The Bucket List (3 page)

"Relax. He's never caught us before. And I'm sure he knows by now that his little girl is no angel. Besides, it's you who needs help with all your one girl at a time, relationship bullshit,"
Corey laughed as he made his way back to his bed. "And that chronic love bug you have... shit, man. You fall in love with every single girl you sleep with."

"What's that got to do with anything? And what the hell are you doing? We need to hit the gym before the signing," John asked when he saw
Corey take his shorts off and get back into bed.

Only
Corey would sleep naked with his platonic friend!

Corey
only grunted as he pulled Rae back into his arms and made himself comfortable.

"
Corey!"

"I was up all night, give me a break," he whined. "I think I worked out enough last night, anyway."

John shook his head and walked to the door. Corey was a workout freak, he never missed a day for anything. But when Rae came over all that flew out the window.

"Well, I hope you two are up when I get back. I don't want to go down for breakfast by myself with
Irving there," John said as he made his way out of the room. "He'll ask questions and I'm sure you wouldn't want me to give him any answers."

When Rae woke up, she was in
Corey's arms. She watched him sleep for a minute, a smile playing on her lips as she remembered their night together. A threesome with Corey was always the best stress relief. It beat all her other indulgences any day! Now that she'd got that out of her system, she could concentrate on her list.

The smile left her face as she continued to watch his sleeping, unguarded face. How was she supposed to let go, to say goodbye? He was the only person in the whole world who brought meaning to her
life, the only person she knew would always be there for her. But how did you tell someone like that that you were never going to see them again? How did you let go?

She was sure that over the next few weeks he was going to notice that something was wrong. She'd been going through a lot of major changes since she started her list and now she was about to undergo the biggest of them all. Hopefully he would put it all down to that and not really question her.
Corey could always tell when she was lying.

"I can actually hear you thinking!"
Corey smiled, his eyes still closed. "What's going through that pretty little head of yours?"

"I'm going to get to know
Irving better," she answered. Well, that wasn't a lie.

Corey
opened his eyes and looked straight into hers.

"Really?"

"I figured I might as well. That man just doesn't quit. He keeps coming back no matter what I say or do."

"I'm glad to hear that.
Irving is a real good guy."

"I'm still reserving judgment on that. Anyway, it's on my list."

"What else is on this list? I still can't believe you went to Columbia, anything could have happened to you."

That hadn't been on her list at all, but after leaving the doctor's office getting stoned had been the first thing she had thought of. She wouldn't tell
Corey that because she knew how he felt about drugs, but for the week she had been there she couldn't remember a single thing. She been fucked out of her mind on the best cocaine the world had to offer!

"Well, nothing happened. It's not like they make it out in the movies, you should go there sometime," she said. "I'm actually going to stop sleeping around as well, see if there's someone out there for me like John says."

"You mean fall in love and all that bullshit?"

"Yeah. Life has to have a deeper meaning than what I've known so far."

"How the hell are you going to do that?"

"I thought maybe I'll date a few people, you know, try and see if I can get a connection with anyone before I sleep with them."

"No sex?"

"No."

"You won't last a day," Corey laughed. "You'll be bored shitless!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said sarcastically.

"You're the one who tells me love is a four letter word. That only those weak of mind use it as a pretty word to cover up lust," Corey argued. "You know I won't stop you trying, but you and me are the same, babes. If I can't go without sex, I know you can't."

"Why does it have to be about sex?" she asked. "I could meet someone and discover I actually like talking to them, like what they are about.
”

"It's always about sex, with you,"
Corey chuckled as he got out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. "You know I'll always be here, anyway, whatever you do."

Rae couldn't help checking him out as he walked. He was 6 feet 4 inches, 245 pounds worth of hunky flesh, how could she not? Of all the men she'd seen naked, and there where
loads, his body had to be the best.

"Stop looking at my butt," he laughed without even turning back as he entered the bathroom. He knew her so well.

Rae sank back into the pillows and thought Corey was probably right. She loved sex, lived for it. It would be hard to just go on a date when there was absolutely no question of a good fuck at the end of it. But she would try. Her life was filled with meaningless dalliances and indulgent excesses. Before she died, she needed to know that life did have some meaning. She needed to matter to someone, to feel cherished.

"If you scrub my back I'll scrub yours,"
Corey called out.

"Coming."

John walked into their room after his workout to Rae and Corey's rendition of Barry White's Let's Get It On. He had no doubt they were soaping each other up in shower. They always did that. Only these two could be so intimate and still insist they were just friends. He didn't get that. Normal people didn't do that, no matter how long they'd known their friends. They certainly didn't kiss and cuddle He'd told Corey many times that they should just get together and he'd laughed in his face, claiming Rae was not his type. He didn't get that either because the last time he'd checked, Corey had no type.

"I've been really trying now baby,"
Corey sang. "Trying to hold back this feeling for so long. And if you feel, like I feel... come on."

"Lets get it on...
" they sang together.

John shook his head and walked over to his bag to get his clothes ready. Sometimes his friends could be so cheesy.

"We're all sensitive people, with so much to give," Rae sang. "As long as we got to be here, lets live."

