Julia shocked me sometimes. For someone so bubbly, someone who went about her day-to-day life as if everything was hearts and roses, she sure knew how to make a bit of sense every now and then.
I pulled her into my side for a hug. “How do you always make the muddy waters of my life seem so clear?”
She laughed and hugged me back. “Sometimes it’s easier when you’re on the outside.”
#
It was close to 1 a.m. by the time I crawled into bed, and I was dozing almost the moment my head hit the pillow, knowing I had to be up in less than six hours. I was somewhere between sleep and consciousness when the piercing noise of my phone sent me bolt upright.
“Hello?”
There was a beat of silence before. “Oh, hey, it’s me. Did I wake you?”
Even in my semi-asleep state I knew who
me
was. Somehow hearing Will without him actually being here only highlighted the deep tenor of his voice.
“Will, is everything okay?”
He let out an awkward laugh, not at all like his usual smooth self. “Um, yeah, everything’s fine. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“Me? Of course, I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
I could feel the tension radiating down the line from him. “Well, I just never heard back from you and…and I just…Fuck, I was worried.”
I sat cross legged in the middle of the bed, stunned into silence.
“Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. You just caught me off guard.”
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have called. Did I wake you?”
Will’s voice still held an awkward tone, an octave above his usually deep sound. “I was just drifting off when you rang.”
“Well now I know you’re home, so I’ll let you go.”
I rolled my eyes, knowing full well what he really wanted to know. “Yes Will, I’m at home, alone, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
His low chuckle reverberated down the line. “I won’t pretend I’m not happy to hear that.” There was silence then, followed by a loud sigh at the other end of the line. “Jesus, I feel like the world’s biggest fucking idiot right now.”
I stayed quiet. It was awkward as hell, but I literally didn’t know how to remove us from the conversational black hole we seemed to have fallen into.
“Look, you go back to sleep and try to forget I ever called. I’m gonna go find the balls I seem to have lost. I’d rather not play like a pussy this weekend.”
I laughed then, enjoying the thought of Will squirming at the other end of the line.
“Good night, Will.”
“Night Em.”
I should have been annoyed at him for hassling me during my date, for calling wanting information he had no right to know. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t be. Instead I fell asleep with a giddy grin on my face. A man who only wanted into your pants didn’t call you like a fool with some stupid excuse just so he could be sure you went home alone.
CHAPTER TEN
I was off to Texas. Dallas to be specific, a place where they lived, breathed and consumed football every waking minute. Home of the Dallas Knights.
Carrie, James and I flew in late Sunday morning, the day before the team was scheduled to play a pre-season exhibition match. I was excited. Texas seemed like such a faraway place, in both distance and familiarity. While I knew that my ideals of Texas were probably akin to most people’s knowledge of Australia—that we kept kangaroos as pets and wrestled crocodiles for fun—I was still hopeful that I’d leave the airport and walk onto a John Wayne movie set.
What I got was something quite different. Dallas was a modern city with high rises and bustling traffic. Nothing compared to New York but still, where were the cowboys?
“So we’ll meet in the lobby in fifteen?” I stood outside my door, which by coincidence was right in between James and Carrie’s.
“Actually, I can feel a headache creeping on, do you mind if we make it an hour?” Carrie held one hand to her forehead, massaging her temple.
“Of course, do you want some pain killers? I’ve got some if you need them.” I leaned down to open my bag but she waved me off.
“No, it’s not too bad. I think a quick nap should fix it. I’ll see you soon.” She gave James and me a small smile before ducking into her room.
I looked at James. “Guess I’ll see you in an hour, unless you feel like getting out for a bit?”
James shrugged. “I’ve actually got a few emails I need to respond to, so I’d better pass.”
“No problem, I’ll see you soon.”
Game day would be busy, so I decided to pop down and do a little exploring of my own. I slipped on a sun dress—the oppressive heat was definitely
not
a Texan myth—and grabbing my purse, made for the door.
As I stepped out, the distinct sound of Carrie’s laugh made my head snap up.
