The Game of Love: (BWWM Romance)

by K. Alex Walker

  He grinned. “To be fair, she’d threatened to start a rumor that my sister was sleeping with Coach Kierkson all because Justin had turned her down for the dance. I wasn’t having it.”

  Their eyes followed as a second, older gentleman in a three-piece suit made his way to the front of the room with his glass in tow.

  “I heard about that,” Sommer affirmed. “That’s really awful that she would want to ruin both their reputations like that. You should have gone for the shoes too.”

  Austin grinned again. “We tried, but they were too big for the horse.”

  The older gentleman held up his glass and signaled for everyone in the room to do the same. Wine glasses were tipped as the liquid was drained, swirled, and then swallowed.

  “Full-bodied,” Austin began.

  “Silky,” Sommer added.

  “With a hint of disgusting,” Austin finished.

  Sommer burst out laughing and frantically searched for a napkin before she sprayed wine all over the wooden tabletop. A few of the other patrons turned to stare at them, and they guiltily turned away as laughter shook their bodies.

  “Do you like it?” he asked as she was still coughing and laughing into her napkin.

  “Not at all,” she managed to squeeze out. “Blackberry wine…not my thing.”

  Austin glanced down at his watch. “We still have time to make it out to Louie’s, and I know how much you love his salmon pasta.”

  Surprised, she stared at him. “How’d you know that?”

  He made his way around the table to help her out of her seat, her silky skin and intoxicating scent threatening to direct his blood to one region of his body. He then extended his elbow and Sommer hooked her arm through it as they exited the winery to the car.

  “Your sixteenth birthday,” he answered. “I was there with Darrell and Kyle that same night you were there with your mother. You ordered the salmon pasta and then sent the waiter back for a take-home portion.”

  He opened the passenger door, and she slid onto the seat, almost sliding off the edge as her silky dress made contact with the smooth leather.

  “How’d you know it was my birthday?” She continued when he’d gotten in on the other side.

  “In third grade, do you remember Miss Solomon had that big birthday cake poster with everyone’s birthday pinned to it? I memorized yours: November 18th.”

  He started up the car while Sommer robotically slipped the seatbelt into the buckle, surprised that he could remember something so trivial from so far back. Yet, as she thought about it, she realized that she’d also remembered his: August 3rd. She could actually see it as clear as day, written on a candle made out construction paper, and attached to the poster with a thumbtack.

  She touched him on the shoulder. “Why would you memorize my birthday?”

  Austin hesitated before responding so he could take a moment to enjoy the feeling of her light touch. “In all the years of our rivalry, Sommer, there is one thing you never seemed to realize.”

  She raised both eyebrows. “What’s that?”

  He wrapped his fingers around her hand and slowly stroked her knuckles. It felt good to touch her and even better when she didn’t pull away. He was sure that he would have exploded before the night was over if the texture of her skin against his fingertips was still only in his imagination.

  “You hated me. I never hated you. Matter of fact, I kind of adored you.”

  With the way her breath silently caught, he knew that he’d caught her by surprise. But she offered no words as he pulled out onto the road, and they rode in silence on the way to Louie’s Seafood Restaurant on the beach.

  *****

  As good as the pasta sitting in front of her was, Sommer couldn’t focus on the perfect combination of salmon, spinach, and tomatoes like she normally would. She actually hadn’t said a word since Austin’s confession in the car.

  He’d adored her. He’d actually said that he’d adored her.

  Lies.

  What kind of a man used the term ‘adored’ anyhow? Were those the same lazy lines that he’d used on supermodels and musicians to woo them out of their hundred-dollar lace panties? Was that the same line that he’d used to seduce the infamous Jessica Costa?

  Sommer had done her best to ignore entertainment, sports, and news channels for the past two years since they would display Austin and Jessica’s relationship in at least one of their daily segments. Unfortunately, their relationship had been so ubiquitous that she knew that she couldn’t avoid seeing it forever.

