CHAPTER 15 #2
To Scarlett’s delight, Gary was situated between Templeton and Dawson, in the throes of what appeared to be a very adamant story, as he was gesturing wildly with his hands.
A few drops of beer spilled over the edge of his glass.
Miles was smiling and chatting with two of the women players, Akins, the goalie, who was laughing, while DeBois, the striker, kept rolling her eyes.
Everyone had dressed up as well, which made Scarlett a little self-conscious. She had worn a silk button-up done in a French tuck, a pair of jeans, and her signature blue high heels.
Everyone was enjoying themselves, and when Scarlett finally got her glass of wine, she saw Josh headed toward her. Lifting her glass at him in a mock toast, she took a sip before he reached her.
“Good game today, Majka,” she said loudly so that he could hear her over the crowd. “You and Aban were on fire.”
“Thanks! It was great to finally get on the field and move around, you know?” he said, raising his glass. Scarlett’s gaze followed his outstretched arm, and she saw Theo in the corner, speaking to Weeks. “All thanks to Ross.”
Her stomach did a flip at the sight of Theo taking a sip of his dark pint as he glanced over to see her.
He was wearing his usual too—black slacks, a white button-down, and a tie.
He didn’t have a jacket on, which she noted.
The corner of his mouth hitched up in a smirk as he lowered his drink.
Even from a distance, Scarlett could see that he had recently trimmed his beard, his short curls hanging over his forehead just so, and the way the dim lights of the bar reflected off his glasses…
Well, she couldn’t help but drink him in.
It was unfair how handsome he was, and she had to tell herself to return her attention to Josh.
“Yeah,” she started. “I was surprised he put you in, considering everything you mentioned the other night.”
“Me too. Although it’s funny—ever since our date, the boss has been in a good mood. I don’t know why.”
Scarlett racked her brain as to why that would be the case.
Theo had been damn near hostile toward her when she made her plans with Josh right in front of him, but now that Josh mentioned it, Theo’s whole countenance had been lighter since that interaction.
The only thing she could think of that was significant from her dinner with Josh was her little post-date date with Mr. Wrong Number.
Her cheeks warmed at the memory, and she had reread their messages several times since.
“Maybe everyone’s a little more confident with the way the teams are playing.”
“Could be. Could be that he felt a little less threatened after he cornered me the Monday after our date and practically forced me to tell him about our little outing.”
Scarlett spun fully around to face him, eyes wide. “He did what?”
Josh bobbed his head. “Oh yeah. Right after running me to near exhaustion at practice, he called me over and asked what went on between us.”
The nerve of him. Why would he do that?
“What did you say?”
“I told him the truth, that we talked about home and the game, and, you know… other things.”
“What other things?”
“Well, I know he was asking about you, but I decided that it was an opportunity to get to the bottom of my theory about why he didn’t put me in any games.
You know, like you suggested?” he said. She nodded.
“So, I told him we’d talked about him and how his hang-ups with his ex were what were keeping him from putting me on the field. ”
“How did he respond to that?”
“Not well, if you could imagine,” Josh said, his tone jovial. “He stalked away, but then after I showered and dressed, he caught up with me in the parking lot.”
“He did?”
“Yup.”
“What did he say? That you were right?”
Josh chuckled. “Yeah, right. No. He just said that if I managed practices well for the rest of the week and passed a few requirements with the health staff, there would be a place for me on the field Friday—which,” he said, tipping his glass to her, “proved true.”
“I guess so.”
“Hey!” he said, nodding to a group of players on the far side of the room waving him over. “Excuse me.”
He dipped away just as Theo reached the bar.
“Of course,” she called out after him, trying to ignore the uptick in her pulse as Theo’s arm brushed against hers.
He reached over the bar to get the bartender’s attention. “Another,” he said, holding up his empty glass before giving Scarlett a sideways look. “Simmons.”
“Ross.”
The bartender retrieved his glass as Theo turned and put his elbows on the bar behind him and leaned back. He nodded in Josh’s direction. “Where’s your boyfriend gone off to?”
“He’s not my boyfriend, not that it’s any of your business,” she said, then took a sip of her wine.
“Oh no?”
“No.”
