Lexington and 42nd (The Off Field Series #1)

by Kim Carmody

  He stood back, eyes wide waiting for a reaction to this proposal he seemed to think was so wonderful, but I was afraid if I tried to speak, the only thing to come out of my mouth would be my lunch.

  When I didn’t say anything he frowned. “C’mon girl, it’s not like you don’t want to go there, every girl does.”

  “Bobbie, give it a rest.” Buck’s hand smoothed across my back, the playful tone I’d come to associate with him gone.

  “What? I’m just looking out for the team. That man needs to pull himself together.”

  I felt Buck’s eyes on my face, but I couldn’t look at him. I thought I was going to vomit, the pounding of my heart rising like bile in my chest.

  “Well just leave it. Jensen doesn’t need you opening your big mouth.”

  Bobbie shrugged, gulping down a mouthful of beer. “Just sayin’ the last girl did it, didn’t seem like a big deal then.”

  “WHAT?”

  Bobbie pointed his bottle of beer at me. “The last girl, you know, the one you took over for.”

  “As in Sarah?”

  “Yeah, Sarah. That’s her name. They hooked up. One night, done. How it should be.” Bobbie wiped his hands together as if clearing the slate, oblivious that his words were like literal stabs to my chest.

  “Oh Jesus,” Buck exhaled.

  I stared at the enormous man in front of me, hating him with every fiber of my being. For his words, his utter ignorance of the impact they were having on me and his overall attitude toward the female race. Gulping down the rest of my champagne, it took all the constraint I had to place the glass calmly on the table, before I backed away.

  I turned, squeezing through the crowd, desperate to get away but to where, I wasn’t sure. There was suddenly less air in the room than there had been before and gulping down a lungful of it didn’t seem to help any.

  “Emma! Emma, wait.” Buck’s hand wrapped around my elbow turning me to face him.

  “Let go of me.” I was about ten seconds away from bursting into tears, and I had no intention of doing it in the crowded bar.

  “Shit. Don’t listen to Bobbie. He doesn’t know what he’s saying.” Buck’s hands were on his hips, his big body puffed up with awkwardness.

  “Really? Because it sure sounded like he did.”

  Buck shook his head. “He’s an idiot, and he’s had too much to drink.”

  “So you’re telling me what he said isn’t true?” I glared at him, waiting for an answer.

  His eyes roamed the ceiling of the bar, like there were magical words up there that would make everything better.

  “It’s not what you think, okay?”

  “Right, so does that mean he didn’t say those things about me? Or that he didn’t sleep with Sarah? Which one is it, Buck? I’d really like to know.”

  His shoulders sagged. “Just talk to him.”

  A small laugh left me as I felt the first tears prick my eyes. “Will is the last person I want to talk to right now. Or ever for that matter.”

  Thankfully this time when I moved away, Buck didn’t follow, and I made it to the bathroom just as the first tear slipped down my cheek. I sat on the toilet lid, feeling every bit the idiot I was.

  How could he? Or more importantly, how could I? I was such an idiot for thinking I was different. Flashes of all the sweet, flirtatious things he’d ever said popped unbidden into my mind like individual grenades, exploding as each one hit the surface. And poor Sarah, the girl whose bedroom I’d taken over, whose job I now had, who I Skyped with almost weekly and adored and knew, knew right down to my bones wasn’t the type to throw herself at any guy, let alone one of the players. I still remembered Will’s words at the fundraiser, about how that girl threw herself at him…didn’t give a shit about what it looked like or her job.

  My ass. If there was anything I’d learnt about Sarah from our conversations, from Mark, from the rest of the team, it was that she loved her job, and more importantly, she was really good at it. She wasn’t the type to throw herself at the first jock who looked her way.

  “Em are you in here?”

  Damn it.

  “Em, it’s me, Carrie. I saw you run in here.”

  “I’ll…I’ll be out in a minute.” My voice sounded like someone else’s…the voice of someone from another planet.

  “Okay, I’ll wait just outside.” I could feel her hesitating before finally letting the door swing shut.