"There's nothing wrong, with me loving you, now. Giving yourself to me can never be wrong, if your love is true."

Were these two actually listening to themselves? Love? That word could never be used in the same sentence as Corey and Rae. They treated it like it was a disease!

He dropped his bag on the floor to wait his turn in the shower.

"Johnny boy," Rae called out. She'd probably heard the loud thud the bag had made. "Coming to join us?"

As if!
Corey would have his head.

"Nah, I'm good. I do need to take a leak though, so you two hurry up."

"I ain't stopping you," Rae called out.

John heard
Corey mutter something, he'd probably told Rae off again. He was strictly off limits and for some reason, Rae found that a turn on. She had been threatening to fuck him within an inch of his life for years.

"Seriously though, dude, we'll be a while. Just come in, Rae won't bother you."

He'd done it plenty of times, walking in on Rae in the shower or something. Her carefree attitude had daunted him at first but he had come to realise she couldn't give a fuck who saw her naked. She actually thrived on it. Besides, he really was dying to take a piss.

Averting his eyes, he walked into the bathroom and gave a sigh of relief when he noticed the shower curtain was closed.

"How was your workout?" Rae asked.

"
All right," John said as he finished his business and washed his hands. "My back is bothering me a bit though."

The shower curtain was pulled open and John looked up to see Rae dripping wet and naked in front of him. He followed one drop in particular as it slid between her full breasts and all the way down between her legs.

"One night in Rae can fix all that, sweety," she said seductively.

John peeled his eyes off her body long enough to see
Corey roll his eyes in exasperation. But it was only for a second. His eyes unwillingly returned to their exploration of the perfect body.

"What would you actually do if one of these days I took you up on your offer?" he asked curiously.

"She'd run a mile in the opposite direction," Corey put in with an irritated growl as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her back against his naked body under the hot shower spray.

Then he closed the curtain, firmly dismissing him.

***

Corey
had his arm casually around her as the elevator finally took them downstairs, which he knew would raise a few eyebrows. He wasn't a touchy feely person, well, at least not after he'd slept with the girl. He couldn't afford to give any of those women ideas. After he'd fucked them, that was it. No seconds and certainly no touching. But this was Rae, his other half as John put it.

"I hope you give the guy permission to call you,"
Corey said. "I shit myself every time he comes to me and asks how you're doing."

"What's made you change your mind, though?" John asked.

"Life's just too short to hold petty grudges. And it's on the list."

The elevator doors opened, breaking up the conversation and the Animal walked in. He greeted the occupants but
Corey noticed his eyes were on Rae the whole time.

"We haven't been introduced," Dave said as he took her hand. "Dave Bautista."

"Rachael Taylor, but call me Rae," she smiled, moving out of Corey's casual hold.

"Rae. I like that," Dave smiled.

Corey watched as Rae gave Dave one of her irresistible smiles, the one that said 'rip my clothes off and fuck me!' The little slut was coming on to him! That was Rae all over again; always looking for a good time. There was no way she would stick to her crazy plan to fall in love. She was taking this list a bit too far now.

"Are you in Orlando for any special reason?" Dave asked, giving out signals of his own.

"I'm actually traveling with these guys for a while, taking a little break from work," Rae replied. "Maybe we could get together sometime."

"I'd love that," Dave said, just as the doors opened to let them out.

Rae walked out first and Corey watched as she gave her hips that little extra sway. She obviously knew that Dave was checking her out. It didn't help matters that she'd chosen to wear those tight, knee length jeans and the unbelievably high heels that shaped her calves and made her legs seem like they went on forever, Dave was lapping it all up like some sex starved teenager!

He and John walked behind them as they made their way to the hotel restaurant, listening as Rae poured out her best lines, lines he had taught her.
John rolled his eyes at a few of them because he'd heard Corey use them a million times. But they were smooth; designed to melt the pants off any person they were directed at. The goofy smile on Dave's face showed he was not immune.

"I'll see you real soon, Dave," she said as they parted ways at the restaurant entrance.

As soon as Dave walked away, Corey took her hand and pulled her against him.

"Nice work," he chuckled. "But if you're going to see this dating thing through, keep your pants on. At least while your dad is watching."

"I'm not wearing any pants," she whispered in his ear with a wicked smile before giving him a kiss on the cheek and turning away. "See you guys later."

They watched her as she made her way to the table
Irving was at, totally oblivious to the attention she was getting. She was used to it.

"Did she just say she's not wearing any pants?"
John asked, his eyes on Rae's butt as she walked to her dad.

Corey
looked at his friend and nudged him, bringing him out of whatever sick daydream he'd been having.

"Dude, don't look at her
like that."

"If a woman tells me something like that, you better believe I'll look."

"Yeah. Me, too," Corey grinned before looking around the room.

He saw
Peyton sitting around with a few other groupies, most of whom he'd already done. Her eyes were shooting daggers at him but he only chuckled.

"Come on, there's a free table over there."

It wasn't as if she didn't like this man. She had been a fan of fighting for as long as she could remember, when Corey's dad would come back from the road with so many tales. She had a lot of respect for the man they called “Crusher”, how he could still command the same awe and respect as he had when he had first entered the ring almost two decades ago.