Anything but Minor (25 page)

Two hours later, the nerdy girl and her warden mother drank copious amounts of alcohol and danced like no one was watching. My mother looked like a beautiful corpse on the dance floor. She had years of pent up stiffness to work out, but she was trying, and together, we made total fools of ourselves as better equipped dancers circled the floor around us.

It didn’t matter. My mother’s smile and nervous laughter, which I’d finally learned came from her, made it all okay. And when she got too tipsy to drive, I called an Uber for us both. I sat in the backseat with my drunken mother, a virtual stranger, as she spoke to him.

“You’re a nice looking man,” she cooed as he looked back at her. He was, in fact, a very nice looking man with sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He looked a few years younger than her, but not by much. “My daughter says I need to get back on the horse. Are you a capable horse?”

I burst out laughing as he eyed her from the front seat and joined in with a chuckle. I looked over our driver and gave him a disapproving eye. “What are your credentials?”

“Abe, I’m forty-eight, divorced, and I just started Uber this week. You’re my best fare yet.”

My mother, who apparently had no filter after five glasses of wine, looked at him in the mirror. “Well, Abe, I’m Penelope and this is my daughter, Alice.”

“Pleasure to meet you both,” he said with humor.

“Mom, we need greasy food,” I muttered, feeling uneasy from the alcohol. I’d gotten a little sauced up a few weeks ago with Kristina and had discovered a cheeseburger helped immensely.

“I know just the place,” Abe said as he turned into a breakfast diner and parked the car. He turned in his seat and addressed my mother directly. “Allow me,” he said as he opened her door and we both exited with giggles. I couldn’t believe the difference in her, but I supposed somewhere deep she’d always wanted permission to feel again. I wasn’t surprised when we ordered another Uber after dining a little loudly in the breakfast house, and Abe pulled up again to greet us minutes later. He’d been waiting. I was sure of it.

On the way home, I watched as Abe and my mother spoke, often crossing the same words or reactions to the conversation, and smiled as I looked down at my textless phone. Rafe and I didn’t have that type of connection. We didn’t finish each other’s sentences, we simply accepted each other’s differences, and the dynamic was just as powerful, maybe even more so. If he chose to throw us away, it wouldn’t be because we didn’t work. In truth, I didn’t see anything else working better. I saw no one else but him.

No end, Alice. No end.

My heart was breaking with each minute that passed. I felt a hot tear trail down my cheek. If we were over, I would have the heart scar to prove it happened. Once upon a time, Alice Boyd had an intimate affair with the stuff dreams are made of. Though brief, it had been beautiful and real.

Alice: I am a nerd, Rafe. I totally am. XO

It was the best night of my life.

“Rafe,” I heard whispered in a raspy voice as Melo-dee joined me at the bar, uninvited. Andy’s bar was home to me in a way, and being amongst my teammates tonight had driven home the point even more so.

We’d completely shut out the Yellow Jackets, and in our victory, the team decided a perfect night ender would be a private party at the bar. Everyone was there, including Dutch, who eyed me with suspicion when I told her the vacancy next to her at the game had to do with Alice visiting her mother. I could see her disapproval and knew without a doubt she thought I was full of shit.

And in a way, I was.

“How’s it going, Melo-dee?” I said without looking her way.

“It could be better,” she chimed back without regard to my
fuck off
demeanor and uninterested tone. “Your place or mine?”

“You know I’m with Alice. You’ve seen me with her,” I reminded, my voice full of disdain.

“I don’t see her here,” she said as I turned on my stool to finally look at her. Melo-dee was beautiful with long dark hair and dark blue eyes. Her curvy body was bursting out of her short, red dress and begged for any sort of attention it could get. I had no right to judge her, not in the least, but suddenly she repulsed me.

“I’m not the type,” I said as I picked up my beer.

“Since when?”

“Since I met my game-changer,” I said without apology.

“Well,” she said with a fake pout as she eyed Waters over my shoulder. “If you change your mind, you know how to find me.”

“Of course I do,” I said as I looked over to Waters, who was already eye fucking her. “Double the latex,” I muttered under my breath. I was just about to call Alice when I saw Andy and Kristina arguing in the hall behind the bar. Kristina was crying as Andy shook his head and gripped her shoulders. I stood and made my way toward them when I heard his voice.

“Son.”

Oh, fuck no
.

I turned to look at my father, who seemed to have aged far more than the years since I’d seen him.

“Who let you in?”

“Doesn’t matter. I called, you refused to answer, so I came.”

He was dressed in a Swampgators t-shirt, and I could only assume he’d attended the game. His next words confirmed it.

“You’re a star. I mean, I always knew you would be, but your pitching now...I’m proud of you.”

I barked out an incredulous laugh. “You could’ve saved your breath for that.”

“Give me a fucking chance to talk,” he said roughly, a tone I’d become used to over the years. It had zero effect on me as I studied him. It dawned on me then.

