by Hope Ford
I barely get us decent and clothed before they’re bringing in our food. We sit at the table and I pull her close to me in the booth. I wish I had ordered something else, because it’s impossible to hold her and cut steak too. I order her another drink and we relax as we eat.
When we’re finished, I break the news to her. “So, I’m sorry, uh, I don’t know if you realized it, but I didn’t use a condom.”
Her mouth drops, and her eyes get large as saucers. “Oh my God, I didn’t even… Oh my God.”
I reach over and touch her hand to calm her. “I’m clean, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
She nods her head. “Yeah, right, me too. I’m clean.” She looks as if she’s counting and then she releases a breath. “And I don’t think it’s the right time of the month for me to get pregnant.”
I should be worried about that, but I’m not. I actually enjoy the thought of her getting round with my baby. “If you are, I would want to know.”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” she says, nodding her head. I can tell she’s taken aback. I want to pursue the conversation, but the VIP room is filling up now. I can see people at the other tables staring at us and I know I’ve been recognized.
“Let’s get outta here.” I stand up, help her up and put my hand at the small of her back. I put some bills on the table and walk with her hand in hand out of the room, down the steps and out the front door. Numerous people step in my path and try to get my attention, but I don’t let up. I didn’t think this through. I should have told her who I was before tonight, before bringing her here.
We walk out into the night air and I pull her in close. “You okay?”
She laughs. “Yeah, wow, it’s packed in there now. I guess it’s good we didn’t get to dance. It would’ve been pretty close quarters.”
I open the car door for her and before she sits down, I stop her. “I would love to dance with you, but I think we both know what happens when I have you in my arms.”
She blushes and it makes the freckles on her nose stand out a little more. I can’t resist kissing her again. When I finally pull away from her, I’m already worked up again. I cup her face, running my thumb softly over her lower lip. “You have no idea what you do to me.”
Her eyes shine in the moonlight. Her guard is down and I can see how she feels about me. It’s the same way I feel about her. I feel a heaviness in my chest and I know what It’s from. It’s because I haven’t told her yet. I know she needs to know who I am, but I’ve put it off so long now it’s turned into this big thing.
“C’mon, I’ll take you home.”
8
Naomi
The ride to my place is silent. I can tell he has something on his mind. When we get to my apartment, he helps me out of the car and up to the door. “Do you want to come in?”
He grabs on to both of my hands. “So I’d like to stay. I’d like to hold you all night and then wake up with you in my arms, but I have to fly out in the morning for work and I still need to pack.”
I lean toward him, balancing on the balls of my feet to lean up and kiss his chin. “It’s probably for the best since I’m sure we wouldn’t get any sleep if you stayed.”
He laughs, but it’s stilted.
I ask him curiously, “Is everything okay?”
He starts to speak and then stops to clear his throat. “Uh, yeah, so I don’t think I’ve mentioned what I do…”
Laughing, I tell him. “No, actually, you went out of your way to avoid the subject.”
His face turns red. “Yeah, so, I’m a ball player.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Okay. Like that’s your job? You play ball? What kind of ball?”
He smiles then. “A baseball player. I play for the Mavericks.”
I slide my hands up his chest. “Okay, it’s a small world. My friend is dating Reagan… Reagan Kline. Do you know him?”
He grabs my hands and holds on to them, pressing them into his chest. “Yeah, Reagan’s a good guy.”
I have to agree with him. I nod my head. “Yeah, Jackie seems really happy with him.” I curl my fingers into his. “So is there a reason you didn’t want me to know?”
He pulls me to him then, pressing our bodies together. His hands hold on to my lower back, holding me in place. “No, I mean not really. I never really know why a woman likes me. It was nice that you didn’t have a clue who I was, and you liked me anyway – I mean – I think you like me.”
His deep voice for the first time sounds unsure. It’s cute that he looks the way he does and is still insecure. It makes me think of the women that may have only liked him because of what he does instead of who he is. Their loss is my gain, I guess. I rest my chin on his chest and look up at him. “Oh, I like you. And it has nothing to do with baseball.”
As soon as the words leave my mouth, it’s like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. I can feel his stance softening around me. He gathers me up in his arms and kisses me until I’m breathless. It’s like neither one of us wants the night to be over. He’s kissing my neck and murmurs into my ear, “I can probably come in for a little while.”
I unlock the door and lead him in for another night I’ll never forget.
This time is different. Special in a way that I’m not ready to process yet. And when he leaves, hours later, a sadness comes over me because I know I’m going to miss him. Sleep eludes me. It’s been a long, sleepless two nights and I have school early in the morning.
