Player Loves Curves Box Set #4-6 by Hope Ford
Neil
After the game,I’m the first one to the locker room so I can get my phone and call the woman that has me playing at the top of my game. She fills every void in my life and I’m happier with her than I’ve ever been. Sure, there’s plenty we still need to get to know about each other, but I’ve never been more sure about a woman, and I know I’m already falling for her.
I take my phone out of my locker and power it up. A text from Naomi pops up on the window and a part of me is hoping she’s sent me a picture of her. I wish I had grabbed one of her before I left. When I get the message app open, I find a picture of myself from the internet. There’s three girls hanging on my arms and my smiling face is staring back at me. The two words, the only two words that come with the picture are: GAME OVER in big, bold capital letters.
I try calling her and the rest of the day it goes straight to voicemail. I try again in the morning, after staying awake all night, and an automated message tells me that the number has been disconnected. She’s changed her number!
I’m going out of my mind trying not to panic. I know that with every passing minute that I can’t get a hold of her, she’s less likely to hear me out. We still have one more game of the series, but there’s no way I can do it. I know Coach is going to rip my ass and I know I’m probably going to have to pay a hefty fine for missing, but I don’t care.
I book the next flight to home and then go see my coach. “What’s wrong, Fox? You look like shit. You been drinking?”
“No sir,” I tell him. “I’m sorry, but I’ve had an emergency back home and my flight leaves in an hour. I’m going to have to miss this afternoon’s game.”
He rubs his chin, looking at me skeptically. “Family emergency, huh?”
I nod my head convincingly. To me, it is a family emergency.
He drops his hand and comes over and slaps me on the back. “Fine, son. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll put Kent in for you tonight.”
“Thank you, Coach,” I tell him before running out of the stadium to catch a cab. The flight home is only two hours and I think the whole way about what I’m going to say to her. I know the picture looked bad. Hell, that’s probably not even the worst one out there. But the fact remains, I haven’t even thought of another woman since I met Naomi. She’s the one I want, and I’m willing to do anything to prove it.
* * *
Naomi
Of all theplaces I could have gone, I go to my mom’s. I don’t know why I did, but here I am. And I’m not sure about the advice she’s giving me. “All I’m saying is you should hear him out. When you called the other day, telling me about the mishap, I knew then that there was something special about that man. Naomi, I could hear it in your voice. You really like him. I know I’ve made mistakes. I know you don’t want to be like me. But you also don’t want to completely destroy your life trying to avoid love either.”
I look at her incredulously. “Love? No one said anything about love. We just met. I don’t… I don’t love him.”
My heart is rapid firing in my chest. I open the palm of my hand and start waving at myself, trying to cool off my overheated body. No one said the word love.
My mother starts to laugh. “Look at you. You’re so worried about falling in love, picking the wrong guy that you’re causing yourself to have a panic attack.” She sits down on the couch beside me and grabs on to both of my hands. “I know you’re worried about it, but you shouldn’t. You’re not me, Naomi. You never will be. I know how much you cringe every time I get married. But I’m living the life I want and you need to do the same. When you find love, it will be forever. It will be with a guy that loves you, cherishes you and wants to be with you. You are not going to make the same mistakes I did.”
I can tell she wants to say more, but the doorbell rings. She looks between the door and me. “That’s probably Madge, Donna, and Janet for our weekly bridge game. Give me a minute and I’ll tell them I’m canceling this week. I completely forgot they were coming.”
I shake my head. “No, Mom. It’s fine. I don’t mind really. It will keep my mind off things.”
She looks at me questioningly and I nod. “I’m sure. I promise.”
She pats my hand and walks over to let her friends in. I tell them all hi and give them each hugs. When they walk into the dining room to set up their game, I sit back on the couch and think about everything my mother said. Could she be right? Am I just looking for a reason for this not to work? I know there’s plenty of pictures of him on the internet with other woman, but later, when I looked at the dates, I hadn’t seen any in the last year or so. Definitely not any since we’ve met. I pick up the channel changer and turn the television on. I tell myself I’m going to find a good comedy, but instead, I turn it straight to the sports channel. I just want to see him, I tell myself. No harm in that.
The announcers are doing the pregame and at the mention of Neil’s name, it grabs my attention. “Kent Bishop is substituting for Neil Fox tonight. It was reported that Fox has an emergency out of town. The Mavericks will miss him behind the plate tonight and his bat.”
The rest of whatever he says goes in one ear and out the next. With my hand over my mouth, I sit there stunned. Oh God, is he okay? I reach for my phone to call him, but remember that I changed my number and deleted his contact. He’s fine. I’m sure he’s fine. I keep telling myself that over and over, but it doesn’t feel right. There’s a part of me that knows I want to be with him… that I should be with him. But another part of me is still scared.
With my head in my hand, I say a silent prayer for whatever Neil’s going through right now.
