Throwing Love #3 (The Throwing Love Romance Series - Book #3) (2 page)

I couldn't wait to see the paper.

Chapter Three

I
rose that morning feeling a million times better than I had in a really long
time. The past few weeks had been brutal on me, I could barely concentrate on
school and my relationship had taken a nosedive.

 
Now that Bennett
had been exonerated, everything seemed to be right with the world once again. I
couldn't have asked for anything better. I rolled over into an empty bed and
missed him even though I had just seen him the night before. It wasn't all a
dream, was it?

I had wanted him to spend the night, but since he was
playing the home game, he really needed to get his rest and we both knew he
wouldn't if he stayed. I had been more than willing to ravish him for the
entire night, but he needed to get his rest. Plus he wanted to get up early to
practice since he had been off for a while. Not that he needed it; he was all
talent, that one. A smile played on my lips at the thought of him walking out
to the field. He would be so excited to be back in action and would probably be
grinning from ear to ear as soon as he got there. He deserved it, and I was so
happy for him.

I got out of bed and went out to the kitchen to make a pot
of coffee. I was surprised to see Connie already up. She had propped herself up
on pillows and was looking on her phone. I assumed she was checking out her
social media. I had expected her to sleep in since neither of us had a lot
going on that morning, plus she had drunk much more wine than I had.

I yawned as I put water in the pot and poured it into the
machine. I added a filter and poured a scoop of coffee into it. I turned it on
and heard the sweet sounds of coffee being made.

“Oh my God! Emmi!”

Startled, I turned to Connie, who was staring at me
wide-eyed. She had her phone in her hand, so I knew she had some real gossip.

“What? It's a little early to be hearing that screeching,
don't you think?”

She laughed, “I don't screech.”

“Sure you don't. What's up? Is Ryan Gosling finally single?
Cause I'm telling you, I would do just about-”

“Emmi, quit it. No, it's you. It's all about you.” Connie
had this look of amazement on her face that was pretty priceless.

I stared at her, confused. The smell of coffee was in the
air and all I wanted was the have a cup. I wasn't sure why she was saying these
things and not explaining herself.

“I don't get it.”

“Social media – no matter where I go, it's all about
you.”

“What? What are you talking about?” I wasn't sure if that
was good news or bad news, and I didn't want any more bad news in my life.

“Your article, it just blew up! People have been sharing it
all over Twitter and Facebook.”

My mouth fell open. “What? Already?” I hadn't expected to
hear about the article quite so early. Could it really have spread so fast?

Connie ran to me and held out her phone. I grabbed it from
her and scrolled through her newsfeed. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
She was right – I was what everyone was talking about that morning. I
stood there in awe as I read post after post. It was so embarrassing, but in a
good way. I felt heat come to my face as I blushed deeply. Oh my God – it
really was all about me. People loved my article and praising Bennett for being
back in the game. I hadn't had the chance to look at my own phone that morning;
I was so focused on coffee. I usually checked it after my first cup.

“I haven't even looked at my phone yet. It must be ringing
off the hook by now.”

Connie giggled. “I would go get it if I was you. I’ll handle
the coffee.”

I ran to my room to grab the phone off my nightstand while
Connie poured us some coffee. As I was walking down the hallway towards the
kitchen, I saw I had 10 text messages from friends, my editor, and Bennett.
They were all praising me on a job well done. Bennett was sending me kisses and
telling me he couldn't wait to see me after the game. I also had two missed
calls from my editor. She had left me a long voicemail message stating the
surprise and joy she had felt to receive the article last night. She felt it
was brilliant and couldn't wait to print it. The second stated that the article
was an absolute success and the office had been fielding calls all day about it
and how proud she was of me. Fielding calls about me? From who? I wondered
about the papers that were interested in me. It was hard to believe I could
become so popular over one damn article.

“My phone blew up,” I said simply. I started laughing and
shaking my head.

Connie laughed. “I bet. Good for you, girl. People have
definitely taken notice of you, and this can't help but be a great advantage to
your career.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. Everyone knows my name, knows
my work. Whether they like it or not, I'm everywhere.”

Connie handed me a cup of coffee with cream and smiled.
“It's amazing, girl. I'm very happy for you.”

I took a sip of the hot liquid. I loved the taste of coffee
– it was so inviting, especially first thing in the morning. Just then my
phone rang. I expected it to be my editor again, but it wasn't.

“Dad! Hi!”

“Hey, sweetheart. How are you doing?”

“I'm great, Dad. How have things been going? We need to get
together again soon!”

“Busy, as usual. Look you have been the buzz around the
office all day and that's the reason for my call.”

Uh-oh.

“Oh. Why's that?” He had obviously heard all about me,
whether that was a good or bad thing I was about to find out.

“Well, this article that I read this morning is the talk of
the entire office, and I have to say it's exceptionally well-written.”

I blushed. “Dad, thank you.”

“I can't tell you how proud I am of your talent as a writer.
I know you are going to do so well as a broadcaster. Your article was very
professional, as it should be. Whether you go into broadcasting or just
writing, you would be phenomenal at both.”

“That means the world to me, Dad.” I loved that he had
called to tell me that. My dad was just so great.

“I love you, sweetheart. Keep up the good work.”

“I love you, too, Dad. Bye.”

