Playing for Keeps

by Rhonda Laurel

  He didn’t miss this at all.

  His teammate Clark slapped him on the back. “Derek, come on over and join the fun.”

  “I don’t see anything but trouble over there.” He looked over at the table. “Hockey bunnies, really?”

  “They’re not puck bunnies. They’re working girls getting a drink after work.”

  “They’re working girls all right. Isn’t it a little early to be dressed like they’re going to the junior prom?”

  “Hey, we can’t all have women as classy as Charisma.” Clark chuckled. “It’s happy hour. Try to be happy.”

  Derek stood. “I’m taking my happy ass back to my room to call my woman.” He pointed at Mike and Jonas and growled. “If those two idiots get drunk and kill each other, leave a message on my phone telling me what time the funeral is. I’ve had it. I’m done. I’m out.”

  “Man, someone would think you were married. Chill out.”

  Derek’s jaw ticked. “Just because I don’t have a ring on doesn’t mean I’m not committed to Charisma or our child.”

  “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Clark held his hands up. “We’re just having a good time. It’s not cheating, if that’s what you think.”

  “Any time you spend with a woman who isn’t your wife or girlfriend, it’s disrespectful to her and it jeopardizes your relationship.” Derek dug in his pocket for his wallet to pay his tab. “You keep thinking that way and you’ll be on your third divorce two years from now.”

  Derek didn’t wait for Clark to answer. Instead he wove his way through the crowded dining room. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the woman in the gold dress scurrying over to him. He kept up his stride and was almost at the door when a waiter appeared from behind a counter with a big tray of drinks. Derek veered left and stepped back out of the way, knocking into whoever was behind him. He turned around to see Gold Dress doing down for the count. His reflexes kicked in and he caught her, but unfortunately the save looked more like the prelude to a deep, romantic kiss than trying to avoid a lawsuit for personal injury. And to make matters even worse, people had their cell phone cameras out and had captured the whole thing.

  “Thank you!” Gold Dress said, smiling up at him as if he’d just saved the world from destruction.

  “No problem.” Derek set her back on her feet, but he had to dodge as Gold Dress gripped his arms and tried to kiss him on the lips. She ended up swiping at his cheek.

  “Can I buy you a drink for saving my life?” She winked at him.

  “No, thanks.” He moved back as if she had the plague. “Don’t think I don’t know what you were up to.”

  She frowned. “Excuse me?”

  “Honey, I’ve been around for a long time. Do yourself a favor and get a new routine.” He walked out of the restaurant and headed to his room.

  Once there, he sank down on the couch. He could have kicked himself. He’d been played by the woman in the gold dress. It didn’t matter that he’d left her in the dust. People had caught him on camera with his hands on her. The reason why wouldn’t matter in the storm of social media. She’d probably had him in her crosshairs long before he picked up on it, but he’d been distracted by his teammates. There was bound to be trouble, and that put him in a foul mood. He turned on the television and channel-hopped, trying to distract himself. He glanced at his watch. Charisma was taking her late afternoon nap. He’d watch a movie and call her in a couple of hours.

  An hour later, he got a call. He looked at the display. It was someone from the PR firm that represented him.

  “Derek. Glad I caught you. We’re doing as much damage control as possible,” his publicist, Tori Fields, said.

  “Damage control. Dare I ask on what?” But he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, because he knew exactly what.

  “I’ll send you the pic.”

  Derek watched as the multimedia message came through. He opened it. It was a picture of him rescuing the girl in the gold dress, only it looked exactly how she’d wanted it to, like they were out partying, having the time of their lives.

  “Tori.” Derek ran a hand through his hair. “This happened barely an hour ago and isn’t what it looks like. She had her sights on me the whole time I was in the bar. She came up on me from behind and I accidentally bumped into her and nearly knocked her over. You can pull the entire video and see exactly what happened.”

  “I intend to. No worries, we’re all over it. Unfortunately the gossip news cycles are even faster these days.”

  Oh no. Charisma. “I have to go.” He disconnected the call and dialed Charisma’s cell.

  Derek paced the room for a half hour as Charisma’s cell and the house phone went to voicemail.

  He tried not to panic. There was a possibility that she was resting or taking a shower. Wait a minute, she was going out with Trina tonight. Maybe they were in a crowded restaurant and she couldn’t hear the phone. He had to believe that was the only reason she wasn’t picking up. But damn it, he couldn’t take that chance. He packed his bags and called downstairs for the valet to bring his car to the front of the hotel. He had to get back to Philadelphia right after he talked to the hotel management about getting a copy of the restaurant video. He just hoped Charisma would believe him.

  * * *

  Charisma clapped when her cousin Trina walked out onto the stage and the band started playing. When Trina had called and said she’d be singing a set at a small jazz club, Charisma knew she had to attend. It had been a pleasant surprise to hear that her cousin, who’d sung in their church choir for years, had been singing in small venues. She had to admit she’d had fun hanging out with her cousin lately. Getting better acquainted with Trina revealed interesting things like her penchant for singing jazz, something she kept from the family. Charisma felt honored that her cousin had confided in her.

