Just Chance Page 14

Whatever the feeling was, it made him wonder what his own wedding day would be like, if that day ever came. He couldn’t quite picture it, no matter how hard he tried. His thoughts kept going back to Frankie, but… there were so many complications in Hawk’s life at that moment—his career and the baggage that came with his fame and the fact that he actually lived five hundred miles away from Bridgewater—that it wouldn’t have been fair to pull another person into the middle of it—especially not someone as genuinely good and caring and perfect as Frankie.

  For now, as far as Hawk was concerned, Frankie had the best of both worlds. He got to have fun with Hawk without worrying about what life was really like for someone in a relationship with an athlete. There weren’t any logistics to figure out between Atlanta and Bridgewater. There wasn’t any jealousy or fighting or long road trips away from home.

  There was only the good stuff. Like today.

  “What are you thinking about?” Frankie asked, stopping and cocking his head to the side as he looked up at Hawk.

  Nothing.

  Everything.

  You.

  Us.

  “Just… how lucky your friends are.” Hawk put on his best smile and squeezed Frankie’s hand. “They’re lucky to have each other, and to know they’ve found that kind of love. The kind that lasts forever.”

  “It is nice to see… and I’m sure even nicer to experience.” Frankie smiled and shrugged. “But you never know what life will bring, right? I know for a fact that neither of them were looking for love when they met. It just sort of happened, totally out of the blue.”

  Hawk loved the way Frankie looked at life—and everything, really—as glass-half-full. It was impossible to mope for too long with Frankie around, always pointing out everything there was to be happy and hopeful about. Even though Hawk hadn’t been able to pinpoint it at first, there was no doubt in his mind that Frankie’s sunny attitude and his irrepressible smile had been the main things that had piqued Hawk’s interest that first day they’d met.

  Well, those things plus a cute ass. That had definitely interested him, too.

  Still did.

  “I guess there’s always hope, then,” Hawk said, as much to himself as to Frankie.

  Frankie looked up at him with that bright smile and nodded. “Always.”

  Hawk leaned back in his chair and smiled. They’d just finished eating the wedding cake, an elaborate affair that had been stacked so high Hawk had given up trying to count the layers. The toasts had been made—one by Ethan’s mom and another by one of Jack’s military buddies… Tyler? Tyson? Something like that—and even though they’d been heartfelt, sincere, and funny, Hawk had barely been able to focus on what had been said.

  He found himself mostly watching Frankie instead.

  Frankie was just so animated and just so… happy. He stayed right next to Hawk the entire time, making Hawk feel encompassed in his bubble of happiness. Frankie floated seamlessly from conversation to conversation—with Ethan and Jack; with Ethan’s mom, Trudy; even with the military guy who seemed more than a little out of his element at a gay wedding reception—his irrepressible personality spreading that bubble to everyone he came into contact with.

  It was the first time Hawk had been with Frankie while Frankie was in his own element, and he was, in a word, enchanted. Or maybe he should just stick with Juan’s verdict.

  He was sprung.

  “And when will the two of you be sending out invitations?” Trudy asked, leaning in to direct her question across the table at Hawk.

  “Invitations?” Hawk’s eyes darted from Trudy to Frankie. He knew he should’ve been doing a better job at paying attention to whatever they’d been talking about.

  Frankie’s eyes went wide just as Trudy continued, but Hawk still hadn’t caught on to whatever the subject was.

  “You know…” Trudy raised her glass of wine to encompass the room. “Invitations… wedding bells… his and his bath towels…” She winked and took a sip before finishing. “When is the big day?”

  “Oh—oh,” Hawk’s expression quickly matched Frankie’s as he scrambled for an answer. “I… wow, I don’t know. That’s uh… a good question, honestly.”

  Honestly?

  A good question?

  What was he even saying?

  Hawk shot Frankie an apologetic look, unable to either say anything more or to explain the words that had just fallen out of his mouth. He could only hope that Frankie had something a little more coherent up his sleeve.

