Bush League: New Adult Sports Romance (19 page)

Allie

“Mikki, it's a terrible idea.”

My plea was falling on deaf ears. The legendary Mikki Marlow had already made up her mind. I was still in shock after receiving news that my mother would be marrying the father of the very person I hated the most and just a moment after receiving the news, I was handed the worst assignment possible. On top of all that, Mikki was insisting I bring the annoying and persistent intern Dakota along with me to the wedding. I braced for impact, not sure just how much worse this was going to get.

“Double team him,” she flatly demanded, blissfully unaware of how inappropriate her choice of words were, “the site needs this. Your job needs this.”

Unsure of which battle I should fight and most importantly, which battle I had a chance of winning, I retreated to my office and slammed the door. In my peaceful solitude, I was intent on getting answers from my mother and hopefully the reveal that this was an elaborate prank.

“I've been trying to get in touch with you for weeks. It didn't feel right to tell you over email and you wouldn't pick up your phone.”

“I've been busy,” I tried to get her to understand.

“Allie it all happened so fast. He's nice though and you know what? I deserve this.”

It was true. When my father died, my mother spent all of her energy on me and making sure I had all that I needed. She never did anything for herself. I had abandoned her for the big city and it was foolish for me to expect her to live on her own forever.

With the chaos that had suddenly become my life, it was difficult to figure out which aspect to be most overwhelmed with. My mother was getting married in only a few days, my job apparently hinged on me doing something I didn't feel comfortable with and, oh yeah, the man who took my virginity and ripped my heart out of my chest was about to become family.

*****

“This is gonna be so awesome!”

Dakota's enthusiasm on the ride upstate was impossible to match and really grating on my nerves. I envied her and her cheery outlook but couldn't help but wonder if she had ever had her heart stomped on.  Her positivity led me to believe that no, she hadn't. She had yet to learn the harsh facts about reality; cynicism and negativity weren't yet in her default settings. Until then, she'd be able to keep smiling and believing love was an actual real thing that happened, like in the movies. Then someday, out of nowhere, she'll spend several days locked away in a hotel room with the man of her dreams. He'll say that he loves her and she'll believe him. When she finds out he was lying the whole time, that's when she'll wake up to how life really is and she'll become like the rest of us who have had our heads yanked out of the clouds.

No matter how hard I tried, I spent the entire drive obsessing over the pain Finn had caused me when I found out about his relationship. It was like continuing to tongue a painful tooth in your own mouth, over and over again I rehashed all that he had promised me and how bad it felt once I realized it was all lies. I had to keep reminding myself that as soon as the wedding was over, I would jet right back to the city, far away from the new “family” I wanted no part of. I was glad my mother would be happy but there was no way I couldn't bring myself to hang around the new, makeshift family if that asshole was going to be a part of it.

While my internal strife was raging, Dakota was unaware, the source of an endless stream of chatter for the whole ride. When I pulled the car up to the farmhouse I grew up in, Dakota hopped out quickly, taking a number of selfies to alert her social media followers that this was where she was going to meet the “legend” named Finn. I could only hope that he would break her heart too.

*****

Finn

The news of my dad's upcoming wedding came as a surprise but I'd have to admit I had been very hung up in my own business that I may have overlooked any hints he may have dropped. I mean, I was on the verge of becoming the biggest rock star to have ever existed, there was a lot of competition for my attention.

Though he protested quite a bit, I made my Dad promise to let me take care of everything. He always spent every dime he had on me and, with the advance and assurance that more money was on the way, I would spare no expense to give him the wedding he deserved. To make things easier, I insisted on putting the soon-to-be-weds up at the fanciest hotel in town and offered to stay at the farmhouse where he lived so I'd be out of their hair.

"Hey, you two, don't forget: when you're at the wedding, you're a very much in-love couple, maybe even more so than the couple getting married," Ron reminded us when he dropped by a writing session, as if we'd forgotten. “The wheels are already in motion on this relationship thing and you'll need to keep it up, at least until the record is released.”