  One day, back when she’d still lived in New York, a sudden craving for an iced latte had struck her. She’d ducked into a random nearby coffee shop, and as though waiting for her, it had been right there on a magazine display rack: Jessica and Austin wrapped up in a passionate lip lock on a Caribbean beach.

  Although she’d seen them together before, their intimate handholding and flirtatious laughter had been chaste enough that her stomach didn’t stir whenever she saw it. At least, not that much. But the photo of them on the beach had left her uneasy for the rest of the week, and while she’d initially blamed it on the egg-white panini she’d had that morning for breakfast, she knew that it had been something else.

  Her lifelong hatred towards Austin had only been a classic cover-up. She’d been smitten with him ever since she could remember.

  She’d nearly revealed the truth behind her anger when in the seventh grade, as he finished his fourth lap around the track during recess, he’d tossed a rose at her feet and incorrectly recited a few lines from Romeo and Juliet with his hands over his heart. Sommer had felt as though all the planets had aligned that day, at least until Kyle and Darrell—the trio seemed to have been attached to each other since birth—had run up to him as he’d walked away, looked at her, and then laughed.

  She’d felt so foolish, swooning over Austin when he had only been making fun of her.

  Then came their junior year of high school.

  R.M. Loving High School’s starting quarterback, Isaiah Rones, had been kicked off the team after getting caught in the parking lot fast asleep with a still lit joint between his fingers. Austin had then been promoted to starter, much to both the school and Sommer’s excitement since he had always been passionate about football. She’d also been insanely proud of him, but had shown it by rolling her eyes at him whenever she saw him in the hallway, which only made him grin and poke her in the side to torment her whenever they crossed paths.

  During Loving High’s first game, he’d shown amazing confidence and poise on the field. Eventually, he rallied the team to the school’s first championship appearance, which had only left Sommer even more enamored.

  After winning their last game before the state championship, as the team walked back to the locker room, everyone was shouting their congratulations. Sommer was still figuring out whether to give Austin a death stare or another one of her classic eye rolls. As she contemplated, he’d come right up to the chain-link fence separating the bleachers from the field and motioned for her to come closer. She’d—of course—refused, but at least had the decency to hit him with an irritated, “What?”

  When he noticed that she wasn’t going to agree to his request, he hopped the fence and climbed the steps until they were nearly nose to nose. Then, he bent close to her ear and said, “Third down, second-and-eight, with five minutes and forty-two seconds to go, I threw our winning touchdown pass to Darrell. As everybody was cheering, I looked over in the bleachers and for the first time in my life, I saw Sommer Hayes smiling at something that I’d done. As long as I live, I’ll remember that smile more fondly than I remember that pass.”

  Then, he’d backpedaled down the steps and back over the fence in mere seconds, leaving her speechless. Yet, once again, Kyle and Darrell had run up behind him, looked at her in the stands, and laughed.

  Sommer had vowed that night that it would be the last time Austin had taken her for a fool. Yet tonight, as she watched him delightedly dig into his
seafood paella, she felt the swoon threatening to befall her once again. It was as if her heart literally had no recollection of ever being broken.

  “It’s your eyes,” she suddenly said.

  Austin looked up. “My eyes?”

  “Yep.” She speared a chunk of salmon with her fork. “They make me want to believe what you’re saying, but I don’t.”

  He folded his arms. “You’re a hard one aren’t you, Sommer?”

  She shrugged and brought the fork to her full lips. Austin looked around the room, made eye contact with their server, and flagged him down. Jubilantly, the boy hurried over.

  “Yes, Mr. Riley?”

  “None of that Mr. Riley stuff, Theo,” Austin said, waving his hand. “It’s just Austin. My sister used to change your diapers, for goodness sakes. Could we have some boxes and the check please?”

  Sommer frowned. “I’m not finished eating. Plus, I can pay for my own meal.”