“You were an asshole father.”

“I deserve that,” he said as he looked over at the team. “This is your year.”

“So everyone says.”

“Mark my words.”

“Your words are meaningless. I don’t want you here.”

“I don’t want to be here,” he said as he looked at me with dead eyes. “I won’t beg you anymore to forgive me for something I thought was right for the family. When you have your own one day, you’ll understand.”

“There’s the door, asshole,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I see it. I’m getting remarried. My fiancée wanted me to try to make amends. Her son is a huge fan of yours and wants to meet you.”

“Does Mom know?” Fear crept through me as I thought of the state of my mother if she found out the news.

“Not yet.”

“Don’t tell her. I’m asking you to make this private. Don’t do this to her.”

“I’m not doing anything to
her
. I’m moving on with my life. She made
her
decision.”

“Unfuckinbelievable,” I hissed as we stood facing each other.

Andy was by my side seconds later as he addressed my father. “Martin, I think you should leave.”

“I’m talking to my son.”

“All due respect, sir, this is my fucking bar.”

“I’ve got this, Andy,” I said as I looked over to him. “I’ve got it, man.” Andy gave me a simple nod and gave us our space.

“Let’s end this here,” I said casually. “I don’t want a damn thing to do with you or your new family. I hope for that kid’s sake you learned from your mistakes, but I won’t be around to find out. I want nothing to do with you. I’ve made that clear. The next time I see you, it better be in accidental passing.”

“You can throw us away like that?” There was only a hint of hurt in his voice.

“No, you can and you did. We’re done. There’s no going back. My mind won’t change.”

“Then that’s that,” my father said gruffly as he looked at me again. “Goodbye, son.”

“You sold your son for one hundred thousand dollars,” I reminded.

“If it makes any difference, it wasn’t worth it.” It was the rawest and sincerest apology I would get.

“It doesn’t.”

I motioned toward the door, thinking of my mother’s face the minute she found out about his new wife. It was the only thought that gutted me as I watched him disappear. I turned back to the bar to see business as usual. Melo-dee was in Waters’ lap in a slow grind. Kristina, now free of tears, was passing out beers like the thirst quenching dealer she was, and Andy was the only one that looked on at me. I stuck my hand up to my forehead and saluted him in goodbye.

The only person in the world I wanted to see was somewhere in Ohio, and I’d done a bang up fucking job of making her believe I wasn’t waiting on her when the truth was, I wouldn’t be able to breathe right until she was back in my sight.

I pulled my suitcase behind me like the deadweight it was. I’d taken the first flight out and decided not to hide from my life, or the fact that I may very soon be alone again. Fatigue crept through every muscle in my body as I dreaded the idea of losing my heart and having it given back to me in different shape.

I pushed inside my door and unloaded my bag on the floor of my bedroom.

Rafe: Please text me when you get home.

Alice: I’m home.

Rafe: Fifteen minutes?

Alice: Okay.

I left my door unlocked as I put away the rest of my clothes then decided on a scalding shower. I wanted my movies and my bed. I wanted to escape the pain of his rejection a bit longer before I lived in it. I sighed as I lathered the trip home out of my hair and felt strong hands encase me seconds later. I let out a shriek of surprise and turned to Rafe, who was gloriously naked behind me. I studied him closely as he looked on at me with fearful eyes.

“I love you, Alice Boyd.” Before I had a chance to react, his mouth was on mine, his arms locked around me as if I was the only thing he had in his life to hold onto. Completely at his mercy, there was only a flicker of time before he found me wet and ready and he thrust fully inside me. I locked my legs around him as he gave me his love, his heart, his need with each movement of his hips, with each groan in his throat.

“Rafe,” I whispered as I burned out of control.

“Let me have this, Alice, please,” he croaked as he remained inside me and turned off the shower.

He loves me.

I began to shake with hope as he brought us out of the shower and onto my bed. He hovered above as he looked down at me, my eyes shut tight as I felt all of him.

“Let me see them,” he prompted gently as he thrust deep. I opened them as he looked down on me, his face breathtaking. “I love you.”

He leaned in slowly and drew my lips into his mouth as I sighed out his name again and again. He made it last as we both gazed at each other, mouths parted. Hearts and body movements in sync, we were completely one as he whispered one last time, “I love you.”

“You confuse the hell out of me,” I said as Rafe pulled his pants on the next morning.

“I know. I won’t do that again.”

“What happened?”

“I had some stuff to figure out. I had some decisions to make, I guess.”

“You had to decide if you loved me?” I asked with my pillow to my chest.

“That was never a decision,” he said as he leaned over and placed a slow kiss on my lips. “When you throat punched me, I’m pretty sure I knew then.”

“Come here, I’ll do it again,” I said playfully as I rose from the bed and stretched with a loud yawn. Rafe admired my naked body as I scurried off to the bathroom to find my toothbrush. “Where are you off to?” I piped with a mouth full of toothpaste.