Playing the Field (Hot-Lanta Series)

by Meghan Quinn

  They had the conversation of starting a family a couple of months ago and Brady suggested she stop taking her birth control. She was so excited to get pregnant, she went out the next day to get all the different pee tests you could buy. When she brought them home Brady was not even scared which made Jane’s heart melt.

  Brady interrupted her thoughts. “Uh…are you having second thoughts?”

  “Oh my gosh, not at all. I’m sorry, handsome. I was just thinking how great you are. Alright I will let you get back to the locker room. I’m sure the guys can’t wait to rag on you.”

  “If they knew what is good for them they will leave me alone. Plus the only reason they tease me is because they’re jealous. They only wished they had what we have.”

  “I don’t think anyone can have what we have.” Jane said meaning it. She believed their love was one of a kind.

  “You’re right about that one, sweet thing. After the game tonight I think I might want to try for a baby again.”

  Jane laughed. “I have a feeling you are going to want to try for a baby every night and trying will involve heels and a thong. Am I right?”

  “Well didn’t you read the latest how-to-make-a-baby article? Those items are required now. I’m only following protocol.”

  “You are hopeless.” Jane said laughing. “Good luck with your game tonight, handsome. I’m sorry I can’t be there.”

  “That’s alright, you tend to be more of a distraction since you won’t wear anything but that t-shirt jersey of yours.”

  “It’s lucky! Every time I wear it to the game you always end up doing so well.”

  “Well with the way the season is going I might need you to go to every game and wear that shirt. We could use all the help we can get.”

  Jane felt bad. She knew the Braves were struggling this year. Their pitching was not holding up their end of the bargain and the offense could only do so much. She hated seeing Brady upset after games when he got home. She wished she could do more. She made sure not to really bother him with any wedding plans but no matter what he always asked how things were coming along and asked to see all the things she was planning. He said it helped him get his thoughts away from the game.

  Their wedding was in a couple of weeks. She could not wait. Her bachelorette party was this weekend and then she would be getting married.

  Brady was excited for many different reasons, she thought mostly because he got four days off for the all-star break. He was nominated and picked to be on the national league’s team but he deferred to allow his body to recover from the season and clearly, marry Jane.

  They were already approached by a bunch of different celebrity magazines for their wedding photos, offering them a nice chunk of change. They both decided to take the cash for some photos and donate some to Special Olympics and the Wounded Warrior project in honor of Luke. They might as well use some of their celebrity for good.

  “You know, if I could I would travel everywhere with you.”

  “I know.” Brady said in a sad tone. “I can’t believe I have to leave again in a couple of days and won’t see you until our wedding day.”

  Jane thought about the same thing. It was going to be hard but worth it.

  “Just think how great the wedding night is going to be.”

  “You know how to say the right thing to your man. Alright baby, I better get going. I love you so very much.”

  “I love you too, handsome. Good luck and give the guys a pat on the ass for me.”

  “You know I will. See you tonight, sweet thing.”

  Jane hung up the phone. She felt much better. She knew Patty had to work things out on her own but she still could not help but feel a little bad. Jane knew how it felt to feel so lost. She was in Patty’s shoes at one point. She just hoped Patty snapped herself out of her funk before it was too late.

  ***

  Marc watched Brady walk back in the locker room with a huge smirk on his face. Their lockers were right next to each other and when Brady sat down Marc gave him a quick punch in the arm.

  “What the hell was that for?” Brady asked rubbing his arm down.

  “I don’t want to see that I-am-in-love grin. Sorry dude but things on my end are not going so great and I can’t stand to look at you with that idiotic grin on your face.”

  Marc was so sick of seeing everyone around him happy and having sex. He wasn’t some kind of sex craved guy but last night was really hard on him. He shared a bed with Patty all night and was unable to do anything to fulfill his much needed desires.

  It was confirmed yesterday that she was his dream girl and he was in fact in love with her. He had never really been in love before so it took him a little while to figure out the feelings he was having but he knew he was in love.

  “I heard you might be having a rough time with Patty. Jane mentioned on the phone that Patty was upset this morning and was struggling with accepting a relationship.”

  “What? Patty talked to Jane about us? What else did she say?”

  “Dude, I don’t feel comfortable being the middle man here. Maybe you should just talk to Patty yourself.”

  Talk to Patty there was a brilliant idea, how come he never thought of that. He could punch Brady. Of course Marc tried talking to Patty but every time he did she shut her whole body off and found some excuse to change the subject or leave. There was no talking to Patty about having a relationship because she didn’t want one.

  Marc didn’t want to sound like he was begging but it came out that way. “Please Brady, I need some help here. I’m struggling big time.”

  Brady exhaled and said, “Jane just said how Patty reminded her of herself before she met me. Jane was very much anti-relationship and I did everything in my power to change that. Patty might need a little bit more convincing. She has been through a lot. I’m sure you know and she has major trust issues. She protects her heart and is not ready to hand it over willingly to anyone yet.”

