Filling up the Virgin(154)

And more than that, she was worried about the effect it would have on James. He had never yet asked her who his father was. He was too young to really think about that sort of thing. But she knew that one day, it was a conversation she was going to have to have with him.

It would be easier, she was sure, if she could tell him a story about some vague father figure that had never been a part of his life. She could tell him about her high school crush, and how she'd spent only one night with Cole. How Cole had never called her again after that night. That would be easier than letting James get to know Cole, letting them develop some kind of relationship together. It would be so much harder for James to accept that his father wasn't a part of his life if that father was someone he knew, someone he had developed some sort of bond with. She didn't want to put him through that.

Michelle returned a few minutes later, but Amanda couldn't sit around any longer. She'd come here to talk about how to avoid Cole at the wedding, and instead she'd somehow agreed to be his date. The whole situation was too confusing. She made her excuses and left, heading for the bus stop so she could head home to her son.





Chapter 8



A few hours after he'd seen Amanda, Cole headed out with some of his old college buddies. He was looking forward to having some time to catch up with his friends, instead of being hounded by people from around town who he barely knew. He hadn't seen some of his old college teammates since graduation. Most of them hadn't gone on to play professionally, and instead they'd moved on to living normal, simple lives. A couple of them were even married, and one or two had kids already. Cole couldn't imagine being a father at his age. He was only in his mid-twenties. Though when he thought about it, he realized that his parents had already had kids by his age. He couldn't get his head around that.

Cole sat at a table with half a dozen of his old teammates. They had a few pitchers of beer, and some nice greasy cheesesteaks, and they were telling stories about the glory days. Cole made sure to push the conversation away from his own recent success; he'd had enough over the last couple of days of people raving about his football fame. Whenever one of his friends asked about his time in the NFL, he made his answers as brief as possible, then quickly responded with a question about how their lives were doing. He learned that one of his friends had become an accountant, another a bank manager. One was still working as a cook in the same restaurant he'd been in during college. And while their mundane jobs sounded boring, Cole felt a bit of jealousy at the simplicity of their lives. Especially when the conversation came around to their romantic lives.

“Yeah, we'll be coming up on our third wedding anniversary this May,” one of his friends said. “I gotta tell ya, I never thought I'd be married. But you know how it is, when you find 'the one.'”

A few of the guys shouted teasing taunts at him, throwing pretzels and booing. “Aww, come on, man,” another of Cole's friends said. “No one wants to hear about you settling down with two-point-three kids and a dog. Now, my man Cole, I bet he's just rolling in pussy, am I right?”

The guys grinned. Cole felt his face heating up. He shook his head, staring into his beer. “Hey, guys, being a playboy isn't all it's cracked up to be. I wouldn't mind settling down and finding the right girl.”

“Oh, come on. You're really telling me you'd give up all the free pussy that lines up after every game.”

Cole shrugged and looked away. “I'm just saying, maybe there's something more to life than that. Something more satisfying.” His thoughts drifted to Amanda. He knew he was probably being foolish, pinning all of his hopes and emotions on a girl he'd barely known since his college days. But she was on his mind more and more, especially after he'd finally seen her in person again.

“Well don't look now, Cole, buddy boy, but there's a couple of hotties looking your way.”

His friend nodded towards the bar. Cole glanced over and saw a couple of hot young girls standing there, sipping at some fruity drink concoctions and giving him the eye. They looked too young to even be in the bar, probably a couple of eighteen or nineteen year olds sporting a pair of fake IDs. When they saw him looking, they leaned together and whispered. They giggled, then crossed the bar and came over to his table.

“Hey,” one girl said. She had bleached blonde hair and she was wearing a top that barely held her in.

“You're Cole Lockheed, right?” the other asked. She had short, dark hair and a sultry look.

“Yeah,” Cole said, avoiding eye contact with either of them. “Sorry, I'm not doing autographs or anything. Just here to have drinks with my buddies.”