Romance: Seducing The Quarterback

by Stacie Duncan

  Mike grinned, “I am so glad.”

  This was a big step and perhaps it would bring them closer to getting into a relationship. Megan smiled at the idea.

  * * * *

  The next day was spent packing for the trip that Megan was now really excited to go on. Sunny Florida and the companionship of Mike – it sounded like one hell of a time for Megan.

  “Do you really need to bring this many pair of shoes on the trip?” Mike remarked as he saw the array of accessories she had laid out in front of her.

  “Don’t judge me,” she said defensively, “I am only trying to prepare as best as I can.”

  He laughed as he crept up behind her and wrapped an arm around her, “I am not judging,” he said with his lips pressed against her shoulder.

  “You better not,” she laughed and continued to contemplate over what pair of shoes she should be taking.

  Seeing her so excited about the whole thing, Mike felt it was only fair that he let her know one important piece of information he had been keeping from her. He cleared his throat.

  “Listen, Meg,” he said to her. Recently, he had taken to calling her with nicknames and she loved it whenever he did that. “I forgot to mention this when I told you we would be going on a trip together.”

  “What?” she asked, immediately ceasing her packing activities to turn to look at him. “What is it?”

  “Well, when I said that we would be going to Florida, I did not mean that it would all be just to go out and enjoy our time. I actually have some important business there as well.”

  “Oh,” Megan replied, relieved, “Well obviously. I do not expect you to be with me 24/7 anyway. Of course you can go about your business while you are there.”

  He cleared his throat, “Well, actually, I guess I would like it if you were to accompany me during it?”

  “What business is this, exactly?” she asked him.

  Mike had gotten really comfortable around Megan in the past few weeks. Even though they had not been officially dating, she had been the only girl that he has been seeing. He felt like he could trust her with things and this one was a huge deal.

  “Well, my brother lives in Florida, sort of,” he started off hesitantly. Instantly, Megan could tell that this was hard for him to share so she was by his side at once.

  “You can tell me,” she told him, putting an arm around his back.

  “My brother is in rehab and I need to go visit him,” he told her sincerely.

  Megan was shocked as this was news to her. She had tracked down all the known information that was available on the internet about Mike but she had not known that he had a brother that was in rehab. In fact, a news like this would have gotten a lot of media attention. She was surprised to see how it had been kept under wraps thus far.

  “I did not know that,” she admitted, “how long has he been there?”

  Mike sighed, “A couple of months – honestly, his drug problem got so bad that he had no other choice. He is in a private rehab center in Florida and we’re all pretty worried about him as a family.”

  “I am surprised that this information has not yet been leaked to the press,” Megan commented, “I mean, I am sure it would be a press field day if they were to find a way to link you and drug use somehow.”

  Mike nodded, “I know - but I am not the one who does it. My brother Kevin does. And I have been putting off seeing him for so long now – it is just so hard for me to do it alone. And now – I feel like I finally have someone who I can take with me.”

  “You can trust me,” Megan replied, squeezing his hand, “I am here for you.”

  And she meant the words.

  * * * *

  Florida turned out to be a much more serious trip than what Megan had initially had in mind but she did not care for as long as she was by Mike’s side. She thought it was a good sign for their relationship that he had trusted her with this information.

  “I have not seen him in years,” Mike told her as they drove their way to the rehab center, “I wonder if he will even talk to me.”

  “He is your brother,” Megan told him, “Of course he will talk to you. You just do not forget family like that.”

  Mike gulped, “I know – but growing up, it was difficult. Our family was not exactly the happiest and while I found my release with my passion for football, Kevin was not as lucky. He always felt overshadowed and he did not like me much for a couple of years when my career was just starting out. But I don’t know – he is still my brother. I did not even know that his drug use had gotten so bad until my mother called me crying one night – I knew I had to send him to rehab.”

  “You did the right thing.”

  “We have spent a lot of money to keep this story under the wraps – he just does not need that sort of attention and that is partly why I have avoided visiting him. That, and the fact that I am too scared. But now that you are here, I feel like I can make it through this,” Mike admitted.

  Megan was enjoying the fact that he was being so brutally honest about his feelings to her. She nodded.

  A while later, they had reached the rehab center and they two of them were directed to a room. A skinny looking back who had his head shaved stared back at them from a bed.

  “Kevin,” Mike breathed out and walked over to him, “How have you been doing, man?”

  Kevin did not reply, instead he just stared back at Megan, who seemed to be looking quite uncomfortable at this point.

  “Kev, that’s Megan. She’s,” Mike hesitated. He was not sure what to call her just yet – they had not defined it yet. “She’s a friend.”

  Megan did not know what she had expected him to refer to her as but she knew that she was disappointed when she heard the word friend. Still, she walked in and plastered a huge smile on her face.

  “Hello, Kevin,” she greeted him as she took a seat besides Mike, “I have heard so much about you.”

  “I have not heard anything about you,” Kevin replied, rather snarkily, “And why would I? It’s not like my famous brother has any time for me or his family, am I right, Mikey boy?”

