Bush League: New Adult Sports Romance (21 page)

Finn

Hearing the door slam as I walked away wasn't a surprise but I was taken aback by the force Allie had used. It was beyond me that she was so angry with me, especially after the connection we had made together. And the odds of our parents finding each other and getting married? That's insane and proves we were meant to be together, even if it was in a less than ideal way. The labels step-brother and step-sister were just formalities as far as I was concerned.

I wished more than anything I could get her to see that, to get her to look at me the way she did in that hotel room. I still saw her that way, still found her to be achingly beautiful and wanted nothing more than for her to not be mad at me. She couldn't see it but I was dying inside, needing her to look at me that way again.

There was time though, I had some time to get her back on my side. Once I knew I could trust her, I could tell her everything, about why I couldn't come back for her. I could explain Vida and why I have to pretend to be in a relationship with her. My hope was that she didn't kill me before I had a chance to explain everything.

I had wound up on a couch as I daydreamed about Allie coming back around to my side when the intern bounced into the room like the peppy little thing she was.

“Hey you!” she said as soon as she arrived right in front of me. She sure was cute and was way more eager to spend time with me than Allie was.

“There's the prettiest girl I've seen all day,” I said with a smirk, certain she'd realize that I was only buttering up the only person in the house who was starstruck by me. Instead Dakota's face turned bright red and Vida glared.

“How about we start your interview?” the intern suggested suddenly, earning the Dakota her own glare from the pink-haired songwriter.

“Sure,” I agreed to piss off Vida, “let's go get Allie.”

Just when it appeared like my plan was gonna work, Vida, of course, had to step in and ruin it all.

“Dakota, we have work to do,” she said with arms crossed, “Maybe later?”

“Can I write with you guys?” Dakota was very eager to be a part of something.

Vida suggested that it just be her and I for the time being. Dakota just shrugged it off and walked herself over to the bedroom where Allie was. I couldn't help but watch the door to the bedroom as Vida, with pens and paper in hand, landed on the couch right beside me. She got comfortable as I kept my eyes on the door, watching as Dakota opened it just enough to get inside, I couldn't look away. Really quickly I got a glimpse of the beautiful Allie sitting on the bed, looking off into space. Dakota watched me apologetically as she closed the door, blocking me off from Allie once again.

“C'mon dude, let's get this done,” Vida barked, her patience, already paper thin, was being tried to its limit. I squirmed in the chair like a petulant child.

What happened next was an impromptu therapy session with Vida probing my brain to find the treasure from which she assured me my lyrics would spring. Instead I became more guarded than ever, the walls going up higher than she'd ever be able to climb. She wasn't going to learn about the love that burned in my heart, the love that was forbidden, the love that rejected me. She wouldn't find out that my heart beat for the girl behind that door. Vida wasn't going to know that I once loved Allie and she loved me but I screwed it all up.

“I want to write a song about my dick,” I told Vida just to get her to back off. It worked.

*****

Allie

My mother asked for so little and since I was already in town for her wedding, even though I desperately didn't want to go, I couldn't say 'no' when she asked I join them for dinner.

“Family only please,” she clarified and it made my stomach turn. Finn was considered “family” now and I wouldn't have the buffer of Dakota and that songwriting tart to keep him at bay.  It was just dinner, nothing crazy so I didn't feel obligated to dress up too much. Dakota had other thoughts.

“You'll be out in public with Finn Aikens and you're gonna wear jeans and a ponytail?!”

It was against my best judgment to let her know she was right so I did my best to pretend that I was just trying to trick her. The simple black dress I packed was my plan the whole time, I assured her. Admiring how I looked in that dress in the mirror, I also got Dakota's approval (though I hadn't asked for it). She kept trying to come up with ideas to improve my outfit further but finally accepted my refusal to do so. The dress was fine, I looked good and I knew it.

Though I hadn't asked about how we were going to get to dinner, my mom's text soon answered that. “Finn's going to bring you here. See you at 8.”

