Well Played by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 25
Levi
Tanner hadn’t reacted after he spotted me comforting Presley, and neither had I. Presley didn’t need another thing to worry about, so I kept what I’d seen to myself, and after a moment, Tanner had simply turned back around.
I had no clue what he’d actually seen. Was he clueless or just turning a blind eye?
I took a deep breath as Presley went back inside the hospital, and I’d just gotten into my truck when I realized I’d left my hat on the chair in the waiting room.
I went back in to get it and spotted Presley, Tanner, and Alex as they spoke to a nurse just outside the door that led to the examination area. Thankfully their backs were to me, so they couldn’t see me spying from this angle.
Tanner rubbed Alex’s back while Presley spoke to the nurse. They looked every bit like the family they essentially still were, despite me trying to deny it—the family whose chance at any kind of a future I was slowly destroying behind my brother’s back.
My mother’s voice from behind me interrupted my thoughts.
“How’s my boy?”
I turned around. “He’s fine. It’s just a sprain.”
“Yeah. I know. Poor Alex. Tanner called when I was already on my way here to let me know it wasn’t broken.” She placed her hand on my arm. “I was referring to my big boy, though. How are you holding up?”
I let out a long breath. “I’ve been better.”
She nodded. “I can’t imagine this situation is getting any easier for you.”
I turned back around and looked at them for a bit. “Look how happy Alex seems, to have his dad by his side. I can’t compete with that. I’ll never be able to.” Looking down at my shoes, I admitted, “Tanner fucking saw me hugging her earlier.”
My mother’s eyes widened. “You think he suspects it was more than platonic?”
“No.” I shook my head. “That’s the thing. I don’t think he’d ever imagine I’m capable of something like that. He thinks I’ve been a good, stand-up guy looking after them while he was away, and maybe Presley and I got closer because of that. It probably looked like I was just comforting her—at least, I hope. But it was still unnerving.”
“This whole thing is unnerving.” She sighed. “You’re leaving soon. I’m sure you don’t feel ready.”
“Not in the least.”
My mother gestured toward the exit. “Let’s go for a walk. I want to tell you something I’ve never told you before.”
That sparked my curiosity. I fell into step alongside her. “What’s up?”
“It’s actually about your father. Something you don’t know.”
“I don’t know if I like where this is going.”
She exhaled as we exited the automatic doors. “By the time he and I separated, both of you boys were out of the house, so you missed some things that happened—well, one particular thing I never wanted you to know about.”
My pulse sped up. “What do you mean?”
“I mean the exact circumstances surrounding the end of your father’s and my relationship.”
“Okay…”
“He and I apparently had different ideas about what the separation meant for us. When we first agreed to it, I was under the impression that even though we were no longer living together, we would remain faithful to each other.” She paused. “But your father met someone during that time.”
I nodded silently. My stomach felt sick to think about my father with any other woman. Though I’d assumed he dated after their divorce, I’d always tried to block it out of my mind.
“I’d thought the separation was temporary, that we would somehow find our way back to one another,” my mom continued. “I figured we just needed some time away to repair things and hoped the end goal would be a stronger marriage. Your father took the separation as a ticket to entertain his midlife crisis.”
“Shit,” I muttered as I began to wonder what my mother’s point was in telling me all of this now.
“Anyway…” she said. “I couldn’t get past it. He dated this woman for a while, and then when things ended between them, he tried to mend things with me. He kept using the excuse that we were separated at the time. But I couldn’t get past what I saw as a betrayal. So, I told him not only did I want to remain separated, but I wanted a divorce.”
The situation she’d described was far from the way I’d imagined my parents’ marriage ending. I’d always thought it was a mutual decision that hadn’t involved other people—they’d just grown apart.
“So you never really wanted a divorce…” I said. “If he hadn’t been with someone else, you would’ve tried to work things out?”
“I loved your father. But I was just…so deeply hurt.”
Damn. This was all news to me. “Wow, Mom.”
She stopped walking for a moment and faced me. “After fighting me on it for some time, he finally gave in to my wishes for a divorce. But the truth was, neither of us truly fell out of love with the other.”
A memory of my parents kissing in our kitchen when I was a kid flashed through my mind. I always thought it was gross and ran out of the room. But knowing they were still in love after all that time gave me some comfort.
“This sort of gives me some solace,” I said. “Even though it’s bittersweet.”
She flashed a sad smile. “When Dad was dying, he told me his biggest regret was ever straying from me. I did believe he regretted entering into a relationship with that woman. Even though I’d been firm in my decision not to take him back, he felt like he hadn’t fought hard enough for us—that he could’ve done more to stop the divorce. Our dream had always been to retire and ride off into the sunset together. Our actual ending was certainly nothing either of us anticipated.”
