Touchdown (21 page)

Chapter 23

“Seven months,” Troy whispered and sighed. Jeremy did not want to disclose to him the decision of the judge as to his motion for reconsideration until the Superbowl was over, but he finally got the information from the clerk of court.

His team mates were already at the entrance to the field, but he chose to sit by his locker room for a little longer.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He drew his brows together when he saw who was calling. So what did his father want from him now?

“Hey, Troy!” Stanly yelled from the other line. But even with his loud voice, Troy could barely hear him because of the noise in the background. “I’m here in the stadium. VIP seat.”

His frown deepened. “Really? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“I thought I might want to surprise you.”

He chuckled. Did this man come here to annoy him again. “You’re wearing your Jets jersey?” he suspected.

“No, son. I’m wearing a number twelve Pats jersey. It looks kind of ugly to me, but I’ll put up with it, just for tonight.”

He was momentarily speechless. What sort of miracle happened to his father just now? “No kidding.”

“Not at all, and you’d better win because my sports car’s on the line. You lost and you’re buying me another sports car.”

“You bet for the Pats?” Troy could not believe it.

“Of course, I did. Bob’s a Sea Hawk’s fan, so he gave me a chance to win back your ball. He thinks you’re no match against his team, but I’ll prove to him my son wasn’t voted MVP twice for nothing.”

Troy did not know what to say. He had never expected to finally earn the support of his father. He could only smile.

“By the way, Zoey’s with me.”

His smile faded. Now, this was another surprise. “She is?”

“Yes. She convinced me to come along. She was too persistent I couldn’t say no. Logan gave her only two tickets so we didn’t take your mom with us.”

He nodded. So that was the urgent matter that Logan was talking about when he suddenly left for New York in the middle of their practice. 

He chuckled. With all of these surprises, he was lost for words. “Can I talk to her?”

“She went to buy hotdogs. Why don’t you call her instead?”

The idea left him with second thought. He wasn’t really sure what to tell her. After all those nasty things that he’d done to her, yet she still came all the way to Arizona to show her support. He hoped that was the reason why she came.

The siren rang. He could hear the crowd’s wild roar both through the phone and from the outside of the locker room. The game was about to start.

“Dad, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

He heard his father saying something, but with all the noise, he couldn’t understand a word.

He hanged up and found Logan standing before him.

“Ready?” his coach asked.

Troy smiled and took a deep breath. He felt so light that he easily pulled himself to stand up in a fraction of a second. All his baggage was gone. He now had wings instead. “Ready,” he replied firmly.

Logan smiled back and tapped Troy’s shoulder. “Let’s go kick some fuckin’ sea ass,” he growled.

“With pleasure,” Troy replied and put on his helmet. Together, they ran to the entrance where the rest of his team was waiting.

This wasn’t their home stadium, but over seventy thousand people yelled and roared as his team was called to the field. The noise was deafening, but flattering.

As soon as he was standing on the sideline, he glanced behind him, searching. He found his father, both arms raised while waving at him.

He smiled and turned to the woman sitting beside Stanly. He was overwhelmed. Indeed, his wife was there. She was staring at him, smiling while raising a placard where the words “Give me a touchdown, baby” were written. Most of all, like his father, she was also wearing a number twelve jersey.

Tears welled in his eyes. He felt like sobbing like a child. He’d never had this kind of support from his family before, not especially from a wife that he had hurt so deeply.

“You got it, babe,” he shouted as he pointed a finger at Zoey. He knew she couldn’t hear him, but what mattered was that she’d know he acknowledged her.

Now, it was time to get back into the game. For the first time after a long time, he wouldn’t have to carry a heavy baggage with him on the field. Now filled with renewed vigor, he could play like he’d never done before. The unstoppable tornado would make a comeback on the field tonight. His team would win their third Superbowl title.

*****

“That was awesome, Dude. You’re unbelievable!” Matt said as Troy walked out of the shower. It had been an hour ago since they were crowned the Superbowl Champion and they’d been celebrating with their families and fans on the field, but his team mates were still in the locker room, still proclaiming their victory. His father came to the field to join him earlier, and it was somewhat an emotional, yet amazing, experience to him. He wished Zoey could have come down too, but for some reasons, she stayed in her seat and just watched. When he had decided to go to her, she disappeared.

“You catch like the devil, Matt,” Troy replied, limping to his locker.

Matt followed him. “Only if the quarterback knows how to throw,” he said and laughed. “How’s your knee?”

“Ah, those pricks didn’t know how to make a good break,” he humored. “Besides, they could have done it earlier in the game.”

Matt laughed again.

He was injured during the fourth quarter of the game when the opponent team tried to stop him from throwing his winning pass. They failed, but succeeded in throwing him out of the game during the last two minutes. The Pats still won, though. But he could say that was the toughest game he’d ever played his whole life. The opponent was a team of savage monsters.

A doctor had already checked on his knee and said it was only a minor dislocation. It would be healed in a week or so as long as he’d undergo a set of therapy. The only problem was that… jail was waiting for him. He had to fly back to New York the next day to commence his sentence which the court had considerately postponed to allow him the chance to play for the Superbowl.

“Myers,” Hank called as he approached. “Logan took your wife and your Dad in the bar. We’ll continue the celebration there.”

