Line Of Scrimmage (2 page)

Fuck him! Fucking dick! I had his cell phone. “You traitorous dick!” I wasn’t sure if traitorous was even a real word but I felt betrayed. Mike is my fucking blood brother. How could he rat me ou
t without even a conversation, without even hearing my side of the story. I swear if he has ruined my marriage I will beat the crap out of him. If he ruined me and Kari I don’t know what I’ll do. I will never forgive him and he will definitely be without a fucking job.

I looked down at his cell phone
in my hand. I walked to the edge of the bleachers and jumped down to the ground. I walked a few feet away and ended up on the baseball diamond at home plate. I unlocked the phone and instantly the text messages from Melissa popped up. There were four missed calls from her. I read the texts.

[Call me when you leave the tramps house] [Did you confront him what did he say] [Where the hell are you]
[Call me right now I’m calling tess]

Oh my god. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I don’t know what to do. No, Mason figure this shit out. Calm down. Figure this out.

I was staring at the screen of the cell phone and rereading the texts for the fourth time when his cell buzzed in my hands. Fuck! Melissa was calling. I answered.

“Melissa.”
I evenly said through clenched teeth.

She was shocked to
hear my voice. She took a few extra seconds to reply. “Mason where’s Mike?”

I turned to see Mike sitting on the bleachers red-faced and in pain. “He’s around.”

“Put him on.”

“He can’t come to the phone right now.”

“Why?” She asked.

Because I punched him in
his meddlesome face and kicked the shit out of him.

“He’s in the car.” I
t didn’t make much sense but it was the first thing that came to mind.

“I want to talk to him now!”
She yelled in my ear.

“Are you sure it’s not me you want to talk to?”

“Why would I want to talk to you?”

“You seem excessively concerned with my life.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m concerned with Tess. You can eat shit and die for all I care.”

“If you really
cared about Tess you would back off and mind your own business.”

“Fuck you Mason. I’m not scared of you. You’re a bully. I can’t be bullied.”

“I don’t care. I only care about Tess.”

Melissa chuckled. “You care about Tess
? So that’s why you’re fucking some tramp.”

“What I do is not your business. I’m warning you. Do not tell Tess.” I was trying to be civilized.

“I will take that warning into consideration but I’ve already told her you were whoring around.” Dead. She hung up on me. What the fuck? I spiked the cell phone like it was a football. It broke into three pieces.

I turned my back to face the chain length fence behind me. I staggered over to it and placed my fingers into
the metal diamond holes in the fence. I rested my forehead on the gate. I couldn’t breathe. I was having an asthma attack. I don’t have asthma. My head was aching. I think my brain is about to explode.

Mike came limping up behind me. I didn’t bother to turn and face him. I was
n’t going to fight him. I didn’t have the mental concentration needed for a rumble. At this juncture, I prefer he beat the shit out of me. He can have this one. I won’t even fight him back. I’m already wounded, internally.

“Mason. I’m sorry.” He
whined. He sounds just like when he was twelve years old and he broke my Optimus Prime.

Mike was being sincere but I still couldn’t muster up the strength to remove myself from the fence. The fence was my crutch. It was holding me up, holding my temper down, holding me together. I am Humpty Dumpty and all the kin
g’s horses and all the king’s men can kiss my ass.

My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I let it buzz again before I removed one hand from the fence and dug it out my pocket. I unlocked it. There was a text from Tess.

[Mason, don’t come home tonight. I cannot look at you right now. I swear to god I mean it. You make me sick. Stay away!!!]

Tess knows. She’s pissed. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?

“Mason.” I heard Mike calling me. Why? He was only six feet away.

“Tess knows. Melissa told her.” I started to shake my head and pace. Mike stood stationary at home plate.

“Mason. I swear. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think she would blab it. I was waiting in the car for you to come out and when you didn’t I got pissed and I called Melissa and I swear I regret it.”

I just looked at him. The damage was done. I couldn’t turn back time. I was caught unaware and there was nothing I could’ve done differently. This sucks.

“Tess doesn’t want me to come home.”

“Shit Mason. She, I don’t know. I only told Melissa you were having an affair. I told her you went to Vegas with her but I never said who it was. I don’t know if that makes a difference.”

“I don’t know. I’m tired of thinking about it. My head hurts.”

“You can stay at my house until Tess cools down.”

“Come to your place with your wife. Do you want me to kill her? Mike, I could kill her.”

“
I’m sorry. I didn’t think about what would happen. You can go stay at Karen’s.”

I
squinted my eyes at my yellow belly asshole brother. “I’m staying at Kari’s and you will tell Melissa that I stayed at a hotel. Anyone that asks you, you will tell them I went to a hotel. I swear to god Mike. If you don’t lie for me I will beat the crap out of you. You owe me. This is your fucking fault.”

“Okay okay.”
Mike was just as defeated as I was.

“I
t didn’t have to go this far.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“I swear to god if you say you’re sorry one more time.”

Mike
bowed his head. I had hurt him. I was the asshole of the century. I was hurting people left and right, Tess, Mike and my Kari. What about my kids? I got to make this right. I got to figure out what to say to Tess. I have to sleep on it. My head was pounding beyond belief.

“Mason I will delete the email from the computer at work. I didn’t print it. I just looked at it.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m changing my password. I gave it to you for emergencies not to snoop through my shit.”

Mike shrugged. “We should go. I have to get home. I can’t call. You broke my phone.”

“The company phone.” I corrected. Technically it was my phone.

“You know you have to break it off with her for good.” He fearfully added.

“You can’t give me advice on anything, ever.” I threatened.

Mike ignored my threat. “Hey let’s get back to the car.”

