Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series) (40 page)

             
Jake was tying up his sneakers when Mason walked in the room and stopped dead in his tracks and gave Jake a painful look. Jake sat up and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

             
There should be no painful look on Mason’s face, especially since he was drafted by the Denver Stallions. It was sad that they were no longer going to be playing with each other but Jake was damn proud of his friend. Mason was going to have to work hard to earn his spot on the team but Jake had no doubt in his mind that Mason was going to make an impact on the Stallion’s offense.

             
Mason pulled out a rolled up newspaper. “Read the headline today?”

             
“Does it look like I’m a fifty year old man who wakes up at the crack of dawn to read the newspaper? No, I barely rolled out of bed and kissed my girl bye before getting here.”

             
“You might want to read it.” Mason tossed him the rolled up newspaper that fell right in front of Jake and unfolded revealing a very disturbing headline and picture. The major headline of the paper was a picture of Jake signing autographs at Lexi’s game and a broken down picture of Lexi after the game. She was sitting in the dugout with her head between her hands. The headline read, “We will see…”.

             
“What the fuck is this?” Jake asked.

             
“Just read it man.” Mason went off to the bathroom as Jake sat back in his locker and read the article.

“We will see…”

Jake Taylor, quarterback and center of every girl’s dream at Cal U might be single and ready to mingle in up the coming days. This past weekend, Jake was drafted by our very own San Diego Thunder, something the school is incredibly proud of but not everyone is happy about our home grown hero. After being approached after a victorious three game series against Cal U’s rival, Lexi Knox was less than thrilled about her famous boyfriend’s new career path.

When asked if she watched the draft she simply stated, “I was unable to watch everything go down.” Instead of every other girl, holding their breaths as Jake sat patiently to see what team would pick him up, she was busy playing softball. Can’t hold that against her but the enthusiasm dripping from her words was less than satisfying.

We briefly discussed the similarities in their numbers and what kind of connection it meant, Jake being eight and Lexi being seventeen but she set us straight in our assumptions.

“What do you think I’m some lovesick puppy that my world revolves around the man I’m dating? Well it doesn’t. I have been able to take care of myself and make decisions on my own way before Jake came around, I don’t need him convincing me about what God-for-saken number I slap on my back.” Lexi spat back at us.

It seems like the lovey dovey act the superstar and his girl have been putting on has all been a façade. When asked to comment about their relationship all their friends declined interviews saying Jake and Lexi’s relationship was between them and only them. A typical response whenever asked but now doesn’t it seem a little strange, especially since the tension between the two has been thick enough to cut with a knife.

Lexi was offered a job with Texas as an assistant coach. It was assumed she would be shacking up with Jake after graduation and proposal rumors have also been flying around for the two love birds but when we told her we knew she would be living with Jake after graduation her exact words were, “We will see about that.” Then she stormed off.

Ladies, go get your hair done and your waxes taken care of because Jake Taylor is soon to be free and will need a warm body to fill his cold, cold bed.

*Since the Women’s Softball team won the three games series this past weekend they are one step closer to clinching a spot in the playoffs. Lexi Knox also surpassed the record for all-time collegiate hits in the nation.

              Jake sat in his locker staring at the paper when Mason came back into the locker room and sat next to him. They didn’t say anything to each other, they just sat there quietly. The interviewer had to have jumbled her words. There was no way Lexi was turning back on her promise to be with him after college. They loved each other. Jake stood up and tore the newspaper in half.

             
“Jake, calm down there has to be a reasonable explanation for all this.”

             
Jake didn’t even look at Mason, he grabbed his keys and headed for his Jeep. He needed to see Lexi. He needed to clear the air. There was no way he could function knowing she might not want to be with him.

             
When he reached Lexi’s apartment he tore through the doors and noticed she was still in bed. That was odd. She was never in bed this late. He went over to her and that was when he saw her tear stained face. He rolled her over and pulled her into his arms. He sat there and held her until she calmed down from the sobs that were pouring from her mouth.

             
“Shhh, what’s wrong baby?” She shook her head and didn’t say anything. “Baby, please talk to me. I’m scared. I read something in the newspaper this morning and it made me really nervous.” She stiffened in his arms and pulled away.

             
She frantically wiped away at her face and backed herself up into the corner of her bed. “You read Harry’s article?”

             
Jake was confused. “When did you read it?”

             
“I didn’t.”

             
“Then how do you know what it says?” Jake’s stomach was so twisted up in knots he felt like he was going to puke any second. 

             
“I know what I said.” She whispered.

             
Completely deflated, he realized at that moment that she wasn’t taken out of context in the article, all the things she was quoted for were true. She actually said them. He just stared at her. He didn’t know what to say. She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged herself. She didn’t say anything either. The silence between them was deafening.

             
“Lexi…”

             
“Please Jake don’t say anything.”             

             
“Well one of us has to say something we just can’t sit here in silence. Talk to me.”

             
Lexi twisted her hair on her finger, a tendency Jake noticed she did when she was feeling nervous or anxious.

