by KB Winters
She stared at me for another half a second and then stormed out of the room, wrapping the sheet around her as she went. She grabbed a long coat from the back of the desk chair and I realized that must have been all she wore in. Moments later, the heavy front door slammed shut. I stalked across the room, threw the security latch closed, and pounded my fist against the cold metal.
“Damn you, Summer!”
I sucked in a deep breath and tried to stop my heart from bashing in against my chest. When I could breathe again, I yanked my cell phone from my pocket and dialed Chelsea’s number. It went straight to voicemail and I crushed the sides of the phone with my hand.
At the beep, I left a message. “Chels, it’s Cody. Shit went sideways. I need to talk to you. Call me back. It’s not what you think.”
I tried to call right away but got the same result. I left a second message. “Please, Chels. You know I wouldn’t hurt you. Call me.”
I hung up and then stormed out into the hallway. Robby’s room was next door to mine. I banged on the door but no one answered. I didn’t even know if he was back from the stadium yet. The busses always took forever. Or, since Paris was there, he might have taken her out for a drink.
On second thought, I scratched out that theory. Those two were headed straight back to the room. Probably at light speed and they’d show up half naked.
I planted my socked feet in front of their hotel room door, my legs wide and crossed my arms. I’d be waiting there when they showed up, and I wasn’t going to let them get busy until they helped me get a hold of Chelsea. She might not be answering my calls, but surely she’d answer her best friend.
Minutes later, their voices carried from down the hall. They rounded the corridor and Robby backed Paris against the wall. They were mid lip-lock and, as expected, he had his hand so far up her shirt that the good majority of her torso was on display.
“Damn it, guys. Not the fuckin’ time!” I hollered, stalking over to them.
They broke apart, both flashing me confused expressions. Paris rallied first. “Where’s Chels?”
“You forget a pack of rubbers, man? I got some in my room.”
I groaned. “No! Fuck! Chelsea left. Paris, I need you to call her and tell her it was a mistake. I need to talk to her and she’s not answering my calls anymore.”
Paris shook her head like she was dazed after a fall. “Okay, hold up, bro. What the hell happened? I sent her to your room. Robby swiped the spare keycard from your wallet and she was going to…you know…surprise you.”
I raked a hand over my hair. “Yeah, well instead, she got there to see a surprise…”
“What?” they said in unison.
I gave them the brief rundown and they both groaned at the grand finale about Chelsea likely walking into my room and finding my naked ex-girlfriend spread eagle on the bed.
“Balls, man. That fuckin’ sucks,” Robby said, slapping my shoulder. “Baby, call Chels and tell her it was a mistake.”
Paris was on it, her fingers flying across her phone. She pressed it to her head and all too soon, shook her head at me. Her eyes darkened and she lowered the phone. “She sent me to voicemail. Damn it!”
“Try again. Leave her a message to call you. Should I go to the airport?”
“Good idea!” Robby said. “We’ll keep trying to call and get in touch if we get her on the phone. If she’s at the airport, then we’ll tell her to wait for you.”
“Thanks guys. Sorry to rain on your parade.”
Paris waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. We got you.”
I went back to my room long enough to put my shoes back on and then tore off to go downstairs and flag down a cab.
27
Chelsea
The last thing in the world that I wanted to do was get on another plane. Paris had booked us flights back to Oklahoma City for noon the next day. So, instead of trying to change my plans, I went down a few blocks from Cody’s hotel and booked myself a single room. I ordered room service, mostly to give myself something to do, and then lost myself in a series of pay-per-view movies. My phone was switched off and I wasn’t going to turn it back on anytime soon. I knew what I would find, a bunch of texts from Cody. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that he would try to call me and explain the entire situation away.
I no longer cared.
All the excuses or reasons or apologies in the world weren’t going to fix what he’d broken.
My trust. My faith in him. My heart.
Tears rained down my cheeks as I picked at the cold chicken on my plate, and I cranked up the volume on the movie, hoping it would start to drown out the voices in my head.
I would go home, throw myself back into work because that’s what I always did, and someday, I’d manage to forget all about Cody Wright. If anything, I should be thanking Summer. If it hurt this much to lose Cody now, after only a few weeks together, then it would have only hurt more down the line when it inevitably fizzled out. As much as I cared about him, I had always known that someday it would end. There was nothing about Cody that screamed boyfriend material and I had gone into the whole thing knowing that.
But it still fucking hurt.
He was arrogant, cocky, and on the cusp of becoming big time famous in the baseball world, which would only increase his not-so-attractive qualities. With his looks, cocked smile, and attitude, there was no doubt in my mind that he could go on to star in endorsement campaigns and eventually make the rounds in Hollywood, dating starlets and models.
How the hell did I think I was going to hold onto his attention when that was all screaming in his face?
Summer Pratt was small fish compared to what would eventually come onto his radar.
I was lucky. Really. Better to learn this the hard way and move on before I was lost for good.
I sighed and put my plate on the side table. I lay down across the bed but then immediately curled in on myself, like a protective cocoon.
