Chapter Sixteen Alex
R OME INSISTED WE take his car and I didn’t put up an ounce of resistance. I knew he preferred the luxury of his Mercedes G-Class and I didn’t mind sharing in that, but I requested that I drive. Besides, I figured he needed the tinted windows to conceal the MLB star who dwelled within the vehicle.
I drove us into Boston a little earlier than needed, mostly due to the constant traffic that the city accumulated like a string of bad habits.
I was no stranger to city driving, but apparently Rome was .
At one point he squeezed his eyes shut and grabbed the Oh Shit handle when I barreled into the exit for Storrow Drive.
I zipped around the city streets that I knew well enough to navigate with closed eyes.
Which I did at one point just to throw Rome into a fresh tizzy.
Rome remained blissfully unaware of our destination. As I drove down a familiar route, I felt a tightness form in my stomach. Would he like the surprise? Would he be angry at me for overstepping? I suspected he wouldn’t, but the lizard part of my brain feared losing him.
We pulled into an underground parking garage. There was a subtle sign along the way that I don’t think he caught since he was busy checking something on his phone. (Yes, I made sure he didn’t look at a map that would reveal where we went.) I found a spot near an elevator and put her in Park.
“Still no idea where we are?” I asked Rome as I hit the button to turn off the car.
He lowered his head and gave me a sly grin. “Pretty sure we’re at a hospital. Kept seeing blue H signs…”
I smiled, blew him a kiss, and got out of the car. From the trunk I pulled a backpack that I had surreptitiously stuffed with specific items unbeknownst to Rome. He shot me a curious glance as I shouldered the bag. “You’ll see,” I told him.
We walked to the elevator and the moment he stepped inside, he looked over at me. “Children’s Hospital. This is where you said you were treated?”
I nodded and hit the button to a familiar floor. “Yep. Lots of memories in this place.”
“Where—”
I reached over and pushed a finger on his lips. “Shh. No questions. Just follow.”
He removed my finger by grabbing my wrist and then yanking me toward him. Our bodies collided as he kissed me until the elevator dinged for our floor.
I cleared my throat and stepped out onto linoleum tiling, the air suffused with the acrid scent of sterility.
I had been to hospitals plenty of times since my last treatment, but the smell…
it would never fail to trigger old emotions and old fears.
For a heartbeat, I felt the press of a needle into my arm, the susurrous sounds of the machines diligently operating, the subdued joy of having a pudding cup after a tumultuous day.
I swallowed, got my bearings, and started down the main corridor with Rome by my side.
His hand was at the small of my back despite the traffic of nurses and support staff.
He wore a Riders cap that he pulled low on his face.
It did little to conceal him from a fan, but the effort was there.
The late summer heat still forced us to wear shorts and t-shirts.
We looked like a couple of casual dudes just strolling around a kids hospital.
I kept my eyes peeled for any familiar faces, but the staff was young—younger than me.
I walked up to a reception desk where a staff of three sat at their desks.
“Alex Edwards here for a visitation appointment.” At that, Rome shot me a look that I ignored.
The polite lady at the desk hit a button as a set of doubled doors to our right mechanically opened up.
I watched as old memories overlayed my real-time vision.
Devin had always insisted I see these doors as mighty gates swinging inward, like the threshold to a castle and we were the raiders come to plunder.
“Room 757. On your left,” she said, breaking me from my reverie.
I nodded. “Thank you.” Together, Rome and I walked from the reception area to oncology.
Rome reached out and squeezed my hand.
We reached 757 and I took a breath.
From the long but narrow window along the door, we had a view of the patient inside.
A young boy, his face familiar to both Rome and me, and the boy’s mother sitting at his bedside reading a book while holding his hand.
A tender moment, one I wanted to capture with my camera, but my politeness recognized the intrusion.
“Is that…?” Rome started to ask as he stepped closer to the door.
“This is Danny and his mother Paola. You met them when you first met me.”
Rome swallowed. “From game 108 against the Thunder.”
I let out a small gasp. “You know the game number?”