When I glanced over at Vida, for the first time, she didn't have a disgusted look on her face making me believe that maybe there was actual heat between us.

"I think we should get a little better acquainted, before we get to the wedding," I suggested. In case she wasn't picking up on what I meant I shifted closer to her, my eyes squinting slightly, one of my eyebrows raised.  My hand found her knee and slowly traveled up her thigh, my heart starting to race in the hopes of us finally getting frisky. Just when the palm of my hand made it to the point normally hidden underneath her skirt, Vida forcefully removed me with contempt burning in her eyes.

"Love, Finn, love. That's what we're trying to sell here."

"Then let's make love."

Moving even closer didn't help change her mind. While Vida's body moved away from mine, her sparkling blue eyes looked deep into my soul.

"Is this like a defensive thing?" she asked and the pity I felt coming from her hurt worse than being rejected. "You've never been in love, have you?"

I jumped up from the couch and wrestled my arm from the hand she had placed on mine in a condescending way. I grabbed as much of my crotch as my palm and fingers could handle, proudly showing off my bounty.

"I got all my love right here. All the ladies love it. Fancy a spin? It'll change your life, I promise."

The sweetness quickly drained from Vida's face as she looked at me with a horrified expression. Though I had clearly gone over the line, looking at how her perky breasts held up her t-shirt made me really hope she would acknowledge the benefit in us becoming more intimately familiar.

Getting a nut off had been my go-to solution when I felt the need for companionship. Really being into someone, or
love
as she put it, that shit's way too complicated. It's a ton of work that'll likely just leave you hurt in the end.

My time with that cute just-out-of-college girl Allie was a fantasy, made possible only by the fact that our time together was limited from the beginning. We could never be together, could never see each other's flaws, couldn't grow tired of each other. Any two people could fall in love if they only had a few days together. I knew what we had felt together wasn't real and I wasn't going to go on pretending I'd ever feel something like that again.

I actually believed it when I told that girl Allie I'd be back. Then the rock star machine started whirring and I was lost to the world, my time extremely scarce. I could risk the whole career before it even started for some inexperienced girl or I could man-up and move on. Still though, even as the crowds we played in front of became bigger and bigger, I scanned each and every face, holding out hope that I'd suddenly see Allie again, her pretty face and heart-melting smile.

"Well, I don't know how many more songs you can write about fucking," Vida interrupted my daydream, "but it would help your career immensely if you could just try to understand what love is. It would make this," she gestured between the two of us, "work out a whole lot easier."

I tried to hide my confusion as to whether or not she was suggesting we might bang in the future.

She dug her heels into the dirt. "But I get paid anyway, whether we write an album or not so suit yourself."

She turned to leave the room but couldn't resist one last dig at my expense.

"Who knows," she said over her shoulder, "maybe this new stepsister of yours will be the inspiration you need. Someone you can't actually fuck."

Her attempt to get a rise out of me failed, at least in the way she intended. She knew I was upset that my family dynamic was changing but I knew it wasn't going to impact my life too much. I lived on the road now. As I watched her heart-shaped ass sashay out of the room, something else on my person began to give rise.

It was hard to admit to myself that she was right; to produce the deep and powerful songs the label was looking for, I'd have to explore the pain I buried deep inside of myself. It wasn't like me to shine a light on vulnerabilities but I had a feeling that that is what would elevate my songwriting. So stupid though, love felt like something for the simple minded, people who had no better way to busy themselves. What was the point of putting yourself through that?

On the label-provided private jet to upstate New York, Vida again attempted to get some work done. I was a lost cause though; the bathroom was unoccupied and close by. It was impossible for me to focus without imagining the two of us sneaking in there together to relieve a little tension. We'd easily get away with it too, there was barely anyone on the plane and better yet, nobody who would dare stand up to me or give me a hard time about anything. It was good to be king, even if I didn't have a queen.

