Just Rules (20 page)

And he said that they’d have to try the shower at a later date.

Neither of them mentioned the intensity with which they had made love all night. It was as if they had decided to give their feelings a break.

Mac showered first and went to the kitchen to make breakfast and that’s where Susan found him half an hour later putting plates on the kitchen table and singing a song with off key. She had never seen him so happy, so relaxed, and her heart skipped a beat thinking that she probably had something to do with it.

“I grabbed one of your t-shirts —she said entering the kitchen— I hope you don’t mind.”

He turned around and was drooling just from looking at her. Susana loved how strongly Kev reacted to her. Tim had never looked at her with such sincerity, but then again she was sure that she had never looked at him the way she looked at Mac. Whatever happened with Kev, Susana knew she was lucky to not have married Tim.

“Of course I don’t mind,” he answered after a couple of seconds. He put a few pieces of toast on the plate and left the butter dish next to it. “Do you have to work tonight?”

“No,” said Susan, moving closer to him. “I have the weekend off,” she dared to add.

“Perfect —Mac smiled from ear to ear— how about you stay here? We can go to your apartment to get whatever you need, although if you’d rather go naked or use my t-shits I won’t complain,” he said, winking an eye.

“Thanks, that’s so sweet,” she smiled back at him.

“You’re welcome. I could cook something tonight…”

“You can cook?” she asked raising her eyebrows.

“Of course, my mother is from Texas,” he answered, as if that explained everything.

“I give up. I have no idea who you are, Kev MacMurray,” she said, but at the same time she stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the lips. “But I like you a lot.”

“I like you too, Susana Lobato.”

After that little confession, which did not cover the extend of how they really felt about each other, not even a little, Mac and Susana had breakfast and continued their conversation.

“Last night —she blushed, and took a sip of coffee, trying to hide it— I didn’t come to see you to… —she moved her hands not knowing what to say— for this.”

“Susana —he laughed affectionately— I don’t care what you came for. The important thing is that you came and that you stayed.”

“Yeah, well —she said clearing her throat, getting a bit offended by Mac’s laughter, but then he gave her a kiss and she quickly got over it— what was I saying? Ah, yes—Susana continued— I came to see you because I found out that you are the founder of The Best Play.”

Mac choked on his coffee and it came out of his nose.

Susana stood up to pat him on the back.

“Are you OK?”

“Next time give me a warning would you? How did you find out?”

“I work for a news program. I’m not a journalist, but I have learned a thing or two during all of these years. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“When?”

“Before —she needed to learn how to control how much she blushed— I don’t even remember the amount of times that I accused you of being a selfish playboy with no brain. You could have told me and I would have had to eat my words.”

“Yes, and you probably wouldn’t have ever talked to me again.” Mac drank a little more coffee before continuing. “In a way, our arguments and insults were our way of flirting with each other.”

“You really think so?”

Mac shrugged his shoulders.

“I prefer to believe that than to believe that I was too stupid to realize that the reason I couldn’t stand you was because I wanted you.”

“Oh, OK, well if that’s the reason.” Part of her felt very flattered that Mac out right confessed that he wanted her, or rather, that he had wanted her for a long time, but she also asked herself if lust was the only thing he felt for her. It didn’t seem that way judging by how he made love to her all night, although maybe it was just her imagination. If she was a braver woman, perhaps she’d be capable of asking him, but she wasn’t, so she continued with the conversation they were having before.

“Why do you insist on keeping the foundation anonymous?”

“Because I don’t do it for the fame or so people think I’m a good person. The kids that I help are the only ones that matter to me. They know who I am and they know that they can count on me and on the foundation. Everyone else can think whatever they want about me.”

Susana sat there looking at him for a long time, until she left the piece of toast she had in her hand on the plate, and she stood up to kiss him. After the kiss, she pulled back and said:

“You are an excellent man, Kev MacMurray, and I apologize for having thought the opposite.”

