Romance: Seducing The Quarterback (11 page)

The next morning, Mike Ferguson awoke to chaos. His phone
was ringing off the hook.

“Can you switch that off?” he asked Megan, who was in the
bed lying next to him. “I do not want to wake up just yet.”

Megan nodded but just as she was about to press the off
button, she saw the caller ID.

“I think you should take this,” she nudged Mike, “It’s
Kevin. Perhaps he feels bad about yesterday and wants to talk to you.”

Mike bolted up straight right away. “It’s Kevin?” he said
and hastily took the phone from her. He got up and headed to the adjacent room
to take the call.

Megan had not planned on waking up this early but she knew
that she would not be able to fall back asleep now. She opened her cellphone
and saw that her alerts had been going insane. There was news. She clicked open
the article and nearly dropped her phone from her hands.

* * * *

Meanwhile in the other room, Mike answered the phone.

“Hey, Kev,” he greeted his brother. Mike was hopeful that
Kevin might have called for a do-over.

“So you had to go and do the one thing I told you not to,
didn’t you?” Kevin said from the other side of the line. He sounded noticeably
angry.

“What are you on about?” Mike replied in confusion.

“You had to come here and then not even have the decency to
cover your tracks!”

“I did – what are you talking about?” Mike was growing
frustrated.

“The media has been stalking my rehab center all morning,
Mike! News got out – everybody knows that Mike Fergusons brother is sitting
idle in rehab because of drug abuse and they all want to talk to me. The one
thing I asked you not to drag me in!” Kevin was fuming.

“I do not understand this,” Mike said, half to himself, “I
made sure no one would know of my visit at the clinic. How could this have
happened?”

“Maybe you trusted the wrong people. That girl you had with
you – god dammit, I did not ask to be a part of this, Mike! I considered fixing
things with you after you left yesterday but now – I do not want anything to do
with you. Please, do not try and contact me again.”

And with that, the phone clicked. Kevin had hung up.

Mike was confused – he had been so meticulous about keeping
things under the wraps. Where could he have gone wrong? In his confused and
emotional state, he thought what Kevin had said to him. Could it be possible
that Megan had been the source of the leak? After all, she was a journalist.

He walked back into the room where she was. “Megan,” he
called out to her, “Come here for a second.”

“Yeah, what’s up?” she asked him, “I just read the news.
Honestly, I cannot believe that this news got out. Was that why Kevin just
called you?”

But suddenly, she knew something was wrong by the expression
on Mike’s face. “Are you sure you cannot believe this?” he asked her,
accusingly.

“Of course,” Megan replied, “I found out just now, just like
you did.”

But Mike suddenly turned his face sour. “Right.”

“Are you trying to imply that somehow I had to do something
with the fact that this news came out?” she asked him, a little hurt that he
would assume that about her.

“Well – what else could it have been? I made all the
necessary precautions and did everything in my power. You were the only one
besides my management to know,” he told her.

Megan stared back at him, aghast, “I cannot believe you,
Mike. What do you take me for, a sellout?” she exclaimed.

Mike pursed his lips, “Well, you are a journalist. How am I
supposed to know how far you willing to go to climb the ladder of success?”

Megan stared back at him – the words were unable to come out
of her mouth. She had been stunned to a silence. She had not expected him to
say these words to her but here he was, saying them anyway. It was a shock and
a revelation.

“Maybe I was wrong about you all this time, too,” she said,
suddenly walking away from him, “Maybe you were the same asshole you portrayed
yourself to be the first time I met you.”

“Oh yeah?” Mike shouted back, “What are you going to do?
Write another article about me?”

Megan was hurt. “No, you’re not worth it,” she spat back, “I
am leaving.”

“Wait,” Mike suddenly stopped her, “What do you mean you are
leaving?”

“I mean that I do not wish to be around you any longer. I do
not know what we were but whatever it is, you can safely assume that it is now
over. I cannot stand this level of character assassination,” she huffed and
before

Mike couldn’t get in another word; she had closed the door
behind her.

Megan grabbed her suitcase and called the airport to catch
the next flight back home. She felt humiliated – she had truly not known about
the leak and it was incredibly low of Mike to accuse her of doing such a thing.
Did their weeks of companionship mean nothing to him? Megan was mad and she
just wanted to get out of his company.

