Dating the Player, page 18
My big mouth took over my fingers and I typed a whole lot of shit talk on a whole lot of posts.
And felt better doing it.
Then I posted a pic similar to the way the weekend before, where I had been shirtless and allegedly alone. This time it was a picture I’d taken that morning in my hotel room, with a sliver of Eloise barely visible in the background. I had snapped it despite her protests because when I’d been scrolling through my phone, I wanted to see what we looked like together in bed. The expression on my face was satisfied, happy. A man with the woman he loved.
#weekendwarrior #bettertogetherthanalone #mygirl #teamnorth #legends #noopinionbutminematters
Done.
Chapter Sixteen
Eloise
Falling in love with me.
That’s what Dak had said.
And I ran away. Like a complete and total psycho.
Which had made Dak go on a social media rampage, including posting a photo that was obviously us in bed. I knew I was partially responsible for that. I should have been there to dissuade him from bothering to engage with people who had an opinion online. Did it bother me that people were posting nasty comments about me? Of course. But my whole job was supposed to be to keep Dak from participating and I had failed at that entirely.
I hadn’t slept the night before. I’d been a ball of anxiety since I’d left the coffee shop, one hundred percent freaking out over the fact that Dak was saying he was in love with me. I’d wanted nothing more than to power down my phone and hide in my apartment with Eli and Peyton but there was a media storm that needed to be dealt with.
In love with me. Eloise. The nerd girl. The former virgin known as Kitty.
I didn’t have a clue how to deal with it so I had run away and now I was going to be forced to face my co-workers, Mr. Dimarco, Dak, and the entire whole of Twitter.
“I thought you were smarter than that, Eloise,” Will said, shaking his head. “I guess I’m just disappointed in you.”
That annoyed me beyond belief. I was already freaking out about a meeting called by Jeff in a few minutes. I didn’t need Will’s judgement or jealousy or whatever it was further adding to my stress. I was so worried I couldn’t sit. I’d been pacing in front of my desk since I’d arrived ten minutes ago. “You don’t get to be disappointed in me. You’re not my mother.”
Who was also disappointed in me. I had been forced to call her the night before after a series of texts from her grew increasingly threatening. She had at first expressed concern that had gradually morphed into a condemnation.
I thought you were smarter than that.
It made me wince just thinking about it.
His jaw twitched. “Just tell me why. I offered you something real, and that’s just… muscles and money and you being dumped five minutes later.”
Ouch. Nothing like brutal honesty. Or so he thought. Will would be shocked speechless if I told him Dak didn’t want to dump me. Dak wanted to date me. Dak said he loved me. It made me give a short, nearly hysterical laugh.
“Oh, come on,” I said, flat out of patience. My whole life was being dissected by internet trolls and his ego was bruised? “What if our roles were reversed? Are you honestly telling me that if some supermodel or hot actress you crush on was like, ‘hey, let’s hook up’ you would say no? Puh-lease.” I rolled my eyes to emphasize the point.
Will looked taken aback. “That’s not the same thing.”
I couldn’t believe I had ever even entertained the idea of dating Will. I was smarter than that. I loved myself so much right now for turning him down because he was kind of a patronizing jerk.
“Why, because women aren’t supposed to want to have sex? It’s a fantasy, Will. A girl like me is never supposed to get a guy like Dak. It’s the chance to have my fantasy come true, for a couple of nights. That’s all.”
“Is that what I was, just a fantasy?”
I turned to see Dak standing there. To the casual observer, he looked loose, unconcerned. Amused. But I knew him well enough to see that there was hurt in his eyes and behind that grin.
My heart squeezed. I wanted to run to him, to throw myself in his arms and say I didn’t want him to be just a fantasy but that I was trying to be realistic about the future. But I stood there, agonized, caught between wanting to make him smile, and protect myself and my job.
