Touchdown Hero Page 9

  “Everyone put your instruments away please. That's why we have a band trailer. Put your instruments in their cases and then board the buses quietly!” shouted the band director.

  That was the last thing Charlie heard as she and Kathy boarded their buses and headed back to their hometown. One more game, she thought to herself.

  “We did it,” beamed Kathy. “We made it to the championship game. We make a great team you and me.”

  “I know. Don't be butt hurt next game if I make a lot of passes to the other running back. I don't want the other team to think you're the only one I ever pass the ball to,” said Charlie. She sat down with her bottle of water and drank thirstily.

  “I can't help it if I run fast. I'm always open. Maya's never open,” remarked Kathy. “If I'm open, pass it to me. I'll score.”

  Score? That was the word the women had used to describe her beloved Holly's sexual exploits. Is that what she had thought of their love making? She was scoring?

  It was on the drive home that Charlie decided she would get to the bottom of things before her relationship with Holly Larson went any further.

  Chapter Twelve

  After the buses arrived back home, Charlie was in a rush to leave. She was waiting impatiently as Kathy was still talking to some of the women on the bus.

  “Come on, Kathy. I want to get home,” said Charlie as she stepped back onto the bus.

  “I'm coming. I'm coming. What's your hurry? The apartment isn't going anywhere. Geesh,” remarked Kathy. “I'll see you ladies at practice,” said Kathy to the women as they hopped off the bus. They smiled and waved as they walked toward their vehicles. “You're messing up my game, Charlie. I think Reba likes me.”

  “Reba?”

  “Yeah, the red head. She was smiling at me and laughing at all my jokes all the way here. Don't you think she's into me?” asked Kathy curiously.

  “Her name's Rebecca. And I never noticed if she was into you or not,” replied Charlie.

  Kathy shook her head. “See that. You don't pay attention to me.”

  Charlie unlocked her car doors with the key fob and hopped in.“I pay attention to you. I listen to everything you say, don't I?”

  Kathy entered the vehicle and looked over at Charlie. “Yes, you pay attention to the thing I say, but you didn't know if Reba liked me or not. If the shoe were on the other foot, I would have taken notice if a woman was watching you all night.”

  Charlie was flustered. “Kathy, you're being silly. I listen to everything you tell me, and I respond and give my opinion. I pay attention to you. I always have, but I'm not going to watch every single woman that crosses your path or sits next to you on a bus to see if they're making googly eyes at you!”

  Kathy laughed. “Okay, well whatever. But if it was you, I would have noticed if there were googly eyes.”

  Charlie put on her seat belt and put her car in gear, then headed home. “But that's because you're a stalker by nature. You always notice things like that.”

  Kathy gasped. “Oh. My. God. I can't believe you just called me a stalker! I'm so hurt right now,” said Kathy jokingly, she began to over exaggerate and pretend as if she was crying. Then she began fanning herself with her right hand.

  Charlie laughed. “You're such a goofball. You didn't even know that woman's name and we've been playing on the same team and going to practices all season, and you're getting onto me for not noticing things. Geezus, Kathy. You're terrible.”

  Kathy laughed. “Whatever. Reba likes me. And I'm going to get her number at the next practice.”

  “Uh huh,” said Charlie grinning. “You think everyone likes you. And for the last time, her name's Rebecca!”

  “Why are you in such a hurry to get home?” asked Kathy, changing the subject.

  Charlie pulled into the apartment complex and drove up next to their apartment to let Kathy out. “I'm going to drive out to see Holly tonight.”

  Kathy opened the door and proceeded to get out of the car. “Ouch. Does she know you're coming over?”

  “Nope. I want to confront her about the things you heard and see if I catch her with another woman or something,” answered Charlie.

  “You smell that?” asked Kathy, sniffing the air.

  Charlie sniffed the air while Kathy still had the door open. “No, what is it?”

  “Drama is in the air tonight,” said Kathy jokingly as she shut the door. Charlie waved goodbye as she drove off.

