Play Maker (12 page)

W
e spent
the car ride in almost complete silence, except for my occasional offering of directions, which ended up being echoed by the voice of James’ GPS each time. James kept his eyes on the road, though I could sense them flickering over to me every few minutes and I kept my own gaze focused out the window, my fingers twisting the straps of my bag viciously.

It was clear neither of us knew what to say to each other. And what could we say? Last night had been…well, I didn’t know what last night had been. Going in I had been hoping for another night of great, mindless sex, but somewhere along the line things had gotten intimate. Intimate in a way I wasn’t comfortable with. This whole thing was spiraling out of my control. I just knew that I couldn’t risk any more evenings like that. Not with someone like him. Not with anyone.

And my reason for that was coming up around the corner.

“You can just drop me off here,” I told him as we came up to my block, but he gave me a sidelong glance and kept driving.

“I’m not leaving you on some corner,” he responded. “My mum raised me better than that.”

It was gentlemanly of him, but my fingers twisted my bag’s straps tighter as we pulled up in front of my apartment complex where my brother was pacing in the driveway – in his pajamas, flashlight in hand, despite the sun being up already – looking extremely upset. My mom was sitting on the apartment steps looking equally upset and exhausted.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said to James, and not waiting for a reply, bolted out of the car, hoping that he would take the hint and drive away. But he just followed me and pulled into the driveway. I avoided looking at him, not wanting to see pity or disdain for my home. It was nothing like the kind of life he was used to, but it was my world and I was protective of it. And the people in it.

“I’m sorry.” I went to Mikey immediately, guilt washing over me. “I’m so sorry, Mikey. I know I was supposed to be home at 4:00am—”

But my brother wasn’t even looking at me. He was staring over my shoulder at James, who had gotten out of his car. His eyes were round, his mouth slightly open, the worry completely gone from his face. He dropped the flashlight onto the gravel.

“James Martin!” Mikey cried, rushing over to my soccer star. I realized then that I had never asked for James’ last name. How in the world did my brother know it? Mikey, who had never, ever shown an interest in sports, was staring at James like he was his favorite Doctor. And James was looking back at him with a smile on his face. Nowhere did I see the shock or discomfort I had been expecting. Instead, he seemed to barely notice our crumbling apartment complex, his attention focused solely on my brother.

I glanced over at my mom, who had the same glassy-eyed shock all over her face.

“Hi.” James stuck out his hand to my brother.

But Mikey ignored it and instead launched himself into a hug. I held my breath. Most people did not appreciate Mikey’s behavior – not understanding that his mental capacity was way below what was expected for his age. But if James was surprised, or offended, he hid it well, hugging Mikey back and even smiling when my brother released him.

“You must be Mikey” James said, and I was shocked that he had remembered.

But Mikey had already turned to me, running over and grabbing my hand, pulling me over to James.

“Red nose! Red nose!” he exclaimed, pointing at his own nose and then at James’. “Red Nose Doctor!”

Usually I could figure out what Mikey was talking about, but at that moment I was at a complete loss. Surprisingly, James seemed to know exactly what Mikey was referring to.

“That’s right,” he said gently. “Do you like Doctor Who?”

Even though Mikey was wearing one of his many Doctor Who shirts, the comment still seemed like a non sequitur.

“He loves Doctor Who,” I told James. “It’s his favorite show. He’s seen every episode.”

Mikey had let go of my hand and ran back into the apartment. My mom followed him, casting me a look that was both curious and worried. I couldn’t blame her. I felt the same way. What the hell was going on?

“And every special too, it seems,” he said with a grin.

Before I could say anything else, Mikey had returned with our mom following. He had a fraction of some of his Doctor Who paraphernalia, which was still a huge pile of pictures and DVDs that overflowed in his arms. He shoved them towards James.

“Sign,” he ordered.

“Mikey—” I said gently, knowing that he was excited and that he sometimes forgot his manners in times of high stress or excitement. “You need to ask for things like that.”

Mikey let out a big sigh. “Please. Please? Please?”

What the hell was going on? Why did Mikey recognize James?

