Second Chances (6 page)

              Poppie stifled a smile.  “Sorry.”

              By the time the girls got back in place, Nick had already finished his speech and was handing Moe his autographed jersey.  They held it up for a photo opp and smiled for the photographers. 

As Paige watched him charm the crowd, she thought him to be a natural, but then again he always had a certain energy about him that held people captive.  It shouldn’t have been a surprise that he was so polished.

              Nick looked across the room to finally find Paige standing a few feet away. He slyly winked in her direction.  She lifted her hand in a half wave, surprised he’d notice her from all the faces in the crowd.

              Poppie’s jaw dropped.  “Uh, do you know him?”

              Paige grinned, not breaking eye contact with Nick, and softly said, “Yeah, we go way back.”

Chapter 9

            
 
Five hours later, as she peeled her uniform off and changed back into her street clothes, Paige felt like she could drop into bed for a long nap.  They were slammed all night, and if not for Poppie reminding her to stay hydrated she may have felt faint by the end of her shift.

Paige lifted her jersey to her nose before shoving it in her gym bag.  It smelled like greasy food and hard work. 

Gross,
she thought, peering in the bathroom mirror.  She quickly wet a paper towel to wipe her face and neck. Thankfully, the only thing she had going on tonight was a hot shower and a good book. She made a note to bring extra powder and deodorant to freshen up if she ever made any plans after a shift.

              “Yeah,” Paige laughed to herself.  “Like that’s gonna happen.” 

              Her mind instantly wandered back to Nick.  After his presentation, he was whisked off by his manager in a whirlwind.  She didn’t even get a chance to say hello, let alone catch up.

              She peered at her reflection thinking the fine wrinkles were becoming more frequent around her eyes and scoffed.  Who was she kidding?  He was a former pro-football player.  Why would he want to visit with her anyway?

              Paige shook her head of any disillusions and shoved the rest her smelly uniform in her gym bag before pulling her hair back into a ponytail.  She left the bathroom and waved goodbye to her co-workers before stepping out in the cold.

              The night sky dazzled above her.  As she stared up at the bright stars, she realized she was thankful to be home.  The change of pace and setting had done wonders for her spirit – and her heart.  As she approached her car and dug for her keys, she heard a familiar voice from across the parking lot.

              “I liked your other outfit better.”  Nick teased, thinking of how cute she previously looked. In her uniform, he could see her full grown curves from every angle, which had his mind going places it shouldn’t have. Sporty Spice had nothing on her.

              “Sheesh!  You scared me!”  Paige jumped back and looked over a few cars to find Nick waiting patiently on the hood of his pickup.  As she approached, she looked him over from head to toe, as his boots rested on his front bumper.  He always had a boyish charm, but what hit her hard was that she liked the site of him as a man even more, as she took in his athletic form and his crooked smile. 

              “Sorry.”  He slid down to lean against the grill of his truck and crossed his arms.  “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

              She watched the fog trail from his mouth as he spoke, and wondered how long he’d sat in the cold waiting for her.  She slipped her hands into her pockets and drew in her shoulders in to stay warm.  She raised an eyebrow in his direction and released the thoughts of years gone by away.  What was he doing here?  

She shook her head and grinned.  He may have had the same effect on her as it were yesterday, but she wasn’t a schoolgirl anymore.  

              “Nick Granger, you’ve not changed a bit.” 

              He sent her a sexy smile and slowly looked her over.  He raised an eyebrow, as his dimples begged to be touched.  She forced her hands to stay in her pockets and fought back the urge.

  It was then she wished she’d had some powder, as her dinner shift had wiped any trace of makeup from her face. Self-conscious, she brought her gloved hands up to her neck.  Nervous that she’d smell of cheeseburgers and fries, she took a step back.

“I could say the same about you.”  He noticed her nerves and took a step forward.

As he closed the gap, Paige froze as if her feet were glued to the pavement.  Her stomach tightened with anticipation. 

“What are you doing here?”  She rubbed her arms.

“Man, I’m sorry. Here…” He moved in next to her and swung his coat around her shoulders.  He felt bad for exposing her to the elements.  Although still early fall, they’d had an unusually cold one.  

“No, I’m fine. You need your coat, but thank you.”  Paige shrugged it off and offered it back to him.

Nick smirked, thinking some things never changed.  Of course, she would give it back to him.  It’s who she was – at least from what he remembered.  She had always put others first.  It was nice to see she’d not changed on that front.

“Okay, but I offered.”  He slid his arms back into his heavy leather coat and buttoned it up. 

“You didn’t answer my question.”  Her eyes twinkled.

“I was waiting for you.”  He raised an eyebrow, hoping she’d be impressed. 

Nick wasn’t sure what inspired him, but on the ride home from Tight Ends he couldn’t get her out of his mind.  As he pulled into his drive, he made a split decision and quickly threw dinner together for his daughter, before slipping into something more casual and grabbing his keys. It was only a 30-minute drive back to the restaurant, and he wanted to see her.

