A Love Rekindled (The Game of Love #1) (2 page)

When
he picked Heather up, he was pleasantly surprised. She was a little
shorter than him, had long blonde hair, green eyes, and a nice body.
They walked back to his car and he opened her door for her. She
thanked him with a flirty smile. He went around to his side of the
car, and they were on their way. Heather talked the entire ride
there. He answered her questions but really did not concentrate on
the conversation. She was very interested in the fact that he played
two years for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Heather seemed nice and was
attractive, but he wasn't that interested.

They
sat in front of Linda's house for a minute. Luke hoped he would not
see anyone he knew at the party. What were the chances? She lived
about a half an hour away from the town he grew up in. He was pretty
sure he wouldn't cross any paths from high school. Luke knew that
people might recognize him from football, and he was fine with that.
He just didn't feel like running into any old friends. He let out a
sigh as Heather looked over at him.

“
Are
you okay?” she asked.

“
I'm
fine,” he replied.

“
Do
you want to go in?” she asked.

“
Sure,
I'm sorry about that,” he replied, as he got out of the car.

He
walked around to open her door and help her out of the car. She had a
long blue dress on and very high heels. They made their way up the
long driveway. Just get through the party, he thought. Maybe it would
be fun to have a few drinks. Be open minded, he told himself. He let
out a deep breath as he knocked on the door.

Linda
swung the door opened and wrapped her arms around him.

“
I
wasn't sure you would actually show up,” she joked.

“
Very
funny, I told you I was coming,” he replied, as he laughed.

He
stepped into the house. That was when he saw her. Their eyes
connected as she was being dipped by some guy he had never seen
before. Luke felt a growl escape his lips.

“
Are
you okay?” Linda asked.

“
Oh,
Yeah, I'm fine,” he said, as he brought his attention back to
Linda.

Shit!
I have to get out of here, he thought.

“
Come
on in. Let me show you around and introduce you to some of my
friends,” she said.

Linda
pulled him and Heather through the hall and into the house.

Jessica

John
pulled Jessica up from the dip.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

“
Of
course, why?” she questioned.

“
Your
body tensed up. I didn't mean to scare you,” John said.

“
I'm
fine. It was fun,” she said, with a smile.

Jessica
had a million things running through her mind. She had not seen Luke
since the day he left for college. Seeing his eyes made her heart
drop. He was even better looking than she remembered. She had heard
he was back in town, but had no idea she would run into him so soon.
They were a half an hour from their town. Why was he at the party,
she wondered? Oh yeah, he was with Heather. She could not believe it.
Heather had never mentioned her date's name. Jessica needed to find a
way to leave. There was no way she could see him with one of her
friends, or anyone else for that matter. She was hoping that her eyes
deceived her. Maybe it wasn't him. She was looking at him upside
down. Who was she kidding, she thought? She could never forget Luke's
eyes. They were one of her favorite features of his.

She
saw Linda walking their way with Luke and Heather.

“
I
need to get a soda,” Jessica said. “I'll be back in a few
minutes.”

Jessica
hurried off to the bar, keeping her head down as she passed them. She
heard Linda introduce her friend Luke to Tammy, Leslie, and John.
They all said hello, and Jessica heard Tammy start to talk.

“
You
look so familiar Luke,” Tammy said. “Do I know you from
somewhere?”

“
He
played for Pittsburgh Steelers for two years,” John said.
“After he played four years at University of Michigan.”

“
Are
you serious?” Tammy asked.

“
Yes,”
Luke answered. “I did.”

Jessica
walked up and handed John a drink. She kept her head down and drank
her soda. As her eyes looked up, with her head still down, she saw
Luke staring a hole through John. What the fuck is his problem, she
thought? He is on a date with one of my friends.

“
Jessica,
this is my friend Luke from college,” Linda said, as Jessica
looked at Heather's arm on Luke's waist. “This is my boss and
friend Jessica.”

“
Hello,”
Jessica said, as she stuck her hand out to shake his.

“
Hello,”
Luke responded, as she took her hand in his.

Jessica
jumped and pulled her hand back as she felt heat race up her arm.

“
I'm
going to go over and sit on the couch,” Jessica said. “I'll
see you guys in a few.”

“
I'll
go with you,” John said.

“
No,
you stay here and talk football with Luke,” she answered. “I'll
be fine.”

Jessica
went over to the couch. She put her head in her hands with her elbows
on her knees and sighed. How was she going to get out of there? She
needed to leave. There was no way she could stay. She knew she should
have never left her house that night. She could see an image in her
head of Luke kissing her and could feel her lips tingle just thinking
about it. He was in her thoughts as she felt a familiar heat cross
her body. Jessica could feel him there before she saw his shoes in
front of her. Maybe if she didn't look up, he would go away.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

“
Yep,
fine,” she replied.