And a part of me was also really upset that Dak would put me on the spot without considering my feelings, my position. He had power with this franchise, I did not. I was embarrassed that he had pulled Jeff into a scheme to get me to New Orleans, making me look clueless, or to think my job was more important than it actually was.
Mostly he was right. I was afraid. It was just good old-fashioned fear. Of loving him, and losing him, like my father.
So I was frozen in front of my desk, like an idiot, in emotional turmoil, trying to weigh the best response from every angle, and coming up with nothing.
“Dak…” I tried to say everything with my eyes, but that’s a lot to ask of a couple of eyeballs, especially ones obscured by glasses.
He gave me a wink. “See you in the meeting.”
It seemed glaringly obvious to me that he was upset. He hadn’t called me Kitty.
I also hadn’t realized he would be in the meeting as well. I threw my head back and massaged my temples. I had a headache.
“I think he really likes you,” Sandra said, dropping her reading glasses down onto her desk and watching me carefully. “Don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith, sweetheart.”
Was Sandra right? I glanced behind me at Dak walking away. He had certainly professed to have feelings for me. I did believe that he believed they were real. But that didn’t mean they would last.
My heart hurt.
Dak went into Jeff’s office. I looked at the time on my computer screen. Egad. I had to go in there too. I gave Sandra a tight smile. “Thank you,” I told her. “I appreciate that. I guess we’ll see, huh?”
Steeling myself, I ran my hands down the front of my red pencil skirt. Red for power. I had almost worn a basic sweater, with no cat, but that seemed obvious. Like Dak had stolen my pussy.
Which he had.
I had the Siamese cat sweater on and I went down the hall, feeling a little sick. I knew I was either going to get fired or I was in for a hell of a reprimand. Or something even more awkward, which was Mr. Dimarco winking and asking how our trip went.
The secretary waved me through her outer office. “Go on in, it’s open.”
There was a mini-conference area between her office and the GM’s. I was walking through it, eyes trained on Dak and Jeff behind the glass office wall. As I got closer I could hear them talking.
I wished immediately that I couldn’t.
“The whole reason we sent Eloise with you to Knoxville is because you said you weren’t attracted to her,” Jeff said, shaking his head. “Now we’ve got you going off on fans on social media?”
I couldn’t see Dak’s face because he was facing Jeff, but I heard his response loud and clear. “I’m not cool with people shit-talking her. Sorry. I don’t feel an ounce of guilt for standing up for her.”
I drew in a breath and came to a halt on the threshold of the office, about to announce my presence.
“We both agreed that she looks like a candidate for a makeover show,” Jeff continued. “I’m not sure why you’re surprised there is backlash. She isn’t your type.”
I couldn’t prevent a gasp from escaping my mouth. Had Dak really thought that? I needed a makeover?
“Oh, come in, Eloise,” Jeff said, waving me forward.
Dak spun around. “Eloise, shit, listen to me.”
There were tears in my eyes. Traitorous little tears that I couldn’t hide. I needed to get out of there. Without a word, I turned on my heel and retreated. How could Mr. Dimarco be such a dick that he had acted like nothing had happened when he had to know I’d heard him?
But that was minor and basically irrelevant compared to hearing that Dak hadn’t been attracted to me. He hadn’t denied the statement. So the months of flirting had been, what? Just boredom? Had he only been interested once he’d heard I was a virgin?
“Eloise!”
Damn it, he was following me. I walked faster, heading down the hall in the opposite direction of my desk.
“Eloise. Wait.”
Hating myself for running away, again, I glanced back and saw his long strides had him gaining on me. I shoved the door to the stairs open and started jogging down, aware of how ridiculous I must look.
I had no purse, no car keys.
Not to mention that Dak was, you know, a pro quarterback. He caught up with me on the first landing. I tried to keep running, but he wrapped his arm around me and hauled me straight up in the air and backwards, pinning me against the wall.
“Let me go!” The tears came now, streaming down my face, betraying me.
