Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

“Ollie, baby,” she said, bringing her hand to the side of his face. “I want you home, of course. I wasn't joking when I said I missed you. But Coach says he wants you back in California, too. He said you need to begin training. Your team needs you.”

“I'll come home when I'm ready. Coach can talk to me himself,” Oliver told her. He moved his face away from her touch.

“Why don't we leave right now? We can escape this place,” Nikki said. “I have tickets for both of us. We need to leave here within the hour to catch our flight.”

Ollie shook his head. “Are you joking?”

“No,” she replied with a frown. She pouted. “I bought return tickets because I knew you'd want to come back with me and leave this hellhole. I even reserved the suite at that hotel you like, just so you could get back to feeling like yourself.”

“First off, it's not a hellhole,” he said, through gritted teeth. “And second, I can't leave yet. I've got another session. You can't expect me to just uproot myself because you got antsy to have me back home. I'm not going.”

Nikki's jaw dropped as she stood up from the couch. “Please God, don't tell me that you actually like it here. Have you become one of these hillbillies?”

Her tone made Oliver cringe. He looked up, meeting her gaze. “Don't call them that.”

“What? Hillbillies?” she placed her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side.

“I'm serious, Nikki,” he said. “Don't insult a place that you know nothing about.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Ollie. You didn't want to come here at first because you felt the same way.”

“Yeah, but I learned that it's actually not so bad,” he said. “In fact, people here are more friendly than anybody I know in California. It's nice, actually.”

“I hope you enjoyed it,” Nikki said, taking a few steps toward Oliver's bedroom. “Because you're leaving now.”

“Nikki, I'm not a child so don't try to treat me like one.” Oliver got up and followed her down the hallway. “I'll leave when I want to leave. Besides, if Coach really wanted me back, he could call me himself. I doubt it's as urgent as you're letting on.”

“Look, you're right.” She bit her lip and smiled coyly at him. “Coach doesn't want you back today. He wants you back next week. I just wanted you to come home, because it's not the same without you there.”

Oliver sighed, as he let down his guard a bit. “I had a feeling you were stretching the truth.”

“I just miss you.” Nikki stepped close to him and placed her hands onto his chest.

“Look, if Coach wants me back next week, then I'll be back next week,” Oliver said. “But I'm not going home with you today. Sorry, but there's no way.”

“There no way?” she asked, flirtatiously. She looked up at him through her eyelashes. “Are you sure about that?”

Nikki gently bit her bottom lip and stood up on her tiptoes. She leaned in, bringing her face toward Oliver's to attempt a kiss. Right as their lips grazed, though, Ollie turned away.

“Nikki, stop,” he said, taking a step back. “What are you doing? We're not together any more.”

“What's one kiss?” she asked, her voice seductive.

“We can't keep going over this,” he told her firmly. “I'm not having this conversation again.”

She pouted out her lower lip and pushed past him. Oliver watched as she walked into the living room. This was how she would normally make him feel bad, but it wasn't working. The guilt trip and the silent treatment that would inevitably ensue were not threatening to him anymore. He just plain didn't care. He wasn't going to get lured into Nikki's manipulations, because there was another woman who was on his mind. Elsie was the one who had his heart. This fact alone took away all power from Nikki's attempts at making him feel bad.

Oliver walked out to the living room and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “You're welcome to wait here for an hour until you need to leave for the airport, but that's all I can offer.”

She snarled at him, but didn't budge from the couch. “I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends,” Ollie said. “But that's all. Nothing else. Look, Nikki, I care about you and I always will. But not in the same way as you're hoping for. Our relationship is strictly professional now. I realize that it might hurt to hear that, but we both know that it has to be that way. We tried this once and it didn't work. It blew up right in our faces. What's the point of going through all of that again?”

Nikki's face crumpled and she held her arms tight against her body while refusing to look at him. “I guess you're right.”

They were silent for a moment. Ollie felt bad for having to draw a clear line with Nikki, but it seemed like that was the only way to get through to her.

“Sorry, Nikki,” he said. “I hope you understand.”