by Nikki Wild
She smiled up at me, a look of satisfaction and love on her face.
I pulled out, so happy, still shaking.
“We forgot about the chicken.”
“If the smoke detector is going off, it’s too far gone, I think. Still…”
She pushed my chest with her palms. I groaned and rolled off her.
“I’m taller,” I said, standing up. “Where is it?”
“Above the stove.”
We made our way into the kitchen. I hit the button to turn off the smoke alarm temporarily while she opened the door of the oven. Another cloud of smoke kissed the room.
“Let me get the window,” she said.
I stepped around the refrigerator and opened the back door. Some of the smoke flew out the screen.
“Good cook, huh?” I teased as I turned around.
She dropped her head dramatically with faux shame.
I laughed and stepped forward, putting my arms around her.
“That dinner offer still open?” she asked as we stood side by side in front of her sink.
I nodded, looking into the eyes of her reflection. She smiled.
“We have a story now. One step closer to a lasting relationship.”
“What do you mean?”
“I made you come so hard you literally heard alarms.”
I grinned. She frowned.
“What is it?”
“Oh, I have work stuff going on too. I mean, it’s not as bad as yours, but it also involves Jessica. My boss says I have to do a photo shoot for her. I didn’t know she was going to blackmail you with those photos. I really didn’t.”
“I believe you,” I said, comforting her with my body pressed against hers. “You should go ahead and do it. Maybe you can find out what the hell she wants. The photos haven’t surfaced anywhere online yet. Maybe she’s just bluffing.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to work with her.”
“Is that worth losing your job?”
She sighed deeply.
“No, but what about you?”
“You’ll get through it, and I’ll be fine with enough time. Maybe I’ll retire early. I’ve got money saved up.”
“I don’t know, Toby. It’s all getting so serious so quickly.”
“Look, Haley. You’re what I care about most right now. Yeah, my career is hot and I’d love to play another four years, at least, but I love you.”
Her lips quivered as she stared into my eyes. I leaned forward and kissed her again, never tiring of the taste. In middle of the kiss, her phone rang. She stepped away, looking at the screen.
“It’s work. I should take this.” She put it to her ear. “Hello?”
She paused.
“Now? You’re kidding, right? It’s Saturday.” Pause. “Fine. I’m coming in now.”
A frown fell over her face as she lowered her phone to her side.
“I’m going to have to take a raincheck on dinner. She wants me working tonight.”
I forced a smile, not wanting to freak her out.
“It’s fine. You’ll do great. We’ll get through this. Positive thinking leads to positive results. It’ll all work. Just don’t let Jessica rattle you, and you’ll be fine. Her bark is worse than her bite, I promise.”
“I love you, Toby.”
Those words were the sweetest anyone had said to me in a long time. Even the cheers and adoration of thousands of fans did not compare.
“I love you, too, Haley,” I said, kissing her again gently.
Twenty-Four
Haley
Back at the newsroom, I found Scott and Jessica talking in the photography department, her ever-present camera crew recording everything. She looked up and smiled as I walked over.
Keep it civil, I told myself.
“Thanks for coming in,” Scott said.
“Not like I had much of a choice,” I muttered then smiled. “What are we shooting today?”
“Oh, the photo shoot can’t happen today,” Jessica said. “But we can talk about it.”
I glanced over at Scott but said nothing to him.
“That okay with you?” Jessica asked.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go in the conference room.” I looked at Scott. “You coming?”
Jessica smiled at me.
“We’ll be fine on our own,” she said.
I sighed like a moody teenager then turned and walked toward the conference room.
“Be nice,” Scott called out.
As soon as we were in the conference room with the door closed, her demeanor changed. She instructed her camera crew to wait outside and turned to me with a snarl.
“How are you and Toby getting along?” she asked.
We made eye contact.
“Great.”
“Oh, yeah? He’s not mad at you?”
“Let’s cut the crap, okay? I know what you told him and what you took from me.”
“He’s going down,” she said, still smiling. “And there’s nothing you or him can do about it.”
“How did you even think this up?”
“Well, when I saw your name on the photos of the team, I recognized it. Toby’s never completely gotten over you. So, when I found out you worked here, I thought I would come by to hassle you. It helps the ratings to stir up drama, you know? When I saw the flash drive in your computer, I took it to throw it away later, just to cause you problems. Curiosity got the best of me, though, and I peeked at the photos. I’m glad I did.”
“You’re a sick, twisted bitch.”
She laughed.
“You think your names hurt me? He called me names too, but it was his fists that hurt me the most.”
“Whatever. I don’t believe you. Toby is a good guy.”
“You’re so naïve. It’s almost cute.”
“Please give the photos back,” I said politely.
“No.”
“We’re going to fight you on this.”
“Good luck. You don’t realize how much power I hold right now, do you? Not only can I take his career down, I can ruin yours too. At this point, I’m not sure any amount of money he could give me would be worth giving up the pleasure of bringing him down.”
