Game On the Verge

by Jamie Summer

  “It’s such a perfect place. My family and I used to come here when I was younger.” I started gesturing around. “There is a small town over that way, and a beach over there. I always loved it here,” I explained. When I heard footsteps approach, I expected it to be Tyler and his dad.

  “Fancy seeing you here,” Charly said, a smug grin evident in his voice without me even having to see it. Tyler’s mom turned around.

  She placed her hands on her hips. “You. Are you a guest at the wedding?” she wanted to know, brows arched in obvious doubt.

  “Just taking a stroll. I’m visiting family down in the city center and needed some fresh air.”

  I knew the explanation was complete bullshit, but before I could call him out on it, Tyler’s mom beat me to it.

  “I have no idea who you are, but I would appreciate it if you would leave my son’s girlfriend alone. As you saw last week, he has a bit of a temper.”

  I knew that was a lie, but Charly didn’t. His smugness disappeared for a second, but then was right back. “Well, if he punches me again, I’m sure that will be detrimental to his job. I hear football players get fired for things like that.”

  His words confused me. “What do you mean?” But Charly was interrupted before he could say anything else.

  “What are you doing here?” Tyler’s voice was calm, like the seconds before a storm hit.

  “Just taking a stroll and making friendly conversation. Such a wonderful area,” Charly said.

  I walked over to Tyler and snuggled into his side, hoping to diffuse the amount of testosterone already in the air.

  “It’s a beautiful spot for a wedding, isn’t it? All these green fields and flowers. I heard that’s exactly what chicks dig these days,” Charly added.

  “It’s none of your business when and where we get married. Do you understand me? I have no idea who you think you are, but you need to stay away from my fiancée and my family. I won’t allow you to harass her any more than you already have?”

  What?

  Fiancée?

  Holy hell.

  Eyes wide, I turned to Tyler.

  “Your fiancée?” his mom asked, her voice choked up. “You asked her to marry you?”

  I saw the slight panic on Tyler’s face, but then his dark brown eyes filled with confidence and strength. He didn’t look at his mom when he replied. He was rather focused on the tree collection a few feet away from us.

  “Yes, I did. I want to spend the rest of my life with this woman.”

  Holy…hell…

  What have I gotten myself into?

  Tyler

  I had no idea why I had said that. Judging from their expressions, neither did my parents…or Jo.

  I avoided looking at her and kept my gaze on Charly. Seeing him again, him talking to her when it was clear she wanted nothing to do with him, just made the nerve endings snap in my brain.

  Usually, I wasn’t one to mark my territory, but with Jo, everything was different. I had tried to get her off my mind all week, but it hadn’t worked. I had longed to see her again.

  That wasn’t like me. Not at all.

  Yet here I was, having proclaimed, in front of my whole family, that I had asked my fake girlfriend to fake marry me.

  Perfect.

  “You did what?” Charly asked, surprise evident in his voice and on his face. If his eyes bulged any more, I was pretty sure they would pop out.

  “You heard me,” I lazily replied.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me! You want to marry her? A woman who works at a local rundown bar and has drunks as her favorite clients?”

  Shit.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I didn’t need to turn to feel the questioning gazes of my family on me. But what really worried me was the anger I felt rising at Charly’s words. Anger I tried very hard to keep in.

  “Tyler.” My mom’s voice had a warning in it I didn’t miss.

  “I think it’s best if you continue your little stroll now,” Jo interjected. I couldn’t help but let my gaze wander over to her. “And, seeing as I know you’re going to call my mother, tell my family I said hi.” Something told me there was more to her family than I knew, and I needed to figure out what that was.

  Charly looked at each of us, as if deciding whether or not it was worth arguing over, then decided better of it.

  We watched him walk off. The moment he was out of sight, it was as if the air had lightened. As if the tension had evaporated with his departure.

  “So? Another wedding we need to plan?” my dad asked, and just like that, the air thinned again.

  I turned to him, meeting his gaze. I wanted to show him I wasn’t afraid. Or scared. Or crazy. Though the latter was probably up for discussion.

  “A wedding, yes. But that’s—”

  “Tyler, a word, please?” Jo’s tone had hardened, and obviously, my family felt it as much as I did.

  “We’ll leave you two alone,” my dad said, then took my mom’s hand and led her away from us.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” she hissed. “No. Scratch that. You clearly weren’t thinking. Seriously? Marriage? We’ve barely gone on two dates and you tell your family we’re getting married? I can’t believe you. I should have never agreed to go out with you in the first place.”

  “Jo, please. I had no intention of saying anything like that, but Charly—”

  “Charly is a jerk, and you should know better than to let him bait you.”

  “The words just spilled out. I couldn’t do anything to stop them. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry? Really? That’s the best you’ve got?” Jo huffed, and I sighed.

  Yep, she’s angry.

  “Look, I know this isn’t what you signed up for, but please, let’s just keep the ruse up for today. In a few days, I’ll tell my parents I got cold feet. They won’t be surprised. Then you’re off the hook,” I explained. Jo watched me with her forest green eyes. I hoped she was weighing her options, not thinking up ways to kill me.

