Bedding the Bad Boy (Bad Boys of Football Book 1) (19 page)

There was movement in the window of Beck’s office. I knew it was him. I knew he was watching us. I looked at Frank and asked, “Do you see him?”

He glanced up at the window. “Looks like he missed you,” he answered.

“I missed him,” I muttered. I looked up at the window. He was standing with crutches under his arms, smiling down at me, oblivious to my struggle.

He blew a kiss.

My heart ached for him. For us. Was this the beginning of the end?

“I’
m
heading out; are you good? You sure, you don’t want to come out and have some fun?” I asked Isla. She’d been acting weird ever since she came back from her interview. It must not have gone too well because she didn’t want to discuss it with me.

“No, I’m not feeling well. I think, I’ll take a nap. Sorry,” she offered.

“Alright, well, try not to miss me too much. I’ll be back later. Frank’s here, if you need anything,” I assured her.

Isla rolled her eyes. She still hadn’t gotten used to the fact there were a group of people in my employ, who were paid to cater to my every need. She wasn’t living the same life she used to live. Everything had changed and she’d either have to get used to it or deal with the resentment, my staff would show her for not allowing them to do their jobs.

“I’ll be fine. The question is; how are you going to hold up?” She eyed my cast. “Did the doctor give you permission to be out partying with the guys? I mean, if you’re not going to heed my warnings, you could, at least, heed his, right?”

And, there it was. She was angry, I was going to go out and spend some time with the team. It’s not like we were going to do anything exciting. After what happened the last time we went out, I don’t think any of us were looking for any drama.

“Are you mad? Is this going to be a problem? I’ve been cooped up for the past few weeks. I can’t play ball right now. I can’t drink because of the pain meds. How much trouble can I get into with my leg all jacked up like this and no alcohol in my system?” I asked.

“You think alcohol is the reason why you get yourself in trouble?” Sarcasm laced Isla’s words. “My concern is whether or not it’s safe for you to be out.”

I checked my watch. If we didn’t hash this out now, I’d miss the first half of the game. I wanted to check out what my so-called nemesis, E.J. ‘The Arm’ Razor, had going on both on and off the field. His team was playing tonight and we were going to watch it at one of my teammate’s places.

“Frank is going to drop me off and pick me up when I’m ready. A guy with no wheels is no threat. I’m going to be okay. You worry about you and the baby,” I said, patting her little, round tummy.

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you tonight and I do mean tonight.”

There she went again, like I had the energy to bang someone new these days. It was hard enough trying to keep her satisfied when my leg and hip felt like they were going to burn off me. I didn’t have time nor the desire to want to train someone new to work around my temporary condition.

I hobbled my way over to the car, all the while feeling Isla’s eyes on me. I loved that she was worried. That was cute, but she really had nothing to worry about. This night was about me and the guys. Although I invited her, she technically wasn’t invited by the guys. This was one of those dudes only game nights. Having women around caused too much of a distraction and not enough time to study our opponents and think about the game.

“Are you ready, sir?” Frank assessed me as I made my slow approach.

“Hell yeah,” I answered, practically giddy with emotion. I hadn’t been out with the guys in so long; I almost forgot what it was like to have fun.

“No security?” Frank asked.

“Nah, they can hang out here and make sure no assholes come barreling through my gates and hurt my babies. Speaking of babies, did Isla mention anything to you about her interview today?” I asked as I hopped my way into the back seat.

Frank looked like he’d seen a ghost. He closed the door behind me and fidgeted nervously, wringing his hands before collecting himself and getting into the driver’s seat.

“You okay there?” I asked, wondering what all the fuss was about.
What did he know about Isla and her appointment?

He always bit his lip when he was nervous. There were very few moments I could remember since meeting and hiring him that I witnessed him do that, but each time, it was because of something major, like when my grandmother died. I had a game out of town and couldn’t be reached. Poor Frank took the message and had to help my mother through the day until he could get ahold of me and inform me. I remember his face so vividly. It was as if he’d suffered a horrible loss.

