by Amy Brent
He had hoped to see her, but she was nowhere to be found. He supposed she had already been up since it was getting late. He heard the voices talking, and went to investigate what was going on. He watched as she talked, or argued more like it, with some guy. He was tall and towered over her, and it was obvious he was mad. He felt the heat rising up in him, as he looked her over making sure she was ok. He wouldn’t interfere unless she asked him to. It went on for a few minutes longer until she tried to walk away. That’s when he saw red.
Not only did the guy grab her arm and pull her to him, he pushed her and hard until she hit the ground. Ray moved with deadly cause into the yard where they stood, not once breaking stride until he picked up the guy and pummeled him down into the ground. He only got in three hits before he felt her pulling on his arm.
“It's fine now Ray, thank you.” He turned to look at her then and without a word pulled her into his arms checking her face and body over to be sure she was ok.
“Did he hurt you Lila, did he?” He held her face in his hands and looked at her intently.
“No, no he didn’t. He gets mad, but no.” She waited for him to let her go, but instead he pulled her back into a hug, holding her close.
He felt her lean into him, and he knew she felt the closeness as well. Yes, he was in deep and he would be in trouble if they didn’t talk about it and soon. Hearing the moans from the guy on the ground, he called the police and together they waited for them to come and get the guy. They both gave a statement about what happened, neither of them talking about the issues between them. When Andre finally was hauled out of sight they made their way back inside.
He poured some coffee, glancing around to make sure his mother wasn’t up yet. “I guess that was your boyfriend?”
She rubbed her temples as she spoke. “No, we broke up days ago actually. He just didn’t want to accept it, that’s all.”
“Well, I think he got the message now.”
“Thank you Ray, really. He’s been made before, but not like that.”
He watched her as she sipped some of the hot brew from her cup. “I have to go back to New York… today.” He knew being direct was the best option.
She blinked twice before looking up at him. “Ok, I am sure you have to get back before training starts.” She gave him a weak smile.
“Yes, as usual. Last night was…”
She smiled at him, her heart breaking slightly. “Yes, it was.” She blinked rapidly once more and stood to go. “I have to get going myself. I have a lot to do today.” She moved out of the room, and though he should have felt relief he felt something much closer to despair.
Lila
She had known from the door that it was all fun and games. He had made that clear right from the start. Why she felt her heart breaking was beyond her. She had done everything right, everything to make sure she didn’t get involved with him emotionally. Yet here she was, doing her best not to cry over him. She cleaned her room vigorously, trying to stay busy, something she had always done before in life when she didn’t want to deal with the emotional effects.
She heard him leaving, loading the car. She didn’t want him to say goodbye, but she knew he wouldn’t go without doing it. She made it as easy as possible, sitting with his mother when he was about to walk out the door. He couldn’t make it personal then, no instead he had to be polite. She felt him trying to get her attention more than once, but she refused to meet his eyes. As he was getting into his car they noticed a car coming down the drive. She heard him swear under his breath as the car rolled to a stop in front of them.
She watched, waiting for something to happen next. The door opened and first one long leg exited and then the other. A woman, blonde and beautiful emerged, smiling at them all. Lila had never seen anyone ice her all blonde and tan, her body absolutely perfect. She gave Lila a look of disdain before she walked over to ray and enveloped him in a hug. Lila noticed he didn’t return it.
“Well Raymond, who is this.” Lila glanced over at Miss Margie who had chimed in on this new addition to the group.
He cleared his throat, as he slowly detangled himself from her. “This is Melanie Shaw. She was just leaving.” He moved then gesturing her back towards the car which she didn’t do. Instead, she gave a tinkle of a laugh and Lila knew that infuriated him even more.
“Don’t be so formal sweetheart.” The blond turned to face his mother. “I am his fiancé, and you must be his mother.” She held out her hand to the older woman and Lila noticed the ring on her finger. Only then did she let her eyes flicker up and meet his own.
“No, she is not. As a matter of fact, you aren’t anything to me anymore and I’d appreciate it if you left.”
She saw the anger there, and the defeat. Before the situation got any more out of hand, she turned to go back inside. No, she would not deal with this right now. She made her way into the bedroom and only then did she lay down and take a breather. Somehow she managed to fall asleep, her heart in pieces.
When she woke the stillness of the house left her feeling empty. He was gone, and he was getting married. She had never asked him, never thought about it. She sat up silently trying to sort through the heartache she was feeling. Glancing at the clock she knew she needed to go see Miss Margie, it was time for her meds.
She went through the motions for almost a week before she let herself really feel what she already knew. She had fallen in love with him, and he had simply left. Despite his words the sting of his reject hurt more than she wanted to admit to anyone around her. Work was the only thing to keep her busy, and she found more and more of it to occupy her time. She volunteered to take on another patient nearby, which kept her traveling between both houses.
