Superstar

by J Santiago

  Amber shook her head, laughing at him.

  “Still got room for me?”

  Amber and Nicky shifted to look behind them, surprised to see Steele standing there.

  “Absolutely. Grab a chair.” Nicky nodded in the direction of a table to the right of him where there seemed to be an extra.

  Steele went to the table as Nicky and Amber exchanged confused glances.

  He returned with the stool in tow and swung it around before sitting. “What are we drinking?”

  “Stella,” Nicky informed him.

  He raised his hand with three fingers aloft and pointed to the half-full beer bottles on the table. Their regular waitress nodded to him from the bar.

  Then, leaning forward, he dropped his elbows to the table. “Sorry I’m late.”

  “Thought you weren’t coming,” Amber commented without judgment.

  “I had something I couldn’t get out of.”

  Three weeks ago, Steele would have told them everything. Nicky must have noted the lack of details, too, because he bumped his knee against Amber’s under the table.

  “It’s cool,” Nicky responded. “I haven’t even been able to catch up with you today. How cool is it that Tank Howard is going to be here for the next couple of weeks?”

  Amber’s eyes widened at his proclamation.

  Steele looked away before answering, “Pretty awesome.”

  “How come you didn’t tell me, man? Was it on the down-low?”

  The waitress placed the beers in front of them. “You done with this?” she asked Amber as she eyed the almost empty bottle.

  “Yeah,” Steele answered. “She doesn’t drink the ass-warm part.”

  Amber smiled weakly before nodding her head. The girl cleared their empties and turned back toward the crowded room, leaving them.

  “So?” Nicky prompted.

  “Yeah…” Steele took a long sip of his beer. Then, placing it in front of himself, he looked directly at Amber when he responded with, “I didn’t know he was coming.”

  “What?” Amber demanded, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

  “Seriously. He left me a message saying he wanted to talk to me when I was on vacation, but I didn’t have a chance to get back to him.”

  Amber wanted to call bullshit, but there was something going on with Steele that he wasn’t ready to talk about, and she understood what that felt like. She got his motivation for his silence and could deal with his lack of sharing.

  Tank Howard though? She didn’t understand him at all. What was he up to?

  Lauren had taken him to do all the necessary tasks that afternoon. Amber deliberately left her office to take care of some paperwork with Compliance so that she wouldn’t be around when he returned. Tank was never one to ask for permission or to explain his actions. She blamed his unilateral approach to life on the constant deference he’d grown up with—the catering of his teachers, coaches, and administrators since he was deemed a five-star athlete. In college, he’d discussed things with Franco before and she knew he was a little bit afraid of his mother, which tended to make her laugh when she thought about it. Maybe, knowing all of that, she shouldn’t have been surprised that neither Tilly nor Steele had been consulted or even notified.

  The three of them hung out for a while longer before they paid their tab and headed out. They came across Nicky’s car first.

  “I’ve got her,” Steele assured Nicky as he got into his car.

  Amber and Steele maneuvered through the lot.

  She clicked the locks but didn’t make a move to open the door. Instead, she leaned back on her car and looked up at Steele. “We okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said on an annoyed sigh.

  Her lips tightened in frustration. “What’s up with you?” When he looked away from her, her vexation increased. “God! I wish we’d never kissed!”

  She pushed off her door and turned away from him. Before she could pull the handle to open the door, his long fingers curled around her arm, and he whipped her around. Her startled gaze met his angry glare. He moved into her, his hand leaving her arm and meeting his other to frame her face. He dropped his head so that his lips were hovering above hers.

  “Do you really wish that?” he asked.

  Their dark eyes locked on each other, and she tried to garner clues as to what he was feeling. But she couldn’t get a handle on what she was feeling. Part of her responded to the look in his eye, his hand on her scar, his full lips a mere centimeter away. She licked her lips, perhaps in invitation. Steele’s eyes widened. He pressed his mouth against hers. A fleeting touch was all he gave her. Her belly tightened, but even then, she couldn’t discern if it was nerves or desire. When she didn’t move, he released her, stepped back, and looked away. He shook his head a little, dispelling something.