He looked back at me, though his eyes didn’t quite find me.
“It’s when I first saw you. I’ll never forget that game.
” He turned to look inside the room. “He doesn’t look like he did back in July.
” Another swallow. His head swiveled back and this time his eyes found mine, initially filled with hope.
But when he saw the kindness, the gentleness I attempted to exude, he understood.
“The treatment didn’t take,” I said in a careful whisper. “He only has about a month left.”
Rome’s breath went out of him and he took a step back. My hand went to his waist. Someone passing by noticed but politely turned away.
“How? Did you search around? How did you find him?” Rome asked.
“I connected with Paola at the end of the game before they could leave. I took so many pictures of you and Danny that I wanted to get her information so I could send them. I had her name, knew her son’s name, and I reached out to some old contacts from the hospital.
I initially set things up so he could see you again, but then I found out the news…
” I pulled the backpack from my shoulder and lifted the top flap.
Inside lay a cache of Riders paraphernalia that Rome kept around the house.
Jerseys, hats, old gloves. “I thought he could see his hero again and this time decked out in Riders regalia.”
With suddenness, Rome yanked me into the tightest embrace he had ever given me. He squeezed me from all sides as if he could tell me by touch how important this was to him. I relaxed into him and ignored the flow of traffic around us. If he didn’t care, I didn’t care.
When he finally pulled away, his eyes had misted over.
“I’m paying for his treatment. All of it,” he told me with absolute conviction.
“Even if there’s some kind of deal with the hospital, I want it all pulled and put squarely on me.
I’ll reach out to Joe and see what he can do.
” He turned and looked back into the room.
“Paola shouldn’t feel the burden of any of this.
I wonder if there’s some kind of fund I can set up for her afterward.
What does she do for work? I don’t want her to worry about any of her bills. ”
A lump formed in my throat and I had to dedicate half my brain to keep myself from falling into a blubbering mess. “I’ll work with Joe. This kind of stuff is right up my alley.”
“Yes, it is. You’re perfect for this,” Rome said, almost as if he was confirming something. An answer to a question I never heard.
“Do you want to go inside? Paola knows we’re coming but Danny doesn’t.” I handed him the backpack.
Rome took the bag in a daze. Without saying a word, he pushed inside the room.
I watched as Paola’s eyes lifted from her book and a smile bloomed on her face.
She stood and padded gently across the room and welcomed Rome’s quick embrace.
I heard a croak of exclamation from Danny, his eyes immediately filled with tears and wonder.
Don’t intrude , I told myself. I had been in Danny’s shoes before. I knew the joy of having a hero all to yourself for a few precious minutes. Paola knew, too. She stepped from the room as Rome pulled out item after item and helped Danny fit everything on.
I gave Paola a hug hello. She had tears running down her cheeks. “Thank you, so, so much, Alex,” she said.
So far, I had managed to keep it together, but I was holding on by the thinnest of threads. “Of course. I’m glad we were able to arrange this. How long is he able to keep his strength up?”
“He just woke up from a nap. He’ll be charged with energy for a few hours but will crash hard.”
I nodded. “Does he have much of an appetite?”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Only fast food these days.”
“Great. I’ll go out and pick some up. Text me what he likes?”
Paola hugged me again and kissed my cheek. “I will, yes. You’re an angel.”
?
Rome stayed on the phone our entire ride home and even after we arrived at the house.
He had the call connected into his car while I drove and encouraged me to speak up since we both could hear and talk.
Joe stayed on the other line the whole time while conferencing with Rome’s agent, a Riders community outreach manager, and at one point we were able to speak with a services director from the hospital.
Rome bullied his way into my schedule (which I didn’t mind— much ) to have me meet with key individuals who I would know best how to work with.
In under an hour, Rome had successfully begun the workings of a charity fund that could feed directly into Danny. The foundation of such services gave light to future possibilities which Rome consistently hinted at with Joe and would shoot me a look when he said as much.
He kept the phone on speaker as we climbed out of the car and walked into the house.
