Love on the Highlight Reel (Connecticut Kings Book 2) (35 page)

I held my tears until I was firmly on the other side of the door.

I was angry,
yes
, but more than that I was
so
disappointed that Jordan still allowed his father to have any power in his life. I understood the desire to have a relationship, the desire to want to make your father proud. I
lived
it. But the difference was, Eli wasn’t constantly moving the goal posts before we reached them. Nothing would ever be good enough for Greg Johnson, because he wasn’t good enough for
himself
. It was evidenced in the way he engaged with his kids.

But that was a fact Jordan had never seemed able to see.

I shook my head at myself as I made my way back down to my car. Not that long ago, the way he’d spoken to me… I would have made him eat those words, by never speaking a word outside of my job description to him. I would tuck
any
feelings I had for him away, and kill his stupid ass with professionalism, since he wanted to act crazy with me.

But I loved his stupid ass.

Words spoken in anger and confusion weren’t going to be the catalyst that made that change. Just like I’d said, I would give him time to get this shit together, and figure out what he needed to do.

He wanted to
focus on the game?

I was going to let him.

Fifteen-thousand square feet on the water, in Galveston. All done up in blue and gold, celebrating the fact that by some miracle, in a little over a week, the Kings would be going head to head against the Patriots. One of us was going to walk away as Super Bowl champions.

I wished I could be happier about that than I was.

I mean, I was glad about it. The team was thrilled, Eli was thrilled, my mom and sister were. I was ready to celebrate. I was
down
for it.

There was just one little thing holding me back.

My big, stupid fucking mouth.

Since the night before that tie-breaker game, Nicki hadn’t been checking for me, at all. She said she was letting me focus, and she meant that shit – she hadn’t initiated a single text or phone call. When we saw each other, she would acknowledge me, but that was about all. From winning the tie-breaker to get our wildcard position, to whooping our way to the top match of the playoffs, the most I’d gotten from her was “congratulations on your win.” When I tried to talk to her, she shut it down every time. More than once, she’d looked me right in the face, smiled, and said, “Let’s talk about it later. Your focus needs to be on football.”

And really… it wasn’t like I could blame her.

I recognized how stupid I’d been about two seconds after she stormed out of my house, but further stupidity held me back from immediately trying to make it right. I was sorry that I’d said what I said to her, but was still holding on to the idea that our relationship was affecting my game. It took me going over and over it in my head to realized that it wasn’t the shift in my relationship with Nicki that had my head all messed up.

It was that conversation with my father.

I’d told myself that he was miserable, that he was full of shit, that I shouldn’t listen. And yet, I’d still let him fuck with my head.

“He got a lot of practice with me,” my mother told me, when I finally gave in and made that phone call. She’d figured out how to be done. I hoped she could pass it on to me. “You have to just… rely on the other people who love you, honestly. That makes his poison so much less potent. Remind yourself who consistently shows you that you matter to them. And
always
let their words matter more than someone who doesn’t. There’s no process, my love. You just…
stop
.”

So… I did.

Or, I tried.

I was still a work in progress.

I’d had lunch with him, And he sat there, going on and on about how low our chances were against the Patriots, even after we’d pulled off something amazing by making it through the playoffs at all. Nicki was pissed at me and found room to offer congratulations. Neither that word, or others that conveyed the same sentiment, crossed his mouth.

I felt stupid as hell, with that realization.
This
was the fool that I’d allowed to taint my relationship with the woman I loved? Somebody who was supposed to be my biggest supporter, and could only find negativity, no words of encouragement for me?

It was… idiotic.

I couldn’t settle for that.

“I’ve asked Nicole to
attend
the party as well, as a team representative. Hopefully her presence will ensure that things don’t get too rowdy.”

I nodded, giving Eli some reassurance that I wasn’t so sure about. “Yeah. Yeah, man. It won’t be too bad.”

Eli was footing the bill for this party, and had given me instructions to live it up, like me and Trent used to do. My plan was to do exactly that, even though Trent wasn’t really down – his lady talked him into it - and I wasn’t even completely feeling it myself. That wasn’t for the public to know though. When the tweets and snaps and instagram pics from this party went live, all anybody else would see was the party of the damn century.