* * * *

Cameron paced the room and look over to Mike. He noticed
Mike had been noticeably depressed ever since the news of his brother being in
rehab came out to the public. Cameron figured there was more to the story
though – he knew Mike was tough and even news like this would not make him as
depressed as he was right now.

“What has gotten into you?” he asked him, “We already did
damage control and relocated your brother to another facility. It’s solved now
so why are you still so bummed about the whole thing?”

Mike did not reply, instead he just lit up another cigarette
and took a drag.

“Did we ever find out who made the leak that I would be
visiting?” he asked after a while. He held up his cigarette and offered it to Cameron,
but he refused.

“Actually, yes,” Cameron replied and Mike’s head snapped up.

“Who?” he was eager to know if his suspicions had been
correct.

“It was someone from within the management. He managed to
grab hold of your flight details and the reason of your visit – I guess some
people sell out very easily. Do not worry though, I have already taken care of
it. That guy no longer has his job.”

 Cameron expected Mike to be happy about this news but it
seemed that it only served to depress him even further. Mike sulked back lower
in his seat and took another long drag of his cigarette.

 “Cameron,” he finally said, sounding very remorseful, “I
think I am a huge idiot.”

Cameron had half a mind to joke with him about this but he
could see that Mike was being serious and since that was such a rare
occurrence, Cameron decided to be there for him fully. “What did you do?”

“This girl,” Mike started off. He did not even know how to
explain himself without coming off as a gigantic presumptuous asshole. He had
wrongly accused Megan of doing something she had not involvement in.

“Oh man,” Cameron said suddenly, “I should have known it
wasn’t the news that got you so depressed. Of course it is a girl. Who is it
and what did you do?”

“You remember that journalist chick?” Mike said and Cameron
refreshed his memory.

“The one that interviewed you?” he said, “Wait – you two are
a thing?”

Mike nodded but then added as an afterthought, “Actually, I
am not sure if we are. I think she ended things with me,” Mike groaned and
buried his face in his hands.

“Why?” Cameron asked, concerned now. He had never seen Mike
hung up on a girl like this – the fact that this was happening meant that she
was indeed something special. “Tell me what happened.”

“She was with me when I went to see Kevin,” he trailed but
Cameron could already see where this conversation was headed.

“And when I found out about the leak to the media, I was
pretty pissed. Kevin called me and told me off. I was not thinking straight and
in the heat of the moment, I accused her of being the person who leaked the
information out to the press,” Mike admitted with great difficulty.

“Damn,” Cameron said, “I figure she did not take it that
well, did she?”

Mike shook his head, “She got offended that I even such a
thing and left me. I do not think she is going to see me anymore.”

Cameron felt for his friend. He had really messed up with
this girl and he looked like he was really guilty. “Have you tried speaking to
her since then?”

“No,” Mike replied, “I do not even know what I will say. I
was in the wrong for accusing her like that but I cannot even imagine how
degrading it must have felt. Like, I do not even trust her a little.”

“You made a mistake,” Cameron reassured him, “I am sure she
will understand.”

“I really do not want lose her over this,” Mike groaned once
again.

“Then, don’t,” Cameron’s advice was simple but it made Mike
see things a lot more clearly. He nodded and excused himself, pulling out his
phone from his pocket.

He dialed her number.

Three bells and then the line cut off.

She had cancelled his call.

 He tried multiple times again and then finally, it went to
voicemail.

Mike cleared his throat, “Hey, Megan. I know you do not want
to speak to me right now but I just wanted to say I am sorry. I am an idiot and
sometimes I say and do stupid things – this was one of them. Please call me
back.”

Mike resigned and put his phone back into his pocket. He
hoped that he would fix things with Megan.

* * * *

Megan listened to her voicemail back in her apartment and
had a myriad of emotions. She still felt upset about his accusation and it made
her not want to see him again. But she also saw how sorry he sounded. She was
conflicted and she did not know what to do. For now, she decided she would
dissolve away all thoughts of him from her mind and just try to sleep.

Around 3 in the morning, her doorbell rang. Megan woke up –
half scared and half annoyed at who was ringing her up this early in the
morning.

“Who is it?” she asked through the intercom, “It is really
late. This is no time to come visit someone.”