“Is it my mom?” I asked, my heart thrashing against my chest wall. “Is she okay?”

Frank blinked wildly. “What? No, your mother is fine. At least, I think she is. I thought you were asking me about Isla?” He looked confused. He had every right to be. I’d veered so far off into left field; I almost couldn’t find my way back.

“Sorry, I got confused. Remind me to call my mother tomorrow. We were talking about Isla. Did something happen to her this morning? She seems so distant right now,” I said, pushing the loss of my grandmother out of my mind.

Again, he bit his lip. Something was up.

“Where did you take her this morning? Where was her interview?” I could feel myself getting angry. “Did she really have an interview or was there something else going on?”

Frank looked at me in the mirror. “She did speak to someone about a job, yes. I think maybe she’s tired. Women get like that when they’re expecting.”

“Don’t do it, Frank. Don’t start lying to me now,” I warned him.

He took his cap off and smoothed his hand over the thick patch of hair that comprised the middle section of his head. “I’m not, sir. I think maybe this is a conversation you should be having with her. All I know is, whatever interview she had made her a little tense. Like I said, it’s probably the pregnancy, the strain of everything going on with you or hormones. I wouldn’t worry too much, if I were you.”

I trusted Frank. I truly did, but somehow I didn’t believe him. Things didn’t add up for me. I’d told Isla not to worry about a job right now, especially with the baby on the way.
“Who did she interview with? Where did you take her this morning?” I asked, believing those questions were benign enough, but Frank’s jaw dropped when I posed those questions to him again.

I watched his Adam’s apple move up and down in his throat. He had difficulty swallowing whatever was there
. Fear? Guilt? A mixture of the two? What wasn’t he telling me and why?”

“We’re here, sir. Would you like me to wait?” Frank asked, averting his eyes from mine.

I looked up at the multi-million-dollar mansion, equipped with a lap pool and a tennis court. We were living large in our world, yet one tiny, curvaceous woman was real close to making me do something that would take it all away from me in an instant.
What was she up to?

“You can go back to the house. Keep an eye on Isla for me. She said she wasn’t feeling well,” I informed Frank, figuring it was time to let him off the hook. It was obvious, he didn’t want to tell me anything more about Isla. I didn’t like how he was so secretive about it, but I trusted him enough to know he would never agree to do anything to piss me off. That’s not the kind of man he was. He, above every other person I ever met in my life, could be counted on. Whatever it was Isla was up to would come out eventually. In my experience, most women had a hard time keeping secrets. Even the ones who were doing something evil would be chomping at the bit to tell you all about it. They all wanted to get one over on someone.

“Will do. What time would you like me to pick you up?” Frank asked, reminding me, I was expected to come home. That wasn’t my usual modus operandi. Nights out with the guys usually led to late mornings with the female flavor of the night and her friend or two.

Figuring Isla would ask him what I said, I answered, “I’ll let you know. I have to check out the scenery first.”

“Have a good night,” Frank said as he stepped out to open the door for me. He made a point of not making eye contact with me. I didn’t know if that was because he was still feeling uneasy about my questions or because he was nervous about the questions he’d have to answer once he got back to my house.

I hobbled to the front door, anxious to do something that felt normal for a change. I was feeling pretty confident; I wasn’t going to mess anything up tonight. Isla was a strong, independent woman - my curvy Nubian queen. She wasn’t one of those who didn’t know what to do with herself without a man. She was fine on her own, but still appreciated when I was around. It was a different feeling for me - a different kind of relationship, so me being out and acting like the dude I was, shouldn’t be a big deal with her. Surely, she’d understand why I had to be here.

“Hey, Beck! What’s up, man?” Jared’s voice boomed out of the foyer.

What the fuck is he doing here?

I wanted to turn around and hobble my ass right on out of there. Hell, I was willing to drag myself across town if I had to. I hadn’t seen Jared since the night he tried to run me over.