  “He’s here for you,” Steele said matter-of-factly.

  Amber’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

  Their eyes clashed—his flashing with some unknown emotion, hers heavy with confusion.

  “Tank. There’s one reason for him to be here.” He shrugged his shoulders. “He came for you.”

  Tank fished his workout gear out of his suitcase and shoved it in his duffel bag along with his shoes, a towel, his travel dopp kit, and slides. He double-checked to make sure he had everything he needed. Then, he zipped it up and dropped it near the front door before heading to the kitchen.

  Hawk secured the place, sight unseen. The two-bedroom bungalow fit Tank’s needs perfectly. It was situated in a sprawling family neighborhood that was far enough away from campus for Tank to appreciate the quiet. The best part was the lap pool and Jacuzzi the owners had recently installed. Although Hawk had thought Tank was crazy when he shared his plan, he’d done everything to make sure Tank would have what he needed. He’d even rented him a modest Range Rover, so Tank could leave his conspicuous Maserati sitting in his Atlanta garage. Tank would have appreciated its speed and handling on the drive here, but he’d made what he thought was a mature decision to leave his prized possession back home.

  Tank grabbed the Bullet from the cabinet and began mixing a healthy smoothie. He was anxious to get to campus this morning, and he didn’t want to waste time with making a big breakfast. He smiled as he thought of Amber’s reaction to seeing him yesterday. If he could, he’d do it all over again just to enjoy the play of emotions across her face. The surprise, he’d expected. He’d planned exactly what he was going to say to the inevitable question of what he was doing there, and he hadn’t been disappointed when she responded. He hadn’t even had to prompt the memory. It was waiting for him to tease it, and her unpredicted smile was worth every second of his plotting.

  He hadn’t gotten to spend any time with her yesterday, but he learned a great deal about her, and his respect for her amplified exponentially.

  Coach “Whitey” Whitehurst was one of the most respected coaches in college football. His reputation for being an offensive genius was rivaled only by stories of his hard-ass nature. It wasn’t uncommon for people, both inside and outside of his circle, to refer to him as an asshole. Yet, here Amber stood, Whitey’s right-hand person.

  Tank hadn’t even provoked the man yesterday. He never asked a single question about Amber or mentioned her name. Whitey had no idea of the connection between the two. But it didn’t stop Whitey from bragging about her or from pointing out her responsibilities as they toured the building. Tank had absolutely no right, but he was proud as hell.

  He poured his drink into a to-go cup, supplied by Hawk, and headed out the door.

  He popped the trunk on the SUV and shoved his workout gear into the back. As he was about to close it, he remembered he’d put his phone in the front pocket, so he wouldn’t forget it. He reached back into the bag to grab it, almost afraid to power it up. He’d turned it off the moment he left Amber to go on his tour with Lauren. He knew what would follow and figured he deserved a twenty-four-hour hiatus on all phone calls. His phone
buzzed, an indication of the stored messages and waiting texts.

  Sliding into the front seat of the car, he put the key in the ignition and turned it on. Then, with the car idling, he picked up the phone, keyed in his passcode, and perused the missed calls, voice mail notifications, and texts with a combination of amusement and dread.

  Surprisingly, there weren’t many calls—really only two that he thought might be related to his presence here. He didn’t even listen to the messages. He merely hit the callback cue for Tilly. It barely began to ring when Tilly answered.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he demanded before he broke into laughter.

  Tank smiled, pleased with Tilly’s response. “Training.”

  “Sure you are,” Tilly ribbed. “Dude, this is so much bigger than me asking Keira to marry me, and you didn’t even have the decency to give me a heads-up.”

  Chuckling, Tank waited, sure there was more. With the Bluetooth engaged, he put the SUV in reverse and headed out of the neighborhood.

  “I had to hear about it from Amber.”