“
I
had no idea you knew Linda,” he said. “Are you her boss?”

“
Yes,”
she answered.

“
I
went to college with Linda. We have kept in touch this whole time.
She talked about her boss Jessica,” he said. “I had no
idea it was you. I wouldn't have come here if I had known. I didn't
want to come. She bugged me and bugged me until I agreed.”

“
So,
you're here with Heather?” she asked.

“
It's
not what you think,” he said.

“
None
of my business,” she replied.

Hold
it together, she told herself. Don't cry in front of him. Wait until
you leave. Get your ass out of here before you lose it. Why does he
have to look so damn good? She had butterflies in her stomach and
felt like she was going to be sick. Don't look at his face, she
thought.

She
felt like he could hear her thoughts, because he sat down next to her
on the couch and leaned down to look at her. He looked so good. His
muscles looked so tight. She thought he looked good before he left
for college. There was no comparison. His dark brown hair hung just
above his eyes, and she could see the beautiful blue in them. The
eyes that made her feel safe and that she loved so much. They were so
familiar. She thought about how their color used to change depending
on his mood and wondered if they still did. He was so incredibly
sexy. Snap out of it, she thought. He didn't even fight to keep you
when he left for college, remember that.

“
How
long are you in town?” she asked. “I was kind of
surprised you even came back.”

“
I
moved back home,” he said. “I am staying at my mom's
right now, while I look for a house.”

“
So
you aren't playing football anymore?” she asked, pretending not
to know he had been injured.

“
No,”
he answered. “I got hurt pretty bad. The doctors say I can't
play anymore. If I do and get hurt again, I may not be able to
recover. How was college?”

“
I
didn't go to college,” she answered quickly. “What are
you going to do now?”

“
I'm
not sure,” he said. “I am going to buy a house. I want to
coach football and do something working with kids who can't afford to
play. I'm not sure what yet, but I plan on starting something. I want
to help kids who were like me when I was little. I want them to have
something to look forward to and someone to be there for them. Why
did you not go to college? You knew exactly what you wanted to do.
College was a very important part of your plan. We talked about it
all the time. When I left, you were going.”

Why
did he still have to be so wonderful, she thought? She could not
believe he was sitting there telling her how he wanted to help kids
without money and kids who did not have their dads. He had not
changed one bit. Luke was still the most amazing man she had ever
met. Just as she went to say something, Heather walked up and sat on
Luke's lap. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his
cheek. At the same time, Tammy, Leslie, and John walked up.

Jessica
stood up quickly.

“
I
have to go,” Jessica said.

John
reached out and grabbed her arm.

“
Are
you okay?” he asked.

Jessica
pulled her arm from his hand.

“
I'm
fine,” she said. “I need to leave.”

She
moved her way through the people as fast as she could and hurried out
the front door. Jessica ran down the driveway, got in her car, and
drove down the street. She stopped a few streets over, parked her
car, put her face in her hands, and cried. Why was he going to stay?
When she found out he was not able to play football, she thought for
sure he would stay where he was. Not for one second, did she think he
would move home. He had not been in town for more than a day in the
last seven years. She thought for sure she was over him, but after
seeing him that night, she realized she would never be over him. He
was her one and only love. She had dated here and there over the
years, but never anything more than a couple of dates. Seeing Heather
plop down on his lap and kiss his cheek was more than she could
handle. She sat in her car and cried for what seemed like hours.
Finally, she dried her face and drove home.

Luke

Not
long after Jessica left, Luke decided to go home. Heather wanted to
stay, so she said she would get John to drive her home. Luke drove
straight home and went to bed. All he could think about was Jessica.
He could not believe she was at the party. She had on a revealing red
dress. He was shocked at how low cut it was. Her beautiful brown eyes
sucked him in, just as they always had. He wanted to wrap his hands
in her long brown hair and pull her in for a kiss. She was prettier
than he remembered. He pictured her in his mind a million times over
the years, but she took his breath away that night. Why had she
gotten so upset and ran when Heather touched him, he wondered?
Jessica had broken up with him without any explanation. She had no
right to get upset with him.

Jessica
was his love. She was the reason he had never been home. The day he
was leaving for college, she broke his heart. She never even told him
why. He loved her and thought they were going to be together forever
and have a family. He called her a few times a week for the first
month he was gone. They would talk about what they had been doing,
but each time he brought up their relationship, she would find a
reason to hang up the phone. The last time he had called her, she
acted different. Something had changed, but he had no idea what it
was. She was short with him and he felt like he was inconveniencing
her. When they ended the call, he told her he loved her. She didn't
respond and just hung up. That was when he decided to stop calling
her. He never understood why she didn't want to be with him anymore.
Was there someone else? Did she not love him anymore? Was he not good
enough for her?