Huddle Up

by Liz Matis

  Since his teammates knew about his daughter, Billy better get around to telling his father. He dreaded the conversation knowing his father would blow up. Even as a man Billy still tried to please him. Why? Habit? The easy way out? It was something he needed to examine. Dating Angel had pissed off his father and it was the first time and last time they’d ever gone head-to-head. Angel only proved his father right by tearing out his heart.

  But now grandpa would just have to deal with it. Hell, if Gabriela couldn’t melt his father’s steel-dipped heart, then there was no hope for the man. Regardless, Billy wasn’t going anywhere and planned to be a major part of Gabriela’s life.

  “Did you get a DNA test?” asked Miller.

  Billy fisted his hands, fighting the instinct to punch Miller in the mouth. He shot back a retort instead, “Did you ask Hannah for one? If I remember, you two split for a while last year.” He knew the comment would drive Miller crazy, since Billy had asked out the supermodel at the time.

  Miller pointed a finger at him. “If we weren’t teammates I’d be scraping what’s left of you off of my cleats.” Miller stormed off to the locker room.

  Billy laughed it off, but his humor quickly faded when Terell gripped him by the jersey and tugged him forward.

  “You’re an asshole,” said Terell. “You’re not a rookie anymore. Grow the fuck up.”

  Before Billy could reply with an insincere apology, Terell pulled at Billy’s jersey again. “We’re only looking out for you.” The frustration on Terell’s face was not an act.

  Holy crap. Terell wasn’t kidding. Billy had been so busy trying to prove himself an asset to the team that maybe he hadn’t realized Terell had been trying to mentor him all along. Perhaps all those perceived digs about his play had actually been constructive criticism. Stunned by the truth, Billy decided to chuck the chip on his shoulder and his bad boy ways for the good of the team and for the sake of his daughter. “Sorry, man.”

  Terell let go of his jersey and gave him a light shove. “It’s not me you need to apologize to.”

  “Yeah, I’ll get on it.” Billy turned to go and Terell followed.

  “Burner, watch out for Marcus tomorrow. He hits hard.”

  The Texas Stars lineman was feared throughout the league but Billy never showed fear and normally Terell didn’t either, which was a bad sign for his teammate. Had Terell lost his edge? Is that why he had announced his retirement after the upcoming season? “He’s gotta catch me first.”

  “You know Marcus is not going to be the only one to enjoy seeing that smirk of yours pounded into the turf on Sunday.”

  Billy might not be afraid of going one on one on the field against Marcus but as he approached Miller in the locker room his insides shook. “Look man, I⁠—”

  “Forgotten.” Miller and Burner bumped fists. “Hopefully your kid doesn’t look like you.”

  Relieved, Billy laughed and then shook his head. “Looks like her mother, except for the eyes.” And why he didn’t need a DNA test. This unspoken truth lay between them, as did the awkward silence, which seem to drown out the shouts of the other players and music blaring in the background.

  Miller finally nodded. “Good, cause you’re an ugly mother fucker.”

  *

  Two days later the doorbell rang just as Billy put ice on his shoulder, which took the brunt of the Star’s attempt to see him dead. As much as it hurt, the fact that the other team sent their best defensive player after him meant they considered him a real threat. The loss pained him more, even if it was only a preseason game.

  Not expecting company, he peered through the peephole. Miller, Terell, and their wives stood waiting. Opening the door he noticed the paint cans, painting supplies and Jake and Hannah’s baby girl. “What’s this all about?”

  “Everything happened so fast, we figured you didn’t have time to decorate,” explained Samantha, Terell’s wife, a former journalist who almost ruined his life when she thought he was taking steroids. She was not only smart, but clever too. Add her pretty face and nice rack and it equaled a dangerous combination that had brought Terell to his knees.

  Feeling scrutinized under her gaze, he pulled at his collar in discomfort. He had propositioned both of these women and the awkwardness of them standing with his teammates shamed him. “But why would you help me?”

  “Because we’re family, fuck face.” Terell handed him a paintbrush. “Lead the way.”

