KENNEDY
I was becoming more comfortable at work as well. Both with the work duties and with the coworkers. I had been going to lunch with Mike a couple of times. He was one of the managers in the licensing department. His office was next to mine, which was how we met. He was a friendly guy in his early thirties, with dark hair and intelligent grey eyes.
We were out getting sandwiches for lunch on Friday, together with my assistant, Louise, when my phone started to go off with incoming text messages. The first few were from Sammy. We usually didn't text that much during the day, but it happened occasionally so I wasn't overly concerned until I read the message.
'Don't know if this is real, but thought you should know.' She had attached a link to a newspaper article. As soon as I clicked on the link I knew I wasn't gonna like it. It brought up a news article about the previous nights' hockey game in St. Luis, which was Nash's old team. The article was, just like had expected, about him. It featured among others a photo of Nash locked in an embrace with a tall girl with dark curly hair. They both had huge smiles on their faces. I groaned and was debating whether I should ignore the article and put my phone away, but Sammy had sent it to me so it may be important that I read it. Maybe that girl was important?
I pushed the button on the side that turned the screen off, but changed my mind and turned it on again. This was exactly what I was worried about. Nash hooking up with girls when he was out traveling. Which, I had to remind myself, he was allowed to do, because we were not in a relationship. We were just friends.
Damn it!
I sighed and bit down on my lip. Did I want to know what was going on? My phone kept buzzing with more texts, reminding me to make a decision. I bit the bullet and started to read the article. It commented on how the hockey league's notorious player was back in town and had started both a fight at the game and picked up a new girl. Maybe rekindling an old flame?
I had seen the game and knew that the fight was not Nash's fault, but that did stop him from giving back just as much as he received. He ended up with a penalty just like the other guy. Maybe it was just a bitter reporter, who was upset that their star player had left for the New York Empires? The photo of the girl bothered me though.
What the hell was Nash up to? Who was she?
"Who is that? Louise asked. She was sitting next to me and leaning over so she could glance down at my phone over my shoulder.
"It's an article about the Empires last game," I answered, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. It was partially true. It was about Nash but it referenced the game.
"Oh yeah?" Mike perked up. "Are you into hockey?"
"Yeah."
"Empires fan I guess?" He asked with a knowing smirk as he picked up his sandwich.
"Yes, absolutely."
"That's cool." He nodded his head and finished chewing before he continued. "We get tickets sometimes. I can let you know the next time we do if you want," he offered. I didn't have the heart to tell him I had season tickets so I just said that would be great. I was not ready for anyone to know about my background with Nash.
"Isn't that the famous hot player that has the cologne ad?" Louise wondered, still looking at the article on my phone.
"Yes."
"Can I see that?" Mike asked and reached for my phone.
"Sure."
I handed the phone over to Mike who took it and leaned back on the chair. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and focused his grey eyes on the small screen. I took that as my cue to start eating. I picked up my fancy sandwich and took a bite. I had kind of lost my appetite, but I knew I needed to eat something if I was to make it through the rest of the day.
"Wasn't he seen with some other girl last week?" Louise asked.
I glanced over at her. Her forehead was scrunched together as she focused her brown eyes down on her own phone. She was clearly more involved in the gossip part than in the actual game.
"Yeah," Mike answered with a snort. "That shouldn't be a surprise though. His name is Nash Reed. He's an amazing hockey player and he has his way with the ladies. He has a reputation as a big time player and is seen with new girls all the time."
Mike handed the phone back to me and I put it upside down next to my sandwich without looking at it. Mike's words put me even more out of the mood than I already was. I put the sandwich down and picked up my iced tea instead.
"He is hot," Louise commented, focused on her whatever it was she was looking at on her own phone. I looked over and saw that she was going through pictures of Nash on the internet. It brought back the old jealous feelings I had when I used to see him with other girls. There were quite a few girls in the pictures Louise was swiping through.
Nash and I had been texting every night and he was being flirty. My old feelings for him were back with a vengeance. They were stronger than they had ever been, but I was just as worried and nervous about his relationship with other women as I used to be.