Jared stood in the doorway, smiling at me like nothing had happened between us, like he forgot he’d gotten arrested for setting me up and for hitting me with his car.

“He’s leaving,” my teammate, Will, said. “Let Beck through so he can get off that leg.”

I appreciated the gesture, but no way was I going to walk away. I didn’t have anything to be ashamed of. I was the victim.

Will tried again. “Yeah, Jared is leaving. He stopped by to let the guys know he was out.”

I didn’t care.

Jared shifted uncomfortably, but that didn’t prevent him from speaking to me again. “Nice to see you up and around. Did the doctors say how long it would be before you were back out on the field?”

He had some fucking balls!

Will interjected. “Here, let me walk you out,” he said to Jared.

I locked my free foot in place, keeping my eyes focused on Jared as he squeezed past me.

“Glad you’re doing okay,” Jared muttered under his breath.

Asshole!

My other teammates tried to cut the tension. They did their best at starting a conversation with me, but I wasn’t in the mood. All of my attention was on the dude who tried to ruin my career. Screw trying to have a chat!

“I need a drink!” If I could have stormed off and poured myself a fat glass of something strong, I would have, but with my leg in a cast and bandages on my abdomen, the chance of me storming, strolling, skipping or anything else were null and void. Instead, I hopped on one foot and nearly toppled over head first before I made it from the front door to the living room.

“What the hell are you trying to do, Beck?” Will asked, grabbing my elbow to steady me. “We’ll get you something. I don’t mean to be a buzzkill, but should you be drinking right now? Don’t they have you hopped up on painkillers?”

He was right. I shouldn’t have been drinking. I shouldn’t have been doing anything, but sitting with my leg propped up on something and watching life pass by right in front of me.

“We have something better for him,” another team member said, motioning toward the foyer. “Here they are right now.”

In walked in about a half-dozen women, each sexier than the one before them. I didn’t know who they were or where they came from, but they sure did make me forget all about seeing Jared. I almost forgot about the pain I felt. Almost, but when I tried to stand up to welcome them with my charm, the pain reminded me I wasn’t going to see much action tonight or any night in my immediate future. I was fucked and not in a good way. Well, not in a good way yet, because a light-skinned beauty was staring at me with sex in her eyes and thick, luscious lips begging to wrap themselves around my thick, long dick.

Yeah, the night was looking a lot better from my vantage point. A lot better.

“You’re Beck Alexander,” she said, licking her lips as her eyes skimmed down my body.

“And, you are?” I asked, assessing her tight, little body. She was hot!
Why hadn’t I ever seen her around before?

“I’m Candy.” Her eyes were focused on the bulge in my pants. She wasn’t shy; that’s for sure. “Looks like you’re healing quickly from your injuries.”

And, that’s what did it! The way the words rolled off her tongue; it didn’t take a genius to figure out what she was referring to. She saw my arousal and knew what to do to ensure it would stay.

“Why don’t you join me?” I asked. It came out of my mouth so quickly, I couldn’t take the words back. It was like second nature to invite a beautiful woman to sit on my lap.

I panicked as she sauntered over to me. “Sorry, I mean, why don’t you sit down with the guys? They’re getting ready to turn the game on. I take it, you’re a football fan.”

She stopped, short of making contact with my good leg. “Are you trying to push me away?”

I thought of Isla, sitting at home worrying about me. I didn’t want to do this. “No, don’t look at it that way. I’m… maybe, you haven’t heard, but I got a kid on the way. I have a fiancée at home.”

She snickered. “Oh, so you’re special? I’m sure you’re the only guy here who has a woman at home, right?” Now, her words were filled with sarcasm. She didn’t like to be turned down. I couldn’t blame her. With a body like that, I couldn’t imagine very many men or women refused her.

“No, I’m not special. I’m spoken for, I guess.” It felt so strange to hear myself say those words.
When did I become an up and up guy? Was I hit in the head one too many times?