Library
Search
Home / Romance / The Football Player's Baby / Howard

Share

Howard

Author: SarwahCreed
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

I stepped outside of the building and headed for the parking lot. I’d thought about waiting for Zoe to come to me, but after that confrontation with Ben, I wanted to see her. I didn’t know if, in the end, she would listen to what her Dad told her if he told her to stay away from me.

Just the idea scared me.

Before I could even get to my car, though, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I stopped beside my car, opening the back door to dump the gym bag I’d brought along with me. Then I sat in the driver’s seat and pulled out my phone. It was a message from my agent.

“Fuck!”

I texted back quickly that I’d meet him for our dinner appointment on time. This was something important, so as much as I would like to ignore it and head to her anyway, if this was about what I thought, then I’d get what I wanted, anyway.

The restaurant he asked me to meet him at was a bit of a drive away, but I stopped by the house and killed some time before I had to go and meet him. I thought about sending Zoe a text
Locked Chapter
Continue to read this book on the APP
Comments (1)
goodnovel comment avatar
Linda Parizeau
Who does her father think he is? She is a grown up woman!
VIEW ALL COMMENTS
Previous Chapter Next Chapter

Related chapters

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I trudged along the sidewalk. I was close to home, and that was the only thing that made me happy right then.This isn’t going to be easy, is it?I growled. “If Dad had something to do with this…”Who was I kidding, though, he had to have something to do with it? Just when I made up my mind and wanted to move on, all avenues were closed in front of me, and I didn’t think it was happening naturally, not this way.Finally, I made it to the house. It was the very same house where I grew up with my parents, even though now there was only the two of us. Sometimes, it didn’t feel like two people lived in that house, though. It was moderately big, with two floors, four bedrooms even though we’d only ever used two, and three of them had en suite bathrooms. The outside of the house was painted in white and blue shades, because blue used to be Mom’s favorite color.I groaned in relief, walking up the sidewalk to the house. At the short steps that led up to the porch, I looked up and froze.“Wha

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I was humming along to a song on the TV, singing the parts that I knew, when I realized Howard was standing at the kitchen doorway just staring at me, and I stopped.“Don’t stop,” he said, laughing. “You have a nice voice.”I grimaced. “If you think so, you’re probably tone deaf.”“Well, dinner’s ready, so you can come and eat. Or would you rather I bring it here?”“No, that’s fine.” I jumped up, taking the remote to turn the volume up on the music, then walking over to Howard, following the nice smell coming from the kitchen I’d only just noticed. “What did you make? It smells delicious.”“I thought something simple would be best. We’re having baked chicken with stuffed baked potatoes. I cut up the chicken into strips, so you can just set the table. Do you have barbecue sauce? I like to have something to dip it in.”“Sure.”I got some plates and cutlery and transferred them to the table. Howard brought everything over and set them in the middle. I took several strips of chicken and a

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I was just about to pick up my cell to call Howard, when I thought him being the one who changed our arrangement. He claimed that he wanted us to go on a date. Now, we had and we were getting close, he’d disappeared. Part of me was curious and wanted to know, why? The other part was pissed for falling for him. Either way, it was irritating. At first, I didn’t know what to think of it, but I decided quickly enough that I didn’t like it.Right after morning practice, the guys were allowed to roam the facilities and do as they pleased. They could even leave, as long as they were back in time for practice in the afternoon. Dad and the rest of the staff had gone off somewhere to discuss the morning practice and make plans for the afternoon. With him out of the way, I tried to go ahead and talk to Howard, who was standing in for one of our missing players, but every time he noticed me getting close, he would move away. He kept doing it up until Dad showed up, and I couldn’t force the issue

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    The game was winding down. We were all running around the field, and some of the guys were shouting. I could barely hear them, since I was mostly moving by instinct now. The wind whistled past my ears, almost drowning out the loud sound of my breathing. My heart pumped fast and sweat slid down my temples. When the game was called to an end, I almost dropped to my knees in exhaustion. I winced, pulling off my helmet and wiping my forearm over my face to wipe away the sweat.“Hey, Howard! You okay over there?”The closest guy to me was standing still, looking toward me, while the rest of them were heading off the field. I waved a hand at him, catching my breath for a few seconds before I started walking back myself.“I’m fine,” I muttered, passing by him with a pat to his back. “Just a bit of a workout.”He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you could say that, huh?”Other guys were jogging off, but it was all I could do to get my legs to keep moving. I stopped to have some of the water set out

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I left the house, because I felt like I’d go crazy if I stayed there any longer. I figured I was overdue for a night out. The first person I thought to call was Howard, but I quickly changed my mind.He and I had barely talked after we’d started this little game. I decided, if he was going to ignore me around other people, then I wasn’t going to talk to him at all. I wouldn’t receive his calls because I was still a little bitter. I’d only just started replying to his texts a few days ago, and only because the bitterness in my chest was no longer sorely pointed at him. Now, I wondered if it wouldn’t be best for us to just stop seeing each other like this for good.It was no wonder Dad didn’t want us being together. Before, I’d just figured it was him being protective, but it was more than likely his selfish side rearing its head, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. A part of me felt like I should be angry that he could do things without talking to me, but I needed to talk him into

