She ended the call before he could put in a protest or even say goodbye. She did call his agent to ask for the bond money. She couldn’t spare two thousand dollars, after all.
When he assured her that the money had been wired to the jail, she drove herself to the police station. She knew she didn’t owe him that. She didn’t owe him anything really.
She shouldn’t want to see him again. Not after this. Not after he’d broken the one and only promise she had asked him for. But, she had to. She couldn’t leave him without a word. He still meant too much to her.
None the less, a wave of fury came over her when the police escorted him out of the holding cell and into her custody.
“Michelle, I’m-”
“I don’t want to hear it,” she said grabbing his arm. She all but dragged him to her car and shoved him into the passenger seat.
They drove in silence for what seemed like hours even though the drive between the station and Chris’s mansion was only a matter of minutes.
The tears in her eyes began to cloud Michelle’s vision and she wiped them away furiously. She tried her best not to think about the man sitting beside her. She tried not to think that this had to be the last time she would ever see him.
She pulled up in front of his driveway and turned off the car.
“Get out,” she said. She tried to make her voice sound hard and cold. She heard it crack as a single traitorous tear fell down her cheek.
“Michelle, I’m-”
“No, Chris,” she said, turning to him at last. “It doesn’t matter how sorry you are. I told you this was a deal breaker for me. I won’t be the girlfriend who sits up all night wondering if you’re going to come home drunk. Wondering if you’re going to get picked up by the police.”
“It won’t happen again,” he said desperately. “I swear!”
“Like you swore to me that you wouldn’t get drunk again?” she asked.
Chris looked away from her and bit his lip. He looked as though he had something that he wanted to say to her but didn’t know how. She stared at him with as hard a glare as she could muster until he finally spoke.
“I’m off the team,” he said quietly. “They brought in a new quarterback for training camp.”
Her heart fell a bit at the news and she felt her glare soften. Of course, they knew that this was a possibility. Chris had been waiting to hear for weeks. Why hadn’t he told her?
“Harry says he’s trying to find a new team for me but, I don’t think anyone will take me,” he told her. “I might be done with the NFL.”
She turned away from him and looked out her window. She could see the lights shining through a thick haze of fog. The chill in the air had suddenly turned June into winter. The car seemed to provide no shelter from the cold.
“When did you find out?” she asked quietly.
“This morning,” he said. “Harry texted.”
Then those were the texts he’d gotten. She’d had a feeling there was more to them than he was telling her. But she never could have imagined that he would lie to her about something this big.
“So,” she said softly, “you think that’s it? For the NFL, I mean?”
“Maybe,” he answered.
“That could be a good thing,” she said. She saw him turn quickly to her with a shocked expression. It was as though she had slapped him.
“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice rising defensively.
“I mean,” she began slowly, “you obviously need help. And this lifestyle with the money, the cars, the clubs . . . it’s not good for you.”
“I can handle it,” he said. She couldn’t help but think that he sounded like a petulant child.
“So, this is handling it?” she asked him fiercely.
“Jesus, Michelle!” he exclaimed. “It was one time in two months!”
“Chris!” she said her voice raising back at him. “When you got this news you didn’t talk to me about it. You didn’t scream or yell or cry. The first thing you did was go to a bar.”
His face colored and he looked away from her again. Clearly he had no argument for that.
“You need help,” she said. “And, until you decide to get some . . . we can’t be together.”
“Michelle-,” he started. But, she reached over and opened his door before he could finish.
“Goodbye, Chris,” she said sadly.
She didn’t look at him when he got out the car. She knew if she did, she would change her mind. That she would call him back and beg him to stay.
She couldn’t do that. Not this time.
So, as soon as she heard the passenger door slam behind him, she started the car and began to drive away.
The fog was still thick when she looked out the passenger window. Even so, she could see Chris standing just in front of his front gate, watching her drive away.
*****
Chris sat at his kitchen table, holding his phone as he listened to SportsCenter play in the background.
He didn’t know why he still had it on. There was only one thing the talking heads were going to discuss. It was the same thing they’d been discussing for the past two days.
The Chris Watson press conference.
They announced that they would be showing the relevant bit again “for those who haven’t seen it yet”. Even though he’d seen it a million times already, Chris turned to the large screen and saw himself.
He remembered what it had been like, sitting at that table for the last time. The cornucopia of microphones pressed close to his face as he told them what they never thought they would hear.
“Thank you all for being here today,” he watched himself say on the television screen. “These past two years with the 49ers have been really eye opening for me. Especially these last few months. In that time, I’ve realized that I have a drinking problem. After talking with my team manager, my agent and to those closest to me, I’ve decided to take a year off from professional football so that I can get the treatment I so desperately need.”
Chris found that he could not help but smile when he recalled his agent’s face when he’d told him what he planned to do. Harry had looked at him as though he had lobsters crawling out of his ears.
Everyone had tried to talk him out of it, of course. Harry, his trainer, his teammates. They all said he had too much talent to waste. They said no team was going to wait an entire season for him. They said he could do rehab and play at the same time.
