Hail Mary Baby: A Secret Baby Sports Romance (15 page)

“
D
addy
? Is that where I'm taking you to? The kid’s dad? I, eh, don't mean to pry or nothin’. Just passing the time.” The cab driver said. We were a couple hours into the drive and nearing Boston with each passing mile.

“It's okay, I don't mind.” I smiled from the backseat. Alex was sound asleep, hanging over my lap like a lump of heavy bricks. “Me and the kid’s father have sort of a complicated relationship.” I loosely admitted.

“Yeah? I get it. Me and my first wife had something like that.” He said.

I could tell he could really use the conversation so I took the bait. “What happened?” I asked him.

“Ah, she passed some time ago. Fucking lymphoma. Time catches up on all of us, right?” Upon hearing this, my stomach sank. The man continued to look at the road. “We’re gonna hit this storm. Prepare for some wind and heavy rain, everybody.” He said, straining his eyes to see. He adjusted his lights and pushed forward.

“I am so sorry for your loss.” I whispered, unable to say really anything else. I couldn't imagine losing someone so close to me like that. It tore at my heart just thinking about it.

“It's alright. It's more tough on the kids, you know? They loved their mother.” He shook his head and sighed quietly. The road was getting bumpier and Alex shook in his sleep.

I leaned forward, entranced by his story. “Yeah, but she was the person you fell in love with. You went through all those experiences with her and then she was gone. I can't imagine.” I said. And then after some seconds of awkward silence I added, “I'm sorry. It's not my place to say anything more.”

He laughed a big burly New Yorker type of laugh. “Hell, you can't offend me. I grew up on the streets of that big city. I've heard and seen much worse. But you're right. It was hard for me, but I also don't live in a storybook land. I know that people come and go. I know nothin’ lasts forever. My kids though. Shit, they don't know that yet.”

“Yeah. Children are innocent.” I said, feeling light headed.

“You said you and your husband are going through some things?” He asked me.

“Boyfriend, not husband. Well, it's complicated, like I said. He didn't know I had his kid. He, uh, is a big sports player. We lost contact. It was a whole cluster-fuck of an ordeal. Well, still is actually.” I gave a small awkward laugh and picked at the seams of my shirt.

“Sports? I'm a huge baseball fan. Does he bat?” He turned his head halfway around with a newly vested interest.

“No he throws.” I said. And when he didn't understand what I was talking about, I reiterated. “Football. He's a quarterback. Liam Conway.” I found myself saying his name aloud. Conway. The name rolled off my tongue like butter.

I missed him, despite all of our issues. I remembered his body, the heavy touch from his fingers and his strong grasp. He would envelop me with his arms, consume with his body and massive cock. After fucking him, I would lay in bed suffocating from a lack of air and energy. I wanted to feel that way again. I wanted to feel his obsession wash over me.

I felt my legs tingle with anticipation. Just the thought of his gaze set me off. The cabbie, however, interrupted my train of thought. “Liam Conway? You’re kidding! You're going to get
that
son of a bitch back? Never mind, honey! I take it all back. Let's turn around now!”

“Not a big Patriots fan, I take it?” I laughed slightly.

“Hell no!” He yelled, nearly waking Alex up. “Listen up, I'm from Brooklyn. Born and raised.
Fuck
the Patriots!” He cackled out the window, speeding through branches and other debris from the storm.

I laughed and said, “Yeah, well, I think all sports are kind of goofy. A bunch of greasy men touching each other? It's kind of weird. And I hate the violence of the sport, you know?” I thought about what I had just said and decided to correct myself. “Okay, the men touching each other. That can stay. The rest I couldn't care less about.”

“So you were the one he was talkin’ about at the press conference, weren't you?
Shit
!” He swerved to the side of the road to avoid a massive tree right in the middle of the freeway. “Sorry about that folks, it's getting scary out there. Better put on your seat belts.”

He zipped around the rubble and made his way onto the road once more.
Almost there
, I thought.
Just a half hour left.
With all the shaking from the drive, Alex had woke up frightened.

“Daddy?” He said, looking around the cab.

“I ain't your daddy.” The cab driver laughed.

“That was me he was talking about. He's crazy.” I said.

“Ha! I’ll bet you a million bucks it's also the reason why you love him.”

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. It was true. I loved him because of who he was. He was talented, strong, deep, and he was also a reckless asshole.

“Say no more. I'll get you to him in no time!” He slammed his foot into the pedal, laughing as the big lug of metal pushed through the storm.

F
inally
, we reached the freeway entrance to the city. Most players lived outside of Boston, but of course Liam had to do things his way. Liam liked living in the city, amongst all those big buildings, despite him being very vocal about hating it. We pulled up to a long series of luxury condos and stopped. The engine was idling and the sound of rain tapping against the aluminum ricocheted around us.

“We’re here.” Our driver said. He turned to look at me and said, “No being sad or angry, or any of those other negative emotions. You’re a strong woman, you hear me? You’ll be a great family someday. Just listen to him. Hear him out. You’ll figure it out together. I know you will.”

