His Leading Lady (8 page)

Mark opened and closed his throwing hand
several times. It was swollen, a little bruised, but not broken. He
breathed a sigh of relief.

Harley joined him. “What the hell, Mark?
She’s not worth breaking your hand for.”

“I didn’t break my hand. And don’t tell me
who’s worth it, asshole. Just mind your own goddam business.”

The coach threw a roll of paper towels at
each fighter. Darvin shot daggers from his eyes at Mark, who
scowled back. As they mopped up in silence, the coach addressed
them. “Sweetwater, Davis, don’t bother to come to practice today.
You’re worthless. And yes, you’re fined for missing practice. Now,
get the hell out of here before I beat the crap out of you
myself.”

When they finished, each man dressed in
silence and left the room. Darvin shot one last evil look at Mark
before he departed.

Mark was still upset, but his rage had
changed direction and was now aimed at Penny.
How could she
humiliate me like this? In front of the whole team? Such a goody
two-shoes, eh? Didn’t like all the guys making passes, huh? And
then you pose nude? Really? And you want me to believe you?
Everything you said about not sleeping around is a lie. How many
men did she sleep with? Who knows? And how many have those
pictures?

Mark could barely steady his hands enough to
drive home. Her betrayal ran deep, and his heart was bruised as if
she had used it for a punching bag. He arrived home and began to
pace. His nerves were raw, and anger boiled through him like molten
lava in a volcano about to erupt. He was waiting, waiting for her
to show up. He looked at the bottle of scotch.
Just one drink to
calm down.
He walked toward it and stopped.
No, it’ll make
me worse, crazy.

He didn’t want alcohol to cloud his mind. He
wanted to be very clear when he blasted Penny and threw her out.
His heart ached. Perfect happiness had been within his grasp then
that lowlife Sweetwater had snatched it away.
I trusted you,
Penny, believed in you. I loved you. I wish it weren’t true. How
could you lie about this? Why didn’t you tell me?

He wanted to be Superman and turn time back
to before he walked into the locker room. Maybe he could have
twisted his ankle and not gone to practice. Maybe Harley could have
taken the pictures down before he got there.
Come to think of
it, why didn’t Harley take them down?
Now, Harley was on his
shit list, right below Penny.

Mark threw on running clothes and hit the
high school track around the corner. He ran and ran, until he
thought his lungs would burst. Sinking down onto a soft, grassy
field, tears couldn’t be stopped. He bent his head so no one could
see. He loved Penny, loved her like he had never loved before. But
she had humiliated him. He had to dump her.

How could she ever come to a game? Every guy
on the field would be leering at her, staring at her chest…and her
butt. And the talk, snide comments he’d get. The innuendos and
jokes not even thinly veiled. The looks, a combination of snark and
pity. He didn’t think he could stand it. And they’d all ask him,
“Dumped her?”

He knew he had to say “yes.” Or they’d think
he was in love with a whore. Is that what she was?
Any woman who
poses for nude photos is cheap, easy. Plain and simple.
Every
man knew that. As much as a guy might drool over a chick’s naked
pictures, he’d never date her, never fall in love with her, never
marry her.
Don’t I have any pride?
Now, he couldn’t marry
Penny because she was a slut. The pain was so intense he almost
thought he was having a heart attack.

A young kid on a skateboard stopped. “You
okay, mister?”

Mark nodded at him, wiping his face with the
heel of his hand. “Yeah, kid. I’m okay. Thanks.” He pushed to his
feet. His leg muscles throbbed then wobbled, making him unsure if
he could walk or even stand. He stretched them out, and in a few
seconds, it passed. He walked home slowly, not anxious to have a
scene with Penny.
I don’t want to do this, but I have
to.

With his head hung low, he entered the
elevator and pushed the button for his floor. The door was
unlocked, making his pulse kick up.
Did someone break in? Oh,
God, not today!
He opened it cautiously.

“Hi, handsome. How was your day?” Penny’s
cheerful voice came from the kitchen.
Shit, forgot. I gave her a
key.
He entered and closed the door quietly.

“Mark? Is that you?” She came out of the
kitchen, hair bouncing, breasts jiggling, eyes lit up, smiling.

Not for long.