This was exactly what I hadn’t wanted to have happen. Me, having a full breakdown.
“Let me explain and then I’ll let you go. I never said I thought you needed a makeover. I never said that.”
I didn’t know if I believed him or not. I just knew I didn’t even want to talk about it. It was just too embarrassing. I looked away from him, vision blurred, lip trembling.
“The other thing, it was out of context.”
Which meant he had said it.
My head snapped back so I was staring him down. My nostrils flared. “Let me go or I’m going to scream, I swear, Dak. I’m not doing this here. Do not embarrass me anymore than you already have.”
Either my words had impact or he realized I really would scream because he let me go and stepped back. “I’ll come over tonight,” he said.
I nodded, even though I didn’t know what I would say. But we did need to talk. “Can you please go get my purse and my coat? Sandra knows where they are. I need to go home.” I couldn’t face everyone.
“Sure, absolutely.”
“I’ll wait downstairs.” Where there was a security guard and various people milling around. I was not going to stand around a stairwell because knowing me and knowing Dak I would find myself having an orgasm instead of having a conversation.
“Whatever you want, baby.” Dak took the steps two at a time up, while I ran down.
Five minutes later he met me in the lobby. “I’ll walk you out.” He held my coat open for me.
“Thank you.” I slipped into it and took my purse from him, too rattled to even be amused by the fact that Dak, star quarterback, had been carrying both my lipstick-shaped purse and my floral lunch bag. “Don’t you have to get back to Mr. Dimarco?”
“He can wait.”
“He’s the GM.”
“He’s also the reason you’re crying.” Dak reached out and wiped my cheek of another tear that had managed to slip out, which made me cry in earnest, well aware anyone who walked by could see me.
God, he was so sweet, truly. “I don’t actually care if Jeff Dimarco thinks I need a makeover, though I don’t necessarily need to hear it. That’s not the point. I like myself. I like my clothes or I wouldn’t buy them.”
“I like you too. And I like your clothes. And you’re body.” Dak gave me a smile. “Your brain, and your heart. All of you.”
That made me feel warm all over. This conversation could be happening somewhere better than the lobby so I turned and started toward the front door. “What bothered me was that any of that was being discussed in the workplace.”
“I understand, and I apologize for all of it. That wasn’t part of my plan. I didn’t really have a plan, you know. None of this was some kind of scheme. I just fell for you, hard.” He held open the front door for me. “If I pushed you for too much, too fast, then I’m sorry.”
Stepping outside, I breathed deeply and wiped my cheeks. The cold air helped, snapping me out of my emotional tailspin.
Dak had stood up for me with Mr. Dimarco.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry I keep telling you how you feel. You’re right, I’m scared.” I widened my eyes, afraid I would cry again. “I’m falling in love with you, too, and that’s terrifying. I’m scared you’ll change your mind and I’ll lose you.”
“Hey.” Dak’s voice lowered and he brushed my hair back. “The only way you’re going to lose me is if you drop me in the jungle without a compass and take off. My sense of direction is shit.”
That made me give a soft laugh. “I need to think, is that okay? I need to figure out what I’m doing about work, about us. If I’m strong enough to deal with internet trolls.”
“We can take it slow. I can back off. I just need you to trust me.”
I nodded. It felt like there was a golf ball in my throat. “I want to.”
“But I need you to be sure, because I need you to be all in if we do this. I’m afraid of losing you just as much as you’re afraid of losing me, for the same reason. So you need to know one hundred percent that you want to go the distance. I can’t deal with a ‘let’s see where this goes’ kind of relationship.”
No pressure or anything. But I understood what he was saying and respected it.
He’d lost his little brother and would carry the pain of that forever.
I stared up into his green eyes and felt everything inside me twist. “No matter what, Dak, I want you to know you’re a good man and that I care about you.” I couldn’t say love. It was too raw, too vulnerable.
