Tackled by Love (9 page)

“Hey, I’m Chad,” he says in a cool tone. Chad is the new kid in school. He’s very attractive and I’ve heard the popular girls whisper and giggle about him before. The fact that he’s talking to me has me feeling embarrassed and giddy at the same time. Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I glance down at the floor.

“H-hi, I’m Autumn.” I hate the fact that my nerves are showing by stuttering, but I’ve never had a guy be nice to me before.

“So, I’ve seen you around and was wondering if you’d want to go out with me sometime.” My eyes snap up in time to see him flash me a cocky grin. I’m so excited I can feel my body vibrating. My insides are jumping up and down, shouting to the rooftops that I’m being asked on a date! And not by any guy either, but by a total hottie! I never thought I’d have this moment, but here it is and I finally feel like a normal teenager doing normal things.

“Yes!” I say with a little too much enthusiasm. Trying to reel it back a little, I press my lips together, but it’s no use. The wide smile on my face can’t be contained. This is the first moment I’ve been happy since before my mom died and I want everyone to know it. I’m about to ask him when he wants to go out, but he speaks up first.

“Good, I’ll need someone that’s as big as a horse to pull my car, in case it breaks down on me and my date.”

As his words slowly sink in, my smile slowly fades. A few of the guys on the baseball team come from around the corner and give him high fives and slaps on the back as they continue to laugh at me. The nausea begins to creep up my esophagus and the bile burns the back of my throat. Trying desperately to salvage what little dignity I have left, I calmly walk away.

I was completely horrified and crushed. I felt the ache in my heart from years of this shit grow exponentially. That was probably the closest I ever got to crying in front of everyone. To go from having such high hopes of making a friend and having a date, to the massive blow of being at the butt of another vicious joke was almost my undoing. To make matters worse, someone was right around the corner of the hallway filming the whole thing. That recording soon circulated through the whole school and everyone got to watch my devastation and humiliation over and over. Ever since then, I’ve been very cautious when approached by a guy.

A light touch to my arm brings me back to the present. Snapping out of my daze, I look up at Landon, whose eyebrows are furrowed in confusion. “I’m sorry, what were you saying?” I ask, giving him a tight smile.

“Are you okay? You looked a little ill and started scanning the room like someone was watching you or something.”

With his hand still on my arm, I feel a strange sense of comfort. Like I’m pulling his inner strength and confidence into myself. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was supposed to meet my friend here and she never showed up. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t miss her before I left,” I lie.

“If you don’t have time to show me around right now, we could always reschedule.” I look down at the hand that has yet to leave my skin. Landon catches my line of sight and smoothly removes his hand.

“No, no. I don’t have anywhere I need to be at the moment, so I don’t mind giving you a quick tour.”

Landon flashes me a smile that I know has the power to melt panties off of women. “After you,” he gestures for me to start ahead of him.

We spend the next 15 minutes or so walking around the gym where I show him all the equipment. I even tell him about the classes they have here, although I doubt he’d go to any of them. Zumba just doesn’t seem like his thing.

“I’m going to grab a shake, do you want to join me?” I find myself asking.

“Sure,” he says with a smile. Once we order our shakes, we grab them and take a seat at one of the tables they have set up nearby. The silence stretches between us and I start thinking of anything to fill it because it’s starting to make me feel uncomfortable.

“How’s your knee feeling? I noticed you still favor the other side slightly.”

“It’s getting better, just taking longer to heal than the last time,” he answers, looking down at his drink. He sounds slightly bitter and I’m sure he’s thinking about how this made him give up football for good.

“Well, at least you have a good support system. You’re all Brenda ever talks about and I’m sure she’s taking really good care of you at home. Some of your teammates have spoken publicly about their support for you and wishing you well. So at least you don’t have to do it alone.” I take a sip through my straw.

He lets out a huff that sounds like an attempt to laugh, but not quite. “Yeah, a good support system. So good, in fact, that my wife left me because of it.” He starts clenching his jaw and I know this is a topic we need to quickly move away from.
What the hell happened though? How could she just leave him like that?

“Because I couldn’t play anymore,” he shrugs like it’s not a big deal, but I can tell it bothers him. Oh, shit. I said that out loud?

Dear Brain-to-mouth Filter,

You suck.

Sincerely,

Autumn

Not able to help myself and since I’ve already started to pry, I figured one more question wouldn’t hurt, “So she was just in it for the status? To say she was a quarterback’s wife?”

“Yeah, and the money that came with it. As soon as she realized I wasn’t going to be pulling in the millions anymore, she bailed.” I’m a little surprised he’s talking so openly about this with me.

“What a bitch,” I mumble before taking another drink.

That earns me a chuckle. “You hit the nail on the head with that one.” His mood lightens slightly at my comment. I wish I could say I’m surprised by her recent actions, but I’m not. She was such a fake bitch in high school and got so much joy off of others’ misery. The fact that Landon seemed shocked by the whole thing just goes to show that he probably didn’t know her for the heartless person she is.

He asks me normal questions you ask when getting to know someone. How I got into cake decorating, what I like about it, things like that. I notice he avoids all conversation that would involve high school, and I’m glad.

As I’m about to walk out, I hear Landon yell out my name. I turn around and he says, “Mom said she was taking the day off tomorrow since the schedule isn’t too hectic. I’ll swing by to do the deliveries, so why don’t you give me your cell phone number so I can text you when I’m on my way. You know, so that everything will be ready when I get there.” I rattle off my number to him, and a few moments later my phone is vibrating. “I just texted you so that you’ll have mine too,” he says as he holds up his phone.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow then,” I reply with a grin and walk out of the gym.

