Play Date (Play Makers Book 3) (42 page)

Then Sean spoke up, his smile contradicted by the pain in his eyes. “Bam doesn’t need to leave the Lancers.
I’ll
do it. I’ve been thinking about it anyway. So this just changes my time table.”

Bannerman grinned at Johnny. “It’s a good thing he’s pretty, right?”

Johnny laughed. “Yeah, Deck. What the hell? No one’s leaving. It’s not necessary. And it’s not happening.”

Sean fixed them with a quiet look. “I need to leave. For personal reasons.” When they just stared at him, he added sheepishly, “I’ve been dating Kerrie Cosner.”

Johnny wanted to say something. Anything. But he had no words.

And of course, Bannerman had
too many
words, demanding boisterously, “You’re banging the
coach’s
wife?”

Sean glared. “It’s not like that. Man, you’re a jackass sometimes.” He gave Johnny a rueful smile. “I’ve kept it under the radar for obvious reasons. But I always knew I’d have to deal with it. So if anyone needs to leave, it’s me.”

Johnny could feel them both looking to him—their QB—for guidance. For encouragement. Maybe even wisdom. But all he could say was, “Coz’s wife?”

“I love her,” Sean replied simply.

“How can that be?” He spoke before he could stop himself. “You need to back away from this, Deck. It’s unworkable.
Completely
unworkable.”

Sean’s green eyes flashed. “I just told you, I love her.”

“How
can
you? She’s married, for God’s sake. And she’s a head case. Everyone knows that.” He choked on the rush of words. “You need to take a big step back. Think this through. Let me and Bam help you with it, because trust me, you’re making the biggest mistake of your life. Your career
. Everything.”

He knew he was talking too much. Dissing the Cosner woman too much. Even Bannerman seemed stunned.

But Bam was his halfback, so he said loyally, “We need to break this down, Deck. You like her? That’s cool. But she’s married, so John’s right. It’s a no-go.”

Sean stood slowly, his expression contorted with anger. “You don’t even
know
her. But Rachel does, and
she
loves her too.”

Bannerman winced. “Huh?”

“Yeah, so pay attention. Kerrie’s sweet and trusting. And Coz treats her like shit.”

“She should divorce him,” Johnny agreed immediately. “But she hasn’t. He’s been treating her like shit since the day I met them. Almost five years ago. So why is she still with him? Have you asked yourself
that?”
His tone grew steely. “Take a step back. Find someone else. I’m begging you.”

“You know what, John?” Sean said contemptuously. “Fuck you. If you can’t get on board with this. If you think Bam Bannerman is such a great match for someone like Rachel—the sweetest girl in the goddamned world. But you can’t see me with Kerrie? Even though I’ve been dating her for the same amount of time, and love her just as much? Then
fuck you.”

“Hey, Deck,” Bannerman murmured. “Settle down.”

“Fuck you too, Bam,” Sean growled, his face almost unrecognizable in its fury. “I’m outta here.”

• • •

Rachel and Erica were sitting on the living room sofa, chatting like old friends. They had covered a lot of ground. The R-rated version of the romance; the rescue of Kyle; Bannerman’s insistence that he couldn’t provide for Rachel and “the kids” unless he switched to another team.

“But if Johnny convinces him to stay with the Lancers—which he will—you’ll move up here, won’t you?” Erica pleaded.

“Of
course.
I keep telling him I can be happy anywhere as long as I’m with him. But he’s so sentimental about my house.” Rachel smiled wistfully. “And he’s right. It’s adorable. In a cute little neighborhood, close to the beach. But it’s not secure enough. High school boys are already cruising by, trying to catch a glimpse of Bam Bannerman. Plus, even though I love it, the kitchen is too tiny for a dishwasher. And I’ve always wanted a huge front porch. So
I’m
ready to move. It’s Vince who thinks we’ll live there forever.”

“His current house is kind of intimidating, but he’s just leasing it, I think.”

“You mean the castle?” Rachel grinned. “Twenty-eight rooms, and he says he has to bang me in each one before we can even think about giving it up.”

“Sean’s right. You’re completely ruined,” Erica teased her. They laughed, then she continued more sincerely. “Portland is a fabulous city. Glorious weather. Fresh air every day of the year. And there are a million things to do, but always casual.
Perfect
for you.” Her gaze shifted to the hall and her entire demeanor changed. “Oh, no, look.”