  A fresh wave of panic ran through me. I couldn’t fathom going out to socialize, make useless small talk with people I barely knew. All I wanted to do was hide under my covers at home. And Will. Will was out there somewhere, and I was going to have to face him tonight.

  The little mouse that turned the wheels of my brain began the exhausting process of getting the cogs moving again. Breathe Emma, just breathe. You’re here for work, don’t let that asshole dictate your whole evening. Just go outside, enjoy the night with your friends and get the hell out of here as soon as respectably possible. And ignore Will at ALL costs.

  I pushed open the door, plastering what I hoped was a semi-normal expression on my face.

  “Hey, there you are.” Carrie smiled as I walked out. “Are you okay? You and Buck looked like you were going at it out there.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. We were just being stupid.” She narrowed her eyes like she didn’t quite believe me, but she was a good friend and followed my lead with the it-was-nothing-and-I’m-fine line when we both knew I wasn’t. “Well, you look like you could use a drink.”

  I nodded. “A drink would go down nicely about now.”

  We marched over to the bar and I kept my head held high—fake it till you make it and all that. Carrie wisely said nothing as I downed my glass of champagne in two seconds flat, and promptly ordered me another one. I was eternally grateful that she could read my mood and rather than probe, she just chatted away in an effort to distract me, while I did my best to respond with some sort of normality.

  It was at the point when she was telling me about how Mark had walked in and almost caught her and James making out in the storeroom that I looked across the bar and locked eyes with Will.

  I froze, my breath catching. He looked nothing short of spectacular, a light blue shirt rolled up at the sleeves revealing those ropey forearms that had only a week ago manhandled me against the hotel door. The top couple of buttons were undone, his collar hanging loosely, revealing that beautiful triangular indent at the base of his neck and a peek of the golden skin of his chest below. He was positively beaming, megawatt smile on show. And the worst bit? He was aiming it directly at me.

  I blinked a few times, fighting my natural urge to return his smile, the same smile I’d foolishly been walking around with all week. Instead, I pulled my eyes back to Carrie’s, who thankfully was oblivious to my inner meltdown and was still chatting away. I tried in vain to act normal, but couldn’t quite bring myself to do much more than nod at times I hoped were appropriate in her story. Just when I was going to beg forgiveness and find a corner to hide in, James showed up, taking Carrie’s attention with him which, to be honest, was a relief. I stood as an observer to their conversation, not required to provide any level of participation, which suited me fine.

  My second champagne disappeared relatively quickly, and before I could order another, a voice came from over my shoulder.

  “You need a refill?”

  I turned, meeting the eyes of a well-dressed suit. He was propped up against the bar, one hand nursing a beer. He had the distinct look of a man who knew he was good looking, and that very fact made him confident he wasn’t going home alone. I disliked him immediately.

  “Champagne would be great.” I smiled, shifting my weight to lean into the bar with him.

  Why did my body just ignore the alarm bells my brain was sending it?

  As I followed his gaze to the bartender, I couldn’t help looking over at Will. He was in a conversation, but his eyes were trained on my face, watching me curiously. As I stared
at him, he tipped his head back to take a swig of his beer, at the same time giving me an odd look, sort of a mix between Hey and Is everything okay?

  I forced myself to look away, back to the suit next to me. “I’m Emma.” I offered my hand to him.

  Why was I still talking to this idiot?

  “Justin Coleman.” He smiled, openly sizing me up. It was disgusting. “I saw you walk in before.” His voice lowered as he leaned in. “Prettiest girl in the room.” He winked at me, taking another slug of his beer.

  I giggled. Giggled. What the hell?

  And then my brain caught up with my body, realization dawning. Revenge. Revenge was the distraction I needed to get through the night, to help me avoid my own pain. And more than anything? I wanted to hurt Will. Hurt him like he hurt me. Make the moronic quarterback feel at least some semblance of the pain and humiliation I was feeling right now.

  I flashed him another smile, nudging him with my shoulder. “You’re bad news, aren’t you Justin.”