Sitting through a faculty meeting the next day, I’m missing him, but he texted me this morning before he got onto the airplane and promised he would text tonight after the game. I start to search on my phone. I’m hoping to see images of him in his uniform. I just want to see him, hoping for maybe a team picture or something. But the images that come up have my stomach dropping. There’s numerous pictures of him and in almost all of them, there are women hanging off his arms. The women are all skinny and scantily clad, but in every picture he looks happy. He’s played me. I thought I was special, but in fact, I’m just another notch on his bedpost. I feel almost faint for what a fool I’ve been. I take deep breaths, in and out, until finally I can’t take it anymore. I tell the teacher next to me I need to go to the restroom and quietly leave the room. As soon as I get into the hallway, I put my hands on my knees and try to calm myself. I’m devastated and feel like a fool.
Before I change my mind, I send him a text and then shut off my phone. I have no choice but to shut him out. I’m not going to be sucked into his player lifestyle and be one of the women he plays with. Wasn’t there a saying about baseball players? A whore in every city? Forget it. No thanks.
9
Neil
After the game, I’m the first one to the locker room so I can get my phone and call the woman that has me playing at the top of my game. She fills every void in my life and I’m happier with her than I’ve ever been. Sure, there’s plenty we still need to get to know about each other, but I’ve never been more sure about a woman, and I know I’m already falling for her.
I take my phone out of my locker and power it up. A text from Naomi pops up on the window and a part of me is hoping she’s sent me a picture of her. I wish I had grabbed one of her before I left. When I get the message app open, I find a picture of myself from the internet. There’s three girls hanging on my arms and my smiling face is staring back at me. The two words, the only two words that come with the picture are: GAME OVER in big, bold capital letters.
I try calling her and the rest of the day it goes straight to voicemail. I try again in the morning, after staying awake all night, and an automated message tells me that the number has been disconnected. She’s changed her number!
I’m going out of my mind trying not to panic. I know that with every passing minute that I can’t get a hold of her, she’s less likely to hear me out. We still have one more game of the series, but there’s no way I can do it. I know Coach is going to rip my ass and I know I’m probably going to have to pay a heft
y fine for missing, but I don’t care.
I book the next flight to home and then go see my coach. “What’s wrong, Fox? You look like shit. You been drinking?”
“No sir,” I tell him. “I’m sorry, but I’ve had an emergency back home and my flight leaves in an hour. I’m going to have to miss this afternoon’s game.”
He rubs his chin, looking at me skeptically. “Family emergency, huh?”
I nod my head convincingly. To me, it is a family emergency.
He drops his hand and comes over and slaps me on the back. “Fine, son. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll put Kent in for you tonight.”
“Thank you, Coach,” I tell him before running out of the stadium to catch a cab. The flight home is only two hours and I think the whole way about what I’m going to say to her. I know the picture looked bad. Hell, that’s probably not even the worst one out there. But the fact remains, I haven’t even thought of another woman since I met Naomi. She’s the one I want, and I’m willing to do anything to prove it.
Naomi
Of all the places I could have gone, I go to my mom’s. I don’t know why I did, but here I am. And I’m not sure about the advice she’s giving me. “All I’m saying is you should hear him out. When you called the other day, telling me about the mishap, I knew then that there was something special about that man. Naomi, I could hear it in your voice. You really like him. I know I’ve made mistakes. I know you don’t want to be like me. But you also don’t want to completely destroy your life trying to avoid love either.”
I look at her incredulously. “Love? No one said anything about love. We just met. I don’t… I don’t love him.”
My heart is rapid firing in my chest. I open the palm of my hand and start waving at myself, trying to cool off my overheated body. No one said the word love.
My mother starts to laugh. “Look at you. You’re so worried about falling in love, picking the wrong guy that you’re causing yourself to have a panic attack.” She sits down on the couch beside me and grabs on to both of my hands. “I know you’re worried about it, but you shouldn’t. You’re not me, Naomi. You never will be. I know how much you cringe every time I get married. But I’m living the life I want and you need to do the same. When you find love, it will be forever. It will be with a guy that loves you, cherishes you and wants to be with you. You are not going to make the same mistakes I did.”
I can tell she wants to say more, but the doorbell rings. She looks between the door and me. “That’s probably Madge, Donna, and Janet for our weekly bridge game. Give me a minute and I’ll tell them I’m canceling this week. I completely forgot they were coming.”
I shake my head. “No, Mom. It’s fine. I don’t mind really. It will keep my mind off things.”
She looks at me questioningly and I nod. “I’m sure. I promise.”
She pats my hand and walks over to let her friends in. I tell them all hi and give them each hugs. When they walk into the dining room to set up their game, I sit back on the couch and think about everything my mother said. Could she be right? Am I just looking for a reason for this not to work? I know there’s plenty of pictures of him on the internet with other woman, but later, when I looked at the dates, I hadn’t seen any in the last year or so. Definitely not any since we’ve met. I pick up the channel changer and turn the television on. I tell myself I’m going to find a good comedy, but instead, I turn it straight to the sports channel. I just want to see him, I tell myself. No harm in that.
The announcers are doing the pregame and at the mention of Neil’s name, it grabs my attention. “Kent Bishop is substituting for Neil Fox tonight. It was reported that Fox has an emergency out of town. The Mavericks will miss him behind the plate tonight and his bat.”