  Billy smiled as he guided them down the hallway. It was obvious this wasn’t his teammates idea. He loved witnessing them being led by the balls by their wives. He opened the door. “This will be Gabriela’s room.”

  “You expect a little girl to feel at home in this squalor?” Hannah shook her head. From her tone and expression you’d think the place swarmed with cockroaches.

  Billy looked at the white walls and double bed covered in a beige comforter. Simple, yes. Squalor, no. “I ordered some girly stuff on-line. It’ll be here before they move in,” he defended. Okay, so the room wouldn’t be exactly Disney World inspired but he’d have it all purpled up before Gabby slept one night in it.

  “Speaking of they, where will the mother of your child sleep?” Hannah asked.

  Mother of his child? Did Hannah have to say it that way, as if Angel was a saint instead of having a body created for sin? Leaving Miller and Terell to open the paint cans, they crossed the hallway to the third bedroom.

  “Is she supposed to sleep on the weight bench?’ Hannah Hahn’s special talent wasn’t modeling. It was laying men low. Between the tone of her voice and her condescending look, Billy’s stomach roiled in embarrassment.

  The dressing down he’d gotten for hitting on her still stung to this day. He wondered how Miller’s huge ego withstood her diva act. Beauty only went so far in his book. Though he found the way the baby snuggled close to her endearing. He crossed his arms to fill the void he felt from missing this part of Gabriela’s life.

  Strewn about the room, his gym equipment took up most of the space. “I was going to move it out.”

  “No, you weren’t. You were hoping to talk her into your bed,” said Samantha.

  He wasn’t about to confess his foolish teenage love for Angel or how even now he hoped to convince her to make a go of it. They wouldn’t believe him anyway. Let them think he was a jerk. “And?”

  “Honey, Burner needs help moving this stuff out,” Hannah yelled.

  The ladies left the room as Miller came in. With raised brows and a head nod to the bandage on Billy’s arm, he asked, “You juicing?”

  “Allergy shots. The kid has a cat.” He was damn sick of being accused and tested for steroids. Most athletes had their favorite charities and Billy was no different. His foundation educated student athletes on the hazards of performance enhancing drugs. A lesson he wished his friend had learned before dropping dead of a heart attack at the age of twenty.

  “Aww, the things we father’s will do for our little girls.”

  “True that. I let her braid my hair,” admitted Billy.

  Miller burst out laughing. Rubbing the bald head that Hannah seemed so fond of, Miller said, “Don’t have to worry about that.”

  Surrounded by the support of his teammates, Billy’s nerves dissipated. At Angel’s apartment he’d been out of his element, but from here on out he would have the home field advantage.

  Chapter 8

  The sheer terror of what lay ahead had distracted Angel from her fear of flying. The fact that the owner of the NY Cougars had sent his private jet only added to her distress. How many other people knew about Billy’s illegitimate daughter? How many would think Angel was nothing but a gold digger. The thought they’d become tabloid fodder crossed her mind more than once. But this hardly could be news, right? In fact, it was more par for the course with athletes. As long as they left her daughter out of it, she didn’t care.

  Gabby’s innocent excitement had bubbled over into constant chatter for the entire length of the flight. Now she slep
t in a coma like state in the back of the limo as it pulled out of Newark Airport and headed towards Billy’s apartment along the Hudson River. Angel’s nerves wound tighter and tighter as they passed each mile marker. Was she doing the right thing? Her stomach roiled with hunger. She popped a few of Gabby’s Goldfish crackers into her mouth to stave off the pangs. The food offered by the beautiful flight attendant may have been a gourmet leap from regular airline fare, but it had held no appeal at the time.

  Speaking of beautiful, Angel’s gaze landed on Lanie, Carlos’ efficient assistant, who sat across from her in the limo. When Billy had said Carlos would send someone to lend a hand, she hadn’t counted on a spy as well. That was a little harsh. The woman had gone out of her way to help with the move and patiently answered Gabby’s endless questioning. Actually Angel thought her daughter the better spy.

  Lanie looked up from her notes and smiled. Angel tried to reciprocate, but for the millionth time she wondered if Billy and Lanie had ever dated. With long blonde hair and sleek legs, the former model fit his typical hookup. In other words she was everything Angel wasn’t.