I stared into her evil eyes, concentrating on my breathing to control my emotions. She did not look away, meeting my gaze. We stayed this way a moment.
“I’ve still not decided what I’m going to do, to be honest. In fact, I’m not even sure if I’m going to go through with this advertising campaign. Probably not.”
We both turned as Scott walked in, a goofy smile on his face.
“How’s it going in here?” he asked, stopping in front of us next to the conference table.
“We’ve only been in here a minute,” I said, my brow furrowed as I looked at him.
“Yeah, but I know how you can be, Haley.” He turned his attention to Jessica. “Everything going okay with you? We have to make big advertisers like you happy at all costs.”
Jessica glanced over, her face daring me to say something. I kept my mouth shut.
“We’re fine, Scott. You can go now. We’ll work this out.”
“Now, now, Haley. Why don’t you go get us some coffee? Would you like something to drink, Jessica?”
“No, I think I’m done here. I’ll be in touch, Haley. Be sure to answer your phone, dear. Whenever I call.”
“Sure,” I said.
“So soon?” Scott asked. “We could go over all your options.”
She walked out of the conference room without acknowledging him, her crew following her like puppy dogs.
“Oh well,” Scott said. “She’ll be back.”
I shook my head but said nothing and returned to work. By the end of my shift at midnight, I felt a bit better about everything. I called Toby on my drive home. He didn’t answer. Damn. Instead of blowing his phone up, I turned the radio on and jammed to some tunes, trying to relax and not let stress get the best of me.
Things will get better.
Twenty-
Five
Toby
As I rested at home, waiting for the last hour before Haley got off work, my phone buzzed. I picked it up, thinking she might have emailed me. Instead, I saw alerts for fifty-two new messages.
The phone buzzed again. Ninety-three new emails. WTF? My phone rang, an unknown number on the screen. I tapped to ignore the call. Immediately, another one came in.
I stared at the screen of the phone as more messages came in. Some of the subject lines were very fucking crude. When I glanced up at the television screen, my jaw dropped.
One of the photos Haley had taken of me was on the screen. I stood up then immediately sat back down, not sure what to do. They had my cock blurred out, but the internet would not be as kind.
I grabbed the remote control and turned up the volume of the television. Eric Cranston smiled as he went on about more photos being leaked online and sponsors were already threatening to dump me.
The scrolling text on the bottom of the screen flashed the hashtag #BigBrown and #footballporno as well as other information about the controversy.
Why the hell use that word?
When he dropped the subject and moved on, I turned the volume back down and managed to call Coach Harris on his personal cellphone. He would be upset, but he had to hear it from me first.
“Hello?” he answered. “This better be fucking good. It’s late!”
“I know, Coach. Sorry. It’s me, Toby. Some news is hitting, and…”
“You seriously think I don’t know already?” he asked, interrupting me.
“I called you as soon as I found out.”
“This the work of that reporter woman?”
“Well, yes, I guess. But she didn’t mean to, it’s my ex-wife, Coach. She’s setting me up.”
“You guess?”
“It’s my ex, Coach. Seriously, she’s behind it.”
“You have proof?”
“No, but…”
“No fucking buts about it,” he said. “You’re hereby officially on suspension until further notice. I’ve got to let this play out. We can’t have a lot of bad press during the playoffs. Do you realize how much you’ve fucked up my evening, son?”
“I’m sorry, Coach.”
“Don’t be fucking sorry. Make it right!”
The call ended abruptly. I turned it off, not wanting to deal with anyone. I thought about calling Haley briefly, but she had taken the photos in the first place, and I was beginning to wish I’d never allowed her to. Even if she hadn’t sold them to Jessica, she shouldn’t have taken them and certainly should not have carelessly left them in her computer.
As my anger built up, I stood and went into the gym. Memories of fucking her on the weight bench flashed through my mind as I picked up a jump rope and got to work.
My heart rate increased as I pushed my body. While my problems would not go away on their own, I needed time to process all the information and emotions in my brain.
Other people might eat comfort foods or sleep, but I liked to get my blood pumping and endorphins flowing through my body. I hated Jessica deeply.
But where did this leave everything with Haley now?
Would we ever be able to have a life together? I loved that she was such a strong, independent woman, but I needed someone to think about my wants and needs too – like my privacy, for starters.
I slowed down then stopped jumping rope, putting it back on the peg before squatting to the floor. My hands on the green outdoor carpet, I pushed my body up over and over again.
After I finished ninety-seven push-ups later, sweat covered my body. I got to my feet and walked over to the shower on the other end of the room, my head spinning as I tried to figure out how to get on the other side of this.
Twenty-Six
Haley
The next morning, I still hadn’t received a call or even a text message from Toby. He had a game, so it wasn’t unusual. I hung out at home in my pajamas until the game came on that afternoon.
Billy called as I finished breakfast. I answered right away.
