The Final Score (12 page)

She’s laughing hysterically, pushing me away “Stop, I’m teasing you.”

I let go of her, as I sit back, shaking my head at her.

“What?” she asks, smiling as she watches me.

“Nothin’, you’re funny
,” I say quietly, looking into her big, brown eyes, absorbing every inch of her.

“I was just kidding.”

“I know. You love giving me a hard time.”

“You’re the one who said I have shitty taste in guys and
that I fall in love with every guy I meet.”

“Truce?”

“Truce,” she agrees. “You better get some sleep. You have an important game tomorrow,” she says as she sits up in the chair, removing her legs from my lap. “Besides, I expect you to hit a home run.”

I
laugh. “You expect me to hit a home run? Well, if I do, it will be especially for you, but… ”

“How did I know there would be a
but?” She smiles.

“If I hit a home run
just for you,
you better do something for me in return.”

“Really
? Like what?” she asks, slyly playing along.

“Hmmmm
...” I think for a second. “I know, you have to make me dinner. Here. Just the two of us. Me and you. No one else.”

“I can do that.”

“Now, what if I hit two home runs?”

“If you hit two? Let’s not get ahead of yourself
,” she teases.

“If I hit two, then
it’s my choice, you have to do whatever I ask.”

“In the same game?”

“Yep.”

“Deal
,” she agrees.

Just as we shake on it, I get a frantic phone call from Luke, te
lling me to stay put and he’ll be home soon. The phone call leaves us on edge wondering what he has gotten himself into.

**
*

(Luke)

I’m crushed as I witness JJ kissing some guy. What makes it worse is how happy and comfortable she seems with someone besides me. I back away from the glass as if it’s fire, jump on my bike, drive around the corner and pull over. I pull out my cell. I can barely breathe.

“Yo, dude, where are you?” I ask Mikey.

“We’re home, where are you?”
he asks.

“Stay there
, I’ll be home in about twenty minutes.” I race through the streets and jump on the highway, taking the quickest route home, my heart beats a million times a minute.

I burst through the door. Mikey and De sit nervously on the couc
h, watching the door as I enter.

“Where were you
? What happened?” De drills me as she jumps from the couch. “We’ve been worried sick.”

For some reason, seeing their terrified faces ma
kes me laugh.

“What are you two
, my parents? What did ya think? I killed someone again?” I know it’s nothing to joke about, but the look on their faces makes me feel the need to crack a joke.

“Not funny
. You scared the hell out of us with your cryptic phone call. It’s after eleven,” Mikey reprimands me like a little kid.

“Sorry, didn’t know I had a curfew…
Dad.” Mikey shakes his head, he seems genuinely worried. I realize they are probably still worried about me after all I have been through. “I know. I know. Sorry,” I apologize.

“What happened?”
De asks.

“I went to the gallery.
I wanted to see her… ” I pause, letting the initial shock wear off their faces.

“
By the time I got there, it looked like everyone was gone. I thought I’d catch her at the end of the night. It’s an important night for her. I wanted her to know that I wanted to be there, too.” I hate when they look at me like I’m nuts, but I continue anyway. “I took a peek in the window before going in. I saw her sitting on a stool. She looked amazing. Just as I’m about to open the door, this old guy comes out of nowhere with his slicked back hair and fancy suit, feeding her wine. Then, they toast their glasses and he starts kissing her. What the hell is that about? Who’s the old guy gettin’ her drunk and takin’ advantage?” I demand as I pace back and forth.

“Luke, relax.” Mikey laugh
s.

“That’s Frank
,” Deanna chimes in, almost as if she’s excited for her.

Suddenly it hits me. “The Frank Simone Gallery
. She’s dating the freakin’ owner?” I say to myself, but it comes out loud. “You’re shittin’ me, right?”

Mikey
shakes his head.

“Nope
. That’s Frank, and he’s not that old… He’s like thirty-five. Not to mention, you had her drinking at CJ’s when she was sixteen,” De says defensively. “We told you about him. God, I just talked to her about him, she said things were moving really slow. It was probably just one of those things. The show went really good, they were probably just celebrating the night,” De says as if she’s making me feel better, when actually, she’s making it much worse. Mikey’s grinning and still shaking his head back and forth.

“What are you laughing at?”
I ask.

“I was just thinking
… that really sucks. The poor guy has been interested for like five months and the night he decides to make his move, you show up.”

“Yeah
, well, they didn’t see me, and he could still be trying to make his move. You need to call her now!” I order Deanna.

“What? It’s late
. Are you out of your mind?” she asks, looking at me as if I’m crazy.

“Actually,
yeah I am. Tell her you’re callin’ to say you had a good time. Ask her what she’s doing. C’mon, De, you have to. I’m freakin’ out. I waited this long because you two idiots keep telling me I have time.”

S
he reluctantly agrees and dials her number while I hover over her.

“Hey
, JJ, are you still up? I just wanted to tell you what a great time we had tonight. We’re really proud of you… You’re welcome… Uh huh… He’s here… We’re watching TV.” She rolls her eyes at us. I give De a signal to keep the conversation rolling, I want more info. “What are you doing? Are you with Frank? What did you do after we left?” I’m practically in her face, telling her to ask more questions, De is shushing me away. “Oh my God, really? He was staring at you all night… He is really handsome…” I hold up my hand as if I’m slicing my throat. Is my sister really going to go there with me sitting right next to her? The last thing I need is De encouraging the relationship. In my defense, even Mikey slaps her on the leg to shut her up. “Alright… Are we still meeting before the game?... Oh… Okay…. He’ll leave them at the window. I’ll meet you there… Love ya.”

