Sidelined: A Wilde Players Dirty Romance (11 page)

And when I think about the whole thing, it pisses me off. I should’ve gone back to Oklahoma like everyone wanted me to. But no. I stayed with the hopes of getting back with Cass, and look where it’s gotten me. Now I stand an excellent chance of getting canned, and I’ve lost the girl, too. Halle-fucking-lujah.

My phone rings again, and I’m so damn annoyed I pick it up without looking at the caller ID.

“What?”

“Christ, Fletcher. Calm down.”

It’s Gina. “Sorry.”

“I’m calling to check on you,” she says.

“I’m fine. You’ve checked.”

“What happened?”

“Maybe you need to ask Cass that,” I say.

“I have, and she’s behaving like you. She won’t tell me a thing.”

“I guess kissing her ex didn’t do it for her then.”

“What the fuck are you saying?” she asks, sounding horrified.

“Exactly what you think I’m saying.”

“She was kissing Calvin? She hates that slime ball. Why would she do that?”

“You’ll have to ask her. I’m not a mind reader. And seems to me if she didn’t want to kiss him, she wouldn’t have.”

“Fletcher, there’s more to this. Trust me.”

“Whatever. I’m done, Gina. I’m going back to Oklahoma as soon as my parents get home.”

“Don’t you dare.” She sounds as though it’s an order.

“Why the fuck not?”

“What about all your talk of love?”

A bitter laugh escapes me. “What love? All I’ve been hand delivered is pain, and I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.”

“When?” Gina asks.

“When what?”

“Are you leaving?”

My parents are due back in a few weeks, so I can’t leave until then.”

“Please don’t do anything rash, but give me some time. And I swear there has to be an explanation for this. If you even knew how much she despises the fuckturd, you would know.”

“She sure has an odd way of showing it.”

“Besides that, what about your therapy?”

“I’m going to see if I can find another therapist.”

Gina huffs into the phone, “You know she’s the only one in town pretty much. You’ll have to go all the way to Asheville.”

“Then fine. I can manage that.”

“When’s your next session?”

“It’s supposed to be this afternoon. She was doing work for me on the side.”

Gina asks, “What do you mean by
was
?”

“I’m not sure if I’m going.”

“You have to go. Don’t you want to get better?”

“Well, yeah. But I also don’t want to torture myself either. Besides, I have the shits of a hangover.”

“Hmm. Came home and tied one on, huh?”

“What do you think?”

“Fletcher, go to therapy. Call me later.”

She hangs up, and I’m left trying to make a decision. The bottom line is I need to get better, and who am I kidding? This will be every bit as uncomfortable for her as it will be for me. I’m in.

When I show up, she’s already there, and I relax a little. There was a part of me that wondered if she would stand me up. I walk inside, and the place is empty since it’s the weekend. My knee bothers me some with all the damn striding I did last night as I head to the back.

“In here, Fletcher.” I follow her voice to the conference room. She sits at the table and says, “Take a seat.” Her hand indicates where I should sit, which is across from her. I ignore it and take the seat closest to her. I want her to squirm. But she’s not playing my game. She jumps up and says, “I need to lock the front door.” When she returns, she takes the seat across from me. I let her have this moment, but I’ll get her back some way.

“I … we need to talk.”

“I doubt there is anything we have to talk about. I would prefer to get down to business.”

“But—”

“Cassidy, you made it perfectly clear where your interests lie last evening.”

“No, I … that’s to say, it wasn’t like that.”

“So, you’re telling me I didn’t fucking see you kissing your ex. Is that correct?”

“Yes. No.”

“Which is it, Cassidy?” Impatience is clear in my tone.

“Neither. He kissed me, and I pushed him away, but I guess you were too busy with your groupies to notice.”

“Back to that, are we?”

“Yes! No, I mean, I saw you leave with one.”

“Like I saw you kissing your ex?”

“Dammit, will you listen for once?
He
kissed
me
.”

“And you let him. You two were awful cozy on the dance floor.”

She huffs, “Again, his doing, not mine. I pushed him off me. But you left before you saw that.”

“Just like you saw my groupie and me, huh?”

“This is all a misunderstanding.”

