Football Romance: Secret Baby Romance: Quarterbacks Heart ( Bad Boy Alpha Male Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Sports Pregnancy Romance) (2 page)

“Nate, are you still there?”

I wondered if I could get away with remaining silent until she gave up. I loved my sister but I had a killer hangover and needed a few hours to fix myself up.

“I will call you in an hour, okay? I’m not…up yet.”

I heard her sigh dramatically and mumble something about
brothers who didn’t care about their little sister’s lives
before the line went dead. I could live with her tantrums, usually nothing a new bracelet couldn’t cure, but I couldn’t live with this headache. Another headache stirred beside me and I groaned again, how could I forget about that?

“What time is it?”

“Time for you to go.”

She scowled as I got out of bed and made for my shower, wondering how I had returned home with her anyway. I always made an effort not to bring a girl home because they all became clingy afterwards, and I did many things but not clingy. I heard my door bang as I enjoyed my warm shower, making a mental note not to drink again at the next victory party. Not that it was an option with the guys all pressuring me to have fun, but I needed to get my life in order.

I loved football, hell, I more than loved the sport! I was obsessed with it, my very first love. Ever since I saw my fist game and was old enough to join the school team, I had studied, breathed and slept football. So when a scout had sported me and deemed me good enough to play in the big leagues, I had lived football. But my life off the field was a mess and that’s the part I didn’t love.

Being famous had come with beautiful women, expensive drinks and private jets. Jonathan had slowly disappeared and
Nate
had been born. I had been young and excited then, now I just saw the same old record that was my life. It was all the same; the girls had the same hair and rack size, the same lack of heart, and ‘Jonathan’ had had enough of it all. My sister’s engagement was the perfect reason for a getaway and some soul searching. I called her back as soon as I got out of the shower and made sure I was alone again, luckily I was. I hated the morning after awkwardness just as much as the next guy.

“Hey little sis.”

I could picture her rolling eyes as she scoffed, “Don’t you little sis me! First, I don’t see you for months and you don’t call me. Then when
I
call you, you leave me to go and take out the trash.”

“Helen-”

“Don’t even try to deny it, mister, I know you.”

That made me wince, had I become that predictable? I really needed to change a few things in my life, or a lot of them.

“I’m sorry. Anyway tell me about your big news, I can’t believe my little Helen is engaged.”

I removed the phone from my ear as she screamed, chuckling when she started telling me the entire story. I waited patiently this time as she told me what a great guy her fiancé was, because I was truly and genuinely happy for her. My sister was a handful sometimes but she was also the most loyal and nicest person I knew, she deserved to be happy. I would have asked if she wasn’t rushing it or if she didn’t feel like she was still too young or something like it, basic protective instinct. But I trusted her and knew if she felt at all that this was not a forever kind of deal, she would have said no.

I was hoping she would tell me more about Katherine, because I couldn’t come out and just ask her. Not without revealing that I had what was probably an eternal crush on her best friend and never even told her about it. I would never hear the end of it and I had promised Katie that Helen would never find out about us. So when my sister finally got around to telling me about her chance meeting with Katherine, I was more than willing to listen.

“I was so happy to see her and of course I had to invite her to the engagement party, which you are attending by the way. No negotiations.”

I smiled, as if I would ever miss it. Not only did I want to be there for my only sibling, I needed to see the rest of my family and now I needed to see Katie again. Even if it was only for just one day. Because Katherine had always been too good for me, even more so now that the media had labelled me the year’s most elusive bachelor and number one heartbreaker. One thing they didn’t know though was that once upon a time, Katherine Forster had broken my heart. And no one had been able to fix it since then.

I began packing right away, I had a flight to catch. Going back home could only mean good things, and if those good things included Katie, then I was more than happy to go.

Three. -Katherine

I sighed as I went through my clothes a third time, even though I knew a dress wouldn’t magically appear. I just kept hoping that maybe I had missed something; something I could wear to a fancy lunch at the Masons’. But no, the only dress that looked fancy enough was three sizes too small, thanks to my new
treasures
. I had last worn it to our high school farewell dinner, so of course it wouldn’t fit. But a desperate girl had to try.

After my chance meeting with Helen, we had talked and did some catching up. Rather, she had talked and I had apologized the entire time. She was having none of it though, and wanted us to go back to the way we were. I didn’t know if that was possible, or if I even wanted it. But the words
maid of honor
had been mentioned and I had left Note Café as fast as I could. I had, however, agreed to attend her engagement party, but I wasn’t making any promises.

“Are you still alive or have you pulled out all your extensions?” Adam called out.

I smiled and shook my head as I shouted back, “I can’t afford extensions!”

Adam walked in and leaned against my bedroom door, “You are lucky you have such beautiful hair anyway, I’m so jealous.”

“What is that?” I pointed to the gift bag he was holding.

He gave me his signature smirk and handed it to me, “An early birthday gift.”

“If it’s lingerie again I swear I will show up at your apartment in a trench coat with only your
gift
underneath!”

He grimaced, making me feel proud of myself as I proceeded to open said gift. Adam always got me weird gifts and the last two years it had been lingerie with weird prints and cartoon jokes. So I wasn’t expecting a gorgeous red cocktail dress when I opened the bag, which left me speechless. I just looked up at him and walked to give him a peck on the cheek.

“I thought you would want something to wear to your snobby friend’s…”

“She’s not snobby,” I tried to defend but Adam rolled his eyes.

