Tackle Me: Contemporary Bad Boy Romance

by Serena Vale

  “Oh, I like this game. Me first. Favorite movie? But think wisely. It might seem like an easy question, but I will be placing great judgment on the answer.”

  Tate laughed, he couldn’t believe how easy he felt around her. Alexis was a far cry from some of the girls he had been hanging around with lately, and he cringed at the thought of some of his previous girlfriends. If he could even call them such.

  “Oh really. A movie snob, are we? That’s okay. This is an easy one. I’ve watched it over and over again and it really never gets old. The Shining.”

  “The shining?! Ooh, good answer. Good answer. The proof that even a good man can descent into darkness. Also, you can’t go wrong with Stanley Kubrick. Very good. I was worried you were going to say something like The Fast and the Furious or something.”

  “I may not look the brightest, but thou should not judge so easily. Not all men are just into car chases and women you know. Now, your movie choice my lady.”

  “I sincerely apologize.” She batted her eyelids, and he laughed. “I’ll be honest, my favorite movie changes often. But my current one is definitely The Shawshank Redemption. Not that it’s current, but I did see it recently and fell in love with it all over again.”

  “Get busy livin’ or get busy dyin’ - that’s goddamn right.”

  Alexis looked impressed, “Okay, marry me now!”

  “Oh really? All it took was my fantastic ability to quote good movies? What about my looks? My charm? My money?”

  “Nope. Another quote and you’re all mine.”

  “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room.”

  Alexis giggled in pure delight, “Dr. Strangelove! Okay Tate, that’s it. I’m going to start taking this marriage business seriously if you carry on like this. I think your new title should be Tate Henderson: Movie Guru and part time Football player.”

  They ordered dinner and spoke easily for the next few hours. Tate laughed more than he had in a long time and was sad when the evening came to an end. Then he remembered that she was his girlfriend now, and he asked her out for the following night.

  “Already?” she asked.

  “Too soon? Had enough of me already? How about a movie? At my place?”

  “A movie? Oh Tate, you know me so well already. It’s a date.”

  They walked out together, holding hands, and they were laughing at some joke that Alexis had made when out of nowhere he felt a hand slap across his face, and he stumbled back.

  “What the –

  He turned and saw Belinda, his ex-girlfriend, standing in front of him. She had her arms over her hips and was glaring at him and Alexis.

  “Belinda! What are you doing here? And what was that for?”

  “Who is SHE?” Belinda asked and glared at Alexis. It took everything that Tate had not to laugh out loud. The contrast between the two girls was striking and in that instant Tate knew that he had made the right decision.

  “Belinda, this is Alexis. She’s my girlfriend. We broke up Belinda. And we haven’t seen each other in ages. Belinda, you and I were not good together. You know that. You even said it yourself once.”

  “Well, good luck to you Alexis. He’s not worth it. And anyway Tate, the not-so-great, I was ONLY in it for the money.” And she stormed off. Unfortunately, that was when Tate noticed some flashes going off – a sure sign that the media had been following them. He groaned when he thought about what the papers were going to say the next day. So much for gaining a new reputation quickly. He looked at Alexis, who was standing bewildered next to him and reached over to kiss her on the cheek.

  Alexis, I’m sorry about that.”

  It took her a few seconds to recover. Then, as if suddenly remembering the deal, she smiled and kissed him back. “That’s okay!”

  The next day, just as Tate predicted, the slap made it into the papers and was all over social media. However, the response was very different to what Tate had expected. ‘We haven’t seen Tate ‘The Great’ Henderson look this happy and relaxed in a long time. Well done to him and his new girlfriend for staying so calm. Personally, I would’ve hit that girl back.’

  Tate had laughed at that. Afterward, the story went on to talk about the ‘mystery’ woman that he was with – stating her to be a striking, dark-haired beauty. That she is, he agreed. In the next article, there was more, ‘It seems Tate Henderson has found true love at work, by falling for his new assistant. And we don’t blame him. Alexis Washington is a beautiful, hard-working woman who has moved back to live with her parents after the devastating news that her father has fallen ill with cancer.’ Tate cringed at that, he hoped Alexis didn’t mind her personal life being sprayed out in the paper like that. He was used to it after all these years, but he knew how strange it was at first.

  But Alexis was fine. In fact, she said, she was quite surprised at how good the reaction had been from everyone. And her parents loved the attention. Also, some people had taken it upon themselves to send money towards his chemotherapy, and they were overwhelmed by the kindness from everyone.

  Tate and Alexis had started spending almost every day together. They hadn’t planned to see each other so often, but they simply couldn’t help it. They just felt easy together, and thankfully no more crazy ex-girlfriends had come forward again.

  “But are you dying to go out and party?” Alexis had asked him that night, while the two of them were curled in front of the television watching a movie.

