The Final Score (33 page)

“I guess we should have called first,” Luke says with an edge to his voice, looking into his cup, refusing to look at either one of them.

“Why’s that?” Mikey asks. “It’s your house, too.” The tension is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

I can tell Deanna is annoyed by Luke’s tone and I also know she can be spiteful when she wants to be. She reaches over and tangles her fingers with Mikey’s. He doesn’t pull away, but looks totally uncomfortable. She asks why we are out so early and I tell her we were on our way to the store.

“It’s not that early,” Luke responds arrogantly.

“What is your problem, Luke?” Deanna asks.

“Yeah, sorry. This is just too fuckin’ weird for me,” he replies cockily as he walks off towards his bedroom.

“Yeah, I know what you mean, it was weird for me too when you started sleeping with
my best friend
!” Deanna shouts back angrily.

Mikey shushes her by covering her mouth with his hand. “You shouldn’t have said that,” He tries to calm her down.

“Well, he needs to get over it. I was happy for him when I found out about JJ.”

“That’s true. It’s not like he didn’t know about the two of you… I’ll go talk to him,” I jump in, coming to De’s defense.

“Knowing it and seeing it are two different things. I’ll go,” Mikey says, getting up from the table. “Go easy on him,” he tells De, kissing her lips as he heads into the bedroom.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” De apologizes to me. “But really, what’s his problem? He saw us leave together last night.”

“I know. He’s fine. I think Mikey’s right. Probably if he saw ya’s out to dinner first, or hanging out as a couple, it may have been a little easier to swallow than walking in on you in the morning half undressed.” I laugh. “I texted you both to warn you.”

“We turned our phones off.” She laughs. “Oh great, I don’t need my brother saying anything that’s going to freak him out again,” she whispers to me, nodding towards the bedroom. “You have no idea what I went through with him last night in the beginning.” De gives me the in-depth details of how he panicked last night and was nervous to sleep with her.

“You mean our little Mr. Hotshot bragger backed out?”

“Yes…
almost
. Probably for the first time in his life, too!” We both begin laughing. “I was ready to kill him. We ended up talking for almost an hour, and then finally, he got his little arrogant self back and got over it. The rest of the night
and morning
was great.” De says, giving me a wink.

***

(Mikey)

Luke is pulling a box from his top shelf in the closet when I walk in.

“Yo, bud,” I say quietly. “Sorry about that.”

“Nah, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. De’s right. She was cool when she found out about JJ. She didn’t quite have to put it like she did, though. I could have lived without the visual.”

I laugh. “I know, I told her to go easy on you. Please tell me you know that I love her, right? You know this is not some casual thing for me.”

“You don’t even have to say it. I know that you would never even consider hooking up with her if you even had the littlest doubt about how you felt about her.”

“There’s no doubt. I swear I tried for years to avoid it. I told myself over and over,
no way
, but no matter where she is—here, Arizona, where ever—I can’t shake the way I feel about her. I hated when she moved to Arizona, I hardly ever got to see her. The feelings didn’t go away, though, if anything, they got stronger.”

“I know the feeling.”

“I know you do. Every time you talked to me about JJ, I could relate. I just tried to play it off and act like you were crazy ‘cause I didn’t want to admit to myself or anyone else how I felt about her.” I knew Luke understood there was no need to plead my case to him. “So are we cool?” I ask, holding out my hand.

“Yeah, we’re cool.” He grabs my arm and gives me a pat on the back while the girls can be heard laughing hysterically in the other room.

“What are they laughing at?” Luke asks.

“I’d pretty much bet that DeDe is having a ball making fun of me.” I laugh.

Luke doesn’t question it, and I don’t elaborate. I relay my plans to fly out and meet the guy to get a better sense of what kind of person he is. I want to be sure it isn’t some wacko trying to get close to Lora Rae because she is famous. Luke offers to go with me.

Chapter 26

(Luke)

We arrive in Texas later that evening. We’re meeting TJ Harper, the guy that made the call to Mikey. Mikey wants to learn everything he can about this guy.

We pull up in front of a modest, tan, stucco home a little after nine. An attractive woman, who looks to be in her late-forties answers the door.

Expecting us, she invites us into their neatly kept home. She leads us to the kitchen, introducing us to her son, TJ, and her husband, Tim.

Mikey and I quickly size him up; he’s a clean cut guy and, from what we gather, they seem like a decent family, so far. We apologize for the intrusion while Mikey explains the importance of time.

TJ is a business major at the University of Texas in San Antonio and he still lives at home with his parents. He and Lora Rae began dating the summer before their senior year in high school. He claims they had a good relationship in the beginning, his parents always felt there was something off about her, though. According to them, she was needy and possessive. He explains that her life wasn’t that easy. She didn’t know her father that well and she had problems because of it. Though she was close to her mom, she wasn’t the type that was around much while Lora Rae was growing up.

“I felt sorry for her. She was lonely.” He shrugs.

He said she angered easily. If he made plans with friends, she’d throw a tantrum. If he just said hello to other girls at a party, she would argue with him in front of everyone.

“It got to the point where it was embarrassing, I dreaded going anywhere,” he tells us.

That spring, he met a girl from a nearby town. He broke things off with Lora Rae. She seemed to take it well at the time and he began dating this other girl. About a month into his new relationship, TJ and the girl were walking out of the movie theatre when they bumped into Lora Rae and her friends.

“She walked right up to us and began to cry. She said she was sorry to do this to me, but she just found out she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do,” TJ says, recalling the incident. “She looked so scared and vulnerable. I instantly wanted to be there for her, even though I was sick inside. Needless to say, that was the end of the relationship with the new girl.” He chuckles in his Texan drawl. “Honestly, that was the least of my worries; we were about to graduate, I had a scholarship to the University of Cali to play football and I was leaving in late July. Just like that, my plans changed. I was going to be a dad.” Mikey and I are glued to the story.