  Megan saw Mike’s face fall immediately. He had mentioned to her that Kevin could be a little insensitive sometimes but experiencing it first hand was still baffling.

  “I came to see you,” Mike said, but from the tone of his voice, Megan would tell that his brother’s words had gotten to him.

  “Well, you have seen me, now you can leave,” Kevin said dismissively.

  “Hey, man,” Megan decided to step in, “Mike really cares about you and he came out all the way over here just to see how you were doing. I feel like you at least should have a proper conversation with him.”

  Kevin rolled his eyes, “Look, woman, I know you are just another one of his several flings – please don’t interfere.”

  But Mike stood up before he could say anything else. “That is enough, Kevin. I came here to see if you were doing alright but honestly, I realize why I had been putting it off all these months. You are quite insufferable still.”

  Kevin seemed surprised. “Fine, sit down. Say what you have to say and leave.”

  “How are you doing?” Mike asked, his tone softening again.

  “Shit,” he replied with no further explanation. “They took away my drugs, I cannot go out. The only people that visit me have that same pitying expression on their face like the both of you have right now. I am sick, they say.”

  Mike felt his heart wrench, “All of us just want you to get better.”

  “Yes and to do that, you have to leave me alone. I know you are a big shot now but you need to realize that I do not want to be associated with you. I do not want the attention that comes along with being your brother – I have dealt with it all my life and look where it landed me? Please – do not visit me anymore.”

  Mike was hurt by some of the comments but he knew that he was right. He nodded. “If that is what you want, then I will not. But please know that I only want you to get better.
”

  Kevin nodded. And it was all Mike could ask from him.

  * * * *

  Mike and Megan left the rehab center quietly. It was evident that Mike had a lot to think about and Megan did not want to intrude just yet. Mike had taken special precaution on making his visit a secret but just as they walked out of the clinic, a camera went off in the nearby bushes.

  One very lucky photographer had gotten tomorrow’s big headline news.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Mike Ferguson awoke to chaos. His phone was ringing off the hook.

  “Can you switch that off?” he asked Megan, who was in the bed lying next to him. “I do not want to wake up just yet.”

  Megan nodded but just as she was about to press the off button, she saw the caller ID.

  “I think you should take this,” she nudged Mike, “It’s Kevin. Perhaps he feels bad about yesterday and wants to talk to you.”

  Mike bolted up straight right away. “It’s Kevin?” he said and hastily took the phone from her. He got up and headed to the adjacent room to take the call.

  Megan had not planned on waking up this early but she knew that she would not be able to fall back asleep now. She opened her cellphone and saw that her alerts had been going insane. There was news. She clicked open the article and nearly dropped her phone from her hands.

  * * * *

  Meanwhile in the other room, Mike answered the phone.

  “Hey, Kev,” he greeted his brother. Mike was hopeful that Kevin might have called for a do-over.

  “So you had to go and do the one thing I told you not to, didn’t you?” Kevin said from the other side of the line. He sounded noticeably angry.

  “What are you on about?” Mike replied in confusion.

  “You had to come here and then not even have the decency to cover your tracks!”

  “I did – what are you talking about?” Mike was growing frustrated.

  “The media has been stalking my rehab center all morning, Mike! News got out – everybody knows that Mike Fergusons brother is sitting idle in rehab because of drug abuse and they all want to talk to me. The one thing I asked you not to drag me in!” Kevin was fuming.

  “I do not understand this,” Mike said, half to himself, “I made sure no one would know of my visit at the clinic. How could this have happened?”

  “Maybe you trusted the wrong people. That girl you had with you – god dammit, I did not ask to be a part of this, Mike! I considered fixing things with you after you left yesterday but now – I do not want anything to do with you. Please, do not try and contact me again.”

  And with that, the phone clicked. Kevin had hung up.

  Mike was confused – he had been so meticulous about keeping things under the wraps. Where could he have gone wrong? In his confused and emotional state, he thought what Kevin had said to him. Could it be possible that Megan had been the source of the leak? After all, she was a journalist.

  He walked back into the room where she was. “Megan,” he called out to her, “Come here for a second.”

  “Yeah, what’s up?” she asked him, “I just read the news. Honestly, I cannot believe that this news got out. Was that why Kevin just called you?”

  But suddenly, she knew something was wrong by the expression on Mike’s face. “Are you sure you cannot believe this?” he asked her, accusingly.

  “Of course,” Megan replied, “I found out just now, just like you did.”

  But Mike suddenly turned his face sour. “Right.”

  “Are you trying to imply that somehow I had to do something with the fact that this news came out?” she asked him, a little hurt that he would assume that about her.

  “Well – what else could it have been? I made all the necessary precautions and did everything in my power. You were the only one besides my management to know,” he told her.

  Megan stared back at him, aghast, “I cannot believe you, Mike. What do you take me for, a sellout?” she exclaimed.

  Mike pursed his lips, “Well, you are a journalist. How am I supposed to know how far you willing to go to climb the ladder of success?”