“No, this is you screwing with my head, and I don’t like head games.”

She doesn’t utter a word, but I can tell she’s fuming as much as I am.

“Let me tell you something. I am this close to ruining my career,” I pinch my thumb and index finger close together, “because I opted to stay here with you as my therapist. And do you know why? I’ll spell it out for you, if you haven’t gotten it already. Because I wanted to convince, persuade, or whatever, you to believe that we could work as a couple. I love you—have never stopped loving you—since day one. And then last night I see you kissing that dickface. Yes, I may have put my arm around that woman, but I did nothing more than that. Quite honestly, I don’t even know her name. I left the club in such a hurry I’m not even sure what happened to her. Can I help it if a damn pack of women hang around me? Should I pepper spray them? Tell me what to do that’s legal in order to get rid of them, and I’ll do it. But I don’t go around kissing them for fuck’s sake. To see you with him, well—” I throw my hands up in the air and shake my head in disgust because there is nothing left to say.

“I’m sorry. I swear to you I did not initiate it. He did.”

“Did you push him away from you or try to stop him? I can’t understand how he could’ve kissed you without your permission, especially when you didn’t appear to be struggling to get away.”

“I was in shock, I guess. But I did push him away, only you didn’t hang around long enough to see it. Look, I can’t keep repeating this. It was screwed up, I know. But I did not mean for it to happen. I can’t stand Calvin and would never allow him to kiss me.”

“It really ripped to see you with him, Cass.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

There’s not much more for either of us to say on the subject. I can’t say I feel better about it, because I don’t. At least not yet. On a positive note, she really does hate that douche ass of an ex of hers. The hurt is still there, though, and I rub my chest as though that will make it feel better. But I need to put this whole damn thing behind me if I’m going to move forward.

“I wish we could start the night all over,” she says.

“Yeah, that makes two of us. Would you avoid me like I had a contagious disease again?”

“No. That was my first mistake of several. But what were you doing there anyway? Were you stalking me?”

I laugh at that. If she only knew Gina’s involvement in this whole thing, she’d really be pissed at her best friend. “Actually, Ryder called me. You remember him? He’s my cousin.”

“I didn’t until last night. I’d only met him a time or two.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because he lived on the West Coast. Anyway, he just moved here to play this season.” I inch to the edge of my seat and ask, “What have I done to scare you off? You ran out of there without so much as a hello.”

“You being Fletch scares me off. We just don’t belong in each other’s worlds.”

“I don’t think you give love enough credit,” I say.

“Oh, Fletch, you don’t make this easy.”

“Who said it would be easy? But aren’t things you have to work hard for worth it in the end?”

She has no answer to that. We finally make it to the therapy room where we talk a little more between her torturing motions.

“Think about it, Cass. Think about us. And what we could have together. And stop lying to yourself.”

Later, my cousin, Ryder, calls.

“What the hell happened last night?” he asks.

“Long story that amounts to a misunderstanding, dude.”

“You two are okay then?”

“Yeah, maybe. Getting there anyway. You remember Cassie, right? I dated her in high school and college.”

“That’s right. It’s all coming back to me. It’s been a while. Glad you got things straightened out because Gina was freaked.”

“Yeah, it was the fucking circus. But things are better. So, how do you know Gina anyway? I didn’t realize you two were a thing.”

“I’m not sure we’re exactly what you’d call a thing. But, yeah, back when I was getting signed, I came to visit your parents, and that’s when I met her. She was working at The Dirty Hammer one night when I was there. She’s pretty cool. And by the way, sorry I wasn’t able to give you a hand after your accident. It was right when I was in the process of moving to Charlotte, and then we started spring training.”

“Hey, I get that, man. No explanations needed.”

“But another reason I’m calling is I want you to come to the game next weekend. I’ll get you seats in the box, and afterward, you can come to the family room where the players join their families and friends. I’m going to call Gina and invite her as well. I wanted to give you a heads-up because I’m pretty sure she’ll invite Cassidy.”

“Yeah? I think the ladies would love that. I’m not sure if either of them has ever sat in box seats before. So that would be cool.”

