“Mr. Griffin?”
“Why is this coming out now? It’s been eight years. Did you do this on purpose to ruin our trip?”
“Of course not. I just want you to be prepared. I planned to tell Jack about his father someday, but with this article coming up, someday is going to be sooner than any of us are ready for and I think you need to start preparing what you’re going to say to him.”
“Who’s doing this article?”
“The Tallahassee Democrat.”
Mr. Griffin guffed and the line fell silent for a moment.
“So, I will see you tomorrow in New Jersey?” Mr. Griffin said.
I shook my head. “Goodnight, Mr. Griffin.”
“Goodnight, Carrington.”
When I arrived at the team hotel on Friday, I checked in and collapsed on my bed. I handed my child over to a man who used to hate me. My stomach turned when I thought about it in those terms.
I called Jackson and left a message. I knew he would call me after practice. I set my phone down and it rang the next second.
“You’re in New York, and you’re not even going to call me?” Kayla said. I almost squealed like a teenager.
“Well, technically, I’m in New Jersey, and the reason I’m here is for you, so shut up.”
“I missed you.”
“You hung up on me.”
“I know, but it worked. You and Jackson ended up together.”
“I love how everyone else is taking credit for Jackson and I ending up together. Jack is convinced it was his doing as well.”
“Well, the two of you are stubborn. You needed a nudge.”
“I know, but it would have been nice to still have my best friend’s ear while I was figuring this all out.”
“I know. I am sorry.”
“Well, you can make it up to me by taking me to lunch.”
“Okay, where you want to go?”
“Someplace expensive with plenty of alcohol.”
“Nice. What’s the occasion?”
“He took my child away from me-”
“For a weekend.”
“So, I’d still like to stay drunk so I don’t have to think about it.”
“I’ll find a place and text you the address.”
I showed the concierge the name of the place Kayla picked and asked him for directions to the train. As the girlfriend of the star quarterback, I wasn’t allowed to do things like a normal person. He arranged a car to take me into the city.
I didn’t have the energy to argue. Two minutes later, I sat in the back of a black SUV headed toward the city. Thirty minutes later, it pulled up to the front of a modern trendy restaurant in midtown.
I spotted Kayla as soon as I walked through the door. Her red hair, a little darker and longer than normal, cascaded over her shoulders and framed her face. She wore a cute fifties inspired floral dress with a sweater and beige heels. She talked a mile a minute and loud into her cell phone. As I approached, she kind of twirled as she turned toward me and hung up the phone without saying good-bye. Even in beige heels, and me in flat boots, she came up to my chin. She wrapped her arms around my neck and jumped up and down squealing like a pig. It was embarrassing, but I got over it.
“Oh shit,” she said as she grabbed a napkin from the nearest table and dabbed her eyes. I grabbed it from her and did the same.
“I missed you, too.”
She led me to a nook on the side of the bar, a booth by the window with a view of the street. A bottle of champagne chilled on the table. We slid into opposite sides.
“Wow, look at you.”
“What?”
“You look so good. I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“That you were one of those people who looked their best when they were in love.”
“Kayla.”
“What? I’m just saying. So, how is it? Finally, being with Jackson.”
My face grew warm thinking about Jackson, and our passionate goodbye the night before. The way he studied every inch of my body to tide him over until we saw each other again. The team didn’t arrive until tomorrow.
“Oh, my God. It’s that good?”
“What?”
“You have that look on your face.”
“What look?”
“The I get fucked properly on a regular basis and I like it look.”
“Kayla Griffin, you are insane.”
“I know, but you love me.”
“I do love you, and I’m sorry I didn’t call and tell you about Jackson.”
“Things are really good?”
“They are good …”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Jackson and I are really good and we talk about our past all the time. We have both healed and have grown so much. We have that connection that we thought we lost, and it only grows stronger the more time we spend together.”
“Well, that’s great.”
“It is great, but.”
“No, no but. Why does there have to be a but?”
“It a tiny but, I promise.”
“No one ever accused Carrington Butler of having a tiny butt.” I threw my napkin at her. She laughed and snorted and covered her mouth.
“But,” I yelled. “I can’t help but think something is going to happen, again.”
“Well, of course, something is going to happen. Something always happens, but at least now, you know how to handle it better. Besides, what could happen that would be a deal breaker?”
“I don’t know. Nothing, I think.”
“See.” Kayla raised her glass, and I followed. “Here’s to great love and great sex and everything else that makes life worth living.”
“Cheers.”
Jackson called as we finished up the first bottle and ordered the second bottle.
I stepped outside to take the call.
“Hi, baby.”
“Hey, beautiful. You okay?”
“I am fabulous.”
“You’re drunk.”
“Almost.”
“What a waste. I am not even there yet to take advantage of you.”
“Oh, I am childless for two days; I plan to stay drunk for all of them. You’ll have your chance.”