  When she pulled into Holly's driveway, she could feel her anxiety building. She didn't like confrontations and she was afraid of ruining a good thing that she had going, but she had to know what was going on. She rang the bell nervously.

  Charlie could hear a lot of commotion from within the cabin. “I'm coming. Just a minute!” shouted Holly. “Ow! Son-of-a--!”

  Upon opening the door, she looked at Charlie surprised. She was wrapped in a large bath towel and had another one in her hands that she was drying her hair with.

  “Hi. Good evening,” said Charlie. “Were you expecting someone?”

  Holly shook her head. “No, not at all. I'm surprised to see anyone this time of night. Come on in. How'd you know I'd be home?”

  Charlie shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I didn't. I just needed to talk to you and took a chance on you being here.”

  “Have a seat. Give me a second to get dressed. I'll be right out.” Holly went into the bathroom and came back out ten minutes later wearing a Redskins t-shirt and maroon pajama pants. “What's going on?” She sat on the sofa next to where Charlie had made herself comfortable.

  Charlie sat silently for a few moments looking down at her shoes. “I'm not sure how to bring this up or even how to ask.”

  “What is it? You're scaring me,” said Holly. She took Charlie's hand in hers and Charlie pulled it away. “Okay, now I know something's wrong.”

  “I'm just going to come out and say it. Kathy heard a bunch of women talking about you and they were talking about how you play the field and how you're always scoring. I just want to know if it's true. Was I just one of your sexual escapades or are you serious about me?” Charlie turned to look at Holly who had turned a bright red and sat there with a big goofy grin on her face. “You don't have anything to say to me? You're not even going to deny it?”

  All at once, Holly began to laugh. She laughed so hard she was practically rolling on the floor and bursting at the seams. “You heard this from Kathy? Why don't you ask her specifically what it was she heard?”

  “What?” asked Charlie with tears streaming down her face. “I'm not asking her, I'm asking you.”

  “Come here,” said Holly still giggling. “It's not what you think. She misheard is all. I want to hold you, come here.”

  “No, not until you explain yourself. How could she have misunderstood? It was a group of women, Holly. It wasn't just one or two.”

  “I guess it's about time I told you something. I do have a confession to make,” said Holly with a grin. She tried to keep from laughing.

  “Here it comes,” whispered Charlie under her breath. She waited expectantly for her to speak.

  Holly took a deep breath, but still couldn't shake the grin from her face. “I play women's semi-professional football, Charlie. Your friend must've heard the women talking about me playing on a football field and scoring touchdowns. I'm a running back.”

  “What!?” Charlie was dumbstruck. She sat silently for a few moments before speaking. “It can't be. I've never seen you before.”

  “Seen me? How would you have seen me?” asked Holly.

  Charlie shook her head still trying to grasp what Holly had said. “Wait. What team do you play for?”

  “The San Antonio Six Shooters. I told you I commute a lot. That was one of the reasons why. I have to drive to and from San Antonio for work, practice, to see my parents.”

  Charlie was still in shock as Holly was talking. “Did you say the Six Shooters?” she asked almost in a whisper.

  Holly put
her hands on Charlie's shoulders. “Charlie, what's wrong? Snap out of it! You should be happy! Heck, why aren't you overjoyed? I'm not a womanizer playing the field and hopping from one bed to another. I'm a football player.”

  “I guess I don't know what to say or how to say it,” muttered Charlie.

  “You don't have to say anything. You can come to my last game if you want. It's the championship game against the...” Holly's voice was cut short as Charlie interrupted.

  “The Austin Gunslingers. I know.”

  “Charlie, how did you know that?” asked Holly confused.

  “Because the San Antonio Six Shooters are the second highest ranking team in the league...” Charlie paused for a moment. “The second highest next to us.”

  “What!? Us? You mean to tell me that you play for the Gunslingers? Holy Hell! Why didn't you ever tell me?” Holly stood up and began pacing back and forth. “Has anyone seen us together?”