  Theo’s eyes darted nervously between them, unsure of whose orders to follow. In his house, the woman’s word was always the final word, but this was Austin Riley; Most Valuable Player of the Year and Future Hall of Fame Quarterback Austin Riley. Ever since Austin had walked into Louie’s, he’d wanted to rush him and ask him a million questions, one of them eventually being for his autograph. However, since no one else seemed to react to him like he was a celebrity, Theo had decided to keep his cool. Even more unusual was that most of them had just referred to him as plain old Austin, Emma’s boy, and Arielle’s little brother.

  “The boxes and the check are fine,” Austin repeated. Once Theo disappeared, he turned back to Sommer. “It won’t matter what that pasta tastes like once you’ve got your foot in your mouth anyhow.”

  Sommer laid down her fork a bit more noisily than she’d intended. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means I’m going to prove you wrong.”

  She gently frowned. “And how is that?”

  Austin polished off the rest of his beer, and Sommer’s eyes fell to the outline of his mouth and the tempting softness of his lips. As his mouth stretched into a handsome grin, she felt her pulse quicken.

  “You’ll see,” he teased.

  Theo soon reappeared with the boxes and offered to pack up their meal, while Austin kept his gaze squared on the woman across from him that he was certain he’d knocked off her cool. Though she was visibly rattled, she held his gaze and her stubbornness only made him like her even more. This was the Sommer that he knew; belligerent, headstrong, and a fighter. When his mother told him that she’d been depressed and isolated, he’d immediately known that it was because of her mother’s illness. She’d been the same way during her mother’s first bout with cancer. They were in the seventh grade when he first noticed that she’d changed.

  Algebraic equations about x and y’s relationship had started to bore him, so like he always did every few minutes, he stole a glance at her. Usually, she was already looking back at him with a waiting sneer, but she’d been distractedly looking out of the window as though captured in some sort of daze.

  Kyle had purposefully dropped his textbook onto the floor, startling them both. Sommer had then wiped frantically at her eyes before turning to face the teacher, and from the sunlight coming in through the window, Austin could clearly see the tear stains smudged against her cheek. Instantly, he’d made it his duty to help her feel better.

  That afternoon before recess, he’d snuck into Mrs. Waters’ class and stole a rose from the yearly anniversary bouquet her military husband sent from overseas. Then, after taking a few laps around the track to muster up the courage to carry out his plan, he’d tossed the rose towards Sommer’s feet and yelled, “It is my lady, it is my love, oh how I wish she knew that she was! She speaks but yet she says nothing; she eyes the courses, I will answer it. I am too bold; it is not me she is speaking to, two of the fairest stars in heaven, having some business, do they treat her eyes!”

  Even after the two hours both his sister and mother had spent going over lines from Romeo and Juliet with him so he could pass English class, his nerves had still gotten the best of him, and he’d fudged them.

  First, Sommer had smiled with an uncontrollable bubble of laughter, but then Kyle and Darrell had run over to make fun of his affectionate display. When the three of them looked her way, she’d shyly turned around and spent the rest of the recess period on the opposite side of the field.

  “Can you ask Louie if we can keep these in the back while Sommer and I take a walk on the beach?” Austin asked, holding the cartons towards Theo.

  “I’m sure that’ll be fine,” Theo replied with a nod. “I’ll take them. It’s really nice out. You guys have fun. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll be right back here. My shift ends at—”

  Austin’s gentle touch on his shoulder ended his nervous rambling. “Thanks, Theo. I owe you one.”

  Sommer thought the boy would pass out from excitement right there in front of them. Instead, he quietly nodded and hurried to the back to put away the food.

  Austin stood and grabbed Sommer’s hand, giving it a little tug to indicate that he wanted her to join him. Sommer’s eyes trailed over the buttons of his casual black sweater and dark rinse jeans, both which she knew hid an impeccable physique underneath. Her eyes then found his ruggedly handsome face and she gave herself quick reminder of who he was—a famous athlete that probably picked women like people picked daisies—in an effort to reign in anything that she thought that she was feeling.