  Tank slammed the brakes a little too hard at the Stop sign and sputtered, “Amber called you, not Keira?”

  “Yep. Wanted to know what you were doing. It was actually pretty awesome to not have an answer for her. The only shitty part was that I didn’t have an answer for her best friend.”

  “Oh, you mean, the woman you’re marrying?” Tank laughed. He continued through the intersection and made his way out onto the main road.

  “Exactly.” Their laughter died down, but Tank could still hear the smile in Tilly’s voice when he asked, “Seriously though, what are you doing?”

  Tank took a deep breath. “I just need to know, bro.”

  Tilly sighed. “Now?”

  Now?

  It was an appropriate question and one Tank had a ready answer for. Not just now. He’d always wanted her. The night she’d discovered him with another girl and run out of his apartment, it’d taken every bit of strength he had to remain sitting on that couch and not run after her. When she’d shoved him out of the hotel room in New York, he’d wanted to rip the door off and carry her out, caveman-style. At the wedding, he’d wanted to keep her wrapped around him while he was buried deep. But her anger provided a visible force field that no amount of firepower could breach because she hadn’t forgiven him.

  “Always, man.”

  Tank arrived at the Ayers Brown Field House about ten minutes later. He sat, staring at the building, contemplating his day. It was early, so parking was easy. He saw Amber’s car sitting in the same spot as yesterday, the closest one to the front door.

  First one in, last one out, he thought.

  Glancing around, he noted Steele’s car. Tank still hadn’t talked to him. If there was one thing that bothered him about showing up here, it was that he hadn’t warned Steele. He’d wondered, when he powered up his phone, if there would be a message from his friend. Surely, he and Amber had talked about it. If Tilly had been her first call, Steele would have been her second. But Steele hadn’t called him. In fact, he hadn’t spoken to his friend since the engagement party. Radio silence.

  Shrugging with the uncertainty of his decision Tank turned off the car and went to search for Steele.

  The building was impressive. He’d been here seven years earlier on his official visit. But a lot had happened since then, including a couple of national championships and an influx of funds. He took the elevator to the coaches’ offices, making sure to stay away from the Operations side of the hallway. He slipped in the front office, heading in the direction he remembered from his tour yesterday.

  Steele’s door was slightly ajar, and Tank pushed it open, leaning against the jamb. Steele sat back in his office chair situated behind his desk, his feet on the bookcase on the left side. He must be enjoying the view out of the wall of windows.

  Tank took his time, looking around Steele’s office. The walls were painted in their school colors of red and black. There, on the right wall, the one opposite his desk, was a wall wrap of past players on the field with an image of Steele making a one-handed catch in the end zone. Tank smiled at Steele’s incredible talent that was immortalized on the walls of his office.

  “Nice picture,” Tank commented.

  Steele’s chair swiveled quickly, bringing him around to face Tank. “Hey, man,” he responded, getting up and coming around his desk to greet Tank. “Heard you were here,” he said, grasping Tank’s hand and pulling him in for the one-armed man hug. “Thanks for the heads-up.” He punctuated this with a slap to Tank’s head.

  “Bro, I tried to call you. Twice. Return your damn calls.”

  “Sorry, man. Vacation. I was off the grid for two weeks.”

  “So, that’s why you didn’t roll out the welcome mat for me?”

  Steele grinned. “You know it.” He walked back around to sit behind his desk. “So, you’re training here?”

  “I figured you could be my training partner.” Tank sat in the chair in front of the desk, reclined with his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle.

  Steele dropped his elbows on his desk, seeming to consider Tank’s request. “Well,” he drawled, “you can join us. We already went today though. Five in the morning.”

  Tank shrugged his shoulders. “Not a problem. Can you catch some balls?”

  For a brief moment, a light shone in Steele’s dark eyes before it quickly faded. “Yeah, man.”

  “I’ve gotta work out, but I wanna throw the ball around.”

