by Nella Tyler
TROWING LOVE #2
By Nella Tyler
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 Nella Tyler
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Chapter One
I stirred cream in my coffee and watched it swirl together to make a creamy drink that used to cheer me up instantly. Coffee wasn't going to cut it this time, however. In fact, I had never wished more than to have a shot of whiskey at that moment. I looked up and found Connie staring across the table at me with a look of concern.
We were sitting at table by the windows in the local coffee shop we often haunted in between classes. She had taken me there after I had freaked out in the hallway.
“We really should have gone for something a little stronger.”
Connie half smiled. “Yeah, sorry, my bad. I sorta panicked when I saw you sobbing in the hallway. We can go get one if you want.”
“No, it's okay, the coffee will do for now. But tonight may be another story.”
“Well, we'll take things one hour at a time. I'm fine for day beers if you want, so you just let me know.”
I smiled. There was my friend. I knew I could count on her. I was completely mortified after finding out I was on the cover of my own newspaper. I wanted to strangle someone, anyone, for putting me through that. How could I have been so stupid as to get myself involved in a situation that was going to lead to ridicule?
Seeing myself on the cover of the paper was almost too much to bear. I had never thought that I would be the subject of gossip. Hey, maybe when I was a sportscaster, but now in college, I wasn't exactly the kind of girl that made news. But that had all changed because of one stupid date.
“How did this happen to me, Connie? I don't even know what to think right now.”
“I don't blame you.”
“I want to be mad. But how can I be? It's really my own fault. I shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place.”
“Seriously? I think you're taking this really well, all things considered.”
“What you mean?”
“Well after reading the article, which by the way is awful, I just don't understand why you are not angrier about the person who wrote it. It's disgusting and to think it came out of the newspaper you write for. Who was this person that wrote the article?”
The newspaper was still sitting there in front of us – laying there on the table between us like a reminder everything that I had done wrong in the past year. I wasn't sure what to think of it, but just looking at it made my stomach turn. When we had got to the coffee shop, Connie had read the article in full and she practically growled the whole time she was reading it. I couldn't blame her; I was pretty upset about the whole thing myself. I felt the whole thing was out of my hands, however, I had put myself in the situation. Now it was a matter of getting myself out.
“I need you to get the paper out of my face. It’s driving me crazy.”
Connie looked down at the paper, embarrassed. “Yeah, of course. No problem.”
She got up from the table and took the newspaper to the garbage can to toss inside. It wasn't about to be something that I kept as a souvenir. In fact, all it really made me want to do was die.
“Who wrote that stupid thing?” Connie said as she sat back down at the table.
“It's this girl name Rebecca. She's actually really nice. I've worked with her and usually she is very good at research. I've never known her to make a mistake before. Maybe she was under a tight deadline and thought she had everything she needed. I don't know what to think. She definitely got her facts wrong, but she obviously thought she was doing the right thing. Like I said, I've never known her to make a mistake before; she's never gotten in trouble before.”
“Well, if I was you, I would be going there and punching that girl in the face. That would be my first order of business today. A nice solid punch in the face.”
I laughed. And actually it felt kinda good. I wasn't really the kind of girl that liked to punch other girls in the face, but maybe there was a time and a place for everything.
“Look, as much as I would like to get out some aggression, I don't really think it's her fault.”
“How could you possibly say that?”
“It's easy. Somebody else assigned that article, she was just doing her job.”
“Then she did a really shitty job.”
“No, she must have gotten a bad lead or something. There's an explanation for this, I'm sure. The newspaper doesn't just write gossip, there has to be facts involved and for whatever reason, she must have thought that she had all the information she needed to write the article. That's why I think you can't really blame her – sometimes you just get a bad lead.”
“Well, she should have followed up on that lead and made sure she knew what she was talking about before going to print. How could she possibly have figured anything out in the few minutes they saw you on the date? It's so ridiculous that it makes me crazy. How come you aren't going crazy over it, too?”
“Oh believe me, I want to lose my mind. But I'm in the same business and sometimes when a deadline is close, you take a risk and hope that your source hasn't completely screwed you over. She's a nice girl and she has nothing against me, I'm sure. This wasn't a case of someone out to get me, she was just doing her job and she screwed up.”
“Well, I hope there will be consequences for her screw up.”
I sighed. “Look it isn't her fault. Not in this case, anyways. It's not the writer's fault she got bad information. It's my own fault.”
“And how do you figure that?”
“Because I should never have started dating him when there was all this pressure for him to go to the major leagues. How could I have been so stupid? That's why it's my fault. I should have left it alone. That's what would've made sense. My own father for crying out loud was telling me to be careful.”
