The Final Score (27 page)

“How’s the long distance thing goin’?” I ask hesitantly.

“I’ve only been here a little over a week and now he’s here, s
o—
”

“So, how’s it goin’?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s going to be able to handle it. I mean, not too many people can.” She shrugs as if it’s not a big deal.

“Maybe that’s because they don’t love the person they are with enough. I believe that if you love someone, you love them always, whether they are close or far away. Look at your brother and JJ.”

“I know, but how many people end up like them? Mostly everyone I know ends up breaking up once they are separated from each other.”

“Maybe it’s not love and they just think it is.”

“Maybe.”

“Are you happy?” I ask, staring into her chestnut brown eyes.

“I am now,” she says, looking at me intently.

“I like when you’re happy and havin’ fun. Don’t lose that, okay?”

“Okay.” She gives me another smile.

I get caught up in the moment. I reach up with my free hand and rest it on the side of her face, tilting her head towards mine as I lean down and kiss her on her cherry-colored lips. It’s a gentle, meaningful, lingering kiss with partially parted lips. Not how I would kiss a friend. Actually, not how I would kiss any girl, other than someone that I love. I hope she feels it the way I do. My body trembles inside. When I slowly pull away, our eyes remain locked on each other. I would have kissed her again if we weren’t interrupted by a familiar voice.

“There you are… I was looking for you,” Jeffrey says, sounding uneasy.

De jumps. “Hey, I’m sorry. I came out to get some air and Mikey joined me. We were discussing how nice everything was tonight.”

I stand up, feeling very uneasy myself.

“Yeah, it was a great time,” Jeffrey says, trying to sound enthusiastic.

“Well, I’m gonna head back in, I’ll leave you two alone,” I say casually. I bend down and whisper in her ear before leaving, “I never cashed in on my bet. Don’t think I forgot.”

Chapte
r 21

(Deanna)

The day after the wedding, Jeffrey and I said our goodbyes and ended things for good. After we got back to our hotel, we ended up getting in a somewhat heated “discussion” over Mikey. He said he felt as if he was the third wheel every time he’s in the same room as Mikey. I tried telling him he was crazy, although not very convincingly. Needless to say, we both went to bed separately and parted ways in the morning. A feeling of relief came over me once he was gone. I needed a couple of days alone to gather my thoughts. I was planning on telling Mikey, but then I learned he flew back to LA almost immediately following the wedding.

He wasn’t gone for long, and to be honest, I only recall him going a few times since Thanksgiving. JJ told me that he tried breaking things off with her numerous times, but she keeps reeling him back in. He hinted to Lora Rae about the lifestyle not being for him, but she refuses to take the hint. She insists that it isn’t for her, either, and offered to spend time with him in Florida. JJ said he blew off the offer and didn’t give her a response. He believes she is trying to be the person she thinks he wants, not the person she actually is. To me, she sounds like a stalker; famous or not.

With the wedding and their ten day honeymoon to the Cayman Islands behind, it was time for JJ and Luke to get back to reality. The last couple of months have been a whirlwind and they are excited about starting their new life without all of the craziness, and just focus on them. They’re looking forward to getting into a rhythm of a normal routine. At the end of the day, they want to be able to come home and relax in their new home.

***

All of the major remodeling of the house is mostly complete, thanks to the almost around the clock service from the contractors my brother hired over the last month and a half. They are down to the little things, like painting and decorating.

For the most part, they’ve been staying at the condo with Mikey while the house is under construction. I’ve been at the condo on numerous occasions, but have yet to have a second alone with Mikey since the wedding.

The four of us take a ride over to Luke and JJ’s house to check out the new floors after they’re installed. The house looks great, completely remodeled; only minimal work is left to be done.

Afterwards, we head over to Mikey’s huge, empty, new house to check it out. JJ and I walk through every room, admiring the beauty of it, but it’s completely empty; the walls are stark white and there isn’t one piece of furniture in the place, but there are about half a dozen furniture magazines and paint samples spread out on the kitchen counter. JJ and I begin to badger him as to why he has yet to move in.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m not ready. Besides, I don’t have any furniture, what am I gonna do? Sleep on the floor?” He shrugs his shoulders.

“So, why don’t you buy some?” I ask sarcastically.

“I don’t know what to pick out. I want it to look right… Why don’t you do it for me?”

“Seriously? You’d let me decorate your house?” I ask, assuming he’s teasing as usual.

“Yeah, why not? You girls are better at that stuff than me. You’d be doing me a favor,” he says seriously. “Here...” He hands us each a magazine off the counter. “…Start pickin’ shit out.”

“Mikey, I’m serious. Do you really want us to pick out everything?”

“DeDe, yes, I’m serious, too,” he says, laughing. “You gonna do it now?”

“I can do it now.” I laugh, flipping through a magazine. “How much can I spend?”

He hesitates. “Uh… is two hundred enough?”

“Two hundred what?” JJ asks, looking at him as if he’s crazy.

“Two hundred thousand?” He shrugs.

“Don’t tell her that!” Luke yells while JJ and I burst out laughing.

“What?” he asks.

“What? Did ya settle another contract without me knowing?” Luke asks, laughing.

The boys both got paid well when they were drafted. They made a few million apiece, but I’m thinking he’s had to have spent a good amount over the last couple of years. He’s got at least another year or two before he’s eligible to negotiate a new contract. Probably a huge contract, if he continues to perform like he did at the end of last season. Luke will most likely have to wait longer since he missed a couple of years. I’m not sure how that’s going to work out.

“No, but what have I ever bought besides this house? You’ve spent more money than me.” He laughs, pointing to Luke. “Our condo only cost about a hundred grand at the time, and we split that. My car doesn’t cost shit. I really don’t spend a lot. This house was my biggest purchase. I spent a half a mil,” he says, shrugging his shoulders.

