Touchdown Desires

by Jenna Payne

  “Neither would I…” I said and then Miles gave me the brightest smile and pulled me in for a searing kiss that made my toes curl.

  “Damn I’ve never felt this way about a woman and now you…from day one you’ve turned me upside down, but in a good way,” he said and I grinned at him like a dumbstruck teenager.

  “So we love each other…” I grinned and Miles laughed, his expression equally as goofy as mine.

  “Yeah…man if the guys saw me right now they’d say I was whipped.”

  “And you’d say what?” I asked him and he shrugged, his smile bright and intimate.

  “I’d say I’m glad you’re holding the whip,” he kissed me again and then almost at the same moment we remembered the situation outside of the room. “So what have you decided about this guy? How do you wanna go about things?”

  “Well…I’ve decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for now, and just…watch him.”

  Miles nodded and he pursed his lips as he formulated his own plan.

  “Alright you do that,” was all he ended up saying and I gave him a suspicious look. “It’s a good plan, stick to it. Watch him until he fucks up,” Miles said and my suspicions only grew.

  “Miles it doesn’t count if you make him mess up in any way,” I said pointedly.

  “I won’t, don’t worry about me, just worry about Caleb,” he said and I took a deep breath. Yeah I was worried about Caleb and frankly afraid of him getting close to Neal again. “But you should know that I’m going to take Neal out with a few of the guys from the team and get him drunk and talking. Then we’ll really know,” Miles said with an evil grin before he waggled his eyebrows at me and then left the room.

  I tilted my head a little and shrugged, well it was a plan. Neal used to play football and obviously still kept up with his physique I wondered what his tolerance for alcohol was. Quickly I got ready for the day way earlier than usual and simply waited until eight o’clock rolled by to wake up Caleb. In the meantime, I watched Miles be his charming self and try to get along with Neal who wasn’t offering any resistance or suspicion. Actually it seemed like they were getting along with each other pretty easily…odd.

  *****

  Miles

  It was Sunday night and I had convinced Neal to catch the basketball game and then come out with a few of us. I explained everything to the guys and they were in on the plan. They were all for catching a deadbeat dad with ulterior motives. But even by the time Sunday came around I was on the fence. Neal had proved himself through the week, he wasn’t trying to come on to Christina. He was just all for Caleb, he didn’t try to insert himself into the day I had planned on Saturday to grill and such with Caleb and Christina. It was like he knew his place, he knew when he was welcome and never stepped out of his bounds. Plus, Neal was oddly a cool dude. Then Christina even said that he had changed from the last time she saw him.

  “Alright! Let’s get this party started!” Jameson, one of the guys from the team had a round of shots passed out to the table. We didn’t go to any club, just a regular cigar pub.

  “That win was crazy! The way you stole that ball at the last fifteen seconds and brought it back down the court for that gentle three! Man that was awesome!” Neal clapped me on the back and I shrugged a bit modestly.

  “It was a tough game, but I prayed and a miracle happened,” I said and my teammates all mocked me good naturedly though.

  “Yeah you prayed and then the lord stepped into your shoes, that’s what happened Miles,” Brown said sarcastically and then the guys got on him for being an atheist. A few more rounds of shots and a couple of cigars later our conversation had gone from teasing and joking to talking about real stuff. We weren’t going to get Neal to open up or tell the truth if any sort of questioning came out of the blue.

  “I met the little man, Caleb. He’s the coolest five-year-old I ever met,” Jameson said, he actually did meet Caleb on Saturday because he dropped by with his own family for burgers and a good time around the pool.

  “Yeah…his mom is raising him good,” Neal said and it was clear to see the guilt all over his face. “I uh…I should’ve never left him…or her. Miles you—you have a really great woman you know that?” Neal said and I nodded, it was all serious at our corner. I was starting to really realize that I was wrong about Neal.

  “I came back because I can provide for them now, if she needs help with anything…I got it you know? It was the whole reason I left and I was just so focused on work that I lost sight of what I ran to England for and I was just after the money. Then it hit me, there’s no substance in a mindless pursuit of success or wealth. So I got a transfer, I came here for Caleb, you know…” Neal practically poured his heart out and I realized that he just wasn’t the type to talk about his feelings or express them too much. It’s why that whole first encounter was so off…

  “Damn man, I feel you. It’s a good thing you didn’t realize this too late. Be in your son’s life as long as you can you know?” Brown said and we all nodded, including Neal and kinda had a moment of silence.

  “And look I know that you and Christina are pretty much knit…I don’t want to mess up her happiness and what you two have at all. But I just have to tell you that I will be there for Caleb, I’m not leaving again.” Neal didn’t seem even slightly drunk when he said that, he looked me in the eye and spoke to me man to man.

  “Alright man, I feel you,” I said and Neal nodded, he sniffled only once, though actual tears didn’t fall. “We should probably get going…” I said and Neal nodded, the guys all murmured and mumbled the same sort of thing too. I was sure everyone wanted to be with their family after all that.

  Neal and I took a cab to Christina’s, it was late, but I wanted her to hear what he told me.

