Fallacy (Apprehensive Duet Book 1) (19 page)

Alex

I’ve been lying here staring at my ceiling for what feels like hours.
Probably because it has been hours, asshole.
There’s no way I’m going to get any sleep until I talk to Quinn. I’ve tossed and turned all night unable to get my mind to shut off for even a minute.

I can’t believe she broke up with me and then turned her phone off.
Who does that?
My girlfriend that’s who. I tried calling her a million times last night. Every single call went straight to voicemail. Every time her voice came on the line telling me to leave a message, it was bittersweet. The sound of her voice comforts me but makes me extremely pissed off at the same time. Does she think she can avoid me forever now? Does she believe I'm going to let her end our two-year relationship with something as asinine as “This thing has run its course”?

Did someone say something to her? Is someone getting in her ear about us? Did someone tell her I did something? I know there’s nothing I’ve done to cause her to leave me. I haven’t so much as looked at someone else in all the time we’ve been together. I don’t see anyone other than Quinn. Love is funny that way. Makes you look at the world differently. Makes you realize your world is just one person. That person is Quinn for me. The only thing I can think of is she must’ve realized her feelings for me, and they scared the hell out of her.

The sun started to creep through my bedroom window hours ago. The light is spreading across the room, mocking me. It’s as if it’s saying life goes on. The world is still moving even if yours stopped last night.

She’s a crafty one. I’ll give her that. She waited for Ashley and Tanner to leave for their honeymoon. Ashley would’ve given her hell for whatever stupid thing she concocted in her head as her reason for breaking my fucking heart. I wish I could talk to Tanner. He’s been through a hell like this before. He can tell me how to get out of this bed. I can’t call him, though. I won’t ruin their honeymoon with our drama. No doubt Ashley would be all over Quinn in a heartbeat trying to figure out what in the hell is going on in her mind.

A vibrating stirs me from my wallowing. It takes me a minute to realize it’s my phone on the nightstand. Before my brain catches up with my body, I’m diving across the bed to grab it, praying like fucking hell it’s Quinn.

The pain hurts even more when I see a number not saved in my phone lighting up the screen instead of Quinn’s smiling face. It’s not a local number, but I have to answer regardless because part of me is hoping it’s her calling me from somewhere to tell me she’s sorry and last night was a huge mistake.

“Hello?” I answer, holding my breath, hoping her soft feminine voice is the one to reply.

“Mr. Conway, this is Chad Vaughn with the Cardinals. How are you this morning?” a very
masculine
voice says through the speaker, crushing the little bit of hope I had.

“I’m good, thank you. Isn’t it very early in Arizona right now?” I ask looking at my phone for the time. It’s only nine-thirty which means it's six-thirty over there.

“Yes, it is,” he laughs. “We have an important matter to discuss with you, and it’s time sensitive, so we decided it’s best to call earlier rather than later.”

What the hell could the Cardinals want to talk to me about?

“All right then, what can I do for you, Mr. Vaughn?” I ask with curiosity, thankful for the momentary distraction.

“We learned earlier this week Herm Channing, our head trainer, is retiring this season. It was shocking to all of us over here, but his health is more important, so we support his decision,” he explains.

“I’m sorry to hear that. He was great at his job.”

“Yes, he was. We’ve been looking into some of the personnel we already have staffed here, but none of them have the impressive resume you do. We’d like to offer you the spot if you’re interested?”
Holy shit!
I didn’t see that coming at all.

“Wow, I’m honored I’m even being considered for the opportunity,” I tell him.
Head trainer!
I don’t think I’ve ever thought of being considered for a head spot with the Jets this early in my career, let alone another organization.

“I know we’ve just sprung this on you, but as I stated earlier, time is really of the essence here. I know you’re going to have plenty of questions, so I’d like to address a few things to help you in making your decision. One, you’ll get a substantial salary increase. We’re prepared to offer you a two-year contract for two-hundred-thousand. After two years, we can renegotiate. We’re also prepared to help with relocation costs and can even secure you a place to live before you get out here. We can get into the particulars of bonuses, health care, and any other concerns you have before drawing up your contract. That is if you don’t have any other requests you want to make the offer contingent on.”
Again, holy shit!
A two-year contract which almost doubles my pay.

“How long do I have to consider?” I ask knowing there’s only one thing to consider.
Quinn.

“I know this is a big a decision, and generally, we propose an offer this big with some time for consideration, but with training camp starting very soon, we need to fill this position as quickly as possible. I can give you until the end of the day tomorrow before we have to move on to other candidates,” he informs me with what sounds like a little bit of regret in his voice. But I’m not sure if it’s regret that I’m only getting thirty-six hours to think about the offer or regret about having to possibly move on to another candidate.

“I completely understand,” I reassure him because I do. I know they’re on a time constraint. You need to have your head athletic trainer out with the organization and ready to go when the players start to roll in for camp. Being understaffed is no way to start off a new season.

“I’ll be expecting your call then. This number is my cell number. Please contact me with any questions that may arise. You have a big move on your hands if you decide to join us. Whatever I can do to sway you over to us, don’t hesitate to ask,” he tells me.