"I mean have you seen the cologne commercial? Hot damn! Of course there are girls all over him at all time," Louise commented and looked right at Mike.
"Doesn't mean he has to act on it," Mike responded.
"Maybe he doesn't." Louise shrugged her shoulders. "You know how many people he must run into? It has to be a lot and many of those girls would like nothing better than a round in the sheets with him. I mean some of these media reports might be true, but I bet a lot of it's just fake news."
"Do you really think a guy like that would say no if offered?" Mike snorted. He put his sandwich down and leaned back on his chair to study Louise.
"I don't know, Mike," Louise's tone got a little snappier. "Don't you think a guy like that gets offers all the time?"
Yeah, he does. I had witnessed it first hand many times.
"Probably," Mike chuckled but his tone was no longer the calm Mike I had gotten used to, but a more arrogant version.
Louise placed her hands on the table and faced Mike head on. I wasn't sure why she was getting so worked up over this. She didn't know Nash, at least not as far as I knew. Maybe she was just taking a stand for women's rights, but that didn't seem to fit in, or maybe she was just playing devil's advocate.
"If he slept with all the girls that threw themselves at him he wouldn't have time to do anything else," she stated sarcastically. "Least of all be a successful hockey player."
Damn. She was right. Go Louise.
"Maybe, but the rumors are obviously based on something," Mike argued back.
"There's probably a truth to it," she agreed. "He's a single guy after all."
"True."
"Would you say no if girls like that threw themselves at you?" Louise asked Mike and fixed her brown eyes on him.
"Probably not, if I wasn't married I mean."
"That's my point."
Louise leaned back in her chair and a smile started to spread over her face like she won some kind of argument. I was still a little confused about the whole thing and not quite sure if she was for, or against famous athletes hooking up with fans.
"What about you? Would you say no if you were offered the chance to sleep with him?" Mike asked.
"Who me?" I asked, suddenly aware of Mike's eyes on me.
Hell yeah, I would. But I was not about to admit that out loud.
"Either one of you?"
"I would," Louise responded with a big smile. "He's very hot."
"That he is," I agreed and left it at that.
My phone buzzed again and that time I picked it back up, mostly to avoid any further questions about Nash, just to find that I had unread text messages from Nash, Mitchell, and Isaac. Which was really weird. I never got texts from Isaac. Sometimes I would hear from Mitch, but it was usually in group texts together with Nash. I really didn't want to know what Nash had to say after that article, but I started to worry that something may have happened since they were all texting me.
I opened Isaac's text first. I hadn't heard from him in a few years so it was weird to get a text all of a sudden. 'Hey Kennedy. Heard from Nash that you moved. He said catching up has been good. Looking forward to seeing you. Should be in town around the holidays. Just an fyi, the girl in the news article with Nash is my fiancé.'
What the actual fuck?
It's Isaac's fiancé? So Nash wasn't going out with anyone, he was catching up with his brother and his fiancé? Or did he cheat with Isaac's fiancé? That would be so fucked up! A whole other level of fucked up.
My heart started to beat faster and I was a little hesitant as I opened Mitchell's text. He clarified the situation better. 'Nash had dinner with his brother and his brother's fiancée. Don't believe the rumors.'
"What the hell?"
Why would they text me that? Had Nash spoken to them about me? About us, even though there was no us as in a couple? There had been some flirting via text lately for sure, even though I didn't quite know if I should read into it or not. Did this mean that he wanted to be more? Was that why he was worried about me seeing the article?
"What is going on?" Mike asked, and that was when I realized I had spoken out loud.
"Nothing." I tried to smile confidently but it felt a little strained. "Just my friends, you know, group chat... They are trying to clear up a misunderstanding."
"Oh, always fun to be stuck in one of those," he grimaced.
"Yeah, it blows up the phone for sure," Louise agreed.
"Yeah." I put my phone away without checking Nash's text. I didn't want Louise to catch his name on my screen. I would read it later.