But, deep down, he knew this was what he had to do. Football didn’t mean anything if he couldn’t play it well. And when he was drunk half the time, he was far from his best.
He’d discovered, especially over the past week, that nothing else in his life meant anything if he couldn’t have Michelle.
He knew this might not bring her back. After all, she’d yet to respond to any of his multiple voicemails or texts. Even after the press conference had aired, she had not reached out.
And though he still kept his phone close at hand just in case, he discovered that it didn’t matter to him as much as he thought it would. He discovered that as much as he needed Michelle, he loved her more.
He loved her too much to try and force her to be with him when he didn’t deserve her. And this, getting help and going to meetings and getting treatments, was the first step to becoming worthy of her.
Even if it didn’t work, it was a step he had to take for himself.
When one last glance at his phone told him that Michelle had not called or texted within the last thirty seconds, he finally set it on the kitchen table and moved towards the refrigerator.
With the sports commentary still blaring in the background, he looked at his calendar and carefully wrote down a note on the date of his first AA meeting. It would take place at a small church on the next Wednesday.
Just as he had finished writing the note, he heard the doorbell ring and jumped.
His heart pounding, he rushed to the front door. He knew who he wanted to see standing
there, but he told himself not to get his hopes up. It was, more likely, a journalist looking for an exclusive interview.
All the same, his hands shook when he pulled the door open. As soon as he did, his heart stopped.
On the other side of the door, wearing a bright blue top and a cautious smile, stood Michelle.
“Can I come in?” she asked tentatively.
“Yeah . . . yes,” he stuttered, moving out of the doorway so that she could make her way inside.
He showed her into the kitchen where they sat across from each other at the table.
He stared at her for a long while. He felt as though he was trying to memorize her face: the way her blue eyes sparkled, the way her nose curved downward, the way her jaw line moved smoothly to her chin. He had no idea when he would see her again. He had to take everything in.
“So,” she said finally, “I saw your press conference.”
“You did?” he asked stupidly.
“Kind of hard to miss it,” she answered with an eye roll.
“True enough,” he answered. A small smile came to his lips.
“Anyway,” she said looking down and beginning to fidget with her sleeve, “I was wondering. Did you really mean that? What you said about needing help?”
She looked up and her eyes met his. Those blue eyes looked hopeful but guarded. As though she was still not quite sure whether or not she could trust him.
“Yeah,” he said. “I meant that. You were right. I’ve got a problem. I need to sort it out before I do anything else.”
She nodded and moved her eyes back down to the table.
“Because, I was thinking,” she said. “If you’re really going to get sober you’re going to need a lot of support and . . . I was wondering if I could help.”
She looked up at him again. This time, her guard was down and he saw a question light her eyes. She was asking him to take her back.
Chris blinked twice to make sure he understood correctly. After everything he’d done, after the promise that he’d broken, she wanted his forgiveness.
Chris broke out into a smile when he realized there was no question in his mind at all.
“I’d like that,” he said. “I’d love it really.”
He reached across the table and took her hands. As soon as he did, she looked up at him. When she caught his grateful smile, she rewarded him with one of her own.
“I love you,” he said honestly. Her smile widened as she looked back at him.
“That’s lucky,” she said. “Because I love you too.”
As he leaned over to meet his lips with hers, Chris realized that having Michelle was far better than any football career.
THE END
Bonus Story 16 of 40
After the Party
The first day of college is always the scariest. That’s what Logan Peters’ dad told him the night before he arrived at Roth University. Logan’s dad was an alumnus of Roth and could not have been prouder when his son was admitted. The Peters children had been going to Roth since its establishment. It had become a tradition and Logan was just as proud to share in it.
As a ‘legacy kid’, Logan was set up with a pretty sizeable scholarship, but his true prize was the huge football scholarship he had been awarded. While other Peters men had gotten into Roth based on their scholastic achievements, Logan was the first to gain acceptance through his skill on the field. He was amazing. There was not a quarterback in his school district that could match him. Since his sophomore year of high school, he was the talk of the town as a future NFL star.
His family, however, would never allow him to pursue a career in football without a college degree. And so, he was at college.
It was Logan’s first day, and he sat in his dorm throwing his football in the air. Suddenly, the door opened as a young man in a blue polo and khaki shorts entered his room.
Logan sat up and looked at the newcomer; smiling. “Kevin?” he asked. The young man smiled and nodded.
“You must be Logan!” he said. “Nice to meet you.” The two young men shook hands as Kevin proceeded to bring in his luggage.
“How long you been here?” he asked.
Logan shrugged. “Probably around two hours or so,” he said. “I claimed the left side of the room. I hope that’s okay.”
Kevin chuckled. “It’s cool man,” he said. “Just as long as I get the spot closest to the window.” Logan raised an eyebrow, making Kevin laugh more. “Check outside.”
Curious, Logan moved towards the window and pulled down one of the blinds. What he saw was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. A bevy of coeds were laying on the lawn of the quad either playing games, gossiping or working on their tans.