  “Why are we going to Christina’s?” Neal asked me and I clapped him on the shoulder.

  “You gotta show her how sincere you are about this. That’s what she’s been missing this whole time,” I said and Neal nodded, I could tell he was nervous.

  “The alcohol helps,” he said and I laughed.

  “Man admit it; you aren’t even drunk. After shot number two you started passing them to Brown,” I said and Neal smirked.

  “He can really throw them back,” he said and I laughed, Neal had no idea. Come the end of post season, Brown was a different man altogether.

  “I’ll call Christina,” I said when we pulled up to her house. I was surprised she was still awake, in any event she answered on the second ring and I told her to come outside. A few moments later she was tiptoeing onto the small front porch and glancing in between Neal and I curiously.

  “So Neal has something to convey to you…and I’d just like to say that he’s a good guy.”

  After that I let them talk and went inside to change clothes and climb into Christina’s bed. She came back about thirty minutes later and snuggled right up to me.

  “Thanks for doing that Miles…” she said and I hugged her close when I heard the emotion in her voice.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever…seen Neal be so humble, but he’s changed so much and now I know that’s he’s for real…he’s all in with Caleb,” she said and I kissed the top of her head. “Thank you…if it weren’t for you—well I’m pretty sure I would have let my suspicion get the best of me and things could have gone a lot differently,” she said and then looked up at me.

  “You know I care about you, I had to make sure Neal was legit,” I said and she nodded.

  “He’s sleeping on the couch by the way,” she said and I smiled.

  “We gotta get him set up on a date or two,” I said and Christina laughed.

  “You know you’re pretty much it for me,” she said and I grinned at her.

  “Right back at you baby,” I said and then pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 39 of 40

  Making the Cut

  Vienna Rhett stepped out onto the ice early Monday morning, watching the Za
mboni as it bounced down the ramp and out the door. The tiny ice rink’s sound system was still shot, so Vienna was forced to clip her micro MP3 player inside her costume to practice. She threaded the plug of her earbuds through her tight braid and plugged it in, hoping that her first axel wouldn’t send them flying.

  She stretched her arms over her head and behind her, glancing down at her well-worn skates to make sure they were tied tight. The ice was like glass, freshly shaved and watered. There was nothing Vienna liked better than being the first to hit the ice.

  Pushing play, she got into place and waited for the music to start. Vienna flowed through her program with ease, sticking all her landings and pushing herself to go beyond the minimum requirements. If a double was required, she threw in a triple. She followed her triple toe loop with an immediate triple Salchow.

  The music played on, and Vienna swayed gracefully to the piece. Her final movement was a spin series that started with the layback and ended with an elegant sit spin that she’d perfected the week before. As she prepared for the movement, she smiled broadly.

  The World Championships qualifier was at the end of the week, and Vienna had never felt so ready for anything in her life. If she could skate half as well at the competition as she did on her home ice, she’d make it in with no problem.

  She swung into her layback spin, reaching back and grabbing the blade of one skate behind her head to up the difficulty level. A flash of red sped by her, startling her and making her lose her balance. She stumbled out of the spin and face-planted on the ice roughly.

  Vienna sat up, looking around the rink and trying to find the culprit. A man in jeans and a loose red hockey jersey was skating around the edge of the ice, practicing his foot work while chasing a puck and tearing up her fresh ice.

  “Hey!” she shouted, still pulling herself from the ice and groaning at her skinned knee.

  The man turned, skating backwards and looking at her without a hint of remorse for what he’d done. He continued around the rink’s edge, twisting and spinning in little hops, his clunky skates chipping the ice up and ruining her smooth surface.

  Vienna’s face colored and she stood, skating so that she met him halfway around the rink.

  “I’m talking to you,” she shouted.

  “Yes?”

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Practicing. What does it look like?”

  “It looks like you’re tearing up my ice.”

  “Your ice?” He laughed, blue eyes twinkling merrily, “This is a public rink. This ice belongs to no one.”

  “I rented this time slot and for the next two hours. That door was supposed to be locked.”

  “It was locked. But everyone who lives in Chehalis knows that all it needs is a good yank and it opens right up.”

  His smile was wide and friendly. Sandy blond hair peeked out from beneath his helmet. Vienna could see that he thought he was quite charming.

  “That doesn’t make it alright. I rented this time and you need to leave. You’re ruining my ice. And you knocked me over.”

  “I wouldn’t have been that close to you if you’d been in the center where figure skaters belong.”

  “I rented the ice! The entire thing! I belong wherever my program takes me. This isn’t open skate at the mall. I’m a serious competitor and I’m preparing for a competition.”

  “Me too,” he said. He held out his hand and offered it for her to shake.

  “My name is Ethan Hayes. It’s nice to meet you, Miss…”

  “I’m not here to make friends. Now please leave.”

  “No. I won’t be leaving.”

  “Why the heck not?”

  Vienna was starting to get angry.

  Ethan shrugged.

  “Because I don’t have a ride. My friend dropped me off and left. He won’t be back for at least an hour.”

  “Great. So you’re incapable of leaving a locked door alone and you’re too irresponsible to own your own car at your age? You’re just a big bowl of wonderful, aren’t you?”

