Bedding the Bad Boy (Bad Boys of Football Book 1) (11 page)

“Alexander
,
where the hell is your head at? It’s not in this game; that’s for sure,” Coach Lawson had been riding my ass all day long. I was sick of it and ready to knock the shit out of him.

“What the fuck do you want from me? I play hard. I play hard every day and today you have a problem?” I challenged him, not caring about the consequences.

Coach Lawson lunged for me like he was going to do something. Like he had the balls to do something to me, a man two times his size. He had to have lost his mind.

“Enough!” Jared stepped in between us, pushing me back. “Don’t do it, man. Don’t do it.”

I shoved him, pushing him back. “I’ll beat his ass. He wants to talk to me like he owns me? Well, he doesn’t; I own him! I own all of you. I made all of you and don’t you ever fucking forget that.”

Foaming out the mouth like the dog he was, the coach wrestled out of the stronghold some of the guys had on him and lunged for me again. “Get off my field. You’re done! Go!”

We both knew it wasn’t true. The team needed me. I was this team. I made the team and everyone involved a lot of money and they all knew it. I walked off, but not because he told me to, but because they needed to feel the full brunt of what would happen to the entire franchise if I was no longer a member of the team. They’d be screwed. Fans would revolt and I’d come out smelling like roses.

“Beck, come on, man,” Jared called as he jogged to catch up with me. “What are you doing? You don’t want to leave. You don’t want to throw it all away over some dumb shit, do you?”

He was right. I didn’t want to throw it away. I’d worked too long and too hard to have all that I had, but I needed time to get my head together and time for them to learn a lesson.

“I don’t have time for this,” I said, yanking my arm from the grip he had on it. “I’ll be alright. Now go on back before he sanctions you or does some other dumb shit.”

Jared stopped, his hands going to his hips as he thought about his next move. “You let her do it to you, didn’t you?” He asked.

This guy – always trying to be the funny guy. I should have punched him in the mouth, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t turn out well. I’d have yet another court case to deal with; not to mention, Isla would be all over me about the whole thing. I’d never hear the end of it.

I slammed my way through each set of doors until I reached the locker room. By the time I was done with it, nothing in the room was left unturned. Every ounce of anger that had built up in my body over the years, spilled out of me like a sieve – slow and methodical, but with enough force to mess up everything in its path.

While I sat dripping in sweat, trying to catch my breath, the team remained outside, practicing as if nothing had happened. They were oblivious to my anger and all that had been bothering me. They continued playing as if that’s all that mattered in the world.

The doors opened behind me. I fully expected to hear Cole’s voice, but instead, it was Isla’s soft voice I heard. “I hear you’re making friends on the practice field.”

She thought she was being funny. As angry as I was, I couldn’t be angry with her. She was the only light in my life these days.

“I don’t need friends. Most of them are fake anyway. They only stick around when things are good. When things go bad, they disappear,” I said, avoiding eye contact with her because I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes.

“Beckham,” she said sternly. “What happened out there?”

I sighed. “Bad morning,” I answered. “How are you doing?”

She moved to get in front of me, in my line of vision so I couldn’t avoid looking her in the eyes. “Well, a few hours ago, I was under the impression you were having a pretty good morning. Was I wrong?”

I grunted like an ape. She was right. A few hours ago, I was having a damn good morning. She was riding me and loving every second of it. Morning sex was the best. It worked out all the kinks that flooded the body while you slept.

“Well, that’s a noise I haven’t heard you make before.” She put her hands on her hips, those curvy hips that made me want to bang her every time I looked at them. This woman was dangerous for me. Dangerous because I’d never have the energy to run down the field if she kept turning me on this way.

Avoiding eye contact with her when she was staring right at me was difficult to do. She kept moving so I had to look at her. “What’s up, beautiful? What did you hear?”

She exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath. “I was on the phone talking to the director of the children’s charity; she told me some interesting news.”

I swallowed hard. I knew what was coming.

“Yes?” I tried to act like I had no idea what she was referring to.

Isla sat down on my lap, tempting me with her sweet body. “Why didn’t you tell me you wrote them a big check?”

My defenses went up. “Should I have told you?”

She stood up immediately, snapping at me. “No, but considering I sleep in your bed every night, I thought you might have mentioned, you gave a charity fifty-thousand dollars. It’s kind of a big deal.”

Why did she care?

“I give away a lot of money. Why does it matter?” I asked, annoyance in my voice.
Why was she questioning me about this?

“You don’t get it, do you? The director said you donate that kind of money a couple of times a year. Maybe if I’d known, I wouldn’t have given you such a hard time about behaving yourself in front of them. Maybe I would have thought you were sweet,” Isla said.

I rubbed my temple, feeling a major headache coming on. “Maybe I didn’t want you to think I was sweet.”

Isla sat down behind me, leaning her head on my back. “You’ve changed. Did I do something wrong? Have you changed your mind about us?”

She had to go there, didn’t she?
Just like a woman to make things harder than they had to be.

“Okay, well, don’t tell me then. Yeah, it will make things a lot easier. Let’s pretend there was no us and avoid the whole discussion,” she said, pulling away from me.

“Isla, stop. That’s not what I was saying. I do a lot of good things for people, but no one ever notices. Is that what you want to hear? You want me to confess my sins to you. Will it make you feel better?” I hated how I sounded. I didn’t like showing weakness. Weakness never got me anywhere.