At some point, I must have fallen asleep because the sun was back up when my eyes opened again. I sat up slowly and glanced at the clock. “Shit!” It was almost eight in the morning. How on earth had it gotten so late? I’d been asleep for nine hours. I rubbed my eyes, raked my fingers through my tangled hair, and then jumped out of bed. The flight didn’t leave until noon, but who knew how long it would take to get to the airport or what the line would be like at the security checkpoint.
I pulled on yesterday’s outfit—since my bag was still in Robby’s room at the other hotel. I went into the bathroom and scrubbed off all my makeup. I slipped on my shades, piled my hair up on top of my head, and went downstairs to catch a cab to the airport. On the ride, I finally turned my phone on. Not surprised to see a dozen texts from Paris and another handful from Cody. I also had a stack of voicemails sitting in the queue.
“Later,” I said, pocketing the phone before I let myself go through it all. I wasn’t willing to deal with any of it. But Paris had my bag and my ticket.
When the cab dropped me off, I paid, and went inside to the ticket counter. I scanned the expansive space but with all the people coming and going it was impossible to see Paris—if she’d even arrived yet. I dialed her number and stepped back from the crush of the crowd. There was no point in getting into the line if I didn’t have my ticket or confirmation number. I kicked myself for not asking her to forward it to me after she booked it.
But then again, I didn’t anticipate showing up solo.
A couple across the airport caught my attention. The guy was clinging onto his girl and even from a hundred feet away it was obvious they were saying goodbye. The girl was sobbing, clinging to him, and he was doing his best to console her. I flinched and had to turn away when he kissed her. The passion and love was so overwhelming it stung me like a physical blow.
That was how I imagined it. Less in the waterworks department. But I had pictured long, lingering kisses, whispered promises, and secret smiles. Cody would have watched me go past the counter, getting lost in the crowd to
the security line. At the last moment, I would have spun around and blown him a kiss. He would have smiled.
“Ugh! Stop…” I whispered harshly to myself.
Paris answered her phone. “Holy shit, girl! Where the hell have you been?”
I sighed. The irritation and panic was evident in her voice and I felt a pinch of guilt for leaving her hanging. “I’m at the airport. Are you here yet? Or on your way?”
“No, no, my question first! Where did you go last night? Cody was going out of his mind. We all were!”
I snorted. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. I turned off my phone and checked into a different hotel.”
“Girl, you scared me. I didn’t know what to think. Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” I squared my shoulders and hiked my purse up a little higher. “Are you almost here? Should I get into line?”
Paris sighed. “You’re not going to talk about it? About what happened with Cody?”
I shook my head, new tears stinging my eyes. “Not right now. No. Just tell me if I should get into line. It’s a little hectic looking.”
“All right,” Paris said, her tone softening. “Go ahead. Robby is with me, but he’s just dropping me off at the curb instead of parking. He has to get back to the hotel so they can have a team meet and get to their own flight.”
I nodded. “Okay. I’m getting in line. Hurry, please.”
“I will, girl.”
I clicked off the call and made my way to the tail of the line that wove through a series of roped off posts. To my surprise, Paris appeared minutes later. She obviously cut her goodbyes short to get to me and arrived breathless. She pushed past the others in line, muttering a string of “excuse mes” in her wake. When she got to me, she wrapped me in a suffocating hug and refused to let go.
“Damn, Paris, it’s not like I was kidnapped or something…” I mumbled into her shoulder.
“I didn’t know that!”
I laughed against her. “Okay. I’m sorry. You’re right. That was shitty of me. I should have texted you. I just didn’t want you to…” I trailed off.
She pulled away but kept her hands on my shoulders. “You didn’t want me to tell Cody where you were.”
I nodded and nibbled on my bottom lip, trying to keep a fresh batch of tears from falling. I already looked like a mess with no makeup and a bun that was pushing past the line between mess—and hot mess.
“Honey, what happened last night?”
We shuffled forward in line and I remembered that we weren’t alone. “I’ll tell you on the plane ride, okay? I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Paris glanced around and then nodded. “Okay. Here’s your bag.”
I took my small travel bag as she lifted it off her shoulder. It was a small backpack style bag that served as the perfect carry-on for overnight trips. “Thanks. I really want to brush my teeth.”
Paris laughed. “I bet. We’ll get checked in and get some coffee and then you can go put yourself back together. We’ll have time.”
At eleven thirty we were boarding the plane and took our two seats in the first class section of the jumbo jet. I settled in against the soft seat and sighed. I was still exhausted even after a night of sleep. I guess all those late nights were finally catching up with me. Between the game development and talking to Cody every night on the phone over the last few days, I’d been lucky to clock three or four hours a night.
Paris was a ball of nervous energy, which was unnerving since she was normally the calm, cool headed, one. When we took off, she finally burst. “Okay, babe, you’re killing me. What happened?”
I laid down the magazine that I bought at one of the airport shops and turned toward her. “What did Cody say?”
“I don’t care what he said. Not right now. I want to know what happened to you.”
I sighed and relented, filling her in on everything that happened from the time I slipped into the hotel room to the time I ran back out, crying my eyes out.
