Quarterback: Bad Boy Sport Star Romance. (5 page)

Tyler sat on the couch in his bachelor pad, flipping through the channels. He was barely paying attention to the images that passed before him on the screen. His mind seemed to be a million miles away.

But when he landed on a hockey game, he immediately snapped back to the present. He put the remote down and leaned forward on the couch. Within moments he was jumping up in the middle of his luxury apartment, celebrating wildly as the Rangers, the team that he used to play for, scored a game-winning goal in overtime.

Since he was forced onto the long-term injury list, after suffering yet another serious concussion, he had mostly avoided watching hockey games. It was too painful for him. Hockey had been his life. It was such a big part of his identity. Actually, it was his identity. He felt completely lost now that he could no longer call himself a hockey player.

Growing up in the fabled town of Chrisberg, he had quickly gained the reputation as the best player in the entire state of Minnesota.  After a while all of the attention began to get to his head. He began carrying himself with a confidence and a swagger that some of the local people didn’t like. But there were many more who were proud of the local boy who was making such a name for himself.

He hadn’t been back to Chrisberg in almost seven years. That’s when his father died and his mother decided to move out west to be with the rest of her family.

But he wasn’t just going back home to visit old friends and catch up. He wished that was all that he had to do. No, it definitely wouldn’t be that simple and straightforward.

He was heading back to his hometown for the shooting of a documentary around his life and other professional sport players that arose from such small communities into the high end of celebrity status. When his agent had first pitched him the project, he’d been ecstatic about it. He knew that there were people in town who would be more than happy to be featured in a primetime documentary. But that was before he suffered his latest concussion, the result of a dirty hit delivered by one of his hated opponents.

He felt like a shell of himself. He had wanted to go home as the triumphant hero who had returned to share his story of success with the entire world, while at the same time celebrating the culture and people who had made him what he was.

None of that seemed real now.

Tyler’s agent leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. Every time he did that, Tyler secretly wished that he would fall back and land hard against the floor. But in the three years that he had been Steven Bernstein’s client that had yet to happen.

“This is going to be huge for you,” Steven said. “ABC is owned by Disney which owns ESPN. You’ve got to start thinking about post-playing career opportunities. And this is perfect.”

Tyler knew that Steven was making a good point, but couldn’t accept the fact of it. He wouldn’t be returning to the ice any time soon, maybe never, even if he actually followed the doctor’s advice. But he still felt very uneasy about heading home to shoot the documentary.

 “Isn’t there some way that I could get out of the contract?”

Steven shook his head slowly from side to side. “I don’t know why you’re giving up on yourself. You’ve got so much more to give.”

“I just feel like the people back home are probably sick of me. I’ve been replaced.”

“No one no one is replaceable!” Steven said slamming his hands down on his desk and standing up.

Tyler kind of snapped out of his misery by his agent’s passion.

“That’s not true,” Tyler protested. “They’ve already forgotten about me, besides I cannot meet their expectations of me any more, I am not a star.”

“You were the first to make it out of Chrisberg. You put that damn place on the map. If it wasn’t for Tyler Henry nobody would’ve ever heard of that place.”

“I know you’re trying to lift my spirits but—”

“I’m not trying to lift anything. I’m telling you how it is.”

“Like I was saying, thank you. I mean it. But on a serious note, please don’t go around saying that I put Chrisberg on the map. It was well known before I came around. Long, long before.”

Steven had quizzical look on his face. “What are you talking about?”

Tyler smirked, looking at him in silence. “It’s a long story but I’ll try to give you the short version.”

For the next twenty minutes, Tyler told his high-flying New York agent all about Chrisberg and the Christmas miracle aura that surrounds the town and attracts tens of thousands of tourists during the Christmas season.

At the end of the story, the jaded agent stared at his brawny client with watery eyes.

Tyler had no idea what to say or do. He’d certainly never seen this brash talking New Yorker so vulnerable before. Was the story that powerful?

“I was always jealous of the kids who got to celebrate Christmas,” he said. It seemed so much more fun than Hanukah and there were only a few Jewish families in our town. I always felt left out.”

“Well, then you should definitely come with me too.”

“No, no. I won’t be able to relate to anyone and I probably won’t enjoy myself.”

“Nonsense!” Tyler said standing up. “If I can overcome my fears and go back, then I’m taking you with me. Or else.”

Steven’s eyes opened wide. “Or else what?”