  So as a show of support, she helped Trina pick out her outfit and did her makeup for her. Her cousin looked good up there in a long, brocade red silk Cheongsam dress and a silk, red flower in her curly hair. They’d spent a good hour on her makeup. Trina had always been well put together, but Charisma encouraged her to glam it up so she’d shimmer more from the stage lighting.

  Trina’s velvety voice carried around the room as she sped up the tempo. She was really good and unusually shy up on stage. Who knew the family busy body would be so nervous in front of a crowd. Charisma wanted to take a picture of her with her cell phone, but they’d been so busy rushing out of the apartment she’d left her phone on the charging station. She’d told Derek she’d be grabbing a bite to eat with her cousin but hadn't mentioned the show because she’d found out about it after Trina’s call. She glanced at her watch and sighed. Normally she would have been cuddled up in bed with Derek this time of night, but he was in New York filming the documentary on the Pirates’ recent championship. Normally she missed him when he traveled for work, but her longing for him had increased exponentially after the past few months. She loved falling asleep listening to him tell the babies stories of his childhood. She loved snuggling into his strong, protective arms. She hoped he was having a good time, hoped he wouldn’t have to referee Jonas and Mike, but she really did miss him.

  She was tired, but it was too relaxing listening to her cousin belt her heart out on stage. The baby kicked a few times, and she took it as a sign that her baby was enjoying the music as well. She wanted to know if the baby was a he or a she, but she also liked the anticipation, the suspense. The family was busy taking guesses based on old wives’ tales, and the Texas family had a pool going. There was so much excitement in the air about their little one. It was all very tempting to find out during the next sonogram, but she liked knowing that when she gave birth, finding out the sex of the baby would be an extra surprise for her and Derek to share.

  After the set ended, Trina took a break and made her way over to Charisma’s table.

  “You were awesome.” Charisma stood and gave her cousin a big hug. “Why are you hiding this fro
m the family?”

  “I don’t know.” Trina returned the hug, then sat down and fanned herself with a cocktail napkin. “Fear of ridicule. Fear of failure.”

  “I knew you were always great in choir, but you were outstanding up there.”

  “I have Grandma to thank.”

  “How so?”

  “She told me to use my big set of lungs to spread joy instead of gossip.” She giggled.

  Charisma grinned and sipped her Shirley Temple. “Are you going on again?”

  “Two more and then we’ll go.”

  “No. Take your time.” Charisma waved a hand at her. “I just need to use your phone to text Derek. I left my phone charging at home.”

  Someone on the stage motioned for Trina to return.

  “Sure.” She stood and handed over her cell phone.

  Charisma put her hand on Trina’s after she took the phone. “Trina, I hope you know you have a special gift.”

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “So do you.”

  Charisma moved to the beat as soon as the saxophonist started to play. A few seconds later, the drummer joined in and Trina began to sing.

  Charisma sent a text to Derek from Trina’s phone saying they’d be home in a few hours and not to worry. Two of the couples got up and took to the small dance floor. She smiled. It reminded her of dancing with Derek. He had such grace and he loved to take her dancing. She only wished he was here right now. Pregnant or not, she would’ve loved to be out there on that dance floor with him, his arms around her, swaying to the beat…

  CHAPTER TEN

  Charisma took off her small heels as soon as she opened the door to their apartment. Trina had been on such a roll at the club that she didn’t want to tear her away, even though she was exhausted. So the car service brought her home and was scheduled to return for her cousin around midnight. She waddled across the room and turned on her cell phone. There were a slew of phone and text messages. Derek had called several times. She hoped he’d received the text she’d sent from Trina’s phone.

  She was about to scan through the messages when the baby gave her a good kick. It was time to eat again. She went into the game room to fetch some of that crunchy bar mix she liked. There were plenty of things to cook in the fridge, but to be honest, Derek was the better cook. He took so much pride and passion in his cooking, especially when making new things, that she wouldn’t dream of robbing him of the chance to hone his culinary skills. He’d even been on kitchen duty at the Slap Shot a few times when the chef needed a day off. But since her sexy, hockey-playing personal chef wasn’t here, she’d heat up something later. The crunchy bar mix would have to do for now.

  She picked up her phone again as she began to chow down on the mix. She noticed she’d received some search engine alerts too. She’d set up notifications whenever Derek was mentioned on social media or in an article that entered a search engine. She opened the search alert and couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked like Derek was having the time of his life with some woman in a tacky gold dress.

  Tears fell from her eyes as she continued to look at the photo. The caption read Derek Popovich Has Wild Night Out. She stopped breathing for a moment, wanting desperately to call him, but despised herself for wanting a logical answer from him. Charisma tried to scream but no sound would come out of her mouth. Was this the reason he didn’t talk about getting married anymore? The baby starting kicking again, but this time she was sure the baby wanted to kick daddy’s ass, just like she did.