  “I don't know. Maybe they haven't. I mean, the girls on the team would have said so. Kathy said they didn't mention us. They were only talking about you,” replied Charlie. She pulled her legs up onto the sofa and crossed them underneath her. She propped her elbows on her legs and rested her head in her hands. “Why do I suddenly feel like my world just came crashing down? Why didn't I ever see you? We've played the Six Shooters before.”

  “I played for a different league. I was on the Houston team because I was going to enroll at Rice University, but when my Dad got sick with Cancer, I decided to attend a school of nursing instead. They don't usually accept new players onto teams, but the coach heard about my game stats and welcomed me with open arms.”

  “Holy crap! I have heard of you! You're HL. I've heard some of the women mention your name before, but I thought your name was Rachel! I think I need to get my ears checked!”

  Holly laughed. “Why did you think my name was Rachel? When my initials are HL?”

  “I really don't make it a point to eavesdrop, especially when I know the girls are talking about other teams, but I kept hearing them talk about HL and how HL was winning all the games for the Shooters. From a distance, HL sounds like Rachel, especially when you just hear it in passing.”

  Holly giggled. “I guess so. Now I'm going to hear Rachel every single time the announcer calls out, 'That's another touchdown for HL!'”

  Charlie stood up to leave. “I have to go home,” she said suddenly. Her face lost all color and she stood there expressionless.

  “You don't have to leave. We only have one more game. No one's going to find out about us.”

  Charlie walked towards the door. “I shouldn't be talking to you. I don't want to let down my team.”

  With that, she turned and walked out. She headed towards her car with tears in her eyes. She turned back to look towards the door as she entered her car and could see Holly's silhouette in the darkness as she stood in the open doorway. Charlie headed home in tears.

  When she stopped at the Quick Stop to put gas in her car, she was surprised to see Holly's pick-up truck pull up alongside her. Holly jumped out.

  “You didn't have to leave,” said Holly.

  “What are you doing stalking me?” asked Charlie flustered.

  “I just don't think it's fair that you walked out on me like that. It's only one more game, Charlie. No one has to know about us. As it is, I don't think anyone knows we're seeing each other. We don't have to stop seeing each other,” said Holly pleading. “Please?”

  Charlie swiped her credit card and began pumping gas. A few people had started to gather to watch the drama unfold.

  “I think I just need time to think, Holly. The coaches always frowned on fraternization among teammates, but what are they going to say if they know I'm dating a woman from a rival team? Not only that, but you're from the Six Shooters. If we lose the game, and everyone finds out we're seeing each other, they'll think I threw the game on purpose to let you win.”

  “I don't want to give up. I'm willing to fight to be together, Charlie. You're the one that's throwing us away,” said Holly with tears streaming down her face. She walked back to her truck and sped away into the night.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As soon as Charlie walked in the door, Kathy was quick to notice she was crying. “What the hell did that woman do to you? Did she hurt you? I swear to God I'll...”

  “Stop,” said Charlie listlessly. “She didn't touch me.”

  “Well, something happened. Why are you crying? Come over here and sit with me,” said Kathy. She walked over to Charlie and hugged her, then led Charlie by the hand towards the sofa.

  Both women sat down and Charlie leaned into Kathy's shoulder and began to sob.

  “Is it that bad?” asked Kathy. “Was she a player after all? Did she dump you?”

  “No, worse.”

  “What could be worse than being played or dumped?” asked Kathy. “You said she didn't strike you.”

  “She plays for the Six Shooters. We're going to play her team next weekend,” replied Charlie sniffling.

  Kathy was livid. She couldn't control her outburst. “What!? Is she a spy? She wasn't trying to get information out of you about our plays or anything was she? That dirty little rat! I knew she was too good to be true.”

  “You think that's the only reason why she was talking to me?” sobbed Charlie. The pain was too much to bear. She held Kathy tightly and sobbed uncontrollably into her shoulder.

