Forget Me Not (2 page)

Queen Elizabeth, as her friends so dubbed her, cleared her throat.

Gideon stood up straighter. He’d forgotten to keep his locker-room talk segregated to his teammates. “Excuse me. I mean, I’m fighting staying here instead of coming home now.”

“Only playing in the Super Bowl has been your dream since I put a football in your tiny hands. Do you remember that?”

Remember it? He still kept that same dirty, deflated, misshapen football in his home. To tease his mother, he said, “I barely remember that thing.”

“Again, you are so cute.” Queen Elizabeth laughed a little but completed the light expression with a slight cough.

An uncomfortable ripple slithered over his gut and up to his heart, where it constricted it from pumping for a hot second. He couldn’t let her feel his worry. He continued smiling to maintain the lightness in his tone.

“Some new magazines came into the salon,” she said with a playful lilt to her tone.

Gideon heard the joy in his mother’s voice. He ran his hand over his head, knowing she would bring up some aspect of his personal life as only the tabloids could capture. “Really? That’s interesting.”

“It sure is.” Elizabeth cleared her throat.

“Whatever you do, don’t say it.” Gideon shook his head.

“Say what?”

“America’s couple.” Gideon bristled at the moniker the media had dubbed his brief relationship with actress Hilary Cox. He paced the floor, waiting for his mother’s next statement.

“I must admit, you and that little
blonde
actress are cute together. Matching hair, both with blue eyes and great smiles. Bet you don’t mind that I put braces on you when you were younger, huh?”

Gideon laughed, but he recalled those years. Girls hadn’t given him a second look. He’d fought wannabe bullies every day on top of that. He hadn’t needed Gunnar’s help to win his fights back then. Gideon could be accommodating, but couldn’t be called a pushover…well, except when it came to his mother.

“I wish you wouldn’t read that trash. They’re all full of lies.” He moved closer to the shower area to get farther away from the noise.

“It’s the only way I can find out about your private life. You talk to me every day but never share anything about the special women in your life. I’m your mother. You should
tell me everything.”

Gideon imagined that his mother stood in front of him, wagging her finger at him with its impeccable manicure and, of course, the nail painted fire-engine red. “Mom, I have to keep some things from you. I’m not a boy anymore.”

Elizabeth made a disapproving noise from her throat. “I know. You and Gunnar are so quick to tell me that.” She paused a moment before barreling on with their conversation. “Will you be bringing Hilary home with you? I would love to meet her.”

Gideon swallowed before he answered. “We broke up.”

His mother gasped. “Oh, sweetie. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t think you would really care. We weren’t together that long.” Six months equated to a lifelong relationship in celebrity terms. For Gideon, it meant that the woman he’d spent time with wouldn’t be the future Mrs. Gideon Wells or the mother of his children.

“What happened?” Elizabeth asked.

“The separation got to her. She would be off doing movies. I had games and training, plus living in Virginia and not California. It didn’t work.” He turned his back on the group. “Besides, my sucky love life has helped the team. I’m only concentrating on the team and how I play.”

“You could have made it work if she was the right one.”

Gideon knew a hint of truth existed in his mother’s statement. As he thought about it, maybe he hadn’t wanted a relationship with Hilary to work. With her, he’d felt more like an accessory, a great piece to have on her arm for red-carpet events. He’d gotten tired of hearing what a striking couple they made. Thinking about that label now had Gideon gritting his teeth.

“Honestly, that’s not what I was going to ask you about.” Elizabeth lowered her voice.

Gideon shook his head. He could only imagine what else his mother had read about him in those rags. “Spill it.”

Elizabeth released a long exhale before she spoke. “Are you hurt?”

The question from his mother froze him to his spot. No way would one of those fashion magazines littering Queen Elizabeth’s hair salon mention something like that. Gideon felt sure he kept his pains hidden. On instinct, he tugged on his knee pad again, which caused the joint to twinge. He placed his foot down to the floor and walked around to lessen the ache.

“I’m fine. Never better. Remember, I’m the one you never have to worry about.”

Gideon recalled the nights of watching how Elizabeth had paced in their home as she’d waited to see if the police would bring Gunnar home or relay some tragic news to her. Thane had needed constant attention. Gideon hadn’t wanted to add to her concern. He wouldn’t be breaking that trend today.