Not long after I had received the text than a soft knock at the door made my heart stop. Of course it was him. My throat seized and became dry, hindering my ability to yell “Go away”.

“Come in,” Dakota called out in an annoying sing-song voice with her bedroom eyes welcoming whoever was behind that door, her tone suggesting something a whole lot more exciting was going on in here.

“Hey, um...” Finn let him in and I struggled to find my breath. He had a simple white dress shirt on, the top few buttons undone showcasing his tanned collarbone. Hate him as I may, the man was drop dead sexy. We made eye contact for only a second before he looked away, his gaze shifting to the floor in embarrassment.

“We can leave whenever you're, um...” he stammered. The big powerful rock star was at a loss for words.

“How are we getting there?” my voice returned with a tone a little more bitchy than I had intended.

“My label sent a gift, a motorcycle for me to use this week. Don't worry, I'm getting good at driving it.”

My jaw practically hit the floor as I turned to Dakota to see if she was in disbelief like I was. Instead I found her looking excited at the prospect, definitely envious. Sure, the idea was exciting until you actually had to go through with it.

Dakota and Vida walked us outside and Finn, ever the gentleman, made sure to hand me a helmet to mess up the hair that I had spent an hour doing. My huffing and puffing over putting it on didn't bother him, he shrugged and told me I didn't have to wear it if I didn't want to. I grabbed it out of his hands and used his leather clad shoulder for support as I straddled the hulking machine. Finn soon joined me on the bike and it was nice to be able to look at his body, to study him, without him being able to watch where my eyes wandered.

“Look, at least this way we don't have to talk,” he threw at me over his shoulder, making me realize that maybe we should talk. I wanted him to explain why things ended up the way they did, why he left and never came back. Why he found love again so easily. But the reality of our world was forever changed and we couldn't go back to how things were, even if we wanted to. And I definitely didn't, I told myself, not since I had seen his true colors.

As the engine purred between my legs, I had no choice but to wrap my arms around Finn and hold on for dear life. At a stop sign, he tried to shout back something but I had a hard time making out what he was trying to say. When I asked him to promise not to drive too fast, my words never reached him. Once we road onto the highway, I squeezed myself against him as tight as I could, feeling my body pressed against his as it had once  before, this time praying that we wouldn't die.

It was hard to tell if Finn was going way too fast because, even at 35 miles an hour, it felt like we were traveling at a high speed. My helmet-covered head rested sideways on his back as we drove into the setting sun and I watched the envious eyes of the passengers in each car we passed. Since he was covered, they couldn't tell who Finn was, only that it looked like I needed the big powerful man to live and that we were going off somewhere to enjoy each other's company. Nothing could be further from the truth.

At first, each time someone knocked on the hotel room door, Finn would get up and politely ask them to leave us alone. It wasn't long before he stopped answering the door entirely, instead resorting to shouting “Go away” or even throwing a boot at the door to get the visitors to scram.

”Just us,” he whispered in my ear as my legs wrapped tighter around him. Even when his cellphone sounded an alert and he pushed further inside of me, his eyes remained locked on mine, our foreheads pressed together as we moved as one. We were the only two people in the world that mattered.

”Let's never leave here,” I begged though I had already given him several lectures on reality.

”I love you, Allie-gator.”

I had been deflecting his professions of love but couldn't help it when I felt him taking over my body. With our lips less than an inch away, I swore I loved him too.

When I sensed a shift in the motorcycle's purring and felt us slowing down, I knew our ride would soon be over and I would have to face him again. We drove down a road I knew well but had never been down while attached to a man like Finn. It was intimate and painful to revisit an area I was so familiar with while hugging the enemy so tightly. I had known these trees and buildings in a much more innocent time and now was parading down them with the only person who had ever hurt me this deeply.