But she was surprised to hear Mike on the other side of the
line. “Megan, can I come in?”

“You need to go back home, Mike,” Megan replied, “I do not
want to speak with you.”

“But I do,” he countered, “Can you give me a chance? I just
need to explain myself to you. I feel awful.”

Maybe it was the fact that Megan had just woken up and her
guard was lowered but she sighed and opened up the door for him. Perhaps she
could give him one last chance and hear what he has to say.

“Come on in,” she said to him over the intercom.

A few moments later, the both of them were standing face to
face in her living room. Mike tried to make a move to come closer to her but she
held out her hand.

“You may say what you want standing where you are,” she told
him curtly.

“Right,” Mike frowned, “I just – I guess I just came here to
tell you how awful I feel. We found out who was responsible for the leak and it
was so unfair of me to even suggest that it was you.”

“Okay,” Megan replied, “Is that all?”

Mike shook his head, “I have been feeling so awful about
this. I would have never said any of that – it was just that I was so riled up
because of Kevin and you know how sensitive I am in matters that concern him.
It was childish and stupid of me.”

Megan could see that his apology was sincere and while she
wanted to believe him for a moment, she felt her ego get in the way. She
gulped.

“Well, I am glad you realized it but I do not want to go
back anymore. I think it is best if we just, stay away from each other,” Megan
told him.

Mike’s face fell immediately. He had come here with the
hopes that the two of them would work things out but evidently, that was not
about to happen.

“I liked spending time with you,” he told her. “Does this
mean we are breaking up?”

“How can we break up?” Megan fired back, “It was not like we
were ever together – properly. It was just a fling and you need to stop lying
to yourself about it.”

To Megan, it had grown to be more than a fling but she did
not think Mike was the type who wanted relationships. If they were ever to go
back, she needed to hear it from him. But instead of telling her how he really
feels, Mike decided to go with her fling narrative.

“Okay, so it was a fling,” he said and then started to walk
closer to her, “Let’s say it was a fling. It’s over now, right?” he asked her.

Megan found herself backing away slowly. She knew that if he
got close enough, she would not be able to control herself. “Yes, it is over
now.”

Mike pursed his lips, “Let us have a fling – one last time.
Just for the hell of it,” he said and gently put one hand around her waist,
looking straight down in her eyes.

Megan gulped – he was too close now and his scent was overpowering
her. She tried to move her face to the side but he gently dipped his finger
down her jaw to bring her gaze back on him.

“Please?” he plead.

Megan could not resist him – she knew that it was a lost
cause as soon as he had suggested it. The two of them had unbelievable
chemistry when they were together – it was undeniable and it was like their
bodies worked on their own accord. Megan knew that she would regret this in the
morning but she threw all her rational thoughts to a side and brought her lips
to his.

Things escalated very quickly from there onwards, as he
kissed her back with the same hungry passion that she was displaying. He picked
her up and threw her down on her sofa.

“I cannot get over this,” he told and unbuttoned her shirt.
His hands got to work on her front and his fingers grasped themselves around
the contours of her breast. She threw her head back and made a series of very
interesting sounding noises.

“Can you not tease me?” she asked him, getting tired of his
antics. “I need you.”

She had never been so vocal with a man before but there was
something about Mike that heightened her most primal senses. It was as though
she thought about nothing else when he was this close to her – it was a need
and she needed to have it fulfilled.

 Mike did not speak another word as he soon got to work. He
trapped her between his hands and quickly discarded his pants along with her.
Her nails dug into his back as he lowered himself on her. The world beneath
them shook as the two of them synchronized themselves to each other to a
harmony of pleasure.

“You’re so amazing,” he gasped out to her as he edged over
to his release.

That night, they fell asleep together.

* * * *

The next morning, Megan did not wake up to breakfast or a
note. This time, there was nothing. Mike had already left in the morning. They
had broken up the night before, and Mike knew that even though she had agreed
to be with him one last time last night, she would not agree to be with him
like he wanted. He left her apartment with a heavy heart. Megan felt the same
way in her bed.

It had been her decision so why was she so sad about it? She
would not see Mike again and the thought made her heart wrench. For two people
who had not eve admitted to dating each other, this sure felt an awful lot like
heartbreak.