Elizabeth cut into his thoughts. “I know. But if you are hurting, you know you can—”

“Don’t get yourself worked up over nothing.” Gideon took a breath before saying, “I apologize for interrupting you.” The pain didn’t hurt him enough to forget his manners. He glanced at the digital clock over the door. “And I don’t have a lot of time.”

“I know you have to go, baby. We’re cheering for you from Virginia Beach. I love you.” Elizabeth made a kissing sound over the phone.

“Love you, Mom. Be sure to tell Gunnar not to screw it up with Eboni again.” One of the brothers had to be lucky in love. Gideon remembered how great Eboni had been with his older brother.

If Queen Elizabeth knew about Thane’s penchant for loving and leaving women, she would pull the young player back home by his earlobe like she used to do when they’d misbehaved as children.

Gideon disconnected the call. Before he could resume with his team, he had one more quick call to make. He had to hear from Thane. He could go in this game with a clearer mind if he knew his entire family had his back. He knew he wouldn’t hear from Hilary.

After the first ring, Gideon heard a click before he heard a voice.

“Gid! How the hell are you?” Thane’s light voice seemed in conflict with the impression Gunnar had given of their brother.

Gunnar had told Gideon that each time he’d tried calling Thane, he hadn’t gotten an answer. Gideon didn’t know if Gunnar had exaggerated or if Gideon had gotten lucky with scoring a conversation with their youngest brother.

“Wound tight, Thane. But in a good way.” Gideon shook out his free arm when he started to feel some tingling in it. He couldn’t wait to start this game. It had been twenty-seven years in the making.

“I hear you. Thanks again for the tickets. With spring training coming up, I couldn’t go. You understand, right?”

Gideon nodded. “I get it.”

Like Gideon had his pro-football training, Thane had to prepare for his whole Major League Baseball season starting soon. Then Gideon heard a strange voice behind Thane. The tone and content of the statement didn’t sound like any trainer Gideon had ever encountered.

“Come back over here, baby.”

Gideon’s shoulders tightened. Had his brother actually pushed him aside so he could lay up with some woman?

“Who’s that?” Gideon balled his hand into a fist, stretching the tape across his knuckles.

“I’m not sure of her name yet, but believe me, she has the lungs of a cheerleader.” Thane laughed.

Gideon found no amusement in it. Since Thane hadn’t gone back home to help Gunnar with their mother, he would have thought his baby brother would have come to California to cheer him on his most important day ever.

“I got off the phone with Mom. She sounds good today.” Gideon hoped his message got through to his younger brother.

“Yeah, I talked to her earlier. She told me she’s having a Super Bowl party at her house.” Thane laughed and then said something that sounded muffled.

Gideon assumed his attentions had been diverted by the stranger in his room.

“Didn’t mean to interrupt your special day.” Sarcasm dripped from every word Gideon uttered. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you, man.”

“Yeah, later.” Thane disconnected the call.

Even at Thane’s age, Gideon didn’t remember being that self-centered. He had bigger things to worry about now. If his mother read in some magazine or saw on TV that
he may be hurt, it wouldn’t take long for his coaches to say something to him. It also meant he had to watch his back out on the field. The opposing team would love to take him out of the game, preferably on a stretcher.

Time. Gideon had to play in this one game. Then he could heal and move on with more training. Today, he would have to be faster against the other team. They’d probably be gunning for his leg to take him out of the sport, not only the game.

As he turned to go back into the main locker room, he ran into Dennis, the receiver who’d tried getting Gideon’s attention earlier. Dennis had become like a third brother to Gideon. They had gone to University of North Carolina together. They’d been drafted together. They had even ended up on the same NFL team.

The big man with dreadlocks that went down to his shoulders smiled wide enough to express his happiness and the team’s. “Come on, man. You ready?” He held up his hand to Gideon.

Gideon slapped his hand against Dennis’s and pulled him in for a half hug. “We got this. Like back in the day as a Tar Heel.”

“Were you talking to your mama?” Dennis paced as Gideon strolled to the main locker-room area.

Gideon nodded.

