Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Reid
I’m lying in bed, letting today replay in my mind.
I can’t believe she’s here. My dream girl lives in Nashville.
Fuck me, she’s my coach’s daughter. He’s pissed that I talked back, but at that moment, he wasn’t my coach.
He was my girl’s dad, and although I don’t know every detail, I know things aren't good between them—and his mistakes are being held against me. He can fuck right off for that.
It’shis fault she’s using their past against me, and it still pisses me off. Who leaves their wife and kid? I can’t wrap my head around it. Of course, there could be pieces I’m missing. I’m certain there are. I’m sure there are pieces that Bellamy is missing, too, but that’s for another day.
Scrolling through my phone, I find her number and change her contact to Dream Girl. I scrunch my nose. Backing out, I try again. My Dream Girl is much better. Once I have her name saved how I want it, I fire off a text.
Me: Did you make it home okay?
I wait, staring at the screen. I can see that she’s read the message, and as soon as the little bubbles start to bounce, my heart starts to race. I assumed she’d ghost me. But, to my surprise, she’s not. Her reply pops up, and I grin, seeing her name.
My Dream Girl: I’m home.
Me: Good deal. How are you?
My Dream Girl: You don’t have to check up on me, Reid. I’m a big girl. I can handle some drama.
Me: I don’t want drama between us. I don’t want anything that keeps me away from you.
Maybe our kids one day, if they climb in bed with us, but I have a feeling that if I tell her that’s where my mind went, I’d just freak her out even more.
Do I think we’ll ever get there? I hope so, but we aren’t there yet.
We still have a lot to learn about each other, and we have this hurdle to jump where her fears regarding my career are concerned.
I can say that one night with her changed me, and that she’s the only woman I see or think about. That has to be enough for now.
My Dream Girl: Goodnight, Reid.
Me: Night, Dream Girl.
Plugging my phone into the charger, I place it on the nightstand and turn off the light.
Today changes nothing for me. I don’t care who her father is.
He can’t bench me. He doesn’t have a good enough reason.
I’m one of the highest-ranked tight ends in the league.
Sure, he can make my life hell at practice, but that’s a small price to pay for her.
It’s going to take some time, but I’ll show her that I’m not going to make the same mistakes her father did.
I stare at the shadows on the ceiling for hours, thinking about her and what steps I’ll take to prove to her that she’s my priority, before sleep eventually claims me.
As soon as I step into my condo, I drop my gym bag to the floor and drag my ass to the couch.
I hit the gym with the guys to get ready for training camp.
Knox, our quarterback and team captain, keeps us all in line.
Even Landry is doing better this year with diet and cutting out alcohol, but something tells me that has more to do with his wife than him.
That man loves to eat, and he doesn’t care if it’s on the approved list of foods or not.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I fire off a text to Bellamy.
Me: Are you free for dinner?
Her answer is going to be the same as it has been every day for the past five. Ever since seeing her at family day, I’ve texted her, asking her to have dinner with me. She always has an excuse.
My Dream Girl: I’m washing my hair.
A laugh bursts out of my chest. The past four days have been filled with plans or late nights at the office as her excuse, but this is an obvious blow-off, and it makes me smile.
Me: I can help with that. I have big hands, great for massaging the scalp.
My Dream Girl: Thanks, but I’m going to have to pass.
Me: You sure? I’m really good with my hands.
She knows this. She got to experience what my hands can do to her firsthand, but a little reminder never hurt anyone.
My Dream Girl: I’m sure.
Well, fuck. I toss my phone onto the cushion next to me.
How am I going to be able to show her that I’m not her father if she doesn’t let me see her?
It’s been five days since I laid eyes on her—five days since I’ve heard her voice.
I went a month before, but then I didn’t know where she lived.
She’s in my city, yet she still feels so far away.
Grabbing my phone, I’m about to order takeout, but instead, I end up hitting her contact and placing the phone to my ear. It rings, once, twice, three times before she picks up. I was starting to think she wasn’t going to.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Dream Girl.”
“Reid,” she breathes my name, almost as if she’s both relieved and annoyed that I’m calling her. Honestly, I don’t think she knows which way she’s feeling right now either.