Rachel turned and winced. The three men were headed toward them with Sean in the lead, his expression grim and ashen. Behind him was Johnny, looking almost shell-shocked. And behind
him,
Bannerman looked as though he had lost his best friend.

And to Rachel’s horror, it almost seemed like he had. She just wasn’t sure which one. And if it was Sean Decker? Well, it must be mutual, because Sean had clearly lost everything in one painful meeting among friends.

“Can you handle Sean?” Erica whispered.

“Definitely,” Rachel agreed, seeing instinctively that Johnny needed his wife. And while Bannerman could have used a hug himself, it was clear Sean needed someone more.

So she jumped off the sofa and blocked the kicker’s path, then put one hand on his chest, stopping him, while the fingers of her free hand tousled his hair like she might do to a toddler. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Sean’s green eyes were flat and disengaged. “I told them about me and Kerrie.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, teach,” Bannerman drawled from a few feet away. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

She glanced at him and was instantly reassured by his wink. So she focused back on Sean, who informed her unhappily, “John called her a head case.”

She glanced at the QB, expecting an apologetic grimace at the very least. Instead, his face showed a mix of emotions she couldn’t hope to sort out, and she realized she didn’t really know him very well.

Even though he was arguably the most important member of the Triple Threat.

So she settled for telling him, “If you knew her, you’d love her. And yes, she’s quirky. But she’s also smart and funny. She has a huge heart and an irrepressible spirit. And she’s totally in love with Sean.”

Erica blurted out unhappily, “What are you guys
talking
about?”

Bannerman shot her a warning look. “Deck’s banging Coz’s wife.”

“Goddammit, Bam!” Sean seethed visibly. “Just shut the fuck up, will you?”

They all stared at each other, then Sean kissed Rachel on the cheek. “Sorry, honey. I know you did your best.”

Without giving her time to respond, he turned to Bannerman and grabbed his right hand, shaking it firmly. “Congrats, Bam. Just treat her well, okay?”

Bannerman didn’t hesitate. Instead, he grabbed Sean into a bear hug and growled, “Cut it out, will ya?”

For a moment, Sean seemed mollified. Then he pulled free and walked over to Johnny, saying in a stiff tone, “I hope we can be friends again someday.”

“Friends?” Johnny gaped at the kicker, then rested his hands on his shoulders and focused his blazing blue stare straight into his eyes. “We’re
brothers,
Deck. You, me and Bam. We always will be. That’s not even an issue.”

Sean’s expression warmed, but again just for a second. Then he shrugged and said, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Then as Rachel watched in fascinated disbelief, he walked up to Erica, pulled her close, and kissed her on the mouth. Not just a brush of the lips, but a full-on kiss, after which he strode out of the room. Within seconds, they heard the front door slam.

“Un-fucking-believable,” Johnny said, shell-shocked again.

Rachel wanted to rally the troops. Tell them wonderful things about Kerrie. But all she could do was stare at Erica and stammer, “He
kissed
you. On the
mouth.”

“We all do that,” Bannerman explained. “It’s no big deal.”

Rachel turned to Johnny, whose stormy eyes assured her he didn’t approve. Not of this, and
definitely
not of Sean’s illicit affair with a head case. And probably another million indignities he had been forced to suffer in silence.

He was at his breaking point, and to prove it, he said quietly, “I need some air,” and strode through an open pair of French doors and onto the redwood deck that wrapped around the back of the house.

Erica stared after him in horror, then demanded, “What
happened
in there?”

“Deck told John to fuck off,” Bannerman told her quietly.
“Twice.”

Erica’s hand flew to her chest like her heart had actually seized up on her. Then she stared helplessly at the halfback. “No.”

Bannerman turned to Rachel. “No one talks to the big dog that way. Not ever. Deck says it to me all the time, and who cares? But not to John.”

Rachel closed her eyes, trying to blot out the pain she had seen on the QB’s face. Then she said quietly, “Why on earth did Sean bring it up now of all times?”

“Because I said I might have to leave the team. And he said
he
should go, since he was banging the coach’s wife, and he’d have to leave anyway once everyone found out.” Bannerman cleared his throat, then added reluctantly, “He says he wants to marry her. It’s nuts, right?”

Rachel took a deep breath, balancing her desire to defend Kerrie with her belief that they weren’t ready to get married. Not yet. Sean had always been correct about that. They needed time after the divorce to figure things out.

