She nodded. “Yeah, and a couple of others, so I really want it to carry on being a success.”
“Well, from what I saw tonight, it should be. It has a good atmosphere. Good layout. Great food. People staying late into the night still spending money.” I glanced at a table for four that had just ordered more cocktails.
“I guess at least I know you ain’t talking to me in the hope of a free drink.”
“Nah. I didn’t know that might even be possible. And I can’t drink, I’m driving.”
“But also you can afford to buy your own. I guess you have women chasing you for what you can do for them. Just after your money or your celebrity for tickets to a game.”
“You see.” I tapped the phone. “We’ve been taking for several minutes now, only to find I’d definitely like to meet up again.”
She sipped her beer and gazed into the distance behind the bar. A variety of different gin bottles stood in a row, looking like they were there for decoration rather than as stock. I didn’t think she was really thinking about gin.
“Well, what do you say? Can I get your name and number, or are you having a terrible time here, and I haven’t picked up on the hint?”
“Oh no. I guess I’m just baffled why a guy like you would want to spend time with someone like me.”
What?
“I don’t understand.” I frowned, wondering what the hell I’d missed. “You don’t understand why I’d want to be with a woman like you?”
“I’m pretty ordinary. Plain looking. Plain job. Plain life. I can count the number of times I’ve left Arlington on one hand. You? You’re a star football player. Even I know who you are, and I barely pay attention to the game.”
My jaw dropped, and I didn’t know where to start on her list. “Well, firstly, you need to get yourself a mirror, because there’s nothing plain and ordinary about the way you look. Here you are dressed for work, and you wear casual in a way that honestly makes my eyes pop out. I’m doing all I can to play it cool here and not drool like a creep. And keep hold of my eyeballs.”
She blushed. And I liked it. But I didn’t like what she said next.
“Guys like you want extraordinary women. You want models and actresses. Or maybe another athlete. A woman with the perfect body and the perfect life. Not an ordinary person who works in a bar and smells of cooking fat.”
“Bullshit. I can’t speak for others, but it sounds like you’ve met a lot of jerks. As for the rest of it, I’m not much interested in a girl’s day job. I’m interested in her. Her mind. The way she thinks and talks. And so far, you tick the boxes.”
She raised an eyebrow at my words and appeared skeptical.
“I’m sorry, little miss fry cook. I guess I mean that in a nicer way. But no, you don’t get to decide what I want.”
The game was a deadly one, something no one wanted to talk about. I was good at it, yes, but me and the boys had talked long and hard about it. We didn’t want to dedicate ourselves to playing football until we were forty and our brains were utterly mush. We wanted to make our money, make our future, and survive with something to offer our would-be wives and children.
Still, she didn’t say anything.
“Every day can’t involve jet setting across the world. Sometimes you just want to spend a quiet day at home with the people who mean something. Genuine friends, not plastic people only interested in money and a luxury lifestyle.”
“Fine words are easy to say.”
“Hell, yeah. It’s easy to be cocky about money when you have plenty; I know that. But having this celebrity status means it’s also harder to meet new people who are well-grounded. People to trust. I don’t know you at all, but you seem like you might be that kind of woman.”
She took a sip of her drink, and I watched the way she licked her lips after she swallowed. Everything about her had me entranced. She was singularly the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
“Listen,” I said. “I don’t know where all this is going to go. But I’d like to see you again, and it’s nothing to do with free booze. You may not believe it, Kayla, but you’re special. I sense that you aren’t impressed by beef-head jocks, and that’s not what you see when you look at me, I hope. I hope you see what you desire.”
Her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned red. She didn’t refute my comments, and she seemed like the sort who wouldn’t hesitate to tell me to fuck off if she wanted to. So I felt optimistic about the way things were going.