“It breaks my heart that you guys couldn’t do that.”
Mom’s eyes glistened. “It breaks my heart too—that your father died with so much regret and that I played a role in that. If I’d known he was going to get sick and die of cancer a year later, I might’ve been more forgiving. You think you have endless time to work certain things out in life, but time is one thing that’s never guaranteed.”
I still wasn’t sure why she’d chosen to tell me all of this. “Something tells me you’re making a bigger point here than confessing the truth about you and Dad.”
“What happened with Dad and me reminds me a lot of what’s going on with Tanner and Presley. Your brother made some poor decisions, and now he’s trying to rectify them. He has a chance to do something Dad never could.”
Shit. Of course that’s what she was getting at—more evidence supporting the fact that I was the bad guy in all of this, preventing my brother from getting his family back. I knew letting him try was the right thing to do. That was never in question. It was the feeling that I physically couldn’t stay away from Presley that made doing the right thing seem impossible.
“I’m not minimizing the feelings you’ve developed for Presley,” my mother said. “But I think you need to look at the bigger picture here. Your career is not going to allow for a sustainable relationship with her anyway. And Tanner doesn’t look like he’s going to give up on getting his family back anytime soon—what with going for that coaching job here and all. But you also have to think about Presley, about the regret she may feel when this honeymoon phase between you and her is over. You two had a summer together. Tanner and she have years of history—and a child.”
Yeah, Mother. Tell me something I don’t already know.
She placed her hand on my arm. “I know you probably feel like I’m not on your side in this. Please don’t feel that way. I feel like what’s best for them is also what’s best for you. Dad’s story of regret should serve as a lesson on how you may feel someday when it comes to your brother. Moving in now that you know he’s trying to make things right would be a tremendous betrayal, Levi. I keep waffling on whether or not you should even tell him. I’m starting to think it’s best if he never finds out. But the longer you’re around Presley, the more likely it is that he will. I feel like you’re on the cusp of doing irreversible damage, and now is your only chance to stop before it’s too late.”
My chest hurt so badly, filled with emotion, thinking about my dad and brother. But what Mom just told me about my father pushed me over the edge. My stepping away would give Tanner the second chance Dad never had. I also believed my father would have given me the same advice as my mother. Was loving Presley worth hurting my entire family? Regardless of that answer, I knew I would be unable to resist her as long as we were physically together. The only thing that would end this was distance.
Suddenly burning up from the stress, I reached into my pocket for my keys. “I gotta go.”
My mother frowned. “Have I totally upset you?”
“No. I appreciate you sharing everything with me. It’s given me more to think about.”
She reached for me. “I love you so much, Levi. Please know that. And I’m so incredibly proud of you, despite seeming disappointed in your actions lately. I know you didn’t mean to hurt him. I can see the sadness in your eyes, and I wish I could take it away.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I hugged her tightly before finally walking to my car.
***
That night, I didn’t plan to return to The Palm Inn until after everyone went to bed. Instead, I hung out at a local bar, sitting alone while I pondered my next steps.
Around ten thirty, my phone rang—my agent, Rich Doherty.
“What’s up, Rich?” I answered.
“How much do you love me?”
“Depends on how much I’ve had to drink. And I think tonight might be your lucky night.”
“Get it all out of your system now, I suppose. I need you back in tip-top shape.”
“Well, I still have two weeks to drink myself into oblivion.”
“Actually, back to the question of how much you love me—what if I asked you to come back now?”
“Why the hell would I do that when I still have time off left in my contract?”
“Because the team asked me to reach out. We hoped out of the goodness of your heart, you’d have some sympathy for the new receivers who desperately need your expertise at training camp.”
“That’s not part of the deal, Rich.”
“I know it isn’t. This would simply be a favor.”
My first instinct was to immediately refuse. Why the hell should I go back now, especially since things were so unresolved between Presley and me?
But then it occurred to me that maybe this phone call happened for a reason. Maybe taking the opportunity to leave early was my ticket out of this whole situation. Maybe it was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t what I wanted.
I pulled on my hair. “Do me a favor. Let me think about this overnight. I’ve had way too much to drink to make a decision about anything right now. I’ll mull it over and let you know in the morning.”
“Well, that’s not a no, so I’ll freaking take it.”
“Bye, Rich.”
I hung up and dropped my phone on the counter before scrubbing my hand over my face.
A few minutes later, I called for a ride and left a wad of cash for the bartender. I’d planned accordingly and dropped my car off at The Palm Inn earlier before taking an Uber here. The last thing I needed was to be arrested for driving while intoxicated on top of everything else.
***
The following morning, I awoke to find a mane of beautiful, long hair covering my chest. I blinked my eyes as Presley straddled me. She began to kiss down my torso.