The rest of whatever he says goes in one ear and out the next. With my hand over my mouth, I sit there stunned. Oh God, is he okay? I reach for my phone to call him, but remember that I changed my number and deleted his contact. He’s fine. I’m sure he’s fine. I keep telling myself that over and over, but it doesn’t feel right. There’s a part of me that knows I want to be with him… that I should be with him. But another part of me is still scared.
With my head in my hand, I say a silent prayer for whatever Neil’s going through right now.
10
Neil
As soon as I get into town, I go straight to her apartment. I’ve knocked, I’ve pounded, and she hasn’t answered. Her car is not in the parking lot, so I know she’s not here. I’m sitting outside her apartment with baby throw-up on my shirt, waiting for her to get home when a neighbor opens their door and recognizes me. He opens the door wider and looks at the television and then back at me. “Hey, aren’t you Neil Fox from the Mavericks?”
I nod my head at him. “Have you seen Naomi?”
He grabs a stack of envelopes and a set of keys off the table. “No, she’s visiting her mom.” I watch as he walks to Naomi’s door, unlocks it and walks in. He leaves the door open and I see him set the mail on the counter before filling up a cup of water. He smiles at me as he walks around the house. “Thanks for the reminder though. I almost forgot to water her flowers. Hey, aren’t you supposed to be at a game?”
Stunned, I watch this man walk around Naomi’s apartment and all I feel is pure jealousy. I try to keep my voice calm. “Yeah, but I have something to take care of. So you have a key… to Naomi’s apartment?”
He smirks at me. “Yeah, so I can water her plants.”
I nod my head at him. “Okay, so do you know where Naomi’s mother lives?”
He nods his head and dumps water on another plant. “Yep. Are you the reason she was crying when she left here yesterday?”
Fuck! Just knowing that kills me. “Yep, but I’m going to fix it.”
He turns and looks at me then, measuring me up. He must see something he approves of, probably the desperation in my face. “She lives on 421 Holbert Street. Just down the road. But just so you know, I’m going to give you a five-minute head start, but I’m going to call her and warn her you’re coming.”
“Fair enough. Thanks,” I tell him, before I turn and sprint to the parking lot. Fuck! I don’t have my car and I let the cab leave. I put the address in my phone and it says it’s a ten minute walk. I take off running in the direction of her mom’s house.
I run up the driveway and before I knock, I try to catch my breath. I’m bent over, raggedly breathing when the door opens. “Neil?”
I lift my head and look straight at Naomi. Damn, I’ve missed her.
I try to speak, but I’m still trying to catch my breath. She motions me inside and says something about water. When she comes back I’m standing in the living room and she walks toward me, holding it out. I take a big swallow and set it down. A group of women come through the doorway and they’re all staring at me, but I don’t care.
“Naomi, part of what I love about you is that you liked me without knowing who I was in baseball. I don’t want easy women who care nothing about me. I want you. I missed a game, rushed back and didn’t even stop to change my vomit-covered shirt because you’re more important to me than all of that.”
I take a step toward her and she starts to speak. But I stop her. “And if that’s not enough, all you have to do is tell me what I need to do because I’ve never been more sure in my life about another person than I am about you.”
She takes a step toward me, then stops. “And the other women?”
I cringe, because I know how I would feel if I saw pictures like that of her with other men. “There’s no other women. Those pictures were from before. Way before I met you. There won’t be any other women. You’re all I want. You’re all I need.”
I reach my hand out to her and she looks at it and then back at me. “You promise you won’t lie to me or keep things from me? I can’t do this… I can’t always worry when you go out of town who you’re with or what you’re doing.”
She finally puts her hand into mine and I tug her toward me. Sh
e scrunches up her nose at the smell. I quickly pull off my shirt and the women in the room all giggle. “Sorry about that. Baby vomit from the plane. I promise to tell you any and everything as long as you promise not to disappear on me ever again. I know it’s soon, but being away from you has killed me, Naomi. I’ve fallen for you. I’ve fallen hard.”
Her face blooms into a beautiful smile and she reaches on her tiptoes to kiss me. I gather her close, giving her the sexy, hot kiss she deserves. The ladies in the room applaud and start hollering encore as we pull apart.
With swollen lips and a happy smile, Naomi says, “I guess I’d better get used to being in the public eye.”
Epilogue
Neil
A few weeks later
“I don’t see what the big deal is. I gave my neighbor my key. He waters my plants,” Naomi says with her hands on her hips. We’re standing inside her apartment and the more sassy she gets the more I want to quit this conversation and take her back to the bedroom.
I hate to do it, but I’m going there. “Okay, well, I guess you’d be all right with me giving my neighbor my key to the house so she can water my plants?”
Her forehead creases, and then she starts to laugh. “You don’t have plants.”
But the joke’s on her. I’ve got some. “When I saw all the ones you have here, I wanted you to feel at home at my place, so I got some.”
She shakes her head. “I’ll water your plants.”