  She knew she should call him. Talk to him. Hear him out. He’d certainly earned that much. She knew how the gossip rags loved to blow these things out of proportion. But her heart felt like it had shattered in her chest. This was just like Lamont all over again. She was humiliated. Everyone had to be laughing at her. She was exhausted and sick to her stomach. So many emotions were whirling around inside her, she couldn’t seem to make sense of any of them. The only thing she knew for sure was how deeply he’d hurt her. She should’ve known this was all too good to be true.

  Her mother had been right.

  Charisma’s eyes were swollen from crying so much she barely made it into the bedroom, retrieved a suitcase from the top shelf of the walk-in closet and began packing. Once she’d thrown her essentials in there, she went into the study and put in the combination for the safe. As soon as she opened it, she saw the ring box. She’d been tempted many times to sneak a peek but she decided against it. She pushed it aside and took out her checkbook, passport, and other important documents. As she walked out of the room, she laughed through the tears to herself at how easy it was to stop living the lie that Derek loved her. It was a good lie while it lasted.

  * * *

  Derek zipped home at lightning speed. As soon as he opened the door, he almost tripped over Charisma’s bags.

  “Charisma!” He yelled out, near-panic roaring through him. “Where are you?”

  She stormed into the room. His heart broke when he saw the tears on her cheeks. He took a step toward her, wanting nothing more than to wrap her in his arms. But she stopped him with a cold look that froze him in his tracks.

  “Did you come back for some condoms?” she demanded. “I thought you were in New York having a good time.”

  “You saw the photo.”

  “Sure did.” She held up her cell phone. “Funny, that doesn’t look like footage for a hockey documentary. Or maybe it does.”

  “Baby, listen to me.” He walked toward her. “I was at the hotel bar because the guys needed watching.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I’m done with men lying to me.”

  “You have to believe me. I was not with that woman. It was a setup and that picture was taken out of context. I’ve asked hotel management to release the video footage in the restaurant.”

  Fresh tears ran down her face. He saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes, but she folded her arms across her chest. “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because you know me. I wouldn’t risk what we have for some casual dalliance.”

  “What exactly do we have? Except a rather convenient living arrangement for you.”

  He ran a hand over his face. He wasn’t getting anywhere. His heart was thudding in his chest. “That’s not true and you know it.”

  “So is this why you stopped asking me to marry you?”

  That took him back a step. “I stopped asking because we were both miserable when I did ask.”

  “That’s not a good excuse. You asked me when I told you I was pregnant. How do you think that made me feel?”

  “You’re right, it’s not a good excuse,” he fired back. “It’s called respecting the wishes of the woman I love, not going off all halfcocked like some macho lunatic who thinks he can control you.”

  “I think you figured out you were better off without me.”

  “There is no other woman on the planet for me. You are the one, and I’ve tried to show you time and time again that you were the most important person in the world to me. That I wasn’t like those jerks who’d let you down in the past. I love you so much I’m willing to suppress my own needs so you can be happy about us, about this family we’re making together. I hope that someday you will want to commit to me. But all that matters now is that you’re excited about being a mom. Everything else will fall into place when you feel it in your heart.”

  He stared into her eyes. He saw the same fear that he’d seen since their relationship began.

  “Derek…” she said. “I…”

  He looked at her bags, the fact that she’d packed at all wrenched at his heart. “Don’t leave. Please. I’ll crash somewhere else tonight. It’ll give us both some time to clear our heads.”

  Derek went through the apartment and collected a couple of things into a leather duffle bag. Charisma was still standing by the door when he returned. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked so lost and tired. Every part of him wanted to stay, wanted to take her in his arms and co
mfort her. But he knew she would only push him away, or worse, lash out at him because she was hurting so much. So instead he bent down and kissed her belly, then kissed her on the forehead and left.

  No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t quell that vulnerability that lurked just beneath the surface. The problem was bigger than her feeling worthy of receiving love. It had everything to do with her knowing unequivocally in her heart that it was true.

  He knew he only had one choice. He’d keeping on loving her until she believed it.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  By the time Trina arrived at the apartment, Charisma had been crying for hours.

  Trina hugged her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Derek apparently had the time of his life in New York.”

  “What?”

  Charisma brought her over to the dining room table and pulled up the picture on her laptop.

  “I don’t believe it.” Trina shook her head. “Derek loves you. He wouldn’t do something like this.”

  “My mom said something like this would happen.” She rubbed her temples.

  “I love Aunt Debra, but I’d take anything she says about Derek with a grain of salt,” Trina huffed.

  “A picture’s worth a thousand words.”

  “Well that picture has a slanted narrative.” Trina started typing away on the laptop. “There’s more to this story. I’ve known plenty of jerks in my time, but Derek’s not one of them. He’s a good man.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “What I do best. Investigate.” Trina continued to dig for more information.