7
Talking to Cara was another total flop. She shut down when I tried to change the subject to a date. What does that even mean that she doesn”t want to go out with a football player? That”s no reason not to give me a chance. Other women are dying to go out with me, and Cara Catherine Corse? Not her, of course.
She doesn”t want to go out with a football player. There could be many reasons for that, and on the drive home, my thoughts are constantly turning to why she doesn”t want to. She knows the business; she knows the sport and she grew up with it. If there”s one woman who knows what”s in store for her with a football player by her side, it”s Cara. I don”t think she”s interested in the fame and money either.
She reminds me of Alex”s ex-girlfriend Daisy from high school. Neither of them wants to live our lives. But they are the women we want. I enter our apartment and quietly close the door behind me.
“Noah?” Alex calls out and I sigh as I kick off my shoes. “Is that you?”
“Who else?” I reply, rolling my eyes.
“Mom?”
Our parents and our housekeeper Margaret also have a key.
I have to laugh and join him in the living room. Alex is relaxed on the couch watching TV. When I get to him, he turns it off silently and grins at me. “So?” he asks. “How did it go?”
“Shit,” I answer, dropping into one of the chairs. “It totally sucked, actually. She still doesn”t want to.”
Alex slowly sits up and looks at me questioningly. “She doesn”t want to?” he asks. “She likes you. She said she thinks you”re hotter than me.” Deeply offended, Alex looks at me as if this were a scandal.
“Really?” I want to know and look at him with satisfaction. “She thinks I”m hotter than you? That must have really hurt your ego.”
Alex”s ego has always been bigger than himself. Every woman has to fall at his feet and those who don”t are not worthy of him. I often wonder if he wouldn”t be like this if Daisy hadn”t left him.
They were the dream couple of the school, and I was sure for a long time that she was the love of his life. Logan and our parents thought so, too. After they broke up, Alex was a wreck. Daisy was his first love and broke up with him when it was clear he was going to college in Utah. I liked Daisy, but everyone knew she would never leave Nashville. Alex, on the other hand, held on to the idea that she would change her life for him until the very end. If he had gone to college in Tennessee, like Logan, I”m sure she would have stayed with him, but it quickly became clear that she didn”t see a future in the relationship. Daisy called me a lot in the weeks after the breakup, asking how Alex was doing. You could tell she was heartbroken, too. But she had the sense not to get into a long-distance relationship that could have ended in even more chaos.
“Of course,” Alex says, laughing. “She”s so hot.”
“I know,” I sigh and sit back. “She said she didn”t want to because I”m a football player.” I look at Alex and tug on the waistband of my shorts. “What kind of stupid reason is that? Other women are dying to date a football player and Cara won”t?” I shake my head in disbelief. “I don”t understand her.”
“I”ve been thinking about that too,” Alex says, clasping his hands. “She grew up in these circles. Her father is Michael Corse. Maybe some rookie took advantage of her once. A relationship with her will open some doors for you. There are also black sheep who don”t have honest intentions.”
I look at my brother for a long time. I hadn”t thought about that yet. But it would make sense. Everyone around the Foxes tries to get in touch with Corse somehow, because he”s the head of the club. Dating his daughter must be the jackpot for many.
“And now you think she doesn”t see any honest intentions behind my efforts because she thinks I”m trying to get to her father?”
Alex nods and I growl.
“What kind of idiots did she date?” I think aloud. “She”s amazing and the man who gets her will be more than lucky. Getting Corse would never have occurred to me.”
“Maybe she”s bad in bed,” my brother speculates as the second best reason. Typical Alex. The conversation immediately turns to sex. “She”s ashamed that she can”t keep up with you.”
He waggles his eyebrows in a clearly ambiguous way.
“You”re such an idiot,” I reply. “You know that?”
“Yes,” he says. “But it could be.”
“I don”t think so,” I answer immediately. “I think the thing with her father is a good approach.”
Cara won”t be convinced by me anytime soon. Meanwhile, I don”t know what else to do.
“This sucks,” I groan. “I meet a woman I”m really interested in and she hates me.”
“You could change jobs,” this idiot suggests. “After all, football is an existentially important part of your life.”
“Great,” I grumble, throwing my hands in the air and standing up. I paced up and down. Alex watches me, but doesn”t say anything. He seems quiet and equally at a loss. And when he”s at a loss, it”s really serious. He always has some advice for me, or at least a stupid remark.
“You could show her your university degree in economics,” is his next brilliant idea.
“Idiot,” I grumble. “That won”t change her mind as long as I”m playing football.”
“You didn”t take the advice to stop playing either.”
“No!” I look at him, annoyed. “Do you have any useful suggestions?” I lean against the back of the chair.
