Chapter 11 Wren #2
Then he walks down the steps and takes a seat in one of the theatre-style chairs that looks out over the field. Brooks smiles then walks to a panel on the wall. He presses a button, and the huge windows on the sides and front of the suite get a little darker.
“There,” he says. “Now we can watch in peace. No one can see in here now.”
I smile as we walk farther in.
I look at Cole, who is already helping himself to a bag of popcorn, a cherry soda, and a front-row seat.
Today is going to be a good day.
I follow Brooks to the back of the suite where the buffet is set up.
He holds an arm out for me to go first, so I grab a plate and load it with some wings, some salad, and some delicious-looking mac and cheese.
But just as I'm about to make a big, heaping plate, the suite door opens again. We turn around to see the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
She’s tall and slim with long, caramel-colored locks. She looks to be in her fifties or so and classy as hell. She’s dressed in a cream-colored outfit, and her makeup is impeccable.
And the smile on Brooks’s face makes me melt.
“Hi, Mama,” he says, putting his plate down and walking over to take her in for a big hug. She squeezes him and kisses both his cheeks then turns to me.
“And you must be Wren,” she says with a smile that makes me feel instantly at ease. Then she looks at Brooks. “Teresa was right. She’s an absolute beauty.” I feel my cheeks flush.
“Hi,” I say, stepping forward and offering her my hands. “It’s so nice to meet you. Thank you so much for letting us come.”
She looks down at my hand but instead wraps her arms around me and pulls me in for a big, tight hug.
“I’m so glad you could come. Brooks has told me all about you,” she says with a wink. Cole comes running in to grab a muffin but freezes when he sees her.
“And you must be Cole,” she says. “I’m Ella. I heard you were the second-biggest Empire fan in the world…next to me.”
Cole smiles and nods.
“Hi,” he says shyly, stealing the muffin and running back to his seat.
“I’m gonna go sit down,” Brooks says. “Come join us when you get something to eat,” he tells Ella and me.
I make a plate, more modest helpings than I probably would have gotten if she wasn’t here, and she falls in line behind me, doing the same. I grab a drink from the fridge then turn around.
“There’s a little table over here,” Ella says, nodding to her right. “Care to join me for a few before the game gets going?”
I smile.
“I’d really like that,” I say.
Although I’ve read about her in the paper, I really don’t know much about her. Brooks has kept her virtually under wraps, with little tidbits about her here and there.
“So,” she says, “Brooks told me how you all met.”
I freeze, my eyes widening as I look up at her, then over to him, then back to her.
Shit. Does she mean actually? Or just a public version of it?
I feel nervous now, unsure of how much she’s been let in on.
But she smiles, leaning forward and putting her hand on mine.
“Honey, I think what you are doing is so admirable. I wish I could say I was surprised when you wrote to the boys about what their father had been doing. As much disdain as I have for the man, I would love for it to not have been true to spare my Brooks. He’s dealt with so much from him. ”
I swallow and nod.
So she knows everything.
“Well, it sounds like you have too, Ella,” I say. She smiles and rubs my hand.
“As women, we can’t let the shit actions of the shit men in our lives define us, you know? And it’s true, sometimes we have to rise above.” But then, she leans in to me, as if to tell me a secret. “But other times, we have to play dirty in order to beat them at their own sick games.”
I smile and nod, slowly taking a sip of my drink. I have so many questions for her, but I’m trying to be respectful. This isn’t an interview. This is my boyfr—well, whatever Brooks is to me…this is his mother.
“He did it to me, you know,” she says after a brief pause.
She lifts her eyes to me slowly. No. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?
A sad smile crosses her lips. “When we first met. I was so young. I had no money. I was so naive. And then this beautiful, charming, powerful man came crashing into my life and made me feel like I was everything he was looking for. So he’d parade me around.
He’d force me on dates with his friends…
until he decided that he liked me enough to keep me for himself—at least for a little while.
” She pauses, and I reach out instinctively and cover her hand with mine.
“I hurt a lot of people when I said yes to him, including myself. And I will never regret it because, in the end, I got the greatest gift I never knew I needed,” she says, looking over at Brooks.
“What you’re doing is so brave. So noble.
But it’s also dangerous, honey. There is no end to the power and resources that Cato Everett has.
So, if you feel like you need to stop before you get too far in, you can.
You still have options. Options I didn’t know I had. ”
Wait a minute…
I smile.