His mom chimes in. “He was devastated. I remember the night he came home and told us. We tried to give him advice and some options, but his mind was made up. He had already talked it over with Lora Rae.”

“She was adamant about keeping the baby,” TJ continues. “She didn’t want to talk about any other options. I cared about her. I really did and, mostly, I felt sorry for her. I couldn’t leave her alone. She didn’t have anyone to care for her and it was my responsibility to take care of her and my kid.”

“So what happened?” I ask.

“We moved her in,” his dad adds, shaking his head.

“Obviously, they weren’t happy.” TJ nods towards his parents. “I decided to enroll at the University of Texas, it was cheaper and a local university so I could commute from home. I refused to go off to college and leave her. I gave up my scholarship.”

“Wow, that sucks,” I add while Mikey sits quietly, taking it all in.

“Nah, it’s all good now. I play ball here. It’s great. I love it. No regrets. The ironic thing is, after the truth came out. She picks up and moves to Cali and becomes famous.” He laughs.

“Wow, that
really
sucks,” I say under my breath while Mikey shoots me a look.

“I don’t know. I must have been really naïve or something because it was like four months into it and she wasn’t getting a belly. It’s not like I didn’t see her naked. We were together in every way while she lived here. It just never crossed my mind that she was lying to me. It wasn’t until my mom made a comment to me about her belly that I became suspicious. I searched her things and found birth control pills hidden in a ripped seam in her handbag. I know, I’m a moron, I used to be really trusting,” he says sarcastically, shaking his head at his stupidity. “Anyway, I confronted her, she denied it at first, but there was no denying that her belly was as flat as it had been since the day I met her. She packed up, moved to Cali and the rest is history.”

“Man, that is crazy. I guess you want to kill her every time you see her face on TV?” I ask, looking at them.

His mom agrees, but TJ is more carefree. He shrugs and says it all worked out for the best. Mikey doesn’t say a word practically the whole time we are there. I know he’s thinking the same thing is happening to him.

TJ goes on to tell us how he read online about the rumors of her being pregnant. He saw the pictures of her and Mikey together, did some research and found out who Mikey is. He said he couldn’t help feeling she may be pulling the same thing.

“For your sake, I hope she is,” TJ says compassionately. “She’s a good actress, I’ll give her that.”

Mikey barely says anything, just nods his head in agreement. We thank them for meeting with us. Mikey is still quiet while heading to the airport.

“Crazy, huh?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“Talk to me. What’s on your mind?”

“I don’t know. It sounds familiar, right? I’m just afraid to get my hopes up. I don’t know what to think. My fuckin’ head feels as if it’s going to explode. I just want it to be over and go home.”

“I hear ya. You believe him?”

“Yeah, definitely. They seem like good people,” Mikey says.

“I thought so, too.”

We sleep at the airport hotel and take the earliest flight to LA. Mikey calls Lora Rae once we land. She’s shocked that he’s back in LA, considering he just left only a couple of days ago. He asks if they can talk and she invites him over.

LA traffic is crazy and it takes us over an hour to get to her apartment. She answers the door wearing black yoga pants and a tight fitted t-shirt. My eyes obviously go to her flat, rock-solid stomach.

“This is a pleasant surprise, c’mon in. You didn’t tell me Luke was with you.” She sounds a bit disappointed.

“Yeah, he decided to take the trip out with me,” he answers. I notice his voice crack. He’s uptight, but trying to play it cool. We discussed a plan in the car.

“How are you, Luke? Congratulations. I heard you and Jesse were married over the holidays.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Boy, you didn’t waste any time. Aren’t you a little young to be married?” she teases.

“Aren’t you a little young to be having a baby?” I answer sarcastically, smiling.

“Touché,” she says as we give each other a forced smile.

“How you feelin’?” Mikey interrupts.

“Alright I guess, a little nauseous in the morning, but other than that, I’m fine.”

“Good,” he responds.

“I put coffee on, would you like some?” We follow her to the kitchen and Mikey excuses himself to go to the bathroom. That’s my cue to keep her talking. I keep her immersed in conversation, giving Mikey time to do some searching.

“What is that, over there?” I point to the balcony as I walk towards it. Lora Rae opens the door and we step outside. I ask her about some of the local landmarks that she has a clear view of from her balcony. She answers my questions with enthusiasm. Talking with her, I can see how TJ and Mikey can get caught up in her lies and her looks. She seems like a decent person and she is beautiful, no doubt. I try to think of a reason as to why a girl like that would feel the need to trap a guy. I feel sorry for her, yet Mikey shouldn’t have to pay the price if she is lying, or any other guy for that matter. We are interrupted by Mikey joining us on the balcony.

“Oh, there you are. I thought you may have gotten lost.” She smiles at him.

“No, I didn’t get lost,” he says coolly. “Did Luke tell you we ran in to an old friend of yours?” He stares her down. I figure by his tone, he found what he was searching for. He’s cocky and confident.

She suddenly begins to squirm, looking at me. “No, he didn’t. Who?”

“TJ Harper, ring a bell?”

Her mouth drops opens. She quickly tries to gain her composure. “Who?”

I lower my head and take a step back into the apartment, leaving them to talk. I watch from afar as I see Mikey take out the pictures TJ has given us of him and Lora Rae. There is no denying they were a couple.

***

(Mikey)

“You can’t believe a word he says. He’s obsessed with me. He always tries to contact me. He stalks me,” she says, scrambling, looking at the pictures.