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    I laid down on my bed in my apartment. There was no practice, and I had nothing to do, so I was bored. If my mood was better, I could have gone outside to look for something to do, but I just didn’t feel like it.How could Mom do this to me?My thoughts were unfair, and I knew it, but they persisted. Because I missed the dinner, I didn’t hear it at the same time as Zoe did, but Mom had called me and told me about her getting married with no warning to me, and to Ben of all people. I wished now that I’d sucked it up and gone to sit with them so I could read Zoe’s reaction to the news, or at least tried to talk to her.Fuck!This just made everything that much more complicated for me.Because I was taking Ben’s deal, I hadn’t had time to talk to Zoe. I didn’t want to tell her anything when I was forced to avoid her, but if I told her now, would she even accept it?I’d come to terms with it myself. I liked Zoe, a lot. I didn’t want to just keep fooling around, either. I’d planned, when t

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I left home early in the morning, long before Dad and Katie woke up, because it would be too awkward to see them. The two of them didn’t need me around for anything, and they both seemed happy with the current situation, which just made it worse for me. They were very much in love and had no problem showing it even with me in the room, and there was no way I was going to be comfortable with that.I really need to move out. Should I look into other teams to apply to?This was something I needed to put more thought into. I was sure I could get used to it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Still, it wasn’t like I was needed in the house anymore.Money was a problem, but not that big a problem. When Mom passed away, she’d left some money in my name, and I’d never touched it. It wasn’t enough to live on, but I could get an apartment and settle in for a few months, but no more. Still, I could have made the decision to leave the house and look for work ages ago, but the real reason I didn’t mov

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    “Dude, what are you doing? You’re going the wrong way!”“Get your head in the game!”I groaned. I’d heard that several times already today, and we were barely half an hour into practice. I was laying under a pile of heavy football players, and the weight on my chest was making it a little hard to breath. I was grateful when they pulled away quickly, and someone, Ted, held a hand to me to help me up.“Thanks,” I said, taking his offered hand.I winced when I stood up, and it got me a pat on the back.“Are you okay? That looked a bit rough, but I think you might have tripped before anyone even landed on you.”“I’m fine.” I stretched the muscles in my body, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong, just a bit of ache in my back from the fall. “I’m good, the guys were just heavy.”“If you say so. Try to keep focused, though, okay? No one wants you to get injured in the middle of practice before we even get to our first game.”I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Believe me, it’s the last th

    Last Updated : 2024-10-29

Latest chapter

  • The Football Player's Baby   Epilogue

    Zoe“Are you ready, Zoe?”I looked up to see Katie and Dad standing in the doorway. Katie hurried forward when she saw me trying to stand up so she could help. When I was on my feet, I slowly turned around, then smiled at the both of them.“How do I look?”Katie pulled me into a hug with a squeal, and Dad cracked a smile. His eyes were wet with tears.“You look so beautiful, Zoe! Oh, now I wish we hadn’t been so quick to get married. Even a small ceremony would be fine, we were just in such a hurry.”I laughed at her grumbling, and Dad let out a chuckle. I was in a simple white wedding dress with cap sleeves and the veil already tucked into my hair. I was heavily pregnant, nearly nine months along, and the baby was bound to come out any day now, so I was in flats.“Kayla, you did such a good job with the makeup,” Katie said. Kayla came up behind me, her hands on my shoulders. “I practiced it so many times, I’m glad to see how it came out. You’re going to be so amazing in the pictures

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    Maybe Zoe was right, I shouldn’t have pushed it.I wanted to ignore the ring of my alarm. Even though I wasn’t sleeping, I was exhausted. I was probably like this due to stress, though.The same day I healed up, I just had to speak with Ben about our relationship. I didn’t want to put it off, for a number of reasons, but I really should have. Ben wasn’t exactly accepting, yet. After he’d calmed down from the big reveal, he’d sat me down in the living room while insisting that Zoe and Mom stay in the kitchen. He’d started a line of questioning that left me high strung, to the point I’d gotten a slight fever when I got back.Zoe had stayed behind at home. She’d just gotten back, and it wasn’t like we’d be apart for long, anyway, now that her dad knew and was reluctantly on board with the idea of the two of us getting together. She didn’t know I got sick again, but I still had the meds from the previous night, and I’d eaten already, so I took some meds and went to sleep.My muscles nearl

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I was nervous. I had every right to be.“Are you sure you’re okay now?” I asked. “Maybe we should go to the doctor after all.”Howard just chuckled and pulled me into his arms. His body was hot against mine, but his fever had definitely gone down since last night, and he could keep food down. I didn’t think he was well enough to be facing my dad, though, but Howard disagreed.“Come on. I already called Mom and told her we’d be on our way. She’s keeping it a secret from Ben for now. We can join them for dinner.”I hadn’t seen Dad in weeks, but he hadn’t tried to call me in that time. When I got back, the first thing I did was go see how Howard was doing, only to find he was sick and he hadn’t even locked his door. I didn’t think a day was long enough for him to get better, but he seemed completely sure that the illness had run its course.“Let me carry your stuff down to the car,” he offered.I came with all my luggage to his doorstep, though I didn’t intend to spend the night. There w

