25. Owe That To Me

25

OWE THAT TO ME

J amie hadn’t planned on stopping at Laken’s when he left the airport on Sunday after getting home.

But Penelope would be in bed sleeping and it wasn’t that late. Just seven when he landed. He’d be at her place in thirty minutes and she said they needed to talk. She wanted to do it in person and he didn’t have the patience to wait for when they would have time together alone again.

He’d been thinking of her the whole time he’d been gone.

How much he enjoyed watching his daughter and his girlfriend interact together.

He was getting closer to telling Penelope about Laken. That she was more than just his friend.

Then he wondered how you told a two-year-old that and made them understand.

As smart as his daughter was, it wasn’t a conversation he knew how to broach.

He was knocking on Laken’s door a little before eight. It was not the first long day and night he’d had in his life. He could just stay the night and leave first thing in the morning. Maybe that was her plan.

“Hi,” he said when she opened the door. She was in leggings again, black ones, and a big gray fluffy sweatshirt. The fireplace was on and it was toasty warm.

There had been flurries in the air when he left the airport but no snow yet. They were calling for it by tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe they’d get enough that he and Penelope could make a snowman.

“Come in,” she said, holding the door for him.

He leaned down to kiss her but didn’t feel much heat there.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Was she seriously going to break up with him after he’d let her into his daughter’s life?

In the past, he didn’t give two shits if a woman was done with him, but now he was getting angry that things were ending when he was thinking they were just starting.

“I’m just going to come out and say it. There is no way to sugarcoat it and that isn’t my way.”

“Say what is on your mind,” he said, crossing his arms.

“What are you ticked off about?” she asked.

“I expect you’re going to end things or want to step back and that is your choice, but I’m livid that I allowed you into my daughter’s life and now have to figure out a way to deal with it.”

She frowned. “Allowed?”

“Yes,” he said. “That is my choice, not yours. I did it and I’ll have to pay the consequences for it.”

She put her hand up. “I want to address your words, but we need to back up. You’re worked up and don’t even know what I’m going to say.”

“It’s hard not to get worked up with your tone of voice and body language,” he said.

Here he thought he was coming to spend some quality time with her and relax.

And when had he started to think of time with a woman as quality and not just a physical release?

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m wrong there and will admit it. But I’ve had twenty-four hours to get worked up over something.”

“Tell me what it is,” he said. “And why did you wait so long?”

She shook her head. “You’re working. You have had other things on your mind. I would never do that to you. Never distract you from what needs to be done just as I’d expect the same respect from someone I’m with.”

He nodded his head. “Thanks,” he said. “I appreciate that. I don’t know what is going on but finding out long distance and having to deal with it or defend myself knowing I might not be able to isn’t the best for anyone.”

He’d done that enough in his life.

Some of his foolish actions and words distracted him from the work he needed to do on the field.

Maybe that was another part of keeping Penelope out of it too. He didn’t want it to take away from his job as a broadcaster.

He knew how hard it was in this cancel culture society.

One wrong move or word and you could be out of a job.

Networks didn’t want to deal with those things.

Which was another reason why it was going to be hard to talk about Penelope and he wanted to do it in the off-season.

No reason to draw attention to him and his broadcasting team on the job they had to do.

“It’s not. So here is my question. You asked if it was going to be known about our relationship at the same time as Penelope. Why?”

“What do you mean why?” he asked.

“Why did you ask that?”

“Because maybe I want the world to know I’ve got a girlfriend too. Maybe if they did and we got it over with, I can take you out to a nice restaurant and not always have to work out time around when one of us isn’t traveling and then has to be cooped up in your house or mine.”

Her head went back and forth. “That’s the only reason?”

“What other reason could there be?” he asked. “I know you don’t want the attention. You’ve said it before. Your brothers have too. But you had to know going in dating me it couldn’t be kept quiet forever. No more than West or Braylon could keep their relationships quiet. Sometimes it’s just better to be on the offensive than defensive. When you’re defensive people think you’re hiding something. I’ve got nothing to hide.”

“And you think I’ve got something to hide?”

