X's and O's (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE)

by Nikki Wild

  He chuckled as he placed a cloth napkin on his lap.

  “Oh? Bad experience?”

  “Well, when I called last night to talk with you, the damn computer answering system went crazy.”

  I laughed.

  “Yeah, we have bets in the newsroom on whether our phone system is the start of Skynet.” I glanced up and saw him smiling at the reference. “The system is broke, but corporate won’t give us any money to fix it or replace it.”

  He shook his head.

  “Journalism is so damn important.”

  “Right? I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next ten years, but it’s scary.”

  I picked up one of the menus and opened it up.

  “The steak is good,” he said.

  “Is that what you’re having?”

  “Yes,” he replied, flashing me that disarming smile again.

  Dammit, I thought, taking a deep breath. Why was he so fucking hard to resist? I stared over at him, mesmerized by his gaze, despite my best efforts. I didn’t want to remember the past, I didn’t want to remember the way he made me feel, I didn’t want to remember the way my heart pounded every time he came near me, the way my body felt more alive than it’d ever felt since. I couldn’t erase any of those things, but dammit, I’d spent the better part of ten years trying not to wallow in those feelings and I was doing a damned good job of it lately.

  Until I’d thrown myself into his path. Now, it was like the last ten years never happened.

  But they had. We were different people now and despite the way my body was responding to him, nothing could change that.

  “You’re quiet,” he said.

  I smiled politely.

  “Sorry,” I said, looking away.

  It was too much. The heat in his eyes. The story in them. All the unanswered questions that I desperately wanted answers for.

  His mother returned, an open bottle of wine in her hands.

  “Haley, how’ve you been? How are your parents?” she asked.

  My smile faded quickly.

  “They died a few years ago, unfortunately.”

  “Oh, dear!” she said, throwing a hand over her heart. I heard Toby gasp but I didn’t look his way. I hadn’t told him, but to be honest, it just hadn’t come up in conversation. There wasn’t a good time to tell him, and yet here we were.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” she said.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins. It was a car accident.”

  “I’m so sorry, Haley, I didn’t know,” Toby said, his voice low and serious. I couldn’t bring myself to look at him. I knew what I’d see there and I couldn’t handle it.

  “Thank you. It’s been a few years now,” I said.

  “Well, I know they were both very proud of you, Haley.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jenkins,” I said.

  “Have you two decided what you’re having?” she asked.

  “Two steaks, please, Ma,” he said, handing her the menus.

  “Coming right up.”

  As she wandered away again, I glanced around the nearly empty dining room.

  “There’s a nice atmosphere here.”

  “Thanks. We’ve spent quite a bit of money over the last couple years.”

  “I’m sure they appreciate it,” I said.

  “They do,” he said. “Well, Mom does. Dad pretends it’s not happening and we play along to save his pride.”

  I laughed, smiling over at him, ignoring the butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

  “So you got married,” I said, figuring this was as good as time as any to start prying for answers.

  “I did,” he nodded. “It didn’t work out very well.”

  “I’m sorry. I remember reading all the articles about the divorce.”

  He shook his head.

  “I still can’t believe how much they wrote about my personal life.”

  “It’s over now, though, right?”

  I looked into his eyes, wondering if he was over her.

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “Long over.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” I said.

  “Don’t be,” he said. “I’m not. I never should have married Jessica in the first place.”

  “Why did you?” I asked, feeling bold.

  He paused, staring over at me thoughtfully before answering.

  “I guess I thought marrying her would make me stop thinking about —.”

  “—Here’s your salads!” His Mom laid the plates on the table, interrupting him.

  “Thanks, Ma,” he said, smiling up at her.

  “Of course! Eat! Drink!” she urged. We laughed together, as easily as we’d laughed back when we were kids. It seemed so long ago and yet, sitting here with him now, it was like nothing had changed.

  “So you were saying? About Jessica?” I asked, after she’d left.

  “Oh, it doesn’t matter,” he said with a dismissive wave. “How long have you been at the Press?”

  “A few years. And, I’m not looking forward to going back to work tonight,” I said.

  “You have to go back to work tonight?”

  I nodded.

  “There’s no rush, though. I told Scott, my boss, I might have a long dinner tonight. I usually work the swing shift.”

  “Scott’s the photo editor, right?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I talked to him on the phone last night. He seems like an okay guy.”

  “He’s an asshole. Trust me.”

  He grinned while staring at me.

  “What?”

  “You’ve got this look on your face right now. I’m not sure how to describe it, but…”

  “Do I have something on my face?” I interrupted.

  “No, no, not like that at all. It’s just…you haven’t changed, have you, Haley?”

  “I’ve changed a lot, actually. You’d be surprised.”

  “I guess I have, too,” he said.

  “A lot of time has passed,” I said, his eyes peering deeply into mine. I felt like I was drowning and part of me wanted to just dive in deeper, but the other part of me wouldn’t let me forget how much he’d broken my heart.