“You have to keep at it,” he says clearly now. “You have to prove to her that you”re serious and that you really want to get to know her. But you also have to ask yourself if it”s worth it.”
“Of course it”s worth it,” I snap at him. “Could you take the whole thing more seriously?”
Alex doesn”t seem to understand that I”m really interested in Cara. If I just wanted to get her into bed once, I wouldn”t make such a fuss.
“I”m taking this seriously,” he replies. “But I also don”t want you to get your hopes up.”
“Hm,” I say. “I”m not. I just want to get to know her. That”s all.”
Alex raises his eyebrows and grins.
“It”s really sad that you don”t want to have sex with this woman,” he says suddenly.
“Of course I want to have sex with Cara.” He grins and I groan in annoyance. “Don”t change the subject. Please, Alex.”
“First of all, you could work with her, right? Do you have a contract?”
I nod. Cara has given me a contract to become a client of Corse Sports Management, though not entirely voluntarily. Knowing full well how important it is for her résumé and the company”s client list.
“Yes, but she”s not thrilled,” I say immediately. “Cara doesn”t really want me as a client anymore. She”s only doing it because she knows it will help her résumé.”
“Understandable,” Alex says. “She”s not interested in you and wants to keep you at arm”s length so she can stick to her own resolutions.”
“Why is she making it so unnecessarily complicated?”
“Because she”s a woman.”
I roll my eyes and go to the kitchen to get a drink. I don”t think she”s making it so complicated just because she”s a woman. Cara doesn”t want to date me because of my job, and I have to find out why. And then I have to work against it. I”d be laughing if I couldn”t get to my date, right? She wants to go out with me, I know that. Sooner or later my job won”t be an obstacle for her either.
“Do you want a drink?” I ask and Alex shakes his head. “Do you think she”ll pass you on to another agent at Corse Sport Management?”
“No,” I say honestly and walk back to Alex with a bottle of water in my hand. “She wants the glory of representing me way too much for that. Cara is ambitious, very ambitious, and she wants to prove to herself, to me, and I”m sure to her father, that she can advise me. She won”t give me up, but she will keep our contact to a minimum.”
“Does that mean she will only communicate with you by e-mail?”
I nod and run my fingers through my hair. “If anything. Maybe I”ll put her out of my mind after all.”
“You”re giving up?” Alex looks at me with wide eyes. “Seriously? Why?”
“Cara”s stubborn, really stubborn, and she won”t back down.”
“And you”re a McCarter,” he retorts, punching me in the chest. “Noah, you”ll get it. You always get what you want. You wanted to be a starting quarterback in Boston, and you got it. You wanted to go to college in Georgia because they had the best quarterback prospects, and you got it. So, you’re going to date Cara Catherine Corse.”
I sigh and look at him.
“Maybe you”re right,” I agree. “I can”t give up.”
“Good!” Alex gets up from the couch. “Shall we go for a drink?” I look at him and nod. Why not? It can”t hurt to take your mind off things for a while. “I”m going to take a shower,” I answer. “See you in a bit.”
“Are you driving?”
“Uber?” I suggest, and Alex frowns. He hates Uber. He always thinks the drivers take a longer route just to spy on us when they recognize us. They force us into conversations and want to take pictures. I”m more relaxed about it. We live this privileged life and play football for a lot of money. You can talk to the fans and take pictures with them.
“Come on”
“But if it”s a fan, you have to talk to him.”
I roll my eyes and nod.
“That”s fine,” I reply. “I”ll talk to him.”
***
Alex and I stand in the street waiting for our Uber.
“He”s late,” Alex says, and I roll my eyes. We haven”t even waited two minutes. For Alex, everyone has to be on time; otherwise, he gets offended.
“He”ll come.” I kick at a stone flying across the road and look at him. Hopefully, the evening will distract me a bit and I won”t have to think about Cara all the time. What she”s doing tonight and why she rejected me. I don”t understand. At least she can give me the chance to get to know each other. Maybe after a date we”ll realize that we”re not right for each other. As a couple, I mean, and we become friends. That”s worth something, right?
“Noah?” Alex grins at me and shoves his phone back into his jeans. “Get her out of your head.”
“I wasn”t...”
“Of course you were thinking about Cara,” he sighs. “And I didn”t go out this evening to listen to your heartbreak over and over again.”
“I”m not heartbroken,” I brush it off. “I don”t understand it. But it”s not heartbreak, you should know that. After all, I”m still eating.”
Alex stopped eating after Daisy left. The guy was so out of it, we thought he was going to give up his scholarship.
“Anything you want to tell me?” As always, when the subject turns to Daisy, he goes on the offensive. Even after all these years, it still bothers him that she left him.
