After a quick shower I get in my truck and punch in the address of the coffee shop and make my way there. It’s a neat little shop nestled within one of the city’s more affordable neighborhoods. Pulling into a parking spot in front of the Honeybee Cafe, I bring up her Instagram one more time. I know she’ll recognize me, but I want to make sure I recognize her too. Her more recent pictures show her hair being longer and more chocolate in color than it was in college, she still has that killer smile and the freckles dotting her cheeks and nose. She still doesn’t seem to wear a lot of make up. Things I wouldn’t have noticed before such as hair color and make up; Cassie taught me. As a model Cassie was constantly changing her hair color butshe did it with wigs versus actual hair dye. Shaking my head free of Cassie shaped thoughts I get out of the truck and head to the shop. I pull my hat lower, hoping I can get inside without anyone noticing me.
I spot Elle reading a kindle. I can’t tell if she’s been here long enough that she finished a coffee already or if she was waiting for me. If she’s waiting for me and expecting me to pay that would just confirm Ty’s theory that she’s another jersey chaser. The idea stings more than I expect it to. Taking a deep breath, I steel myself and walk over. Clearing my throat, I slide into the chair across from her. The movement gets her attention because she looks up and smiles at me.
“Hey! I was waiting to order until you got here.” She stands up “I figured I would place the order, so you don’t get stuck signing everyone’s coffee cup. What would you like? My treat, since I invited you out.” I can’t tell if she just talks fast or if she’s nervous. I really can’t remember her talking speed.
“What are you getting?” I haven’t even had a chance to look at what they offer here.
“My usual order is an iced coffee. The seasonal syrups tend to dictate what goes in it.”
“I’ll just have a coffee with cream and sugar please.” She nods and heads up to the counter and places the order. She chats with the barista as she waits for the drinks. She looks nice. I don’t remember ever really seeing her out of her t-shirts and running shorts in college, so seeing her in brown jeans and a cream sweater is a stark contrast. As I’m eyeing up Elle I notice the barista glance at me a few times and say somethingto Elle. I don’t know what she says but Elle manages to direct her attention elsewhere as she grabs the drinks and heads back to our table.
“Thanks for getting the drinks.” I take the cup as she hands it to me. “It looked like the barista recognized me, what did you say to her?”
“I said you paid a lot of money to look like Archer Bell but you’re not actually him.” I must look as dumbstruck as I feel because she laughs. “I told her the truth, that you’re you, but you came out here because you didn’t really want to deal with the hassle of being bombarded with autograph requests that you would have at an inner-city coffee shop. She said she doesn’t get it because she’s never been famous, but she understands your desire for privacy.”
“You got all that from a 5-minute conversation?”
“I mean I paraphrased a lot of it, but I’ve known Hayley for several years, so we skip the typical small talk and go straight for the juicy stuff, she’s pretty chill. She won’t bother you and she’ll make sure others don’t as well.”
Not knowing what to say I take a drink of my coffee. It’s pretty good with more hints of chocolate than I’m used to with the coffee I usually drink.
“So I promised you a vent session.” Elle begins. “Or we can talk about literally anything else. I honestly wasn’t expecting you to agree to this. I just wanted to cheer you up. You looked so sad and down during Sunday night’s press conference.”
Shit, did I look that pathetic on TV? I lean back in my chair and swipe a hand down my face. “Well that fucking sucks. I guess I didn’t realize I looked like a kicked puppy.”
Elle lets out a small laugh. “Sorry to break it to you, but anyone would after a loss to the Chimeras. They’re the worst. Not like skills wise, they’re a really good team, just that they seem like they’re assholes and it seems like it would suck to lose to them. I know what it feels like as a fan, I can’t imagine how you felt.” She pauses. “So aside from the whole football thing, what have you been up to?”
That feels like a loaded question. Does she really want to know? Or is she fishing for information just like Ty and I predicted she would? We came up with false information so I could feed her so we would know that it was her who told the reporters if the news came out with a new story about me and Cassie tomorrow. “Well I’m sure you heard about my ex-fiancée.” I start. As I relay the story we made up, Elle gives me her full attention.
“I’m assuming you know the gist of it.” I start, taking a sip of my coffee. “My ex cheated on me with another man, in my house that I bought for us to start our life in. We built it together. We had our hands in every design decision. It was supposed to be our forever house.”
I can barely look at the thinly veiled pity in Elle’s eyes. So I make it clinical. I just give her the facts. I don’t let her see how this fucking destroyed me.
“You probably don’t know this, but Cassie was the first person I met when I transferred schools. She was so kind and supportive. She alwayswas. I think that’s why it was so shocking when I found her in bed with another man.”
I feel a little bad about lying to her, as I continue the story, this part is where I deviate from the truth but I need to make sure I can trust her not to sell me out to the tabloids.
Elle is quiet for a long time after I finish the story. “That’s just… wow. I’m sorry that happened. I mean I heard the bits and pieces that came out but to hear your side. That’s just fucking awful.” I feel my lips twitch at her cursing. She always swore like a sailor in college.
A small smile graces my lips and I’m desperate to change the subject, so I blurt the first thing that comes to mind. “What about you? You still run?”
“No! I haven’t truly ran since my last half marathon four years ago. Well unless you count me truffle shuffling the Turkey Trot every year with my family. I mainly bike and do yoga now. My running days are few and far between since my knees crackle when I go up the stairs. And a lot more jiggles now than it did in college.” She laughs and it’s a nice sound. With her comment about things jiggling, I can’t help but notice she has filled out more in all the best places.
As I finish my coffee I make the mistake of glancing at my phone and seeing that our time is up. “Shit. I’m sorry, I need to get back, duty calls ya know?” I wince as I realize I spent too much time spinning my fake story. “This was nice.” I say. I don’t offer to do it again in case she sells me out. But I meant it. It was a breath of fresh air to be around someone who didn’t live and breathe football.
“Oh! Right, totally.” Elle grabs her purse and walks out with me. “I’m over here.” She points to a white midsize SUV. “I’ll talk to you later?”
I nod noncommittally. I know I’m kind of being a dick. But between the media and Cassie; fame has really messed with me and my ability to trust. I watch to make sure Elle gets in the car safely and then head back to practice.
Chapter 3
Archer
Days go by and not a peep from the media about the fake story I fed Elle. I start to feel a little guilty about the whole thing. It seems like she was sincere in her offer to let me vent. I like to pride myself on being genuine, but now I feel like a fraud.
“Okay, it’s clearly eating you up inside.” Ty says as we sit in the athletic training room after practice. “Text her and ask her out for coffee again. Tell her you’ll meet her at the same shop since it’s her home turf. You don’t have to admit to lying to her, just be a better coffee companion. Make sure you actually find out what she teaches this time. All you managed to do was ask if she’s participating in a sport that tore her knees up. Which I mean, same, but not exactly titillating conversation.” Ty groans as Marsha, our head AT stretches out his hip flexor.
Ty is right it has been eating me up inside so as Kenny stretches me out, I pull out my phone and shoot Elle a text.