There was a click on the other end and tears welled up in my
eyes. I had really needed to hear that from my father. He wasn't always open
about his feelings, but when he did, he really made up for it. I was thrilled
that he had read something of mine and genuinely enjoyed it. Connie saw tears
spill out of my eyes and hugged me tight. “You deserve this, girl. I think you
are going to have a great career. Your dad obviously loves you very much.”

“Thank you.”

We sat down at the kitchen table with our coffee and
compared each other’s social media posts. I wiped the tears off my cheeks,
relieved that things were starting to look up.

 
“What really
surprised me is all the joyful comments,” I said as certain posts caught my
eye. “Where were they when he was being accused? Everyone seems so excited that
he is innocent and now able to play and before they were ready to feed him to
the wolves. Like, what the hell is that?”

“People are like that. They are sheep and can't think for
themselves. They just follow what everyone else is doing. They thought they
finally found something to explain his talent, so they didn't bother to
question it. People love scandal and gossip – they feed off of it. Look
at the celebrities around you. People don't like happy couples. They want to
read the dirt about the cheating scandals and who is breaking up. It's sad,
really.”

“Well, I wish more of his fans would have been supportive.
Things were really bad for him for awhile there.”

“I'm sure the real fans were with him the whole time, but
this is a big world we live in. Just be happy that it's over.”

“Yeah, I'm sure you're right. I just can't believe the
turnaround. But obviously, it's good news for everyone, and I'm really happy he
gets to play today.”

I couldn't have been more excited about the attention I was
getting for breaking the news of Bennett's innocence, but I was really
surprised by how my audience seemed to have switched their attitude so
drastically. It was really weird. Not everyone had been a fan of my articles
when I was trying to stick by Bennett throughout the accusations, but here
everyone was praising me now that he was innocent. When I was focusing on just
his allegations, people were eating it up as if they were sure he was guilty
and now they were going to the game. I really couldn't understand it. It was
all a little messed up in my opinion, but I guessed I shouldn't argue or worry
about it. Bennett was okay now and able to play on his team and that was what
mattered. Not anyone's opinion on the matter.

There was no point in questioning it. I would just roll with
the punches and see what happened next, but I would just keep it all in the
back of my mind, just in case I needed it for future reference.

Chapter Four

Going into the game, I was completely pumped. The stands
were packed with fans as usual, and it put a smile on my face. I grabbed myself
a couple franks and a beer before heading to my seats. I had some of the best
seats in the house, so I always had a good view of the game. My father always
bought them for me and it made going to the game that much better.

The practice portion was already over, so I didn't get to
see Bennett until he came out for the game. I could just imagine his excitement
of being there, something he had probably worried would never happen again.
When his team came out onto the field, I saw him right away. He had his arms
splayed out in the air and was turning in circles around. He was embracing his
innocence and showing everyone he was back for good. I had a huge smile on my
face as I watched Bennett – he couldn't have looked happier than he did
in that moment. I was so proud of him.

The game got underway, and I cheered exuberantly for my man
as he went about winning the game for his team. His pitching was exceptional
and I knew it was all part of him showing the city that he knew what he was
doing. He had done nothing wrong, and it was obvious that his team was happy to
have him back.

The crowd was crazy all around me as they cheered Bennett
on. I couldn't have been more surprised considering what Bennett had been
through in the past week. One of the great parts of being at the games was the
crowd. They brought the energy and intensity to the game. If you were in the
crowd, you could really feel their excitement about being there. You could feel
the love in the air at that moment for Bennett, and it really made me wonder
how many of them had believed him. How many of them had believed Bennett
throughout the whole ordeal? Or were they just coming around now that his
innocence had been proven?

There was no point in dwelling on it, but it was a difficult
thing not to do. Although I was an unwilling participant, it probably didn't
help that my articles had helped cause the media frenzy that had fuelled
people's dislike for Bennett. The articles helped people conspire against him.
I even had to admit that the way the evidence had originally come out, it had
appeared as if Bennett were guilty. Even I could admit to that, so all those people
that don't know Bennett personally – what are they supposed to believe?

It didn't matter anyways; he was found innocent at that was
all that mattered.

The games that had taken place in Bennett's absence had not
gone so well. It had even looked like they were in a downward spiral, so it was
great to see Bennett back on top once again.

I stayed throughout the whole game; cheering Bennett on and
seeing his team win their first game since he had been away. I stood up and
cheered along with the crowd as they went wild..

I was confident everything was going to be alright from then
on.

Chapter Five

The weeks following the game were amazing. Things between
Bennett and me only seemed to be getting better the more time we spent with
each other. My man was an amazing catch, and I was a lucky woman. He was kind,
attentive, and always made me feel like number one. At that point, we were
basically spending every moment together and I wasn't one to argue about that.
I couldn't have been happier with how our relationship was going, and I wanted
it to keep going along the same lines. I had finally found someone that was
true to me and wanted to build something real with me. The drama was over for
the time being and that helped things out between us a lot. I didn't have to
worry about another scandal breaking because there just wasn't anything to talk
about. It was nice to be in a somewhat normal relationship again without any
front-page news going along with it.

I couldn't deny the fact that I was falling in love with
Bennett. Could you blame me? The guy was just so absolutely dreamy. Of course I
was falling in love with him, there were probably a hundred other girls wishing
they were in my position. He was everything I wanted in a man and partner and
finding him had been a true gift. Things between us were moving fast, but I
didn't want to complain about that after everything we had already been
through. It was best to just enjoy what was going on between us because we
never knew when it could turn the other way again.