Page 82 of After Care

“I’d let you,” my quiet voice answered. I’d let him have anything he wanted if he kept looking at me the way he was in that moment—like the rest of our lives was everything he wanted.

+ + +

The next day we went to watch Caleb’s game. Tommy and West had obtained tickets, and I could only image what favors were pulled to get entrance to the sold-out stadium. We sat mid-section along the first base line, as Caleb was a first baseman. He waved when he saw us and signaled for Tommy and West to approach the dugout. A manly handshake and a slap on the back from Tommy, and the same for West, showed how much of a bond my son had made with these men in such a short time. After Caleb played the New Year’s Eve concert, his love of music renewed, and I noticed he took his guitar with him to training even though it had sat in his room at home during college, untouched. A dream died when he no longer touched those strings. He hid his passion from his not-so-understanding father, eventually dismissing it altogether to concentrate on sports in high school.

David spotted Masie and I, and made his way to our seats. He nodded at me, his eyes drifting away as he sat next to Masie. She was typing on her phone, disinterested in the stats her father read off to her about the players. Tommy and West made their way back to our row, pausing at the end of the aisle for David to stand as customary at a ball game when people have seats in the same row. David eyed the baseball jersey of Caleb’s team that Tommy wore, open and exposing a white T-shirt. West wore a matching one, buttoned up and hanging loosely outside his jeans. A backward baseball cap covered his dark hair. David turned to me.

“What is this?”

“Dad, you met West at dinner, and you already met Tommy,” Masie said as way of intervention. David sat back and twisted his legs, hardly allowing room for West and Tommy to enter the row of narrow stadium seats. Masie and I stood, and I stepped over a space so West could sit between Masie and me. I remained standing, letting Tommy go around me, but he stopped in front of me. Our bodies pressed together in the tight space, and his hand came up so quickly, I hardly registered his intention until after his mouth took mine. The kiss deepened, and I melted into him before I remembered where we were. A flash snapped to my left. Tommy released me, but kept his eyes trained on my lips.

“I think someone just took your picture.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” His lips curled, and he bit the corner. My smile slowly matched his.

“You’re a bad man, Tommy Carrigan,” I teased.

“I think that’s why you like me.” He winked as he finished passing me and folded into his seat. His arm slung behind me over the stadium chair, and he toyed with my shoulder while the team finished their warm-up. David’s eyes bored into the side of my head, but I refused to look at him. He once found me undesirable, but a very desirable man just proved something it took me a long time to accept—David was wrong. My hand came to Tommy’s thigh, and he looked down at it over his jeans.

“Making a statement, darlin’?” he teased. I rolled my head to face him, my smile growing.

“Weren’t you?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely, beautiful.” He chuckled, and I shook my head as I laughed as well.

+ + +

Someone had taken our picture, and a few days later, I was the mystery woman on Tommy’s social media. Speculation was that I was a one-night stand in Arizona where Lawson Colt was on family business. To my surprise and relief, Masie was completely blocked from the position of Tommy in the photo. Weston Reid, bass guitarist for Collison, and my high school daughter were of no interest.

“Don’t let it get to you,” Tommy commented through Skype after we all returned to our respective homes.

“I’m more worried about you. What will happen when they discover I’m in manufacturing, not modeling?” I was mostly blocked as well by Tommy’s hand cupping my face. There would only be a handful of people who could recognize me, and they’d have to be stalking Tommy like I did to see the photo in the first place. I laughed at my joke, but Tommy’s face drew near the computer screen.

“You’re fucking beautiful, and every man within a fifty-mile radius wants in your jeans. And if you were a model, men would want you for your fame and not your personality, which is off the charts gorgeous.”

I stared at him, blinking rapidly.

“You say the damnedest things sometimes, you know that? I’m just speechless.”

“Well, get used to it. Besides, I have better use for those pretty lips than talking.”

He was a bad boy.

“So when can we see each other next?” We hadn’t had much alone time in the shared quarters with Masie and West. West eventually did take the couch, and Masie and I bunked together, only I found my daughter curled over a sleeping West in the early morning. Innocently dressed, they were wrapped around one another and my heart pinched at the youthfulness of love.

“April 22,” Tommy said at the same time I said, “April 15.”

“Can’t do the fifteenth, darlin’, I have a meeting in New York.”

“I have to bring Masie to California for a campus tour at Santa Clara University.”

“I thought she selected Marquette,” Tommy replied, knowing I’d hoped she’d decide on a school in the Midwest. Marquette had been one of her choices, but Santa Clara University offered her scholarship money we hadn’t expected. David promised her he’d cover the rest, if that scholarship came through. I couldn’t turn down the opportunity for her, even if I was anxious that David wouldn’t hold up his end of the deal. I’d never be able to afford the school on my salary.

“She did, but I told her we could look at Santa Clara. I’m hoping she hates it,” I teased.

Tommy scoffed. “Darlin’, one look at California and she’s going to love it here.” I bit my cheek, tempted to tell him I wouldn’t know. He’d been to see me twice, and the one time I went there, he whisked me off to Napa Valley, which was beautiful in its own right, but not the portion of California I wanted to know better.

“You know that’s only like five hours away from me. So, you’re coming all the way here, and I won’t be here.” A hand wiped over his face. “Can’t you reschedule?”