“I’ll try.” I said, fondling a wad of cash in my purse.

He waved my hand away. “No need. Just give me an even $60 and we’ll call it a day.”

“You serious?” I asked him, grabbing three 20’s from my wallet.

“I just want to see you two flourish. I’ll be watching the TV for updates!” He laughed and honked the horn. “Alright, out of my cab. Both of you!”

I jumped out, holding Alex and running to the nearest outside ceiling. I was soaked from head to toe and so was Alex, though he was remarkably calm. I called Liam and he answered almost immediately. “Hey, is everything alright?” He asked me. I could hear the same thunder in the background of his phone.

“Are you home?” I said, wiping the rain from my eyes.

“Yeah. Wait, why? What’s going on?”

“What floor?” I asked him, ignoring the question.

“Third floor. Room 32. Can you tell me what the hell is going on?” He asked me.

“Nothing. Everything is fine.” I said, hanging up the phone. I ran up his staircase and found door number 32. I knocked carefully and waited for my man.

“
L
aura
?” There she was, in all her beauty, the love of my God damn life.

“Hi Liam.” She whispered, shivering and covered in rain and leaves. Alex coughed from the cold wind outside.

“Come in! Sorry, I would’ve cleaned if I knew someone was coming.” Beer cans were littered across the floor. Clothes were everywhere. It was all to be expected when you went through a breakdown like I did.

I grabbed Alex gently from her arms and kissed his forehead. He felt cold. “We should run him a warm bath. I don’t want him getting sick.” I said. “I’ll heat up some milk from the fridge.”

I bundled him up in a fresh towel and set him on the coach. I then ran into the bathroom and began running a warm bath for him. “Thank you.” Laura said from the living room.

“It’s no thing. Really. I’m happy to do it.” I said. I made sure the water was at a good temperature. Once the water got to a good level, I stopped it short and settled Alex into the water. He simply smiled the whole time, completely calm and happy to be alive.

Laura placed her hip against the bathroom door and watched as I began playing with him from the outside of the bath. There wasn’t much, but I
did
have some old toys from when I was a kid hidden away in a drawer off to the side. I grabbed an old plastic boat and placed it in the water. He instantly took a liking to it, splashing water at the little tugboat.

“There you go!” I said enthusiastically.

“Can we talk for a second?” Laura asked me suddenly. Her voice sounded as if it had a slight tinge of sadness to it.

“Yeah, of course. But before you say anything, I just want to say that I’m sorry and I’ve thought it all through. I’m okay with it now.” I said. “You know, I wasn’t before, but now I think I am.” But I wasn’t acting normal and both her and Alex could sense it almost straightaway.

“Then why do you sound so weird?” She asked me. Then she moved a little closer to me and sat down. “Something tells me you’re not okay with the way things are.” She put her hand on my thigh suddenly.

“I…” I tried to speak, but she cut me off before I could get a word in.

She held a finger up to my mouth. “Shh. It’s okay. I’m not either. At least I think I’m not. I was wrong. Wrong about everything.” She said.

I couldn’t hold back my confusion. None of this made any God damn sense. “Excuse me? Is this for real?” I waited for Alex to pinch me so I could wake up from this fantasy, but he didn’t. This was real alright. She was coming back to me.

“It’s real. I’m real. You’re real! And I need to stop pretending I don’t love how insane you are.” She said, now holding my face. I kissed her as fast and hard as I could.

“I’ve been praying to hear you say those words. Did you see the press conference? I want you forever, Laura Alvaroy. I want to raise our boy together. I want to support you and to watch your career blossom. Shit, I want to put another baby in that basket and I want to be the best fucking father on this planet. If you just give me a chance I’m changing everyday and I’m changing fast. I promise you. This time I won’t let you down.” I said, exhausted from letting out all I had held in. I stared at her, waiting for a response. Anything, I just wanted to hear her speak again.

“Just promise me you’ll win this Super Bowl. Okay?” A short smile came jutting across her cute face.

“My brown eyed girl.” I whispered, feeling her soft hair between my fingers once again.

“Like the song.” She whispered back, getting closer to me.

“I always loved that song. I love you even more though.” I said to her. But reality came and hit me like a ton of bricks.

I looked at her gorgeous face, only I was troubled now. “They want me out of the game, Laura. I don’t know what to do.”

“They want who out of the game? You? Like hell they do!” She exclaimed. Alex splashed around in the water more, upon hearing this.

“I’m serious. I saw Jenkins today. He’s got word the networks think I’m too irresponsible to bank on. My record has been too shaky this past season and now I’m fucking 33 years old, three years older than the average player in the whole league. I’m telling you, they want me to fail.”

“Liam, why would they want you to fail? I just don’t get it.” She said, draining the bath tub for me. I quickly grabbed a clean towel and wrapped Alex up in it, rubbing his hair dry. Someday he’d be my age and I prayed he wouldn’t have to deal with any of this bullshit. He’d be a doctor, or a lawyer, or just a regular working guy who owned a house on the shore of San Diego. Anything but a ball player.

