All Chapters of Deflected: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Rubbing my face, I look around the room trying to get my bearings straight. Something woke me up and, judging by the sound of Tiffany coming around the corner, I assume it was her closing the front door."Hey, babe," I say, as I sit up, leaning against the arm of the couch. "How was work?"She drops her bag next to the couch, shoes already gone. She's so tiny compared to me that she's able to squeeze herself between my legs and the back of the couch, and I'm still not close to falling off the edge. Somehow, her feet end up on my lap, so I begin digging my thumb into her arches.She groans in pleasure. "How did you know I was going to need my feet rubbed tonight?""Lucky guess," I shrug. "Your hair looks nice.""Thanks. Quincy added highlights.""They look good. How was work?""Same as always. I take it you didn't watch the show?"I flinch. When she's at work, I try to watch the sports segment. She watches all my games, why wouldn't I support her the same way? "I'm sorry, babe. I fell a

The gynecologist office is not my idea of a good time. But I'm pretty sure that's a given for anybody. The room is always too cold. The flimsy gowns are always too small. And there's no way to hide your butt crack from anyone who opens the door.Plus, I hate the crinkly paper on the exam table. For whatever reason, the sound is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Thankfully, I'm sitting on one of those puppy pad things, so I don't feel the paper on my naked ass too.Rowen, of course, is sitting in the one chair that fits in the room, the lucky bastard, while I sit as still as I can trying not to move the crinkly paper. It's making my back hurt, but I'll take the lesser of two evils."What's wrong?" he asks, long legs stretched out across the floor."Nothing. Why?""You look really nervous." I shoot him a puzzled look. "You're completely stiff.""Oh. That. I'm trying not to make the paper move.""Why?""I hate the way it sounds. It grates on my nerves and makes me want to stab my ear drum

"I can't believe we're doing this," I grumble, the sounds of what is obviously an over-the-top party already making me itchy, and we're not even to the front door yet. Makes me wonder what all the neighbors are thinking and when they'll be calling the cops.Nate Funderling and his giant ego bought an overpriced condo a couple of years ago, right near Memorial Drive. Knowing what professional soccer players make, I know it was way over his budget, and I've always wondered how he was able to buy it in the first place. Now that he's moving to Timbuktu, instead of selling it, he's renting it out. My guess is he'll be upside down on the mortgage if he doesn't hold on to it for a while longer. Because he's a dumb ass. So instead of being able to unload it, he's renting it to… hell I don't know who he's renting it to, nor do I care. I stopped interacting with most of my teammates beyond necessary team conversation after several of them participated in publicly humiliating Tiffany.Posting a

Pregnancy is not all it's cracked up to be. Not that I was expecting it to be a cakewalk. But I'd looked up a few websites and every one of them said morning sickness usually tapers off at about ten weeks or so.Lies. They all tell lies.Here I sit at twelve weeks pregnant, and not only has the nausea not gone away, I swear I throw up more now than I did a few weeks ago. Even these gross hard ginger candies my mother-in-law told me about don't work.Disgusted at the thought of eating another one, I toss the offending candy back in my drawer and slam it shut just as Steve jumps out of his chair, arms raised victoriously."Woo hoo! Nailed it! Did you see that three-pointer?" he yells, eyes still glued to the monitor. "Nailed it!""Yep," I answer nonchalantly, even though I want to call him out about this catchphrase he's been overusing lately, but I don't. He knows basketball is my least favorite sport of them all. Especially these days when watching players run up and down on the court,

It's funny how everything changes when you find the one you want to be with forever.Two years ago, going on a road trip was fun. I liked visiting different cities and checking out stadiums around the country. I enjoyed hanging out with my teammates. We had a good time.Then Tiffany and I started dating and it got harder. I still enjoyed going on trips, but I always wanted to get back quickly to be with her. I wasn't clingy or anything. Nothing stalkerish. With her is just where I wanted to be all the time. Now that she's pregnant, though, I have no desire to leave whatsoever. None. My instincts have kicked in something fierce, and all I want to do is stay home and take care of her. It doesn't help that she's sick all the time. It just increases my worry tenfold. Even when she tries to make me feel better."Seriously, Rookie, I'm fine.""You aren't fine, babe. I can tell by your voice that you just got sick again."Sitting on the bench in the locker room, I'm taking advantage of the f