“This whole time?”  Paige asked, stunned.

“No, I had to take care of Katie.” He saw her look of confusion, and added, “She’s my daughter.  Then I drove back.”

“Oh.”  She looked at him with new eyes, and could easily see him in that role.  With his kind heart, he’d be a natural. Her mind snapped back to the subject at hand.  “Why?” 

“Why not?  I thought we could catch up.”  He suggested, hoping she would be open to it.

Catch up?
  Paige breathed in, wondering the ramifications.  Dating wasn’t part of her agenda, and catching up with someone that always had her head spinning might be too much too soon.  She watched his dimples deepen and took a mild step toward whatever he was offering.

“Well, that was nice.”  She nodded toward the restaurant, referring to the event earlier in the evening. “It looks like you’ve done pretty well for yourself.  I had no idea you were some big-time football player.”

“Really?  Sam never told you?”  Nick wasn’t sure if he should take offense or not.

“Not once.  I kind of had my own life, separate from them until recently…”  Her voice trailed.

“Yeah, I heard.  I’m sorry.”  The instant he uttered those words, he regretted it.

“Why am I not surprised?  I’m sure my dirty laundry has been aired to the whole town of Granite.”  Paige dug for her keys in her pocket.  “I swear … my brother.”  She stepped toward her car.

He quickly sidestepped and tried to repair the damage.

“Hey – if it helps.  I’ve been there.  I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”  Nick ran his hand through his hair, knowing he’d missed his window of opportunity.

“No, it’s not your fault.  It was really good seeing you, though.”  Paige slowly opened her car door, kicking herself for even thinking that catching up was a good idea.  “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Nick waved goodbye as she drove off the parking lot, noticing that she didn’t wait for her engine to warm up.

“Way to go, Granger.  She couldn’t wait to get away from you.”  Nick told himself as he got into his truck.  “Way to go.”

Linley stood firm from behind a curtain, watching everything from the window that gave full view to the back lot.  She’d seen what had transpired between the two in the restaurant, and was planning to confront Paige in the parking lot about flirting with the clients but stopped short when she saw who was waiting for her. 

Her eyes narrowed with envy, as she watched Nick’s hopeful face as Paige approached.  It was nothing less than a slap in the face.

She watched Paige deflect his effort to shield her with his jacket from the cold.

You think you’re too good for him?
Her eyes gleamed with anger. 

Linley spun on her heel, unable to watch further, and almost bumped into Poppie.

“Whoa!”  Poppie took a step back, almost falling over.  “What’s going on out there?”

“Watch where you are going!”  Linley shoved the curtains back in place, to hide her discretions and shoved past her.

“Yes, ma’am,” she uttered softly, waiting for Linley to turn the corner before peeking through the curtains for a quick look.  When she saw Nick waving toward Paige’s car, as it exited from the parking lot, she let out a soft giggle.  It looked like her new friend had an admirer.

“She’s a lucky girl,” she whispered to herself, before heading to check out for the night.

Chapter 10

24 years ago

              Granite Seniors held fast to a long-standing tradition, which allowed them to kiss someone they’d never had a chance with throughout the year.   ‘Senior Kiss Day’ was always set for the Friday before graduation, but the guidelines were specific.  It was to take place at the senior flag pole, and it was for graduates only. 

Although Nick knew the rules, the only girl who kept coming to mind when making his choice was underclassman, Paige Knight. As he passed the flag pole, he was anxious to bend the rules just a bit.

              Under normal circumstances, when someone was chosen, they’d receive a written invitation to meet at the flag pole.  Whoever received it would understand the motive behind it, and have the choice to show up - or not.  However, Paige Knight was like no other girl he knew, and there was nothing normal about her.  Not only was he breaking the rules, by picking an underclassmen, but he was breaking the bro-code by picking one of his best friend’s little sisters. If Sam Knight knew he had intentions to kiss his sister, he might not make it to graduation.

Since he couldn’t invite her to Senior Hill, he had to devise a plan to catch her by surprise toward the end of the day.  So, now here waited in the bus tunnel, hoping to steal a kiss as throngs of students flooded through the bus tunnel to go home.  After 15 minutes, he was about to give up when he saw her with her friend, Natasha, slowly making their way toward him completely unaware. 

He lifted his hand in greeting, as he silently prayed he could get her to stop without her friend tagging along.

“Hey, Red.” He nervously smiled, calling her by a pet name he’d given her when she was a middle schooler, with long braids and braces.

“Um, hi,” she said in her usual shy manner.

“You mind if I talk to you for a second?”  He asked and then stared at Natasha, hoping she’d get the hint.

Natasha easily read between the lines and touched her friend’s arm.  “I’ll catch up with you on the bus.”