“I don’t know, Laura. I really don’t. It’s like I said. Maybe because I’m too reckless. I wasn’t playing well until I got to the playoffs.”

“I need to make a few calls.” She said, drying her hands off and walking out of the bathroom. Her heels clicked against the smooth tile floors.

“Laura, don’t.” I said, but it was too late. She was on the balcony making a call to her network to get some information out of them.

Outside, I could see her throwing her hands up wildly, arguing into the phone. I couldn’t make out the words, so me and Alex just sat staring at her with confused looks on our faces. Finally, after a few minutes, she walked back inside and shut the sliding glass doors.

“Someone is lying to you.” She simply said.

“What do you mean
someone
is lying to me?” I asked her, picking myself up off the couch in the living room.

“I mean, either Jenkins is lying or someone is lying to him. I don’t know who the hell is, but
someone
is! I just called Jacob and he said nothing like that is going on. They’re all banking on you winning. The networks, the ad agencies, fucking Wheaties. They all want you to win this, Liam.” She stood in front of me, arms crossed.

“What’re you saying, Laura? You really think Jenkins wasn’t telling me the truth? I’ve known him forever. We made a pact together. We promised each other we’d always be there for each other. Why would he do that to me?” I said, justifying everything. I don’t know why I was fighting it so hard. This industry was cut-throat and I knew Jenkins had the drive to win. Maybe she was right.

“Isn’t it obvious? He wants to get into your head, Liam. He wants you to lose. For Christ sakes, he’s on the opposing side now. There can only be one winner, right?” She looked at me as if I needed some waking up to do.

“Holy…” I whispered. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Her eyes widened. “Holy shit. It was Jenkins who went to the Enquirer and told them you were seeing Cindy again. He knew it would cause controversy and hoped it would bleed into your skills out on the field!” She exclaimed.

“Laura, I called her today. When I met with Jenkins I called her up to run a piece in her magazine on the new Liam Conway.” I bit down hard and felt my temperature begin to rise.

“The new what?”

“You know, a rebranding for my image. Nice guy Liam Conway. I was going to get rid of the whole bad boy image.”

“He’s making you look weak, Liam. You run that piece tomorrow and come Sunday you’ll look like an old man who’s tired of the game. Not only that, but how’s it going to look to the rest of the world when you’re seen with Cindy again?”

“But—”

“No buts about it. I appreciate the gesture, trust me. But you don’t want to do this. When were you supposed to meet with her?” She asked me as she dressed Alex in some new clothes. He was making noises, laughing to himself. I appreciated his light hearted vibe, but now was not the time.

“Now. I was supposed to be there now.” I said, feeling frantic.

“Alright. Well, you dug your own grave. Now we have to offset this thing. Call your driver. I’m coming with you.”

“
I
cannot believe
you called me! I just
can't
!” Cindy squealed excitedly. She ran like a goose toward me, nearly falling over in her stilettos and black dress. As she hugged me, she turned her head to look at Laura. “Hello.” She said out of spite.

“Believe it.” I said. “But don't get used to me doing this. This is the last time.” A makeup artist was preparing my face for the photo shoot.

“Oh, I do
not
think that's true. You've always been infatuated with me, Liam.” Her brows were raised, along with her chin. She loved to try and bare the look of sophistication. Only, she wasn't sophisticated. She was sloppy and embarrassing.

Laura couldn’t help but shake her head. She said, “Look, Cindy, we didn’t come here to play catch-up. I get that you’re obsessed with my boyfriend and father of my child, but we need this to go to print as fast as possible.”

Cindy gave a loud sigh and yelled, “Can someone get me a martini, God dammit?!” Then she turned to both of us and smiled, “Of course! Let’s get started. You said you want to transform your image?”

Laura chuckled loudly. “Not exactly. We need you to run a piece on how he’s going to win the Championships again. Talk about his stats. Talk about his and Jenkins’ history together. Present it as the ‘showdown of the century’. People love that sort of thing.”

“Sounds easy enough.” She smirked.

“Make me look as bad as I really am.” I said. “Talk about all the trouble I’ve gotten in. All those fights, I’m a loose cannon. And yet, I’m bringing New England back to the Championships for one incredible game.”

“And your agent is okay with all of this? I don’t want to get a call at four in the morning from some coked out asshole asking me how I had the audacity to run this piece without him approving it.”

“They’ll be fine. At this point, it doesn’t matter what I do as long as I win.” I said.

“That’s right, baby. You’re
hot
right now.” Laura said, coming up behind me and kissing my neck. Goosebumps shot through my body.

“You two make me sick.” Cindy said. “Okay, we’ll get some shots taken. We’ll need a few quotes from you. Send us those stats too. I have to say, Liam, Jenkins will not be happy about all this.”

“Good. I’m slowly burying him in his own grave.”