Dennis smiled harder and shook his head as he let out a low whistle. “Your fine-ass mama needs me in her life.”

Gideon laughed. “Hey, watch your mouth when you talk about her.”

“I hear you. I hear you.” Dennis chuckled. “When we first met back in college, I used to think it was weird for a white dude to have a black mama. After meeting her, I wanted to marry that woman.” He pounded Gideon on his shoulder with his fist. “I’d even let you call me Daddy.”

Gideon pushed his friend’s shoulder. “Oh, you have jokes, right?” He shook his head. “Sorry. Mom doesn’t go for young men. She said they remind her too much of her sons.”

“Fine. Be sure to tell her I said hi.” Dennis lowered his head to Gideon and in a hushed tone asked, “I know this is part of the QB duty, but can I do the rally speech?”

The electric current that had been flowing through Gideon’s body defused with Dennis’s request. Long before the first hair had sprouted on his upper lip or down below his belt, he’d dreamed of being the quarterback in the Super Bowl and being able to bring his team to a win. Part of that dream included giving the speech to his team that would inspire them to annihilate the opposing team. He couldn’t give up any part of his dream, even to his friend, even if that friend had played as quarterback in college.

He stared at
Dennis
for a moment. “It’s the Super Bowl, Den. It’s my first one.”

“Yeah, mine too.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Remember back in the day, you and I would do this kind of thing together all the time.”

Gideon nodded. “I remember. And I know you want to make MVP. I get it.” He pointed to himself with his thumb. “I’m responsible for this team.”

“That’s cool.” Disappointment laced Dennis’s statement. “Make sure you keep throwing me the ball, okay? I’ll make sure to get it in the end zone every time.” In Dennis’s dramatic fashion, he took a big step to the side to illustrate his point.

“Maybe for the new season we can share the motivation duties. The guys are already hyped up. We need to go into this game in control.” Gideon wanted to set a tone for his
team. Acting out of control would kill their synergy.

Dennis’s smile softened. Gideon saw his shoulders slump under the shoulder pads.

Gideon turned away from his disappointed friend and glanced into the bustling locker room. Dennis didn’t understand the importance of leading a team in the Super Bowl, not merely playing in the game. Gideon had to be the puppet master. If a play failed, it would be on him. He couldn’t let his team down, not today.

“Sure. You’re the boss.” Dennis offered his neon smile again.

“I promise I won’t let you all down.” Gideon wrapped his arm around Dennis’s shoulders as they headed toward the team.

“Hey, now that you and Hil are over and this is our last game of the season, are you going to try and hit up that cheerleader?” Dennis winked and licked his lips.

Gideon didn't have to guess which cheerleader his friend wanted him to hit up as he called it. Brittany or Tiffany or Brandy. Something with an E sound at the end of her name. The bouncy, bubbly brunette had made it known she wanted Gideon. At practices where cheerleaders weren’t needed, she popped up and managed to run into him. When he worked out at the team gym, she would be waiting for him outside. One time after practice, as he’d soaked in an ice bath, she’d shown up in her bikini ready to join him.

Gideon had never liked a desperate woman. This cheerleader reeked of neediness.

“Man, I don’t want any part of her.” Gideon shook his head. “For one, it’s against the rules. Players can’t date the She-Wolves.”

“During the season.” Dennis pounded his fist on Gideon’s shoulder. “After the season…”

“I still don’t want her.” Gideon shook his head. “But you, you have at her. Be sure you treat her right.” No matter what Gideon did, his mama’s words always crept into his mind and out of his mouth.

“She only has eyes for you, brother. Bet you five big ones that when you come out of the tunnel, she’ll run into you.”

Gideon snickered. “No way. The cheerleaders know not to interfere with our entrances, especially for this game.”

Dennis held up his large hand with his long digits splayed. “Five big ones.”

Gideon nodded. “You’re on.” He glanced at the team. “Hey, everyone! Listen up!” He waited until the team members stopped their actions and moved around him and Dennis.

He couldn’t keep his mind on what he would have to do in these next few hours while he knew his mother would have to have heart surgery soon. The phone call home to talk to his mother and his brothers hadn’t calmed his nerves. His team didn’t need to know about his worry.