Erica, who was still a beat behind, asked warily, “Are Coz and Kerrie separated? Getting a divorce? How is this even happening?”

Rachel glanced at the dining room table. “Maybe we should sit down.”

The suggestion revived the hostess in Erica. “I must be losing it! We have champagne chilling. To celebrate your engagement.” She grabbed one of Bannerman’s huge hands and insisted, “It’s the best news ever. We can all agree on
that
.”

“The big dog will need something stronger,” he murmured. “And so do I.”

“So do I,” Erica admitted. “Maybe a gin and tonic?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it. Teach?”

“I’ll have what Erica’s having,” she said, instinctively echoing Bannerman’s words from the dinner with Murf. And it felt good. Felt right. The Spurlings were their leaders. And she would happily follow, since leading this group would be the worst job ever.

“Good choice,” he told her with a sympathetic smile. Then he walked to an imposing wet bar while Erica motioned for Rachel to follow her to the table.

It was oval, like the one from the restaurant, and Erica sat at one end, while Rachel took a side chair with her back to the wet bar. Bannerman carried the tall, icy cocktails to the women first, complete with fancy straws. Then he brought two heavy, cut-crystal glasses containing amber liquid, setting one at the far end where the QB would sit. But instead of sitting across from Rachel, he sat beside her, moving his chair close enough for their knees to touch.

And because she needed the contact, she made sure they actually
did
touch. Not just knees, but thighs. Then she eyed his glass. “What’s that?”

“Scotch.”

“Oh.” She had never seen him drink anything but beer, but it seemed appropriate.

“She’s a ball buster,” Bannerman told Erica with a wink.

“It’s because Johnny will want Scotch,” Erica explained to her.

Rachel laughed. “Trust me, I’m miles ahead of you.” Raising her frosty glass, she told them quietly, “To friendship.”

“Amen,” Bannerman murmured. Then he confessed, his tone strangled, “We’re gonna lose Deck. And it’s gonna kill John.”

He didn’t need to finish that thought, because both women knew the truth.

It would kill Bam Bannerman too.

Rachel gave him a reassuring smile. “We’re not there yet. Because Erica’s right. Sean can’t marry Kerrie until she gets divorced, and that’s weeks away at the soonest. He’ll come to his senses before then. He loves you guys too, you know. He’ll come back and you can talk it through rationally.”

“One of my coworkers went to the Dominican Republic,” Erica murmured. “She was divorced in less than a weekend.”

“What?” Rachel tried to compose herself but failed. “Is that even legal?”

“Does it matter? Once he runs off with his coach’s wife, he’s dead to the Lancers. Maybe the whole league. But never to us. Never.” Erica gave Bannerman a tearful smile. “Trust me on that. We
own
Sean Decker. You, me, Johnny—and now Rachel.”

“Maybe if you offered to blow him,” Bannerman suggested solemnly.

Rachel dissolved into laughter, mostly from released stress, and was glad when Erica laughed too. How had he put it? Erica could always make them feel better.

Rachel was definitely on board with that. In fact, she wanted
in
on it.

But she was also willing to do her part, so she stood and told them, “We can’t let them run off to some foreign country. So I should call Kerrie. She’ll slow him down.”

“I like that idea,” Erica told her. “And I’m sure I’d like her too.”

“You would.” She smiled at Bannerman. “She’s not a head case, I promise.”

“John says she is.”

“Grrr.” She smiled to dispel the ominous sound. “Excuse me for a minute.”

She headed for the butler’s pantry, which was approximately the size of her entire kitchen and much better equipped. When she reached the doorway, she looked over her shoulder and arched a playful eyebrow. “No kissing while I’m gone.”

Erica’s eyes danced. “He hasn’t kissed me since the wedding. I thought it was respect for my marital status, but I guess it was you.”

Bannerman nodded. “It’s up to Deck and John now. I’m taken.”

“You really are,” Rachel said with an amorous sigh. Then she turned away, dreading her task but knowing it was all up to her—and Kerrie—now.

• • •

She had only called her crazy friend one time before. A quick minute to tell her about the engagement. The petite blonde had been so sweet about it, lavishing her with congratulations. In return, Rachel had promised to steal an afternoon during spring break to celebrate in person. They had even talked about including Bannerman and Sean. Their first of many double dates.