Equal parts turned on and panicked, I whispered, “What are you doing?”
“Tanner took Alex for donuts. We don’t have much time, but I couldn’t wait to wake you up. I missed you so much last night.”
Her kisses landed lower and lower.
Hit with a wave of guilt despite my raging hard-on, I didn’t know whether to stop this or give in. Before I could think too much about it, I felt her mouth wrapped around my cock. I groaned, bending my head back and allowing myself to enjoy it for a few seconds before forcing myself back to reality. Knowing the decision I’d made as I tossed and turned in the middle of the night last night, I couldn’t let her do this.
I yanked my body back. It pained me to see the look in her eyes as she blinked up at me in confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
“We can’t. It’s too risky. They could come back sooner than you think.”
If I wasn’t feeling so goddamn guilty about my plan to leave early, I could never have refused sex. But I had no right to her now.
Worry filled Presley’s eyes as she moved to sit at the corner of the bed.
I sat up and cradled her face in my hands before planting a deep and passionate kiss on her lips. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to burn the feeling into my memory before finally stopping the contact. I licked my lips, unsure if that would be my last taste of her.
“Why don’t you go get dressed, and I’ll make a quick breakfast for us so we can talk before they come back,” I said.
Still wearing a sullen look, Presley nodded before she hopped off the bed and went back to her room.
This was not how I wanted to leave things. I felt sick to my stomach, but for once I needed to do the right thing instead of what made me feel good.
After I threw my jeans and a T-shirt on, I headed to the kitchen and got to work making coffee, eggs, bacon, and toast for Presley and me. I’d likely not be able to stomach any of it, though.
Dread settled in my gut because I had to somehow figure out a way to explain myself. Fuck if I knew how to break the news. Was it easier to just leave in the dead of night? Maybe then she’d hate me and wouldn’t care so damn much. She was going to be hurt no matter what, and in some ways, I’d rather she be angry at me than heartbroken.
I was just about to call her to the kitchen when the front door opened.
A few seconds later, Tanner and Alex walked in, just as I was plating the eggs.
I feigned a smile as Alex walked toward me on his crutches.
I put down the pan. “How’s my tough guy?”
“My leg still hurts,” my nephew said with pink frosting at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m sure it does, buddy.”
“I’m still going to the peewee party on Friday night, though, even if I can’t play this week.”
“That’s the spirit.”
Tanner didn’t say anything as he walked to the refrigerator and took something out.
“You have to come to the party, Uncle Levi. A bunch of my friends want to see you one more time before you leave.”
My chest tightened, and I made the impulsive decision to let this be the moment I broke the news. Because, let’s face it, this wasn’t going to get any easier if I waited.
“Actually, bud, I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It turns out, I have to head back to Colorado early. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Oh no! You can’t leave yet. Why?” he asked with a panicked expression.
The sound of Presley’s shocked voice rang out from behind me. “What?”
I hadn’t realized she was within earshot. My heart sank. Suddenly I could no longer form the words to properly explain myself.
Fuck. Looking into her eyes, I said, “I was gonna tell you over breakfast.”
“Tomorrow?” she breathed. “Tomorrow?”
I nodded. “My agent called and said they need me back at training camp early to work with the new receivers. I figured since I had to leave in two weeks anyway, I might as well head out there.”
Presley looked devastated, as if all of the joy had been sucked out of her. I tightened my muscles, vowing to remain strong and reminding myself that ultimately I was doing what was best for her—for everyone.
I regretted telling Alex first, though, and wished Presley and I were having this conversation alone. But it was too late.
“Please don’t go yet, Uncle Levi.” Alex’s voice cracked, and it broke my damn heart. Here I was thinking he had all he needed with his dad here. But he seemed really broken up over the bombshell I’d just dropped.
I knelt and placed my arms around his shoulders. “I promise to come back and visit the first chance I get, okay?”
Come hell or high water, I needed to stick to that promise, even if things would be awkward between Presley and me. My nephew shouldn’t have to pay for my indiscretions. Despite Tanner being back in the picture, I’d developed something special with Alex, and I wasn’t willing to throw that away, even if I’d forever be second fiddle to his father.
I knew if I could manage to keep what happened between me and his mother secret, my relationship with Alex would remain strong. My relationship with Presley, though? I had no idea what would become of that now that I’d made this decision. But I loved her, and sometimes loving someone means doing what’s best for them in the long run.
“Thanks for making breakfast, but I’m not hungry,” Presley said as she left the room.
My heart ached. I wanted to run after her but had virtual shackles on me with my brother standing here.
With Presley gone, I finally looked over at Tanner.
“Shame you can’t stick around,” he said.
Except his tone didn’t sound the least bit sincere. I wondered if he hadn’t been so oblivious after all.