  “Well, Trudy,” Frankie nibbled at his lip a little as he turned to face Ethan’s mom. “I mean, we haven’t really been together for long enough to really think about…” He swallowed hard and then cocked his head to the side before turning back to Hawk. “Babe! This is our song.”

  Hawk blinked. What? His lips twitched up at Frankie’s spontaneous save. He was pretty sure that if they did have a song, this wasn’t it. But before he could say anything or even think about pointing out the name of the song Frankie had just claimed for them, Frankie was already pulling him from his seat and toward the dance floor.

  Hawk gave a little shrug as Frankie called out to Trudy.

  “Sorry, Trudy, but Hawk promised me a dance,” Frankie said, his ever-present smile back in full force. “And, um, like I said, this is our song.”

  It wasn’t until they were on the dance floor and Frankie was in his arms that Hawk realized which song was apparently “theirs.”

  It was a James Brown classic, so at least it could never be said that Frankie didn’t have good taste.

  Still, Hawk couldn’t help but laugh as the Godfather of Soul belted out the first few lines.

  “What?” Frankie asked, looking up at him with a grin. “I had to get us out of there somehow, and… I maybe wanted to dance, too.”

  “Totally fine with me,” Hawk said. “I’ll gladly dance with you anytime, anywhere.” He laughed again before continuing. “But you’re gonna be the one to explain to Trudy that our song is ‘Sex Machine’ by James Brown.”

  Frankie’s mouth fell open and he froze in place as he listened. For a moment, he looked completely speechless, and then he practically jumped back into Hawk’s arms, standing on his toes to whisper into Hawk’s ear.

  Well, it was more like a stage whisper, since Hawk was still laughing. Hard.

  “Oh my God,” Frankie whisper-yelled. “Oh my God, oh my God.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Hawk said, wrapping his arms around Frankie’s waist and struggling not to laugh again. “I promise. She might not even know this song.”

  “I’m pretty sure she does.” Frankie sighed. “Doesn’t everyone know this song?”

  All traces of Frankie’s smile were gone, and that wasn’t going to work. Hawk needed to fix things. Now.

  Hawk shrugged. “Okay, so… if she asks, just say that it’s your nickname for me. I bet that’ll shut down any further questions.”

  “Or open up a bunch of new ones.” Frankie sighed again, but the corners of his mouth twitched, and that was a good sign.

  Whenever Frankie wasn’t smiling, it was like the sun wasn’t shining, like something was missing from Hawk’s life. And even though this might technically be Jack and Ethan’s day, Hawk wanted to make sure that Frankie was enjoying it, too.

  “Then I guess we’ll get to have some fun answering those questions,” Hawk said, pulling Frankie even closer. “Until then, though, there’s only one thing we can do.”

  “Dance?” Frankie asked, looking up at him.

  Hawk grinned. “Okay, so there are two things we can do. One is to dance.”

  “And the other?” Frankie was moving with the music again, and even though the way he was holding his mouth couldn’t quite be classified as a smile, there was definitely a happy anticipation in his eyes.

  “Someone once told me that you never know what life will bring.” Hawk shrugged. “Maybe she’ll wanna know about our James Brown fetish and maybe she won’t. But we can only hope for the best.”


  “Whoever told you that is probably just naive.” Frankie laughed. Finally. “Or maybe a genius.”

  Hawk snorted. “I’m pretty sure he knows what he’s talking about. But either way, I trust his judgment.”

  “Yeah?”

  Hawk nodded and planted a kiss on Frankie’s forehead. “Always.”

  Chapter 14

  Frankie

  Frankie glanced at the clock above his TV, and then at his phone. He’d asked Hawk to text before he came up, since he was in the middle of vacuuming, but as he craned his neck to try to see the small screen across the room, it didn’t look like there were any texts yet.

  Good. He’d hoped to at least finish tidying up before Hawk got there, since as much as Hawk had pretended otherwise when he’d asked what Frankie was up to on the phone, Frankie was pretty sure the man would definitely not enjoy a fun-filled afternoon of cleaning Frankie’s apartment.

  Frankie, on the other hand, was pretty sure he’d enjoy doing just about anything with Hawk. He was definitely looking forward to seeing him again.