  “I can’t believe this,” she said in a low, resigned voice.

  “I would like to believe there are worse people out there to be engaged to,” I remarked with a smirk, having heard that her voice had lost some of its edge.

  “You’re a jerk. I don’t like to be put on the spot like that. Next time you feel the need to piss on your territory, do me the favor and let me know in advance.”

  “That’s it?” I was happy she wasn’t yelling anymore, but her complacency irritated me.

  “Would you like me to continue yelling?” Jo wanted to know, her left brow arched.

  “As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t blame you.”

  Jo watched me carefully for a few seconds, then turned and climbed onto a boulder we had stopped near. She wrapped her arms around her knees.

  “Charly didn’t lie about being a family friend.”

  I walked over and took the spot next to her. “Okay…”

  “However, he’s not my friend. My family is very traditional, so they have certain… expectations. I was never one to fulfill them. You see, my family had been lawyers for generations, and it was expected I would be, too. But I wasn’t the best in school, rejected their offer to pay for law school and ultimately crushed their dream of having their daughter follow in their footsteps. When they heard I took a job at the bar, they almost disowned me. Took lots of conversations and even more persuasion to make them see I wasn’t cut out to be a lawyer. They are still not happy with my choice of workplace, but they have resigned themselves to it.

  “Weeks passed. I thought we were finally in a good place again. When they invited me over for dinner one night, I was pleasantly surprised. They hadn’t done that in a long time. I got ready, even dressing in nicer clothes since I didn’t wanna give my parents, especially my mom, a reason to criticize me.

  “When I arrived, it turned out I wasn’t the only guest they invited. Charly and his parents were also there. I had seen him on a few occasions befor
e, but always hated his douche behavior. He tried to hit on me once, but I shot him down quickly.

  “It didn’t even take my parents ten minutes after I arrived to announce how happy they were that Charly and I were getting married.”

  “What the hell?” My reaction was instantaneous and loud. She couldn’t be serious. “They arranged a marriage for you?”

  Jo’s silence was all the answer I needed.

  “What kind of messed-up, middle-aged thinking is that?” I said, my voice laced with anger and disbelief. I couldn’t imagine someone backing me into a corner like that. Yes, my parents were protective and had their expectations, but I knew they would never force me into a marriage I didn’t want.

  Then it hit me.

  I sucked in a breath. “I did the same. I’m sure what I said caught you off guard.”

  There was a smile on her lips I didn’t expect. “Funnily enough, I was more furious at my parents than I am at you.”

  I tried not to read too much into that.

  “What happened after they told you about the marriage?” I asked.

  “I refused to give in to their wish. They were angry, yelled at me. Obviously, Charly and his family weren’t happy, either. I was used to disappointing my parents, so this was nothing new. I was hurt, too. More than I thought they realized. It was hard to wrap my mind around the fact they thought an arranged marriage was something I would agree to. I have seen them twice since. My mom called the moment Charly called her and told her what happened at the christening.” She rolled her eyes. “That was a fun conversation.”

  Wow. Our whole fake relationship suddenly seemed more messed up than I ever wanted it to be. Clearly I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

  “What did she say?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

  She shrugged. “The usual. She’s disappointed in me, she expected better. All that jazz. She still expects me to walk down the aisle with that douche. Over my dead body. She hasn’t accepted it will never happen.”

  “Let’s not get dramatic,” I rushed to say. It wasn’t that I expected her to do anything dramatic, but I wasn’t going to take any chances.

  The silence hung between us, yet somehow, it wasn’t as draining as it could have been.

  “If you want me to tell my family the truth, Jo, I will.” I wasn’t sure where the words came from, but Jo’s face registered surprise.

  “I know. And that’s the reason we’re gonna stick to the story, okay? Call me crazy, but in the end, it feels like it’ll be doing us both a favor. You’re making your family happy, and I can show mine they don’t own me.”

  Part of me wanted to argue with her, suddenly feeling like we were falling deeper and deeper into a hole we wouldn’t know how to get out of.

  I placed a hand on her knee. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded, a resolve in her green eyes I had seen a few times before.

  “Yes. Now, let’s get back. I think we’ve stirred up enough trouble as it is.”

  “Actually, I think my mom will be waiting to hug you and thank you for finally making an honest man out of me,” I joked, putting a smile on Jo’s face.

  “Touché. Knowing what I know about her, that seems very likely.”

  We slowly walked back to the reception area where, as expected, my parents were waiting.

  “I’m afraid to say congratulations after the intense conversation you guys seemed to be having,” my mom whispered into my ear, and I smiled in response.

  “You can say congratulations. Jo was merely a bit unhappy I put it out there so soon after it happened. She would have liked to keep it secret a little longer.”

  Her eyes roamed my face, no doubt searching for the lie in my words. She wouldn’t find any because, technically, it was true.

  “Okay,” she finally said, then threw her slender arms around my waist and hugged me. “I’m so happy for you. She seems like a great woman. A keeper.”

  I nodded against her shoulder.

