Free Heavy: A Contemporary Romance by J. C. Mells Page A

in triumph for the cheering spectators. Then, he turned and we got a view of his back – one of the few parts of him I hadn’t seen in that hotel room just over three months ago.
    The full-back tattoo he sported was breath-taking . A fallen angel stood, huge black wings semi-opened and spanning Thatch’s shoulder blades, facing away from us but its head in profile.
    Commentator One: Now we can see the evidence of his day job. That sure is some tattoo, isn’t it, Al?
    Commentator Two: It sure is, Mark. Now let’s head down to Jan, who’s waiting to talk to Thatch about his incredible run.
    The v ideo cut to the female commentator on the ground.
    Female Commentator: Congratulations, Thatch. A rookie and a walk-on. How does it feel to be heading to the Regional Finals?
    Thatch (looking unbelievably sexy): I made a promise to my son to try out for the show. I came and kept my promise. Anything else is just icing on the cake, Jan. Hi Thaddeus! (Thatch gave a cheeky, lop-sided grin and waved at the camera).
    Female Commentator: Your son is going to be so proud of your performance tonight. Great job, Thatch. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you in the Regionals.
    Thatch (still looking hot): Thank you Jan.
    Female Commentator: Back up to you, Mark.
    I pushed stop.
    God, I loved that video. Watching Thatch overcome the challenging course of grueling obstacles had been the all inspiration and motivation I needed to get through my stay at the Recovery Center. I’d watched it so many damn times, I felt I knew him, which was ridiculous, of course.
    He had a five-year-old son . That part had been a shocker at first. No wonder he’d been so quick to distrust me the last time we saw each other. He became a father at sixteen or seventeen. There had to be a story there. After all, there’s no sign of a mother in the picture from what I could see. Where was she? He said he left New York to live with his father. What had happened? The fact that he made it through art school and was now an up-and-coming tattoo artist and accomplished athlete was amazing. Inspirational and amazing.
    And God, I had to stop constantly thinking about him.
    My cell phone sounded with a familiar ring.
    Lake.
    I rummaged around in my bag to find it. I hadn’t seen or used it in over three months; the Institute must have charged it a little before returning it to me.
    “What’s up, Lake?” I finally said once I’d located it.
    The sound of loud music in the background made it impossible to decipher what she was trying to say.
    “I can’t hear you, Lake,” I said, raising my voice to try and make myself heard over the noise coming from her end. She’d evidently caught a second wind after we’d dropped her off.
    Knowing Lake like I did, it was probably her third or fourth wind.
    She must have gone into another room, as I heard the sound of a door closing and the loud music now sounded muffled.
    “Can you hear me now, Cali?” Lake slurred , as I heard the chink of ice rolling around in a glass.
    “Yeah, loud and clear.”
    “We need to celebrate your homecoming, girlfriend! Dad’s heading to New York tonight. Pack your bags – we’re going with him! There’s a new club opening up tomorrow night and you and me are so going to be there! I’m picking you up in twenty.”
    I took a deep breath… again.
    “No, Lake . I’m not going.”
    There was a pause on her end as her befuddled mind tried to digest this information.
    “What do you mean, no ?” I’d never said ‘no’ to Lake before. Except for that last trip to Vegas.
    “I mean ‘no’ . I just got home and I don’t want to go to New York.”
    Lake gave a loud laugh . “Very funny, Cali. The sooner we wash that rehab stink off you and get you back into the game, the better. I’ll be there in twenty.” Lake hung up the phone.
    I sat on the edge of my bed, my legs feeling a little shaky all of a sudden . I’d only been out two minutes and I was already in danger of being sucked