Paige nodded toward her friend, and then turned back to Nick, wondering why he’d have any interest in talking to her.  She’d had a crush on him for her first two years of school, but as a sophomore, she’d had no luck in getting his attention.  Now that he was graduating, she knew her chances were shot.

“So?”  She shuffled her feet and held her books tightly to her chest.  “I bet you’re pretty excited about graduation, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s what I want to talk to you about.”  Nick took a step closer and touched her arm.

Paige’s eyes flew up to meet his.  If he stepped any closer, she’d swear he was going to kiss her.  She looked to his lips and licked hers unsure of what was happening.

“Um.”  She stammered.

As Nick pulled her toward him, Davis walked by and did a double-take. 

“What are you doing?”  Davis grabbed Paige’s arm and pulled her away.

Nick took a step back and let out the breath he’d been holding since the second he’d seen her.  He sighed and immediately made up an excuse to keep Paige from getting an earful from her boyfriend.

“Hey, man.  It wasn’t what it looked like.  I was just about to tell her about something I was planning for Sam, for a graduation prank.”  Nick shrugged his shoulders.

Davis narrowed his eyes and looked from him to Paige. Unable to tell if it was the truth or not, he let go of Paige’s arm and said, “No harm – no foul.  Come on, Paige.  I’ll make sure you get on your bus.”

Davis glared over his shoulder at Nick as he protectively led his girlfriend away. Nick sadly watched a missed opportunity slip between his fingers and cursed under his breath.  Now he’d wonder for the rest of his life what it would have been like to kiss Paige Knight.

Chapter 11

              Davis Jefferson thought he had it all.  He’d made partner at his firm, was recently divorced and had a sexy girlfriend at his side.  He smiled thinking of his hidden assets, and how much he shuffled into a hidden account safe from his divorce.  Now, he was sitting pretty - with plenty to go around to live abundantly with Veronica, without any hassles.

               
Life couldn’t get any better
; he thought as he fumbled with his bow tie.  Frowning, he turned away from the mirror toward Veronica.

              “Hey, can you help me?”  His eyes traveled down her tight body, as she sat in her lace bra and panties.

              Without a glance in his direction, she raised her eyebrow and continued to apply her makeup.

“With what?” She pursed her lips to check her gloss.

              “This tie.”  He leaned down to kiss her neck.

              Veronica tilted her head, exposing more of her neck to him, letting a sultry laugh escape.  She looked incredulously at his tie in the reflection and blinked.

              “Um, I don’t do ties.  I can undo them.”  She seductively stood and kissed him.

              “I know.”  He chuckled, but then pulled back.  “Can you try?  I’m no good at these, and this is an important event tonight.”

              “Nope.  You’re a big boy.  Do it yourself.”  She blandly sat down, unhappy that Davis rejected her advances.  “I’m sure little wifey used to help you with those, huh?”

              “As a matter of fact – she did.”  He sighed, temporarily missing Paige’s nimble fingers and ease with his wardrobe.

              “Well, you chose me because I’m nothing like her.  So don’t expect me to do anything she would have.”  Veronica quietly slipped on her dress and turned her back to him.  “Now zip me, please.”

              A few hours into the night, Davis watched his girlfriend work the room, which was full of deep pockets.  Tonight’s event was a huge fundraiser for one of his clients, and of all nights -  he needed her on her best behavior.  However, from the looks of it, Veronica looked like she’d had one too many vodka tonics.

              He quietly approached her, as she clumsily hung on one of his co-workers at the firm.  The second Davis came close; Tom turned to him with relief.  His eyes were almost bulging as he shifted her weight toward Davis.

              “You need to get her home.  She’s making a spectacle out of you.” Tom pulled her arms from around his neck and passed her over.

              “I know.  I’m sorry.”  Davis lifted her weight from Tom’s shoulder and leaned her toward him.

              “Hey!”  She smacked Davis on the arm.  “Get off me.  I’m having fun talking to Dom!”  She tried to put a finger on Tom’s nose, as if she were  disciplining him, but missed and poked him in the cheek.

              “Really, Davis?”  Tom gave him a look.  “Please control her.”

              “Hey! No one controls me!”  Veronica frowned at Tom, and then looked to Davis, saying, “Get me out of here.  This isn’t fun anymore.  You work with party poopers!”

              “You used to work with us, Ronnie.  You should know what’s proper behavior at these events.”  Tom scolded her.

              “Well, that’s why I left.  You’re all boring bunch of stiffs.”  She stuck her chin out at Tom, as Davis dragged her toward the elevator.

As all eyes were on them,  he couldn’t help but thinking that nothing like this would’ve happened if he were here with Paige tonight.  However, if he were here with his ex-wife – he wouldn’t be going home with his mistress, and that was worth her weight in gold.

              As he expectantly waited for what the rest of the night could hold, Veronica puked down the front of Davis’ tuxedo jacket.  He grimaced, thinking that not even all the gold in Mexico was worth this.