The Final Score (10 page)

I
’ve been locked up for so long I figure it can’t hurt if I spend some of my money. Besides, one is a gift and the other is a necessity. After all, I need transportation. I can’t keep driving around in cabs everywhere, right? I’ll bet the salesperson that greets me at the door has no idea just how good his morning is about to get. I pick out two brand new Harley V-Rods, one for me and one for Mikey.

“That one
,” I point to Mikey’s bike, “you can deliver and that one,” I point to mine, “I’ll take with me,” I say, handing my card to the salesman.

By the time I leave the dealership
, it’s after noon. The bike leads me in the direction of Ybor City. As I drive through the town, I can see why she likes it; why an artist chooses to live here. I smile proudly, knowing that she did this on her own. I drop in and out of a few of the shops trying to guess which ones I think would be her favorites. I drive past the gallery, but don’t tempt to go inside.

I
wrote down her address awhile ago from my mom’s address book and stuck it in my wallet. I Google directions from my phone and find an inconspicuous spot across the street from her apartment. I hope to catch a glimpse of her as I hide behind my dark sunglasses. “Just a little something I picked up from my convict friends; the art of stalking someone,” I mumble to myself as I wait for her like a complete psycho.

I probab
ly wait for close to two hours, maybe more, when I finally spot two girls turning the corner, heading in the direction of her building. I pull my hoodie up over my head.

My heart stops.

I know instantly that it’s her by the bounce in her step. My first instinct is to jump off my bike and rescue her because the girl she is with looks scary as hell. Maybe even scarier than some of the guys I’ve been away with, but then I see them laughing together.

As
she gets closer, I think to myself that she is more beautiful than I remember, if that’s even possible. She’s older, more mature, like the day I had seen her at the museum working. What was the word I used? Sophisticated. Yeah, that’s it. My stomach twitches, hoping that she didn’t completely outgrow me. I get a better look at the girl she is with. Beneath the black, the piercings and the purple streaked hair, she’s actually kind of cute in a strange sort of way. Besides that, they seem to enjoy each others’ company as they talk comfortably together. Not a mugger, I conclude.

Her smile melts me. It takes everything I have not to call out to her. I hang back and
watch her until she enters the building and is no longer in sight. Seeing her today makes it that much harder to wait any longer.

As I pull into the parking lot in front of our condo, I’m happy to see
that Mikey’s bike has been delivered and is sitting in the visitor space. I pull in next to it.

Mikey’s back from his road trip and greets me as I enter the house.

“Hey, how does it feel to be home?” he asks, pulling me into a bear hug.

“It feels great. Thanks man, for everything… my room… awesome. It felt good to come back to something familiar. I appreciate
it. You could have packed up my shit and took the bigger room.”

“Nah…
What’s the difference? I had the whole place to myself.”

“It means a lot
, you know? Everything you’ve done for me. The ring… how’d yo
u—
”

“I picked it up off the floor, after she…” He pauses.

“Thanks for keeping it for me. You’ve done so muc
h—
”

He holds up his hand, cutting me off
again. “C’mon, we’re brothers. That’s what brother’s do. Where were you? I’ve been tryin’ to call,” he asks.

“Uhhh… My phone was off… I forgot to turn it back on
,” I answer, not ready to elaborate on where I just came from. “Oh, by the way, I picked ya up a little somethin’ today to try and somehow thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I turn away to try and hide the grin on my face.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Here. For you.” I pull the keys from my pocket and dangle them in front of him.

“What’s this?”
he asks, taking them from my hand.

I lead him outside and across the lot to the two shiny new bikes, sitting side
-by-side. I sit on the midnight blue bike I picked for myself and motion for him to sit on the solid black.

“What the hell did you do?” Mikey asks
, looking at me as if I’m nuts. “Did you fuckin’ lose your mind again?”

“Maybe
a little. I don’t know. I was feelin’ a little irritable after practice, and on the way home the cabbie drove past the dealership. I made him turn around and drop me off. I don’t know… I just had the urge to do something…”

“You felt a little irritable, so you figured you’d just b
uy a couple of Harley’s?” Mikey asks, laughing.

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I love it. That’s something I would do
,” he says, shaking his head. “Holy shit! This is awesome!”

“So anyway
, it’s my way of sayin’, thanks. Remember when we talked about getting them that summer?” Mikey nods, remembering the conversation. “Let’s go for a ride.” We rev up our engines and cruise along the highway.

When we finally arrive h
ome, I remember that Deanna is flying in.

“Yo, are we supposed to
be picking De up at the airport?”

“No
. I talked to her earlier. She should be here any second. I took care of it. I have a limo waiting for her.” He laughs. “The guy’s gonna be holding up the sign with her name and everything.”

“You’re
nuts. Why’d you do that?” I ask, laughing.

“I was planning on waiting around the airport for her to get in
, but I was beat from my trip. I didn’t feel like sitting in the airport for three hours, so I got her a limo. I was planning on coming home to rest up, but then you walked in with your awesome gift.” He laughs. “Anyway, it’s funnier this way. You know her, she’s going to come down the escalator and see some guy holding a sign with her name. She thinks she’s meeting me.”

Not even ten minutes pass when De c
omes bursting though the door.

“Oh my God
, did you guys get me the limo?!” She’s hysterically laughing. “I didn’t know what to tip him. I gave him twenty dollars, is that enough?”

I
point to Mikey, not wanting to take the credit.

“Tip him? You didn’t have to tip him. I tipped him enough! Did he have the Barbeque Twisted Frito’s and Arizona Green Tea?”

“Yes,
my favorites,” she says excitedly.