  “I didn’t sleep with him,” Lanie stated.

  “I didn’t⁠—.”

  “Yes, you did. Don’t worry I’m used to people assuming I slept with Carlos’ client list.”

  Knowing exactly how that felt, Angel warmed to Lanie instantly. “Do you like working for Carlos?” It wouldn’t hurt to learn more about the man who might try to come between her and Billy.

  “He’s tough as nails, but he truly cares about his clients.”

  “Which is why you’ve been sizing me up this whole time.”

  “Touché.”

  “And what will your report say?” Angel looked out the window as the limo raced down the highway.

  “That you two were a Bon Jovi song in the making,” said Lanie.

  “Darn, I thought of us as Romeo and Juliet.”

  “Girl, you’re in Jersey now.”

  “For better or worse.” Angel looked back to Lanie and smiled for the first time that day, even if it was more of a nervous smile than a genuine one. She liked Lanie, especially since now she knew the woman hadn’t slept with Billy.

  Lanie lifted a brow. “Strange choice of words.”

  For better or worse. Was it a Freudian slip? Would it be something she reported back to Carlos? Or worse, to Billy? “I didn’t mean⁠—”

  “Relax, I’m kidding. You’re wound tighter than my face after Botox.”

  The limo pulled up to a soaring apartment building. The sun glinted off the façade’s blue and green glass. Angel woke up a grumpy Gabby, but as they got out of the limo, Gabby spotted Billy walking towards them and brightened with wide eyes and a smile. “Daddy!” Squirming out of Angel’s grip, she ran to him.

  Billy swooped her up. “Don’t you look pretty.”

  Nervous over, well, everything, Angel blurted, “It’s new, she picked it out herself. I used the money you gave me.” That it took over an hour for Gabby to decide on the yellow dress, Angel left out. She feared she had a fashionista on her hands.

  “Angel, you don’t have to explain how you spent the money.”

  “Doesn’t Mommy look pretty too?”

  “Gabby.” Angel smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles. The black Rayon/nylon spandex combination lived up to its promises as the perfect travel dress. The cut hugged her curves, showing a not-so-respectful amount of cleavage. And while not in mommy dress mode neither was she runway ready. Unlike Lanie, who wore a chic tan skirt, an emerald green blouse, and Jimmy Choo slingbacks.

  But by the way Billy’s gaze traveled from Angel’s red polished toenails, which peeked out from practical heeled sandals, and all the way up to her favorite purple lipstick, she might as well have been naked. His intense gaze finally reached her eyes and he said, “Very pretty.”

  She tried not to read too much into the words, but the story his eyes told filled her with a longing to match his own.

  “Whoa. Do you want me to babysit while you two get ‘reacquainted’?” asked Lanie.

  So Angel wasn’t the only one who felt the heat radiating between them. It only took a spark to set off their volatile attraction. Lust easily sated, but love a puzzle with missing pieces. “That won’t be necessary,” said Angel in a flat tone.

  Billy returned his attention back to Gabby. “I live all the way up there.” Pointing way up, he asked, “What do you think?”

  Gabby tilted her head back until she was almost arching her spine in Billy’s arms in order to take in the towering building. “It looks like the Emerald City Castle.”

  It kind of did, admitted Angel. She smiled, loving her daughter’s active imagination and then looked to Billy and said, “That’s from the Wizard of Oz.”

  “I’m not completely clueless,” said Billy in a tight whisper. The driver deposited the pet carrier at his feet and Lucifer meowed loudly.

  Billy carried Gabby and the cat’s cage while two porters from the building appeared to help with the luggage. Lanie waved goodbye as the limo pulled away. “Good luck.”

  Luck? If Angel had any hope of keeping her heart safe, she needed a miracle. Coming through the revolving door, Angel tried to appear unaffected by the elegant lobby. A chandelier the size of a car hung from the ceiling. White marble floor tiles sparkled underneath its glow. With a slight upwards tilt of her chin, she did her best Audrey Hepburn impression and glided to the elevator. Gabby talked non-stop all the way up, and Billy merely nodded, smiling like a new daddy, which she supposed he sort of was.

