As I’m walking into my room, I’m about to shut the door, when I feel a hard body behind me pushing me further into the room. I turn around and see Matt shutting the door behind us.
“Look, I’m not going to apologize about what happened because you told me not to, but I can’t keep living like this anymore,” he says.
My breath catches, as my body freezes up, my body automatically growing panicked.
“Do you want me to move out?” I ask in a whisper.
His face turns to disgusted shock. “No. That’s not what I meant. What I’m trying to say is that we need to talk about this, Abigail. Ignoring it is only making the situation worse. “
I notice he’s called me Abigail again. He’s been calling me that since the night I walked in on him. He hasn’t once tried calling me beautiful like he usually does.
Knowing this is going to go nowhere, I respond, “I already told you there’s nothing to talk about. You’d already told me about your life, I should have expected to walk in on you having sex with someone eventually. I just didn’t expect it to bring up things I didn’t want to remember.”
His shoulders drop, sagging even more than they were before and he has a disappointed look on his face.
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but my only excuse for doing it was that I was frustrated from what didn’t happen that morning. She threw herself at me and I took advantage. I wasn’t thinking about the consequences, all I could think about was how pissed I was that I didn’t get to finish what I had started that morning with you,” he declares.
I stand there silently because I can’t say anything. I don’t want his excuses. He shouldn’t have had a reason to be giving them to me. “Matt, you think you were the only one left frustrated? It’s not like I asked for you to stop, you jumped off that bed as fast as you possibly could,” I point out.
He sighs, walks over to me and takes me in his arms and I instantly wrap my arms around his waist, embracing him back. “I had to leave or the coach was going to chew my ass out. If not, I would have stayed in that room all day with you.”
“I’m sorry Abigail. As much as I want something to happen between us, I’m scared I’m going to fuck things up. I like how things are going right now and I’m scared to even try to push it further.”
His declaration only leaves me disappointed. It proves that he’s never going to change. He will never want to try for anything more.
We hear a knock at my door, interrupting us. We both turn and see Trey walking in the door. We haven’t even bothered to pull away from each other. When he sees us he raises his eyebrows curiously and has Matt’s phone held against his chest.
“Dude, there’s some guy on the phone asking for Abigail’s assistant,” he says in a questioning tone.
I’m confused why someone would be declaring Matt my assistant, but he pulls away from me, taking the phone from Trey. “This is Matt Garcia, Abigail Adams’ assistant.”
Trey and I stand there watching Matt bob his head up and down, with a couple of “Hmm, mmm” every now and then while he listens to the other person on the phone.
“How about in half an hour? Yeah, that’s the address, okay see you then,” he says into the phone and after nodding his head one more time he hangs up.
Trey and I are both looking at him waiting for him to say something, but instead he walks past Trey and into his room, leaving us to follow him. He’s rummaging through his clothes and when he finally finds jeans and a shirt he likes he starts changing into them.
Still confused, Trey and I just stand there staring at him, and then I finally speak up.
“Matthew Garcia, if you don’t tell me what that phone call was about, I’m going to come over there and drop kick you to the ground, and if I can’t do it myself, I’ll recruit Trey to help me,” I say, tilting my head in Trey’s direction.
As he’s pulling his shirt over his head, he starts laughing. “That was a rep for the Marathon in San Francisco; they want to talk to you about running it.”
“What do you mean they want to talk to me about running it? Why me?” I ask, just as confused.
As he’s removing the track pants he’s wearing he answers, “He only said he wanted talk to you about it. He didn’t give me any other details. Only that we’d discuss it when he got here.”
Why the hell would some guy want to talk to me about a race? Did I do something wrong?
Half an hour later, the doorbell is ringing. Matt goes to answer the door and when he returns he’s being followed by an older gentleman in his forties, and Julio, closely behind. Crap, with the confusion of the situation I had forgotten to text Julio to cancel.
This reminds me to text Kelly about the change of plans promising a rain check. Julio, being in bodyguard mode, stays near the entrance of the house with his hands crossed at his stomach waiting, while he eyes the other guy.
Matt leads the older gentleman to the living room towards us. As he approaches Trey and I. Julio starts to move closer to us. He stops to stand near us by the fireplace as if he’s ready to attack the guy in case he gets out of line, still looking firmly at him.
The other guy notices Julio’s reaction and grows nervous. “I’m sorry, I forget you’re someone famous,” he says, chuckling in Julio’s direction.
“I like him like that,” I say, smiling at Julio, which earns me a smile back.
He holds out his hand for me to shake. “My name is Paul Henderson.”
Once I’m done shaking his hand, I go to take a seat on the larger couch, inviting Paul to take a seat on the smaller couch. Matt comes over and sits next to me with Trey taking the recliner.
Paul starts up again, “I’m part of the promotional group for the annual Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. It’s a race that is held by invitation only, and we choose our participants by what we call a raffle drawing.” He looks between Matt and I, then continues, “We first noticed you when you ran your first half-marathon back in July, then again when you ran the Portland Marathon recently. Your times were amazing.”
I don’t know about amazing. I practically dragged my ass to cross that finish line both times. The only reason I ran the darn things was sitting in the room. Another reason to remember why I should be pissed at him.