When I get into my car, I check the text.

Thanks 4 the tour sweetheart see u 2morrow

And for some stupid reason, this puts a big cheesy grin on my face.

The whole way home.

That evening after leaving the gym, I find myself still thinking about Autumn. She had a faraway look on her face momentarily, and I could tell it had to do with something that still plagues her. I don’t know what could have triggered it though, but I wasn’t going to ask her and make the situation worse.

I didn’t really need a tour of the gym. They’re all pretty much the same. Whether it’s the state of the art facilities I used while in the NFL, or the small town gym I’m using now. Working out is working out. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend just a little time with her. And, if I’m being honest, it was nice to see her firm ass swaying in front of me as she led the way.

My mind is spinning in a million directions. I’m not legally divorced, but here I am, finding ways to talk to this girl who intrigues me. It makes me feel a little guilty, but then I think about what a gold digger that viper is and the guilt quickly fades away. The thing I can’t really figure out is, why am I not more torn up about my marriage crumbling? If I loved Val like I always thought I did, wouldn’t I be more upset? At the very least, I shouldn’t be having thoughts about someone else, right? I don’t really know the protocol on these things or what the proper mourning time for a failed marriage is. All I know is there’s something about Autumn that draws her to me. It could be her inner triumph that blocks out all her prior sadness, the way she lights up the room with her presence, or the way her full, dark red hair shines in the light. I’m not sure, but I have to get closer to her.

I walk downstairs into the den—AKA my dad’s “man cave”—to talk to him about my new idea I was thinking about. He’s sitting on the couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table, remote resting on his round belly, watching TV.

“Hey, dad. You got a minute?”I sit down in the recliner next to him.

“Sure. What’s up son?” He turns off the TV and turns his body toward me, giving me his full attention.

“I wanted to talk to you a little about my future plans and maybe using that account I had set up.”

“You don’t need to ask for my permission to use that account; it’s yours. But I would be interested in hearing what you’re thinking of doing with it.”

My last year of college I knew I was going to get drafted. People were actually shocked when I didn’t enter my junior year, but my parents convinced me to finish school first, saying it’d give me something to fall back on. Now, I couldn’t be more grateful for that. Before the draft started, I got an agent. There were big talks that I was going to go in the first round and I wanted someone to guide me through the process. That’s how I met Dustin. When I got picked up, it came with a fairly large signing bonus. It was more money than I ever dreamt of making in my lifetime, let alone for playing a sport that I loved.

Valerie and I weren’t married yet, but we were engaged. Before I cashed my bonus check, Dustin wanted to have me sit down with him and an accountant—Brian-- so that I invested wisely. They both told me that I needed to get a prenuptial agreement done before I got married. I immediately shut down the idea. Valerie was with me long before I made millions, so I argued that I didn’t need it. They kept pushing the issue before I finally put my foot down. Nothing says romance like starting a marriage by saying
Hey, I love you right now, but in case this doesn’t work out, I want to keep my shit.
Once we got married, everything would be mutual property they told me. She would get half of all my assets. I already knew this but didn’t care. Hindsight is a bitch, right? When they both realized that I wouldn’t budge on the issue, they convinced me to set up an investment account in my dad’s name where I could deposit a portion of my bonus money. They said if I never needed it, then great, but it was a good safety net in the worst case scenario. Well, I was living in the worst case scenario.

“I wanted to actually use that degree that I earned in college. Do something with architecture, you know?” My dad’s approval has always meant the world to me, so I’m a little nervous at what he’ll think of my idea.

“Okay? Anything specific?” he asks.

“What do you think about flipping houses? I know the housing market is unstable, but if I can come in and sweep up these really cheap foreclosures, I could turn a pretty penny I think. I’d do the redesign and have a team of people to carry it out. In the long term, I could see this becoming a national business where I have small teams scattered throughout the country. I’d need managers at each site to oversee the work, but I would design all the rebuilds. Is that a stupid idea? Would it be a waste of money?” I look at him and hold my breath.

“No, I think it’s a pretty good idea actually. There are lots of cheap foreclosed houses that need a good deal of work. Not a lot of people are going to want to buy something like that, but if you do all the hard stuff, I think you could make a profit off of it. Got any ideas on who’d do the rebuilds for you?”

“No, not yet. I need to do some research. I was thinking about looking up some of my old buddies from high school. When I got together with Elliot, he was filling me in on what some of the guys ended up doing. A couple of them work in construction, so maybe they’d want to help.”

“I think with a little more planning, you’ll be good to go, son. I’m proud of you for getting back up when you’ve been knocked down. I admire that you’re striving to pull yourself out of this and turn your life around again.” He leans over and pats me on the shoulder. He probably doesn’t know how much his words mean to me. My whole fucking life has snowballed out of control. At first, my problems started out as a small snowball, like one you’d throw at a friend. But soon, that snowball was rolling down a steep hill, picking up momentum and getting bigger until it crashed into my life, completely smothering what I used to know. Now I’m just trying to dig my way out and find a fresh start.

“Thanks, Dad. I’m glad I have your support.”

“I do have a question, though. If you start this business before your divorce is finalized, can Valerie come after it?”

And that douses my newfound hope with a big bucket of ice cold water. “I’m not sure. But she’s clearly stated she doesn’t want me anymore, so that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”