A Case of Extreme Mistaken Identity - Victorine E. Lieske Page 0,49
“To rest the old knee,” he finished lamely. What was he, seventy?
“Will you be able to play when you get back to LA?”
The longing to be on the football field constricted his chest. He’d tried to push it out of his mind, but right now he would trade everything he owned to be out on the turf listening to the crowds cheering. “Not right away. But the doctor was hopeful I’d be back in the game by the end of September. I’ll have to take it easy, do some exercises, and such. But the prognosis is very good.”
“I’m glad.”
He wracked his brain to think of something else to say about his injury, or football, but nothing came to mind, so the conversation stalled again. It went on like this for the next hour, with spurts of irrelevant chatter and long pauses of awkward silence. Dani finally excused herself to use the restroom and Austin slumped in his chair.
This was not how he had hoped the day would go.
Dani weaved her way through the tables to the restroom. Why did she feel like she was on fire? Was it that hot in the restaurant? Or was she just having an anxiety attack?
She opened the bathroom door and walked to the first sink, sticking her hands under the faucet. Cold water sprinkled out. She slapped some water on her face and tried to calm down. This whole thing was her fault. She never should have kissed Austin. It messed with her head.
The bathroom door opened and a woman walked in. Dani stuck her head down by the sink and splashed more water on her cheeks. When she straightened up, she was startled to see Claire standing at the sink beside her.
“Oh, Claire. I didn’t notice it was you.” She quickly grabbed a paper towel to wipe the drops of water from her skin.
“Are you having fun?” Claire asked, her gaze sharp.
Dani didn’t know what to say to that. She wasn’t having fun, she was beating herself up for stupid mistakes, but that was personal. “Sure,” she said, hoping Claire would just leave.
Claire’s mouth pulled down into a frown. She put her hand on Dani’s arm. Her long, red fingernails looked stark against Dani’s pale skin. “Oh, sweetie. You should be careful. I wasn’t going to say anything, but you look like you really are starting to fall for Austin.”
She hadn’t been expecting that. “What? Why would you say that?” Had she seen the kiss?
“Listen, I know he’s handsome, but he’s not interested in you.” Claire sounded like she was speaking to a young child again. It annoyed Dani. Plus, she was pretty sure Claire was completely wrong. Austin had practically come out and said he wanted to persue a relationship.
Dani pulled away. “How do you know?”
Pity filled Claire’s expression. “At the miniature golf place Austin told me that he was hoping to get more sponsorship contracts, especially now since he won’t be able to play for a while. He specifically mentioned Adidas.” Claire paused, as if that meant something to Dani. When Dani didn’t say anything, she continued. “Didn’t your father do some Adidas commercials a few years ago?”
A sick feeling entered Dani’s gut. Had this been it the whole time? Had Austin wanted to get an in with her father so he could do shoe commercials?
Claire folded her arms. “At least, that’s what he said before he ran off to find you.”
The room began to spin and Dani grabbed onto the sink. Had Austin followed her to Grand Cayman? No, that didn’t make sense. He was there already. Maybe they had met on accident, but it made complete sense why Austin would have lied to her and followed her around, if he thought he could get a sponsorship. The food in her stomach turned to stone. It sat cold in her gut.
“Oh, honey.” Claire clicked her tongue. “Don’t be too disappointed. He was like that back in high school as well. It’s not you. It’s him. He’s a really good actor.”
Dani couldn’t say anything because her throat was too tight. She simply nodded and left the restroom. Her ears rang as she walked back to the table. Austin stood to pull out her chair for her, but she shook her head. “I think I’m done here.”
“No dessert?”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not hungry anymore.”
“How odd. I never thought I’d hear those words come out of your mouth.” He gave her a wink.