I shrug my shoulders saying, “I really didn’t want to have to cook again; the first time was a disaster.”
Being that he doesn’t know about the bet, he simply looks at me confused. But this earns me a full laugh from both Matt and Trey, making me smile.
He looks back at me, his face turning serious again. “Anyway, we would like to invite you to run it this year.”
Another darn race to run, but why? Knowing that everything in my life comes with a price, I give him a skeptical look. “What do you want from me in return?”
This throws him off guard and he states, “Actually nothing, we only want you to run it.” But by the way he’s beginning to fidget, I know he’s not telling the whole truth.
“Are you sure?” I ask again.
“Of course. Like I said, it’s by invitation only and we’d be honored if you’d run it this year.” He gives me a forced smile.
I know he’s keeping something from me, so I decide to test him. “In that case I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to have to pass. I told myself I wasn’t running any more races and I don’t plan on doing so. Thank you for coming out today Paul,” I say, standing up.
“Wait,” he says, standing up just as quickly.
“The word is out how fast you are running. You missed a Q time for Boston by only eighteen minutes in Portland. If you manage to qualify for Boston at our race it would be great publicity for us,” he says, looking desperate.
Matt is just as curious. “Your race is one of the most popular ones in the country, why do you want Abigail? I really doubt you need her for publicity reasons,” he states.
I sit back down on the couch, now interested in what he has to say.
Paul sits back down as well
and answers Matt’s question. “Think about it. She’s only run two big races, and in both races she starts off slow because of the crowds. But as she clocks in at the second and third time marker before the finish line, she advances her speed by minutes. This only proves that if we can put her in a higher start corral, avoiding most of the crowd she’ll definitely qualify. We’d be able to claim that she used our race to achieve her goal of Boston.”
I don’t like the sound of this and look at Matt with apprehension my face.
“That’s it; you only want her to run the race, nothing more?” Trey speaks up and asks him.
Paul’s lips go flat. “We’d also like her to do a little promotional appearance at the expo,” he says.
“No,” Both Matt and I say at the same time.
Paul frowns. “I’ll do it only on the condition that everyone thinks I’m running it like a normal runner who has signed up to run. I have no intention of gaining publicity for myself,” I sternly state.
He shakes his head. “That’s impossible, the race is next month and like I said, the raffle spots have all been taken. The only entrants allowed now are for charity and there’s not much of those left.”
“Fine, I’ll do it that way. I don’t want anyone thinking I got a free ticket into this thing, and I definitely don’t want any money in return.”
“Are you sure you can’t do the expo?” he says, hopeful that I’ll change my mind.
I shake my head again. “I have my reasons for not doing any work right now. I just want to run; it’s something I found that I really love doing and if I have a chance to quality this time for Boston then I want in.”
He instantly cheers up. “Okay, but let us at least put you up in one of the promotional rooms that will be reserved at the hotel holding the expo.”
I look at Matt and he shrugs his shoulders. “Okay, but it has to be big enough to hold at least six people. I don’t go anywhere without Matt or Julio, my bodyguard,” I say, pointing my chin at Julio. “And they both need full access to me inside the race, anywhere I go, they go, if not the deal is off.” I almost hope my demands will make him change his mind.
Matt takes this moment to put his request in as well. “We also need a private plane to get us there. She doesn’t like having to travel commercial.”
I turn to him with a questioning look. He’s making me sound like some rigid stuck up model that doesn’t like people. I thought we’re supposed to be salvaging my reputation, not taking advantage of it.
Paul purses his lips again and considers my request. “Fine, we’ll keep in touch with your PA here and look forward to seeing you next month,” he says, standing up and holding out his hand for me to shake again.
Wondering if I’m doing the right thing, I shake his hand and leave the rest of the details to be arranged between Matt and himself. I walk over to Julio wondering what the hell I just got myself into.
“You up for the task?” I ask, tilting my head to the side, joking at him.
His only response is a chuckle, as he lets his body relax and says, “Piece of cake. I don’t know how you did it without me at the first two.”
I consider his meaning, as I look back at Paul and Matt. “People weren’t expecting me to be at the other races. In a nervous crowd of runners, I knew I didn’t have to worry about anything,” I say to him. “This one, I have a bad feeling it’s going to be known that I’m there. So I’m scared shitless about it and it has nothing to do with the race. If it’s as popular as Matt says, then I’m really going to need you.”
He nods his head in understanding and I stand there with him as I watch Paul walk out the front door.
AS THE DAYS that count down to San Francisco, Matt lays out a training schedule for me. When I look at it, I start to hyperventilate a little. All the other races I just showed up without any expectations, the only thing I had to do was make sure I finished. This time I had a different goal to accomplish. Qualify for Boston.
“Since I’ve started the season I can’t really train with you as much as I would have before. I’m going to have too many practices and away games this month, so I’ve spoken to Julio and he’s agreed to go with you on your long runs. I can still go with you on the shorter ones,” he tells me as he’s entering the schedule into the calendar of my phone.
