The Billionaire Player (In Too Deep)

Mom didn’t say much more before we got to the hospital. Once we arrived, they raced her through to the emergency room. I followed after her and the nurses and watched as they got her settled in a bed and hooked her up to a machine while another nurse took her blood pressure and checked her vitals.

It didn’t take me long to realize that we were going to be there a while, which meant I’d have to cancel my dinner plans with Larisa even if she’d sent me a message earlier to say how much she was looking forward to it.

I sighed, but there was no way I could leave my mother right then. The doctor hadn’t been by to see her yet and her wide eyes betrayed the fact that she was scared even though she was trying to make it look like none of this was serious.

Sliding my phone out of my back pocket, I decided to send Larisa a message instead of calling her. I didn’t want her to worry, so I left my mom out of it.

Me: I feel terrible about this, but something came up and I can’t do dinner tonight. Sorry to have to cancel! I’ll tell you all about it later and I’ll make it up to you ;-) Sorry!!

A minute after I sent it, my phone chimed with her reply.

Larisa: Don’t worry about it. Hope everything is okay. When you’re done, let me know if you’ll be coming here later or going back to your place.

Me: If it’s too late, I’ll sleep at my place tonight. Keep you updated. X

I smiled as I pushed my phone back into my pocket. I’m damn lucky to have her. So many other girls would’ve made a huge deal about me canceling, but she seems okay with it.

Obviously, I wasn’t planning on making a habit of canceling on her, but it was good to know that when something really did come up, she wasn’t the type to give me hell about it. As I settled in to wait, I tried to distract my mom from her pain by telling her more about Larisa and talking to her about the dinner I wanted us to have together.

Although she was right about me not having introduced her to any girls since I was a teenager, I was looking forward to bringing Larisa home to meet her. In between nurses checking on her and the doctor coming in and ordering some tests, we talked about what we could have for dinner and how nice it was going to be to sit down for a meal together again.

It took a long time before the doctor came back in with the test results. He explained them to us, but the only part that really mattered to me was when he grinned and said, “It’s nothing serious, folks. I’m going to discharge you now, but if this happens again, you need to come back here.”

He gave Mom some medication, told her how and when to take it, and then made me promise to keep an eye on her before he let us go. Mom seemed exhausted as she climbed out of the bed to change back into her own clothes.

I left the room while she changed, but I kept my ears open in case I heard her call for help. Not help getting dressed, obviously, but a part of me couldn’t believe that we were really going home and that she was really okay. That part of me kept expecting her to call out for help before she collapsed.

Thankfully, it didn’t happen, and while she was definitely tired, she didn’t seem any worse for wear after the experience. I turned to her as we pulled up to her house. “I could stay with you tonight if you want me to. It would help me keep an eye on you.”

She waved me off. “I’ll be fine. Is it too late for you to invite your girlfriend over for dinner tonight? I know you said you’d arrange it sometime soon, but I think we should seize the moment. Life is short, after all.”

A pang of worry hit me over that last statement, but I exhaled slowly and reined it in. It’s just an expression. That’s all.

“I promise you I will make it happen but not tonight,” I said. “You’ve had a long and busy day. It’s late and I don’t want to be too clingy. If I call her and tell her to come over to Mother’s house for dinner right away, it may look a little strange. Like I said, it’s new. She’d probably appreciate a bit of warning and you should get some sleep.”

Mom sighed but nodded. She took my arm so I could help her back inside. “Just don’t forget your promise, okay? I want to meet this girl. Soon.”

“You will.” I waited until she was settled before I said good night. “I’m going to send you a message when I get home to check on you. If you’re already asleep, just let me know in the morning that you’re still fine, but if I haven’t heard from you by eight, I’m coming back here.”

She rolled her eyes. “If there really is a problem, I’ll be long dead by eight.”

I felt the blood draining from my cheeks, and I launched into a gentle argument trying to persuade her to let me stay, but she refused. She probably would’ve started beating me with a stick to get me out of there if I hadn’t left when I did.

By the time I got back into my car, it was way too late to go over to Larisa’s. My early bird would probably be fast asleep by then and I didn’t want to wake her.

Resigned to going back to my own apartment for the first time in days, I parked in the garage once I got there. Instead of going up, I went across the street to get some takeout. It wasn’t how I’d been planning for my day to end, but Mom was okay and that was what was important.

On my way back across the street, I heard someone call my name just seconds before I was ambushed by a blonde woman. “Tanner Harris! Oh my God. I can’t believe it’s really you. I was your biggest fan back when you were still playing. I miss you. Do you mind if I get a selfie with you?”

She said it all without taking a single breath, and I chuckled as I nodded. “Sure. Give me your phone.”

Handing it over, she squished her face up against mine and insisted on checking the photos one after the other until she was satisfied that she had a good one. I didn’t mind it, though. It was something funny to tell Larisa about later, and I just about forgot about the incident before I even got up to my apartment.

It turned out that I should’ve told her about it right away, though. It was a mistake I hadn’t even known I was making at the time, and I never intended to repeat it since it jeopardized everything I’d worked so hard for and the only relationship I’d ever really wanted to be in.