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    I’d fallen asleep on the couch again. I woke up with a groan, arching my body and stretching out a few kinks in my neck. I felt uncomfortable, but instead of moving, I just remained curled on the couch after my stretch.How many days had it been since I last stepped out of my apartment? I wasn’t sure, but my mind was groggy, and my body felt heavy. I somehow managed to get a cold, though it might be something a little more serious than that. I’d told Grady so the guys knew not to expect me for a while. Hopefully, it bought enough time for me to talk to Zoe about things before I completely refused the contract. I hated being sick, though, especially being sick by myself, which was how it usually happened.A harsh cough wracked my body, and I winced as I wrapped a hand around my throat. Damn, that hurts.I was usually a healthy person. Aside from my brush with drugs, booze, and women, I ate healthy meals and exercised plenty. Something as simple as a cold, I maybe caught it a few times

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could tell I was dreaming. Something about the blurry edges of the scenery just didn’t seem real, I was probably close to waking, too, since I could tell I was dreaming.In this dream, I found myself in the middle of a party. This wasn’t anything strange, because I’d been to lots of parties. It was someone’s house, though I had no idea who. The lighting was dim, but someone had set out some strobe lights. There were a lot of people around. I didn’t recognize any of them, though more importantly, I couldn’t even see their faces. Everything was blurry, but I could smell alcohol and sweat in the air, the sensory memory feeling so real. This was pretty much what my life used to be, before. Before I fell from grace and decided on changing myself. I would never go back to that. There were women everywhere, surrounding me, grabbing into me, too many. Back then, it was a situation I would have liked, but it could have been a nightmare right then. The hand

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    Nearly two weeks. It had been two weeks since Zoe seemed to have disappeared, and I was starting to get really worried. Even when she shut me out when she wasn’t in the best mood, it was only for a few days, and she wouldn’t completely ignore me. The longest we went without even texting was when she first found out I had to avoid her, but back then, I still got to see her. This time, I wasn’t getting through to her.Could something have happened to her?I thought about asking Ben, but I was reluctant. He didn’t seem worried when I saw him yesterday that Zoe had failed to show up again. The first few times, he’d at least asked after her. Did he know where she was? Was I the only one she wasn’t talking to?Fuck, did I do something wrong without realizing? Or… was she pulling away because I told her I loved her?I knew I should have talked to her properly first!If she was running scared because I said I loved her, then what did that mean? She’d said she felt the same way, but that could

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. It took a minute before I remembered where I was, and stretched out, then sat up. I slipped out of bed and went to my luggage for a change of clothes before I headed for the bathroom.I was in Montana, in my grandma’s house. It had been a while since I’d been here, but nothing had changed, and unlike my stifling house, this was comforting. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs and found Grandma up and in the living room, watching TV.“Good morning, Grandma.”“Morning, Zoe,” she said, looking up with a smile. “Though you’re a little late getting up, it’ll be time for lunch in under a couple hours. Are you hungry? I had some cereal for breakfast, but I can make you something to eat.”“No, it’s fine. I’ll just have some cereal, too. Sorry for sleeping in.”She waved a hand at me. “No need to apologize, it’s not like either of us have anywhere we need to go.”I could have cooked myself, but I didn’t feel like it. Grandma was good at t

  • The Football Player's Baby   Howard

    “Dude, what are you doing? You’re going the wrong way!”“Get your head in the game!”I groaned. I’d heard that several times already today, and we were barely half an hour into practice. I was laying under a pile of heavy football players, and the weight on my chest was making it a little hard to breath. I was grateful when they pulled away quickly, and someone, Ted, held a hand to me to help me up.“Thanks,” I said, taking his offered hand.I winced when I stood up, and it got me a pat on the back.“Are you okay? That looked a bit rough, but I think you might have tripped before anyone even landed on you.”“I’m fine.” I stretched the muscles in my body, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong, just a bit of ache in my back from the fall. “I’m good, the guys were just heavy.”“If you say so. Try to keep focused, though, okay? No one wants you to get injured in the middle of practice before we even get to our first game.”I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Believe me, it’s the last th

  • The Football Player's Baby   Zoe

    I left home early in the morning, long before Dad and Katie woke up, because it would be too awkward to see them. The two of them didn’t need me around for anything, and they both seemed happy with the current situation, which just made it worse for me. They were very much in love and had no problem showing it even with me in the room, and there was no way I was going to be comfortable with that.I really need to move out. Should I look into other teams to apply to?This was something I needed to put more thought into. I was sure I could get used to it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Still, it wasn’t like I was needed in the house anymore.Money was a problem, but not that big a problem. When Mom passed away, she’d left some money in my name, and I’d never touched it. It wasn’t enough to live on, but I could get an apartment and settle in for a few months, but no more. Still, I could have made the decision to leave the house and look for work ages ago, but the real reason I didn’t mov

You may also like

DMCA.com Protection Status