Vera's POV
Colin's voice message leaves me feeling numb, unable to move. I shove my phone into my jacket pocket, resisting the urge to throw it against the glass doors of the Sea/Tac airport. His words replay in my head as I step onto the curb of the frosty PNW air. I tried to fight for this.
My aunt's dark gray Honda civic pulls up and I feel a wave of relief rush over me. After all these months, it feels good to be back.
"Vera!" My Aunty Ray rushes from the driver's side and embraces me in a hug. Her hair is a deep auburn, barely touching her neck. She is a thick, nicely dressed woman, with caramel brown skin. I bury my face into her shoulder, trying my best not to cry. It feels so good to see her, smell her.
"Where is all of your luggage?" Aunty Ray looks behind me, trying to find a suitcase.
"I didn't really bring much, aunty." I say glumly. She nods and opens the door to the passenger's side while I climb in.
As soon as we head out onto I-5 North, the rain starts to pour. Oh Seattle, how you laugh at my pain. Leaning my head against the window, I close my eyes, letting the familiar rhythm of raindrops cover my sadness.
"All these months, no call, no text. Did you get any of my emails? I know you've been busy Vera, but you have to stay in touch with family. I was worried you were trying to cut me off," Aunty Ray sounds a little wounded. She's the caretaker of our family, with a heart big enough to welcome anyone she meets. Her heart also makes her very sensitive. It's a wonder that my mother, her sister, turned out the exact opposite.
"No, Aunty Ray. I'm sorry, I've just been very busy and out of it. I apologize."
"No need to apologize, I know you're an adult. I just worry about you sometimes. I kept in touch with Becca for a little bit, so I know you had that internship at Levi Stadium. That must have been fun!" Aunty Ray speaks excitedly now.
Our conversation moves to talking about the internship, and I try to give her the happiest images of my experience there. Everything minus Colin. I paint her vivid pictures of galas, planning events, watching practices. All the while I have the image of Colin in my head, throwing a football on the field shirtless...smiling as he sees me coming from a distance...
Somewhere during the car ride I fall asleep, the gentle thumping of raindrops a familiar lull. Like clockwork, as soon as we pull up to the driveway of my grandma's house I wake up, my eyes springing open.
For some reason, at that very moment, I feel completely and utterly alone.
"Vera?" Aunty Ray sets the car into park and looks over to me. I look at her with complete abandon.
"I'm pregnant." I say, quietly.
Colin's POV
"Tinashe will drop the charges, for a settlement," Becca says grimly.
"I don't care. How much does she want?" Being in the business for a while, you learn that paying people off is inevitable. Whether or not you're the one at fault in a situation. I can't believe it's come down to this. After weeks of going back and forth between lawyers, here we sit in a room: me, Tinashe, across from each other at a table, with our lawyers.
"2 million," Tinashe's lawyer says firmly.
"It's done. I don't care, as long as this shit's done," I sit back, feeling defeated.
At this point I would sign for 5 million. I don't fucking care anymore. I really don't. I wait for Tinashe to sign several papers, and they're slid across the table to me, Becca, and my lawyers. After I sign them, everyone stands. I put up my shades, letting the lawyers exit before I do.
"Feeling a little bitter?" Tinashe sidles up to next to me as the room clears. Her lawyer stops to raise an eyebrow at her.
"I'm fine, he can't hurt me here," she laughs, dismissing her lawyer.
"Get what you need?" I say with a sneer.
"Yeah, but I would've liked getting you."
I look down to her in disgust.
"Mmm...I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. I like my girls clean."
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean??" Tinashe looks pissed.
"It means I don't like my women ran through." I don't take any pleasure in taking shots. I'm way past that. But part of me is bitter at her for ruining things with Vera. For making things so complicated for me.
Tinashe stands beside me, her mouth open in shock. Pulling up the collar to my shirt I walk through the doorway, meeting Becca on the way out.
We fall in step together, heading out of the building.
"Share some choice words with the alleged victim?" she asks.
"Yeah, some choice words alright." I fall into silence. There's nothing I want to talk about lately.
"Colin, are you ok?"
"Yeah I'm fine."
"You haven't been out lately have you."
"I've been to all team practices and meetings."
"But you've avoided all of the dinners and public press conferences. You can't do that."
"I ain't tryin to hear it Becca."
"Look, first game's in a few days. You need to get it together. You set the pace for this team, it's time that you act like it."