He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know what the hell is going on or what you think I’m doing or trying to do, Laken. Spit it out. I can tell my answer isn’t enough for you.”

“Fine,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re not trying to divert attention away from Penelope to us? Using me for that reason?”

“Where the fuck would you get that idea from?” he asked. “Where have I ever come off as someone that devious? And if you think that of me, I’ve got to wonder why and if you’re that way or if you’ve got something to hide. Like insecurity.”

He was pacing now; she was doing the same.

Could he have been that wrong about her?

“I’m going to kill my mother.”

“What?” he asked. “What does she have to do with this?”

He was shocked to see her lips twisting and teeth bared as if she was getting ready for a fight. He hoped it wasn’t with him. He was almost scared.

She walked to her phone and picked it up and then tossed it down.

“No. I need to calm down first.”

“No,” he said. “You need to tell me what is going on and why I just got accused of something that never even crossed my mind. I think you owe that to me.”

She walked over and flopped on the couch, her head in her hands. “I’m such an idiot.”

“I’m not denying that right now,” he said. He moved closer and sat next to her. “Care to tell me what is going on?”

“I could have just ruined things with you for no reason.”

“There is always a reason,” he said. “Trust me when I tell you I know that.”

“My mother has this way of playing her kids to do things they might not want to do.”

“What was it you didn’t want to do?” he asked.

“Tell you about Alex. But of course I just acted like an idiot and now I have to explain myself and in order to do that I have to tell you about a person I didn’t want to.”

It took him a second to absorb what was said. “Is Alex an ex?”

“He’s an ex and an asshole,” she said.

“Start somewhere in the beginning. Just remember, I don’t have the best reputation when it comes to my personal life so I’m sure it’s not nearly as bad as getting a stripper pregnant while I was drunk and don’t remember,” he said drily.

She whipped her head around and froze him with her look. “Don’t talk like that about the woman who gave you Penelope. If you feel that way, others will too. There is no shame or embarrassment in your child.”

Damn, he hadn’t expected her to defend his daughter that way.

Or put him in his place.

“You’re right,” he said. “I know that. I need to get past it.”

“I’m good at my job and defusing things though I don’t do much publicly.”

“And that is why you thought what you did about me wanting it known about you and Penelope around the same time? Because your work experience has taught you to get ahead of things?”

“No,” she said. “Yes, on my comments about Penelope. My work has taught me that people latch onto what you’re feeling and giving off. Like you reading my body language and getting worked up thinking I was going to end things with you. You jumped to a conclusion based on what I was portraying. I know that and didn’t control it.”

“You don’t always have to control everything when you’re with someone you care about,” he said.

“You care about me?” she asked.

She was all over the place right now. Not much more than him.

“I do,” he said. “I thought we discussed this before. Things were going fast, but we understood that. We both did things because we were feeling more than we thought. Right?”

“Right,” she said.

“I wouldn’t have brought you over to my house yesterday to spend personal time with my daughter if I wasn’t falling in love with you, Laken. And walking in here and thinking I was fooled once again in my life just set me off.”

“You love me?” she asked.

There were tears in her eyes and he wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but he’d come this far and should put the winning score in now and bring it home.

“I do love you. I’ve spent the last day trying to figure out a way for Penelope to see you’re more than a friend, but she’s two and that isn’t easy.”

“I love you too,” she said, crying. “And I’m so mad at myself and I think that is why I got worked up at the idea you were using me and I didn’t want to fall for that again.”

“Let’s take a deep breath. Both of us. Inhale in and hold it, exhale out.”

She mirrored him a few times. He’d learned this to calm himself before games and on the field when it was go time.

“Wow, that worked.”

“I know it does. We’ve established we love each other. So we can get through the rest. Correct?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Who is Alex and where can I find him to break him in half for hurting you?”

She laughed. “Okay, I needed that too.”

“I’m not so sure I’m joking.”

“Of course you are. Because if you weren’t then it’d be publicity you don’t want. He’d be the one to make sure of it. He’s not worth it.”

“Let me be the judge of that.”