19. Allie
Chapter nineteen
Allie
W hat I’m doing is wrong. But I’m going to do it anyway. I clutch Jake’s phone to my chest and walk into the hospital’s main entrance. Thanks to Kenzie’s tendency to gossip, I know which floor he’s on and which room he’s in. I also know that a security guard named Bart is watching his room to keep any stalkers out of it.
I told Kenzie that I’d come to her place tonight after we talked on the phone, but I didn’t tell her that I absolutely had to see her brother first. I waited until she called me while she was on her way to her place, then I left the arena for the hospital.
I have a bag slung over my shoulder of healthy snacks I raided from the team’s stash, electrolyte drinks, and anything else I could find that I thought he’d like or need. I boldly walk right to the elevator, acting like I belong here. And in my PT outfit, maybe I do look like I belong. Sort of.
I take the elevator to the floor Kenz told me to and I see Bart right away. I walk to him and say, “I’m with the Eagles.” I point to the logo on my polo shirt. I hold up the bag, ready to show him what’s inside, but he waves me in before going back to whatever music he’s listening to in his earbuds.
That was much easier than I thought. I push open Jake’s door and see that he’s snoozing on the bed, the TV’s soft lighting flashing on his handsome features. I just stand there by the closed door in the room and stare at him for a moment. I feel flooded with emotion. One standing out stronger than the others: love.
It hits me so unawares that I almost turn around and run out. I can’t love him. That’s ridiculous! According to his sister and Jennifer—and goodness knows who else—he has a whole history of womanizing behind him that I would be appalled to know about if I ever looked into it. I stand still, feeling my heart beating wildly in my chest.
I shouldn’t be here. What if Coach shows up? What if Kenzie was wrong, and Jones didn’t actually go home? What if he shows up? Not only will I lose my job without a recommendation or referral or anything… but I won’t be able to hold my head up high at all. It would be the worst way to be fired.
Jake stirs in his sleep. I tiptoe to the bed and place the bag on the chair beside it. Then I put his phone on the table next to the bed. I resisted the urge to look at his plethora of notifications on the phone, choosing instead to just turn it off entirely to keep myself from jumping every time a new ring sounded from it or a new buzzing noise came from it. His life is not my business. I shouldn’t go nosing around. Even though I was more than a little curious.
I walk to the door, taking one last look at him. A little smile creeps over my face before I stop it and remind myself that I’m leaving the Eagles. I have to. I’m going to go wherever Coach sends me and I’m going to be grateful that no one knows what I did… and the one person who does know—Coach—is choosing not to get me in trouble over it.
I screech in surprise as the door to Jake’s room opens. A matronly nurse walks in. She looks at me and then at Jake, who is groggily waking up.
“You must be the sister,” she says.
I try not to laugh at that thought. Kenzie has always thought me to be far more plain looking than she is, so she’d be incredibly offended right now that the nurse thinks I’m her. She walks to Jake, who hasn’t noticed me in the shadows of the darkened room yet. I sink back against the wall, pretending to be on my phone so the nurse doesn’t think I’m being weird by not interacting with Jake, my would-be “brother.”
She checks his vitals and then makes a little notation in his chart, asks him if he needs anything and then scoots herself on out, not giving me a second look. Jake slowly becomes aware of the room, the bag on the chair, and then his phone. He takes it and turns it on, his face instantly flooded by the torrent of messages and missed calls.
“Kenz came through for me,” he mutters in a voice that sounds like he’s been given a sleeping aid or the pain meds are making him groggy.
I feel my heart going out to him, but I stay put. I think part of me wishes I wasn’t here hiding in this awkward way and part of me wants to know how soon he’ll think of me and call me. I check my phone in my pocket. It’s on silent.
My vision is average, I’d say, but in the dark room, his bright phone screen is like a beacon and I can literally read everything on it. And that’s when I notice the first fifteen—yes, fifteen—texts he reads are from women. And he doesn’t text me. My heart drops down to the floor and I slink up against the wall as far into it as I can.