  His laugh was practiced, like he knew which angle would show his face in the best light. “Baby, I can be anything you want me to be.” And when his hand rubbed across my shoulder? I leaned in.

  We went back and forth like this for a while. Inwardly, I was repulsed by him, but I was surprised at how easily the shameless flirting came. I would throw my head back with laughter, twirl my hair around my fingers and push his shoulder playfully when he said something particularly devious. My behaviour grew more and more overt each time I met Will’s eyes. He hadn’t left his spot at the bar and was now leaning towards us, openly staring at me and the sleazy suit, the tension radiating off him in waves.

  Justin’s hand went around my waist, pulling me to him. I could smell the strong aftershave wafting off him, his Rolex digging painfully into my side. It was enough for the scales to tip away from revenge in favor of repulsion. It was time to part ways with the suit. I made to pull out of his hold when a voice washed over me.

  “Emma.”

  Will.

  The sound of his voice was like a fresh grenade going off. I loved his voice, loved the deep smooth roll of it that had become such a comforting sound.

  I felt Justin turn, his eyes shining with delight when he saw who it was. I turned too, slowly, preparing myself to meet his eyes. When I did, I came face to face with a royally pissed Will Jensen.

  Job.

  Done.

  It gave me the confidence I needed to speak. “Jensen, hi. What’s up?” His eyes flared. I’d never called him that before.

  “I need to talk to you.” His eyes bored into mine, confusion evident beneath his anger.

  I leaned back against the bar, aiming for casual when I was anything but inside. “Can we talk later?” I motioned to Justin. “I’m kind of in the middle of something.”

  At the reference to him, Justin took his opportunity and eagerly put his hand out. “Justin Coleman, my law firm represents you.”

  Ahhh, so the suit was a lawyer. Made sense.

  Will didn’t offer his hand, his eyes coming back to me when he spoke. “I’m Will.” His eyes narrowed at me. “I need to borrow Emma for a second.” It was so unbearably awkward and rude, I almost felt like apologizing to the suit. Almost.

  I looked to Justin, whose eyes were now wide with awe and confusion. “Can you give me a minute?”

  He nodded, waving a hand vaguely at Will. “Sure, take your time.”

  I stormed ahead, not particularly sure of where I was going, but not wanting Will to take the lead. He grabbed my arm as I was marching blindly forward, pulling me up a set of stairs to a closed-off section of the bar.

  Turning, he towered over me. “Would you mind filling me in on what the hell’s going on?”

  I crossed my arms, needing the extra barrier between us. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just having fun with my new friend.”

  Will blanched at me. “Well you and your new friend are All. Fucking. Over each other.”

  “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

  Will stepped back, shaking his head. “Really? Because I thought after last weekend we were fairly well involved in each other’s business.”

  Unable to look at him, I stared at the floor, willing my voice to come out even. “Well you thought wrong. Last weekend was a mistake.”

  He huffed out a breath. “Help me out here, Em, please. I’m trying to understand but I’m having a rough time filling in the blanks.”

  I finally found the courage to look at him, rage rushing through my veins. “Why don’t you ask your mate Bobbie what’s going on. He sure seems to have a good read on things.”

  “Bobbie? What does he have to do with anything?”

  “Quite a bit actually. Given you told him and the WHOLE TEAM—and I quote—if anyone fucks the Aussie, it will be me. Like you own me.” I stepped in, stabbing him in the chest with my finger. “Thank you, Will. Thank you for humiliating me like that. Apparently all I need to do now is fuck you so you can,” I made air quotes with my hands, “‘Get me out of your system’. I believe Bobbie called it ‘taking one for the team’.”

  Will stepped back, running both his hands through his hair. “Jesus, fuck. Em, that’s not what happened. It’s…it wasn’t like that.”

  “Really? So you didn’t say it then.”

  “No, I, I mean, I didn’t even know you then, so…and I never said anything about getting you out of my system. Bobbie’s just talking shit.” Will’s voice was higher than usual, his eyes darting frantically across my face.