“Should I be worried?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“You and Kayla make up?”
“Yeah, we love each other again.”
“Good. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Call me when you get back to the hotel.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I slid back in across from Kayla as she finished another phone call.
“How’s Jackson?”
“He is good.”
The waiter dropped off a plate of food.
“I thought we could use some sustenance.”
“Wow, this looks good.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy.” A short baldheaded man stood next to our table.
“Oh shit, you’re that chef on TV.” I covered my mouth with my hand.
“I am. And you are?”
“Carrington Butler.”
“Nice to meet you Carrington. Kayla, how are you?”
“I am amazing. I have my best friend here to get in trouble with.”
“I’ll warn the city.” He laughed. “You ladies enjoy the food.”
“Thanks, Chef Tom.”
“You’re welcome.”
As he walked away, I squealed. “OMG, I love him.”
“Well, we are in his restaurant. It’s not farfetched.”
“He has restaurants all over the world. What are the odds that he would show up at this one, today?”
“Well, since he is cooking for a benefit I’m hosting next week, I knew he’d be in the city today. I asked him which one he would be at so we could get some good food. Plus, I knew you would shit.”
“Aww. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
As
we dug into the food, I realized Kayla hadn’t mentioned Jamie. Not once. Of course, I had to ask.
“So, what’s going on with you?”
“I’m good.”
“How’s Jamie?”
“He’s … good.” She smeared a piece of bread with some sort of cream cheese type stuff and handed it to me. She fixed one for herself.
“Kayla.”
“What? He’s fine. We are fine.”
“What’s going on?”
“Okay, you know I love you, and I am so sorry about the stuff that happened to you, but it’s hard for me to talk to you about my relationship problems.”
“Why?”
“Because they seem so insignificant compared to what you went through.”
“Come on, Kayla, it’s all relative. Besides if it's important to you, it’s important to me, so spill.”
“Jamie wants to have a baby.”
“Holy shit.”
“My reaction exactly, but I sounded more like holy shit,” she said in an scratchy evil voice.
I cringed. “You don’t want to have a baby?”
“I don’t. Isn’t that horrible?”
“No, it’s not horrible. It’s how you feel.”
“I run a foundation that advocates for children, and I don’t want to have kids. That’s weird, right?”
“Kayla, you don’t have to explain your choices to anyone. You can’t help how you feel.” I looked up and found her staring at me with a strange look on her face. “What?”
“Why aren’t you more upset about this?”
“What? Why?”
“You have a child. You should be like all those other mothers who say being a mother makes you feel like a real woman.”
“Okay, I have always wanted children. But you shouldn’t bring a kid into a situation unless both parents are sure they want him. I love my son and couldn’t imagine not having him in my life, but he came way too early among the shittiest of circumstances. I wish I would have been more careful, more responsible.”
“Yeah.” She reached out and squeezed my arm.
“So, if it’s not right for you, you can’t make it right.”
“Do you want to have more kids?”
“I do. I want a little Mitchell baby.” I grabbed my glass and downed the rest of the champagne. “But after the trauma my body suffered brining Jack into the world, I am so scared to get pregnant. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to have another kid.”
“Oh wow, Carr, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think. See, there I go again. I’m complaining because my husband wants to have a baby with me, and you might not even be able to have another baby. I am a selfish bitch.”
“Hey, stop talking about my best friend like that.” I reach out for her hand, and she squeezed mine. We sat their holding hands and wiping tears from our eyes over champagne and mini crab cakes. We were pathetic.
“Well, I guess I can stop worrying about what the next big bad thing is going to be.”
“Why? What is it?”
“What if Jackson wants to have more kids. How am I going to tell him that there is a chance that I can’t?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Carrington Olivia Butler
The car and driver picked us up in front of the restaurant. Kayla wanted to come back to the hotel with me so we could have breakfast at her favorite place in the morning. I had the feeling she just didn’t want to go home.
We drove by her place and, too drunk and too tired to move, I waited in the car while she ran up to grab a change of clothes. I called Jackson.
“Hi.”
“Hey.”
“You sound tired. Were you sleeping?”
“Baby, it’s seven o’clock.”
“Oh, it feels later.”
“I’m sure it does when you’ve been drinking since one o’clock. Where are you?”
“In front of Kayla’s place. She wanted to come out and stay at the hotel with me tonight.”
“Is she okay?” I wasn’t sure how much to tell him. I didn’t want to get into anything over the phone.”
“Yeah, she’s fine.”
“Where are we eating tomorrow night?”
“Kayla said it was a little Italian place close to the hotel.”
“Cool. It will be good to see her and Jamie.”
“Yeah.” I felt so bad about what she told me, and I wanted to ask her if she didn’t want to have kids was a deal breaker for him. I figured I would wait and ask her in the morning.
“Did you have dinner?”
“I did. Although I miss our Friday night dinners.”
“I know. I’ll make it up to you.”