             
“We need to talk.”

             
Oh hell no.

“Lexi, please don’t.” She held up her hand.

              “Jake, I can’t do this.”

             
Jake’s heart felt like it was going to pop out of his chest. “Can’t do what? This conversation? It’s ok baby, we can just go grab breakfast…” He tried to get closer but she held out her hand as if she put up a force field.

             
“No, Jake. I can’t do us.”

             
She might as well have ripped his heart out of his chest and tossed it to opposing linemen to do what they want with it. This could not be happening. Jake felt his throat close up and he lost all ability to speak any kind of words.

             
Lexi got out of the bed and paced her room with her hand to her head. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and that was it. The sight of her in front of him squeezed out every last bit of his heart. He couldn’t take the sight of her when she uttered such foul words about their relationship.

             
“What are you saying, Lex?” He was able to barely whisper.

             
“I can’t make you happy the way you want me to. I can’t be that perfect little wife that waits around for you while you are off playing games. I need to make something of myself Jake, I don’t want to be like my mom who depended on her man. Look what happened to her.”

             
Jake stood up in anger and pointed his finger at her. “What did I tell you about comparing me to your dad? I am nowhere even close to that man.”

             
“You might not be him but the way you try to control my life is what he did to my mom.”

             
Jake ran his hand over his face in anger and shouted. “How the hell am I controlling your life?”

             
Lexi looked at him as if he was stupid. “You don’t want me to work, you just want me to stay home and be at your beck and call.”

             
“I never said I wanted you at my beck and call. I want to be able to provide for you and for you to relax, enjoy life.”

             
“I don’t need to relax.” She shouted back. “I want to be my own person. I don’t want to live in your shadow.”

             
“Is that how you see it? That’s a lovely shade of green on you, Lex.”

             
“Fuck you.” She pushed at his chest but he didn’t move. “Did you even know I broke a huge fucking record yesterday? I made a huge accomplishment yesterday and once you showed up at the field no one gave two shits about what I did.”

             
“How is that my fault?”

             
Jake tried to ignore how Lexi’s shirt kept lifting up and down giving him peaks at her underwear when she was flailing her arms about in anger.

“It’s your fault because you should have redirected the attention back to me, at least for a second. I know what you did was greater than what I will ever be able to accomplish sports wise but for once
Jake you should have let me have the spotlight. If you loved me you, would have redirected everyone’s attention on what was happening on the field, not off.”

             
Damn it, she was right. He hated admitting it but she was so God damn right it tore even harder at his chest. How could he have been so naïve? She didn’t get to go on playing the sport she loved like he did, instead she had a couple of games left and every moment in those games mattered and he stole one of the biggest moments of her softball career.

             
He ran his hand through his hair and blew out an exhausted breath. “Jesus, Lex you’re right. I’m so sorry. I got carried away yesterday and I took something from you I didn’t have the right to take.”

             
He must have surprised her because Lexi stood there and just stared at him as if she wasn’t expecting him to concede.

“Will you forgive me?” he asked, hoping and praying she would soon fly into his arms and they could move past
all this.

             
She nodded and he felt like crying. He went over to wrap her in his arms but she stopped him. He gave her a questioning glare and she said, “I still can’t do this, Jake.”

             
“Wait, what? But I said I was sorry.”

             
“I know, but I can’t be with you. I need to find myself and if you’re with me then I won’t be able to do that.”

             
“I can help you.” He said with a pathetic pleading tone.

             
“No Jake, you will only be a hindrance.”

             
Never in his life was he ever mentioned as being a hindrance. The cruel tone she used was like a slap to the face. He would have actually preferred Lexi’s tiny hand connecting with his face like it had in the past. She wasn’t even yelling at him now, she just looked deflated, hurt and sad. Did he really do this to her? Did he take away all her independence? He thought back to when he first met her and remembered how independent she was but that was just because there really was no one to watch over her, except for Parker. Did Parker say something to her?

             
“Is this Parker’s idea?” Jake had to ask even though he knew the question might start up World War three, four and five.

             
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

Yup, wrong time to ask that question
, he thought. She was yelling again. At least he could deal with the yelling Lexi, the deflated Lexi he had no clue how to handle.

“
You’re such dick, you know that? I don’t need a man telling me how to live my life.”

             
He let out a frustrated growl. “I shouldn’t have said that, I’m sorry. I’m just so frazzled right now. I don’t know what to do. I can’t lose you Lexi, you’re my everything, you make me who I am.”

             
“No Jake, you made yourself. I had nothing to do with who you are.”

             
“How can you even say that?” He tried to hold her hands but she rejected his touch. He had never seen her like this, so turned off by him, except for the first night they met but even then he saw a little sparkle in her eyes. “Lexi, I’ve changed so much this year and in a good way. You make me want to be a better man. How can you say you didn’t have any part in that? Please, let’s just sit down and talk this out. We can figure out what you want to do. I’ll help you.”