It was hard for him to speak.

“Thanks, but I’m not so excellent. More than half of the insults you used to throw my way were true, Susana. And I acted like a fool with you. Besides calling you all of those things, I told Tim not to marry you. What kind of person does that? Before, I thought that I did it because I was a good friend and because I didn’t want Tim to make a mistake, but now I think I was doing it for me.”

Kev looked seriously troubled by those thoughts.

“Tim and I would have made a mistake had we gotten married.”

“I know, but I’m not sure if I said it because of that or because subconsciously I wanted you for myself.”

Susana understood perfectly what Mac was trying to say to her, and she respected his sincerity.

“That doesn’t matter anymore, don’t you think?”

He locked hands with her.

“I want to tell Tim that we are together,” he said looking her in the eye. “I want the whole world to know, Susana.”

Susana took a breath and squeezed Mac’s fingers before answering.

“OK, we’ll tell him when he comes back,” she agreed with her heart beating strongly against her chest..

“Tim calls me once in a while,” he insisted. “I don’t know when he’s coming back.”

“Don’t you think we should tell him in person?” –suggested Susana.

Mac looked at her and just like the night before, he noticed she was nervous.
You have to be patient,
a little voice inside his head reminded him. She and Tim were going to get married. It made sense that she didn’t want to tell him over the phone.

“OK —he agreed— we will tell him when he gets back.” He let her hand go and they finished eating breakfast.

He promised himself now and then that was going to find the way to spend the rest of his life with that woman

That weekend was not only the first weekend they spent together in Kev’s place, it also marked the beginning of their relationship. Yes, they were in a relationship; they didn’t know what to call it, but they had a relationship. During the week, they stayed at Susana’s apartment in the city. The first Monday, Mac showed up at one o’clock in the morning without calling and scolded her, saying it was her fault that he couldn’t sleep at his place if she wasn’t there. Susana felt butterflies in her stomach and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him and to make him feel better. He interpreted it as
make love to me on the dining room table
and an hour later they were both asleep in bed.

They spent the weekends at Mac’s place.

They never went out. From Monday to Friday, Susana got out too late from her program to go out to dinner, and he always waited for her in her apartment. Mac really did know how to cook, but if he didn’t feel like it either she cooked or they ordered take-out. He spent his days completely focused on the foundation; now that he was with Susana, he could finally concentrate and the suggestions she gave him at dinner or when they were having breakfast were very useful. They made love every night. Sometimes it was quick and intense, like that first time against the door of his home (Mac was thinking about taking it down and turning it into a shrine) and other times they did it slowly, looking each other in the eye while they surrendered to one another. Mac hadn’t brought up the issue of Tim, but every time his friend called him and asked about Susan Kev had to bite his tongue so he didn’t tell him what was going on. Maybe it didn’t make any sense, but part of him was still jealous of Tim, regardless of the fact that one night Susan confessed that she never felt for Tim what she felt for him. Mac wanted to demand that Tim stop worrying about Susana, since she belonged to him now and he was determined to take care of her, but he respected Susana’s decision and he kept quiet.

On Saturday and Sunday, they didn’t leave Mac’s house, because they barely left the bed. They were both afraid that it wasn’t real; they had gone from hating each other to not being able to keep their hands off one another. And since they started sleeping with each other, they hadn’t had a single argument. Sure, they had had a few tiffs, but all he had to do was give her a kiss, or all she had to do was touch him and they both forgot about why they were upset.

In other words, they were happy. And both of them, although they didn’t tell each other, were afraid that the world would come between them and mess things up.

The world came between them a few days later.

It was Wednesday and Mac had spent the afternoon at his agent’s office going over the details of his contract for the upcoming football season. He still hadn’t told Susana that although the Patriots offered him a contract for several more years, he was going to retire after this season. He was thirty-five years old and he was in the prime of his life; he had already dedicated many years to playing football. Now he wanted to dedicate them to himself and to the woman he loved. Sitting in the leather chair in his agent’s office, he was unable to move. He loved Susana, completely and definitely, and there was no turning back. His back became drenched with sweat.

