Page 70 of The Keeper
“Are you going to let another man dictate your life choices? Your dad did it for years, and now you’re letting your brother force you into a situation where you’re either not together, or Mack loses his job and you are a pariah. This isn’tThe Scarlet Letter, RJ. You have other options without having to brand yourself with some shameful monogram.”
“I’m not sureThe Scarlet Letterreally applies here, but…”
“Come on, I tried to make a literature reference. I should get mad points for that.”
I let out a half laugh.
“Maybe.” I pause. “Maybe I should try to talk to Jeremy again. Get him to see it from my perspective.”
Charlie shakes her head.
“I don’t think that’s what you should do. I mean, it’s basically his fault that Mack’s worried about losing his job anyway, right? So you talking to him isn’t going to make that problem go away.”
My brow furrows.
“What are you talking about?”
Charlie’s face blanches, her eyes going wide.
“Charlie, what do you mean it’s Jeremy’s fault that Mack is worried about his job?”
“Uhmmm…” Her eyes are burning holes into her hands, her feet, the wall. She is looking anywhere but at me. “I may have overheard something,” she finally says in a mumble.
I sit forward, the pillow in my lap falling forward.
“What?”
“Well,” she twists her fingers in her lap. “Jeremy made a phone call to Mack tonight. I didn’t hear everything, and I don’t know the whole story, but it sounded like Jeremy was following up to make sure you guys weren’t together. Like they had talked before… or something.”
My mind is reeling. All of the blood in my body has flown to my cheeks and my neck, and I know I am bright red with anger as I sort through the information Charlie has just given to me. I can literally feel myself going from zero to sixty in almost no time at all.
Suddenly, I’m off the couch and slipping into my shoes, rushing around the living room in a frenzy.
“What are you doing?” Charlie asks, the nerves in her body clear in the shake of her voice.
“What do youthinkI’m doing, Charlie? I’m going to fucking murder my brother.”
* * * * *
It takes me almost no time at all to find out that Jeremy and some of ‘the Galaxy hotties’ have snuck out of a team-hosted philanthropic event and are grabbing drinks at Smoggy Tavern, thanks in large part to the fangirl pages that blast updates on their whereabouts. MLS stars don’t get a lot of attention, but the ladies who focus on them sure are dedicated.
It takes me twenty minutes to make it from Glendale to Downtown LA, a miraculous occurrence on a Friday night when the Lakers are playing. I park in the public parking lot a few blocks down and swallow the frustration at paying the high cost that accompanies convenient parking in Los Angeles.
By the time I get through the doors of Smoggy Tavern, I’m sure my eyes are blazing in rage, as the doorman doesn’t even bother carding me. I let my eyes scan the dimly lit bar. When I don’t see Jeremy I plow through the crowd to get to The Alley, the outdoor seating area that Smoggy Tavern uses to accommodate smokers and crowds on busier nights.
As soon as I get outside, I see him sitting with a girl on his lap, laughing at some other guy at his table. They’re wearing suits and look very clean cut and incredibly charming. Good thing I know better.
I storm quickly over to his table and see the shock on his face when I get close enough to catch his eyes.
“Rach? What are you…”
But before he can get a word out, I’ve slapped him across the face.
Hard.
The girl on his lap gets up quickly.
“I didn’t know he had a girlfriend,” she says quickly.
