Game For Love
Page 45
"I'm one of the lucky ones," Ty said, even as he wondered if he really was. "And I worry about getting hurt, about being taken out on a stretcher, every single game." When he was younger and felt completely invincible, he'd never worried about the end of his career. But now, guys he'd played with since his rookie days were starting to retire. The ones with a plan for retirement did fine. But the guys who didn't have a single dream other than football just plain fell apart.
"Don't you have enough money to do whatever you want?"
"Sure," Ty conceded. "But money isn't everything." Until Julie had come back into his life, Ty couldn't see the point in anything but football. Now he had new ideas. He'd just started thinking maybe one day he could open his own summer camp in Grass Valley, maybe for kids like him who didn't have money for fancy shoes and trust funds. They'd play football, but they'd learn other stuff too. Like fishing and how to start a campfire. Ty wanted to run the idea by Julie, see what she thought.
"Your life has to be about more than football, kid," Ty said, deciding it was time to get straight to the point. "It doesn't matter if everyone else treats you like a god. One day someone is going to come along who shows you what a screwup you really are. And you're not going to be able to fix it, because the only thing you'll know how to do is play football."
Jack didn't say anything and he wasn't making eye contact anymore.
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," Ty said. "And I'll still talk to your dad. I just want you to think about what I'm saying."
Jack jumped off the bench. "I'm going to be the greatest football player in history! I'm going to leave you in the dust. You don't know anything!"
Julie ran outside. "What's happening? Is your arm hurting, Jack? Do you need to see the doctor again?"
Ty had never seen such a hard face on a little kid. Except maybe his own in the mirror.
"I want to go home," Jack whined.
Julie nodded and gave him her keys. "Go ahead and wait in the car. I need to talk to Ty for a sec." She turned on him. "What did you say to him? He looked like he was about to cry." Ty willed her to understand. "Trust me, it was stuff he needed to hear."
"He's just a little boy, Ty. You hurt his feelings."
"I had my reasons for what I said to the kid."
"Go ahead," she said, her eyes challenging him. "Tell me your reasons. I'm dying to hear them." But everything was hitting too close to home. He didn't want to talk about it right now, didn't want to bare his soul in front of a restaurant with Jack waiting in the parking lot.
"Don't push me," he growled. Julie needed to back off long enough for him to get a grip. Her expression went from concerned to confused to cold in a millisecond. "You know what? I can't think of one single reason you could have for making a sweet little boy cry."
"Not even one, huh?"
Everything in him wanted to get down on his knees and explain the truth to her, that things weren't how she thought they were. But he'd done that before and it hadn't made a lick of difference. Julie had her mind made up. He was guilty as charged.
She moved toward him, her cheeks red, her blue eyes full of anger. "I was so stupid I actually thought you'd changed. That you could be a man for once, instead of the self-absorbed little boy you always were."
A slow anger began to burn inside of Ty, a fire stoked by every person who had ever doubted he could be more than a football player, by everyone who'd thought they could take advantage of a poor dumb kid like him.
"You want to know why your dates aren't interested in you, babe?" He watched the word babe hit her across the face like a hard slap, along with more he didn't mean, but somehow couldn't stop from saying.
"Because guys don't like the third degree. You can't run a relationship like a business. And it's time to get it into your pretty little head that what went down between me and Jack is none of your damn business." He'd never been able to forget the look on Julie's face on the yacht when she'd said, "I hate you." Here it was again.
"Your image is no longer any concern of mine," she said. Then, just in case he wasn't clear that she was severing both their professional and personal relationships, she added, "I'll send your things by courier by this afternoon."
He watched her walk across the parking lot, get in her car, and drive away. Just hours ago she was naked on his lap. Now she was telling him what a worthless ass**le he was. As if his father hadn't drummed that into his head every time he blew it on the field his entire childhood. His phone rang. "What?"
Jay's voice boomed out of the earpiece. "Got a couple of things to discuss this fine morning."
"Make it quick," Ty growled.
"Care to confirm a serious relationship with a pretty blonde?"
"Negative." Even if it killed him to say it, he was going to get the words out. "We were just having fun. We're done now."
"Got it," Jay said, moving smoothly onto his second order of business. "Looks like one of the biggest companies in the world wants your name and face attached to their product."
"Whatever," Ty said, not in the mood to deal with business right now. "As long as the money's good, I'm in."
Jay was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. "Great! I told them you wouldn't have any problem with the product."
A warning bell went off. "What is it?"
"I know how you feel about alcohol, and you know the League won't let players promote it anyway, so that's one big moneymaker that's always had a red X through it. But I've found the next big thing and they want you to be their man."
He paused for effect, and Ty suddenly wondered why he hadn't found a new agent a long time ago.
"Buzzed Cola is going to pay you ten million dollars to do worldwide print and TV advertising for one year!"
Ty didn't need the money and he wasn't a huge fan of the new ultra-caffeine drink that everyone swigged like water. He knew exactly why the advertisers wanted him on board. As soon as kids saw him drinking Buzzed Cola, they'd be lining up to buy cases of it. Ten minutes ago, he would have said no without giving it a second thought.