  Kathy hoped for her friend's sake that she was wrong. She couldn't stand to see Charlie so brokenhearted. She tried to rethink things through, but never having met Holly, she wasn't sure what to think either. “I don't know. Maybe she didn't know you played on a team. You said you never told her.”

  Charlie stopped crying and wiped her tears. “She did seem surprised when I told her I played, too.”

  “She did?” asked Kathy taken aback. “Maybe she didn't know. Why don't you call her?”

  “I can't. I just walked out. I didn't know what to think, so I left. I thought it would be a conflict of interest to be seeing her. What's worse is that she followed me and I didn't know she was right behind me. She pulled up to me and we had a discussion in front of everyone at the Quick Stop.”

  Kathy turned Charlie's chin towards her. “At least call her and tell her you can see her after the Red, White, and Blue Championship Bowl.”

  Charlie sat up and headed towards her bedroom. “I can't face her right now. I need time to think things through.”

  Kathy spoke loudly as Charlie walked away. “I'm sure you'll know what to do, and if it's meant to be then you'll see her again. Goodnight.”

  Charlie didn't bother to say goodnight. She closed the door softly and went to bed. She cried most of the night and wondered if Holly really meant all the things she said. She had thought they were falling for one another, but was she wrong to think so? Was Holly only out to mess with her head so that her team could win the championship game?

  Charlie tossed and turned and finally cried herself to sleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Charlie's week was a mess. Even though she tried not to think about Holly, she kept thinking about how they had looked up at the night sky together, slow danced on the roof, sang to one another at karaoke, and made love until dawn. Every moment that they had spent together, she had spent it falling more in love with Holly Larson.

  As she sat in her class listening to the professor lecture, all she could hear was his distant mumbling that made her think of the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons. “Blah, blah, wah, wah, blah, blah, wah, wah, wah.” She took out a sheet of paper and doodled a heart with wings, some stars, and the initials H.L. She took her phone out of her pocket to check for messages, but Holly hadn't texted or called.

  When Charlie and Kathy were in the locker room that afternoon, it was the talk of the day. A woman named Charlie had broken H.L.'s heart and she had been fumbling the ball all week long at practice. The Six Shooters's coach wasn't even sure if he wanted Holly to pl
ay. Some of the women could be overheard laughing and one woman asked in jest, “It wasn't you, was it Charlie? You're not the Charlie that broke H.L.'s heart? If it was you, I want to shake your hand!” said the woman laughing.

  Tears filled Charlie's eyes, and Kathy stood up angrily. “Would you hens quit your clucking!? You should have your minds in the game and not be yammering on about things you don't know anything about!” She slammed her locker door and sat down next to Charlie to put on her cleats.

  “I was only kidding around. What crawled up your skirt?” asked the rude woman.

  Although the women she was with laughed, they changed the subject and began talking about what they were going to do after the game. Everyone knew better than to be on Kathy Turner's bad side. She had a reputation for having a temper.

  “Don't pay them any attention,” whispered Kathy. “As long as you don't think about things and do your best, we'll be okay. We're going to come out on top like we always do.”

  Charlie was trying hard not to cry, but she felt so overwhelmed that some of her pain crept out of her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. “I know we will. But now that I know Holly's brokenhearted over me, I can't help but feel bad. I miss her so much. And I know she didn't call me all week, but that was my doing. Not hers. I'm such an idiot.”

  Coach Hawkins walked out of her office and called out, “Everyone huddle up!”

  Kathy grabbed her helmet in one hand and began to walk over to listen to what the coach had to say. “You're not an idiot. You were put in a tough spot. I'm sure I would have freaked out, too. How were you supposed to know what her intentions were?”

  Charlie followed behind Kathy. “After everything we did together and everything we shared, I should have just known. I should have known she loved me the way that I love her.”

  Coach Hawkins wasn't much for pep talks and group huddles, but when you did something wrong, she was sure to let it be known. “Listen up! I'm not going to give you a big pep talk. We've come a long way and we've only lost one game all season. Let's go out there and play our hearts out like we did the other games, and I know we can win it!”