I’m on my way. Had to stop by Mo’s to talk first.
“I have to get going,” I said.
“All right. But please don’t worry about your father—”
“He’s no father of mine,” I corrected.
“Okay, well Mr. Parks then. Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it.” I nodded curtly as he followed me back into the house and towards the front door.
My agent stopped me before I could leave. “So I hear from credible sources that you’re seeing someone. An American.”
He was trying to change the subject. To get me to focus on anything but Johnny Parks and his efforts to make money off me. Lucky for him Morgan distracted me every time. “Is your credible source Anna?” My sister had a big mouth. Too big.
Mo grinned like the used car salesman he used to be, relieved that I was calming down. “I saw the pictures. They’re everywhere. I also know that you haven’t gotten into trouble in weeks. That’s a record for you.”
“You make it sound like I’m out of control,” I griped.
Mo patted my shoulder. “Well weren’t you?”
I shrugged off his hand. “Yes, I’m seeing someone. And yes her name is Morgan. And yes she’s American. What else do you want to know? What shoe size she wears? What’s her favorite vegetable?”
“I like that you’re settling down a bit. From all accounts she’s a good girl. Just keep your head in the game and don’t get bogged down with personal bull shit, Luke,” Mo lectured. I was pretty sure that the favorite part of his job were the times he could dispense advice, like some sort of wise sage. Sometimes I listened, sometimes I didn’t.
“Okay, I think our heart to heart is officially over.” I walked down the steps and headed towards my car.
“I’ll send over the official offer. Look it over carefully, Luke. Don’t dismiss it outright. Really think about it. Talk to your mum. Talk to Anna. Let’s revisit this after Sunday’s game. And don’t worry about Mr. Parks. I’ll take care of it,” Mo called out.
I didn’t bother to respond.
“YOU SEEM DISTRACTED. Is everything okay?” Morgan asked a little while later. We were walking through downtown Chester. I tried to ignore the dozens of people taking pictures with their phones. Morgan, on the other hand, became tense every time someone asked for an autograph or a photo.
“Why can’t they just let you walk around in peace?” she grumbled after a group of teenage girls asked her to take a picture of us.
“It’s part of the gig, Morgan. You get used to it,” I assured her. Though I wasn’t sure I ever really would. Being recognizable was strange. And I was still wasn’t entirely used to people knowing my name. Knowing details about my life. Loving me even though they didn’t know me. Celebrity was an odd thing. Not always pleasant.
Part of me worried that she’d never get used to it. I knew it was a lot to ask her to allow her life to be dissected and torn apart by the media. By my fans. By the people who thought I wasn’t permitted a private life for the simple reason that I had chosen a career that put me in the spotlight.
It was getting dark. By the time I had left Mo’s house it was well after seven. Dating Morgan in daylight hours was difficult with my schedule. So far, she was very understanding but we were in early days yet.
My last girlfriend or two hadn’t taken the constraints on my time very well, and that had been before the Premier League.
I lifted her hand to my mouth and kissed it softly. I loved touching her. And talking to her. And just being with her. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been able to talk to a female that wasn’t in my family about anything. Usually talking wasn’t involved in anything I did with women.
“There’s a lot on my mind at the moment,” I admitted. I had purposefully put all thoughts of Johnny Parks out of my head. But the Liverpool offer still weighed heavily.
The air was cool. September was almost over and we were well into autumn. Morgan looked like a bloody Eskimo bundled up in a heavy coat and scarf. I had given her a hard time when I picked her up about us not being in the North Pole. She had told me to shut up. I loved how she never took an ounce of shit from me.
“Tell me. I might be able to help. Or at least listen while you whine.” The wind was starting to pick up and it was blowing her hair all over the place. She shivered and I tucked her into my side, rubbing my hand up and down her arm.
“I don’t whine,” I argued. “And it’s just my agent has thrown a wrench into things.”
“Your agent? How?” Her teeth were starting to chatter.
“Okay, let’s get inside. I don’t want you turning into an ice cube. Getting you naked later will be a lot more difficult then.”
She elbowed me in the side and I grunted. “You’re such a sweet, sensitive soul,” she deadpanned.
We made our way to a coffee shop on the corner by the cathedral. It was mostly empty, which was a bonus. “Find us a table and I’ll get some coffee. What would you like?”