  Vienna smiled. He was wasting her time, but she was enjoying herself now. This guy Ethan was a loser, plain and simple. She’d put him in his place and send him running home, crying for his mother. That would teach him to butt into her practice time.

  “It’s my car. My buddy was in a wreck and I told him he could use my car to get groceries. I’m super responsible. I even have a full time job and everything.”

  When he smiled this time, Vienna had to fight the urge to slap the grin off of his face. He was irritating, meeting her anger with a careless smile that showed no regard for the time that he was wasting. She didn’t have time to play with some hockey hopeful that would never make the pros. He was destined to waste the rest of his life going after a dream he would never achieve. Vienna didn’t have time for that, and heaven knew she didn’t have the patience.

  “Look, it’s nice that you have a car.”

  “Not a nice car like you though. Is the Jaguar yours?”

  “Of course it’s mine. Do you see anyone else here? No what I was saying was-”

  “Aren’t you going to tell me your name?”

  “Quit interrupting me. What’s wrong with you? Do you always act this way?”

  “No,” he smiled again. “I’m usually much worse. But I like to tone it down for pretty ladies such as yourself.”

  Vienna rolled her eyes.

  “Gag me.”

  “I could,” he winked.

  “Oh dear lord what is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing that a kiss from you couldn’t fix.”

  He laughed as he skated away, ignoring her as she cursed his back. He continued his practice as if he hadn’t a care in the world, completely ignoring the fact that the rink was paid for, for the next two hours.

  Vienna threw her hands up, grumbling to herself as she skated off the ice. She was going to have a word with the manager and make sure this Ethan Hayes was banned for life. If he couldn’t be considerate and share the ice, then he had no business being there anyway.

  Satisfied that she would get another time allotted and eager to ice her knee, she pulled on her tennis shoes and grabbed her cellphone out of her purse. She’d be back tomorrow.

  *****

  It was before six the next morning when Vienna parked her silver Jaguar in the lot. She was happy to see that only Dave the Zamboni driver’s car was around. She had no intention of a repeat of the day before and dealing with the oafish Ethan Hayes. Sure, he was sexy and he had a handsome smile that would melt even the most stoic woman. But his personality had driven Vienna to the brink of insanity in mere minutes. Arrogant, rude and self-serving, he wasn’t the type of guy Vienna would consider spending a week with, let alone the rest of her life. Maybe there were women out there that thought he was charming, but Vienna was not one of them.

  Dave had finished the ice before she’d pulled up and she could see him in the crow’s nest, sipping on his morning coffee. She held up a hand in greeting and he waved back.

  Vienna warmed up, earbuds already shoved in her ears, her playlists drowning everything around her out so she could focus. She’d run out of the house in a hurry, eager to get to the rink before it opened at eight. She’d left her long, chocolate locks loose, springy curls radiating from her face wildly. Her Irish mother’s side had given her dark brown locks a reddish glow and dark green eyes. It had also cursed her with a splash of freckles across her nose that she’d been trying to hide for most of her life. When she hit her twenties, she decided that they weren’t all that bad and stopped trying to cover them up. Someone had even told her that they were cute. She wasn’t sure that she would go that far, but they were a part of her, and she decided to embrace them a few years back.

  The manager had promised to deal with Ethan and had applied her money to another private session later in the week. Then he’d thrown in this morning to sweeten the pot. As obnoxious as Ethan had been, he’d actually been great in the long run.
For the price of one two-hour block, Vienna now had four uninterrupted hours this week and another early morning opportunity next week right before the competition.

  Warmed up and ready to go, Vienna ran through her long program first. The cold wind flowed through her hair as she flew around the rink, sticking her landings with ease and flowing effortlessly from one jump to the next.

  Her smile was huge when she nailed the last spin and came to a stop at exactly the same moment as the music.

  “Nailed it!” she said.

  “Yes you did,” someone answered back from the stands, clapping loudly.

  Vienna looked up and couldn’t believe her eyes. Ethan Hayes was walking onto the ice in his sneakers, cellphone in hand, the biggest grin yet on his face.

  “You!” she ground out.

  “Yes, it’s me. I would say hi, but I never got your name.”

  Vienna crossed her arms.

  “Are you completely clueless or do you really have no idea when you’re not welcome?”

  “I’m not on the ice, am I?”

  “Well, no,” Vienna stuttered.

  “There you go. I’m being considerate and waiting my turn.”

  He held the cellphone out to her.

  “What is this?”

  “I videoed your run. You have to see this jump you did. It’s perfect, but I think you could add a little flair to it if you’d move your arms like this.”

  He held up his arms and demonstrated, then handed her the phone so she could watched the video.

  “Thanks for the tip, but I think I’ll keep my arms where they belong,” she said, but she didn’t take her eyes off the screen.

  Ethan had recorded her entire long program, zooming in and out to get the best angle of each element of the routine. He was an expert at capturing the best angle for critiquing her run.

  “There, that jump. If you just did this,” he moved again to demonstrate, “it would look amazing and it would make you stand out from all the other women doing the same exact jump.”