“Hi, baby. Oh my God. What happened to you?”
She reached up to kiss him, her fingers to touch him, but he pulled
away as if she was poison. Her brows knitted.

“I ran into a fist.” He tried to keep his
voice even.

“What?” She tried again to touch his swollen
face, but he sidestepped her, clamping his hand around her wrist.
Silently, he walked over to his jeans on the sofa and fished around
in the pockets. Then, he pulled out the bloody remnants of her
pictures.

“This.” He threw them at her feet. Most fell
right side to the floor, except three. She bent to pick them up. By
the sound of her sharp intake of breath, he knew she recognized
them.
There goes all hope of a mistake.
Heaviness entered
his heart.

“Mark, I can explain.” She bit her lip.

“These pictures were taped to the wall of the
locker room when I got there.”

Her hand flew to her mouth to cover a gasp.
Her eyes grew wide.

“Slut,” he spat at her.

“Wait. I can explain.”

“Can you explain away that my whole team saw
your tits? And your ass.”

“Please, Mark. Give me a chance.” She touched
his arm, but he pushed her hand off.

“Did you give me a chance? Why didn’t you
tell me about this? Little Miss Virgin, huh? Don’t think so. All
men are after your ass? Maybe these pictures are why.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“Oh? Are you going to tell me that isn’t
you?”

She raised a hand. “It is, but…”

“Then, it
is
what I think. You posed
for nude pictures. You’re a slut. Get out.” He pulled a beer from
the fridge.

“No, wait. Please, at least hear me out.”

“In front of the whole team. All them gawking
at you, like you were a stripper.” He put his head in his
hands.

“Mark, it was unusual circumstances.”

“Yeah? And for me, too. To see the woman I
love plastered up on a wall,
naked
, for the whole Goddamn
team to leer at.”

“Oh, Christ, Mark, I’m sorry, so sorry. It
must have been terrible.” Her brows knitted.

“Beyond terrible.” Tears stung the back of
his eyes. She reached up to touch his split lip, and he flinched.
“Get away.”

“Is that why you look beat up?”

“I’m done, Penny. I’m not going to marry a
slut. Get out. Leave. I can’t look at you now.”

“But you’re hurt.” She reached for him then
lowered her arm.

“Hurt? Hurt? You think this is bad?” He
pointed to his face. “It’s nothing compared to in here.” He touched
his chest. “You’ve betrayed me, humiliated me. I’m done. We’re
finished. You’d better get out before I lose my temper.”

“Don’t you even want to hear my side?” Tears
rushed down her face.

“It doesn’t matter why. You didn’t tell me,
and there it was on the wall.” At the sight of her tears, a sharp
pain pierced his heart.
So, she’s crying. She made you cry.
Payback.

“I thought we had a relationship. I thought
we could talk. I thought you understood.” She pulled a tissue out
of her purse and wiped her eyes.

“You thought wrong. Now go.” The look on her
face told him he had hit home and hurt her back. The sense of
satisfaction he got lasted only a few seconds before it turned to
regret. He was beyond angry and couldn’t think straight. He needed
her gone. He needed to talk to Megan.

Penny reached out to touch him, but stopped
as he moved away. Her face got red, and she began to sob as she ran
for the door. With her hand on the knob, she tossed the key he’d
given her into the ceramic bowl and turned to him.

“Call me when you’re rational. Give me a
chance to explain before you blow us apart. Then, if you still want
to dump me, I’ll leave quietly.” She closed the door behind
her.

“You’ll leave when I say so!” he hollered
after her. Mark sat down with his head in his hands. Tears
returned. He expected her to be angry, snide, defensive, and attack
him. But she didn’t. She crumbled like week-old bread at the loss
of his love, and it hurt him to watch her. That was the Penny he
knew, not the provocative girl in the photos.

He went to the kitchen and grabbed the bottle
of scotch. He knew he wasn’t ready for Meg’s rational take. He
downed a couple of shots and threw himself on his bed. Within
minutes, he was fast asleep, dreaming of Penny.

****

Mark slept all the way to the next morning.
Reaching out in his sleep for Penny and finding her not there woke
him up early. His body was sore from the fight and his heart from
the loss of his girlfriend. Coffee burned his sensitive lip, but he
drank it down anyway. He needed something to get him started. His
body was heavy from sadness. A shower pounding on his bruises hurt,
but the pain woke him up.

