts.”

  Brady thought he had a minor heart attack. Did she just say she loved him? Did he actually still have a chance? He put his head on her stomach and cried. He didn’t care that he was crying by now he lost all shreds of dignity. Then the most amazing thing happened, Jane gingerly put her hands on his head and ran her fingers through his hair.

  It was the smallest of gestures but her touch was all he needed. He just needed a little bit of hope from her to believe that everything would be ok between them and that was what she gave him; hope. He looked up and saw that she was crying as well. Brady reached up and grabbed her head carefully.

  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am about what happened to you.” Jane just shook her head. “Do you believe me Jane? Do you believe that nothing happened and that there is no one else on this earth for me besides you?”

  Jane didn’t answer. She just laid there and cried. Brady got up went around to the other side of the bed and climbed in. He took a big risk by climbing into bed with her. If she refused him he might die inside but he needed to do this, he needed to see if she would let him closer to her. He laid right next to her and put his arm over her shoulder pulling her in close to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. She didn’t pull away, one small victory.

  Instead of pulling away she nestled her head into his shoulder and cried some more. They stayed just like that for a while. It started to get dark and at one point he noticed Jane had fallen asleep, fine by him. As long as she didn’t kick him out of the bed he would hold her all night long. He wanted to hold her all night long.

  Brady drifted off for a little bit but was disrupted when Jane pulled away. No, please do not pull away. Please God don’t let her pull away, he repeated in his head.

  “I don’t know if I can do this Brady. I’m so hurt and so scared. I cannot get the image of you and Laney out of my head. ”

  He tried to pull her close again but she wouldn’t budge. So instead he tried to talk to her. “I know Jane. You don’t even know how much I wish this would all go away. I have never felt so low in my entire life. I wouldn’t even care if I never played ball again, as long as I knew I had you in my arms for the rest of my life.”

  “Don’t say things like that Brady.”

  “It’s true. I would not just say stuff to blow steam up your ass, Jane. I truly mean it.” Brady hoped she believed him. He waited a while for her response.

  “Why didn’t you answer your phone, that night? I needed you Brady. You were the one person I needed the most and you were not there. I hate you for that.” Jane said as she punched him and cried. Brady grabbed her arms to pull her in close. She struggled for a second but then relaxed, rested her head on his chest as she cried some more. Brady tr
ied to soothe her. He could not imagine how she felt that night. If he was in her shoes he would have tried to distance himself just like she had.

  “Shhh…I’m sorry. God I’m sorry. My phone was in the kitchen when I was swimming. I wish I could take that day back, I wish I had my phone by me, I wish I was never in the pool, and I wish Laney and George got what was coming for them for fucking with people’s lives. They deserve to be taught a lesson.”

  Jane held onto the collar of his shirt and nestled her head into the crook of his neck. Brady pulled her closer and made sure not to let up his grip. He had her in his arms and could feel how close he was to winning her over again. He wouldn’t let up now.

  ***

  Jane believed him, she did. Molly had told her Brady would never cheat on her and so did Michael. They both said what Brady said. He was cheated on and knew how it felt, why would he ever do that to the person he was in love with and wanted to spend his life with? She also believed him about the text messages, she did remember the moments he pointed out and they would not have been the most opportune moments to break the news that in fact his ex was trying to win him back and text him. She understood his reasoning, she still wished he told her though.

  She was so sick of fighting. She just wanted to find out once and for all if Brady really was in this for the long run or not.

  “How much do you love me Brady?” Jane asked in between sniffs.

  Brady pulled her away to look deeply into her eyes. His eyes were sad and tired but there was a hint of hope in them. “I love you more than anything, baby, more than baseball, more than life itself. I would do anything for you and I promise to do anything for you for as long as you will let me. As evidence of the last couple of days, I cannot live without you. You are my life Jane and you are the only thing I need to make me happy.

  She could not help herself, she grabbed his face, and lowered his mouth to hers. She paused right before their lips touched and swiped a tear from his cheek.