“So, your date didn’t go well?”
“It was a dinner between friends, and it went fine.”
“But it didn’t lead to anything?”
She faced him. “Why are you so interested?”
Theo’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not.”
“Oh, no, of course not,” she said sarcastically as the bartender returned with Theo’s pint.
She was going to point out that she knew he’d questioned Josh, but remembering what she had learned about Theo that night, she decided against it.
She wished she could talk to him, though.
She wanted to discuss why he had stonewalled her after their make-out session in the gear closet.
But Theo had made it crystal clear that he didn’t want anything to do with her, so she was hesitant to put herself in any position where she didn’t have the upper hand.
She would be polite, congratulate him on the win, finish her drink, and leave. But then they both began speaking at the same time.
“Listen, Simmons, I want to—”
“You had a great game today—” Scarlett chuckled. “Sorry, you go first.”
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting. I was an ass last week. And the week before that. And really, ever since you got here. I think I was putting something on you that didn’t have anything to do with you.”
“Oh?”
He stared at her. “You don’t have to pretend. Majka told me that you discussed my last relationship.”
Scarlett wanted to ask a million questions but beat down her desire to know and waited for him to continue.
His tone dropped an octave or two, and Scarlett had to lean forward to hear him.
“I was in a situation that wasn’t great, and the worst part is that it was all my fault, and I… hadn’t realized it until recently.”
That didn’t sound right to her, however. “Relationships usually involve two people. It can’t be all your fault, whatever it was.”
He frowned. “Meaning?”
“Meaning that two people can be at fault for the breakdown of a relationship. It’s not usually one person’s fault.”
“I assure you, it was all mine.”
“How so?”
Theo took a deep breath before exhaling, seemingly weighing the advantages and disadvantages of telling her whatever it was he was going to say. He glanced around the room. Then, as he looked down at her, his gray-blue eyes shining behind his glasses, she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat.
“Do you really want to have this conversation? With me?”
Yes. Desperately. But she shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We could be friends, couldn’t we?”
That damn charming half smirk appeared on his face, and Scarlett had to consciously tell herself not to melt.
“Friends?” he repeated, as if testing the word out. He didn’t sound too sure. “I suppose we could be friends.”
“Well, then, go on,” she said, placing her empty glass on the bar as the bartender came. He refilled it at once.
“Okay,” Theo said tentatively. “Well, I was in a relationship with a former coworker—a physical therapist for the team.”
“American?” she asked, even though she knew, and she knew that he knew that she knew.
His smirk widened into a genuine smile. “Yes. An American.”
“A cruel people, or so I’ve heard.”
And for the first time since she’d met Theo, he let out a genuine laugh. It was startling and all-consuming and so wonderful to hear. It was deep and rolling and enveloped her like a bear hug. She actually shivered.
“No. Not really. Although I would say that they’re eager to please,” he said. Scarlett’s smile faltered slightly. She’d been guilty of that herself. “But only because they want to make people happy.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” she said, then took a sip from her new glass of wine.
“No, there isn’t,” he said earnestly, “but sometimes people can take advantage of that.”
She tilted her head. “You didn’t take advantage. Or at least, it didn’t come off that way, from what Josh said.”
He took a large sip of his beer before he spoke.
“I did, though. I convinced her to stay in England because I wanted her to, not because she wanted to be here. I practically bullied her into taking a job with the Bees and then worked, nonstop, without giving her any reason to want to stay, and then…” He paused, his face going blank. “Then she left.”
“Back to Colorado? But you went after her, didn’t you?”
“Ha, yeah, that I did. Big regret there.”
“Why?”
“I don’t think she believed that I’d ever leave the Bees in the middle of the season, but I did and found her with Michael.”
Scarlett’s ears perked up. “Michael? Who’s Michael?”
“The boyfriend she left for me.”
“Oh,” Scarlett said. “This sounds a bit messy.”
“It was messy from the start.”
“So, she left without telling you and ended up cheating on you?”
“Depends on the perspective, doesn’t it? To her, we were broken up.”
“But she didn’t tell you that.”
“No. Which was why, to me, it certainly gave the impression that she was cheating. And to Michael, it was probably vindication, having her come back to him.”