“Jesus, De
, hang me out to dry, why don’t ya. I thought you were going to go on and on about what a great guy he is.” Mikey agrees with me as we gang up on her.

“Are you satisfied
, you idiot? Why didn’t you just pull the phone out of my ear? She seemed suspicious. See, nothing happened. They had a drink at the gallery and then he brought her home. I hate to tell you, though, she cancelled on me tomorrow. She’s running errands with him before the game… and, she’s bringing him with her. They’re going to meet me there. I’m not going to get a chance to talk to her about you,” she says sympathetically.

“Shit. I need to
talk to her before things go any further between them. At least she’ll know how I feel. Then she can decide what she wants to do.”

“What if she doesn’t choose you?” Mikey ask
s casually.

“Then I’ll be crushed and have to retu
rn to therapy,” I joke. “Well I’m not goin’ to make it easy on her. I’m not goin’ down without a fight.”

“Luke I need to warn her that you are here
. I’m sorry, but I can’t keep this from her. We swore we would never let you come between us and I’ve been covering for you for a long time. All joking aside, I’m not comfortable with what I just did. It’s not right,” Deanna says, feeling guilty about the call.

“I know, I’m sorry
. I shouldn’t have made you do that,” I say sincerely.

“I have to at least let her know that you are here,
in Florida. She has no idea. This way, she can be somewhat prepared.”

“I get it
,” I agree. “Just please do it as soon as possible. I really want to talk to her.”

That night in bed, I plan
my strategy. I have no intention of trying to confuse her or change her life in any way. I just want a chance to say I’m sorry and tell her how I feel about her. If she doesn’t want any part of me, I’ll have to deal with it.

I pray that
maybe, she might still love me, too. Why the hell did it have to be the freakin’ owner of the gallery? Could it be any worse? Yeah, I guess. She could be married to him.

Chapter 10

(Deanna)

The phone call to JJ last night really has me bothered; it feels dishonest. I need to let her know that Luke is in town, but when I text her, she is already out with Frank for the day. I tell her Mikey left her tickets at the window and ask if we can spend the night alone so that we can talk. She asks if everything is alright and I tell her it’s fine, that I just would like some time to ourselves. She thinks it’s a great idea and we make plans to hang out after the game, alone.

Luke and Mikey head over to stadium together. Luke agrees to stay out of sight for another day and I promise him that I will talk to her tonight after the game.

The cab drops me off in front of the stadium, where I meet David at the window and we pick up our tickets. We head up to the stands to take our seats, which are great, right on the first level, in the middle of home plate and first.

I get tears in my eyes and a fluttery feeling in my stomach when Mikey walks onto the field in his uniform. It’s the first time I’ve seen him play in a Rays’ uniform. I’m so happy for him; I can barely breathe as I watch him. JJ eventually texts me that she’s running late.

“So what do you think of Frank?” I ask David.

“He’s a nice guy from what I’ve seen so far,” he says, glancing in my direction. By reading his expression, it’s clear that he has more on his mind
.

“What?” I ask.

“I know it’s not a big deal, but I think he seems a little too old for her.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“Why, cause he’s almost your age?” I give him a smile.

“Yeah, maybe that has something to do with it.” He laughs.

“Well, all that matters is if she’s happy,” I say, leading into my next subject, the tone in my voice makes David looks at me. “Luke’s home.” The words spill from my mouth.

“Yeah, I know. How’s he doin’?” he asks with concern.

I know he doesn’t get what I’m saying. “David, I mean,
here,
home.” His whole body swirls in my direction.

“Does she know?” he asks, completely caught off guard.

“No. He just got here a couple of days ago. He wants to see her.” I fill David in on what transpired over the last couple of days, and how Mikey and I thought it best if he waited until after her show. David agrees and he also thinks it’s best if I prepare her ahead of time.

JJ and Frank arrive after the first inning and take their seats next to David
and me, who is now sharing in my anxiety. Between watching Mikey play and thinking about my talk with JJ later, my head feels as if it’s about to explode. Mikey hits a homerun in the fifth and JJ and I high-five each other.

“De, he has been doing so good!” she says excitedly.

“I know. I’m in so much trouble!” I laugh.

“What do you mean?”

I relay the terms of the bet we made last evening. JJ laughs and asks how I feel about it. “I don’t know. I had this strange feeling last night when I was with him. I don’t know,” I say, confused.

“What kind of feeling? What do you mean?” she presses
, as we whisper to each other while watching the game.

“I don’t know. I miss him terribly when I’m away. I can’t wait to see him when he comes home or when I visit here. I mean, it’s no big deal.” I shrug, trying to give off a nonchalant vibe. “It’s just that we grew up together, he knows me better than anyone. I miss hanging out with him, that’s all.” I can tell by JJ’s expression that she believes there is more to it. “I mean… really… after the first ten minutes, he drives me completely insane.”

“Whatever you say.” JJ laughs.

I figure it’s a good time to keep my mouth shut and watch the game. Sure enough, in the 9
th
inning, he hits another. The game ends and the Rays have a two game lead in the series.

“Start cooking and
whatever
else he wants,” JJ teases, referring to the terms of our agreement.

I roll my eyes as we head through the crowded stadium, walking towards the area where the players come out from the locker room. Mikey told us to wait for him after the game. David and Frank lag behind us and JJ makes a comment that she’s happy that they seem to be getting along.