  My mom quickly moved on to my new fiancée, giving her a big hug. “Oh, Jo.”

  My dad slapped me on the back. “Proud of you, son. You found a good one. Make sure you don’t lose her.” I nodded, but there was a bitter taste in my mouth at his words.

  “I’ll try my best.”

  It was all I could think of to say. Guilt and doubt started to seep into my bones, and the fear of losing my parents’ trust crushed over me. What if they found out? What if they fell in love with Jo, then I had to tell them she wouldn’t be in our lives anymore?

  “Are you okay?” I heard my dad say, and I glanced up at him.

  “Yep, sorry. All good,” I assured him. “Let’s go to the church, shall we? It’s what we came here for.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Tyler? A word?” my mom called out. I watched my dad walk away while I stayed back.

  “Yes?”

  “What about the issue Charly mentioned? About Jo working at a bar?”

  I had completely forgotten about that—or chose to—so her question threw me off slightly. When I stayed silent, my mom nodded.

  “So it’s true.”

  I didn’t have the heart to lie to her again. “I didn’t want you to think less of her. She’s great and loves her job. You should see her. All the patrons love and respect her. It’s the job she chose, and I can’t fault her for that.”

  “But you thought we would?” The hurt was evident in her voice. “You truly think we would have cared?”

  I stayed silent again.

  “Tyler, all I care about is you finding someone who makes you happy, nothing else. If it’s someone who works at a bar, so be it. Her job doesn’t define her. Her actions do. And so far, I have no complaints when it comes to those.”

  I watched my mom for a moment, her words replaying in my mind. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  She gave me one last smile, then went to join my dad.

  “Are you okay?” Jo asked, joining me. When I glanced at her, I saw concern written all over her face.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, confused.

  “Not sure.”

  I pulled her close and kissed the side of her head. It wasn’t anything I thought about. Just something I did.

  “Let’s go enjoy the wedding now, shall we?” I asked, people starting to gesture for us to hurry up.

  I tried hard not to think about the fact that the next time I was at a ceremony like this, it could very well be my own.

  Jo

  The roaring of the crowd made me smile. I had forgotten how much I loved going to the games. The feeling of being in the middle of something great, the people all rooting for the same team, cheering and booing whenever they saw fit. I loved it.

  My dad used to take me to the games whenever we had a moment to spare. There weren’t a lot of those, but if we couldn’t make it to the stadium, we would watch at home. My mom hated that we shared this passion together. She hated football, couldn’t understand the appeal of twenty-two people running after one ball.

  “Here you go.” I turned around and saw Ty’s mom holding out a beer.

  After the wedding had gone off without a hitch, Tyler and I drove to the stadium early this morning in order to be here for the game. His parents accepted Tyler’s invitation to come, as well. Tyler had taken everything he needed already, which surprised me. I hadn’t expected him to think that far ahead. After all, he was a guy. The ones I met so far hadn’t been known for thinking more than five minutes ahead.

  I arched a brow at the plastic cup, unsure what kind of message I would be sending.

  “It’s just beer, Jo. If you work at a bar, I’m pretty sure you can hold your liquor just fine.” There was a smile on her face. “Take it. Please.”

  Grinning, I took the beer from her and took a long sip. The cold liquid running down my throat reminded me of those stadium visits with my dad. I wasn’t old enough to have a beer back then, but he’d always tell me that one day, I would get to enjoy the fu
ll experience. Because, according to my dad, a stadium beer belonged at a good football game.

  “Thank you,” I told Ty’s mom. She nodded before taking a seat on the balcony of the private lounge Ty had reserved for us. We weren’t the only ones in there. Betty, Gavin’s girlfriend, whom visited the bar often, and their six-year-old son, Trevor, were also sitting there.

  “It’s been a while since I watched Tyler play.” I glanced at Ty’s mom, a faraway look in her eyes. “Back in the States, we would watch all of his games. Early on, it was extremely clear it was the sport he wanted to pursue. Whenever we signed him up for basketball or football—American football—he played well, but he could never get into it the way he did with soccer. When the scout came and took it upon himself to find a home for the three of them, part of me was ecstatic Ty was finally being recognized for how great he is. As a mother, though, I was scared of the disappointment that might eventually await him.”

  “They all did good for themselves,” I assured her, my eyes focusing on the field as the crowd started to cheer. The players entered for their warm-up, and I searched for Tyler in the crowd of people below. It didn’t take long to find him. With his slightly longer hair, he was easy to spot. He hadn’t bothered to pull it up into a bun yet, but I knew he would before the game started.

  “I can’t wait to see him play,” his mom said. I silently agreed, finding myself slightly giddy at the thought.

  Half an hour later, the players ran off the field and toward the changing rooms before the game. We walked inside the lounge and grabbed a quick bite to eat, the conversation easy. It was nice, comfortable, nothing at all like conversations with my parents. Betty and Trevor joined us near the food, and our little group grew a little closer.

  When the people in the stands got restless again, it was clear kickoff was minutes away. We took our seats outside again, snacks and beer in hand. Just the way I liked it.