Free His Leading Lady by Jean Joachim Page A

to warm his bed. No snuggling in front of the television. The
place, once grown to be a home, had shrunk to become only an empty
shell.
    He sighed. What could he do? He didn’t expose
those pictures. He wasn’t responsible. How could he look the other
way?
    He opened the bag with a burger in it, but
had no appetite. He searched through movies, but didn’t find
anything that could hold his interest. Like a man obsessed, he
turned on her program and sat back. Watching her on screen helped
and hurt at the same time. Will I never see her again? Never
kiss her? Touch her? The thought was too much. He shut off his
mind and watched. Then, his cell rang.
    It was Meg.
    “Hey, Squirt.”
    “Hey, yourself, you big jerk. What the hell
did you do to Penny?”
    “Did she call you?”
    “I called her. We talk from time to time. I
like her. She wouldn’t speak to me. What the hell happened, and
what did you do?”
    “Nothing. It’s not your business.”
    “Everything about you is my business. You’re
my twin.”
    “Not this. Butt out.”
    “Don’t you dare hang up on me!” Meg yelled
into the phone.
    She always called when he most needed to talk
to her. How did she know? Twin telepathy? He caved. “Okay,
okay. You don’t have to yell.”
    “Tell me, Lug,” she said, her voice soft.
“You’re hurting. Tell me what happened.”
    He took a beer from the fridge, sat back on
the sofa and spilled everything. Meg listened, only interrupting
occasionally with a question.
    “Wow. Are you okay? Did that demon seed,
Sweetwater, injure you? Can you play?”
    “I’m a little banged up. I’ll live. Yeah, I
can still play.”
    “What are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know.” Then, it happened, something
that hadn’t happened since he was fifteen. He cried in front of his
sister. Tears cascaded down his face, his voice shook, and he
couldn’t control it, no matter how hard he tried.
    “Oh, Lug, Mark…” Meg started to cry on the
other end.
    That made Mark laugh. “We can’t both cry,
Squirt,” he said.
    Megan sniffled into the phone. “I know you’re
really upset. But I can’t believe you didn’t let her explain.”
    “It doesn’t make any difference why she did
it. It’s done.”
    “Come on, Mark. You’re no innocent, either.
You’ve done a few marginal things in your life.”
    “Yeah? Like what?”
    “Like when your girlfriend discovered you in
Miami with two women in your bed.”
    “Those were Darvin’s women. I just gave them
a place to sleep.”
    “Sure, sure. Did she believe you?”
    “No, and who told you?”
    “What difference does it make? I know.”
    He plucked another beer from the fridge.
“Harley.”
    “And your teammates? Not exactly a bunch of
Choir Boys, either! How many have been caught with their pants
down? There was the one with a ménage, and wasn’t there a tight end
who exposed himself? And a guard arrested for an illegal gun?”
    “All right, all right. I get it.”
    “Did you think a woman as pretty as she is,
and an actress, might not have a past?”
    There was silence.
    “Lug?”
    “I’m still here. I hadn’t thought of it like
that.” He took a swig.
    “Date an ugly girl, and you won’t have nude
photos showing up. At least hear her out. How can you break up when
you don’t know why she did it?”
    That idea had been nagging him ever since his
blow-up. Leave it to Meg to find the sore spot. I should have
listened. “I was too angry. It wouldn’t have mattered what she
said.”
    “I get it. Are you calm enough to listen
now?”
    “Maybe.”
    “I’m going to call her and find out what it
is. I’ll call you back.” She hung up.
    Mark pressed play and watched the rest of the
program. God, he missed Penny. What the hell had he done? Meg was
right. None of the guys on his team could throw stones at Penny or
him, either. When he thought about them, there were plenty of
skeletons to go around. Shame swept through him. I didn’t even
give her a chance. Now, it