Miss Margie knew something was wrong, but every time she tried to talk to her, Lila changed the subject, carefully avoiding any talk about Ray at all. The days became weeks and Lila did her best to keep working. She knew she had taken on too much, and she was always tired. She made her way into the garden one night as the sun was setting and she settled in to her favorite spot to watch. Just the sun setting seemed to be enough to make her emotional these days. She cried for no real reason at all, and for Ray. He hadn’t even tried to call her; he hadn’t tried anything at all.
The morning came and she did her best to drag herself out of bed but she knew she was sick. She called Miss Jeannie and after some discussion she rolled over and snuggled even deeper into the comforter. What she needed was rest, something she’d had very little as of late. By the afternoon she felt a little better and it only confirmed her need for rest. When she woke the next morning feeling the same way she knew she was in trouble.
On one particular day she decided to take a nap, something she was doing more and more of these days. She woke and the sun was setting. She knew he was there, but she didn’t want to face him just yet. Somehow he already knew she was awake.
“I know how you sleep Lila, and I know you're awake. I need you to sit up so I can talk to you… please.”
She sat up carefully, checking her eyes to make sure they were still wet from her tears. She turned to face him. He was sitting there on the chair by the bed, unmoving.
“You don’t owe me anything Ray, really.” She let her eyes meet his.
“Actually, I do. I want to tell you the truth and try and understand.”
“Its fine Ray, I don’t need to understand.” She moved to walk past him but he stopped her his face close to hers.
She let her eyes meet his. “Why are you doing this Ray?”
“You are so beautiful Lila, I’ve missed you.” He pulled her into a hug and despite her reservations she let his arms wrap around her in comfort.
She pulled away slowly, feeling her stomach doing flip flops of another kind. She took a deep breath. “You can’t do this ray, just leave for weeks and then come back and tell me I’m pretty again and think everything is ok.” She pressed her fingers against her temples.
“It’s not like that Lila, not at
all. Just let me explain.”
She nodded, unable to speak as a wave of nausea rolled over her.
“I was engaged to her, a long time ago. We drifted apart and I found out she was stealing money from me, and sleeping with a hotel manager. I caught them, and I ended it. Sadly, I broke the guy up pretty good when I found them. He is pressing charges and I had to go back to New York to get them dropped. My lawyer had sent me here for a few weeks until the situation was resolved. I knew if I played along she would go back home with me, and I was right. I called the police and they came and got her, only then did we realize how many times she has done this before. She’s gone, Lila for a good long time.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I just couldn’t tell you until it was over, but trust me being gone has killed me, and I’ve thought about you every day.”
“I see.” She wasn’t sure what to say.
“No, I don’t think you do Lila. I know you and how you think. I know you think somehow that you’re not good enough, but it’s just not true. I never had a good night’s sleep in my life until that night, until you Lila.” He said it with force.
She looked up at him, surprised.
“I don’t know how we are going to make this work, but I guess we will just have to find a way.” He said it with a sense of finality.
“Make what work Ray? I mean, don’t I have a say in anything?” She stood and crossed her arms over her chest.
“No, you don’t. Mainly because I know you love me too, and will try and convince yourself it won’t work or you’re not good enough so I am saying no you don’t get a say.”
“Love you too, huh?”
“Yes, Lila, I love you now come over here and kiss me.”
When she didn’t move he stood, taking a step towards her until she found herself falling back on the bed.
“I need to tell you something too Ray, and it may change everything.” She felt him lay beside her on the bed, his arm pulling her closer so that he could look down on her.
“It’s not possible Lila, nothing will change how I feel. I was running from the commitment and from life but with you I want everything.” He smiled down on her.
“I certainly hope so Ray, because it’s not just us anymore.” She swallowed hard as she looked up at him and with his look of confusion she gently took his hand moving it to her stomach.
She wasn’t sure what to expect from her revelation, but his face took on many expressions until he lit up completely.
“You’re sure? I mean just from one night?” He waited.
“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been sick for weeks and I took a test, does it change things Ray?”
“Yes it does. I mean I was going to propose later when I could make it memorable but looks like you beat me to it. I guess we will just have to get married sooner.” He shrugged as though it was the most natural thing to say in the world.
She looked up at him flustered. “DO you always get your way Raymond?”
“Yes, yes I do, now shut up and kiss me.”
She smiled and did so, gladly.
His Pregnant Bride
Chapter 187
Josie was in the stands and she saw her favorite player doing what he always did. He was cool, as a cucumber and moved on that ice like that of somebody that was born with a stick in his hand. She believed herself to be the loudest of them all. She found herself against the glass pounding on it with her fist and yelling for blood.