  They’d talked on the phone a couple of times over the last few days, but hadn’t been face to face since Jack and Ethan’s wedding on Saturday. It was Tuesday now, and with Ethan and Jack gone on their honeymoon, Frankie felt like he’d worked approximately seventy of the seventy-two hours that had passed.

  He was exhausted.

  Or at least… he should be. With Hawk on his way over, though? He kind of felt the opposite of exhausted.

  As soon as he turned back to cleaning, a light caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

  His phone.

  Hawk.

  Frankie’s lips turned up in a spontaneous grin and he crossed the room—still vacuuming frantically—to check the message.

  I’m here! On my way up to your apartment now…

  Thank goodness Frankie’s apartment was about the size of a postage stamp, since that meant he just had time to finish and turn off the vacuum cleaner before Hawk’s loud, staccato knock cut through the suddenly silent apartment.

  Frankie crossed the room again—thankfully without the vacuum cleaner in hand this time—and answered the door, doing his best to look like he hadn’t just been literally running around his living room.

  Oh, God. Please don’t let him be sweating.

  “Hey,” he said, opening the door wide enough for Hawk to pass through. “How’s it going?”

  “Pretty good, now,” Hawk said, leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek as he stepped inside. “Thanks for letting me come over on such short notice.”

  “Yeah, of course. You sounded so enthusiastic to help me clean that I couldn’t say no,” Frankie teased, grinning and motioning for Hawk to take a seat on the sofa. He was wondering why Hawk had invited himself over, though—not that he minded… at all.

  Any time with Hawk was time well spent, as far as Frankie was concerned, and since their pretend-boyfriend arrangement wasn’t going to last forever—something he tried not to think about, since it tended to bring him down—he definitely planned on saying yes to any and all Hawk-time he could get.

  Still, it was out of the ordinary for Hawk to show up without scheduling it in advance.

  “I’m absolutely here for that,” Hawk said, nodding toward the vacuum cleaner. “I can use one of those things better than anyone I know.”

  “Oh, really?” Frankie raised an eyebrow and stifled a laugh. “I totally don’t buy that. But you’re in luck, because I just finished.”

  Hawk gave a mock-frown, but actually did look a little disappointed that he wasn’t going to get the full cleaning experience… which just made it all the harder for Frankie not to laugh. Hawk? Vacuuming his little postage stamp? It was a little ridiculous.

  And… okay, maybe a little sexy, too.

  “Seriously, though, I’ll definitely help clean or whatever you’ve got going on,” Hawk said, sounding perfectly eager and looking like, well, like the perfect boyfriend. Pretend boyfriend. “I don’t wanna be in the way. I just thought it would be nice to hang out for a while, since I know you’ve got to work all the time while your bosses are gone, and I’ve got this thing in Atlanta coming up over the weekend.”

  “Oh my God, that’s right.” Frankie’s shoulders slumped a little. It seemed like everything was happening this week. “With all of the wedding stuff, I kind of forgot about the Atlanta thing… or… forgot it was this weekend, I guess. That’s sort of something I should be there for, isn’t it? I mean, I know you invited me before, but… we didn’t really confirm… did we?”

  Frankie couldn't even remember what the thing in Atlanta was, but it was definitely something football publicity-related… and he was supposed to be with Hawk for publicity purposes, right?

  Hawk gave a half-shrug as Frankie led him over to the sofa and they both sat down. “Not really. Besides, I know you’ve got a lot going on this week. Who would even keep the shop open right now, if you took time off while Ethan and Jack are still on their honeymoon? Would Ethan’s cousin be able to do it?”

  “Oh, maybe? Probably. Maya has been a life-saver, and that is sort of what she’s in town for—to give me a little time away from the shop. Without her, I would’ve been working from open to close every day for the two weeks they’re gonna be gone.”

  Although Lord, it almost felt like he was there for that long anyway. Had it actually gotten busier with Ethan and Jack gone? Thank God for Maya. Frankie had only met her a couple of times before this week, but Ethan’s fun, outgoing cousin had quickly become one of Frankie’s favorite people—and not only because she was currently giving Frankie a much-needed day off.