I hadn't even asked where dinner was but as we headed down another familiar road, I wasn't surprised that my mother had chosen the country club for dinner. It was where she headed straight to whenever she had even the slightest thing to show off for the other members. When she wanted all eyes on her, when she wanted to feel their envy, we were at the country club for a modest performance. It took me a few moments to realize that mother wasn't showing off her new beau but instead she was setting the stage for everyone to see just who her new stepson was.

News of our anticipated arrival had traveled fast through town, evident by the large group of girls milling around the parking lot, right by the entrance. The second they heard the purr of the motorcycle, I watched the girls' heads whip around, soon followed by a growing frenzy once they figured out who was driving the hog. Girls of all ages crowded the only paths to drive, some holding signs, all craning their necks to be sure to get a good look at him. Staff dressed in all black waved us over to a spot set aside for him to park, pushing back the girls who wanted to get a piece of Finn.

“My fucking big-mouth label,” he muttered loud enough for me to hear, alerting me to the fact that promotion was now a 24-hour job for him, nothing was sacred. “I bet they 'leaked' our dinner plans on the internet.” 

The engine turned off and, though I tried to get off by myself, Finn held out his hand to help. The gathered crowd let out a condescending “Awwww,” as I was forced to lean on him for support. I pulled the helmet off and assuredly looked all messy as the flashbulbs started to pop. I could only hope the pictures were focused on him as he looked as hot and studly as ever. My first instinct was to turn and run inside as fast as I could but I saw that he wasn't moving as fast, soaking in the frenzied adoration being thrown at him.

“Hi. Yes, hello,” he said with a boyish grin I wanted to go over and wipe right off his stupid face. Girls thrust papers and pens at him, begging him to sign his name for God knows what reason. He complied and it only fueled my hatred when I got the sense that he was really enjoying the fanfare. While these maniacs looked at him with love, their glances towards me were just the opposite. “Her?” I heard a few spit out but I was unwilling to be dragged down to their hateful level. They could have him if they wanted, I'd be better off. Though he clearly would've stayed out there all night, Finn's pop-up party was to end once my mother arrived outside and physically dragged us inside. She had more important people to display Finn in front of.

Our first “family” dinner was a shit-show. Club members fell over themselves trying to get some face-time with Finn and my mother spent the entire time organizing the queue of people wanting to get to him. She acted as the gatekeeper and took her job very seriously, flexing her muscles to allow some access while denying whomever she didn't like. When the staff of the club shut it all down, Mother returned to our table and devoted her time to my new stepdad. Her and Mr. Aikens spent so much time staring into each other's eyes, they hadn't noticed Finn and I weren't exactly talking. After quite a bit of awkward silence at our table, I had to be at least somewhat thankful that some people broke protocol and insisted on coming over to speak with Finn, some even shamelessly sent their kids over to break the ice. Finn was gracious to each though and one of his guests handed me their camera to take the picture. The whole thing was nauseating and I couldn't take it much longer.

“Sir,” an important looking man stuttered as he approached the table. He wasn't directing his words at my new stepdad but instead to the delighted rock star sitting right next to me. This serious looking man didn't appear to be there to get an autograph so I was somewhat excited that Finn might actually be in trouble. The serious man, who soon identified himself as the manager, continued, “If you care to perform, our guests would be very appreciative.” Out of nowhere, an acoustic guitar was handed to him, not really leaving him a choice. Of course my mother was all for it and Finn was more than happy to oblige.

That was all I needed, I couldn't take any more of this. As Finn sauntered to the designated area against the wall, he turned to look at me and our eyes caught, the two of us watching each other for but a brief second. He continued on his way, the guitar carried in his right hand guiding him between tables. Before he turned his head away from me, the smirk on his face said “I'm hot shit” and my blood started to boil. 

“I love you Finn!” a girl's voice shrieked from somewhere in the room, just as Finn was sitting down by the microphone.

“I love you too,” he assured the stranger, much to the crowd's delight. More girls joined in, professing their love for him, making my stomach flip upside-down. My feet had carried me out the door by the time he strummed the first chord. 

*****