“No shit
,” Mikey says as she runs up and gives him a huge hug.

“I’ve missed you
,” she says, kissing him on the cheek as he lifts her off the floor. “…and I’ve missed you, too.” She turns to give me a kiss as well. “It feels good to be here with the two of you again. I’ve missed everyone so much!”

T
he three of us head out to grab a bite to eat. As we are seated, JJ calls De to see if she’s landed. I’m getting closer. The shock runs through my veins, just knowing she is on the other end of that line.

I wish
I could pull the phone from De’s ear just to hear her voice. I tap my foot on the floor while my fingers nervously tap the table, listening to their conversation. One more day. I can do this.

“What’d she say?” Mikey ask
s while I hang on every word.

“She wanted to know if we felt like coming over and hanging out. She said
she didn’t mind if we didn’t, she knows you’re probably tired.” She looks at me sympathetically. I know she feels bad leaving me out. “She’s coming to the game tomorrow, but she’s nervous about it running late.” Mikey has a 1:00 game, JJ’s show is at 7:00.

“She’ll be fine
,” Mikey answers. “Are you coming?” he asks, turning to me.

“Yeah, but I’ll keep a low profile
and stay out of sight. De and I talked about it yesterday. I don’t want to ruin her night tomorrow.”

“Yeah, it’s probably a good idea
,” he agrees.

I
change the subject before I begin to feel sorry for myself. “Yo, by the way, I thought I was going to have to save her life today. Who’s the Gothic lookin’ chick she was hangin’ with? I thought she was about to get mugged.”

They both bust out into laughter and
answer at the same time. “Mya!”

Then, I realize my mistake when everything gets quiet and they are staring at me as if I have six heads.
“What?” I ask innocently.

“How did you see
her and Mya
?” Mikey asks while they both stare me down.

I’m embarrassed that I
got myself caught. “I said I wouldn’t approach her before tomorrow, but I had to see her. God, she looks good,” I say, shaking my head. “What are you lookin’ at?” I ask as they continue to stare at me. “Okay, I admit, I stalked her. I got her address from mom’s book, and I stalked her. I waited across from her apartment for over two hours until she finally walked down the street. She never saw me,” I confess as if this is normal behavior.

“Wow
. You’re scary,” Mikey says.

“That
is
creepy,” De adds.

I can feel my cheeks getting flushed
. I shrug my shoulders. What can I say? They’re right. “It was worth it.” I laugh.

I’m feeling more re
laxed now that the two of them are here with me, and I’m having fun talking about her. I decide to ask more questions so I have a better idea of what I’m up against.

“So, tell me the truth
, do you think I have a chance? Did this other guy make his move?”

“I think they may have just started to see each other
. I mean, I’m talking a week, two tops. JJ’s not good at trusting…
sorry
,” Mikey says, referring to the fact that I’m the one to blame for that. “I think she’s trying really hard to like him. He’s a good guy…
sorry
… shit, I keep puttin’ my foot in my mouth, don’t I?”

I laugh.
“It’s fine. I’d rather know what I’m dealing’ with. De, what’s your take?”

“Luke, I’m sorry
, too, but Frank is great. They have a lot in common, he takes her to a lot of nice places, introduces her to a lot of interesting people, but I agree with Mikey. I think she wants to have feelings for him, more so than a friend. I think she may have herself convinced that she does, but I just don’t see it happening.”

It st
ings hearing the mention of another guy’s name, but what can I do, I’ve been out of her life for so long. I’m somewhat thankful she’s not in a serious relationship.

“Alright
… that, I can deal with. She’ll either hate me for not being able to love anyone again or she’ll want me back, right?” I answer trying to crack a joke, but really my stomach is swirling inside.

Chapter
9

(Luke)

The afternoon of JJ’s showing at the gallery, I head to the stadium with Mikey. I love the atmosphere of being here for playoffs. I hang back and watch the game from the locker room. The last thing I need is for a reporter to interview me now that I’m back in Tampa. For some reason, knowing that JJ is here
makes the stadium suddenly feel much smaller; knowing we are in the same place at the same time. After the Rays win another game, Mikey and I head home on our shiny new toys.

*
**

(Jesse)

Deanna and I hurry home after the game to get ready for the evening. I’m feeling anxious and excited as I slip into the new dress I bought from the boutique on 7
th
Avenue. Deanna is across the room, getting her new dress on as well. I’m so happy having my friends and family to support me. My dad flew in this afternoon and is attending with Cheryl. Dad’s trips to Florida are becoming more frequent. Cheryl and he have seen each other quite a few times over the last several months. I’m happy for him. There was a time or two over the last couple of years that I thought he may be ready to start dating again. Yet, nothing ever came of it other than friendship. I’m hoping that this thing with Cheryl turns into something more serious, I really like her and they seem to enjoy each other’s company. The last thing I want is for my dad to be alone for the rest of his life. He was too young when my mother was taken from us.

“Mya
, let’s go. Are you ready?” I call out as Deanna and I wait by the door.

“Coming
,” she says dryly as she steps out of her room.

“Wow
, you look amazing!” Deanna says, as she stands in the hallway.

“You do look beautiful
,” I agree.

“What’d you expect? My best friend is being honored tonight
. This is a classy event.”

Mya once again surprise
s me by dressing like a girl for once, okay, maybe twice, since I have known her. The classy black cocktail dress fits her body nicely, and her hair is perfectly styled into her cute little pixie cut that normally is spiked out all over the place. She even went as far as to wash the purple out for the evening. Her pretty diamond earrings are her only visible piercings, and her lightly applied make-up shows off her porcelain skin.