  Maya was just fun to be around, and Frankie hoped that between himself, Ethan and Jack, the three of them would be able to persuade her to work there on a more permanent basis.Though they’d first have to talk her into moving a little closer.

  “Oh, that’s good,” Hawk said. “I think I’d go crazy if I didn’t get to see—I mean, if, uh, you had to work the entire time.” Hawk cleared his throat and continued. “Anyway, since it’s not all on you, maybe Maya can cover for you one of the days this weekend? You could fly with me to Atlanta and then I could get you a return ticket for the next day—just a quick overnight trip. If that’s something you wanna consider, that is. I don’t wanna push you or anything, I just—”

  “I think that’ll probably work out just fine,” Frankie cut-in, sparing Hawk the disclaimers. Frankie did want to go to Atlanta to support Hawk or… whatever he was supposed to do while he was there. He was sort of contractually obligated to do it, in fact—although he knew Hawk was way too nice to actually point that out. “I’ll talk to Maya about it and let you know by tomorrow at the latest, but for now let’s just plan on me being there.” He smiled, then added, “With you.”

  “Okay, good.” Hawk mirrored Frankie’s smile. “Perfect. I mean… I could’ve been fine on my own, of course, but… it’s always better with you around, you know?”

  “Yeah, I think I know what you mean.” Frankie knew exactly what Hawk meant, actually. Or at least, what he hoped Hawk meant. Everything definitely seemed better for Frankie with Hawk next to him—even the prospect of spending the rest of his day off cleaning his apartment didn’t seem too bad, as long as Hawk was there to help. Or really, as long as Hawk was just there… since Frankie still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of Hawk doing housework.

  “I might be a little nervous in Atlanta,” Frankie confessed, his mind already racing through all the details he’d need to figure out between now and then—his work schedule, what to pack, what to wear, did he need to go shopping? “But I’m happy for the chance to go. I’ve never even been on a plane, so that’ll be, um… an experience.”

  Hawk reached out and took Frankie’s hand. “I know this probably won’t help much, but I promise there’s nothing for you to be nervous about.” His voice and his touch and his eyes were so full of warmth that Frankie couldn’t help but relax a lit
tle. “I’ll be with you on the flight, and then as much as possible throughout the day—there will probably be a meet and greet or something for the fans, maybe a luncheon and a press conference, and I don’t really know what else besides that. I’m having my condo remodeled while I’m staying here in Bridgewater, so we’ll be staying at a hotel. A nice one, though.” He grinned, then added, “But no matter what else comes up, we’ll make it fun, just like we always do.”

  Frankie nodded, because—despite the ridiculously long and kind of scary-sounding contract Hawk’s agent had had him sign—fun was what this was supposed to be about.

  It was why he’d agreed to the deal with Hawk in the first place, back in the hospital, wasn’t it? Back then, he hadn’t known Hawk or… cared about him, the way he did now. At the time, he’d just been looking for a little fun, a little excitement, something to pass the time.

  And now? Frankie swallowed, looking away for a moment. It had become a little too easy to forget that he’d had such a simple goal to start with, but the reminder was a good thing.

  Sometimes, when he was with Hawk, it just felt so real—too real—and for his own sake, Frankie couldn’t let his heart get carried away.

  What he had with Hawk was a business deal, not a relationship. Hawk was a celebrity, an athlete who didn’t even really live in Bridgewater. Hoping that he might really want to settle down, or to have Frankie in his life on a permanent basis? Well, that was just a fantasy.

  One that wasn’t ever likely to come true.

  One that Frankie would let go of, if he was smart.

  One that he would have to let go of, eventually.

  “Frankie?” Hawk asked, sounding a little concerned as he leaned in.

  Frankie forced a smile. “I could use a little fun,” he said, shaking his head a little to clear his thoughts. Feeling the smile become something real again, because… Hawk. Frankie took a breath, shaking off his moment of melancholy and adding, “And yeah, I’m definitely looking forward to going to Atlanta with you.”