“I’m finding a new agent. That’s what else.”

“What?”

The two men stared at each other in silence for a moment. That tension was broken when Tyler leaned his head back and began laughing.

Katie sat at her kitchen table sipping coffee and chatting with her best friend Megan.

“Did you hear that you know who is coming home?” Megan asked.

Katie was incredibly busy and she didn’t feel like talking about the arrival of Tyler Johnson, her first love and high school sweetheart, the only man she had ever truly loved and the only person that truly hurt her. Five years later, she still had not recovered from the wounds he had caused her. It was as if her life was at a 5 year pause, continuing her daily activities aimlessly in the wait for him and resume her life. Everything seemed empty and pointless without him, a part of her was missing.

“I’m really just trying to focus on my work,” Katie replied. “You know how hectic this time of year is for me.”

“Of course, I do. But you’re going to have to see him eventually. You know that that, right?”

Katie wanted to believe that Tyler still had feelings for her, she really did.  But she was afraid of making herself vulnerable.

“Are you planning on remaining single forever?” Megan asked.

Katie sighed and looked away. It had been so long since she had actually gone on a date. Burying herself in her work was how she distracted herself from how lonely she was, constantly avoiding her feelings and needs.

“It’s just that things are really crazy right now and I would rather worry about business than some ex-boyfriend who’s back in town to remind everyone of how big of a star he is.”

“He’s not much of a star anymore,” Megan said. “Not since his injuries.”

“Yeah, though I bet his ego is intact”

“Maybe. But I know that you’re more than a little bit curious to find out.”

Katie knew that her friend was right. Yet she didn’t want to admit it.

Later that evening Katie tossed and turned in the bed. She kept seeing Tyler’s face flash in her mind’s eye. After more than two hours of not being able to fall asleep, she flicked on the television.

It happened to be on the local news station. The first thing she saw was Tyler’s smiling face. He was being interviewed. For a few moments, Katie stared at the screen as if she were hypnotized. That was her Tyler on the screen! With his golden blonde hair and glittering green eyes, he was as handsome as ever. But something about the way he answered the reporter’s questions and conducted himself during the interview, struck Katie as being somewhat different than what she remembered.

He seemed more mature and less arrogant than he had been towards the end of their relationship. Of course, things hadn’t started off like that for them. They’d meet the first week of high school and for the next ten years, they’d been virtually inseparable. Yet for some reason they had never gotten official. This was something that surprised everyone who knew the couple. They seemed like the perfect pair.

Katie would have gladly accepted a proposal from Tyler, but whenever the subject of engagement or marriage would come up he would always change the subject. His unwillingness to broach the subject was quite a blow to Katie’s self-esteem and self-worth.

When the televised interview with Tyler ended, Katie continued to stare at the screen. She had no idea what else to do. How would she be able to get to sleep? Her entire body was filled with an intense energy and lust. She could feel her pussy getting wet. She closed her eyes, leaned back, and moaned. Oh God!

She suddenly felt so turned on. It had been so long since she had been this horny, and her memories of them having sex were countless. All she could think of, was him in the act, his powerful and muscular body was more than enough to stimulate her.

She pushed down the bed sheet and began slowly rubbing the insides of her thighs. Her body was aching and calling out for Tyler. She began to slowly say his name, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler. It was like she was trying to conjure him, to make his handsome physique appear before her, right there in the bedroom, on top of her, in between her legs, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her tightly to him.

She desperately missed the way that he made love to her. He was the only man that she had ever allowed to penetrate her, to push into her most intimate parts. For the last several years, she had abstained from having sex, or perhaps she just had not met anyone with which she was compatible. Whatever the case, he was the only man she had ever had sex with. And she thought that she would never bring herself to really give herself, so fully and completely, to anyone beside Tyler.

Tyler was relieved when his plane finally landed at St. Paul International Airport. Nervous energy flowing throughout his body. It had been three days since he’d gotten a decent night’s sleep. He still wasn’t sure whether he made the right decision in going forward with the documentary project. But it was too late now. There was no turning back.

As the taxi brought him closer and closer to the town where he was born and raised, memories began to flood his mind, memories that he had long kept buried.

In particular, he remembered his first and only true experience of love. That love was for his high school sweetheart, the only woman that he had ever truly loved: Katie Addams.

