The Playbook by Kelly Elliott
“Aubrey, it’s good seeing you.”
With a wide grin, I stopped and said hello to the Oklahoma State football coach. My heart raced slightly knowing Brett would be here. What if he was with a date? How would I react?
I quickly scanned the room again.
“How are you liking sideline reporting?”
Not finding anyone from the University of Austin, I frowned. Their championship game was tomorrow here in Dallas. I knew they had to be here.
“Aubrey? Did you hear me?”
Turning back to the coach, I swallowed hard. “I, um, I’m enjoying it a lot.”
“Well you’re good at it. I’ve heard great things about you.”
I was honestly touched by his words. It had taken me a long time to earn respect from a lot of the coaches. I knew my article on the University of Austin and Brett had earned me a lot more respect. “Thank you, Coach Simmons. It’s been a great learning experience.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “I bet. How was it working so closely with Coach Owens? He’s set to make some big announcement tonight.”
My breath caught in my throat. “He’s here?”
Looking at me like I’d lost my damn mind, Coach Simmons replied, “Well, of course, he is. Aubrey, are you feeling okay?”
Forcing a smile, I replied, “Yes. I think I’m a little jet lagged, that’s all.”
Goosebumps covered my body. It felt as if the whole energy in the room changed.
Brett never showed up on time. He was always late. I felt him before I even saw him. Looking over Coach Simmons’ shoulder, I found him. Standing there in a tux looking handsome as hell was Brett. My blood rushed through my veins, leaving me dizzy.
Brett looked directly at me. Catching my breath, we stared into each other’s eyes. Turning back to the person he was talking to, he shook their hand and then made his way over to me.
Licking my lips, I concentrated on my breathing.
“Coach Simmons, how are you this evening?”
“Ah, speak of the devil. I was just talking about you to Ms. Cain here.”
Brett moved his gaze over to me. The way he looked me over had my body shivering with desire.
“Aubrey, you look beautiful tonight.”
My words were stuck in my throat. Opening my mouth, I tried to speak, but nothing would come out.
Coach Simmons cleared his throat, pulling me out of my daze. “Thank you, Brett. You look very handsome as well,” I finally replied.
“It looks like the two of you need to catch up. I’ll talk with you soon, Owens.”
Brett shook the other coach’s hand and watched him for a few moments as he walked away.
Glancing back at me, his face dropped. “You never returned my call.”
My heart stopped. It actually felt like it stopped beating as I stared at him with a dumbfounded look. Brett called me? When? “What … what call?”
Brett rubbed the back of his neck and forced a grin. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me. I never got a call from you, Brett. Did you leave a message? Was it at work or on my cell?”
Brett pinched his brows together. “It was early November. I called your cell phone and asked you to call me.”
I was positive my heart rate had tripled in the last ten seconds. “Brett, I never got a message from you. I swear.”
He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. I wasn’t going to let him do this to me again. We were going to talk and I didn’t give a shit where we were.
“Say it, Brett. Say what you want to say because I can see it in your eyes. Please don’t walk away again without saying what you want to say.”
The way his blue eyes lit up, I couldn’t help but feel the familiar pull in my lower stomach. How stupid was I to think I’d ever be able to get over him?
“You want me to just say it?”
“Yes! I want you to just say it, no matter if it’s good or bad.”
Taking a step closer to me, he leaned in. His stare dropped to my lips, causing me to take in a sharp breath. Our gazes locked again.
“I was stupid. Blind to see what was in front of me and too scared to admit I wanted the same thing as you.”
A small gasp slipped from my mouth.
“Tell me you could walk away from all of this to be with me. Marry me, Bree. Right now, tonight.”
My jaw dropped. Was I hearing him right? “Wh-what?”
There was no way. I had to be dreaming. All those nights I cried myself to sleep praying I’d hear those words from Brett’s lips.
“Don’t think about it, it’s either yes or no.”
Placing my hand up to my face, I let out a confused laugh. “Have you been drinking?” I asked, looking down at the drink in his hand.
“No. It’s ice water.”
I dipped my finger into it and tasted it.
Water.
“Wait. Brett, I’m so confused. What are you saying?”
“I’m saying marry me, Bree, and come to—”
Someone placed their hands on my arms. Warm breath tickled my cheek as lips pressed against my skin.
“Hey, baby. Surprise, I made it after all.”
A look of horror moved across Brett’s face. My head was spinning. The room felt like it was tilting back and forth as I tried to make sense of Brett’s proposal.
Brett was asking me to marry him and go to Austin.
Taking a few steps away, Brett’s eyes moved from mine to the person standing behind me. The same person who had kissed me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were with someone. If you’ll excuse me.”
It felt like I was planted in cement. His words took forever to register in my mind.
Shaking my head, I called out his name. “Brett! Wait!”
Someone grabbed my arm. “Honey, let him go.”
Honey?
Spinning around, I stood face to face with Logan.
“Logan? What are you doing here?”