This saddens me, although Julio is a great runner, I always looked forward to running with Matt. It was our special time alone. At least before the shit hit the fan.
As he’s still opening and closing dates on my phone he says, “A running company contacted me yesterday and they want you to do a photo shoot for them.” As I’m about to protest, he says, “They won’t pay you for it, but they are willing to provide you with training gear to wear during the race. I only agreed because hopefully this will start opening doors for you again, Abigail. You’re a model and since you’re no longer under Bill’s control you should start doing it again. Maybe you’ll like doing fitness modeling instead.”
I sit there in silence and think about what he’s just said. He’s right, I’ve been sitting on my ass for the last couple of months in fear of Bill finding me, and when he did, look what happened. I couldn’t live my life hiding behind the walls of this house. I had to live my life again.
My contract with Bill was officially over, so I was technically what Matt had referred to a while ago as a free agent. I could go wherever or do whatever photo opportunities I wanted now. The only thing that scared me was, since I’ve woken up, I haven’t done any photo shoots and didn’t know whether I still knew how. What if I didn’t remember how to do it? I guessed I would find out soon enough.
Once he’s done fumbling with my phone he hands it back to me while saying, “I’ll still look forward to waking you up for your runs.” He wickedly grins.
“Of course you would,” I grumble.
Just then the doorbell rings and my body goes tense. This always happens when I’m unaware of someone coming over. I hate it. I’m letting the whole Bill incident still get to me.
Matt notices my tension and squeezes my hand. “It’s okay beautiful, it’s only the delivery I’m waiting for,” he says as he stands up from the couch.
I watch him go over to the door and when he opens it I’m looking at a couple of guys holding what looks like a table. I promptly stand up and head in the direction of the kitchen following the deliverymen who are bringing it in.
Very confused, I lean against the island, crossing my arms. I stare at Matt wondering what he’s up to. “Why a new table?” I ask.
He walks over in my direction, stopping directly in front of me, placing both of his hands on my hips. “I noticed how you refuse to eat at it anymore, or even look in its direction. I know why and I don’t blame you. I’m sorry. This is my way of trying to make things right again,” he says apologetically.
Sighing to myself, I stand there and watch as they set up the table. I want to still be mad at him about what happened on the table, but him buying a new one is proving that he’s trying.
“I did miss eating with you guys, but you’re right. I refuse to eat at a table that you fucked some girl on,” I say out loud. The delivery guys stop in their tracks, as if shocked, but after a second they resume setting up the new table.
Matt leans down and places a kiss on my temple before turning around to monitor the deliverymen.
“So what exactly are you going to do with the old one?”
I’m hoping he’ll say we get to burn it, but I really doubt he’ll let me. Actually, the way things are at this very moment, I’m pretty sure if I were to ask he’d let me. The thought makes me giggle.
He hears me and turns around. “I figured I’d have the delivery guys take it and let them dispose of it. I don’t care what happens to it, as long as it’s out of here, and you don’t have to look at it anymore.”
The deliverymen finish setting up the table and walk out with the old table, Matt following at their heels. I head over to the new one sitting in front of me. It’s a
cherry wood color and huge. It looks sturdy, well built, and seats six. I stand there and admire the beauty in it. Matt may not think so, but I really think some of his sister’s eye for furniture has rubbed off on him.
I feel Matt come up and stand behind me placing his hands on my waist. “You like it?”
“Of course, it’s beautiful,” I exclaim to him.
I feel him place a kiss on the top of my head again. “Not as beautiful as you,” he whispers.
Sighing, I lean my body back against his. Savoring the comfort it’s giving me. Against my will, he was slowly breaking down the walls of protection that I had built around my heart. I already knew that it wouldn’t take long until they were completely gone.
I SOON DISCOVERED that although Julio ran to keep in shape, he was not fast enough when my legs wanted to move. It made me laugh knowing that I was now the one having to slow down for someone else.
Distance running was not his thing either. The first time I took him on a run that required more than 10 miles he almost collapsed on me when we were done. Poor guy, I felt really bad, but I think Matt’s pancakes made up for it. He made a new fan of Julio with those pancakes alone.
Matt sure knew how to make the fluffiest pancakes I’d ever tasted. Betty Crocker had nothing on that man. He always made them from scratch, flour, eggs, and all. What amazed me even more was that he never used measuring cups, he would only eye all the measurements. So I was screwed if I ever tried to make them myself.
After eating our pancakes Matt had come up with the brilliant idea that Julio start taking a bike on my longer runs. That way it would allow me to keep the pace I chose, yet make it easier for Julio to keep up with me. Especially since my next three runs leading up to the race were going to have to include hills.
Upon studying the elevation map for the race, I realized I was going to have to train my body to get used to the increase of inclines as well.
The following week, with a map in hand, Julio and I were driving out of town to a road that included some elevated inclines that I’d be able to safely run. I don’t know how much the bike helped, but it did give Julio a workout for his legs. He was able keep up with me a little easier, being that I was a bit slower from the climbs, but according to Julio, it did burn his legs pedaling up them. I would joke with him to stop whining, and to look forward to the way back down.
Unspoken Memories (Unspoken Series) Page 20