  “Are you crazy? And miss this? Watching your reaction to my movies is like a party for me anyway. It’s way more entertaining. You, gorgeous Alexis, are far more interesting than any party I’ve ever been to.” Then, he had turned to kiss her, taking her face into his hands and moving in closer to her. It had taken them three days to finally kiss each other, which is far longer than with any other girl he had been with before. But he knew that she was still skeptical about the whole thing. After all, they weren’t really boyfriend and girlfriend. It was all just a bit of acting. But since that first kiss, they had not been able to stop, and tonight he was not sure if he’d be able to stop at just that. The way he felt around her was unlike the way he had ever felt before. Her lips were soft, and her kiss was gentle. But tonight, she moved closer and allowed the kiss to deepen. He loved the way she looked next to him. Her dark skin a beautiful contrast against the lightness of his. She was always so calm, gentle and composed, and yet when he placed his hand over her heart he could hear that she was excited. Her heart beat as wild as her curls. Soon, he had lifted her shirt off, and she had done the same with him. Then, he took her hand and led her to the bedroom, where the two of them fell into bed together for the first time.

  Afterward, the two of them lay together, and he played with her hair – straightening a piece and then watching with amusement as it simply bounced back into a curl. He loved it.

  “I did NOT expect that to happen,” he said, watching her next to him.

  “Oh sure, sure, whatever Mr. Casanova.”

  “What do you mean? Honestly, I had no idea.”

  “Oh, you are good at this.”

  “Alexis. I promise. I didn’t plan that.” He was now confused. Perhaps she still saw him as the man he had always portrayed himself to be.

  “Yeah, yeah. You know I have a penchant for thrillers. You buttered me up with a good movie. Allowed me to get excited by the plot. And then you kissed me just at the part when the movie got good, and you turned my excitement to you. I know your plan, Batman.”

  Tate laughed, relieved. “You’re right. It really was part of my ultimate masterminded plan. Get the movie. Get the girl.”

  “It’s MY movie choice next, Superman.”

  “Oh really? I have no problem with that, Wonder Woman.”

  Chapter 4

  Alexis

  The next two months went by quickly. Alexis was working part time as Tate’s personal assistant and full time as his girlfriend. The assistant part was more of a cover up but to make it real she had start
ed doing work in the office with him anyway. She preferred this because it made it feel as if she were actually working for her money. Every time she saw money get deposited into her account, she would cringe – a stark reality that she was being paid to be with Tate. Thankfully, the office work made that a little easier, and she enjoyed working alongside Sally who seemed to enjoy her company back. Sally was so happy with her plan of getting Tate a new girlfriend and so far the plan had worked well. Tate’s reputation was starting to improve although there were still many skeptics wondering when his next fling would be. ‘When will he get bored of the dark haired beauty?’ the latest comment had been. The problem was that Alexis was worried about that too, but she didn’t want to say anything to either Sally or Tate. Telling them that she was worried meant that she was openly admitting that she was starting to see Tate as more than just a pretend boyfriend. Also, she was well aware that Sally was going to ask Tate to start the engagement process soon so that the world would see them as something more permanent. Then, a few months after the engagement Alexis would be allowed to break up with him. Breaking his heart in pieces for all the world to pick up and repair, and Alexis would be left as the bad one. This didn’t bother her though. What bothered her most was that every time she saw Tate, she felt herself falling for him more and more. And she knew she couldn’t complain. After all the money that she had been getting had far surpassed the money that she would’ve gotten anywhere else, and she’d been able to help her parents out more than she thought she could. Her dad was now in the best care ever, and all their bills were paid for.

  Alexis just simply wasn’t sure that she could do it anymore. She hadn’t realized quite how much she would end up liking Tate and how easy it would be to have a ‘relationship’ with him – no matter how fake it might have been. Also, she couldn’t help but worry that he really was getting bored with her. After all, Tate had been known to be a ladies’ man as well as a big party person before she had met him. Alexis hadn’t seen that side of him at all, and she hoped that she was not stopping him from a life he would prefer to be leading. Mostly, though, she was falling for him, and she knew that the only way to save herself was to end it. And to end it now.

  That day when she got to work, she handed in her resignation with Sally, who looked up startled by the news.

  “Oh no, but Alexis why?”

  “Sally, you’ve been amazing to me. But I need to do this. I cannot explain. I’m going to go speak to Tate now. I just can’t do this anymore.”

  “Oh Alexis, I’m so sorry to hear that. You know I actually love having you here at work. None of that was fake. This job is still yours if you want it. Even if you don’t want to be with Tate any longer. The job is still yours. Please at least think about it.”

  “Thank you, Sally.”

  She walked out with tears streaming down her face. She loved Sally, and the job had been so easy and interesting each day. But she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to stay there. It would only make her decision with Tate harder.

  She got to his house and knocked on his door. Despite going there almost every day, she still marveled at the sheer size of the place. She often forgets what a big deal he was. She remembered the way she used to look at him on the TV, the way she looked up at him with reverence. But now he was just Tate. Her Tate. When he opened and saw her face, he quickly ran forward to embrace her, and she immediately started crying.

  “Alexis, what’s wrong? Come in. What’s wrong?” He led her to the living room, and the two of them sat on the couch together, holding hands.

  “I’m sorry Tate.”

  “You’re sorry? Why?”

  “I just can’t do this anymore.”

  “What do you mean? Why?”

