It's a Waverly Life (26 page)

The group began to shrink as people disappeared through various doors, and it was only a matter of time before someone noticed that I didn’t belong. In a moment of panic, I ducked into a ladies’ room and hid in a stall.

Nice. I’m hiding in a restroom stall.

When I emerged about ten minutes later, all was quiet.

I glanced up and down the hallway.

I was alone.

Slowly I started walking, peering carefully at the closed doors. Several had the word Oficina on them, along with someone’s name. I kept moving, and soon I came across a placard that said Vestuario de Visitantes. I could hear loud voices inside.

“Visitor locker room,” I whispered to myself. I’d looked up the translation for “locker room” ahead of time.

I continued walking, and then I saw it.

Vesturaio: Deportivo Libertad.

I could hear the sound of voices behind this door, too.

This had to be it. I took a deep breath, then slowly pushed the door open.

I poked my head inside and scanned the room. To the left was a long corridor lined by a row of lockers, followed by the entrance to a shower area. I could hear water running, loud voices, and even some singing. To the right was another hallway. Straight ahead of me was a sitting area with a few chairs and couches. The back wall was covered with posters and announcements in Spanish.

I didn’t want to go near the showers, and I didn’t want to wander into someone’s office, so I walked to the back of the room and examined the posters, which were mostly of individual players. One showed the whole squad, including the coaches and support staff. I spotted Jake in the back row, his blue eyes smiling at the camera.

“Hola, Jake,” I whispered.

Just then I heard a noise.

I froze.

Very slowly, I took a few steps backward and peered down the hall to the left. I saw a very tall man wearing nothing but a towel. Before he could see me, I slipped toward the couches, away from his line of sight.

The sound of voices grew louder as more men exited from the showers and headed to their lockers. I wondered if the door I’d come through was the one they’d use to leave. Was I trapped? I sat down on a couch to think.

What am I doing here?

A moment later I heard the click of the door opening.

A man in a coat and tie stood in the entrance, a clipboard in his hand and a confused look on his face.

“
Te ayudo?
” he said. I think that meant,
Can I help you?

“Um, Jake McIntyre?” I stood up and pointed to the poster of the team behind me.

He took a few steps toward me. “Are you American?” he said in English.

“You speak English?”

He smiled. “Little bit. You are looking for Jake?”

I bit my lip. “Is he here?”

“
Un momento
.” He held up a finger and disappeared down the hall toward the lockers.

I stood there, not sure what to do. I could hear more players making their way from the showers to the lockers, some of them still singing in Spanish. Without moving my feet, I turned my head and studied the posters again.

After a minute or so, I heard the sound of footsteps.

“
Senorita?
”

Clipboard Guy was back, gesturing for me to follow him. I smiled nervously and complied. He led me down the long hallway past the lockers and stopped in front of a closed door. Then he winked and walked away.

“
Gracias
,” I said softly.

I stared at the door for a moment.

Then I knocked.

Nothing.

I waited.

Still nothing.

I knocked again, this time louder. Then I heard footsteps.

I held my breath, and a moment later the door opened.

There he was.

I think my heart may have momentarily stopped beating.

“Waverly? What are you doing here?”

I smiled awkwardly. “Um, surprise?”

“What are you doing here?” he said more quietly.

“I…I came to see you.” I kept smiling and held onto my “Just Smile” tote bag for dear life.

He didn’t smile back, and in that instant, I knew I’d made a mistake.

A horrible mistake.

Oh my God.

What have I done?

“Waverly—” He opened his mouth to speak, but I reached up and covered it with my hand, my tote bag dropping to the ground. After coming so far, physically and emotionally, I couldn’t let him turn me away again. I just couldn’t, not without telling him how I felt.

“Please, before you say anything, please just let me speak.”

“Waverly—” he said through my hand.

“I know that it’s crazy for me to be here, but I need to talk to you.”

“Wav—”

“Please, Jake, please just let me say this, before I lose my nerve.” I kept my hand on his mouth and used the other one to wipe away a tear from my cheek. “I know I screwed up. I know I blew it. And you were right, I wasn’t ready before.”

“Please, don’t—”

I kept my hand on his mouth. “But I’m ready now, Jake. I promise you I am.
Please
let me show you that I am.” I blurted it out, my voice rising. “I know I’ve been afraid, but I can’t let you go just because, just because I’m scared of getting hurt again…”

“Waverly, I—”

I could feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. “I want to make it work. I don’t care about distance…I don’t care about your ex-girlfriend…I don’t care about anything else. You…you bring out something special in me, Jake…you make me believe in myself.”

“Wav—”

I kept pushing my hand against his mouth. “I know you think I’m nuts to come all this way, but I did it because…because…because I love you, Jake McIntyre. I…I…love you.”

I finally removed my hand from his mouth.

“There, I said it.” I raised my palms and smiled weakly at him. “Okay? I said it. I love you, Jake. I need you. I want to be with you. I’m ready to be with you. And I’m not just saying that. I
believe
it.”

He sighed but didn’t say anything.

My voice began to crack. “I just hope…I just hope it’s not too late for you to believe it too.”

He still didn’t say anything, and I could feel my heart starting to break. I looked at the floor.

“Now you can say whatever you have to say. Go ahead.” I was exhausted.

He took a step backward, then opened the door the rest of the way.

I looked up, and my jaw dropped.

Behind him were about a dozen extremely tall men in various states of undress, plus about six men in suits and a few others wearing white polo shirts and khaki pants, some of them holding clipboards.