  Megan stared back at him – the words were unable to come out of her mouth. She had been stunned to a silence. She had not expected him to say these words to her but here he was, saying them anyway. It was a shock and a revelation.

  “Maybe I was wrong about you all this time, too,” she said, suddenly walking away from him, “Maybe you were the same asshole you portrayed yourself to be the first time I met you.”

  “Oh yeah?” Mike shouted back, “What are you going to do? Write another article about me?”

  Megan was hurt. “No, you’re not worth it,” she spat back, “I am leaving.”

  “Wait,” Mike suddenly stopped her, “What do you mean you are leaving?”

  “I mean that I do not wish to be around you any longer. I do not know what we were but whatever it is, you can safely assume that it is now over. I cannot stand this level of character assassination,” she huffed and before

  Mike couldn’t get in another word; she had closed the door behind her.

  Megan grabbed her suitcase and called the airport to catch the next flight back home. She felt humiliated – she had truly not known about the leak and it was incredibly low of Mike to accuse her of doing such a thing. Did their weeks of companionship mean nothing to him? Megan was mad and she just wanted to get out of his company.

  * * * *

  Cameron paced the room and look over to Mike. He noticed Mike had been noticeably depressed ever since the news of his brother being in rehab came out to the public. Cameron figured there was more to the story though – he knew Mike was tough and even news like this would not make him as depressed as he was right now.

  “What has gotten into you?” he asked him, “We already did damage control and relocated your brother to another facility. It’s solved now so why are you still so bummed about the whole thing?”

  Mike did not reply, instead he just lit up another cigarette and took a drag.

  “Did we ever find out who made the leak that I would be visiting?” he asked after a while. He held up his cigarette and offered it to Cameron, but he refused.

  “Actually, yes,” Cameron replied and Mike’s head snapped up.

  “Who?” he was eager to know if his suspicions had been correct.

  “It was someone from within the management. He managed to grab hold of your flight details and the reason of your visit – I guess some people sell out very easily. Do not worry though, I have already taken care of it. That guy no longer has his job.”

  Cameron expected Mike to be happy about this news but it seemed that it only served to depress him even further. Mike sulked back lower in his seat and took another long drag of his cigarette.

  “Cameron,” he finally said, sounding very remorseful, “I think I am a huge idiot.”

  Cameron had half a mind to joke with him about this but he could see that Mike was being serious and since that was such a rare occurrence, Cameron decided to be there for him fully. “What did you do?”

  “This girl,” Mike started off. He did not even know how to explain himself without coming off as a gigantic presumptuous asshole. He had wrongly accused Megan of doing something she had not involvement in.

  “Oh man,” Cameron said suddenly, “I should have known it wasn’t the news that got you so depressed. Of course it is a girl. Who is it and what did you do?”

  “You remember that journalist chick?” Mike said and Cameron refreshed his memory.

  “The one that interviewed you?” he said, “Wait – you two are a thing?”

  Mike nodded but then added as an afterthought, “Actually, I am not sure if we are. I think she ended things with me,” Mike groaned and buried his face in his hands.

  “Why?” Cameron asked, concerned now. He had never seen Mike hung up on a girl like this – the fact that this was happening meant that she was indeed something special. “Tell me what happened.�
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  “She was with me when I went to see Kevin,” he trailed but Cameron could already see where this conversation was headed.

  “And when I found out about the leak to the media, I was pretty pissed. Kevin called me and told me off. I was not thinking straight and in the heat of the moment, I accused her of being the person who leaked the information out to the press,” Mike admitted with great difficulty.

  “Damn,” Cameron said, “I figure she did not take it that well, did she?”

  Mike shook his head, “She got offended that I even such a thing and left me. I do not think she is going to see me anymore.”

  Cameron felt for his friend. He had really messed up with this girl and he looked like he was really guilty. “Have you tried speaking to her since then?”

  “No,” Mike replied, “I do not even know what I will say. I was in the wrong for accusing her like that but I cannot even imagine how degrading it must have felt. Like, I do not even trust her a little.”

  “You made a mistake,” Cameron reassured him, “I am sure she will understand.”

  “I really do not want lose her over this,” Mike groaned once again.

  “Then, don’t,” Cameron’s advice was simple but it made Mike see things a lot more clearly. He nodded and excused himself, pulling out his phone from his pocket.

  He dialed her number.

  Three bells and then the line cut off.

  She had cancelled his call.

  He tried multiple times again and then finally, it went to voicemail.

  Mike cleared his throat, “Hey, Megan. I know you do not want to speak to me right now but I just wanted to say I am sorry. I am an idiot and sometimes I say and do stupid things – this was one of them. Please call me back.”

  Mike resigned and put his phone back into his pocket. He hoped that he would fix things with Megan.

  * * * *

  Megan listened to her voicemail back in her apartment and had a myriad of emotions. She still felt upset about his accusation and it made her not want to see him again. But she also saw how sorry he sounded. She was conflicted and she did not know what to do. For now, she decided she would dissolve away all thoughts of him from her mind and just try to sleep.