“Damn, girl. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe she said all that stuff to you…”
I shrugged. Not sure what else I could really say.
“Cody was a wreck. He raced over as soon as he got her out of his room and told us what happened. Babe, you know I always shoot straight with you, I’m telling you the guy was caught off guard.”
“Because his side piece met up with his girlfriend? Or whatever it is that I am to him.” I paused then wrinkled my nose. “Was to him.”
Paris gave me a sympathetic smile. “No, honey, I don’t think that’s what happened. Summer Pratt has a reputation. The wives and girlfriends know all about her. She’s been on the radar for a while. Most people know she’s sleeping with the team’s owner. That’s the only reason she got the PR job. I didn’t understand why she wanted it at the time. She was already banging the old guy and had access to all his cash. I mean why trade in the sugar baby life for a PR job? It didn’t make sense. But now I kinda got it. After what Cody said, she was only doing it to get back to him. To make it easy for them to get back together.”
“Maybe.”
Paris grabbed my hand. “At least give him a chance to explain. I mean, he threw her out of his room wearing nothing but a sheet. That has to say something, right? Would he really do that to someone he was banging on the side?”
I shrugged. “After what she did? Maybe. How am I supposed to know? Maybe I’m sheltered or something, but this is all a little too much for me. It’s not even just about Summer. Like you said, there are a million other girls just like her. There will always be rumors and speculation. If I’m with Cody, I’ll always be worried. There will always be a little voice in the back of my mind that’s telling me to watch my back. I can’t be with him twenty-four-seven and I wouldn’t want to be, even if that was possible. I have my own life. He has his. I shouldn’t have to babysit him.”
“I don’t think you have to babysit, Chels. I don’t do that to Robby.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I don’t know. It just is.” I paused, trying to figure out my footing. “I mean you don’t think Robby would cheat on you, do you?”
Paris shook her head. “No. I honestly don’t. We’re really open with each other and have plenty of tactics to keep it spicy. Plus, Robby knows I’d cut off his balls if he tried,” she joked, flashing a wicked smile.
I laughed softly. “True.”
She pushed my shoulder. “Come on. After all the stuff you’ve told me about Cody and the stuff he’s done, do you honestly think he’s the cheating type? Are you really going to let that bitch, Summer Pratt, spoil such a good thing?”
I sighed. “It’s for the best, Paris. I don’t want this life. I’ve had a taste and I know it’s not for me. I want something simple and easy. Cody is big and splashy. His star is only going to rise higher. I can’t keep up with that.”
Paris nodded. “I guess that’s true. But Chels, you love him.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Paris stopped talking and wrapped her arm around me. I fell against her shoulder and let the tears fall free. It was going to take a long time to get over Cody Wright, but in the end, I didn’t see any other way around it.
We just weren’t meant to be.
28
Cody
“Have you talked to Chelsea yet?”
I took a swing from my third—or was it my fourth—beer and then turned to face Robby. “Nope. She won’t take my calls. Won’t reply to my texts. I went to her house the other night but she turned off the lights and wouldn’t answer the door. I didn’t want her calling the cops on my ass so I took off.”
I shook my head, stewing in the miserable pit in my stomach. Two weeks had passed since the night in LA and I didn’t feel like I’d had a full breath since walking into that hotel room and seeing Summer there.
“On the plus side, I haven’t heard from Summer either, so maybe that problem has finally be
en solved.” I tried to smile but it faded before it reached my eyes. I took another pull from my bottle of beer, polishing off the contents. The bartender came over to ask if I wanted another but Robby made a motion to her and she left.
“What the hell, man?”
Robby slapped me on the shoulder. “We have a game tomorrow. I’m not going to let you show up with a hangover and a pissed off attitude. That’s not going to help anything. We went four for seven on the road. We need to get back on track. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that two of those losses came after all this shit with Chels and Summer.”
I wanted to argue with him, to yell at him and tell him to fuck off and step out of my business. But I was too damn tired.
He offered me a small smile and pushed off of his bar stool. “Come on, man. I’ll give you a ride home.”
I tossed a handful of bills onto the bar, not even bothering to count, and then followed him out.
“Has she been over to your place?” I asked once we got into Robby’s truck.
“Nah. Paris has seen her once since they got back but it was a quick lunch. Paris said she’s working herself to death.”
I hated the idea of her spending every day and night all alone in her house, hunched over the keyboard, surrounded by takeout containers. She deserved to have someone who’d be there for her, to take care of her, and make sure she eventually shut down her busy mind and slept at night. She wasn’t a child, far from it, but she sometimes needed someone to remind her to stop. I was once that someone—and I ached to be him again.
But I knew that was long gone.
“Her game should be going live soon.”
Robby nodded, apparently having nothing to add.
“What should I do, man? Can you get Paris to tell her to answer my calls?”
Robby gave me a grim look. “Honestly? Man, I think it’s time to let it go.”
A new swell of anger flooded me. “Why?”
“You gotta move on. You can’t be butt hurt about this girl forever. I mean, you’ve known her for what—three, four weeks, right?”