  His mother returned with our food and we made small talk throughout dinner, never talking about the photo shoot, or the past, again.

  I wanted to tell him everything, about my parents, about Billy, about who I was now, but the words just didn’t come.

  Instead, we talked about football, we talked about his team, we talked about everything that wasn’t important and nothing that was. My answers never came.

  After we finished eating, I checked the time on my phone.

  Almost time to go. Already? I frowned, not ready to go back to the newspaper and work, but mainly not wanting to leave him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, pushing his plate toward the center of the table.

  “I should get going.”

  “So soon? Our date just started.”

  “This wasn’t a date, Toby.”

  “Well, I guess I thought I’d have more time to plead my case.”

  “What case?”

  “Look, Haley, I know things ended badly, but I was hoping we could try again.”

  “Badly? Try again? Are you serious?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “It just ended, Toby. There was no good or bad, or any sort of lead up to it at all. It was like everything was going along smoothly and we fell off a cliff without any warning.”

  “It was that terrible, huh?”

  “You don't remember?” I asked, defensiveness and anger beginning to rush through me.

  His sudden departure had wrecked me, left me reeling for months, submersed in misery that I thought I’d never crawl out of.

  “I do remember,” he said, nodding slowly, his eyes haunted. I wished I could crawl inside his mind and dig around in his thoughts until I found satisfactory answers to the questions that had plagued me for years.

  “Look, this is pointless. I don’t even know why I’m here.”r />
  “We were going to discuss a photo shoot. And catch up.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m beginning to think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Haley, I’m sorry…”

  “Yeah? For what, Toby? Bringing me here? Or breaking my heart? For abandoning me without any explnation?” I asked, my voice cracking. I fought back the tears and jumped up and grabbed my purse. I turned to leave but turned back briefly. “Once upon a time, I thought you were a good guy, Toby. Turns out, I had no idea who you were and I still don’t.”

  “Haley, please, just give me a chance to explain.” His eyes begged forgiveness but I couldn’t look at him. Not anymore.

  I turned and walked out, ignoring the sadness on his mother’s face as I walked past the front desk and out into the sunlight.

  I sat on the curb and pulled up my Uber app and ordered a car, wishing I’d driven myself instead of letting him pick me up.

  The footsteps falling behind me were as familiar as my own, even after all these years.

  “We’re done talking,” I said, without looking up. “I’m just waiting for my ride.”

  “Come on, Haley. I’m sorry. Give me one more chance. Tomorrow.”

  “Why?”

  “For your job, mainly. Let’s do the photo shoot tomorrow and maybe we can try to smooth things over, in the meantime.”

  “I have to work tomorrow.”

  “So I’ll call your boss and tell him you’ll be working off site with me.”

  Despite every cell in my body screaming at me to tell him to fuck off, I slowly nodded my head.

  I guess I wanted those answers more than I thought I did.

  “Fine,” I said. “Pick me up at my office.”

  “Great!” he said, as I flashed him a weary grin.

  “Don’t look so pleased. This is just business, Toby.”

  “Just business. Got it,” he nodded. “Sure I can’t give you a ride?”

  “Nope,” I said, standing up, as my car approached. “There’s my Uber.”

  “Alright,” he said. “See you tomorrow.”

  I got in the car without a word, my heart pounding in my chest, my head spinning a million miles an hour as I cursed myself for agreeing to see him again.

  Six

  Toby

  The next day, I called Scott, Haley’s boss, and persuaded him to let Haley off early to hang out with me at a local amusement park. He’d hesitated, until I told him he’d end up with photos of me playing laser tag, skee ball, and more. After he agreed, the rest of the day flew by.

  Coach let us out of practice early. I didn’t tell him about the informal photo shoot. In my mind, it was more about spending time with Haley and seeing where things would lead with her. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I’d fallen asleep last night replaying every single time we’d made love in my head. The memories made me feel young again and I missed those carefree times desperately. We’d lived life with such abandon, loving each other so fiercely.

  On the way to the newspaper offices, I turned up the radio. Led Zeppelin blasted from the Maserati as I raced down the road toward downtown.

  When I pulled into the parking lot, I took a deep breath before getting out and walking toward the entrance. She came through the glass doors before I reached them, shaking her head as she walked over.

  She smiled as she stopped in front of me.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, holding up the camera hanging from a strap around her neck. “The top of a high building downtown?”

  “Even better,” I said.

  We walked over to my car. I opened the door for her again, glimpsing her smooth, silky legs as she sat down in the passenger seat. The whole ride to the Family Fun Center a few blocks away, I kept stealing glances of her at every available opportunity.

  “This might be interesting,” she said as I pulled into the full parking lot.

  “I figure you can take photos of me having fun with a few fans.”

  “Sure, that sounds good.”

  After I parked, we got out of the car and headed toward the large building. Two boys rushed over excitedly before we made it to the entrance.

  “You’re the best,” one of the boys said, then turned to the other. “I told you it was him.”

  “Can we get your autograph, Mr. Jenkins?” the other boy asked, looking up at me.