Our conversation finished up in the kitchen where Rome had pulled a snack from the fridge as well as some waters.
He chugged his entire bottle after the call ended, crushed the thing with his hands, and tossed it into the trash.
I started to summarize what we had learned, but he, once again, pulled me into a ridiculously tight hug that forced the air from my lungs.
“Crushing… me…” I said with my face pressed into his chest.
He laughed and let go, then kissed me on the forehead, the cheek, then the mouth. “You’re so incredible. I’m just so thankful that you’re in my life, Alex. That was the greatest gift you could have ever given me.”
I had no response to that. I wished I had an ounce of Rome’s timing to know what to say. Instead, I put my hands around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss…
And suddenly realized in that moment that I wanted to take our physical relationship beyond anything we had done.
It wasn’t a lustful desire, although that did swim beneath the surface.
No, I wanted to feel connected to him in one of the most powerful ways two people could be connected.
I wanted to bring him pleasure with my body, but more importantly, I wanted us to bare our souls to each other, to look into each other’s eyes as we…
Make love? Love? Is that what this is? I thought as Rome deepened our kiss. He hiked me up by my ass and sat me on the kitchen counter. My legs went wide, then swung around to lock together by the ankles at the small of his back.
We weren’t in love quite yet, I realized, but damn if we weren’t on our way.
Not now. Not yet , I told myself. But soon. Very soon . We would keep our time under the covers to the new standard. Eventually, and likely just around the corner, we would take the leap to something more, something more incredible.
For that afternoon, we enjoyed each other’s bodies.
Rome worked on his new skills and I continued to demonstrate how a pro got it done.
Afterward, we showered together, put on fresh clothes, and sank into our favorite spot on the couch.
Rome had his phone out as I crashed against him.
That damnable calendar app of his was out. New date?
“I’ve got some fun news to share,” he told me. I realized I liked the way the deepness of his voice rumbled through my body as I lay against him.
“Another special delivery?” I asked and he snickered.
“No quite.”
Two days after I partially moved in with him, Rome had something delivered before he had to leave for a game.
A new desk, the fanciest CEO chair I had ever seen, and a monitor the size of a television arrived at the house.
He also hired two men to rearrange, assemble, and setup his office to accommodate a new workstation for me.
He bought two different kinds of mouse and keyboard (one with a number pad and one without) because he wasn’t sure what I preferred.
“I’ve made reservations at a really great restaurant in Boston,” Rome told me.
I sat up, spun, and looked at him. “Really? Like, out it public?”
He grew a Cheshire grin. “Yes, sir. I know the owners a little. They’d make sure we had some privacy.”
My jaw lowered. “Oh yeah?”
“Mmhmm.”
“No shit,” I said. “Shoot,” I corrected. “Okay. When were you thinking?”
Rome already had a date planned. “The tenth. We have a break before we play the Diamonds.”
I had a night shoot scheduled with the same congressman who came to me for a morning shoot several weeks ago. I really didn’t want to cancel that one. Couldn’t. My reputation in the political world was critical.
“Oh, no. You can’t make it,” Rome said, crestfallen but sympathetic. He blinked, shook his head. “Shoot. I should have asked. I’m sorry for not considering your schedule.”
“I’m sorry,” I said with a pained face. “I can’t miss this one. Can we reschedule?”
His hand went out and touched my upper thigh. “Do not apologize. This isn’t your wrongdoing, it’s mine. I shouldn’t have assumed you were free. I can figure out another time.”
I leaned back into Rome as he canceled the date on his phone. “So. Another step outside , eh?”
“If you can believe it,” Rome said through a light chuckle. He proceeded to explain to me how he continued to make smaller steps forward with his team members. A few married and coupled teammates had asked to go on double dates if he was seeing someone special.
I hinted at a greater purpose for Rome’s coming out—fully, not just within a specific net. I could feel him retreat when I brought it up, the concept of making the truth of his life known to the media, to the public.
In due time. I didn’t know if he was already aware, because I sure as hell was. It was the next step for him and I knew he would one day have the courage.
Like all good things, we would have to wait.