“How was your day?”
“It was fine.” She pauses. “How was yours?”
It’s the polite thing to do to ask me back, but she hesitated.
“Good. I hit the gym for a lift session with the guys. We try to meet every day during the week about a month before training camp to get back into shape, and now, I’m sitting here, trying to decide what to do for dinner. My girl is busy washing her hair.”
She chuckles. “It’s a thing.”
“Oh, I have no doubt. She has beautiful, long, dark brown hair. I offered to help her, but she turned me down.”
“Maybe she doesn’t need a man to take care of her.”
“She definitely doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” She doesn’t say anything, but I can hear her breathing change. “I miss you, Bell. When can I see you?”
“I—I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“How am I supposed to prove to you that I’m not him if you don’t let me?”
Another heavy sigh from her. “We’ve been over this.”
“We have, but we’re still at an impasse. Let me bring you dinner. You don’t even have to eat with me. Just let me drop off dinner so you don’t have to cook.”
“I shouldn’t,” she says, and I can hear it in her voice. She thinks she shouldn’t, but she wants to.
Disappointment washes over me, but I’m not giving up. Shouldn’t is better than no. She needs to see that I’m willing to work for her time, and I am. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to spend more time with her.
“Can you look at your schedule and let me know when we can make plans to have dinner? Or hell, lunch or breakfast, even all three. Whatever you want. Training camp starts soon. I was hoping to see you before that started.”
There’s a silence that hangs between us.
I wait, giving her time to come up with another excuse, and when she doesn’t, I speak again.
Just one word. “Please.” I try to remember a time when I ever begged a woman for anything, and I’m coming up empty.
Only my dream girl could pull that type of need out of me.
It’s more than wanting to spend time with her.
It’s a need at this point. I know there’s something more between us.
I know that she’s scared, and that’s okay.
I’ll beg, I’ll say please, I’ll keep showing up, because at the end of the day, that’s what she’s most afraid of.
Me not showing up like her father. I’m not him, and I don’t care how long it takes; I’ll prove that to her.
“I usually take a late lunch, and that’s when you hit the gym with the guys,” she says.
Elation washes over me. She’s giving me an inch, and I’m taking every millimeter of that inch. She’s testing me, and that’s okay. I expect her to. “Tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.” More silence, because I’m certain that’s not the answer she was expecting.
“Tomorrow. One o’clock.” She rattles off the name of a small café that’s not far from the stadium.
“I can’t wait to see you,” I tell her. I’m not just blowing smoke up her ass either. I wish I could see her every single day.
“Are you sure you can make the time?” she asks. Something that sounds an awful lot like hope laces her tone.
“Yes.” No bullshit, no sweet lines, just the honest truth. I’ll make the time for her.
“I should go,” she says.
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Dream Girl.
” I end the call, not giving her time to say her own goodbye or to back out of our lunch date.
Part of me is fearful she’s going to try anyway.
The other part of me is wondering if she works that close to the stadium.
There’s so much I still don’t know about her, but it doesn’t change anything.
She’s still, without a doubt, my dream girl.
I know she has reservations, and I need to tread lightly, but I also need to be bold enough to let her know that she’s who I want, and that if it’s time she needs, it’s time I’ll give her.
Time for me to show her that I’m not the man she thinks I am, just because I play football for a living.
Time for her to adjust her beliefs in what she’s always known, or what she’s always assumed, that she’s known.
All I can do is keep trying. I’ll keep asking, keeping showing up, and one day, my dream girl will see that she’s everything I want, and more than that, she’s everything I need.
One day, I’ll scale those walls around her heart and knock them down.
The guys and I always meet at the gym at noon, work out for a couple of hours, and get a run in on the treadmill. Today, I show up dressed in cargo shorts and a polo shirt, which has all four of them raising their brow.
“I’m not working out today.”
“Sounds good to me. Let’s go grab some lunch,” Landry says.
“No can do, bro. I have a lunch date with Bellamy.” I don’t have to look in a mirror to know I’m smiling like a damn lovesick fool.
“Fuck yeah!” Landry offers me his fist, and we bump knuckles.
“She finally gave you a shot?” Knox asks.