Running Home to You (The Running Series)
Read Running Home to You (The Running Series) Online
Authors: Suzanne Sweeney
Tags: #romance, #Alpha Male, #football, #beach, #sports
Running Home to You
The Running Series, Volume 2
Suzanne Sweeney
Published by Suzanne Sweeney, 2014.
Copyright © 2014 by Suzanne Sweeney
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Suzanne Sweeney
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Suzanne Sweeney
Visit my website at http://suzannesweeney.wordpress.com/
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing: February 2014
Title Page
This book is dedicated to my many Beta Readers who helped make the book better than it would have been without them.
A heart-felt thank you goes out to
Amy, Ashley, Laurie, Lorraine, Rene, Muriel, Michelle,
and the countless others who shared their thoughts and wisdom!
No Time Like the Present
T
he studio is much smaller than I had imagined. Emmy and I are escorted by a page to our seats in the first row. The rest of the audience has been seated for some time now, and the show is about to start. As I look around, there can’t be more than two hundred audience seats in total. The studio is cold, freezing in fact. It’s a good thing that Emmy’s boyfriend Adam warned us to bring sweaters to the taping. The lighting equipment focused on the stage throws off a tremendous amount of heat, so I would guess the temperature is kept low to compensate and keep the guests comfortable.
“Oh, my God, Jette. I can’t believe this is really happening. Evan is about to appear on 'Night After Night' with Joey Griffin.” I think she’s more excited than I am. "What do you think the boys are doing backstage right now? Do you think Evan's nervous? I wonder if they're hanging out with anyone famous.” I don’t even have time to open my mouth to respond before she huffs, “Aren't you going to answer me?"
"I didn't think you were going to stop talking long enough for me to answer, Emmy." She gives me a pouty look, but I just roll my eyes and chuckle. I love spending time with Emmy. She brings joy and enthusiasm with her everywhere she goes.
"Well? Are you going to answer me, or what?" she asks, still waiting for my response.
I tell her, “I don't know, Emmy. Maybe. Evan's done this interview thing lots of times. It's kind of a cakewalk for him. It helps, too, that Adam's been with him at all of them. They make a great team.”
"Adam says that Evan could have gone on any show he wanted, but this is the only show he could get Evan to agree to," Emmy explains.
"Well, the media has been waiting a long time to hear Evan talk about what happened. I'm glad he's finally going to put his story out there. I'm sick of hearing Averee's friends and family defending her all the time." I know talk show hosts have been hounding Adam for weeks now, all trying desperately to get Evan to appear on their show first. They all want to know about the night he was held at gunpoint by his Looney Tune ex-girlfriend, Averee DeVeau, precisely six weeks ago tonight.
The choice to go on Joey’s show was an easy one to make. He tapes in Manhattan, which is just a short car ride from home. Evan doesn’t want to do any west coast shows right now while he’s still recovering. He takes his physical therapy routine very seriously. But aside from that, Evan’s met Joey before. He appeared on his show previously, and he knows Joey won’t push him too hard. Evan hasn’t uttered a word about Averee to anyone since he gave his final statement to the police. Each time I’ve brought it up, he shut me down. I’m wondering how much he is going to divulge to Joey tonight.
My thoughts are disrupted by a gentle elbow to the ribs from Emmy trying to get me to focus on the stage where it seems the crew is preparing to start the show. The first to come out is Seth, the show’s warm-up comedian. It’s his job to get the audience all pumped up and to explain the rules. The most important rule – no pictures are permitted to be taken in the studio. Apparently, this rule is essential because Seth mentions it five or six times. Aside from not being allowed to leave your seats once taping has begun, he tells us that it’s the only rule they actually enforce.
I’ve never been to the taping of a talk show before. As Seth continues to chat with the audience, I can’t help but gaze around at the studio, curious to see all the equipment and staff required to create a television show. I imagined seeing a neon flashing sign that calls for “Laughter” or “Applause”, and much to my surprise, there is no such sign. It’s much more spontaneous and the audience is encouraged to respond organically.
After twenty minutes or so of entertainment, the house band starts up and the studio lights are dimmed, leaving just the stage lights and spotlights glaring. Before long, the director and stagehands signal the show’s about to begin and we hear the announcer, Huxley, read off the list of tonight’s guests. First up tonight is Kitty Sutton. Apparently, she’s the host of that star-studded dance show that I’ve never seen. The crowd seems to know who she is and claps loudly when her name is announced.