James looked a little sheepish. “In the U.K., there’s an annual charity drive that culminates in something called Red Nose Day, where a lot of celebrities participate in live performances that are broadcast on the BBC. Shows tend to do skits, often inviting guest stars and well, one year, the Doctor Who team did a short that featured athletes.”

It all made sense now. “You were in a Doctor Who skit?” No wonder Mikey had recognized him.

“Guilty as charged,” he confessed, looking adorably embarrassed.

“Sign!” Mikey ordered again. “Please,” he added on seeing my look.

James grinned. “Of course.” He knelt down again to look at the items he had been given. I had the feeling this wasn’t the first time he had been asked for an autograph, but it might have been the first time he had been asked to sign DVDs of Doctor Who. “I’m happy to sign them, but wouldn’t you rather have the signatures of people who were in the show more?”

“You’re fine,” Mikey responded, the smile on his face huge.

James laughed.

“You’re probably the closest he’ll ever come to meeting someone on the show,” I told him. “We might live in Hollywood, but we don’t run into celebrities often. Especially not those who are on a show that doesn’t even film here.”

James nodded, diligently signing his name on everything that Mikey shoved at him. Halfway through, he glanced up at me, a strange expression on his face.

“You know,” he said slowly. “I’m playing in an exhibition game this week. Day after tomorrow actually.” He looked at Mikey. “And I’m pretty sure some of the past Doctors are going to be at the after party.”

“Which Doctors?” Mikey’s eyes were round.

“Maybe Nine?” James said. “Maybe Ten.” He glanced up at me, a small smile on his face. “I’m a bit of fan myself.”

Mikey looked at him with complete awe on his face. “Ten?”

I smiled at both of them. There was something truly heartwarming about the way James interacted with my brother. “Ten is his absolute favorite.”

“He’s got great taste,” James said to me and then looked over at Mikey. “Well, then you’ll have to meet him, won’t you? I have some tickets to the event.” James finished signing and got back to his feet. He looked over at me and I felt my breath catch. “If you and your family are interested in attending.”

His gaze never left mine. I didn’t know what to say. On one hand, it was an incredibly kind and generous offer. On the other hand, why was he offering it in the first place? Had he taken one look at the place we were living and thought that I needed help? Did he think I needed his charity? I opened my mouth to say no, but then I saw Mikey’s face. There was so much excitement and hope there. Even my pride wouldn’t keep me from letting my brother have an opportunity he’d never have again.

“Ok,” I heard myself say. I was breaking every single one of my rules for this guy. I hoped to God it wasn’t going to bite me in the ass, even though it probably was. Fuck. But what could I do? Not let Mikey meet one of his idols? Never. I’d walk over hot coals for my brother. And spending a night at a soccer game was a cake walk, really. Even though it meant seeing James again, despite deciding that I could never see him again. ‘Never’ could start after the soccer game, I supposed.

James’ grin was huge. “Great,” he said. “I’ll have my manager call and set everything up with you.” He turned to get back in his car and then paused. He glanced back at me, his expression boyish. “I guess I’ll need your number then.”

I didn’t miss my mother’s wide-eyed stare and I couldn’t help the blush that burned my cheeks. I quickly wrote my number down on a piece of paper I dug out of my purse and handed it to James. He tucked it into his front pocket.

“Guess I’ll see you then,” he said, before looking back at Mikey, who was practically vibrating with excitement. “It was nice meeting you.”

Mikey was distracted, flipping through the things he had made James sign, so I had to nudge Mikey to get him to wave goodbye, but once James’ car had disappeared down our block, he burst into excited chatter. I felt my heart swell. It was so great to see him so excited.

“Red Nose Doctor. James Martin. Ten.” He stopped and looked at me. “Everything signed!”

“Mikey.” I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to keep my smile under control. “You can pick ten things to bring to the game. Ten might not be able to sign anything and he definitely cannot sign everything you own.”

“Ten for Ten?” Mikey asked, perking up at the play on words.

“That’s right,” I nodded, this time unable to stop my grin. He was so adorable. “Pick your ten favorite things and we’ll see if we can get them signed.”