On our way back up to the office my phone started to ring. I took it out of my bag and saw that it was Nash. I knew he would keep calling until I answered so there was no use in trying to ignore it. I groaned out loud and answered the phone. "Hello."
"Kennedy?" His tone was urgent.
"Yes."
"The article isn't what you think it is."
"Okay," I said suddenly amused about how wound up he was about me finding out about the article.
"What's it then?"
"It's me hugging Isaac's fiancé. I congratulated her on the engagement."
"Mhm."
"No, it's true and you have to believe me." He was getting louder so I knew he was serious. He would always get loud when he was right and felt like someone didn't believe him.
"Okay. Why do you think I saw the article?"
Mike glanced over at me and I realized that both he and Louise probably heard my side of the conversation. I hoped they only heard my side. I tightened the phone against my ear and picked up my pace.
"Josh said he was sending it to you."
"Really? Why would he do that?" That would be a real douche move. Josh didn't seem to be the vindictive type.
"He fucking likes you Kennedy," Nash snapped.
"Huh."
If he likes me he has a funny way of showing it. Did he think the best way to show me was to send me a nasty article about Nash? Especially since he knew we had been best friends growing up?
"He didn't," I advised Nash.
"He didn't?"
"No."
Mike held the door to the building open for me and Louise. I mouthed a thank you and he gave me a quick nod in response.
"Are you serious? So you didn't see it?" Nash asked.
"No, I saw it. Sammy sent it to me."
I could feel Mike's eyes on my back. I didn't want him to hear the rest of the conversation because it was going to be difficult to remain vague, so I stopped by the escalator and pointed to the phone, signaling to Mike and Louise that I would be up in a couple of minutes.
"Fuck," Nash grumbled.
Then it registered. What did he do? Nash could be a hothead when he felt someone was taking advantage of him, or when he felt like he needed to protect someone. Was that the case here? Was he trying to protect me?
"Did you hit him?" I asked, suddenly worried to hear the answer.
"Who?"
"Josh," I said sternly, "Nash, did you hit him?"
"No." His answer came a little too fast.
"Are you being truthful now?"
There was a loud groan on the phone and I could picture him running his hands over his face. "I may have pushed him around some, but I didn't hit him."
"Okay." Thank god, because that was all he needed another article about him brawling with his teammates.
"It really pissed me off when he told me he was sending that to you. I thought him and I were friends. We are on the same fucking team. We are supposed to have each other's backs and the article isn't even true."
"I don't know why he would say that either. I haven't heard from him at all today, or yesterday for that matter."
"Do you believe me that I didn't do anything with the girl? She is Isaac's fiancé for god's sake." His voice rose again on the other end of the phone. "That's just gross, I can't believe they would write that."
Nash was more agitated than I had seen in a long time. I agreed that the article was more of a smear against him as a person, than prior ones, but he usually didn't react anywhere near the way he was this time.
"I agree Nash. That's pretty low."
"I didn't do anything with anyone other girl either for that matter. Mitch and I hung out all week."
"Okay."
My heart rate picked up significantly. He didn't have to tell me that, but he did. He wanted me to know he hadn't hooked up with anyone. Did that mean something?
"So we're good?"
"Yes. We're good."
I heard him exhale. "Thank god. Okay. I've another game here on Saturday so I should be back home late Sunday night. Can you do dinner on Monday?"
"I know I've a work function next week, but I'm not sure if it is Monday or Tuesday. I'll check when I'm back in my office and let you know."
"Okay, cool. We have a game on Tuesday and then I've some photo shoot on Wednesday, Thursday and then the game on Friday."
"Busy week for you."
"I know. Text me later once you know about dinner. Okay? Even if it's just a quick dinner, let's get together. I miss you."
"Okay. Yeah." My heart rate picked up again, but this time it was a happy feeling.
He missed me? Holy shit!
"I'll text you as soon as I know. Good luck at the game. Watch your stick, Nash. You are over rotating."
He cracked up laughing on the phone and the sound brought a huge smile to my face.
"Yes, coach. I know."