Every single one of them was staring at me.

Jake held out his arm. “Waverly, I’d like to introduce you to the Deportivo Libertad squad, plus the entire coaching staff, and two assistant trainers.”

“Oh my God.” I covered my face with my hands.

All the men started laughing, then clapping, then cheering. “
Amor!
” one of them yelled, taking off his towel and waving it above his head. Yes, that left him naked.

Jake leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Can you give me a few minutes?”

“I can’t believe I poured my heart out in front of a roomful of half-naked men. I’ll never forget that fully naked guy at the end.”

“Hey now, I tried to stop you,
several times
, I might add.” Jake laughed and refilled my wineglass. It was about an hour later, and we were seated at an upstairs table at Las Chulitas, a trendy, intimate restaurant just a few blocks from my hotel.

“You could have tried a little harder.”

“You’ve got quite a death grip, Miss Bryson.” He put a hand on his jaw, then leaned over the table and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. When he touched my skin, I felt a current of heat run all the way down the side of my body.

“I’ve missed you,” he said softly.

I smiled. “I’ve missed you too.
Obviously
.”

He leaned back in his chair and scratched his eyebrow. “I still can’t believe you flew all the way here. You’re kind of crazy, you know that?”

I nodded. “I’ve come to accept that about myself.”

“It suits you.”

“Hey, speaking of crazy, I have a joke for you.”

“Okay, lay it on me.”

I sat up straight in my chair. “Okay, so these two psychologists share an office, and the Monday after Thanksgiving they’re chatting about their respective weekends with their families.”

He nodded.

“So they’re chatting, and the first guy asks the other how his Thanksgiving went. And the second guy says, ‘Actually, it didn’t go so well.’ So the first guy says, ‘What happened?’ And the second guy says, ‘Well, everything was okay until we sat down for dinner. I was sitting directly across from my mother…and I wanted a hot buttered roll. So what I meant to say was,
Will you please pass me the hot buttered rolls
. But what came out was,
You bitch! You ruined my life!
’”

Jake laughed out loud.

“You like?” I grinned.

“Not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Thanks.” I took a tiny bow.

“That was
much
better than your peanut joke.”

I pointed at him. “Hey now, I love my peanut joke.”

He put his hands up. “Okay, I’m backing off. I know how fired up you can get about these things.”

I laughed. “Oh my God, that reminds me, I totally forgot to show you something.” Over dinner I’d told him all about my idea for Waverly’s Honey Shop, but I’d left out my favorite part.

“You forgot to show me what?”

“Check this out. A Honey Tee about something else that fires me up.”

I unzipped the hoodie I’d been wearing and held it open to reveal a black tank top that said, “Do Not Post What You Ate for Breakfast on Facebook.”

He laughed and nodded. “Not bad.”

“Thanks.” I zipped the hoodie back up. “It’s my way of trying to stop the madness.”

“You look really pretty tonight, by the way.”

“I do?”

“You do. Very pretty.”

I blushed. “I’m glad you think so.”

“While we’re on the topic of breakfast, want to hear what else I think?” He leaned toward me and lowered his voice.

I felt my neck get hot.

“I think I’d like to have it with you tomorrow…in bed,” he said quietly.

I swallowed. “You would?”

He smiled. “I would. What do you think?”

I gazed into his blue eyes and got lost for a moment.

Then I smiled back.

“I think…I think that can be arranged.”

We crossed the hotel lobby in silence, holding hands and savoring the anticipation of what was about to happen. When we reached the elevator, I stood in front of him and leaned my forehead against his chest. Once again I was intoxicated by his scent.

I looked up to see what floor the elevator was on.
Hurry up!
I wanted to shout.

Finally it arrived, and we stepped inside. I pushed the button for the sixth floor. Just as the doors were about to shut, a man in a suit jumped inside and hit the button for the third floor. We took a step backward, and Jake put a hand on my neck and slowly began to caress my ear. I sighed and closed my eyes.

When we reached the third floor, the man tipped his head politely before exiting. As soon as the doors closed, Jake leaned down to kiss me.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

We didn’t stop kissing until the elevator stopped again. The doors opened, and I took his hand and led him down the hallway toward my room. I fumbled for the card key as he put his arms around me from behind, distracting me so much that I nearly dropped my wallet. Finally I fished out the key and slid it in into the lock.

It didn’t work.

I pulled it out and tried again.

It didn’t work.

I tried a third time.

Nothing.

“Are you
kidding
me?”

Jake laughed and gestured for the key. “Let me try.” As I handed it to him, he kissed me gently on the lips. Then he turned to face the door and slowly inserted the card into the lock. The green light lit up.

“You can thank me later.”

I pressed a finger against his chest. “Don’t get an attitude, now.”

I pushed the door open, and he followed me inside. As soon as the door closed behind us, I turned to face him in the darkness.

“I want to see you,” he said.

I turned on a small lamp near the bed, then tossed my tote bag and the card key on the nightstand.

I held my palms up. “Here I am.”

He smiled and leaned down to nuzzle my neck. Then he gently removed my hoodie and set it on a chair. He reached for my left hand and began kissing it, slowly working his way up to my elbow, then to my shoulder and neck.

“You smell good,” he whispered.

“You do too,” I whispered back.

He pulled my tank over my head and laid it over the back of the chair. Then he put his warm hands on my bare waist and leaned down to kiss my collarbone.