Becca continues walking past me, and I hang back, watching her walk to her car. Picking through my pocket, I grab my phone. It's been a habit lately, for some reason there's a spark of hope.....maybe she'll text. Maybe she'll call....something. But nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Vera's POV
FLASHBACK
I walk nervously through the dark tunnel, looking around for any sign of Colin. Levi stadium is still unfamiliar to me, even after working the internship for quite some time. Becca had asked me to meet him here on the field to bring some paperwork. I hold the folder under my arm, trying to hold my head high with confidence. Even after officially being with Colin, I feel my body tense in nervousness. This is just Colin Kaepernick. You know, the quarterback for the Forty Niners....
I trip during my mental pep-talk, nearly falling over my heels near the entrance onto the field. Strong arms catch me and hold me up.
"Whooa, steady there baby girl." Colin's voice is smooth, it covers me like the shadow he pulls me into at the edge of the tunnel. "Don't fall, I wouldn't want you getting hurt." His hands are around my waist now, pulling me closer to him. His fingers caress down my back, sending shivers down to the tips of my toes.
"H-hi.." I stammer, not really knowing what to say. He's totally caught me off guard.
"Hello, beautiful."
I look up into Colin's eyes. He's so much taller than me, his wide frame overwhelming mine. In the shadow of the tunnel, I can see he's wearing a tight fitting long sleeved white 49ers shirt, with even tighter gold football pants. My hands rest against his chest, running down his flat muscled stomach.
"Like what you feel?"
I snap out of my daze and pull my hands back.
"Cocky much? And don't ever scare me like that again!"
"I wanted to surprise you."
"You scared the crap out of me!" I try to sound seriously upset, but instead I burst out laughing. Colin smiles down at me, his mouth making the most delicious curve.
"Keep laughing, I'll eat you up down here." I continue to giggle until I realize he's serious.
"Colin, stop oh my gosh what if somebody hears you?"
He pulls me against him, and I can feel a certain part of him growing against my stomach. I lightly touch him with my hand, my fingers caressing the front of his pants. He pulls me against him, his palms roughly grabbing onto my backside.
"I don't give a fuck if anyone hears me talk dirty to you," he whispers down into my ear. I close my eyes, and just as I'm about to lose myself to him I feel the folder fall from under my arm, letting loose papers all around me.
"Shit!" I exclaim, pushing away from Colin and scrambling to grab the papers around me. Colin kneels beside me, helping me gather them as well. As soon as I put them all into the folder he helps me up, grasping tightly onto my hand.
"See what you do to me?" I murmur, embarrassed. "You make me...lose track of things."
"Is that such a bad thing?" I look up at Colin and he rubs the end of my chin with his thumb, in deep thought.
"Have you been out on the field before?"
I look through the tunnel entrance onto the green field. It's a beautiful day, the sun making the gridiron a rich green.
"I mean, yeah."
"No, I mean on the field." Colin pulls me along before I can protest. I kick my heels off before we hit the green, my pantyhose feeling the softness of the grass.
"I don't want my heels to get stuck," I blush as Colin smiles down at my exposed feet.
We walk into the middle of the field; Levi Stadium's walls a large expanse around us. It is completely empty, and intimidating.
"How do you get out here and perform the way you do?" I ask. The stadium reminds me of the Coliseum. There is no way in hell I'd be able to stand out here while it's filled to capacity.
"I'm comfortable out here. This is home." He says simply. Colin takes a seat in the middle of the field, motioning for me to sit across from him. I kneel down as neatly as I can in my skirt.
"I've never brought anyone out here before." Colin stares at me in a way that bares his thoughts.
"Well, thank you for bringing me here," I smile. Colin lies back beside me on the grass, putting his hands behind his head. I follow suit, laying my head into the crook of his underarm.
He turns to face me, propping himself up on one elbow.
"Do you think we'll win the super bowl this year?"
I turn to face him, our noses nearly touching.
"I told you I'm a Seahawks fan, right?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Oh really?" Colin smirks before flipping himself on top of me, forcing me flat on my back.
"Colin! What are you...what!" I can't even finish what I'm saying, Colin starts tickling me. I erupt into a suffocating set of giggles, unable to breathe. Colin finally stops, crouched on top of me. I look up to him, and as our eyes connect, I feel a connection, an understanding that I've never felt with anyone else. It's electrifying. He brings his face down to mine, close enough so that our lips are only inches apart.
I bring my hand up to his face, my forefinger tracing his hard jawline, all the way down to his prominent chin.
"Do you know how beautiful you are?" I ask him sincerely. He blinks, as if unsure how to respond. Before he can, I grab his face, and bring him down to me.
And there, in the middle of Levi Stadium during a sweltering hot California day,
we kiss,
losing ourselves to one another.