I’ve made a big mistake by having feelings for him. I should have listened to Jennifer. I should have listened to Coach.
Then his phone rings again. This time, he answers it.
“Hello, mi amore!” a sultry voice sounds out as he puts the phone on speaker and rests his head back, eyes closed wearily.
I should not be here—this feels so inappropriate! I inch my way to the door.
“Hi Maria. I got all your texts. Look, you said you were at my house tonight?”
“Yes, my lover. I am here waiting for you! Where are you? You said we would meet up after the season started, and now I see that it has started. And poor you, all beaten up. This is so unfair. You need me. And I,” she drops her voice down low, “need you to do all those wonderful things to my body, lover.”
I have definitely heard enough. I am standing next to the door. I slowly reach out and grab the handle, then I pull the door open. Jake’s eyes are still closed. Perfect. Just a few more seconds and I’ll be scot free. The door opens silently, but the influx of light makes me cringe. Jake’s eyes are still closed. I slip out and am in the hallway—thank goodness. I only hear him call out, “Who was in my room? Hey, you! Who just left?” once the door has clicked shut.
I look for Bart but don’t see him. I run to the elevators, only stopping when that earns me some strange looks from people. I make it to the ground floor and out to my car without incident, without seeing anyone and without being seen.
In my car I lock the doors, feeling like a criminal for listening in to Jake’s private conversation.
“I am so glad I heard all of that. This is not the life I want. I need to leave. I need to get Coach to get me out of Charlotte.” I calm myself down by the time I start driving to Kenzie’s place. Now, I just need to get her to tell Jake that she was the one who dropped his phone off. I would die if he ever found out that I was in his room, listening to his conversations.
I watch Kenz as she sips on her wine. It’s two in the morning by the time I’m home and the only way she was going to get out of bed and talk to me was if she had some cheese and wine—I know her well.
“I’m tired, Allie. And you’re being cryptic. Why do I have to lie about something so dumb? You brought him his phone. He was asleep when you arrived. Big deal.” She raises her eyebrows.
I’m too embarrassed to explain why I need her to do this. Just that I need her to do this.
“I was in there when he was sleeping—it feels weird to me, Kenz. Can you just do this for me?”
She shrugs and yawns. My phone lights up. It’s an email from Coach—an intro email to the WNBA team in Charlotte. My heart constricts in my chest. He moved fast. Too fast. It’s too late to expect them to reply, so I imagine they’ll either take me in for an interview this week, since Coach is pushing this, or next week.
I barely listen to Kenzie talking about the next city she’s traveling to as a flight attendant. I get an email from Coach. It tells me he thinks the WNBA opportunity is in my best interest and he thanks me for my time working with the Eagles. Since their super star has been hospitalized, my services will no longer be needed. I will be paid out for the next two weeks.
“Allie, you look… strange. Like a ghost. Are you good?” Kenzie asks.
I can feel my shoulders stiffen. I have to be good. I can’t afford not to be okay right now. “Yes, I am great. You know those jobs I applied for? Well, there was one or maybe two I didn’t tell you about,” I speak slowly, not wanting to outright lie. “And one of them is with the WNBA. And it looks like I’ll be maybe working with them coming up here pretty soon.”
Kenzie’s bullshit meter isn’t terrible. So she looks at me and gets serious fast. “You are a terrible liar. If you are not going to be working with the Eagles anymore, that means you were fired, Allie. Don’t try to sell me this cock and bull story about a better opportunity working with the WNBA. I won’t buy it for a second.”
Then she’s sitting right next to me on the couch, her arm around me like a true friend. “If this is Jake’s doing, I swear to the gods…” she mutters.
“No! No, you can’t get mad at him. It’s not his fault. Or mine. Or maybe it is both of ours.” I feel sad, distraught. “But anyway, it’s for the best. Coach has made the arrangements. So, my resume isn’t dirtied by my time with the Eagles. Everything will be okay. As long as I take this job with the WNBA.”
No matter what—I have to take this job.