His smile faded. A look of anger moved across his face but was gone as soon as it had appeared. “I wanted to surprise you. Looks like I did.” He glanced over my shoulder, causing me to look in the direction he was shooting daggers.
Brett was talking to Pat. His fingers, pushing through his hair. He was agitated. Upset.
He asked me to marry him. And I didn’t say anything. I asked him if he was drinking.
“Oh. My. God,” I whispered.
Turning back to Logan, I pulled my arm from his grasp. “I need to talk to Brett.”
“I would let him go. According to one of his players, he’s about to make his announcement.”
“What? What announcement?”
Logan gave me a smile. It was almost as evil as his eyes looked.
Why was I standing here talking to him? I needed to talk to Brett.
I made my way through the people and over to Brett. Reaching for his arm, I called out his name. He moved before I could reach him. People were standing all around him as a man’s voice filled the room.
“I’d like to introduce to you someone who has made a huge impact in college football the last few years. He’s asked for a few minutes of everyone’s time.”
Before I had a chance to make it to Pat, I was pulled to a stop. “Aubrey, what on earth are you doing?”
“I need to talk to, Brett. Logan, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you would be here and well, I, um.” My breathing was labored as I fought for air. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought I just ran ten miles.
People started clapping, causing me to jump.
“Well you can’t talk to him right now, Aubrey. He’s about to speak.”
My heart jumped to my throat as I turned and looked at Brett standing at the podium. Pat was standing next to him as well as Troy Rogers.
Something was wrong. Why were they all standing up there together?
“Thank you for letting me have a few moments of your time. The last six months have seen a l
My hand covered my stomach as I concentrated on breathing normal. Maybe Brett had a moment of freaking out? If he was announcing a move to the NFL, Lord knows what was going on in his head. Maybe his proposal was a reaction to being nervous about his announcement.
“After much thought and talking it over with the University of Austin and my family, I’ve decided to step down as head coach of the University of Austin’s football team. Troy Rogers will be acting coach starting after the conference championship game. I have every confidence that if we are blessed with a win, Troy will be able to take our guys all the way to a win in January.”
Someone called out from the crowd, “Who in the NFL won you, Owens?”
Everyone laughed as I frantically searched to see who had asked the question before looking back at Brett. His smile was forced. His body tense. He was about to deliver a blow.
“I won’t be moving up to the NFL.” Gasps could be heard throughout the room. My hand covered my mouth as I tried to make sense out of what I was hearing.
“I wanted y’all to know first. The official announcement is being sent to the media now and should hit tonight’s news. I wish each and every one of you the best of luck. Thank you for making the last few years such a great experience. I’ll treasure it always.”
Brett quickly walked off the stage and started toward the door. I was quickly lost in the crowd while I tried to push my way through. “Brett!” I cried out. “Brett!”
He didn’t bother to stop walking. By the time I made it to the door and rushed outside, he was gone.
I pulled in a deep breath and held it for a few moments before releasing it along with a sob.
“What in the hell just happened?” I whispered.
I TOSSED MY phone onto the bed. Brett must have turned his phone off. Every time I called it, it went straight to voice mail.
Sitting on the end of the bed, I dropped back and stared up at the ceiling.
His words replayed in my mind, like they had all night.
“Don’t think about it, it’s either yes or no. Marry me.”
The knock on my hotel door had me jumping up and racing over to it. Looking out, I saw it was Logan. I was seething mad.
Pulling the door open, I glared at him.
“Aubrey, we need to talk.”
I held up my hand, blocking him from coming into my room. “No, Logan. We don’t. I told you before I left Connecticut, that this was not working. I made it very clear to you that we were through, yet you showed up at the dinner like that conversation never happened. Trying to mark your territory in front of Brett. Why?”
Logan laughed. “Do you really think I was going to let you walk away? Aubrey, if you gave us a chance you’d see how great we could be together. You need to put this silly notion to rest of you and Brett Owens having something together.”
Narrowing my brow, I looked at him with a scowled expression. “What do you mean, this silly notion of me and Brett Owens?”
He tried to reach for me, but I stepped back. In that moment, everything became so clear. All of it seemed to make sense all at once.
“You erased his message, didn’t you?”
“What?”
“Brett’s message. He called and left me a message. You erased it. Why?”
He shook his head. “He’s not good enough for you. He’s a fucking player, and if you think for one moment he would be true to you, you are insane.”
My hand covered my mouth. “Oh. My. God. It was at the lake. The weekend he missed the game. I walked into the room and you were holding my cell phone. You said you needed it to make a call, but you had erased his message. You saw he called, listened to his message, and deleted it. You bastard.”
Logan closed his eyes and pressed his lips together.
“I slept with you that night. If I had gotten that message …”
His eyes popped open and he gave me a stone-cold look. “You would have run to him. Like a little lost puppy. The way you reacted when you thought he was engaged made me realize how stuck on him you still were. I needed to do something to push you along.”
Anger raced through my veins like ice water. “How dare you even try to tell me what I would have done?”