She stopped at the door, leaning her forehead against it. “No, I want to hear the truth. I want to know who you really are, not the person you think I want to know. Every time I think we’re getting closer, you shut down on me. Is this some kind of pattern? All I asked is why you didn’t tell me. I don’t care if you donated to them or anyone. I wondered how come you didn’t mention it. As much as you hate to come off as a good person, behind all the crap you spew at the world, you are a nice person. You are a decent person and until you see it, we’re not going to work. Being with you is too hard. It’s too much work.” She walked out, leaving me in disbelief.

I wanted to chase after her, but my ego wouldn’t let me. My damn ego was bigger than me most of the time. It kept my head above water. My ego made me a superstar. It’s why people loved me.

“Beck!” Someone down the hallway screamed for me.

What the hell?
I stood up, prepared for another round of whatever was to come next. “What?” I yelled in return.

“It’s Isla! Come quickly!”

I ran out of the locker room to find Isla on the floor passed out. “What the hell happened? Get some help! Call 9-1-1!” I screamed orders at the receptionist.

Coach Lawson and the team were walking through the doors, headed for the locker room.

The coach took one look at Isla and went into action, checking for Isla’s pulse. “What did you do to her?”

“What did I do to her? I didn’t do anything to her. What the hell, man! Help her.” My heart was racing in my chest. My whole world was spinning.

Isla stirred. When she opened her eyes, she was disoriented.

I grabbed her and hugged her to me, wanting to protect her, shield her from the world. “It’s okay. I’m right here. I’m right here.” I looked at the receptionist, who was on the phone with 9-1-1. “What happened to her?”

Isla answered for me. “I fell down. I got dizzy and I fell down.”

I looked at the receptionist. She was saying the same thing to the dispatcher on the phone.

The team doctor came to help, checking Isla’s heart and breathing. She squirmed at the coolness of his stethoscope.

“Don’t move. Let him help you, baby,” I said, my heart beating uncontrollably.

The coach ordered my team members to give us some room while the doctor examined Isla. I refused to let go of her, scared out of my mind. The last time I’d seen a woman sprawled uncomfortably on the floor, she was seriously injured. It was the first and last time I ever saw my mother injured. The injury was at the hands of the only boyfriend she ever had after my father and I vowed I’d never, ever allow myself to do nothing when a woman was in need of help. To see Isla in duress, helpless on the floor, scared me almost as much as it did when I found my mother that way years ago. I knew right there, I’d never be able to live without her in my life. Never.

The doctor’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “Is there a possibility you could be pregnant?”

The look on Isla’s face confirmed it.

“You’re pregnant?” My voice shook as I spoke.

Her eyes welled with tears – happy tears. “I might be. I mean, maybe. I think so.”

I pushed the doctor back to pull Isla up onto my lap and kiss her. “Are you? Do you think you are?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Are you scared?”

“Of course not,” I said to her. Looking at the doctor, “Do you think that’s why she passed out?”

The ambulance finally arrived. I had to release Isla to let them examine her; all the while, wishing they’d leave and let us be alone.

“Do you have any known medical problems?” I heard a paramedic ask.

“I think, I’m pregnant,” Isla said.

That’s when I lost control. Hot tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my face. I’d never felt like this before. I’d never known this kind of happiness before. My beautiful Nubian queen was going to have my baby.

The drive to the hospital was the longest drive of my life. They wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance with her, so I had no idea what was going on and it was making me crazy. The coach and a few of my teammates followed behind me. Even though, we had our differences, I could always count on them when something happened. They’d put our differences aside when it came to something like this.

I flew through the city streets, careening in and out between traffic. All that mattered was, I was at Isla’s side when she got to the hospital. Before I knew it, the cars behind me had tripled. Media had gotten word of what happened and were hot on our tail. They wanted the scoop. They wanted their big payday and all I wanted was to make sure the woman I loved was safe.

“Mr. Alexander, I’m sorry but you can’t go in there. It’s family only,” a nurse informed me.

“Bullshit! I’m going in,” I said, maneuvering around her to get through the doors.

“Beck!”

I stopped immediately, recognizing the voice.

Frank walked up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder. “Please, sir, let them take care of her.”

My shoulders slumped. He was right. Isla was awake and talking. I’d seen her. I’d spoken to her. She was fine. This was a precaution. “What are you doing here, Frank?” I asked.

He gripped my shoulder.

“She passed out.” My voice broke. “It scared the hell out of me. She was lying there, limp.”

“She’ll be okay. Let them check her out. They’ll come and get you. I’m sure Miss Johnson will ask them to let you in. I’m positive she’ll ask for you. She really cares about you. You see it, don’t you?”

We sat for over an hour before they finally came to get me. I was so excited to see her, I let go of my anger for the time being. “Where is she? I want to see her,” I said.

Isla was sitting up in a bed, an I.V. drip in one arm and machines connected to her. “Hi, stranger,” she whispered. “Did you miss me?”

I was so relieved she was okay, I nearly broke down crying again, but I resisted the urge. “Hey, beautiful,” I said. “How are you feeling?” I sat down on the edge of the bed, needing to be close to her. “What did the doctor say?”

“Oh, he said I’m a little dehydrated. It’s nothing big. I guess, I’m working too hard trying to keep your behind out of trouble,” she teased, but I could tell there was something more.

“Are you pregnant? Is it too soon to tell?” I asked, cutting to the chase.

She smiled, reaching out to place her hand on top of mine. “They gave me a test. I don’t know yet, but I think I might be. I want you to be honest with me; would you really be okay if I was? After everything that’s happened with you, will you be okay with it?”

I laughed a nervous laugh. “Of course, I’d be okay. Why wouldn’t I be? This is what we agreed to, right?”