Tension built as he left his car and headed
for the locker room. Every muscle was drawn tight as he walked
through the door. When his teammates noticed him, all talking
stopped. Mark felt their stares. They dressed for practice in
silence. Sweetwater brushed by him, not looking like he was in any
better shape than Mark.

I can’t afford to lose five grand. Megan
is going to kill me. The fight. Penny. Better not call her for a
few days.
He walked out onto the field, his muscles stiff. No
one made mention of the fight or the photos. The laps and warm-ups
relaxed and stretched his tense and battered body. The coach looked
madder than ever as they ran through their plays. Mark’s game was
off. He struggled to get his concentration back.

After practice, Harley came up to him in the
locker room. “How you doin’, buddy?”

“Don’t ‘buddy’ me. Why didn’t you take those
stupid pictures down?”

“Hey, I got here about thirty seconds before
you did.”

“Really?”

“I may be a lot of things, Mark, but not a
liar. I would’ve taken ’em down if I’d seen them before you.”

“Okay.” Harley’s explanation soothed Mark.
Then, his conscience started to bother him.
What if Penny had an
explanation like Harley did? I didn’t even let her talk.

“Let’s get wasted tonight.”

“Nah. Don’t feel like it.”

“We’ll pick up a couple of chicks, get
laid…come on. Be good for you.” Harley clapped him on the
shoulder.

He flinched as the friendly gesture landed on
his bruised flesh.

“Sorry,” Harley mumbled.

The thought of sleeping with anyone but Penny
turned him off.
She’s the top. Nothing less will do.
He
stroked his chin. “How about we eat in and watch a movie?”

Harley made a face. “I want some action.”

Mark cocked an eyebrow at his friend. “Does
my sister know you’re out tomcatting?”

“She wouldn’t commit to me.”

“Shows good sense on her part.”

“Thanks for nothing.”

“Come on, Harley. I’ll put Meg on speaker
phone.”

“Are you gonna to hide out for the rest of
your life, or are you gonna live?”

“Man, I just broke up with the love of my
life, gimme a break, will ya?”

“Okay, okay. Go home and sulk. I’m going
out.” Harley slapped some aftershave on his face and shook his
head.

One by one, his teammates stopped by to slap
Mark on the shoulder or the butt before they left. No one said a
word about Penny or the pictures.
They pity me. God, that’s
almost worse.
Mark couldn’t remember when he was this
depressed.

He drove slowly, not anxious to be in the
apartment without her. She had become a fixture. He had looked
forward to getting home and talking about his day, what he did
right and what he did wrong on the field. She was a good listener.
Penny had a way of joking him out of a bad mood, or, if that
failed, loving him out of one.

He’d never had a woman who cared for him the
way she did. Or who could love him like she did. She was fire,
igniting him in a matter of seconds whenever she turned up the
flame. He craved her—her soft, smooth skin, the subtle scent of
lily about her, and the taste of her lips, her mouth, her body. Was
this love? Probably. Come and gone so quickly, he’d barely had time
to grasp it with his heart before it was torn from him, leaving him
bloodied inside and out.

A couple of days later, the dark cloud still
hovered over his emotions. Misery was his companion. The clink of
his keys in the bowl by the door echoed in the empty space. He
sighed. The silence reminded him that Penny wasn’t there. No cheery
greeting. No wonderful smells of dinner cooking. No soft, willing
woman to warm his bed. No snuggling in front of the television. The
place, once grown to be a home, had shrunk to become only an empty
shell.

He sighed. What could he do? He didn’t expose
those pictures. He wasn’t responsible. How could he look the other
way?

He opened the bag with a burger in it, but
had no appetite. He searched through movies, but didn’t find
anything that could hold his interest. Like a man obsessed, he
turned on her program and sat back. Watching her on screen helped
and hurt at the same time.
Will I never see her again? Never
kiss her? Touch her?
The thought was too much. He shut off his
mind and watched. Then, his cell rang.

It was Meg.

“Hey, Squirt.”

“Hey, yourself, you big jerk. What the hell
did you do to Penny?”