Linebacker's Second Chance (Bad Boy Ballers) (19 page)

But she’s torn. Torn between two coasts. Torn between one man and the career that she loves. Normally this kind of thing would have all been sorted by now with a client—it’s love, and may a little bit of sex, that’s clouded the whole damn thing up.

“Yeah,” I say, rolling around the idea I’ve had in my brain all week. “And I’ll go back home with you if you’ll have me. Say yes.”
 

She purses her lips tight. Agreeing to this means she’s agreeing to the end of my career. For her, I’m sure she feels it’s too selfish to even consider. The words sound
right
coming out of my mouth, though. The thought has been toying with me for a good, long while. Why would I want to be with a team that doesn’t want me? And a sport that monitors my every move? And why would I want the woman I love to leave town without me?

I’d much rather just be with Renata, for real.

“There’s a way to get back to it. I just have to figure it out. With you on my side—well, we’ve got plenty.” I feel like this isn’t the end—it’s a new beginning.
 

“We’ve got plenty of love, maybe,” she says, chewing her lip. “And then we’ve got bills and families and—”

“Love’s enough.”

She stands there, stark still for a while. “I want it to be enough,” she says. “I do. I think you might be right, but if you do this, I don’t think there’s any going back, not to the NFL.”

When those words come to her lips, my heart sinks. It’s a reality I know well. Now that I’m spending more time sober than I am drinking myself to death, the idea of my life without football sinks in more and more. With the parties and the women—and the photos still circulating—I dug myself into a hole I could only get out of with a major shift. That’s Eddie Davidson for you, the hypocritical, conservative ass who will send Kinley after me until I relent. Until I give in and what—get engaged? Marry her? Get her out of his hair?
 

I’m silent for a minute or more, and then I walk to Renata and take her body in my arms, bringing my lips to hers and letting her melt against me. This woman makes me sure that this decision is the right one. Kissing her here under the stars, in the belly of the house inspired by her memory, I’m resolute.
 

Football is one great love.

But Renata is so much more than that.

At that very moment, the breeze picks up, the sound of it rolling across the acres of my property. Maybe we’re lost in the moment, or maybe the wind is echoing too much in our ears.
 

But we aren’t expecting what comes next.

A flash of light. A flurry of doors opening, porch lights hesitantly flickering on.
 

Shouting voices.

And Kinley. Hands on her hips, smug expression on her abnormally pretty face.
 

“Checkmate, bitches,” she says, her full pink lips lifting into an evil grin.

The wide receiver Kinley’s been sleeping with, Gabriel Quarles, is standing right behind her, looking just as smug and stupid as he always does. Around us, lights flash. There are more pictures being taken, more than my fragile psyche can comprehend. My hands fall away from Mack’s shoulders. My body still smells like his. The heat of his touch still burns my skin like fire. Even if we weren’t caught in the act itself, I feel like it’s written all over both of our faces.
 

“I’ve got plans,” Kinley says, turning her smug little face towards Macklin. “I don’t think you want your lady friend here to lose her job. You’re Renata right? I thought it was you. The innocent sports manager, trying to do what’s best for her client. Turns out she thought seducing him was what’s best.” She puts emphasis on the last word, turning her striking blue eyes in my direction. “Well honey, prepare to lose your job, in addition to Mack’s. I hate to have to do this, but you’re both going down.”

“No, I—Kinley, don’t do this,” I say. “Mack and I were engaged a long time ago. That’s why I came to help him on this project. That’s why you saw us hugging out here. I’m trying to help him get back on his feet.” I don’t say what we both know—that she’s right.It might have been Mack who came to me in the middle of the night. But I was the one who broke the rules of my trade for a shot at second chances.
 

“Spare me the sob story.” She flicks her head to the side, and more of the reporters and photographers appear all around the back of the house, taking pictures. I know my shirt is probably still rumpled, and that my hair is a wild mess compared to what it once was earlier. There’s not much mistaking what we were up to.
 

We were both stupid, but we knew what we were doing coming down here like this. We both threw caution to the wind, and here we are, reaping our rewards.
 

Mack steps in front of me, to shield me from the photographers. The cameras keep flashing. Just when I think it couldn’t get any worse, Eddie Davidson appears right in front of the lower porch, his eyes searing through Mack. “Macklin Pride, this is the last straw.” His voice booms over the flashing lights and the hushed voices of the reporters. “You’re going to have to—”

I expect the words before I come.
 

You’re going to have to leave the team.

But before Eddie can get the words out of his mouth, Mack interrupts him. “I quit.” A hush falls over the people standing around us. Even Kinley is silent for once. “It’s actually great that all you reporters are around. I know you’re expecting some kind of show, but I’ve got a little bit of a plot twist. You see, Kinley here has been a shrew the whole time after we signed that damned contract. Yeah, a contract. I feel fine admitting it. It was to get old Eddie here satisfied with my reputation. The engagement, the photo ops. All of it.”

“Boy, you better stop—” Eddie’s voice booms again, and his white hair and jowls flop in the moonlight. He looks like a villain from an old movie, all decked out in his ten thousand dollar suit and tie.

“I’ve just been a puppet, and so has Renata. We got talked into this thing by this evil asshole, Eddie Davidson. And Kinley’s been trying to play us ever since then. She’s and Eddie are deep in each other’s pockets. And this man—” Mack points over to Gabe Quarles. “He’s caught up in the mix too. He’s the one Kinley’s really dating. But Gabe, I bet you didn’t know she’s been ‘dating’ a couple of other players too, did you?”
 

Gabe’s eyes grow wide, and the reporters are snapping photos, the clicks echoing from the ceiling of the downstairs porch.
 