His jaw worked, but he didn’t speak. He just nodded and glanced away before meeting my gaze again. “I won’t come over tonight. I’ll give you the space you need. Let me know when you want to talk.”
I went up on my tiptoes. I came this close to saying yes, I was all in. But I stopped just short. Instead, I gave him a very soft, brief kiss, eyes still open.
Then I turned and got in my car.
* * *
Dak
* * *
I knew it was bad. I mean, how could it not be bad when Eloise heard that I hadn’t found her attractive and then Jeff fucked me over even further by adding that I thought she needed a makeover.
Which wasn’t even true.
Yes, bad. But it was all out of context. I had been intending to tell Jeff, yes, I had said that, but I had been lying. That I was attracted to Eloise, always had been, and was now dating her.
Even though her comment about being a fantasy had stung.
I’d still been assuming that I could brazen my way to a relationship with her. I didn’t actually believe then that she didn’t want to date me.
Arrogant as fuck, I know.
In the parking lot, I thought I had sold her. But then I’d pushed, because you know, I fucking have to push. I had wanted it all.
Now, two weeks later, it was pretty damn obvious she had no intention of speaking to me anytime soon. If ever. I paced around my apartment restlessly, trying to resist the urge to text her. She had removed all of her social media accounts and she’d quit her job.
I’d made plans to meet a buddy because I couldn’t sit around here alone another night. I was going crazy. All I did was stalk her online and poke at her with occasional texts. Twice I’d driven to her apartment but just sat in the car, because I couldn’t go back on my word. I’d promised her space. I’d considered messaging her mother but even I wasn’t that stupid. She’d kill me if I did that.
Besides, I couldn’t handle another mother going off on me. My own mother was furious with me, accusing me of screwing things up with Eloise and calling me a dumbass for posting that semi-naked picture of myself.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she had screamed into the phone. “You make Eloise look like another one of your Saturday night specials and then you get her fired? I could kill you with my bare hands.”
“I did not get her fired, she quit,” I protested. Though the truth was Jeff had been planning to fire her, despite my protests, because of the media storm over our weekend in New Orleans. Eloise had just beaten him to the punch by driving home and submitting her resignation.
Which tore me up with guilt. She had loved that job and I had jacked it up.
“Same difference!” my mother had fumed. “You need to make this right, Dakota.”
“Mama, she won’t talk to me.”
“I don’t blame her.”
So now I was staring out my window waiting for something that wasn’t going to happen.
I was grateful when it turned seven and I could go downstairs and meet Tyrone. I lived in a condo building that was also partially a hotel. It was convenient because it had three restaurants, two bars, a gym, and housekeeping services. Now it afforded me the ability to just go downstairs without mingling with the general public.
I wasn’t really fit for the public much these days.
Tyrone was waiting in the lobby and I shook his hand. We’d been playing ball together for three years and he was one of my closest friends on the team and otherwise. “Hey, man, thanks for meeting me.”
“What’s up?” he asked me as we sat down at a table in the burger joint. “You’re distracted and you need to get your damn head on straight. We’ve only got five games left before post-season.”
“I know. I’m not worried about that though. We’ll make the playoffs.” We would, with our new coach. Besides, I never took my personal problems to work. “But you’re right, I am a little distracted.”
As was Tyrone, by placing his burger order. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. But then I ordered a burger too because hell, I needed to eat.
We waited for our orders, then sat down.
“I screwed up with a woman,” I told Tyrone. “What do I do?”
Tyrone took a huge bite of his burger and chewed. Some kind of sauce dribbled down his chin and I waited impatiently, shoving a lone French fry in my mouth.
“Damn, that’s good,” he said, shaking his head like it was spicy. “Anyway, what kind of screwup? Like you bought her a blender instead of a bracelet? Or you didn’t react fast enough when she asked if she was fat? Or you-stuck-your-dick-where-it-doesn’t-belong kind of screwup.”