  Marc knew exactly what Brady was talking about. “So do you think I should just go for it? Drop this friends thing and try to win Patty over?”

  Brady rubbed some shaving cream in his glove trying to put some moisture back into the leather. “I do. I don’t think you’re going to get anywhere pretending to be her friend. You need to be up front with her and don’t take no for an answer. Convince her you are the guy for her.”

  “What if it doesn’t work? What if she rejects me?”

  Brady thought about it for a second. “You just need to have faith man. It will work out. You can tell she has feelings for you, there is no doubt about that. You just need to help her with finding a way to trust you.”

  Brady was right. He needed to convince Patty that there was no other guy for her. He was about to thank Brady for the advice when his phone notified him that he received an e-mail.

  To: Marc

  From: Patty

  Subject: Sorry

  Marc,

  I know this is such a cop out, sending you an e-mail like this, but I don’t think I could face you and say what I am going to say.

  I care so much about you and really cherish the times we have spent with each other but I feel like I’m unfairly leading you on and giving you hope for something that I know will never happen between us.

  You’re an amazing guy and I don’t deserve you. You deserve someone so much better than me, someone who is mentally stable and able to give you their whole heart. I don’t want to cheat you of a relationship where I won’t be able to give you everything you need.

  I understand that you will be upset with me but I just don’t think we can be friends anymore or anything past that. I’m sorry.

  Thank you for everything you have done for me in the time we had together.

  Patty

  Marc just sat there dumb founded. He tried to think about what would possess Patty to send this email to him. He thought they had a great night last night and yes sleeping in the same bed might have been a huge leap for her but it was her leap
, her idea. By no means did he force it upon her, he even tried to suggest to her to stay in the guest bedroom.

  He didn’t realize he was just starting at his phone and not getting ready when Brady squeezed his shoulder and asked if he was alright. Marc handed his phone to Brady so he could see the e-mail. Brady sat down and ran his hand through his hair.

  “Man, I don’t know what to say, other than don’t accept this e-mail. Do you want her to be in your life?”

  “Of course damn it I’m in love with her.” Marc put his head in between his hands. “This is why I never did the dating thing. It was so much easier just occasionally seeing women and floating around. You never had to deal with this bullshit and pain.”

  “Hang in there Marc. Don’t let her slip away. Fight for her.”

  Fight for her? It would be easier if he had to fight another guy, that he could do, but fighting Patty’s past, that was a different story. Marc could be the nicest guy in the world but until Patty fixed herself emotionally there was no way he was going to be able to get close to her like he wanted.

  First thing was first, he would visit her tonight after the game and not take no for an answer. He would continue the friend act and when the time was right he would spring his feelings on her. One thing he knew for sure was he was not going to let her push him out of her life. No, he was not going anywhere and she was just going to have to learn to deal with that.

  Chapter 8

  Molly was expecting Jane any minute. They haven’t hung out in a while, Molly felt bad about it but she was kind of doing her own thing now. She felt like a bad friend especially since she was Jane’s maid of honor and had really done nothing for Jane’s bachelorette party. Albert and Patty really took over the plans for the shenanigans which made Molly feel left out but in the back of her mind she was relieved.

  She really wanted nothing to do with Jane’s wedding. It was nothing against Jane and Brady, she was one of the first people to encourage their relationship but she didn’t want to be a part of any wedding. It just made her think of the wedding that was taken away from her and the life that was snatched away.

  She looked around her small apartment that was filled with baby items that were supposed to help raise a baby easier but as time went on Molly didn’t find it easier at all. No, she found it much harder. Her daughter every day morphed a little bit more into looking like her father, making Molly sick to her stomach.

  Life was never going to be the way it was supposed to be. She was supposed to be married to Luke right now, living in their first house they bought together, raising Winnie together, going to parks on the weekend and sharing in the joys of Winnie’s first birthday.

  Instead she was fucking Austin, who was a nice guy but she didn’t really care to start any kind of relationship with him. He basically was there to keep her mind off of her shit life.

  She lived in the same apartment her and Luke shared that was too small for her let alone her and her daughter who had an abundance of crap she never used.

  She had Winnie who was an amazing little girl but hurt Molly’s heart every day because she would grow up not knowing how amazing her dad was. And then there were Luke’s parents, Marcia and Jim. They were always watching over Molly which was completely irritating. Molly just wanted to try to live her life and she couldn’t with them watching her every move and now with the new addition of Connor, she was going to be watched like a hawk on its prey. She had absolutely no breathing room.

  There was a knock at Molly’s door. Jane knew better than to ring the doorbell after eight at night. Winnie was put down to bed by now. Molly opened the door and saw that Jane brought wine. Thank god.

  “You’re a saint.” Molly said grabbing the wine and taking it into the kitchen.

  “I thought you might need a drink.” Jane said putting her purse on the table and grabbing two wine glasses down from the cabinet while Molly sprung the cork from the bottle.

  “I can always use a drink. How are you doing? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in a while.” Molly knew why but did not want to get into the Austin drama since she had not told Jane yet.