  Finally at the top, Billy opened the door to the apartment and placed Gabby down. She rushed in to explore. Hesitant, Angel waited until the workers placed the luggage inside and left smiling with a large tip in their hands. Taking a deep breath, she ventured into Billy’s lair. Only it wasn’t the playboy bachelor pad she assumed he would have; it wasn’t even frat boy inspired. Oh sure there was the leather sofa, but everything else exuded a clean sophistication. So much so she wondered if this unit had been a model to sell other units in the building and Billy purchased as is. Compared to her apartment back home, this was a palace.

  Gabby ran to the horseshoe shaped couch, jumped up, and ran across the cushions while giggling.

  “Gabriela!”

  “It’s okay,” said Billy, a big smile on his face.

  “It’s not okay. She knows better.” Angel dug her nails into the palms of her hands. They weren’t in his apartment two minutes and Billy was already trying to undermine her authority.

  “I want her to feel at home. Both of you.”

  “And you think I let her jump on the furniture?”

  “Uh, no…I,” Billy stammered.

  “Just because my couch wasn’t good enough for the Salvation Army doesn’t mean I allowed Gabby to jump on it.”

  Before Billy could respond, Gabby diffused her mother’s anger by saying, “That’s what beds are for. Right, Mommy?”

  Angel mentally counted to ten. On occasion she had let Gabby jump on her bed. “Right,” said Angel, her voice calm once again.

  “Can I see my room?”

  “You sure can.” Billy picked up the crate and Lucy hissed his displeasure. Seemingly unfazed Billy escorted Gabby to her new room.

  Squeals of delight sprung from her daughter’s mouth while Angel’s jaw dropped in shock. A light shade of pink graced the walls. The furniture included a white dresser with purple polka dots and a kid sized table and chairs with a tea service already set up. The high double bed, which alone would’ve been a step up from the twin Gabby woke up in this morning, could only be described as a bed fit for a fairy princess. The oversized lavender comforter created the effect of cotton candy and any kid, hell any adult, would want to dive right in. As if that wasn’t enough, a canopy of white gossamer with tiny white lights woven through the fabric pooled to the floor. How much did this cost? And moments ago Angel had agreed that beds were made for jumping. Not this bed. Oh no.

  Gabb
y vaulted herself onto the bed, almost lost in a cloud of purple. “This is the bestest room ever. Isn’t it, Mommy?”

  Torn between the wide-eyed happiness of her daughter and anger at Billy for the over-the-top extravagance, she bit her lip before she said something petty. Gabby might never want to leave this purple paradise. Was that Billy’s plan? Deep inside she fumed, but for now she put on her happy face. “Yes, it’s the bestest,” she agreed.

  Gabby stopped and looked around. “Is Mommy sleeping in your room?” she asked her father.

  A moment of panic relit Angel’s nerves before remembering there was supposed to be a third bedroom. Gabby had it in her head that they were going to be a family. Angel should press about finding her own apartment as soon as possible. By the way father and daughter bonded, it wouldn’t take long for them to be comfortable without Angel around. To train Billy in the basics of caring for a five-year-old might take a bit longer. Still, she had to think of Gabby’s emotional health as well. With living in a new state, new living arrangements, new school, and hell, a new daddy, Angel would have to play it by ear.

  “No, her room is right across the hall. Why don’t you play in here while I show Mommy her new room.”

  “Can I let Lucy out now?”

  “Sure,” agreed Billy.

  “God help us all. Gabby keep him in your room for now until he’s not so mad anymore.”

  “Is he dangerous?”

  Angel thought him sweet for protecting his daughter, but she couldn’t help teasing him about his overreaction. “Geez, he’s a housecat not a tiger.”

  They crossed the hall and Billy opened the door, but he let Angel walk in first. From the vanity table to the ruby red comforter on the double bed, everything spoke of old Hollywood glamour. Now she really felt like she was in an Audrey Hepburn movie. How had he pulled this off? She was worried about Gabby never wanting to leave and now she was having the same thoughts herself.