Kayla returned to the car yelling at someone into her phone. “All right. I know. Bye.”
“I got to go.”
“Okay, text me when you get back to the hotel so I know you made it there safe.”
“Jackson, thank you, for worrying about me. It feels kind of nice.”
“You’re welcome. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
Kayla climbed into the car, rolled her eyes, and fell asleep before we pulled away from the curb.
When we got back to the hotel, we both collapsed on the bed and passed out.
I woke up frantic as I searched for my phone. Once I found it, I collapsed on the bed, relieved that I had remembered to text Jackson. I didn’t want him worry about me.
“You’re going to love this place. It has the biggest pancakes.” I sat up and found Kayla typing away at her computer at the desk in the corner.
"How long have you been up?"
"Not long."
Her hair was pulled back neatly in a ponytail and her makeup was flawless. I felt like shit.
“I need coffee.”
We took a cab to the pancake place and ordered coffee while we waited for a table. The crowded place seemed in constant motion between the customers and wait staff.
“You talked to Jackson this morning?”
“Text.”
“I hope I didn’t ruin any planned Skype sex session with me staying over.”
“No, we don’t Skype sex. Simulating sex when it’s so good in real life sucks.”
“It is good, isn’t it? I knew he was good.”
A sexy grin spread across her face. I hit her on the shoulder. “Please stop imagining having sex with my boyfriend.”
“Your boyfriend,” she said and laughed.
“Why’s that so funny?”
“It’s not funny. It’s sweet. I am so happy for you two. I am glad you guys got your chance.”
“Thank you.”
“Kayla, table for two.”
“That’s us.” We sat in a booth and ordered pancakes and bacon. Kayla order strawberries and whip cream on hers. I made mine plain.
“You’re going to want some of mine," Kayla said.
“That’s way too much sugar for the a.m.”
“It’s no worse than donuts.”
“I don’t eat donuts.”
“You are so perfect, Carrington.”
“No, I’m trying not to press my luck.”
“You are unbelievable. You wouldn't be a bit surprised if turtles fell from the sky and took over the world in two minutes." She checked her watch.
“Yep, that could happen. Nothing surprises me anymore.”
After breakfast, we both headed back to the city in Kayla's truck. The driver dropped me off in midtown and continued on to take Kayla home. We made plans to meet at the hotel later for a drink before dinner.
I spent the day wandering the city. I shopped and enjoyed the feeling of being by myself. Anonymity felt nice. Not something I would have much of, being with Jackson, but a sacrifice I was willing to make.
I arrived back at the hotel as the team bus pulled up. A small crowd of people gathered outside waiting to get an autograph or a photo with their favorite player. I stood behind a little kid with a Florida State jersey with Jackson’s name on the back.
&nbs
p; “Are you a Jackson Mitchell fan?” I asked.
“Yes, he’s my favorite player.” The kids looked about Jack’s age with blond hair and blue eyes.
“What’s your name?”
“Phillip.” A woman with the same blond hair stood a few feet away talking on her cell phone. I rolled my eyes at her inattention.
When Jackson exited the bus, the kid screamed, but not loud enough for Jackson to hear him. He walked over and grabbed his suitcase off the sidewalk. He walked over to the people waiting and signed a few autographs. One of the assistants whispered in his ear, and he turned away before he got to us.
I couldn’t let this kid leave here empty-handed.
“Jackson Latre Mitchell.”
I knew he would turn if I used his full name. He spotted me, and his eyes narrowed, but he approached.
“Hello.”
“Hi Jackson. I’m sorry to bother you, but this is Phillip,” I said. “He is your biggest fan.”
“I watched every one of your games, even in college.”
“Oh yeah. How old are you?”
“Nine.” The kid handed Jackson his pen and he signed his hat.
“You want me to sign the jersey, too.”
“Would you?” The kid’s eyes grew twice their normal size.
“Of course, turn around.” The kid turned and I placed my hands on his shoulders. Jackson placed his hand over mine as he signed the kid’s jersey. An electric shock shot through me, and I wondered if the kid felt it. It went away when the loud shrill voice of the kid’s mother entered my ears. She had put her phone away and made a beeline for her son and Jackson.
She grabbed my man’s forearm and I was about to pull a ninja move on her, but Jackson passed me a look and I backed down.
“You are so much cuter in person.”
“Thank you,” Jackson said and smiled. "Phillip, you play football?”
“Yeah, but Mom won’t let me play tackle until I get older.”
“That’s a good plan. Get your fundamentals down.”
“See, I am right,” she said to her son. She turned back to Jackson, her hand remained on his arm.” Thank you. He just loves you.”
“Mom,” the kids pleaded with his mom.
“Oh, no problem. Phillip, take care of your mom. You guys have a good night.”
Jackson turned to me. “Baby, you coming or you scoring more autographs?”
Hope for Us (Hope Series Book #3) Page 18