He couldn’t help feeling that things might have turned out differently, if only he hadn’t let his ego get in the way. If only he had appreciated the love that she was offering. But instead he had lost touch with the small town, warm-hearted, charming person that he was. He had begun to believe the headlines and the hype that surrounded him, as the media build a high status persona for him. But that appeared to be over now and the hype’s gone. After only three seasons and well before reaching his potential, his career seemed to be doomed. So now he was forced to begin thinking about living a completely different sort of life. He knew that some of the first people that he was going to visit were his former coaches and teammates. Yet it all seemed so strange to him. He was so anxious about having to see people who knew him so well. They could see through him and instantly recognize that something wasn’t quite right with him.

Katie finally managed to get to sleep, but when her alarm rang at 0
5:
30 she felt completely exhausted. There was no way that she would be able to make it through the day on such a little amount of sleep but she was not the kind of person to stay in bed while her employees were busy working for her. She wasn’t that sort of business owner. She always wanted to show her employees, and all the people in the town for that matter that she didn’t think that she was better than anybody.

Only fifteen more minutes, she said to herself. Then I’ll get up and start the day. Just fifteen minutes. But before she reset the alarm, she remembered what it was that had kept her up all night. And then she remembered the powerful orgasm that she’d had only hours before. Suddenly she felt a tremendous surge of energy through her body. The fatigue that she felt only moments before, was completely gone. She was more than ready to start the day. She threw off the bed covers and hopped out of bed.

This was the day that she had been waiting so long for. It was finally here. She was excited. She was terrified. She had no idea how things would turn out. But she wouldn’t allow herself to think about that right now, especially any negative thoughts. When she saw Tyler, she would know right away whether he still had feelings for her. She would know right away if they had any chance of making things work between them. Because that’s what she wanted more than anything. She wanted Tyler back in her life. Life had been so hard without him, without his love.

Tyler could feel his legs getting weak underneath him, as he approached Katie’s cupcake shop. She would be closing up in a few minutes. He didn’t have time to stand out in the street and contemplate whether he was going to go forward with this. Of course, he was going forward with it. Destiny had brought him back home.

Katie was the love of his life. He was sure of that, absolutely sure. These past three years without her in his life had been very difficult.

The first few months were like one non-stop party. The Rangers were winning, he was playing well, and it seemed like every attractive woman in New York was throwing herself at him. He was a small town kid from the Midwest. All that attention went straight to his head. He had no idea how to handle it.

Eventually his out of control ego and arrogance became too much for Katie.

It was Christmas Eve and Tyler just left the apartment they shared in Manhattan, leaving his buzzing cell phone back, that’s when Katie noticed the racy texts messages on his phone. Devastated and shattered, barely able to walk, rushed out of their apartment into a taxi and head to the airport. Christmas found her in the airport since there were no flights back home, abandoned and alone. No place to go, and he didn’t even bother to talk her out of it.

He took her love for granted and he expected her to come back within a few hours. But she didn’t. She was shattered and betrayed beyond any measure.

He pulled the door open and stepped into the shop. There weren’t any customers. A girl with orange hair was wiping down the counter. She looked up and smiled at Tyler.

“I’m sorry, sir but we’re all out of cupcakes for the day. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”

“That’s okay,” Tyler replied. “Is the owner here?”

Katie was inside and nearly fainted when she heard Tyler’s voice. She came out and for a moment, which seemed to last forever, they stared into each other’s eyes without saying anything.

And for a moment, Katie sensed that the love between them was still there. There was something caring and vulnerable in the way that he looked at her.

He took two steps closer to her, and then she rushed into his arms. They held each other tightly without saying a word.

Katie had Monica close up the shop. She was anxious to spend as much time with Tyler as possible.

They headed to Bert’s Diner, one of the more popular establishments in town. There was a big cheer when they walked through the door. The place was jam packed with diners, just regular old townsfolk, slurping down cold beers and munching on hot food. It seemed like everyone in the place wanted to welcome Tyler back home.

After a while all the attention became a little bit embarrassing for him since all he wanted to do was sit down and have a bite with Katie. It had been so long since they had talked face to face.

When the enthusiastic welcome finally simmered down, they were able to sit down and place their order.

“You’re still just as popular as ever,” Katie said smiling.

“Yeah, well. It feels good to be back home. I would never get that kind of greeting anywhere in New York. Especially since I don’t do much playing anymore.”