  “I just can’t Tate. We both said that we could end this at any time that we wanted to. Well, I’m ending it now. Thank you for an amazing few months. And, I really hope your reputation keeps on getting better. You never deserved that bad reputation, to begin with. I’m going to think twice about simply listening to the media now.” Then before he could say anything, she leaned forward and kissed him. Then, she got up and left. She heard him cry out her name, but she ran off before he could stop her.

  The next few days she ignored his calls and spent most of the time in bed. She’d been feeling nauseous anyway and lying in bed seemed to be the only way of feeling better. That night, when her mom came in the room to see her, she had just had another bout of nausea. Her mom sat at the edge of the bed and placed her hand on top of hers. “Alexis, my girl, I think I know what’s wrong.”

  “I’m fine mom.” She was expecting her mom to launch into a story about love and loss and about how maybe she should’ve given Tate another chance. Her mom still had no idea about the whole contract between them and simply thought that the two of them had just broken up.

  “Alexis, I think you might be pregnant.”

  At that, Alexis threw up again.

  Chapter 5

  Tate

  It had been a few days since Alexis left and she was not returning any of Tate’s calls. So far, thankfully, none of the media had picked up on the breakup, and he’d been quite busy with an upcoming game. The focus in the last few days was all about the game and whether Tate could pull off yet another flawless win for the team. The distraction had been good, but he still could not get Alexis out of his mind. He had always known that the two of them would eventually ‘break up’ – that had been the deal from the beginning. But as far as he was concerned things had been going so well for them. Perhaps she just simply didn’t feel as strongly as he did.

  He was scrolling through his Twitter feed when he saw a blurry picture of a woman walking into a doctor’s office. The tweet read, “Alexis Washington visiting the doctor. Is this perhaps why she’s been so quiet lately?”

  The doctor? He tried to find out more but couldn’t find anything else on the matter. It was perhaps just a routine visit, he kept telling himself. But he couldn’t shake off the uneasiness that was building up inside of him. Eventually, after a few hours of walking circles of his living room, he walked out and went straight to her house. He had only been there to drop her off before and hadn’t yet been inside or met her family. Alexis had not wanted her family to get too involved with something that was simply going to end. Now, he knocked on the door and took a deep breath. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

  An older lady opened the door. There was no doubt that this was Alexis’s mother. The same hair, although somewhat more tamed and with a bit more gray, the same eyes, and the same look of defiance.

  “Tate Henderson – what, may I ask, are you doing here?” Her hands were on her hips, and she did not seem at all impressed to see a famous football player at her door. Alexis had told him that her mother was a huge fan and squealed every time she saw him on the TV, and yet here she was barely giving him the time a day. Either Alexis had been lying or else she felt him responsible for her daughter being upset. But was she upset? I thought she just didn’t like me. He felt a sense of hope fill him.

  “Mrs. Washington. I’m so sorry to barge in like this, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. But Alexis, is she here?” He tried to peer inside, but she stopped him.

  “Alexis is not in a position to see anyone right now.”

  “Not in a position? What do you mean? Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine. But I think it’s better if you leave.”

  “Mom, it’s okay, let him in.” The voice that came from inside was soft, but there was no denying that it came from Alexis herself. Her mom sighed and opened the door. Alexis looked just as beautiful as ever, only sadder.

  “Alexis. Are you okay?” He asked, moving closer to her.

  “Tate. We need to talk.”

  Alexis led Tate up the stairs and while they walked he was aware of her mother glaring at him. He didn’t dare look back. When they got inside his room, he smiled.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked.

  “I’ve just nev
er been inside your room. Also, your mom did not seem happy to see me. I feel like a teenager sneaking into the room of a girl that I like.” This, at least, made her giggle.

  “Tate, stop it. You’re not supposed to be making me laugh.”

  Alexis then went on to tell him the reason why she left. The whole time she kept her head down, staring at her hands intently, and not daring to look him in the eye.

  “Alexis. Oh no. I wish you had come to me first. Alexis, you have no idea how hard it has been without you. I… I love you. I know that this is not what we had intended to happen. But it did. Seems Sally knows me better than I know myself. She probably knew this would happen the moment she met you. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me.” But now, tears were streaming down her face, and she finally looked up.

  “Tate, there’s something else. I only just found out.”

  “What? What’s wrong? Does it have something to do with you going to do the doctor? I saw something on Twitter about it.”

  “Yeah. Uh… Tate, I’m pregnant.”

  “Pregnant!”

  “I think we took this job far too seriously. This should never have happened. We weren’t supposed to get this close Tate. I cannot believe I let it go that far.”

  Tate knew he should be upset. He knew he should be anxious. But the fact remained, Alexis was just as in love with him as he was with her, and that was the only thing that he could think of. It was the only thing that mattered. He took her hand.

  “Alexis. Will you marry me?”

  “What?” Her head shot up.

  “Will you marry me, Alexis? I mean, that was the whole agreement from the start wasn’t it?” She started laughing.

  “Well yes, but you didn’t really have to go through with it.”

  “Forget the agreement anyway. I’m asking you for real now. Alexis, I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.”

  “That’s Dirty Dancing!” She burst out laughing, “I see your movie repertoire goes beyond just thrillers and horrors.”