“The Uber”s here,” I dodge, and he starts to protest, but unfortunately the car actually pulls up at that moment. “Let”s get in.”
Alex gives me an angry look that shows the topic hasn”t been forgotten. He can”t stand the fact that even after almost seven years I”m still talking about how he was so out of line because of Daisy.
The Uber stops in front of us and the man at the wheel rolls down the passenger window. “Noah Carter?” he asks, looking at us.
“That”s me,” I reply. “We”re going downtown.”
“Get in,” he says. “I”ve got another user we”re picking up a few blocks away.”
Alex rolls his eyes in annoyance and circles the car to get in behind the man. I sit next to him in the passenger seat to keep my promise. When the man starts to drive away and I look at him to give him the exact address, his jaw drops. “Oh my God,” he screams. Yes, he screams like a girl. “You ... you”re Noah McCarter, our ... our quarterback, and you ... you ...” He looks in the rearview mirror. “You”re Alexander McCarter. I got the McCarter twins in the car.”
He becomes more and more agitated, but fortunately manages to start the car and drive off. He spends the next twenty minutes telling us what a big fan he is. He doesn”t even notice that Alex isn”t listening to him. My brother keeps looking at his cell phone.
“Our last passenger is waiting.” The man stops and rolls down the passenger window again. “Corse?” he asks and my head spins. “Cara Corse?”
Now Alex seems no longer interested in his cell phone.
“Yes,” Cara says, coming closer. “Noah?” she asks, not answering the driver. “What are you doing in my Uber?”
“What are you doing in my Uber?” I reply with a grin and unbuckle my seatbelt to get out. Cara takes a step back as I open the door and join her on the street. I couldn”t be that lucky to run into her here of all places, could I?
“Noah!” Alex calls. “Get in. We have to keep going.”
“Hey, Alex!” Cara looks past me and waves to my brother, who has unbuckled his seatbelt to peer between the two front seats.
“Are you coming with us?”
“I”m going home,” she says.
“Home?” I ask softly, looking over my shoulder at the driver. Yes, he”s nice, and I don”t think he”d hurt Cara, but I still don”t like the idea of her taking an Uber or a cab. I don”t have a good feeling about it.
“And you take an Uber? What about your car?” I ask.
“I”ve been drinking wine,” she replies.
“But Uber?” Yes, my argument is ridiculous. It”s admirable that she calls an Uber instead of getting behind the wheel. Unlike me, Cara doesn”t see the poor driver as a potential sexual predator. I usually don”t either. The woman drives me crazy. “Next time, call me. Where”s your car?”
Cara looks at me questioningly and turns her head. She points to a black Mercedes SUV. First the Ferrari, now the Mercedes. Not bad. I wonder how many cars she has. Now this is a conversation that doesn”t end in a fight.
“Keys?” I hold out my hand. “I”ll drive you home in your car.”
“No?”
“Yes!” I turn and look into the Uber. “I”ll drive her home and then catch up in a cab.”
“What?” Alex and the driver ask out of the same mouth.
“Get back in the car now,” my brother says, annoyed. “Both of you. We have to go.”
But my mind is made up. Tonight, I”ll drive Cara home and take the opportunity to finally find out more about her.
I repeat again, “I”m driving Cara home,” and smile at her. Of course she shows no reaction. “Don”t worry. I”ll pay you anyway,” I turn to the driver.
I want to pull my wallet out of my jeans and pay for Cara”s ride, but Alex shakes his head. “I”ll do it,” he says. “You drive.”
I nod gratefully to my brother and push the door shut. Then I turn to Cara.
She has her arms crossed over her chest and looks at me with anything but enthusiasm. “Did you really just do that?” she asks as the Uber pulls away. “I ordered an Uber.”
“And I”m not letting you take an Uber tonight or tomorrow because your car is here.” I point to her Mercedes SUV.
I start to walk away, but Cara makes no move to follow me.
“Are you coming?” I ask.
“What are you doing?” she hisses. “I”ve taken Ubers so many times and nothing”s ever happened to me. You should have gone with your brother.”
“But I don”t want you in a car with a strange man.” She raises her eyebrows and laughs. Okay, that does sound strange.
“And who are you?” she wants to know. “Not a strange man?”
“At least not that strange, right?”
“Hm,” Cara says and sighs.
“Keys?” I hold out my hand and make a request for her to give me the keys. Cara is annoyed, but opens her purse to rummage through the huge thing and finally finds the key.
“Here,” she says, handing it to me. “But don”t you dare make the slightest dent in it.”
“Sure,” I reply and she struts past me to her car.
She looks really hot in that skimpy dress that barely covers her cute butt. I follow her, whistling.
“And don”t you dare whistle at me again,” she shouts without turning around.