The temperature outside had remained under freezing, but the snow had stayed away. It wouldn’t last long. I spotted Brady as I arrived at the dining hall, walking through the quad. He held his head higher than he used to and now he talked to people as he made his way across campus.
“Hey, beautiful,” He pulled me into his arms and held me. “You feel good.”
“I missed you,” I leaned back and he followed and kissed me.
“I’m sorry,” He let go and opened the door to the dining hall, guiding me inside. “It’s been crazy. You’d think we were going to the championship or something. We still lost six games this year.”
“That was before the mighty Brady took over.” I took his arm and we went through the lines to grab breakfast.
We sat next to each other at one of the round tables in front of the floor to ceiling windows looking out across campus. Brady dove into his omelet. “Want some?” He held out a forkful for me. I bit off half of it and he shoved the rest in his mouth.
“How do you only eat cheese pizza, but have everything in your omelet?” I pushed an errant mushroom between my lips. He chuckled.
I bit into my buttered cinnamon bagel and offered him a bite. He ate half of it and grinned. I shook my head. “I need my strength,” He chuckled. “I worked on drills with my receivers until coach made us go home last night.”
“It’s hard work being so talented.” I tousled his sexy bed head. “Without sounding like one of those clingy, annoying chicks, I missed sleeping next to you.”
“Me, too,” He leaned in and whispered. “You miss that D, too, don’t you?” I pushed him away. He laughed. I rolled my eyes. He wasn’t wrong, though.
I looked at the clock on my phone. I had class in fifteen minutes, so I had to go. I handed Brady my keys. “You can drive it while I’m gone this weekend.”
“You sure?” He put the keys in his pocket. “Wow. Not to sound like one of those corny, mushy guys, but we’ve at least seen each other every day since we met,” He pouted. “I’ll miss you.”
I leaned in and kissed the pout off his lips. His lips were salty from the food. I pulled back, but Brady followed and deepened the kiss.
“I’m going to miss you, too,” I whispered. He sighed and laid a final peck on my cheeks. “Finish your breakfast.” I stood and pointed to his plate. “You need your strength to be great.” I took one step away, but Brady grabbed my arm as he stood up and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder.
“I’ll see you on Sunday.” He kissed me one more time before letting me go. I ran my hands through his hair and left for class.
I had two classes before meeting my dad and Emmy at Pizza My Heart about a mile from campus. It was a Thackeray staple. My father insisted on going whenever he was in town. They were both already there when I arrived, sitting across from each other in a booth. My dad’s driver/security guard stood near the door.
“Hey, James,” I squeezed his arm. He’d been with my dad for years.
“Hey, Ms. Amerie.” He was a man of few words, but he had a nice smile when he wasn’t trying to intimidate everyone.
“Hey, Amerie,” Emmy stood quickly. Her eyes blinked and dodged back and forth. She looked behind me and then back at me.
“Hey.” I gave her a quick hug.
My father stood. His stoic frown threw me off. My father was, if nothing else, almost always approachable.
“Sweetheart,” He shook the frown off quickly and enveloped me into a hug. My father was tall, six four, and was as casual as he got in slacks, a button-down white shirt, and a blue sweater. “Pizza will be here in a minute.”
“Sorry, I’m late,” I pulled off my jacket and sat next to Emmy.
“No problem,” He laid his hands on the table. “Emmy was just telling me about the young man you’ve been seeing.”
All the air suddenly left the building. I blinked and sat back against the soft cushion until my brain pulled out a good reason for his frown. I didn’t think it was me seeing someone that had him upset. It was the fact that I hadn’t told him. My father preferred to paint us as being as close as a father and daughter could be. I played the role of daddy’s girl, rationalized by the fact I had no other parent to cling to, while he embraced it for his career. Apparently, fathers who were close to their daughters played well in Northern Virginia.
Emmy whispered ‘sorry’ under her breath. I shook my head.
“Maybe you’ll tell me all about him this weekend,” My father sat back. “But now, we are here to talk about Emmy and her future.”
My dad threw Emmy his brightest smile, the one worth a million votes.
Emmy soon forgot her faux pas as my father actively listened to her aspirations. Emmy was smart and strong in her beliefs. Maybe she could be the appropriate daughter my father never had.
My phone beeped. It was a text from Brady.
Brady: I miss you already. Have a safe trip. Call me tonight. [heart emoji]
My heart raced and a smile snuck up on my face until I looked up and found my father staring at me with a frown. I put my phone away and concentrated on Emmy’s words.
I dreaded the car ride in my future.
Chapter Fourteen
Brady
“Good news,” Amerie answered on the first ring. “My father knows all about you.”
I choked on the bottle of water I had been drinking.
“Brady!” she cried out. “You okay?”
“My dude,” Matthews hit me on the back. I pushed him away and stopped walking.
“I’ll catch up with y’all.” I waved the guys on. We’d just finished practice and were heading to the dining hall for dinner. I held the phone back up to my ear. “What do you mean?”
“You okay?” Amerie squeaked.