Connie was looking into her coffee, probably trying not to admit that I was right. She always warned me that it was probably not a good idea to date a baseball player. I did it anyways and now I had to deal with the consequences of that.
“I think you're being way too hard on yourself. It’s really not your fault that somebody wrote about article about you. You were trying to be happy. You were trying to have a date with a handsome guy and nobody else should be involved in that.”
“Yes, you're right. People shouldn't be getting involved in my business. But unfortunately, that is part of my life. My father's famous, I'm going to be a sportscaster, I'm going to be in the limelight, too, to some extent; these are the things that are going to happen.”
“Well, I still don't think you're to blame for this. I think you need to go talk to your editor and at the very least get an apology.”
“I should have just left it alone, ya know? If I had never gone on this date, this never would have happened. I should have waited until he was picked for a team and then went out on a date with him. Then no one would be able to say anything about us. They wouldn't be able to say he didn't like me...for me.”
Connie frowned. I was trying to fight off tears again. I couldn't help it. There was a small part of me that wondered if the article was right on the money. What if he was using me? I didn't want to believe it, bu
t it was hard not to. My own father warned me to be careful, probably for that very same reason. I hoped he never got wind of the article, but that was hardly likely. Someone was bound to stumble across it and show it to him. Then I would have to hear all about why I shouldn't be dating players.
I knew that Bennett desperately wanted to get on my father's team. He worshipped my father and wanted to play for him. Would he really go so far as to lie and use me to get what he wanted? I didn't want to believe it.
Connie sighed. “I know I warned you about Bennett and so did your father, but that doesn't mean that any of this is true!”
“I know.”
“You have been talking about all this crazy chemistry that you have with Bennett. Don't forget that, that stuff can be really hard to fake, so chances are he felt it, too, and it's genuine. Don't let these people get in your head. If you're happy, then be happy. End of story.”
“I can't see him again, Connie. I just can't.”
“Are you really sure you want to do that?”
“No. But I don't have a choice now. I don't want my relationship with him to be tainted by rumors all around us. I don't want people thinking I'm a fool because Bennett is using me. I have a career in the same industry to focus on, and I'm not having the rumor mill do anything to ruin that. Plus, at the end of the day, I don't even know if it's true and I'm not going to be humiliated even further.”
“That makes me very sad because I haven't seen you that happy in a long while.”
“Yeah well, I have bigger issues than that. The newspaper assigned me to cover the Triple A team as a feature.”
“Who's that?”
I laughed. “Connie, stay with me here. It's Bennett's team. I was assigned to write about his team, so I'm going to have to see him again.”
Connie's mouth was hanging open. “You can't be serious? The same paper that assigned someone else to drag your name through the mud also wanted you to write about Bennett? Who are these people? Do they have any integrity at all? I'm furious. I want to walk right over there and give that editor of yours a piece of my mind.”
“No please, I don't need that,” I said, laughing.
“I just can't believe it,” she said, shaking her head.
I sipped at my coffee and wondered about what I should do.
“I think you need to refuse the article. Tell them you're not writing it anymore. I'm sure you won't even have to explain why. The idiots. They probably even expect you to tell them to shove it.”
“I don't know.”
“Come on, Emmi. It's not like they aren't going to understand why. So why would you put yourself through that?”
“I can't. I have to write it. If I wasn't in college for sports, then maybe I could turn it down, but I'm here to be a sportscaster. I need to grab every opportunity that I can to cover not only their team, but any team. It's going to be my job, I can't just run away every time I have to write something I don't want to write.”
“Really? You're going to do that?”
“I have to. I'm a professional and this is my job. I don't want anything on my resume that says I refused to write a sports article.”
“Wow...so when do you want to go for that drink?”
I laughed. “Now is as good a time as any.”
Chapter Two
We managed to find our way to the same burger joint that I had my first date at with Bennett. I'm not sure how wise it was that we went there, but Connie felt that I shouldn't hide my face at this point in time. Show people that there is nothing to talk about, she had said. I could see some truth in it. If I avoided people because I was embarrassed, then maybe the rumors were true. But if I went in there with my head held high and a smile on my face, then people would have to assume the rumors were wrong because why on earth would I be so happy at such a tragic moment in my life. I didn't want to plaster any sort of smile on my face, but I knew Connie was right. So I did as she said and we walked in.
I had worried that when I walked inside, all heads would turn to me and that the room would fall silent. There would be judging stares and looks of pity – I imagined there would even be a few snickers from people that thought I had set my sights a little too high by going after Bennett. I probably got exactly what I deserved. This was a scene I had seen in the movies, oftentimes horror movies.
