Forward

Move.

Spencer and Olivia seemed to be succeeding at being friendly. Even if it had only been a couple of weeks since their much needed conversation. Since then, the topic of them in a romantic sense hadn't come up and they were simply enjoying each other's company. Like old times.

"Uno," Olivia yelled out, slamming a card down, leaving her with one. "Draw Four, boo boo!"

"You don't play fair, woman," Spencer huffed, drawing four cards. "I swear you shuffled the deck to benefit you."

"You're just mad you're losing," she stuck out her tongue and danced. Her attention went to her phone ringing from the coffee table. She saw Spencer's eyes drift over to it too. Frank had called twice and Olivia had already ignored it once.

"Um, Liv," Spencer began before Olivia held up a finger as she answered the call. She stood to her feet and walked toward the balcony. Spencer held his breath as he watched her animated movements. After she hung up, he would have to break the hard truth about Frank. What did he look like letting Olivia continue to entertain the guy when he clearly had other responsibilities?

When Olivia returned to her spot on the rug, she replied, "Frank was telling me he'll be back in town tomorrow night. Sorry about that. Ready to officially lose this game?"

"Liv," Spencer called her name again, this time getting her attention. "There's something you need to know about Frank."

Olivia's face fell and then she laughed nervously, "What? He has a secret family or something," she joked but when Spencer didn't reply, she realized her joke was actually the truth. "Oh. Wow."

"I'm sorry," Spencer apologized, moving from the other side of the table.

"I should have known something was up with all these business trips. Wait...how do you know," Olivia asked.

"He and his family were in Vegas when we played the Raiders. I'm assuming that was his wife. There was a kid though," Spencer explained, wanting to take himself back to that moment so he could beat Frank's ass. "He didn't see me though. I had curfew but if I didn't, I would have said something."

"With your fists," Olivia shook her head, knowing from Spencer's tone that words would not have been the way he approached Frank. "Ugh, a kid. So I'm playing side chick and there's a baby involved? Great, I'm a home-wrecker."

"I wouldn't say all that. It's not like you knew this information and kept seeing him."

"Thanks for letting me know. I would have been looking like an even bigger fool because he wants to go on another date when he gets back. Wait until I tell him off," Olivia seethed and Spencer wished he could be a fly on the wall to see it.
————
A Month Later

Spencer wasn't that into celebrating his birthday most years and this year was no different. Instead, he focused on his career off the field. A new endorsement deal was on the horizon and he wanted to score that while the iron was hot. His name was mentioned on the highlights weekly. The rookie was labeled as the next sensation and compared to the likes of DeSean Jackson with a little bit of Jerry Rice. His shiftiness reminded people of Dante Hall while his hands gave off Julio Jones. People were talking about Spencer James and they wanted him to be the face of their brands. Several had come across his management's desk and the Gatorade one seemed to be the one that fit him the most. They were currently doing a campaign highlighting athletes and their definition of home. For Spencer, this was his opportunity to represent his community which made the deal seem intriguing.

"You'd shoot a few commercials. We could do some here in Baltimore and the others in Crenshaw. We'll also need to come up with artwork for the limited edition bottles," the project manager explained, spreading papers across the conference room table. "Would be great if we could find an artist in Crenshaw."