“Yeah,” I threw the water bottle in the trash. “I forgot how to drink.” I cleared my throat. “What do you mean he knows all about me?”
“Emmy told him all about the lovely young man I’ve been seeing.”
My heart slowed down a bit.
“I spent the last two and a half hours telling him about you,” She huffed. “While tempering my enthusiasm of course. He doesn’t need to know about everything.”
“Of course,” I entered the dining hall and stepped down an empty hallway. “Besides the uncomfortable car ride, how’s the place?”
“It’s beautiful. It’s built next to these cliffs that drop into the ocean,” She sighed. “Amazing. I wish you were here.”
“Me too.” I really did. My chest had hurt since she walked away from me this morning. Something was off when we weren’t together. I didn’t want to fully admit why, but I knew. I was in love with Amerie. But I still hadn’t told her.
“I have to get ready for dinner. I just wanted to hear your voice,” She sighed.
“You okay? I mean, I know you didn’t want to tell your dad like that, but…”
“Oh, no, yeah, I’m fine,” She giggled. “I’m just being dramatic. It has nothing to do with you. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
“I mean. I am super proud to be your girlfriend,” A door slammed on her end of the line. “I just don’t want my dad in my business like that. It’s like he’s already looking for how our relationship can benefit him.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, but it gave me a weird feeling in my gut. It was better than him looking for ways to end it.
“Listen, don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Her voice had returned to normal. “What are you up to?”
“Heading to dinner with the guys,” I leaned against the wall.
“Go eat. What time’s practice in the morning?” she asked.
“Eight o’clock,” I pushed off the wall and headed back into the main area of the dining hall.
“I’ll get up early and call you in the morning. We can FaceTime and I’ll show you the cliffs.”
“It’s a date,” The pain in my chest lessened to a dull ache. “I miss you, baby.�
�
“Me, too,” I pictured the smile on her face and it made the world better. “Bye.”
When she hung up the phone, the pain returned. The uneasy feeling stayed with me all night.
The unease was still there well into the morning. Especially when Amerie didn’t call me like she said she would. And it became full on panic when she didn’t return my calls or texts.
I sleepwalked through the first half of practice.
“There’s such a thing as pushing too hard, guys,” Coach stood up in front of the team as we gathered in the center of the stadium. “You guys take off and I’ll see you Friday at twelve p.m.” Whoops and hollers rang out from the guys and echoed around the empty stadium. “Don’t make me regret it,” Coach stood with his hands on his hips. “Y'all be smart. Now get out of here.” We were supposed to go for another two hours today and had a film session and position meeting scheduled for Friday morning, so the break was more than welcome.
We all ran back into the locker room. Some guys pulled on clothes without showering, talking animatedly about what to do with the extra time.
I grabbed my phone. Still no word from Amerie.
“Florida,” Matthews slapped me on the back. “What’s up, man? You’ve been twitchy all day.”
“I haven’t heard from Amerie,” I checked my phone again.
“She’s hob-knobbing with future constituents for her father’s run to the presidency. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Her father found out about us,” I grabbed my stuff and headed for the showers. Matthews followed.
“Oh yeah. He freak?” He stood under the shower head next to me. I moved over a space.
“I don’t think so,” I turned toward Matthews. “Why would he freak?”
“I don’t know,” He shrugged. “Wealthy Black powerful men don’t typically see their daughters with poor white trash like yourself.” Matthews chuckled.
The term poor white trash rubbed me the wrong way. I knew Matthews didn’t mean anything by it, but I didn’t think of myself in that way.
“Not like Amerie would mind. She’s already super into you. Why don’t you drive down and see her?” Matthews stepped under the spray.
“You think I should?” I had already made up my mind to go, but I needed a sign.
“Of course. Coach gave us the time off,” He wiped his face with his hand. “It’s, what? A two-hour drive. You could be there before dinner and leave early in the morning. You can take my truck.”
“Yeah, no,” I shook my head. “I’m not getting in that death trap ever again. Besides, Amerie left me the keys to the Rover.
“There you go,” Matthews walked toward me and hit me in the chest. “It’s fate.”
He was right. I cleaned up and threw on some sweats. I ran back to my dorm to change into something nicer. I’d make it just in time for dinner. I pulled on a pair of black slacks and a black sweater. I grabbed my jacket and jogged to Amerie’s house. I slid into her SUV, programmed the GPS on my phone, and was on my way.
When I arrived at the hotel, I followed the driveway along the side of the building and up to the front entrance. The doorman approached my car.
“Good evening, sir, and happy Thanksgiving,” He tipped his cap.
“Hi. I was looking for Senator Clinton and his daughter,” Through the glass doors, I spotted a formal dining room near the back of the lobby overlooking the water.
“Oh yeah, they’re just about to sit down to dinner,” He stepped back. “Leave the keys in the car and I’ll park it.” He pointed.
I stepped out of the car and ran my hands through my hair. I stepped into the lobby and slipped off my jacket. A young woman was by my side in a minute.
“I’ll take that.”