“Are you OK, Mac?” his agent asked him.

“Yes, of course,” he answered, pretending to read another document.
Besides the fact that I just discovered that I’m in love with my best friend’s ex-fiance and I don’t know if she feels the same about me.
Susana had to feel the same. She already confessed that she liked him, and she also told him that she had never felt with anyone else what she felt when she was with him. That had to mean that she loved him, right?

Not necessarily.

Practice began in two weeks and Tim had confirmed that he would return on time, whether Amanda and Jeremy came with him or not. Now that Mac had found happiness, or at least had a taste of it, he wished the same for his friend, and he was convinced that if Tim came back alone it wouldn’t take him long to abandon the team and move to Paris. Tim wasn’t going to allow Amanda to get away a second time and especially not now that he knew they had a son together.

After saying goodbye to his agent, a very important man who shouted too much, Mac saw the time and realized that Susana was about to get off work. He was already on the street, and one of his favorite restaurants was only a few feet away from where he was. Mac was a regular, and a celebrity, so even if he showed up without a reservation they would surely give him a table. Without hesitating, he took his phone out of his pocket and called her.

“Hi, it’s me,” he said when she answered on the first ring. He smiled, remembering that Susana used to let his calls go to her voicemail.

“Hey, you, what’s up? Do you want me to stop somewhere and grab something on my way back home?”

Mac felt pleasantly warm inside when he heard the word home and realized that Susana automatically included him in that definition.

“No, I called to tell you that I’m actually not home. I just left my agent’s office and I thought we could eat out tonight.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She sounded unsure, but he thought he was just imagining things.

“I’m a few feet from Paper Moon”

“There won’t be any tables. You have to book months in advance.”

“I know. Maybe you haven’t realized it yet but your boyfriend is the captain of the Patriots.”

It took a few seconds for Susana to respond and Mac refused to believe that it was because he had used the word
boyfriend.
Personally, he thought it was too childish of a term to define his relationship with Susana. He much preferred the word husband or significant other, but he chose the word boyfriend because he didn’t want to pressure her.

And because he was scared that she would reject the idea.

“OK,” she agreed, not mentioning the term boyfriend. “I’ll see you there in about half an hour.”

“I’ll be there.”

He hung up before being tempted to add an “
I love you”
, or anything else that could scare her off. Mac put his phone away and it made him angry to feel so insecure. He wanted to be patient but at the same time he couldn’t help but feel that while he gave himself completely to her, she was still keeping some distance.
It’s your imagination
—he said to himself—
you haven’t slept well in weeks and you’re becoming paranoid. Susana is with you so calm down.

He shook his head and walked straight to the restaurant. He arrived at Paper Moon and the owner came out to greet him. After a little small talk, the man assured him that they would have a table ready in a matter of minutes and he invited him to have a drink at the bar while he waited. Mac accepted the invitation and sat on a stool to wait for Susana. He ordered a whiskey in honor of that night weeks before when he saw her in that dress that left her entire back exposed, and he drank it slowly.

“Hey, Mac, I didn’t expect to see you here,” said Quin as he greeted him warmly, taking him by surprise. “I haven’t heard from you in weeks.”

Mac’s teammate gave him a hug.

“I’ve been busy,” answered Mac. “And you? Weren’t you going out of town with Patricia?”

“Yes, we got back a few days ago.” Just then Quin’s wife appeared. “Patricia, honey, Mac is here.”

“Hi, Mac,” she gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you having dinner alone?”

“No, I’m waiting for…”

“Look who is here.” Quin’s phrase stopped Mac from finishing what he was about to say. “What a coincidence to see you here, Susan.” Quin walked up to Susan who had just come through the front door and added: “I heard about Tim. I’m so sorry.”