Troy nodded. “I’ll be there,” he said and smiled. All the while, he thought Zoey had run away from him without giving him the opportunity to talk to her. He had to see her. There were a lot of things that he had to tell her.

Quickly, he put on a shirt and a pair of jeans. Half an hour later, he arrived at the hotel bar with the rest of his team. Their general manager, their coaches, and some coaches of other teams were already there, waiting for their arrival.

Champaign poured all over the place, but Troy wasn’t in the mood to drink. He was looking for someone.

He found his father laughing with another old man at the corner. He approached them. “Dad?”

Stanly quickly turned to him and gave him a hug. “Son, that was the greatest game I’ve ever seen,” he said and nudged at his companion. “This is my son. Now a three-time Superbowl MVP. Can you believe that?”

Troy smiled. So his father was proud of him now. Finally.

He shook the old man’s hand before responding to his father. “Thanks for coming, Dad. I really needed your support.”

“You got it, son. As long as you’re not playing against the Jets, I’ll be rooting for you.”

Troy chuckled and his father laughed.

“Just kidding. Go talk to your wife. She’s waiting for you.”

“Where is she?”

“Somewhere around. Just look.”

He nodded before turning away. He had no idea how Zoey managed to bring that kind of change to his father, but she certainly had done a miracle that he had never accomplished for years.

He walked around the place, searching for a brunette, but he could hardly identify the color underneath the faint lights.

He spotted someone wearing a white dress in the middle of the hall. She was surrounded by some other ladies like she was some sort of a famous celebrity.

She was on her side from his point of view, but he couldn’t be wrong. That was his wife.

Slowly, he approached her. When the people around her noticed him coming, they all moved aside. Zoey turned in his direction.

The world stood still as their eyes met. Everyone and everything else around them disappeared. Only the two of them were left.

She looked like an angel. So beautiful. No longer the fierce tigress he used to regard her as.

He stood a foot away from her. No one of them said a word, but their eyes were speaking to each other.

He held out his hand to her. She understood the gesture and put her hand on his. He pulled her out of the crowd, going to the garden where they could be alone.

He chose a shaded spot underneath a tree.

“What happened to your jersey?” he asked.

She glanced at her dress. “I had to change. I was covered in sweat.”

He smiled. “You look good. I mean… you’re beautiful.”

She raised her eyebrow, probably surprised of his compliment. He knew he’d rarely told her that before.

“Thank you.” She bit down her lower lip. “You were amazing. I’ve never seen you play better than how you just did.”

He nodded. “You inspired me.”

She smiled. Just like him, she too was trying to hold back her emotions. But his heart was now screaming.

“You did not come down on the field. I was calling for you.”

She shook her head. “I didn’t want people to think we’re pulling off a show once again. Whatever’s between us, I’d rather keep it private, regardless of what people say and think.”

“So what is between us that you wish to keep private?”

She laughed softly, her face flushed. “…Love?”

He squinted. “Love?”

She nodded, although she seemed unsure.

“Are you sure about that?”

She did not speak, but it was becoming more apparent she really was not. Her face had just turned beet red.

“I don’t know about you, Zoey… but I do love you.” There, he’d finally said the words that he should have told her a long time ago.

Her eyes widened, shocked at his answer. “You don’t really mean that, do you?”

“I thought you’re sure about it?”

“I had some doubts.”

He smiled. “I love you, Zoey. I really do. All I want right now is for us to raise our baby together, as a family.”

Holding back her tears, she jumped at him, clinging tight on his neck.

His arms quickly circled her, hugging her tighter than ever. “Did that surprise you?”

“Not really. I’ve known it all along,” she said.

He tugged his head back to see her face. Now, she was crying. He smiled and wiped her tears with his thumb. “You’ve known what?”

“That you love me.”

“You know, huh?”

She nodded. “It shows.”

He laughed deeply. “Well, I’m probably not so good at hiding my feelings.”

“You suck at that Troy Myers.”

“And you’re so good at that, Zoey Graham-Myers. All those times, I thought you never really liked me.”

“I never liked you. I hated you. But I loved you, and I still do.”

He laughed again and kissed her mouth. “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Zoey. Uncle was right, I didn’t know what I really want. Now I know. I want you back.”

She nodded. “You got me back.”

He smiled and kissed her again. How he missed the taste of her mouth, the feel of her body against his. Why in the world had he even attempted to push her out of his life, while all along, she was the one who had made his life complete. He only realized that fact when he thought he had lost her. Now that she was back, he wouldn’t let her go again.

“I still want my four million,” she murmured.

He laughed under his throat. “Get a hold of my entire bank account if you like.”

“You said cash. I demand interest, as well.”

“Where’s your hotel, baby?” he asked, his lips sliding down her jaw. “I’ll pay the interest in kind.”

She moaned, stroking his hair. “It’s a cheap hotel.”

“I don’t mind. Let’s fill that cheap hotel with lots of pent-up love. I’ve got too much to unload.”

She laughed and slid her hand to his crotch. “Wow,” she said and stroked his hard on. “Indeed, there’s too much inside this big, hard thing.”

The more that his flesh swelled, tightening his jeans. “It’s about to burst,” he replied and held her wrist, tugging her along as he headed for the road.

“What about the party?”

“Let them have fun. We will have our fun.”

*****

“Here we are,” she said as they entered her hotel room.