I handed her my coat and proceeded across the lobby. The gloss marble floor looked like you could skate across it. A huge chandelier hung from the rafters. I spotted Amerie standing off by herself near the windows. She took my breath away. She was so beautiful. Her hair flowed down her back and she wore a curve-hugging sweater dress in burgundy. I couldn’t wait to peel it off of her later. Her legs were covered in black tights and suede boots that matched the color of her dress.
Someone called her name and she turned around. She smiled, but it was all wrong. Not the typical smile she wore with ease. Something was wrong. As I approached the room, she turned, and her gaze fell on me. It stopped me in my tracks.
Her eyes were tired and sad. Her spirt was defeated. Gone was the fierce, confident woman who’d worked her way into my heart.
Something was definitely off. By the way she looked at me, I was the cause.
Chapter Fifteen
Amerie
I first noticed his reflection in the window. When I turned around and saw him in person, I knew that what my father had told me was true. I felt it more than saw it. It all made sense now –– the way he spoke about his past and the things he left out.
Nothing quite jelled. Matthews had mentioned that Brady was a four-star recruit in high school, but he took a year off and then ended up at a junior college.
He didn’t take a year to find himself.
He spent a year between high school and college in jail for assaulting a police officer.
It was all my father had been able to find out in the twenty-four hours since he had found out about us.
No doubt he’d find more in time.
It didn’t matter.
Brady had lied to me. I took a deep breath and dug my fingers into my palm to calm down.
I shuffled across the dining room and intercepted him before he entered the room. I grabbed his arm and pulled him down a hallway, away from the prying eyes of our host and my father.
“What are you doing here?” I let go of his arm.
“Baby,” He stepped toward me. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
I stepped back and flinched away from his touch. I pushed my hair behind my ear and crossed my arms over my chest. “You can’t be here,” I couldn’t meet his eyes. “Just go back to school. I’ll talk to you when I get back.”
His eyes narrowed and he stepped forward again and put his hands on my hips. He smelled so good. I dropped my hands and pushed him back.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” He bent down to catch my eye. I didn’t want to look in his eyes. I didn’t want to see the man who I was falling for and remember what we’d shared. Not now. Not before I could process it all.
“Please, just go,” My heart cracked.
“No, not until you tell me what’s wrong,” He grabbed my face.
I had no choice but to look into his eyes and it broke my heart. “You lied to me,” I blinked and it held the tears back for a minute. He dropped his arms and stepped back. I stepped forward. “About going to prison for assaulting a cop.”
He rubbed his face and turned away from me. I stepped in front of him. I waited for him to deny it or defend himself, but he didn’t. He pulled at his collar and stared at his feet.
“Amerie,” My father stood at the entrance of the hallway. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I wrung my hands.
“Dinner’s about to be served,” He nodded. “Say goodbye to the young man.” A woman stood behind my dad with Brady’s coat in her hand.
I turned back to Brady who wouldn’t meet my gaze. I leaned into him.
“I trusted you,” I bit my lip. “You didn’t trust me.”
He shuddered but gave me no other response. I wiped the tears from my eyes and ran. I stepped inside the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I was such an idiot to fall for him. We were so different. We didn’t have anything in common. We came from two completely different places.
He was the first guy who I felt comfortable being myself around. He didn’t believe the shit people said about me. But he couldn’t trust me with his secrets. We had talked about trust and being open and honest, and at any time, he could have told me.
How did he think it wouldn’t come out? My dad had the h
ead of the FBI in his phone contacts list, for God’s sake.
I screamed and hit the door with my fist.
I blinked fiercely, but this time the tears did fall. I grabbed some paper towels and wiped my face. Thank God for waterproof mascara. I smoothed down my dress and ignored the sadness in my eyes and the pain in my heart.
For tonight, anyway.
I unlocked the door and pulled it open. The hallway was clear. I headed back toward the lobby, but I stopped when I heard my father’s voice. He and Brady stood just outside the open front doors.
“Young man,” My father’s voice was calm. “I am going to need you to stay away from my daughter.”
“Or what?” Brady squared up on my father.
“I know your record was expunged. You don’t have to disclose your conviction now that you’re over twenty-one,” My dad shrugged. “But I’m sure the university would still be interested.”
“I don’t care.” Brady stepped forward. My father stood his ground. “If Amerie wants to see me, she’ll see me.”
My father’s voice lowered. I couldn’t make out what he said, but the anger in Brady’s eyes dissipated into defeat. It made my heart break a second time. My dad pulled out his wallet and a pen from his coat pocket. He scribbled something and tore off a check. The sound of the paper echoed under the canopy of the entrance. He reached into his pocket again and took out a wad of bills. “This will get you back to campus.” My father extended his hand, holding out the check and the cash. Brady looked down at it and blinked.
A taxi had pulled up to drop someone off.
Without a word, Brady jumped in the now-vacant cab and left –– without the money.
My father shook his head, put his wallet and cash back in his pocket, and walked back into the lobby. His eyes grew wide when he saw me. “Amerie.”
“What did you say to him?” I asked.
Flip the Field: A BWWM Love At First Kiss College Romance Page 6