But that wasn't what happened at all. Sure there were some looks and a few whispers, but nobody stopped their life to take a look at mine. We were all in college, after all, and chances were that my classmates had issues of their own. They were just lucky enough to not have it be front-page news.
We found a booth in the back and Candace showed up quickly to the table. She had a guilty, almost sheepish, look on her face, and I knew instantly that she had spoken to Rebecca about me. My blood pressure rose instantly and I almost told her to beat it. But the truth was, it wasn't her fault, either. She probably just thought she was gossiping about a juicy little tidbit without realizing that it was going to be put in the paper. Candace wasn't malicious; she just had a big mouth.
“Hey guys...can I get you something to drink?”
“Sure, a couple of beers would be great,” Connie said.
I didn't look at Candace at all. I flipped through the menu pretending I had much more pressing issues to deal with. As soon as she left to retrieve our beers Connie snorted. “Yep she was the snitch, for sure.”
“You think so?”
“Don't you?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Poor thing. You could tell she feels like an ass. She probably thought she was talking to a friend of hers about the new hot couple in town. She must have died when she saw the paper today.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I bet. She could have offered me an apology, though.”
Connie laughed. “I'm sure she's hoping you don't know. She probably would much rather no one know she talked about you rather than have to give an embarrassing apology to someone.”
“I don't care. It's the least she could do after this.”
“Just let it go, Emmi. You're a million times classier than that girl. You would never do that to someone; she will have to live with her mistake. You never know, you may get an apology, after all.”
“We'll see. I'm not holding my breath, though,” I said laughing.
“Yeah, you might die.”
Candace came back with our beers still looking as sheepish as ever. We ordered a few cheeseburgers with fries and she once again fled our table.
“I think she's relieved when she gets to walk away from the table,” Connie said.
“What a girl,” I commented.
My phone started ringing, and I began to dig through my purse to retrieve it. I looked at the screen to find Bennett was calling me.
“Oh God, it's Bennett.” I stared at the screen as it continued to ring.
“So...are you going to answer it?”
“Are you kidding me? I'm seething inside, and he's the cause of it.”
“Now, now,” Connie said laughing. “You don't actually know that the article is true, remember. He could be just as innocent in this as you are.”
“I don't care. Even the thought of talking to him makes me angry. There's no point – besides what am I going to say? Do I tell him about the article? Or pretend it never happened? No, I can't do that.”
The phone went silent, and I hoped I wasn't going to get a voicemail message.
“Well, for all you know, he may have been calling for that very reason.”
“You think that he knows?”
“I think there's probably a very good chance he knows. He goes to college, too, Emmi. The fact that he's out of town means nothing. I guarantee you one of his friends got wind of that and sent it to him. It's probably on Facebook.”
“Oh God, I didn't even think about that.”
“Well, you know some idiot was sure to post that on their page this morning, so I'm afraid it's probably viral at this point.”
I groaned with
frustration. My day was just getting better and better. Viral! Oh God, there would be no hiding it from my father. I was doomed – everyone would know about it, not just college kids. All I wanted was a date! And maybe some kisses! How did this happen?
And I had slept with him. I put my head in my hands. What if that got out? I would be doomed for sure. Would Bennett have told anyone? Isn't that what guys did, brag about their conquests? If he was using me, then that information was bound to become public information sooner than I would like. How could I have been so stupid? It was appalling to me how foolish I had been about the whole situation. Why couldn't I have just waited until he was signed with someone? Why did I have to go on that date? Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
My phone dinged, notifying me that I had a voicemail message. I groaned again.
“What am I going to say to him? Especially if he knows. It's just so embarrassing.”
“I know, Emmi, I know. This whole thing completely sucks. But I don’t think you should ignore him, even if you don't see him again. At least give him the benefit of the doubt and hear what he has to say. He may be able to explain the whole thing and ease your mind. Wouldn't that be great?”
“Sure. It would also require me to believe what he has to say and I'm not sure I can at this point.”
I knew I probably shouldn't assume that Bennett was the jerk the papers were implying that he was, but I couldn't help it. I was just so angry about the situation and the position I had put myself in. Besides, what was I going to do about it now? I couldn't possibly date him when the whole city thought he was using me to rise to the top. No, thank you. So what was the point in talking to him then? I just didn't see the point at all. I didn't even want to hash it out with him. Talk about humiliating, having to discuss whether someone you had slept with was just using you to get on your father's baseball team. Oh, I just couldn't take it. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
I picked up my phone and looked at the voicemail message icon. I didn't even want to hear his voice at that moment. Just forget it. I refused to listen to the voicemail. There was no point.