  When she stood, he followed her out to the restaurant’s deck and down the steps. They removed their shoes and joined them with numerous other pairs on a rocky area ahead of the sand. Austin held out his hand towards her again, but she pretended not to see it and walked ahead of him. He didn’t seem to notice, however, and followed her until they were standing at the water’s edge. They stood side by side, Austin with his hands in his pockets and Sommer’s hands cupping her elbows.

  “You’re a mean one…Sommer Hayes,” Austin sang, leaving her wanting to elbow him in the ribs for comparing her to Dr. Seuss’ Grinch. Instead, she collected herself and turned to face him. Unfortunately, his features were even more handsome in the moonlight.

  “So, you adored me?” she asked.

  “Everything from the hair on your head, down to the birthmark on your left ankle.”

  She looked down at her feet.

  “Bet you didn’t know I knew that was there.”

  “Lucky guess,” she shot back. “If you so adored me, why didn’t you ever, I don’t know, tell me? Do something about it?”

  Austin’s brows shot up. “If my memory serves me, I’ve thrown roses at your feet, recited Shakespeare to you, and all but declared my feelings for you at the game before the state championships.”

  She turned away.

  “So, you’re telling me that you don’t remember any of that?” he asked.

  “I remember it, but you weren’t being serious.”

  Austin tossed back his head and laughed, and then gently grabbed her forearms.

  “It is my lady, O, it is my love! O, that she knew she were! She speaks, yet she says nothing: what of that? Her eye discourses; I will answer it. I am too bold, ‘tis not to me she speaks: Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven, having some business, do entreat her eyes.”

  Then his head fell briefly before he found her gaze again. “And please don’t ask me to recite any more than that. In fifteen years, those are still the only lines from Romeo and Juliet that I remember.”

  Sommer steadily held his gaze for a few seconds. Then she rolled her eyes and pulled away from his grasp.

  “And there it is,” Austin announced. “The famous Sommer Hayes eye roll. I was wondering when that would show up.”

  She walked until she’d put a few feet of distance between them. “Shakespeare? Really? You’re going to recite the Shakespeare that we learned in middle school to prove that you’re not a liar? How many times has that act
ually worked for you?”

  Confused, Austin moved towards her. “What are you talking about?”

  “No, Austin.” She pointed a finger towards him. “No.”

  She started towards her shoes on the rocks, but Austin grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. Sommer wished that just once he’d let her storm out the way she’d seen it in her head.

  “You’re going to have to stop doing that,” he warned. “I won’t let you run away. Trust me.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “I know men like you.”

  Visibly intrigued, Austin folded his arms across his chest and gave her his full attention.

  “You say a few kind words to get all in a woman’s head, and then once things don’t go the way you expected, you toss her aside like trash.”

  Austin continued to stare at her and realized that even when she was angry, he still found her irresistibly cute as can be.

  “I haven’t said a thing about sex, if that’s what you’re referring to,” he replied. “And in all the years I’ve been dating, I’ve never invited a woman into my bed with the sole purpose of hurting her. I grew up with an older sister and would never want any man to do that to her, so if I don’t plan on pursuing a relationship past the physical with a woman, we both have to agree on it. Contractually.”

  Sommer silently continued to listen.

  “You were pretty much my only crush, Sommer,” he went on. “I wasn’t lying to you when I said that I’d adored you from elementary school up until I left for college. You’re strong and selfless, especially when it comes to your family, and I admire that about you. I always have. And to be honest, I thought that I’d shaken those feelings for you years ago. But, when I saw you the other day at the Farmer’s Market, I realized that they were still there, and still as strong as though ten years hadn’t passed since we’d last seen each other.”

  Sommer’s eyes went to the water’s edge. “Sure didn’t look like it when you were with Jessica Costa.”