There was a sleek, long, black car waiting for us on the tarmac, a necessity because of the throngs of girls who would assuredly swarm us if I were to walk through the airport like a normal person.

"There he is!" I heard someone call out once the door of the car was opened for me. Looking inside I found my father with a wide grin, looking less stressed than I had ever seen him before. "Mr. Rock Star, it's great to see you."

I dove into the limo I paid for with enthusiasm until I realized a stranger I had never met before. A very pretty woman who had clearly been the source of my father's happiness. Her hand extended to meet mine and I couldn't help but feel captivated by how stunningly beautiful my new step-mom was.

"Marybeth," she offered as we entered the most delicate handshake of my entire life.

Words escaped me as I tried to say my own name but she picked up the slack. "I know who you are, heard all about you and not just in the papers!"

The hearty laugh we all shared was interrupted by an impatient coughing sound coming from outside. Vida had wrangled all of the luggage and was waiting for an invitation into the party.

"Oh, um, this is Vida, my co-songwriter," I said as my father shot me a dirty look before exiting the limo to go and formally introduce himself.

"A little bird told me you two are quite the item," Marybeth said with a smirk.

"The gossip pages? Don't believe everything you read." I felt no need to keep up the ruse around someone who would soon be family but, at the same time, it was a ruse I had agreed to.

Even though I had paid for my father and his soon-to-be bride to stay in the swanky hotel in town, I had naively assumed that we would be spending some time together. Watching the two unable to keep their hands off of each other in the limo, I realized that  wouldn't be the case. The limo suddenly stopped outside of the hotel and I waited for an invitation in.

"Son, why don't you and your lady go get settled in the farmhouse and we'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

“And you'll get to meet your new step-sister!” Marybeth cheerfully informed me as if it were something I was looking forward to. It dawned on me that the situation in the farmhouse would be made even more uncomfortable if this new step-sister turned out to be a fan. Of course she would be, everyone was.

My father and Marybeth exited before I could even protest, the limo heading to the farmhouse as soon as the door closed. I was stuck alone with Vida again.

I slid across the leather seat to bring my body close to Vida, the heat from her restrained passion radiating off of her from beneath her tight, cream colored sweater. "I think we've got a little drive ahead of us and look, the driver put the partition up..."

Her look of impatience I had grown to know so well returned. "If I were you I'd really start to focus on the album that's due. This isn't a vacation, you have a lot of work to do, a lot of people waiting for you to get this done."

Her words didn't deter my need for some action. I quickly swung my leg over her body and landed in her lap, playing with her pink tipped strands of hair as I felt her breath on my face.

"If we're gonna pretend to be a couple, how about we get to know each other a little bit more to make it more convincing?"

Her expression read conflicted and my pants got tighter as I pondered being close to finally scoring with the little minx. My cock throbbed against my jeans and pressed against her body, eager to have this finally happen. The tense situation ceased once we felt the car suddenly stop. I gave Vida the 'time-out' signal, wanting to resume this once we saw where we would be staying.

Any fear I had that my father was continuing to live the life of a pauper went out the window once I saw Marybeth's house. Though a bit weathered, the farmhouse appeared to be exactly what I had always hoped for my father. It was huge and came complete with quite a bit of land attached. Maybe I didn't need to be paying for this wedding after all.

“Remember, if we don't get some writing done before the wedding stuff starts, we're completely screwed,” Vida reminded me again.  My relationship with my co-writer / faux-girlfriend wasn't going to work unless she learned how to relax a little, to get rid of the stick wedged up her butt. In an attempt to get her there, I gave a playful swat against her ass, my hand smacking against her tight pants and remaining there, resting on her shapely behind. Before she even had time to react, we both heard the creek of the screendoor and looked up to see a stunning woman standing there waiting. Once my eyes focused and my brain settled, I was shocked when I realized why she looked so familiar.

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

*****