“Whoa,” he said in awe.
Kevin smirked as he continued to put his clothes away. “I know, right?”
“Yeah,” said Logan as he moved away from the blinds. Logan had broken up with the girl he had been dating for three years, at his father’s suggestion. He told him that school was the most important thing and that he didn’t need a long distance relationship to distract from what was most important. Logan agreed, and now he was kind of glad he did. When he saw those girls out on the lawn, he saw a buffet ready to be devoured.
“Wipe the drool off your chin, bro,” said Kevin. Logan laughed. He could tell he was going to like Kevin very much. The continued their time getting to know one another. Kevin was a football player on the team as well and was a new wide receiver. Unlike Logan, Kevin’s grades in high school were enough to get him into Roth. Logan thought this was particularly good since Kevin was a math major and that happened to be his weakest area.
Once Kevin had unpacked, the two decided to go down to the student center together where they encountered many more students socializing and getting a feel for the campus. Different clubs, fraternities and sororities had already set up booths to try and recruit new members. Kevin nodded towards the fraternity booths.
“What do you think?” he asked. “You going to pledge?” Logan shrugged.
“Don’t know,” he said. “Kind of feels like I would miss out on the college experience if I didn’t though.” The two smirked as they approached the booths. In truth, Logan had every intention of pledging. Because of his low grades, Logan was at first not going to be accepted into Roth. However, a call to a man in admissions, who just so happened to be a brother in his father’s fraternity, was able to help seal the deal and get him in. If the fraternity could help him in other areas of his life, he was willing to pledge to whatever!
He saw the royal blue and white banner that encompassed Nu Epsilon Zeta. As he got close to the booth, however, he bumped into someone, knocking their brochures and papers onto the floor.
“Oh shit!” he cried. “I’m so sorry!” He went to the ground and began to try and help the stranger.
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s fine. Really! I should have been paying attention.” Logan looked up at the person he’d bumped into, and his eyes locked onto the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. They were a light shade of brown and framed by stylish glasses. Her skin was a very dark complexion, but seemed so smooth and soft. Her lips were full and plump and her hair was cut extremely short. If she had not been curvy, Logan would have thought the girl before him was possibly a boy. This girl, however, was much too beautiful to EVER be thought of as a boy.
She smiled at him. “Thank you for your help,” she said, trying to take the final brochure from him.
Logan blinked and was taken out of his examination of her body. “I must be more tired than I thought,” he said. The girl snickered.
“Late night already?” she asked. “That’s no good. Classes haven’t even started yet.”
Logan laughed at her joke. “I like to set the pace early,” he said.
The girl nodded. “Well, take it easy,” she said. “Perhaps I can try to keep up with you at one of these parties tonight.” The girl winked playfully and walked away. Logan turned and watched
her leave; her shapely buttocks shifting with each step she took. Logan had always preferred women with big breasts, but he was beginning to wonder if he could love a big ass as well.
“Hey, you there?” asked a voice behind him. Logan turned around and realized he must have been staring at her in front of the Nu Epsilon Zeta booth. A well-dressed young man chuckled and waved him over. For the next twenty minutes, Logan talked with the president of Nu Epsilon Zeta, whose name was Phillip. To his surprise, he soon realized that many of the football players pledged to Nu Epsilon. He felt at home with these boys, but his mind kept going back to the girl he’d bumped into earlier.
He regretted not talking to her more, but there was nothing he could do. The campus had grown so large that it was a known fact that unless you had classes together, it was very hard to coordinate time to meet someone new on a daily basis. Still, Roth University was not known for its minority student population. In a sea of white faces, how hard would it be to find the lovely black girl with natural hair?
“We’ve got a party tonight, actually,” said Phillip; snapping Logan from his daydream. “Why don’t you come by, see the house and meet some more of the brothers.”
Logan smiled. “That sounds awesome. Thanks man!” Logan took a business card with the address from Phillip and walked back into the sea of people to try and find Kevin, who had moved on to another fraternity. As he searched for his roommate, his eyes also tried to find the girl from earlier.
*****
When Logan arrived at the party, he was surprised at how many people were there. He knew that out of all of the fraternities and sororities, Nu Epsilon was the most popular and most exclusive, but he was not prepared for how popular they were. It was not just the house that was used for the party. It seemed that the adjacent houses, though clearly other frat houses, were being used to help with the party as well as most of the street!
Kevin, who had decided to see what all the fuss was about with Nu Epsilon, was floored by everything!
“They party like this?!” he exclaimed over the sound of the DJ playing bass-heavy hip hop. “This is insane!” Logan nodded in agreement as they made their way deep into the party. Logan wasn’t sure if he would ever reconnect with the president of the fraternity, but he figured that tonight it didn’t matter. Tonight was about having fun and enjoying his first night of college. Logan bounced from keg to keg and from dance circle to dance circle as he met many freshmen who were just as floored about everything as he was.
Alien Affair Page 56