“Yeah, but the celebrity lifestyle you live… You’ve probably spent a ton of money flying around everywhere and going out with your celebrity friends,” I say sarcastically.

“De, shut up. You have no clue what you’re even talkin’ about. I just got done playing ball like twelve weeks ago? How much money do you think I blew in three months? Nine months out of the fuckin’ year I’m usually in bed by nine o’clock unless I’m playin’ a night game. Despite what you think, I hardly ever go out,” he says defensively.

“Alright, relax. I’m just teasing you,” I say, laughing, knowing I hit a nerve. We still occasionally argue like brother and sister.

“You’re a pain in the ass. You always think the worst.” His eyes fixate on mine, he’s upset by my accusation and it makes me feel sorry for saying it. Then, Luke adds in his two cents agreeing with him.

“Okay, no more arguing. She was teasing,” JJ, the peacemaker, says.

“That’s where you’re wrong… I don’t think the worst,” I say softly to him, keeping eye contact, while JJ is reprimanding Luke to stay out of it. All I can think about at this moment, looking into his sapphire eyes, are how his lips felt when they were pressed against mine.

“Anyway, Mikey, the point is, we just spent about a hundred grand on all of the renovations we’ve done to the house, including furniture. You have nothing to do, but paint and buy furniture. The rest of this house is perfect. De is great at picking out nice things and getting great deals. She used to do it for me all the time,” JJ says. We laugh, remembering when we would go shopping at The Walk in AC.

“Alright, like I said, I don’t know about these things.” He shrugs. “So are you going to do it or not?” he asks, throwing his credit card on the counter. “Here. There’s more than you need on here; whatever you think, just do it.”

“Of course I will, if that’s what you want, but what colors are you thinking?” I hold up the swatches. JJ points to a pretty sage color.

“I’m not thinking. Surprise me.” He laughs. “Just make it look really nice, that’s all I want.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. When will you be done? I’m going to be losing my roommates soon and I know they’ll miss me, so I want to stay close,” He teases JJ and Luke.

“I don’t want you to see it till it’s done,” I say.

“Fine. I’m going to Boston next week to catch the Patriots’ game with a few of the guys, how about when I get back?”

Chapter 22

(Mikey)

I jump in the cab outside of the airport, looking forward to coming home after my trip to see the Patriots/Packers playoff game. De texts me telling me to make sure I don’t go to my new house without her. The only way I ever want to go to my new house is if she’s with me; so that’s not a problem.

I open the door of the condo to an amazing smell coming from the kitchen and drop my bags by the door. Deanna hears the commotion and peeks her head out of the kitchen.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask, pleasantly surprised to find her in my kitchen, looking as pretty as ever.

That confirms it for me. Coming home and seeing her face feels incredible. A feeling I can definitely get used to. My phone rings before she has a chance to answer me. I glance down and see it is Lora Rae. I ignore the call and switch the phone to vibrate, giving De my full attention.

“I wanted to surprise you and make you dinner. Remember our bet, I owe you dinner?”

“Oh, that’s right, you do. I didn’t forget, but I thought you did.” I smile. “Where is everyone?” I ask, looking around.

“Luke and JJ are at their house. I think they’re repainting the bedroom. JJ wasn’t crazy about the color they originally picked. They’ve been staying there the last few days. I think they’re pretty much set. Most of the furniture was delivered this week, except for the bedrooms.” She makes it clear that we have the condo to ourselves.

“Cool.” My phone vibrates. I glance down again, seeing Lora Rae’s name.

“You can answer that. I’ll go in the other room,” she says, offering me privacy.

“Nah, it can wait.” We stand there looking at each other for a long time. She knows me well enough to know when I have something on my mind. “It’s Lora Rae. She’s unexpectedly in town.” I roll my eyes. “I told her I’d stop by her hotel tonight.”

“Oh my God, go, go… I’m sorry, I should have checked with you first. It’s not a big deal, really. We can do this some other time. I’ll wrap it up for you. You can have it later.” I know she feels embarrassed.

“No.
It’s a very big deal
. I want to stay. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” I look into her big, brown, disappointed eyes. “Besides, you never pay up on your bets,” I tease, softening the mood between us. I place the phone on the counter.

She smiles at me. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” There is nothing more that I want than to spend the night hanging out with Deanna, just the two of us. I had no idea that Lora Rae was flying in until I received a text that she was here. It’s been awhile since I’ve last seen her.

I help carry the dinner to the table, open a bottle of wine and pour us each a glass. I’m impressed by the amount of time she spent preparing dinner, not to mention the fact that she picked one of my favorite dishes. We have a relaxing dinner with no interruptions, and the conversation flows easily between us, just like always. She fills me in on school and I tell her about the Patriots killing the Packers as well as hanging out at McGreevy’s while in Boston. I promise to bring her with me when I play at Fenway Park this season. She tells me my house is almost complete and we make plans to see it tomorrow; she’s excited about it. I think it was pretty slick of me having her decorate the house that I hope to someday share with her. We sit at the table long after eating; drinking wine and talking. It’s been too long since we’ve hung out together and it makes me realize how much I need her in my life. She finally rises from the table to clear the plates.

“You sit. I’ll clean up, you cooked,” I say, jumping up and forcing her to sit back down.

“But, we made a bet… I lost. I can’t let you clean up. It’s part of the deal.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I say dryly, sitting back down.

“You’re such an ass.” She smacks me.

We joke with each other as we clean up the kitchen together. I wash the dishes while she dries.

“Thank you. That was awesome,” I say, kissing her on the cheek.

“You’re welcome.” She looks up at me. My phone once again vibrates on the counter. We both turn our attention to it.