To those that saw her on the outside world would swear that she was not capable of the profanity that was coming from her mouth. She looked innocent and had the 5’2 frame to give that impression. She had a little bit more curves than the average woman. She never shied away from being who she was and never allowed any bully to get the upper hand growing up. She was tenacious and she was taught by her parents to be independent and self sure. She’d always had weight issues, but she believed that what was on the inside was a whole lot better than what was on the outside.
“Josie, you are embarrassing me. I should’ve realized that you had an ulterior motive for coming with me to one of these games. You’ve never been one to take a more docile role.” Jackson was her best friend. They may have been an item for about 5 minutes, but that had turned into a real and lasting friendship. There were times that they turned to each other physically, but those times were rare and fleeting. “Stop doing that, or they’re going to come over here and tell us to leave.” Jackson had never seen this side of his friend. She was bloodthirsty and calling the referee every name in the book.
“I don’t care and it’s not fair that they should treat him like that. He’s only doing what the team needs him to do.” She was always a closet hockey fan, until that one day that her father took her to a game a couple of months ago. When she saw Payton, she couldn’t believe that he was really here in her hometown. She had no idea that she would see him after all these years. He was the product of her fantasy life from the moment that he had entered into the amateur ranks. Unbeknownst to her father and her friends, she had become smitten in a way that didn’t seem possible. Any time that she saw somebody that remotely looked like him; she would make it a point to sidle up and begin a flirtation that would end promptly with both of them naked and sweaty in the sheets.
“I don’t know why you are getting, so hot under the collar. It’s not like you can change anything by screaming and yelling at the referee. They have a thicker skin than that. They have to with fans that are diehard like you.” Jackson had always known that his friend was into hockey, but he was starting to realize that it wasn’t the sport that had garnered her attention. This one player had gotten underneath her skin and maybe there was something that he could do about that. “If you settle down for the rest of the game, I might be able to get you into an after party.”
Josie turned to Jackson to make sure that he was telling the truth and not just telling her something to get her to quiet down. “You better not be joking with me, Jackson. I would do practically anything to meet him in person.” The notches on her belt consisted of those that had similar qualities that Payton had. The same dirty blond hair and charismatic eye, not to mention the kind of body that she would gladly expose one piece at a time with first her eyes and then her hands was hard to resist.
“I have my ways and let’s just say that being a part of a radio station has its perks. If I knew that you were this much into hockey, I probably would have gotten you tickets long before now. I can’t lie to you, Josie. I’ve known that you’ve been interested in hockey for some time. I came down the stairs one night after we had just had one of the best marathon sex sessions and found you glued to the screen. You didn’t even know that I was there and I don’t think that you blinked the entire time that the game was on. I was going to confront you, but I thought that it was something private that you wanted to keep to yourself.” He saw the look of pure lust in Josie’s eyes and her body was literally jumping up and down with enthusiasm.
Josie had on a jersey from the San Jose sharks with Payton’s number scrawled on the back. It hung on her body loosely, but she had tied it at the waist to make it look more provocative. There was even one time that Payton went by the glass and she could swear that he had his eye on her. It could’ve been just wishful thinking. She believed in her heart that one day they would find their way into each other’s arms.
“I hope that you don’t disappoint me, Jackson.” If Jackson had taken a close look at Payton, he would have realized that the only reason why Josie had given him those 5 minutes was because of his familiar look. The only big difference was that Jackson was maybe 150 pounds, where Payton was wearing his 220 pound frame like that of the bruiser that he was supposed to be on the ice. “I will never forgive you, if you tease me like this and then leave me wanting.” She went back to watching the game, having no idea that Payton had indeed saw her in more than a friendly way.
Chapter 188
Payton was showboating for the crowd, putting on a spectacle with one slam into the board afte
r another. He was very aware of the way that he acted, but his coach was critical of his performance. “I don’t have any problem with you getting these penalty minutes, but maybe you should stop before you hurt someone.” Coach Walters wanted nothing, but the best for his players. He had seen Payton during one of his recruitment trips. It didn’t take him long to get him to sign on the dotted line.
“I’m only clearing the way for the rest of the team.” He couldn’t get that girl out of his mind. She was free and didn’t mind showing her excitement for her team. The way that she pounded on the boards and shook the glass had made him think of that wild filly underneath him. After the game, he went over to the board to see that she wasn’t there anymore. He should’ve just tossed her one of his cards and had her meet him in the locker room. He could’ve first shocked her by letting her see the boys in their half undressed state. After that, it would be just a matter of some sweet talk to get her to apply her enthusiasm in a different way.
“I’m glad to have you on the team, Payton, but just remember that there is no ‘I’ in teamwork.” Coach Walters walked away, knowing that getting through to his thick skull wasn’t going to be easy. He was determined to get himself hurt, as a way to shining more than the others. He was already in the big leagues, but it was true about what have you done for me lately. Players come and go and there is this rare breed that seems to be able to make a career out of a lifelong passion for hockey.