“Promise?”

“I can’t promise that,” I told him. “You know that.” I had already unwittingly broken enough promises to him. I wasn’t going to risk this being something I couldn’t deliver on.

He looked visibly deflated, but quickly perked up when he realized everything he was holding had James’ signature on it. “Red Nose Doctor!” He waved them at me.

“That’s right.” I smiled at him, glad that the morning had started out so well. I had been so worried about him being upset about me being late. But he seemed to have completely forgotten that I had been late. But looking over at my mom revealed that while my brother had gotten over it, she had not.

Mikey rushed back into the apartment and I moved to follow him, but she put a hand on my arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked, worry all over her face.

“I just lost track of time,” I told her, feeling a bit like a teenager who had been caught sneaking out after her curfew. Not like that had ever happened when I was a teen. I hadn’t gotten to have fun then. Was it so wrong to have a little now? But I knew that it was more than that. I knew I had fucked up. I had put myself before my brother’s needs. Something I had never done before. Something I couldn’t do again. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s not what I mean,” she fretted. “Do you know anything about this guy?”

“There’s nothing to know,” I countered. “He’s going back to London after this game. It’s not anything serious. We’re just having fun.”

“He seems to be good at that,” she said wryly. “Do you know what they call him in the tabloids?”

“You know I don’t read those.” But I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of trepidation. I knew he was a player – that’s what had attracted me to him in the first place – but now I wondered if I should be worried about letting someone with a bad reputation near my brother. But then I remembered how cute he had looked admitting he was a Doctor Who fan. No one who liked Doctor Who could be that bad.

“Well, I do.” My mom’s mouth was set in a firm line. “And he’s in them. A lot. They call him the Play Maker.”

I couldn’t help a snort of laughter. “That’s a ridiculous nickname.”

“Well, his reputation isn’t.” There was no humor in my mom’s voice. “He is a playboy, Nicole. He sleeps around. He’s always photographed with a new girl. Sometimes strippers.”

Even though I had known since meeting him that he was a playboy – he had said so himself – for some reason my mom’s words stung. And I didn’t understand why. Hadn’t I chosen him for the exact reason? Hadn’t I wanted a guy that had no interest in sticking around? So why did my heart twist at the confirmation of that fact? It was because I was in too deep.

“The game is for Mikey,” I told my mom firmly. “James and I are nothing serious.”

“I just hope, for your sake, that you mean that,” my mom said.

“I do,” I responded, not sure if that was the truth anymore.

I
t took
the entire ride back to the hotel – half of which I spent stuck in traffic – for me to realize that maybe inviting Nicole and her family to the exhibition game hadn’t been one of my best moves. Yet, I didn’t regret it. In fact, despite my reservations, I was quite excited to know that she would be in the stands during the game.

Because even though my parents were extremely proud of my accomplishments, they couldn’t attend every single one of my games, especially those that were out of town. Too often, my section of the VIP area reserved for family and friends remained empty. I had never cared before about having people there to cheer me on. But things were changing. I was changing. And I liked the idea of having someone in the stands tonight.

But I was still at a loss for how Nicole felt about the whole thing. She had accepted the offer, sure, but I got the feeling that she had done it more for the sake of her brother than to spend more time with me. I didn’t understand her. Was she interested or not? It was a situation I was completely unfamiliar with. Women liked me. They just did. Whether it was because of my looks or my athletic skills or lately, my fame, I never had any problem determining a partner’s level of interest.

Nicole was a complete mystery. She had been flirtatious and bold at the bar, and then eager and enthusiastic in bed. But the moment we were done, she was halfway out the door like, well, like I had a tendency to be. And I respected that. At least, I had tried to. Ok, I had definitely made the case for a second sexual encounter, but I hadn’t pushed. In the end,
she
had come to me. Just like she had done last night, even though nothing sexual had come of it.

In fact, it had been nice waking up together. She had felt so right in my arms. She had fit there perfectly.

And I found I was eager to see her outside of the bedroom. Which…wasn’t something I often found myself thinking. But like Ethan had said, sometimes people like each other. And I definitely liked Nicole and wanted to spend time with her. I just had to figure out if she felt the same way. In a totally casual, short term kind of way, of course. One change at a time.