“Hey, Billy. What’s up?”
“You haven’t heard?” he asked. “It’s blowing up online.”
“What is blowing up?”
“Are you by your laptop?”
“I can be. Just tell me.”
“It’s better to show you.”
“Fine.”
I stood and walked into the living room and opened my laptop.
“I’m sending you an email now. Don’t kill the messenger, okay?”
As I opened the email from Billy, my heart skipped a beat or three.
“Oh shit,” I said, my hand going to my mouth. “Why hasn’t he called me or anything? Do you think he knows?”
Jessica had leaked my nude photos of him!
“He knows,” Billy said. “All of a sudden, he’s all over Twitter like it’s going out of style, responding to all the haters.”
“That’s not good,” I said.
“Tell me about it. They’re going after his parents too. You should see the Chez Louie Yelp page.”
“How do you know about his parents owning a restaurant?” I asked.
“Shit.”
“Tell me, Billy. I need to call Toby, or try at least.”
“He hired me to help his dad with social media for the restaurant. I’m actually there right now. When I didn’t hear from you, I called to make sure you knew.”
“He did what? And you didn’t tell me? What the hell? Thanks a lot, Billy. Look, I’ve got to go. I’m going to call him.”
“Good luck. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I tapped on Toby’s name in my recent contacts list. The phone went straight to voicemail.
“Crap,” I muttered to myself.
Determination hit me. A few months earlier, I would have given up on Toby, but I’d changed. We had to talk no matter how much he wanted to ignore me.
I went outside and got in my car. On the drive to his house, I wondered what I would say to him. When I arrived fifteen minutes later, I still had no clue on what to say.
As I walked toward his front door, I saw the curtains in the front living room window stir. He is home! I thought as I made it to the porch. Why wouldn’t he at least talk to me?
I knocked, three times in quick succession. The door did not open. Crap, crap, crap.
“Come on, Toby. Talk to me. Please?”
Another knock brought the same result – nothing.
“I know you’re in there,” I shouted, getting upset. “Please open the door and talk with me for a minute. I’m staying here until you open.”
The ornately carved wooden door swung open.
“What?” Toby snapped.
“Can we talk? Please? Are you okay?”
“Now that you’ve fucked up my career? Yeah, Haley. I’m fucking fine.”
“Don’t be sarcastic right now. Please?”
He stood in the doorway, staring into my eyes.
His flared nostrils were not a good sign, but I pressed on.
“Can I come in and talk with you?”
“Why, Haley? What would that solve right now? I want to be alone. Are you that fucking needy that you can’t let me grieve?”
“I’m trying to be here for you!”
“You’re doing a shitty job.”
“Why are you taking it out on me?”
Tears welled up in my eyes.
“Because my life was fine until you stumbled back into it.”
“You really think that? Seriously? Why did you say you loved me then?”
“I’m a fucking idiot. Will you please go before I call the police? I don’t want you or the other press around me. Coach’s orders.”
“Toby. Please,” I pleaded. “I’m not the press.”
He shut the door in my face.
I wiped the tears from my face with the back of my hand as I walked back to my car. Fuck him! And Jessica, his coach, and everyone else!
&n
bsp; Instead of returning to my empty house, I stopped at work. The newsroom calmed me. With all the downsizing, it didn’t have the hustle and bustle of the so-called golden years of print.
Maybe that was why it helped me settle down? Whenever I found life getting too overwhelming, I went into the newsroom and sat at my desk surfing the internet or editing old photos for fun.
When I arrived after my big fight with Toby, I found Billy sitting in his cubicle. As I walked over, I saw the Yelp website open in his browser window. He minimized it then spun around.
“Hey, Haley. What are you doing here? You okay?”
“No, not at all. Toby and I had a big fight.”
“He answered your call finally?”
“No, I went over there and knocked on his door until he answered.”
“Haley!”
“I can’t help it. I’m in love, Billy. And I feel like shit. I can’t believe I caused all this!”
He frowned as if the idea repulsed him. I wondered why I wasn’t able to fall in love with someone like him, a guy more my level.
“Love is stupid.”
“You say that now. Just wait till you fall in love yourself.”
“Yeah, right. Anyway, I’m here working on a secret project for Toby’s dad. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Secret project?” I leaned against the chest-high divider around his desk. “Tell me more.”
“I’m trying to do damage control at Yelp for his dad.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
“Not good. The trolls are strong on that site.”
“Tell me about it.” I stared at the screen as he continued his work. “Hey, I just had an idea.”
“Do I want to know?”
“Hey, it’s a good one.”
Billy always cheered me up.
“Fine. Go ahead and tell me.”
“You need some type of viral campaign to get people who don’t care about football to stand up to the trolls who are attacking him.”
“Say what?”
“Think of it like this. Right now, you’ve got a legion of idiots causing the restaurant trouble online. What if there was a positive group supporting the restaurant?”