Barbara Dunlop - An After-Hours Affair

Sure, he’d dated his share of women. He was on the road, in the public eye, invited to parties and publicity events where supermodels wanted to hobnob with athletes.

But it wasn’t the same thing. There had never been anything like his night-well, his half night-with Jenny.

He exited the cool car, using his left arm to push the door shut, cursing the fact that his shoulder wasn’t healing as quickly as he’d hoped. He knew he wasn’t eighteen anymore, but he was in top physical shape, and he’d done every single thing the doctors and physiotherapists had told him to do.

He heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to see Cole, who lived across the street, pacing his way down the driveway.

“Hey,” Cole greeted with a nod, striding forward. Living so close to one another, the two men spent many casual evenings in each other’s company.

“Hey,” Mitch returned, hitting the lock button on his key fob.

“Shoulder okay?”

“It will be. But my physio is a sadist.”

“Poor baby.”

Mitch grunted.

“Got a beer?” asked Cole.

“Sure,” Mitch answered as he started for the front door. He’d rather have a double shot of single malt. But he’d read studies that told him drinking alcohol to relieve pain was a dangerous path to start down. He wondered if it was as dangerous for emotional pain as it was for physical pain.

“You took Jenny home last night,” Cole stated as he followed behind.

“So?” Mitch’s tone came out uncharacteristically sharp. But the last thing he wanted to do was talk about Jenny. “Her car broke down.”

“I saw she left it in the TCC parking lot.”

Case closed. There was nothing unusual about Mitch offering Jenny a ride home. He didn’t owe anybody any explanation.

He inserted his key and swung open the front door. He retrieved his Royal Crier newspaper from the metal bracket beside his house, and grabbed a handful of mail from his mailbox. Then he tossed it all, along with the keys, onto the side table in his small foyer.

The house was cool and dark, and he breathed a sigh of relief at being home. Maybe he’d take some pain pills later tonight. He had a feeling it was going to be a challenge to get to sleep.

“I was on the phone with Abigail for an hour today,” he told Cole, changing the subject from Jenny and choosing something familiar and safe as he crossed the living room to open the blinds. The direct sunlight had passed over his house hours ago and would now be shining on the back deck.

“Does she know that Brad’s being threatened with blackmail?” Cole asked. Few people knew about the blackmail threats to Brad, but Cole was a trusted confidant of most TCC board members and had been brought into the loop.

Mitch shook his head. “Not yet. At least not that she mentioned. She has some strong opinions on the design for the new clubhouse.”

Brad and Abigail were locked in a bitter fight for the upcoming presidential election at the Texas Cattleman’s Club. Mitch was pretty sure that Abigail would have spoken up if she knew that Brad was receiving vague, threatening notes that talked about exposing his “secret.”

“Whatever it is, it’s going to come out sooner or later.”

“I’m betting sooner.” Mitch opened the refrigerator and snagged two icy cold imported beers. “That’s the thing about secrets.”

“That’s the thing about secrets,” said Cole, an oblique look in his eyes as he accepted one of the chilled, green bottles. He twisted off the cap and tossed it into the trash.

Ignoring Cole’s dire tone, Mitch opened his own bottle and headed for the back deck. He settled into a padded chair beneath the shade of the awning, propping up his right arm to relieve the stress on his shoulder.

The deck provided a view across the seventh green of the Royal Golf Club. Two men were putting in the distance, while a foursome, two men and two women, made their way to the eighth tee. A breeze rippled the leaves on the perimeter oaks, bringing with it the scent of freshly cut grass.

Cole sat down. “Secrets,” he said, then took a swig.

“You got one that matters?” asked Mitch, trying to gauge his friend’s expression.

Cole smiled. “I think you do.”

Mitch squinted. “You know something I don’t?” Most of his life had been splashed across the national tabloids. Everybody in the country knew his yardage, his college grades, his weight. They’d even done a spread on his new haircut last fall.

“You got home at 4:00 a.m.”

Mitch stilled, and his voice lowered to a warning growl. He did not need to defend himself to Cole. “Last time I checked, I was over twenty-one.”

“You were with Jenny.” Cole’s tone wasn’t exactly judgmental, but there was a steadiness in his eyes that made Mitch feel like he was under interrogation.

Mitch didn’t want to lie, but he wasn’t about to tarnish Jenny’s reputation, either. So, he didn’t respond.

“Are you sure that was such a good idea?” asked Cole.

Mitch felt his heartbeat deepen, while adrenaline trickled into his system. “You might want to think about exiting this conversation along about now.”

“I’m worried about Jenny.”

“Jenny’s fine.”

“How would you know that?”

Mitch forced in a calming breath and took a long pull on his beer. He knew he should never have kissed her. And after she’d made his blood pressure skyrocket there in the car, he should never have walked her to the door.

But it was done. And he couldn’t change it. And it was none of anybody else’s damn business.

“What are your intentions?” ask Cole, his gaze steely.

“Is this a joke?”

“I’m dead serious. I’ve known Jenny since she was a little girl-”

“And I haven’t?”

“I didn’t sleep with her.”

Mitch came instantly to his feet, pain throbbing through his shoulder. He hated mounting an argument when he was in the wrong. Oh, he could do it. But he sure hated it. “Jenny is an adult. We talked this morning and-”

“And she told you she was fine?” Cole asked, brow arched.

Mitch came clean. “She said ‘we slipped up’ and ‘hey, it happens.’”

“Does that sound like Jenny to you?”

And that was where Mitch’s logic fell off the rails. It didn’t sound remotely like Jenny.

The accusation went out of Cole’s eyes, and Mitch felt his guard slip a notch.

Both men were silent for a few minutes, while the wind picked up, and the golf games continued on the course.

“What were you thinking? ” asked Cole.

Mitch eased back down in his seat. “You saw her last night.”

“Yet I didn’t sleep with her.” Then Cole’s gaze grew contemplative, as if he was questioning his own judgment on that front.

Something dark burst to life inside Mitch, and he reflexively jerked forward. “Don’t you dare even think about sleeping with Jenny.”

Cole looked amused now. He obviously saw some kind of twisted humor in Mitch’s predicament. “That sounded a whole lot like jealousy. Why don’t you tell me again how you have no intentions toward her?”

Mitch could tell where Cole was going. But there was absolutely no future for him and Jenny. Jenny was a great girl, and Mitch was only human. “You know what I’m like.”

He and Cole had been friends since elementary school. Cole had played baseball instead of football, his smaller stature making that game a better fit. But he was fully aware of the perks available to elite athletes. And he was under no illusions about Mitch’s lifestyle.

“You’re not the guy I’d pick for my sister, that’s for sure,” Cole agreed.

“You don’t have a sister.”

“If I had one.”