  Tank had his schedule figured out. With the help of some of his team trainers and some input from Franco, he knew what he wanted the off-season to look like. It would be fun to be able to train with Steele. They’d never gotten the opportunity to play together, and it was one of the regrets he harbored in his mind over his choice of schools.

  “We can definitely do that.” Steele laid-back stance a reflection of Tank’s. “How long are you here for?”

  “Maybe a month. We’ll see how things go.”

  Steele looked away from him, contemplative. Tank hadn’t let himself feel guilt for showing up on Steele’s doorstep, virtually unannounced. But, sitting in his friend’s office, the slow, slick slide of it settled between his shoulder blades, making itself known. Steele had no idea Tank had seen him kiss Amber. He couldn’t know what had been set in motion by Tank’s voyeurism. For the briefest of seconds, he’d thought that perhaps he should back off and let Steele have his shot. But it was fleeting. If seeing them kiss could get him to leave Atlanta, he was going to follow through even if it made him a bit of an asshole for not being honest with one of his best friends.

  “You’re not going to ask why?” Tank ventured, not able to withstand the silence any longer.

  “Don’t need to. I know exactly why you’re here.”

  Tank’s fingers clenched in reflex, gripping the armrests. He was suddenly nervous.

  Steele shrugged. “You came for Amber, right?”

  Tank chuckled because Steele looked so damn smug that it was funny. “I don’t know that I’d put it quite like that. I’d like to spend some time with her. See where it goes.”

  “And, because you are who you are, you think you can just walk into her world, get all up in her professional life, and it’s going to be okay?”

  Tank’s smile wanted to slip, but he fought to hold it in place. There was a dull ringing in his ears that sounded like a gauntlet had hit Steele’s desk. Tank didn’t want this to be some sort of competition between them.

  So, he said what he should have said before he rearranged his life, “Are you interested in her? Do you want me to back off?” He had no idea what his reaction would be if Steele said yes and yes. He’d find some graceful way to exit, or maybe he’d take out his best friend. Either reaction seemed reasonable and acceptable.

  But Steele just shook his head. “It ain’t that, man. I just think it was a little over the top of you to show up here.”

  Tank looked away from Steele
and pretended to consider it. Like he hadn’t already thought through the pros and cons of showing up here. The thing was, with their schedules, time was a precious commodity. He had it right now, and he had to use it to his advantage. He couldn’t be sure if it was just his nature to seize opportunities or if he’d nurtured that quality during his years on the field. He saw an opening, and he ran toward it. This was his opening with Amber. He was sure of it.

  “Maybe,” he conceded.

  He might have said more, but they were interrupted.

  “Steele, meeting,” Amber said from outside before she turned the corner and stopped abruptly. Her eyes widened briefly before she managed to control the expression on her face. “Hey.” She nodded to Tank before looking at Steele. “We gotta go.”

  Steele glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Coming.” He stood hastily and grabbed the iPad from his desk. “Sorry, man. Gotta work.”

  Tank nodded.

  Steele made his way around the desk, and Tank stood to follow them out. Amber led the way with Steele close behind her. Tank’s destination was in the opposite direction. He fought to keep from turning his head to snatch one more glance of her. But he couldn’t resist.

  He looked back over his shoulder, taking in the view. He loved seeing her in her element, wielding power, controlling tempo. He came here, interested in the girl he’d known, the one he couldn’t quite get out of his head. But he was completely enthralled with the woman she’d become in his absence.

  Amber left the office when the sun was setting, coloring the sky with shades of purple, pink, and orange. Sunsets normally caused her to stop and appreciate. But, today, she hurried to her car, the beauty of the fading day around her hardly a blip on the radar of her racing mind. She yanked the door open and shoved her three bags into the passenger seat. Then, she climbed in and leaned back against the driver seat, releasing a shuddering breath. She shut the door and pressed the ignition button, dropping the fob into the center console already littered with an empty bottle of water, this morning’s coffee indulgence, and three gum wrappers she had yet to clean out. Shaking her head, she sighed again, this time at the debris spread over her usually pristine car.