The second guest tonight is my boyfriend, and the entire reason why we’re here tonight, the New Jersey Sentinel’s newest back-up quarterback, Evan “Big Mac” McGuire. The crowd erupts into a raucous round of applause and cheers. There’s no doubt, the crowd is anxious to see Evan tonight. I’m equally certain that when this episode airs tomorrow, it will bring in tons of late night viewers.
Finally Huxley announces tonight’s musical guest, Lorde. Now that’s a performance I’m very much looking forward to enjoying. But for the time being, I have to sit back and count the minutes until Evan makes his appearance.
In the middle of the thunderous applause, Joey Griffin makes his entrance on stage to deliver his monologue and introduce the house band. He tells a few jokes and pokes fun at some of the celebrities in the news. He does a skit at his desk before the first commercial break, and for a few minutes, I almost forget why I am here. It nearly slips my mind that Evan is back stage in some sort of a green room with Adam, waiting for his interview. As my nerves start to get the better of me, I begin to wonder if he’s nervous, too. Maybe he's casually chatting with members of the crew as he sits in make-up getting ready for the cameras. I can’t imagine my man, a professional athlete, completely masculine and sexy as hell, wearing makeup. My favorite image of Evan is of him lying in our bed, naked, still slightly sweaty from exertion, hair wildly sticking out in every direction, sleeping soundly, with just a small swath of fabric barely covering him. Suddenly, my nerves are gone, replaced with a completely different sensation altogether. I get all tingly just thinking about him.
As the first commercial break arrives, the audience is free to talk and chat. There’s a large group of young women behind me and they are all talking excitedly about how lucky they are to be here today and how it’s their dream-come-true to be able to see Evan in person. I’ve been in this situation before, facing his excessively flirtatious and overzealous fans. The first few times, it wasn’t easy. I would look at these women as potential rivals. I was afraid that when the right offer came along, he would give into temptation and I would become a distant memory. How wrong I was. It took a near death experience to get me to accept my place by Evan’s side and to realize that there is no temptation strong enough and no rival enticing enough to come between us.
“So Emmy, where to after the taping? Did Adam make any dinner reservations?”
“Evan asked him to get us a table at Bar Americain. Bobby Flay is supposed to be there tonight. I’m surprised he didn’t he tell you,” Emmy responds.
“He’s been really busy lately. It must have slipped his mind,” I tell her. Evan’s been preoccupied with his recovery. Besides, his pre-season schedule is pretty daunting. Before she can push me on the topic, the lights dim and the band starts up again. Emmy and I sit quietly as the first guest is interviewed. Joey talks casually with Kitty about the current season of her show. They chat and laugh a lot as Joey gets her to tell some funny stories about the contestants and their struggles to master the choreography. To hear them talk about the show, I almost want to start watching it, too.
When the interview’s over, the camera pans over to Huxley and he announces, “When we return, Joey challenges NFL Superstar Evan McGuire to a showdown.” Emmy looks at me, waiting for an explanation, but I have none to give. The crowd roars and women are screeching in delight at the prospect of being up-close and personal with Evan.
Once the hollers die down and the lights come back on, Emmy questions me about what we just heard. Both of us are regular viewers of “Night After Night”, so we know exactly the types of challenges we can expect. Emmy and I debate the possibilities. We quickly eliminate games like Pictionary, Charades, and Catchphrase as likely competitions; Evan’s not really into those types of games, even though he’s more than capable. As a quarterback, he’s most assuredly cut out for more physical competitions. We’ve seen those on the show, too. The guests have been challenged to a variety of races and target games with all sorts of equipment, but because of Evan’s injured hand, it’s not likely he’ll be playing any of those games, either. We’re both stumped.
After several minutes of deliberation, the lights dim and the audience again erupts into rowdy cheers, interrupting our conversation. My eyes immediately dart to the stage, anxious to see Evan emerge through the curtains. The main camera is flashing, pointing directly at Joey, as he begins to introduce his next guest. Smiling from ear to ear, I listen raptly as he describes Evan’s rise to fame to the audience.