  “Well maybe you didn’t need to say it. My guess is he put two and two together given, what happened with Sarah.”

  Will looked like he’d been slapped.

  We stared at each other, both of us breathing like we’d run a marathon. I could actually pinpoint the moment I felt my heart crack open—it was at the exact time Will’s eyes fell shut, when I realized everything I’d heard was true. He had slept with Sarah. He was that guy…the guy who took what he wanted from a woman and thought nothing of her afterwards.

  For the second time that night, I felt tears form unbidden. I blinked at the ceiling, willing them to go away, hating myself for being weak.

  “Emma, let me explain.” His firm hands wrapped around my arms. “Baby, please don’t cry.”

  I jerked myself from his grip, anger rising again. “Don’t you dare call me that. You do not get to say that to me.”

  My hands shook as I wiped away the rogue tear that had escaped. I needed to get away and fast. “Stay away from me, Will. I mean it.”

  Turning, I navigated the stairs through tear-filled eyes. I could hear him bounding after me, the thought of having to face him again urging me forward, faster. With my head down, I shouldered my way through the crowd, bursting out the front door into the humid night air.

  “Em, what’s wrong?” Dana stood on the sidewalk, hailing a cab. I just looked at her, not trusting my voice to speak. She came over, putting an arm around me just as the door burst open behind us.

  Will was wild eyed. “Emma, please.” He looked from Dana to me, his big body pulling up short as he saw her comforting me. I looked back at Dana, begging her with my eyes for help. She needed no words, marching me to the waiting cab.

  When the door slammed shut and the car took off, I closed my eyes, fighting with every fiber of my being not to look back.

  “Do you want to go somewhere? Get a drink or something?”

  I shook my head against the headrest. “I just want to go home.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I woke up with a pounding headache. Apparently four glasses of champagne in the space of an hour will do that to you. Sharp pain shot through my head as I recounted the events of the night before—the harshness of Bobbie’s words and the heartbreaking reality of Will’s silence.

  I forced myself up, out of bed, somehow understanding that the need to keep functioning as normal, if only for the sake of appearances, was the best way to re
build the fractured pieces of myself.

  Julia was already up, thankfully making coffee when I emerged.

  “There you are! I’ll make you a double. You’ll need it if we’re shopping for your ESPN dress today.” I groaned at the glint of excitement in her eyes. I hadn’t even thought about it, but the reality of not going, not being with Will for the night only sent a fresh wave of pain through me.

  “Have a few too many drinks last night, did we?” Julia bounced over with my much needed caffeine hit.

  I sipped slowly, relishing the almost immediate energy jolt my body felt as the first drops made their way into my system.

  “Julia?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “I need to ask you something.” Among the horrors of last night that had been on replay in my head, one thought kept popping up.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Sarah and Will?”

  Julia turned, a frown marring her forehead. “What do you mean?”

  I sighed. “You know what I mean. I…I know you two are best friends but I just thought with everything going on, well, couldn’t you have at least warned me?”

  I looked up, meeting Julia’s confused eyes. “Are you still drunk? I’m really not following this conversation.”

  “Sarah and Will? Hooking up?” I knew I hadn’t been here for long, that Sarah and Julia’s bond went way beyond the friendship she and I had formed. But still, didn’t I deserve at least a heads-up?

  Julia leaned over the counter, coffee in hand. “I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”

  I stared at her a beat before the whole story came tumbling from my mouth.

  “That mother fucker,” she whispered.

  “So you seriously didn’t know? Sarah didn’t tell you?”

  Julia shook her head slowly. “Nope. Nothing. I mean, she always had a thing for him but it was never anything serious. And besides, who doesn’t?” She cocked her head toward me.

  “Huh. I just thought you guys shared everything.” I took another sip of my coffee, disheartened that Julia couldn’t fill in any of the morbid details I was strangely desperate for.

  “So did I.” She shook her head, seeming to snap out of her trance. “God, Em, I’m so sorry. Last night must have been awful.”