I only saw them for a split second, but that was all the time I needed to piece things together. James had Carrie pushed up against the door frame, his hands roaming her sides while his mouth devoured her neck. They had been oblivious to me standing there, wrapped up in their own little bubble of intimacy.
I stood frozen to the spot for a few seconds after Carrie’s door closed, my mouth hanging open as I absorbed what I’d seen. I made my way to the lifts wracking my brain for any signs that should have clued me in but came up blank.
What the
actual
hell?
An hour later, I’d walked around a few city streets, still no closer to spotting a cowboy, and was back in the hotel lobby waiting for the two love birds to emerge.
James arrived first, plonking himself onto the couch opposite me.
I grinned. “Hey there, you manage to clear out your inbox?”
His eyes shot up to my face before his features relaxed. “Yeah, um totally cleared out, glad I did it.”
“I’m sure you are.” I nodded slowly, before catching Carrie approach out of the corner of my eye. She smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed and her eyes glowing.
“Here she is. How’s your head?”
She sank into the seat next to me. “Ugh, so much better. The sleep did wonders for me.” I looked over to James in time to catch his lips twitching in amusement. It was all so obvious now that I knew and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. This was going to be fun.
#
We split the afternoon between the stadium in Arlington, making sure the Warriors were represented properly for the game, and checking out the venue for the post-game party, which was really no more than a sectioned off VIP area of a nightclub. The event would be informal, no working media and only a few clients.
After listening to me whine throughout the afternoon about the lack of cowboys around town, Carrie and James promised we’d go to a Dallas institution for dinner, a place where I’d get my fix of true southern hospitality.
It was called Mike Anderson’s BBQ House and it didn’t disappoint. The three of us sat around a bar table drinking beers and munching on ribs and beef brisket.
“So, Em, I noticed Jensen didn’t take too well to hearing you had a date last week,” James said, grinning through a mouth full of onion rings.
Oh hell no.
After what I now knew about these two, there was no way I was going to be railroaded any longer about my non-existent love affair with Will.
I shrugged. “Really? He seemed okay to me.”
“Oh come on, don’t hold out on us. I saw the look on his face—there was no way in hell he was cool with it.”
I popped a peanut in my mouth. “I’m really not sure why the interest in my so-called romance with Will. I’d rather hear what’s going on with
you
.”
He held his hands up in innocence. “Nothing to see here, I’ve got nothing going on.”
“Huh. And what about you Carrie, didn’t you go on a date last week?” Her eyes narrowed at me, clearly confused by my question. Which she rightly should be, given I had made it up. It had the effect I was after though as James half-choked on a mouthful of beer.
“What are you talking about? I haven’t been on any dates lately.”
I took another swig of beer, enjoying playing with them both. “My bad, I must have got my wires crossed.”
We were all silent for a moment before I spoke again. “Did you get my email on the deal for Buck, James? You didn’t respond earlier today.” Another lie, there was no email about Buck. I just wanted them to squirm a little longer.
James shook his head, a frown crossing his face. “No, I don’t think so. When did you send it?”
“On Friday, but don’t worry I’ll send it again. It wasn’t urgent…I just thought you might have got to it this afternoon.” With that, both Carrie and James took a long gulp of beer.
I let my drink land on the table with a thud. “Okay guys, the jig’s up. I know something’s going on between you two.”
They both looked at me with wide eyes. “What? How ridiculous! Where on earth did that come from?” James half spat his drink at me.
“You sure you want to go down that road?”
Carrie laughed, but the sound was forced. “That’s hilarious, but you’re way off.”
I sighed, looking pointedly at James. “So you’re going to tell me it wasn’t you groping Carrie at her front door this afternoon?”
Their jaws dropped simultaneously.
“Oh.”
“Yes.
Oh
indeed. Now spill.”
They looked at one another, before Carrie’s arm stretched out across the table to grasp mine.
“Please, please, please don’t say anything, Em. We don’t even know what’s going on ourselves—this is all so totally new.”
“Of course I won’t. Your secret’s safe with me.” I narrowed my eyes at them. “But I want details.”