“Thank you, Mr. Vaughn. I’ll be in touch as soon as I make my decision. Again, thank you so much for considering me,” I say before hanging up.

I need to get in touch with Quinn.
I can’t make a decision like this without talking to her first. I try calling her again. Straight to voicemail. The next twenty minutes I call her over and over getting the same recording. I even try her office, but no luck there either.

Fuck this. I’m not letting her avoid me any longer. After getting dressed, I brush my teeth quickly and head out the door. Let’s see if she can ignore me while I’m banging on her door.

Twenty minutes later, I’m standing in front of Quinn’s door knocking and calling her phone. Nothing.

I sit in front of her door staring at the awful shade of green on the walls in the hallways, for two hours before deciding to go home and wait to see if she calls.

Getting into my car, I had every intention of heading home, but somehow I wind up at the waterfront instead.

Parking the car, I get out and walk along the path. Finding a bench, I sit down and stare out over the Hudson at the skyline of the Manhattan.

Where are you, Quinn?

Why is she doing this? Where did I go wrong?

I just got the job offer of a lifetime. My mind fades back to the time Quinn asked me if I ever wanted more with my career. I love my job here. I love my life here. But my life just fell apart. The woman I love broke up with me and is AWOL. How am I supposed to make this decision now? Do I take it and worry about trying to fix this thing with Quinn from a distance? Do I stay? What if I stay and can’t fix it? Quinn can be very stubborn when she wants to be.

I notice the sun has crossed the sky, and I look down at my phone and realize I’ve been sitting here for hours. I call Quinn again. Right to voice mail.

I drag my sorry ass from the bench and head back my car. Sitting here isn’t giving me any clarity.

I’ve called Quinn five more times by the time I reach home. I head inside and go right for the Jack Daniels. I have until tomorrow to make my decision. I’m bound to get in touch with her by then.

By six o’clock the following evening, I still haven’t heard from her. Not a single fucking word and I’m fucking pissed. If she doesn’t want me, then fuck her. I may love the woman, but if she can dump me and then skip town, that shows me she never cared about me nearly as much as I do her. I’m not going to turn down a job of a lifetime for someone who can’t be bothered to at least tell me the truth about why she’s leaving me. Or pick up the fucking phone when I call her. I started leaving messages this morning. She knows how I feel. She knows I need to talk to her.

I bring up the number Mr. Vaughn called me from and press send. I also promise myself this will be the last of Quinn Taylor for me.

Alex

I’m woken up by a pounding headache and the sound of high heels clicking on the tile floor of my bedroom floor. Moaning in pain, I roll over to see who is wearing the heels that are amplifying the banging in my head. I see bare legs sticking out from a red dress. I look up to see the sexy blonde I left the bar with last night. The messiness of her hair, bread bun on her neck, and ripped panties on the floor tell me I did a number on her last night.

She leans down and kisses my forehead, “Thanks for a great time last night. I left my number on your dresser. I’d love to do this again sometime. Maybe you’ll even remember my name next time too.” She throws a smile over her shoulder as she leaves my room and a minute later leaves my apartment.

Fuck!
I remember last night a little more clearly now that she made that comment. I saw her at the bar, and she reminded me of Quinn. Long legs. Big tits. Killer ass. Long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Because I’m a glutton for punishment, I walked over and talked to her. We danced for a bit on the makeshift dance floor the bar had set up. One thing led to another, and we wound up back here where we were stripping out of our clothes as if they were on fire.

The woman can suck a dick like a vacuum and rode it like it was a pony. Everything about her reminded me of Quinn. So much so I accidently called her Quinn as I shot my load all over her face. If it wasn’t for removing the condom before I gave her a facial, I might’ve actually told her I still love her. As many times as I’ve pictured Quinn while banging the hell out of another woman, the condom is a painful reminder that, in reality, all these women are just an inadequate replacement for the real thing.

How is it after six months of no contact from her, she still rules my fucking mind? How many women do I have to fuck to forget her?
You’ll never forget.
Even on the other side of the country, the woman still controls my heart.

I’ve tried. I‘ve really attempted to move past her. But I just fucking can’t. I think about her constantly. I thought after the way she left me, it would be easy to get over her. Then when the anger faded, I was able to think a little more rationally. She’s afraid. She’s pushing me away because she’s scared of her feelings. It’s her MO. She doesn’t like to let people get close to her, and whatever it was that caused her to stop and take notice, the seriousness of our relationship frightened the hell out of her. She’s fighting against it.

I don’t know what happened in her life to make her terrified of being close to men. General closeness doesn’t seem like an issue … she’s close with Ashley. And even Tanner. But she doesn’t look at Tanner like she does the rest of us guys. Because he’s been very happily coupled with Ashley. Somehow, someone broke her trust, and I’m paying for it. She's never mentioned any boyfriends in the past. Her whole life revolved around Ashley, work, and proving her father wrong. I’m positive all of this has something to do with him.

I know it’s sad, but a big part of me is still hoping this is all just a nightmare and one day she’s going to show up at my door and tell me how sorry she is, and she loves me too. But realistically I know it isn’t going to happen, which is I why I choose to numb the pain in a barrage of women who are all Quinn when I close my eyes.