  “I’m doing pretty well actually. The question is how are you?”

  Molly looked at Jane with a questioning look. Did she know something? They both walked over to the dining room table and sat down. Molly placed a box of shortbread cookies in the middle to snack on.

  “Oh just fine. Nothing too exciting.”

  Jane put her hand up to stop her and said, “Molly, I know about Austin.”

  Wow. Molly didn’t see that one coming. That bitch Lucy most likely told her. Molly would have to deal with four-eyed nark later.

  “Gee Jane, that’s a statement. Where did you hear such gossip?”

  “Don’t bullshit me Molly. How come you never said anything to me? We used to tell each other everything. Why are you being so distant and secretive?”

  Well Jane got straight to the point of her coming over here. And here Molly thought they were going to talk about plans for Winnie’s first birthday. Little did she know she was going to be attacked with questions about her love life.

  “Why does it matter, it’s not like anything is really happening.”

  “That’s not what Austin thinks, Molly. Do you like him?

  Molly shrugged her shoulders and fiddled with the charm on her wine glass stem.

  “It doesn’t matter if I like him or not Jane, he’s not Luke therefore it doesn’t need to be talked about.”

  Jane put her hand on Molly’s and said, “Honey Luke is not coming back. You have to realize that.”

  Molly tore her hand away from Jane’s and got out of her chair. She didn’t need to hear Jane tell her Luke was not coming back. Molly wasn’t an idiot, she knew Luke was dead but when Luke died so did Molly. Molly had nothing left to give anyone else because Luke died with her heart, anything she had left, she was giving to Winnie, which was practically nothing.

  “I fucking know Jane!” Molly yelled not caring that she might wake up Winnie. “When Luke died he took my heart with him, alright. There is no moving on for me. There is only getting through life until my blessed day comes and I can end this hell of a life I have.”

  “How can you say that Molly? How can you say such things when you have Winnie to live for? She is the closest thing you have to Luke, don’t you want to savor that?”

  “Have you fucking looked at her Jane?” Molly said pointing toward Winnie’s room. “She looks so much like her father it kills me. Whenever she smiles, I see Luke. When I look into her eyes it’s like Luke is looking back at me. My heart breaks every time she gets excited to see me just like Luke used to. It’s like God is teasing me and brought Luke back in the form of a little girl. I can barely handle living let alone see a constant reminder every day of what I used to have. “

  Jane got up and wrapped her arms around Molly and rubbed her back. “I know sweetie, I know it is hard on you. I can’t say it’s going to be ok because I don’t know that but what I can say is that you need to hang in there. If anything, you need to be there for Winnie”

  “I’m trying Jane. I really am.”

  “I know and listen, don’t shut yourself off from me. I can help with anything you need help with. I’m always there for you. Remember all those nights I stayed with you and helped with late night feedings. I’m still there for you. I know I’m getting married but I can still help out. You’re not going to lose me.”

  Thank you was all Molly could say. They hugged for a while and then Jane lifted her head from Molly’s shoulder and said, “Now why did you not say anything about Austin?”

  “It was nothing serious and I didn’t want people judging me.”

  “Why on earth would someone judge you?”

  “Uh, because I’m cheating on Luke.”

  “Oh sweetie you’re not cheating on Luke, are you crazy? Don’t you remember the note he left you. He said he wanted you to move on with your life. I’m sure he would be happy to see you ge
tting out there and living.”

  How could Molly forget about Luke’s note? She read it before she went to bed every night and kept it on her at all times. It was the last item he left her, the last connection she had to him.

  “I don’t know. I just don’t feel comfortable with people knowing especially Luke’s parents.”

  Jane huffed. “Well I have a feeling they are going to find out sooner or later.”

  What was Jane not getting out? “You’re not going to tell them are you?”

  “Of course not. I would never say anything you wouldn’t want me to. I would be worried about Connor.”

  “Connor? How the hell would Connor know anything?”

  Jane handed Molly her glass of wine and encouraged her to take a sip. For the next half hour Jane explained what happened to Lucy the other night and how Austin attacked Connor. Molly just shook her head the whole time. God, Austin was such an idiot. She knew she should have ended things with him when he slept with Lucy but Molly had too much pride to let a frump bag like Lucy get to Austin. Molly was way better looking and deserved someone like Austin, not Lucy.

  When Jane said Lucy and Connor were kind of an item, Molly almost choked on her wine. Connor and Lucy? That was the most absurd thing she had ever heard. It was almost comical actually.

  Connor was gorgeous just like Luke but Luke was a little more masculine than Connor. Connor was more of the business type. Still there was no way Lucy was in his league. Molly wondered if Connor might have temporarily lost his mind during his move.

  They switched topics and started talking about Jane’s wedding, Winnie’s birthday and the new shoes Jane got the other day that had Brady dancing in his pants. Even though they were talking about Jane’s new shoes, Molly still couldn’t get over the fact that Connor was dating Lucy.