Carrie glanced back at James, a shy smile spreading across her face. “Well, it just sort of happened really. One minute we were laughing our heads off in the back of a cab coming home from the fundraiser, and well, then we kissed and…” she shrugged. “I guess you know how it ended.” She blushed as the words left her mouth, her eyes focusing on her bottle of beer.
James rested his arm behind her chair back, smoothing his hand over the back of her neck. I was surprised. One week after a drunken night together and they seemed completely at ease. Where was the post hook-up awkwardness?
“Well, I think it’s great. And you should take all the time you need figuring it out. There’s no reason you need to tell everyone in a hurry….just be more careful about your secret getaways next time.” I smiled and they visibly relaxed.
“Now, I’m not about to blackmail you, but—”
James slapped his hand on the table. “Oh boy, there’s a sentence you never want to hear.”
“Well, now that I know your secret, I need you guys to help getting people to back off with all the Will stuff, or at the very least, don’t encourage it.”
Carrie laughed. “You can’t blame people for being curious.”
“I know that, but it makes me uncomfortable. I hate the thought of being the topic of conversation.”
James popped another onion ring in his mouth. “So nothing’s happening then?”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s the kind of question I was hoping you’d stop asking, but no, nothing’s happened…the man can be very persistent though.”
I crammed an onion ring into my mouth to avoid any more interrogations.
#
Game Day.
My first and I was excited, even if it was only an exhibition match. Given the Texans’ love for football, the stadium was a sell-out and I was in for the full-blown NFL experience.
We split up, Carrie and I going to the stadium while James went to prepare the after party.
“Well blow me down with a feather, if it isn’t my two favourite girls!”
Buck scooped both of us up, spinning round before we even had time to react.
“Jesus, Buck, you scared me!”
“Now Em, you know I love you, but please don’t take the Lord’s name in vain on the field, especially not on game day.” I yelped as he whacked my butt before running off.
Laughing, I yelled after him. “Sorry Bucky Boy!”
At that moment Will walked onto the field, ball under his arm. His head was down, his wrinkled brow a hint as to how focused he was. When he looked up and caught me staring, his face momentarily lit up in surprise as he registered seeing me. He nodded in my direction before he turned away, running over to Buck.
Carrie bumped my arm. “Don’t look too disappointed. It’s a miracle he even noticed you. Once that man hits the field he’s focused on one thing, and trust me, that thing is not usually a pretty brunette.”
Placing my hands on my hips I faced her properly. “Who said I was disappointed?”
Carrie gave me a pointed stare.
“Hey, I thought we agreed you guys would drop this talk.”
She only shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t say a thing.”
“Yeah, you didn’t have to.”
#
My palms were sweaty, my hands shaking and I couldn’t slow my breathing. The Warriors had just beaten the Knights in a nail-biting finish, maintaining their unbeaten record at the stadium. All around me, loyal Warriors fans who’d made the trek were going crazy, and I was partially deaf thanks to both James and Carrie’s constant screaming in the last quarter. I had watched, enthralled, still not completely certain of the intricacies of the game, yet able to appreciate the beauty of it none-the-less.
I kept my eyes on the field, watching as the team celebrated, unable to look away. I thought back to Dana’s words from last week, about how impressive Will was in the heat of the action. She hadn’t been embellishing and I had barely taken my eyes off him the entire time. It was cliché, but he really did own the game. He owned the field, the ball, his team and most importantly, his opposition. I had no idea what was going on in his head, but outwardly, he was pure confidence. If he played a thousand games, I’d back his team each and every time.
I kept my eyes on him as the team slowly made their way to the sideline, my heart rate only increasing the closer he got. We were standing right next to the ramp leading off the field and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from calling out to him, wanting so much for him to see that I’d enjoyed the game, enjoyed
his
game. I didn’t need to though. Almost as if hearing my thoughts, he looked up, only a few feet from me. His eyes were shinning with pure elation from the win. When we locked eyes, his smile only grew wider and then he winked, covering his mouth with his hand to blow a kiss.