“It’s a Saturday afternoon game, so hopefully, Gina can get it worked out. Maybe it’ll help you score some points with your girl.”

“Hey, I need all the points I can get.”

“Cool. Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you next weekend.”

“Yeah, and thanks. I owe you one if it works out.”

Cassidy

A tense week goes by between Fletcher and me. I get the feeling he’s pulling back, as he hasn’t pressed me about a commitment anymore. There should have been relief from that, but there isn’t. When I head to pick up Gina to go to the baseball game, I have a feeling Fletcher will be there.

“What’s with the frowny face?” Gina asks, buckling her seatbelt.

“Nothing.”

“Sure,” she says. “Haven’t had sex all week, have you?”

I glare at her because she’s right, and I am grumpy. “Why is it always about sex with you?”

“Sex is good when the right guy is doing it.”

“And is Ryder doing it good?” I say, turning the tide of the conversation.

She shrugs. “He’s worth a repeat performance.”

Gina is tight-lipped when it comes to herself, so she hasn’t yet told me the deal between them. “And when was the first time?” I ask.

“He was a mistake. A pretty boy. You know I don’t normally go that way. I like them rough around the edges. But I don’t know. He caught me on a good night. And I’ll be honest and say it was worth one night of bliss.”

“And now?”

Sighing, she says, “Now he got us seats in the team box at his home game, but that doesn’t mean I’m giving him anything more. He’s cute, but so not my type.”

“Is that why you’re dressed like a normal person today and not some sex siren?”

She glances down at her jeans and T-shirt and shrugs again. I, on the other hand, had spent an hour trying to decide. We’re going to be sitting in the box, which from my understanding is a pretty big deal. It kind of feels like I should be more dressed up. Then again, it’s a midafternoon game. That’s why I decided on a flirty spring dress because it wasn’t exactly hot out.

From our arrival all the way to our seats is fancy. Ryder hooked us up with valet parking, and we’d been ushered to a lower level where a fancy restaurant lies hidden below with access only to those with the right tickets. Interesting to see how the other half lives. We’re given the choice to eat at the elegant buffet, for free mind you, or take the elevator to the box level where food and drinks are also served.

“Let’s go up,” Gina suggests, picking up a glass of wine before we do.

I follow suit, nerves getting the best of me. What if Fletcher is around, but he’s not alone? I have a feeling he’s given up on us. My worst fears are realized when we walk into the box. The view is amazing, but Fletcher stands in the corner talking to a striking woman I’ve never seen before. Gina steers me to the other side of the room like a good bestie should.

“Don’t let him get to you, girl. If he’s moved on, fuck him. That means he wasn’t ever worth your time.”

I nod, fighting the urge to bolt. So, I sit in the front row of leather seats facing the field and focus ahead. The game is already underway, and I try to figure out which team is on the field. Gina leaves me to raid the buffet table on the back wall. I slowly sip my wine I snagged from downstairs. It tastes as bitter as I feel.

Even though I’m staring out the glass, my nerve endings fire up as he approaches. I glance up to see he’s brought the stunning dark blonde with him.

“Cass—”

“Fletcher.” It’s rude how I say it, but it’s hard to see him with someone else even if I know we can never be together.

He smiles at me and gives a brighter one to the woman at his side.

“Riley, this is Cassidy. Cassidy, this is Riley, Ryder’s sister and my cousin.”

My foot desperately wants to come off the floor and insert itself into my mouth. Though I manage a politer, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

Riley isn’t stupid. She senses the tension between Fletcher and me. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Will you excuse me? I see that my dad just walked in. Let me go greet him.”

She walks away, and, man, don’t I feel like a royal ass. Fletcher eases in the seat next to me, taking care with his knee brace. That gives me ample time to come up with an apology.

“Sorry. That was rude of me. Guess I’m a little bitchy today.”

“Just call it what it is, Cass.”

“And what’s that, Fletch?” I snap.

“You were jealous.”

I fish-mouth for a second, wanting to deny it, but in the end, I don’t. “Fine, I was jealous.”

He takes my hand. “You have nothing to be jealous about. It’s you. It’s always been you. And always will be. You make me crazy at times, but how many times or ways do I have to say it to get you to believe me?”