Even if I had to force it… that was the way it would go down.

As if I don’t babysit athletes enough…

I ran my hands through my hair, then smoothed my dress over my hips as I looked around the party. You’d think this was a party to celebrate a SuperBowl
win
– not just the fact the Kings had made it into the game. But, I could understand everybody’s excitement.

After the season we had, making it to the SuperBowl was a big damned deal.

“So explain to me again how these…
procurement bands
… aren’t prostitution?” I asked the bobbed brunette in the reception area at the front of the house Eli had rented for this production. She giggled with the woman standing with her.

“Well,” she said, holding up two plastic bracelets. “Some guests pay for access to the bands. They’ll use those bands to “mark” the women they intend to… engage with, at the end of the night.”

I curled my lip. “And the women who get the bands are… paid?”

“Not at all,” she shook her head. “Unless you consider the pleasure of a professional athlete’s company for the night compensation.”

“I don’t.”

“Well, many women
do
,” the brunette replied snottily. “If a guest sees someone wearing a band that isn’t theirs, they can’t approach them. The bracelets are purchased beforehand, and the athlete’s name is inscribed on however many they’ve purchased. They get blacklights that can be used to read the inscription.”

“And if someone doesn’t want to be…
procured
?”

“She says no thank you, and everyone moves on. We have security throughout the party making sure of that.”

“Uh huh.”

I was burning to ask if Jordan had purchased any
procurement bands
for the night, but I was skeeved out enough by the whole idea that I convinced myself to just walk away instead. This party was already overflowing, with liquor and music and debauchery. I had enough details, for now.

I hadn’t made it far when I was grabbed from behind by a familiar touch, and a few moments later, Jordan and I were alone in a darkened hallway.

“What’s up with you?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist. “You’ve been looking sour all night.”

I shrugged, pulling away from him. “Nothing. Just keeping my distance. Pay me no mind.”

I left him in the hall to rejoin the party, shaking my head at some of the things I witnessed as I walked past. Drinking, smoking, minor sex acts that ranged from scandalous to downright weird. This wasn’t even the craziest party Jordan and Trent had done. There was a thing where
everybody
wore nothing but thongs a while back that I was still having nightmares about. When the thong is on a 350lb lineman, it just looks like
nothing
is on.

I fought back a shudder as I made my way through the crowd, towards the bar. I was supposed to be making sure the party didn’t get too wild, and “affect any player’s potential for success”, but…. It was a party. It was
going
to get wild. I didn’t know what kind of “chaperone” my father was expecting me to be, but if I was sticking around, a drink was necessary.

Maybe it would make it a little easier to be around Jordan.

There was already a crowd around the bar, but one of the bartenders recognized my face and came straight to me.

“Whiskey sour
,
please!
” I shouted over the music and the crowd, and she nodded, confirming my drink.

“Cole?” I heard from behind me, and turned to see a familiar face. She was much more glammed up than she’d been the last time we were face to face, so it took me a few seconds, but I smiled as I  recognized Trent’s girl.

“Jade! So, you were the one to convince Trent to come.”

She looked a little surprised at that. “How did you know he had to be convinced?”

“Jordan told me. He said he’d been trying for a week, and Trent wasn’t having it. He’s really changed, that guy, and I for one am happy for him.”

I leaned back to give her room as one of the bartenders handed Jade a drink.

“You don’t think JJ is?” she frowned. “Trent can be a bit of a prude. I thought he was much older when I met him.”

I laughed. “I can see why. But all change isn’t bad. When he came home he was different, but in an angry way. Trent’s more confident
now
. More self-assured. I’m sure that has a lot to do with you.”

I grabbed my drink as it was offered and immediately took a sip to wet my throat as she shrugged. “He makes me happy.”

My eyes dropped to the huge ring on her finger, marking her as Trent’s fiancée. “And clearly he wants to do it forever. I’m really happy for him. Even before going away, Trent was a really good guy. Always honest and up front, you know?”

Jade got a funny look on her face, then smiled. “It was your hair.”

I moved in closer, and bent to hear her better. “Pardon?”

“It was your natural hair that flared my jealousy. Trent suggested that I didn’t need my weave, so when I saw a gorgeous woman with her real relaxed hair, I burned with jealousy.”