Chapter 11 #2
“Now, we’re here to talk about you two,” Clara said. “I’m sure you’re very busy with training, Amir, so I appreciate that you finally agreed to sit down with me.”
“Of course,” I replied politely. I took my hand from Remi’s and stretched it over the couch behind him. After a moment of hesitation, I let my arm drape over his shoulders. “I’m always happy to make time for the press, especially since there are a lot of questions floating around.”
“People are curious. After all, your names have been popping up online recently.”
Remi leaned back and flipped his cap across his fingers.
“Yeah, that first article was very . . . flattering.” There was a charming but almost sinister expression on his face.
It was downright sexy, and I wanted to tell him to wipe it off his face since we were on camera.
“Pulitzer-worthy stuff. I wish you would’ve at least given me a chance to zip up my pants. ”
My fingers dug into the back of his shoulder.
Clara’s hunger was evident in every part of her. “I think one of our most asked questions is how this all started.” She waved her pen between the two of us. “When a player fresh out of a marriage is spotted in a position like that, it raises some uncertainties.”
“Fresh out of a marriage?” With a nonchalant laugh, I smoothed my hand down Remi’s arm. “My divorce was nearly two years ago. There was no overlap.”
“That’s about when you and Travis McKinney first started talking, am I right?”
My jaw was tight, but I refrained from letting the cameras catch me grinding my teeth. “We were professional acquaintances.”
“And now?”
“Friendly acquaintances.” I smiled, refusing to give her a bone. “Have you had an exclusive sit-down with him yet?”
The blow landed enough to make her nose twitch, but she played it off. “He’s a difficult man to book a slot with.”
Remi glanced at me and painted on a thoughtful expression. “Didn’t he recently do an hour-long special with Margot Collins?”
“That’s right,” I said. “It blew up fast, too. People love Trav to death.”
“Maybe Amir would put in a good word for you, Clara.”
If she was annoyed by him using her name, she didn’t show it. “Anyway, let’s hear about you, Remi. Everyone wants to know where you came from. Your bar popped up out of nowhere, then six months later, we learn that you two are an item. Did you move to New Haven because of him?”
“No,” Remi replied coolly. “My best friend and his boyfriend moved nearby, so I followed. The town seemed like a quaint place to put down roots.”
“That’s sweet. Then, how did you two meet?”
“At the bar,” I answered. “We got to talking a few months back, and the rest is history, as they say.”
“So, you frequent these sorts of places often.”
When I chuckled, she arched a brow. “No, it’s pretty rare, but I think life has a way of putting us right where we need to be when we need to be there.”
Remi’s hand grazed my lower back. As his fingers traveled up my spine, I fought the urge to squirm. It might’ve been comforting if it didn’t tickle.
“You’re a family man,” she went on. “Mallory is, what, nine now?”
I nodded once. “Nine and seven months if you ask her.”
“What does she think about Remi?”
“Well, we’re approaching that slowly.”
“She hasn’t met him?” Her eyes flashed as she latched onto a new angle. “You’ve been on record saying she’s the most important part of your life.”
“She is,” I said without hesitation.
“After three months, when your relationship is clearly becoming more serious, isn’t it a bit odd that you haven’t introduced them? Does she know about him at all, or are you afraid of the . . . ramifications? It must be difficult to explain to a child.”
“Hold on,” Remi interrupted. He flattened his palm against my back as his thumb traced circles. “We’re here to talk about baseball and maybe a little bit of romance.”
“It does beg the question, though, of what this all means for her, and subsequently, his priorities. First, a divorce, which is already hard on a child. Then, a revelation like this, with such a different dynamic than she’s used to.”
“A revelation,” he repeated.
“Remi,” I murmured, tightening my arm around him. “It’s fine.”
“We can move on,” Clara assured him. “Maybe we can talk about Avery’s thoughts on it.”
“Actually,” Remi said more firmly, “I find the direction of your questions inappropriate. This is Athletic Today, not TMZ.”
“Spotlight,” she corrected with a sweet smile. “Athletic Spotlight, Mr. Keane.”
“Then put a spotlight on the sport, not the drama. Like you said, we’re busy and Amir needs to take time to rest.”
Relaxing against the couch again, he continued to trace the length of my spine.
“Mal will be coming to a game soon,” I told Clara. “I’d like to make it clear that nobody with a camera has a right to approach her.”
Her head cocked, but then she dipped it as if in agreement. I wasn’t sure that she was, but I’d keep a close eye on things.
“What about your family, Remi?” she asked. “Are they baseball fans?”
The shift in conversation seemed to relax him. “The only ones I keep around are my gods and my best friend, and he’s not into sports.”
“No family?”
“Not a one for twenty years now.”
“That’s too bad. Do you mind if I ask—”
“I do mind,” he interrupted before he blew a bubble with his gum.
As I glanced at him, trying to read something—anything—on his face besides smug nonchalance, he dipped his fingers lower. They played at the edge of my shirt and tucked slightly under it to touch my bare skin.
I had a hundred questions I wanted to add to my ever-growing list, but they weren’t relevant to our agreement. He wasn’t always forthcoming, even if they were things I needed to know, so there was no point saving them for later.
I sat there, barely listening to the next question as I wondered: Would I seriously consider pursuing something with him?
There were a dozen things that affected my answer.
I wasn’t a fan of his plan to capitalize on the situation after it happened, but I couldn’t really blame him.
Maybe it was selfish on my part to care that he’d wanted to seize the day, so to speak.
Though we’d connected in an undeniable way back at his bar, it was clear that we were very different people.
Was that bad? I wasn’t entirely sure. Avery was my high school sweetheart, so I didn’t have any previous experience to use as a threshold.
Cracking Remi open was an impossible task. If only he’d stop making me wonder if I could change that.