I nodded and followed Mike back to the car and tried to block the migraine that took hold of me and made my eyesight less than perfect.

My head was on fire but one thought emerged from the flames, my cover, the hotel. I had to actually book a room somewhere so my alibi would be believable. I would have proof that I didn’t spend the night with my Kari. I looked over at my witness for the defense. Mike would accompany me to the hotel and see with his own eyes that I was there.

When did I become this guy…t
his guy that has to cover his tracks?

CHAPTER 2

Mike must have felt guilty for his part in thi
s monumental debacle because he had no qualms about driving me to SpringHill Suites right here in Bolingcreek. Ironically it was located on Lemington Boulevard a few blocks from Lemington Lakes Park, the place that got this affair off and running. I booked a single room and then my brother drove us back to Kari’s place.

On the ride to her place I keep thinking about my father. I wish he was still alive. I could talk to him and he would listen without judgments. I could tell him anything. He didn’t point accusing fingers or jump to
unnecessary conclusions. I miss him. He is the only person I could confide in and tell the entire truth. Can I go talk to a headstone? That seems stupid. He’s gone.

I decided
right then that I wouldn’t tell Kari that Tess knows I’m cheating. Why? What good would it do? It would make her nervous about us and I’m nervous enough for the both of us.

I entered Kari’s place through the garage. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I fear she may
be pissed at me for bringing this unforeseen drama to her doorstep. Kari may like to watch drama on TV but I knew for sure that she lived an uncomplicated drama free life. She was somewhat of an introvert and she avoided conflict at any cost. She had a small group of friends and she didn’t let anybody in her neat little tidy obsessive compulsive circle. She was anal about alphabetizing things and lining things up impeccably. It amazes me that I was able to infiltrate the walls she built around herself. Everything that could unnerve another guy, I loved. She was perfect in my eyes.

It was clear that she wanted to sleep with me
in the beginning. But this entire relationship with someone like her was more than I could ask for. Being in her world was nice, serene but exciting and intoxicating. Being in her space was like being in heaven. She feeds me, fucks me, listens to me, understands me and most important, she loves me.

I don’t have any answers. I hope she’s not mad.
But I can deal with that. I really hope she doesn’t have questions. I’m not sure I can lie to her if she has her sable eyes focused on mine. I hear the facet running in the kitchen so that’s where I guardedly go.

Kari was washing dishes
by hand when I approached her from behind. She didn’t bother to look my way. The sight of her made my headache start to instantly subside. That’s weird, the effect this woman has on me.

She had showered and changed. She was wearing a short white dress. She looked like an angel. Her hair was up in a neat
ly gelled ballerina bun. Her tanned neck reminded me of a black swan. Her neck was calling me to kiss it. I was afraid to talk, afraid of what I might say, afraid that my words would hurt her. Whatever those words were.

“Kari,” I whispered hoping she wouldn’t hear me.
I could just stand here and look at her forever.

She turned off the facet and stood lifeless with her hands in the sink. I walked up behind her and placed my hands on her bare shoulders. Her skin vibrated with the rapid beat of her heart.

“I don’t know what to say.” I spoke into the nape of her neck.

“It’s over between us?” She said in the form of a question.
I think?

“No, never.”

Kari quickly turned to face me. I think she wanted to look in my eyes to gage the truth. I was being honest. This was a problem that I was going to figure out. This problem is not above my pay grade. I just needed to think this through, come up with a way to make this work.

“You’re lying.” Kari casts
her eyes downward. I lifted her chin to gaze in her warm brown eyes. Damn, she’s beautiful, sad, mad, happy or fucked to orgasm.

“I’m never leaving you. I will figure this out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out. You got caught cheating and you’re married. Did I really think this was going to last more than two seconds? You’re not the type of guy that cheats. I feel like such a fool.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t you ever say that.
You are not foolish for loving me.”

“Mason, I never thought we would last forever but
I’m not ready for this to be over. I’m just surprised. I mean I feel like we just started. You were going to get caught. I should have known better. This is not how you operate.”

“We’re not fucking over!” I calmed myself. “
We are on hiatus. We will be picked up for another season.” I wasn’t trying to make fun of this situation. It was just the first thing that came to mind. This is all new to me.

“Damn, I really do love you.” She said it as if she seemed astonished by this revelation.

“Don’t ever give up on us. We are forever.”

“Your words are words, they are not reality.
You can’t look at me and just spit words that hold no meaning. Your words are just words.”

“Bullshit! Nothing can come between us. You are mine.” I was grasping for straws. I felt like she was going to break up with m
e. There was no way I would let that happen. She was mine. She was my one and only. I just needed a chance to prove it to her. I had an idea. It would be a surprise.

Kari removed her eyes from me and looked down.
I knew what that meant.

“Kari please
, don’t shut down on me. I need you now more than ever. I need you to love me.” I pleaded and all my words were wrapped in a blanket of truth and honesty.

Kari burrowed her head in my chest. She squeezed her arms through my sides and wrapped her arms around me. I embraced her and hunched to run my hands over the dresses
fabric that covered her ass. I brushed my fingers over the fabric and cupped her ass. I inched my way down and ran my fingers under the dress. I eagerly palmed her ass cheeks in both my hands. Oh god, skin. Bare skin. I had my hands on her soft beautiful ass. She shivered as I ran one hand up her crack. She was wearing a thong. I realized that after all these months together she always wore thongs. Sometimes even at that time of the month when she was having light flow days. I knew so much about her and she knew so much about me. We are so good together in every way. I couldn’t live without her. She was a crucial part of me. This felt like some weird Romeo and Juliet scenario. I never would have dreamed that one day I would be here. Feel this intensity. Love this woman above all else.