He let out a gruff laugh. “Well, I know you wouldn’t have slept with me had you known your fuck buddy had called you. Yeah, I know all about your little love affair you had with him. Joe told me all about it. Said it was probably the only way you could get anything out of Owens was by letting him fuck you.”
My hand came up and slapped Logan as hard as I could.
“Brett Owens is ten times the gentleman you or Joe could ever wish to be. I’ll regret the night I slept with you until the day I die. There was a reason we only slept together once.”
Logan rubbed his cheek. “You don’t really mean that. You’re angry and upset, and I apologize for what I said.”
I started to close the hotel door when Logan stopped it with his foot. “Leave me alone Logan or I’ll call the police.”
“No. We’re going to talk this over. Now move away from the door and let me in.”
Logan pushed at the door and then in a flash he was gone. I quickly looked to see him on the ground with Rick standing over him.
“I believe the lady said no. I suggest you do as she asked.”
Logan jumped up, glancing between both of us. Without so much as a word, he stalked off toward the elevator. Once he was in it and the doors closed, I let out the breath I had been holding.
Rick walked up to me. “Aubrey, are you okay?”
Holding the door open with my foot, I grabbed Rick and engulfed him in a hug. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”
He laughed. “Well, when I heard what he had said to you, I got pissed and decided it was time for him to leave. I never did like that asshole anyway.”
Hugging him again, I pushed out a relieved sigh. “Let’s get ready for the game. I’ll meet you in the lobby in an hour.”
“Sounds good,” he replied.
Walking back into the room, I picked up my phone. Hitting Nelly’s number, I took in a deep breath, and slowly exhaled it.
“Hey sis. I thought you’d be getting ready for the big game.”
“I need to, but first, I need your advice on something.”
“Remember, get over there as fast as you can.”
I nodded, even though I knew they couldn’t see me.
“Aubrey?”
“I got it,” I snapped back at Joe. He had been talking into my ear for the last ten minutes. Each time I heard his voice I grew angrier. How dare he gossip to Logan about me and Brett. Lord knows who else he’s ran his mouth off to.
My gaze drifted over to Brett. He was dressed in khaki dress pants and a white polo shirt. He was shouting into the mic that was attached to his headphones. I couldn’t help but smile. Nothing he made him look as sexy as when he was on the sidelines of a game. My heart dropped as I watched him.
One peek up into the stands was all it took to see his many fans holding up their signs. I had to agree with them. Brett Owens was the hottest coach in college football.
Grinning, I looked back at him. Austin was up by three touchdowns, yet he was standing there screaming at the ref. His headphones off and his hand running through that dark hair of his.
My lower stomach pulled with desire. How foolish was I to think I could ever get over this man. I loved him. Everything about him.
The clock ticked down and the crowd went wild. The University of Austin won the championship. They would be heading to the national championship game in January.
Without Brett Owens as their head football coach.
Making my way through the crowd, I was relentless as I pushed people out of my way. I wasn’t normally so pushy, but I had to get to him. Rick was right on my trail.
“He knows you??
“I got it,” I replied again to Joe.
“Hard hitting questions. Find out why he’s leaving.”
“Yep. I know what I’m doing.”
Brett was smiling as he shook hands with the opposing team’s coach. They hugged, exchanged words, and went their separate ways. It was as if he knew I was there. Brett turned and looked directly at me. I stopped walking when I saw he was making his way to me.
“Remember, be sure to ask him—”
“Shut the fuck up, Joe, would you?!” I shouted as Rick laughed.
Thirty seconds later, Brett was standing in front of me. I wanted to jump into his arms and tell him I loved him. Tell him how sorry I was I pushed him. Tell him I didn’t need promises of marriage. I only needed him.
“We’re on in ten,” I said to Brett in a nervous voice. He simply nodded, thanked someone who congratulated him, and waited for me to start talking.
“Thanks, Dan. Well, Coach Owens, that was an incredible victory. Were you worried at all that your offensive line wouldn’t come around? The first half they struggled with moving the ball down the field.”
“What in the fuck kind of question is that?” Joe shouted in my ear.
Brett smiled. “I wasn’t the least bit worried. I know these guys and what they’re capable of. They were just warming up.”
I smiled bigger. “Are you happy with your defensive line going into the national championship? You yourself have mentioned the line is plagued with injuries.”
Looking into my eyes, he replied, “Time heals all wounds. We’ll be fine.”
I was momentarily stunned. Was he talking about the team … or us?
“Why are you leaving, Brett?” I asked. It was more of question from me to him. Not the ESPN reporter to the best college football coach out there.
“My father’s cancer has come back.”
Tears built as I pressed my lips together, I fought for something to say. He saw I was having trouble, and kept talking. “Last spring, someone I love very much opened my eyes to a world I forgot I belonged to. A world I long to be in and I was confused. Would they want to be a part of that world with me? I wasn’t sure. I ended up pushing them away because I was afraid they wouldn’t want the same future I had to offer.”