  “Sure thing, boys. Do you have anything to sign?”

  “Sign my shirt,” one said, pulling the bottom away.

  “You know what? I don’t have a marker with me, but if we go inside, maybe I can find a pen and sign a piece of paper or something.”

  “Aw, come on. Sign my shirt. I’ll never take it off.”

  I smiled and glanced over at Haley. She was holding up a black magic marker in her left hand with her fancy camera in the other.

  After I lifted my hand, she tossed it through the air. A woman walked over as I took off the cap.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  I looked up and smiled.

  “Signing the boy’s shirt. You want me to sign something for you?”

  While I didn’t mean to sound suggestive, her eyes opened wide.

  “Why on earth would I want you to sign my son’s shirt or anything of mine?”

  “Mom!” one of the boys cried, sounding mortified. “This is Toby Jenkins. THE Toby Jenkins. From the Cleveland Browns! ”

  “Well, I don’t want him signing your shirt. I paid good money for that, and you’re not going to ruin it.”

  “Come on,” the kid said. “Just hurry up and do it.”

  “Nah, little man. Maybe your mom has a piece of paper or something.”

  The other boy pulled a crumbled paper receipt out of his pocket.

  “Here you go,” he said, holding it up.

  “I have an idea, let’s win something for me to sign. How’s that sound?”

  “Awesome!” the boys cried simultaneously.

  They darted across the parking lot toward the entrance of the building.

  “Toby Jenkins, ma’am,” I said, holding out my hand.

  The woman glanced down at it as if it were a dead fish.

  “I’m watching you,” she said then spun around and walked away.

  Haley walked over, a smile on her face.

  “I hope you got enjoyment out of that,” I said.

  “For sure. Some good photos, too. Does that ever get old for you?”

  “Mean moms?”

  “No, silly. People asking for your autograph, not having any privacy.”

  “A paycheck for a single game is more than my Pops made in a whole year, sometimes five years. It’s a hassle sometimes, but it comes with the territory, you know?”

  She nodded.

  “I get people asking me to take their photo all the time. That or they complain about the newspaper delivery person or some article they read and disagreed with.”

  I smiled, studying her face as she opened up to me. The skirt and blouse she had on were conservative, but they showed enough of her body for me to remember what was underneath.

  “Let’s go inside,” I said, holding out my hand.

  She lifted her camera a few inches.

  “I’m working, remember?”

  I smiled as she snapped a few photos. As expected, fans of all ages swarmed around me. Haley worked in the background as I mingled with the people, handing out autographs and posing for selfies with men, women and children.

  Half-an-hour after we entered, the crowd had broken up. I walked over to her as she stared at the screen on the back of her camera, looking over photos.

  “Anything good?” I asked.

  “Oh, a few. They really swarmed you.”

  “Yeah, it happens whenever I go someplace like this, but I thought you could get some good photos. Now, how about a quick game of laser tag before the rest of the evening?”

  “No, thanks. I’m not much of a gamer.”

  “Laser tag is for everyone,” I said. “Even old spo
rts guys like me.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  I flashed a smile and put my hand on her arm, trying to step up my charm.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ve never done this before.”

  “Even better. You will love it,” I said, taking her hand and leading her to the laser tag section.

  At the entrance, I gave the man a hundred-dollar bill to let us have the whole enclosure to ourselves for our game. He looked down at the money a moment then relented.

  “Okay, but no…” He glanced to the left and right. “…funny stuff in there, okay?”

  “Come on, man. You think I’m like that?”

  Haley stepped up after putting her camera into a locker.

  “That will be safe here, right?” she asked the teenaged attendant.

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll keep an eye on it. The equipment is over there.”

  He pointed to the guns, harnesses and helmets.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy on you,” I said.

  “Maybe I’m secretly a laser tag champion, and I’m sharking you.”

  “Sharking me?”

  “You know, like a pool shark. A laser shark?”

  I laughed as we put on the gear. The teenage boy didn’t look up from his phone as we walked to the entrance.

  “Come out when you hear the buzzer and lights come on, enjoy your laser battle,” he said unenthusiastically.

  “It’s dark in here,” Haley said as I led her down a darkened hallway to the main floor.

  “Are you afraid of the dark or something?” I asked, stopping.

  “No, but…”

  I stepped forward, pressing my body against hers as she stood in front of a dark wall.

  “What are you doing, Toby?” she asked, her eyes flashing up at me.

  Instead of speaking, I bent my head and went in for a kiss. Her eyes, so green and beautiful, opened wide, but she did not duck or dive away. Her soft lips melted under mine. I put my hand on her waist, pulling her towards me.

  She moaned softly as my lips pressed into hers. When I slid my tongue into her mouth, she pushed me away.

  “Stop, Toby! What are you doing?” she asked again, her eyes wide.

  “What do you mean? I’m kissing you.”

  “Exactly. We’re supposed to be working.”

  “I can’t help it,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I can’t stop thinking about you, Haley.”