“Did Brooks put you up to this?” I ask. She looks over at him with so much love in her eyes I feel like she might burst.
“He asked me to talk to you,” she says. “He’s right, honey.
It’s scary. But if you press on, just know you have such a strong team behind you.
Mostly him.” She looks back at me. “He really likes you, Wren. I have never met a single girl in his life until right now. He’s worried for you.
And I am too. He hasn’t had very many people in his life that he can trust. Selfishly, I don’t want him losing someone who is important to him.
Just make sure whatever decision you make, it’s for you. ”
I smile.
“I will, Ella,” I say. “But I’ll also be making it for women like you.” We finish eating and go rejoin the boys in the seats.
All of a sudden, there are only twenty-eight seconds left in the game, and the Empire is down by one touchdown. The quarterback gets the ball and fakes it to the running back on a play-fake. Then, he throws the ball deep to Jerome in the back corner of the end zone.
The stadium is going ballistic.
Down by one.
The Empire lines up for a two-point conversion.
Jerome moves behind the line in motion, and the quarterback hands him the ball.
In a few beautifully executed steps, he scores.
The crowd—and Cole—are going absolutely wild.
Even with the suite windows shut, we can hear the roar from beneath us, people chanting Jerome’s name, his teammates dogpiling on top of him in the end zone.
Brooks is on his feet, shouting and pumping his fists into the air.
Ella is standing up and whooping. He leans over and snatches Cole off the ground, hoisting him into the air and spinning him in circles.
They run around the suite like crazy people, and I can’t stop laughing.
Cole has had a hard life these last few years.
And as wonderful as my dad is, he doesn’t get a lot of quality time with him because he has to work so much.
So seeing Cole with Brooks is doing something to me, shaking me up in the best way.
They come back to me, and before I realize what’s happening, Brooks wraps me up in a hug, swirls me around, and then throws me over his shoulder like a rag doll.
He spins me around and around until I can no longer see straight.
Then, when he finally sets me down, he makes sure Cole’s not watching and sneaks me a quick kiss.
Cole comes down from his high, plopping onto the big leather couch that sits at the back of the suite. Ella says her goodbyes and heads out as the three of us are cooling down from our celebration.
“That was amazing. I don’t want to leave,” he says. I laugh, and Brooks plops down next to him.
“Well, good. Because stadium traffic sucks, so I figured we would hang here for a little while.”
“Really?” Cole asks excitedly. Brooks nods.
“Of course. Help yourself to some more food. You can people-watch out the window, or that TV over there gets cable.”
“Sweet!” Cole says as he rushes by us.
When he gets up, Brooks pats his spot for me to sit down. And I do.
I don’t have anywhere to be tonight, so sitting here with these two in this luxury suite doesn’t sound half bad.
He reaches around and pulls me into him, and I feel his fingers grazing my hip.
“I’m so happy you’re here,” he says under his breath, and when I look up at him, I can tell he means it. I reach out and grab his hand, stroking it with my thumb.
“Thank you for this,” I tell him. “You have no idea how much it means.”
He looks over at Cole, flipping through the channels and downing another soda.
“He’s a cool kid,” Brooks says. “Might be cooler than you.”
I elbow his side playfully, but then I shrug.
“He’s definitely cooler than me.”
Just then, there is a knock on our suite door. Brooks pops up, and Cole and I look at each other, confused.
“There’s my MVP!” Brooks says, pulling the man in the doorway in for a massive hug. And then my jaw drops, and so does Cole’s. Because it’s Jerome Parker.
“What?!” Cole exclaims, jumping up from his seat. “Jerome?!”
Jerome smiles as he follows Cole into the suite.
“Hey, hey!” he says. “Is my man Cole here?”
Cole doesn’t say anything, just stares up at the huge man in front of him.
“Oh my God,” he whispers. We all laugh as Jerome holds his hand out.
“You must be him,” he says. “I was told you’re my biggest fan?”
Cole nods enthusiastically.
“Maybe even bigger than me,” Brooks says, grabbing Jerome and pulling him down for a kiss on his forehead. Jerome laughs a booming laugh. “For real, dude. That catch? You are a fucking rockstar.” Then, he catches himself. “Whoops, sorry, kid.” Cole shrugs.
“My sister cusses all the time. No big deal.” We all laugh again. Then Brooks turns to me.