“This is about enough. I can’t take much more of these lies,” Kinley huffs, trying to turn the attention back to herself. There’s a murmur among the crowd. Even if Mack’s story isn’t true, it’s a lot juicier than Kinley’s victimhood. People have seen the innocent starlet picked on by an older man, time and time again. They haven’t seen the starlet turn into a vicious dog. I crack a smile, still standing behind Mack. It’s a brilliant move, really—one that only would have happened with us caught like this. Otherwise, Kinley would be the victim no matter what. But this, with each one of the photographers knowing that she pulled them down here… well, this is gold. It’s clear that she had plenty to do with this setup, and her righteously indignant attitude makes her look even guilder. There are no carefully orchestrated breakdowns, no tears. Instead, there’s just Kinley’s sneering face, twisted into a mask of hate. I stifle a wide smile, hiding my grin behind my hand. Mack might be jobless—and I bet I will be too. But at this moment in time, it feels like there’s a weight lifted off our shoulders. Right now, all the world seems like it’s behaving correctly for once.
 

Mack never left me. He loves me. We’re together, come hell or high water. And I trust every word he’s saying, every promise he’s made. If he’s willing to give up his career, he’d be willing to do anything for me.
 

“I’m going to also announce,” Mack starts, pulling me up by his side. My heels click against the lacquered cement as I join him. My cheeks go hot as more flashes keep going off. “That this is my fiancée, the real one. She might not be the one the team owner picked out for me, but she’s the one I picked out for myself a long time ago. If we’d stayed together, I’d probably be a lot more boring and a hell of a lot happier. That’s what a good woman does for you, and that’s what I hope she’ll do for the rest of her life.” Then, ever so slowly, Mack gets down on one knee before me, just like he did that last night I saw him.

“Mack, what are you doing?” My pulse quickens, a lump rising in my throat.

“Renata Young, I’ve loved you ever since I’ve known you. I wanted you from the first moment I held you in my arms. And I made the biggest mistake of my life when I gave into my family’s bullying and left you six years ago. I want you to be my wife. For better, for worse, for all that jazz. Will you do me that honor?”

All the camera flashes go off at once. I’m stunned and cannot speak. In all the years I spent mourning the death of my relationship with Mack, I never expected I’d have another opportunity to feel this way again.
 

“Mack,” I whisper, leaning down to him. More camera flashes go off. “Maybe this isn’t the right time…”

“Just say yes, Renata,” he whispers back, laughing. “I just quit my job. You’re probably about to get fired from yours. Why don’t we just call it a day and get hitched?” There are a few chuckles from our impromptu audience.
 

After what feels like an eternity, I nod my head. “Yes, I will.”

Yes, I will, even though we have a hard road ahead of us. But this is the one thing that was really keeping us from our true potential. It’s the one thing we both needed, and it’s been apparent ever since I stepped off of that plane and saw my home again.
 

Home. That’s what this is. No matter
where
the two of us are, we’ll be home if we’re together. Even if we’re destitute, we’ll continue to be what the other person needs. Even in the darkest of times.
 

“Hot damn,” he says. “I thought I’d never hear those words again. I’ve been waiting my whole career.” He chokes on the last word, perhaps because it’s clear his career is ending, or maybe, just maybe, because he’s happy. It feels good to be that person who brings that out in him, to be the one he really needs. Mack pulls me into an embrace and kisses me passionately, flashes and clicks of cameras going off around us. He might not be able to start the season with his team, but we’ll be able to start the next season of our lives with each other, and that’s what matters.
 

“Mack,” I whisper, after he releases me. “Tell these people to get the hell out of here.”
 

He turns and looks around quizzically, like he’s forgotten what’s going on around us. “Y’all go on home now. Show’s over. Get the hell out of here, and maybe when I’m playing for the NFL again, we’ll have another photo op for you.” He raises his hand up to silence the reporters when the questions start flying, and he walks me back up to the front of the house, picking me up at the stairs and carrying me up to the door. After a while, people start driving off into the night, even Eddie and Kinley themselves.
 

The only people left are me and Mack—and after a spell, Wingate walks in, hands on his hips. “What the hell have y’all done?”
 

I feel half like laughing, and half like crying and drawing my old friend into a hug. Instead, I drop down into one of the chairs by the stone fireplace and gesture for Wingate to come over and sit down. He stomps over somewhat angrily, but it’s clear he’s also amused. He’s never shied away from sticking it to the man, and Eddie Davidson is the very definition of The Man. He might be the worst example I’ve seen in a while—moving us all around like puppets in a show. And now—that’s not going to happen anymore.

Mack comes to sit next to me and squeezes my leg gently. A thrill runs through me, and I know that I can be happy about one thing in my life, at the very least.

“Wingate, I’m sorry, man. I know this means you’re out of a job too.” Wingate hangs his head into his hands.
 

“But,” I interject. “Rich doesn’t give a shit about men like Eddie. I
won’t
be blacklisted. I know that for sure.” My lips curl into a smile.

Mack looks at me with confusion. “You’re not?”
 

“No. I talked to him last night and let him know that my job had been threatened too. He said it was safe, but I might not get the money for this job or any kind of bonus for a while.” Mack sighs, and I grab his hand. “But that’s okay, because my family doesn’t need a cent. They’re the ones more or less responsible for this whole mess.” Emotion surges in me, a tidal wave of anger rising in my blood. But by God, I’m going to make things better for both of these men. “California is different. I’m not saying things won’t be hard if we all go out there. But I think we should. I think we sell the houses, pack our bags, and we
all
go.”