“Come on, her name is Helen! It doesn’t get snobbier than that. Besides, I can smell snob from a mile away. ”

I raised a brow, “Maybe because you are a snob yourself?”

He grinned, “True, but you love me.”

I shook my head but smiled, shooing him out so I could change into my new dress. It fit like a glove, if gloves could make me look like a million dollars. Better than a million in fact, it made me feel young again. I looked myself over and couldn’t help the grin that emerged on my face, I looked good.

“Adam!”

“What is going- good lord?! Who you and what have you done to my Kate?”

“I got a fairy godmother,” I laughed, twirling for effect.

“I will accept the fairy part but never liken me to a woman again!”

“Ohhh, I am so scared.”

We both laughed and when the moment passed, I thanked him earnestly for the gift, silently vowing to pay him back somehow. I checked my watch and breathed in relief when I realized I still had an hour to spare. Which gave me time to properly do my makeup, something I rarely did nowadays. I wondered if my powder had not expired already, which made me decide just to put a bit of lipstick only and ditch the makeup.

“You look snobby now, I am so proud,” Adam dabbed at nonexistent tears at the corner of his eye.

I rolled my eyes at his dramatic antics and checked to see if all my plugs and switches were off before exiting my tiny apartment. Caitlin was with Adam’s mom and I would pick her up on my way from the
snob
fest
, as he kept dubbing it. I still worried about her every second I was away from her, but there was no one I trusted more with her than Adam’s family. Since my own family had practically disowned me and my child, they were all I had.

You would have Helen too if you just let her in, a nagging voice sounded in my head but I quickly pushed it away. Being close to Helen had not been an option, and neither was it one now. The only reason I had agreed to attending this party was because I never could say no to her and some part of me actually missed our friendship. Our break up was through no fault of hers, it was all me and my secrets. Secrets that were more important to me than our friendship of thirteen years. Yeah, some friend I was.

Adam drove me to the Masons’ place in silence, giving me time to really drown in my regrets and memories. When he finally nudged me, I tried to plead with him to rescue me but he wouldn’t have any of it. Traitor! I sighed as I walked to the guard, his exclamation of surprise taking
me
by surprise. He still remembered me, which made me feel even guiltier for staying away. Helen had been like a sister to me, with many sleepovers between both our parents’ homes. And as I dragged my sandal-clad feet inside, every wonderful memory we ever had flooded back.

Maybe we could have our friendship back without complicating things? Maybe I could still keep my life hidden from her? We could make it work, couldn’t we? I missed her, missed us, and every fun thing we did together. I should have known when she started getting serious with her fiancé, and shared in her joy when he proposed. All the things that best friends go through together, I should have been there for the last four years. But I knew I couldn’t, and I shouldn’t even be here.

I turned to go when a voice called out my name. And not just any voice; the voice that haunted my dreams every night. The voice I slept to every night as I played my prom tape over and over again. The same voice that still made my mouth dry and goose bumps appear all over my skin. Town hero, famous football player and the first boy I ever had a crush on. Except he wasn’t a boy anymore, and if I turned around my eyes would confirm that and my heart would shatter all over again.

I knew coming here was a terrible mistake!

Four. -Jonathan

My eyes were probably deceiving me, and when I called out, I was only doing so to confirm. The woman who looked like she wanted to do nothing but run away, couldn’t be my Katie. She was just that, a woman, and I had been expecting a girl. The beautiful girl I had made fun of after her very first kiss. The same skinny girl whose thin frame I had made my personal playing field for one night and the same girl who had shyly confessed she had liked me since forever since I took her for her prom.

“Katie?” I asked, licking my suddenly dry lips nervously.

It felt odd to call her that now, very strange. She had been Katie in ponytails when I walked them home after kindergarten, her and my sister. She had been Katie when they came over to my after school job at an ice-cream shop, and I spoiled them with dessert before dinner. She had been Katie when I accidentally walked in on her trying on her trainer bra, and she wouldn’t leave the room for hours afterward. But she was definitely not Katie now, and my entire body agreed. That red dress was killer on her, and she made the dress look good!

“Hi Jonathan, I was just-”

“It looked like you were running away, and the party hasn’t even begun yet.”

“I wasn’t running away,” she lied.

I laughed and held out my arm, making her give me a quizzical look. I shook my head and placed my hand on her lower back to steer her back towards the door. Honestly, I just did that so that I could touch her and prove something to myself. The only thing I proved was that I was not over her and the spark between us was just as strong as ever. Even better now with those curves, damn, this woman wanted to kill me!

“You are early,” I said as she sat down and I began making some coffee for her.

“I am?”

I chuckled to myself as I made her coffee just like she liked it, one sugar and lots of milk, glad I still remembered. That seemed to surprise her, though, but I remembered a lot of things about Katherine Forster. Like how she played with her fingers when she was nervous, and how she couldn’t keep eye contact when she was lying about something.

“So how have you been, Katie? Last I saw you, you were breaking hearts and threatening to take over with that big voice of yours. Although I have to admit, the last four years have done you good.”

She looked up at me then, as if searching for the truth in my words. I meant every word, of course, she looked amazing.

“Thank you. You look good too.”

“So?”I leaned forward on the table and waited for her to tell me what she had been up to. “My sister said you have been MIA for years; I thought you were inseparable!”

“Well, things happened, and I just needed some space.”

“What things? Are you talking about us?”

She shook her head and mumbled something along the lines of she didn’t know what she was doing here, and I could see she was getting ready to bolt.

“Come on Katie. We are better than this. We always could talk about anything and everything.”