Katie could tell that something was off with Tyler. He’d had his first concussion before their breakup. But that one was considered mild. The doctors had said that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Unfortunately for him several more concussions followed over the next few years. Katie had heard that he was struggling to get medical clearance to play again, yet she always figured that he would remain optimistic and determined and he would eventually get things sorted out.

“What have the doctors told you?” She asked. There was concern and love in voice. Tyler stared at her warmly for a minute before answering.

“That there’s a slim chance that I’ll be able to play again in about year or so. But one more concussion and I’m done forever, that’s it. Everything that I’ve worked so hard all my life will be gone.”

“No, it won’t,” Katie said reaching her hands across the table and placing them on top of his. That simple, loving touch sent sparks through her body. It was unlike anything that she had ever experienced. Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe she was experiencing something pleasurable that she had experienced many times before.

Tyler clasped her hands and smiled at her. Their eyes exchanged vows and promises of love and eternal happiness. Katie felt that everything in the world had slowed down, like everything in the world had disappeared, leaving just her and Tyler all alone.

She had the strong urge to start making out right then and there. All her body yearned for his touch, for his passion. Giggles behind them brought her back to reality and sat back in the booth.

“Ehhm…Maybe later...” she said and blushed.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tyler said. When he whipped his head around the diner, several heads quickly turned away, embarrassed to have been caught staring.

Katie and Tyler stared at each other for a moment, then they burst out laughing. It felt so good to be with each other again. 

“You were the one that wanted to stay in New York and be a star,” Katie said angrily all of a sudden. She had wanted the relationship to work out so desperately. It pained her to hear him suggest otherwise.

Tyler sighed and looked away. Katie kept her eyes intensely fixed on him. She wasn’t going to stand by and let him disparage her. If they were going to talk about their past issues and try to work through them, then they needed to be honest.

After several moments of tense silence, Tyler finally spoke. “I know I did, Katie and I’ve never forgiven myself. I’ve never been able to stop thinking about what we could have been. What we should have been.”

Katie got off the couch and walked to the other side of the living room. She was completely overcome by emotion.  She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes.

She spun around and glared at him. “Why did you have to come back?”

Tyler popped off the couch and rushed towards her. His eyes were on fire with desire. He grabbed both of her arms and stared deeply into her eyes.

“The only reason that I came back is for you,” he said. That’s the only reason.”

Katie looked away. It sounded too good to be true. But she wanted nothing more than to believe what he was saying. The moment that he had put his hands on her, electric sparks began shooting throughout her body. He had the same rugged handsome looks that had made her sworn so many years ago. He still had the intensity and magnetism in his eyes that she had always found irresistible. 

Tears streamed down Katie’s cheeks. She had been afraid that this would happen, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions. And here she was completely losing her grip. It was all too much for her. They’d had so many plans together. They were the couple that all the couples had envied. After the painful breakup, Katie had begun to seriously doubt whether or not she would ever find love again.

She slowly lifted her head and stared into Tyler’s loving eyes. He was smiling warmly. He was the perfect man. He was the man she wanted. She was about to raise her lips to his. She wanted to give in, surrender herself to his loving embrace, but at the last moment something held her back. She wasn’t going to be able to just yet. They were too many doubts and insecurities swirling in her spirit. Her trust for him was crumbled. How could she trust him again?

She pushed herself free of Tyler and took several steps away from him. She brushed tangled hair out of her eyes and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “But I can’t do this tonight. Thank you for taking me to the diner. I didn’t realize how much I missed that place.”

Tyler stood in the middle of the living room with a crestfallen expression on his face. He seemed like he was about to say something but at the last moment he bit his tongue. Then he sighed and shook his head.

“I think I understand,” he said. “I hope that I do.”

Once Tyler was finally gone, Katie felt a sense of relief mingled with excitement. It was a strange feeling, a feeling that she couldn’t remember experiencing for a very long time. She was relieved because their reconciliation seemed to be moving along way too fast. She wasn’t the kind of girl who was going to just hop into bed with her ex the first day that he came back into town, no matter how strong her feelings for him still were. And there was no doubt that she had very strong feelings. But it would take her more time to figure out what exactly those feelings were. Jumping into bed with each other would only make that process much more complicated.

It had been years since she had been in any sort of relationship with a man. But she was sure that Tyler had gotten plenty of experience with New York. Her lack of experience in comparison intimidated her, but it wasn’t so big a deal that she wouldn’t be able to overcome it.