I arrived at the hotel, valeted the car and headed inside. At the same time Maya was walking across the lobby. She had a big smile on her face and that rumpled look that usually indicated that someone had had a very, very good evening.

“Morning,” she said, tilting her head in my direction.

“Morning,” I responded, raising my eyebrows. It took a moment for me to register that her hair was tied back with something familiar. Ethan’s blue and gray striped tie.

By the time I figured out what it was, though, she had gotten in the elevator that led to the garage and disappeared with a wave of her fingers and a wink.

Immediately, I headed towards the bank of elevators that went up to the rooms and hit the button for Ethan’s floor. He came to the door after three knocks, looking as mussed as Maya had.

“You dog.” I smacked him on the shoulder. “I knew you had it in you.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he rubbed at his arm, obviously surprised by my appearance.

“I just ran into Maya in lobby,” I told him, heading into his room and grabbing a bottle of water from the mini bar. I then noticed the room service tray on the table, with a few remaining bites of waffle left over. “They’re good, aren’t they?”

When Ethan just stared at me, I gestured towards the tray. “The waffles,” I clarified.

He rolled his eyes at me and replaced the lid, hiding the plate from view. “They were fine,” he said, though there was a slight tinge of pink to his cheeks.

“Are you blushing?” I shook my water bottle in his direction.

“I am not,” he argued, fidgeting with the silverware on the table. “It was just a one night stand,” he told me. “People have them as I’m sure you’re well aware.”

“Oh, I know people have them,” I crossed my arms. “I just never thought you’d be one of them.”

“I am capable of having a good time once in a while,” Ethan said, somehow managing to sound even more British than me, his accent taking over. He always sounded 40% more proper when he was embarrassed. It was pretty hilarious.

“No one is more glad than I am that you had a good time,” I told him. “You deserve it.”

“Well.” The blush slowly faded from Ethan’s face. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He cleared his throat. “Now, was there something else you needed or did you barge into my room just to congratulate me?”

“It was just to congratulate you, but now that you mention it.” I rubbed the back of my neck, knowing that he was about to rib me just as hard as I had just ribbed him. “I actually need something in regards to tomorrow night.”

Ethan went to grab his phone, giving me a curious sideway glance as he did.

“Ok.” He waited, phone at the ready.

“I invited some people to come sit in my section,” I told him and then paused.

“Ok,” Ethan prompted, gesturing for me to continue. “Can I have their names?”

“Nicole—” Oh shit. I didn’t know her last name. Now I could feel myself getting red. “The girl from the bar,” I said quickly.

Ethan’s eyebrows shot up. “The girl from the bar.”

“Nicole.”

“Nicole.” Ethan made a note in his phone, a smile sneaking up his face. “No last name.”

“I’ll find out what it is,” I said quickly, reminding myself to text Nicole as soon as I got back to my room. At least I had her phone number now.

“Ok, so I’ll have a ticket set aside for her.”

“Three tickets actually,” I added and cleared my throat.

“Three?”

“For her mother and brother.”

Ethan put down his phone. “Mate. What is going on?”

“Nothing!” I put up my hands. “It’s nothing.”

But my friend shook his head. “Inviting a date to one of these things is strange enough, but inviting her mother and brother? That is not like you at all.”

“Weren’t you the one who was encouraging this kind of thing?” I countered.

“Sure, but I never thought you’d go all in all at once.”

I pointed a finger at him. “I am
not
going all in. I’m just…doing something nice.”

“Alright,” but Ethan still looked skeptical. “I’ll put aside three tickets.”

“Also send a limo,” I said quickly, all in a rush.

Ethan’s mouth dropped open but he quickly closed it and said nothing, just making another note in his phone. I glanced over at the covered tray where the waffles had been and had a flash of brilliance. Ethan always sat in my section during games. Usually by himself. Maybe I could make the evening more fun for him as well.

“Actually.” I gave his shoulder a friendly slap as I headed for the door. “Make it four tickets.”