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Chapter 29: Quincy
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Juked Chapter 30: Daniel, Part 1
We won. Took out the Galaxy five to four. Except for our sweeper rolling his ankle when he came down wrong during a head shot, the game went fine. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but we got the job done.I might have had more enthusiasm if I hadn't still been pissed at my family. It's been a week since the showdown at my mom's house, and the only two people to even try to apologize were Blanca and Geovany.This doesn't surprise me. Geovany isn't just my big brother. He's one of my best friends. He knows I'm smarter than everyone gives me credit for.Blanca… well, she knows better than to believe everything you hear. Her ex-husband blasted her publically, not that most people cared, but she lost a lot of friends over his lies about her being a gold-digging whore and cheater. None of it was true, and he basically said as much in court when the divorce finally went through, but the damage had been done. Since then, she's way less quick to judge people, especially other women.Eduardo, thou
Juked Chapter 31: Daniel, Part 2
"Sure, why?" "I get the impression you have something on your mind," I hit the highway and we zip toward the exit to my apartment building. "Are you worried about the baby?""What? Oh no!" she says with a wave of dismissal. "I'm just distracted is all."We are silent while I park in the lot at my building. My place is only ten minutes from the stadium. It's not the fanciest apartment complex, but rent in Houston is really expensive, especially inside the loop. I'm lucky I can afford it. Not all soccer players can. I'm pretty sure the rookies are all driving from at least thirty minutes away and have roommates."So here we are," I say, turning off the engine."No underground parking with a secret passcode to get in?" she jests. "I'm shocked there's not more security."I snicker. "Professional soccer players don't need much security in the States. In Europe or South America, hell yeah, but here, people are more interested in football players." I get out of the car and make my way around
Juked Chapter 32: Quincy, Part 1
"I can't believe Daniel convinced me to do this," I grumble as I push a stroller, carry a collapsible chair over my shoulder, and drag a small cooler through the crowd, trying to find his sister Blanca.The sister I've only met once. The sister that stood there while her other brother berated me.But Daniel agreed to be in his nephew's high school Homecoming Parade as the Master of Ceremonies and he thought the baby would enjoy it, so here we are.I sigh. "Okay, Lucky Ducky. Let me know if you see her," I say to Chance, lifting one shoulder to keep from dropping the chair on my toe again. I feel like an idiot bringing so much stuff with me, but it's October in Houston. That means it's hot and humid, so I needed a lot of supplies. I've read that babies can dehydrate very quickly, and there wasn't enough room in the bottom of the stroller to pack diapers, wipes, changing pad, change of clothes, toys, formula, sunscreen, hats, and several bottles of water. I've turned into a freaking pac
Juked Chapter 33: Quincy, Part 2
I stay silent as my heart drops. I'm not asking for anything right now. It's too soon. We both have fears, but to hear someone he's close to say he may never be ready for something more is jarring."When my dad left my mom, what, ten years ago? Eleven? Wow. I didn't realize it had been that long." She clears her throat. "Anyway, it threw our family into this weird chaos, especially the boys. They all looked up to my dad. Thought he was practically a god among men. So him revealing he was a lying, deceiving, cheating human the whole time, well, you can imagine how well that went over.""I'm sure.""Add onto that, my mother is really close to her boys." She twirls her ponytail around her finger. "She's close to all of us, but Daniel and Geovany the most. They're her babies, ya know? Ever since then, Daniel has made it very clear over the years he has zero interest in commitments, says he refuses to settle down until he is one hundred percent sure he's got the right person because he'll
Juked Chapter 34: Daniel
We played a shitty game. Really shitty. Not only did our sweeper get hurt again, Mack Shivel decided to be a dick and taunt a forward from the other team. Finally the ref had enough of his shit, and he ended up with a yellow card. Several times.Pissed me off and pretty much ruined the flow we had going, which led to the loss. I'd say we went down in a blaze of glory, but it wasn't even that good.Not to mention I'm still struggling with my corner kick. Christian is having trouble with his back and it's becoming clear to the rest of the team the rookie is being set up to be a starter. That's probably part of what made Shivel act out in the first place.So yeah, no matter where I turned, today's game was just shitty. Add that to the fact that my family still hasn't apologized, and to say I'm pissed off is an understatement."A bunch of us are going out for drinks to cool off if you wanna come with us," Christian says. I walk over to my locker from the showers, towel wrapped around my w
Juked Chapter 35: Quincy
I stare at the TV, Jamie Fraser's naked butt strolling by. That alone should hold my attention, but I can't concentrate on the most recent episode of Outlander.All I can think about is how it's been more than a week since I've heard from Daniel and how it's pissing me off. I texted him once. He never texted me back. I'm not surprised. I knew this was coming as soon as Chance called him dada. It was written all over his face. It scared the shit out of him and threw him right back into that default mode Blanca talked about. He'd tried to cover it well, but the fear was so obvious.The next morning, I saw his picture online. He and his teammates were coming out of some strip club at four in the morning. There's no way to convince me they went to Purple Palace to have a team meeting. So not only did he get freaked out, he lied to me, and immediately ran to the safety of other women. Distant women. Women whose names he will never know, and he doesn't have to worry about getting close to.
Juked Chapter 36: Daniel
We won our game against Chicago. That's not even accurate. We slaughtered them. Our team was focused and engaged. We were truly on point. Well, except for me.I couldn't keep my head in the game for anything. No one could really tell except me and probably Christian. Maybe my coaches. But other than that, I'm really good at faking it when I'm having an off-game. Everyone else was really on fire, so I didn't think they noticed anything. I look around the hotel bar at my teammates and notice how happy they all are. Lots of smiles, lots of booze, lots of Barbie doll women with fake nails and even faker tits. I don't begrudge them a good time. I just don't feel it. It all seems… empty."Is this seat taken?" One of the Barbies smiles brightly at me. Her long blond, highlighted hair and cherry red lips might have turned me on six months ago, but now it irritates me. I really want to tell her to get lost, but reality is, there isn't anyone sitting there. Her sitting doesn't mean I have to ta
Juked Chapter 37: Quincy, Part 1
I lean against the wall in the hallway, hugging a folder to my chest. My thoughts run rampant as I wait for my new attorney, a man I have never met but hired based on a recommendation. It wasn't hard finding him. The minute you start asking clients at a salon for resources, people come out of the woodwork to give you names and numbers. Ultimately, my coworker, Nathan, had a client who went through a custody battle last year. From what he says, it was really ugly. But she ended up winning, and she still sees Nathan every six weeks, which means she didn't go broke fighting for her kids. That's good news.Still, all of the "what ifs" mock me. What if the attorney charges more than I expect, and I can't hire him? What if I hire him, and he's in cahoots with Erik? What if he ends up bungling the case? What if he doesn't bungle the case, but we get a shitty judge who's had a rough day, and I lose custody? I recognize how ridiculous and irrational I sound, but that doesn't stop the thoughts
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