Then again, ten minutes ago Julie hadn't looked at him like he was the scum of the earth. Ten minutes ago, he thought that maybe, just maybe she was going to love him back. Too bad he was such an idiot. Julie was never going to stop thinking of him as a f**k-up. And right now Ty couldn't think of a single reason not to act like one.
"Don't you have enough money to do whatever you want?"
"Sure," Ty conceded. "But money isn't everything." Until Julie had come back into his life, Ty couldn't see the point in anything but football. Now he had new ideas. He'd just started thinking maybe one day he could open his own summer camp in Grass Valley, maybe for kids like him who didn't have money for fancy shoes and trust funds. They'd play football, but they'd learn other stuff too. Like fishing and how to start a campfire. Ty wanted to run the idea by Julie, see what she thought.
"Your life has to be about more than football, kid," Ty said, deciding it was time to get straight to the point. "It doesn't matter if everyone else treats you like a god. One day someone is going to come along who shows you what a screwup you really are. And you're not going to be able to fix it, because the only thing you'll know how to do is play football."
Jack didn't say anything and he wasn't making eye contact anymore.
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," Ty said. "And I'll still talk to your dad. I just want you to think about what I'm saying."
Jack jumped off the bench. "I'm going to be the greatest football player in history! I'm going to leave you in the dust. You don't know anything!"
Julie ran outside. "What's happening? Is your arm hurting, Jack? Do you need to see the doctor again?"
Ty had never seen such a hard face on a little kid. Except maybe his own in the mirror.
"I want to go home," Jack whined.
Julie nodded and gave him her keys. "Go ahead and wait in the car. I need to talk to Ty for a sec." She turned on him. "What did you say to him? He looked like he was about to cry." Ty willed her to understand. "Trust me, it was stuff he needed to hear."
"He's just a little boy, Ty. You hurt his feelings."
"I had my reasons for what I said to the kid."
"Go ahead," she said, her eyes challenging him. "Tell me your reasons. I'm dying to hear them." But everything was hitting too close to home. He didn't want to talk about it right now, didn't want to bare his soul in front of a restaurant with Jack waiting in the parking lot.
"Don't push me," he growled. Julie needed to back off long enough for him to get a grip. Her expression went from concerned to confused to cold in a millisecond. "You know what? I can't think of one single reason you could have for making a sweet little boy cry."
"Not even one, huh?"
Everything in him wanted to get down on his knees and explain the truth to her, that things weren't how she thought they were. But he'd done that before and it hadn't made a lick of difference. Julie had her mind made up. He was guilty as charged.
She moved toward him, her cheeks red, her blue eyes full of anger. "I was so stupid I actually thought you'd changed. That you could be a man for once, instead of the self-absorbed little boy you always were."
A slow anger began to burn inside of Ty, a fire stoked by every person who had ever doubted he could be more than a football player, by everyone who'd thought they could take advantage of a poor dumb kid like him.
"You want to know why your dates aren't interested in you, babe?" He watched the word babe hit her across the face like a hard slap, along with more he didn't mean, but somehow couldn't stop from saying.
"Because guys don't like the third degree. You can't run a relationship like a business. And it's time to get it into your pretty little head that what went down between me and Jack is none of your damn business." He'd never been able to forget the look on Julie's face on the yacht when she'd said, "I hate you." Here it was again.
"Your image is no longer any concern of mine," she said. Then, just in case he wasn't clear that she was severing both their professional and personal relationships, she added, "I'll send your things by courier by this afternoon."
He watched her walk across the parking lot, get in her car, and drive away. Just hours ago she was naked on his lap. Now she was telling him what a worthless ass**le he was. As if his father hadn't drummed that into his head every time he blew it on the field his entire childhood. His phone rang. "What?"
Jay's voice boomed out of the earpiece. "Got a couple of things to discuss this fine morning."
"Make it quick," Ty growled.
"Care to confirm a serious relationship with a pretty blonde?"
"Negative." Even if it killed him to say it, he was going to get the words out. "We were just having fun. We're done now."
"Got it," Jay said, moving smoothly onto his second order of business. "Looks like one of the biggest companies in the world wants your name and face attached to their product."
"Whatever," Ty said, not in the mood to deal with business right now. "As long as the money's good, I'm in."
Jay was uncharacteristically silent for a moment. "Great! I told them you wouldn't have any problem with the product."
A warning bell went off. "What is it?"
"I know how you feel about alcohol, and you know the League won't let players promote it anyway, so that's one big moneymaker that's always had a red X through it. But I've found the next big thing and they want you to be their man."
He paused for effect, and Ty suddenly wondered why he hadn't found a new agent a long time ago.
"Buzzed Cola is going to pay you ten million dollars to do worldwide print and TV advertising for one year!"
Ty didn't need the money and he wasn't a huge fan of the new ultra-caffeine drink that everyone swigged like water. He knew exactly why the advertisers wanted him on board. As soon as kids saw him drinking Buzzed Cola, they'd be lining up to buy cases of it. Ten minutes ago, he would have said no without giving it a second thought.
Then again, ten minutes ago Julie hadn't looked at him like he was the scum of the earth. Ten minutes ago, he thought that maybe, just maybe she was going to love him back. Too bad he was such an idiot. Julie was never going to stop thinking of him as a f**k-up. And right now Ty couldn't think of a single reason not to act like one.
