by Magan Vernon
He laughed. "Don't get ahead of yourself."
Chapter 10
With my dad's blessing, and Sonny's handiwork, I was finally allowed to see Jay again, but I was watched like a hawk. I didn't get as many late night FaceTime calls and I was more than ready to go on our first real date. Well, one my parents actually knew about.
"Mr. Morningstar, I hoped you'd still come back. Would you like some Bruscialoni?"
I heard my mother at the front door. I thought I’d be able to intercept before she got there, but she was like a freaking Sicilian cheetah.
"He doesn't have time for food, Ma, we're going to a movie," I yelled and charged down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
For the first time, Jay looked out of his element. His hands were in the front pockets of his jeans and his eyes glued on his shoes.
Every time I watched him on TV in competition, he was cool and collected. He was in the zone when he was competing. Now he looked like he was about to jump into a pool full of sharks.
"Is that what girls wear on a date now?" Ma's eyes trailed from my gray sweater and dark jeans until her lips curled in disgust at my black boots. "Back when I was dating your father, we got a little more dressed up."
"Yeah, Ma." I stepped off the bottom stair, positioning myself next to Jay. He smelled amazing. I mean, he always did. But he had some kind of cologne on that was the right amount of woodsy and manly. "You also lived on an island and didn't have to worry about a cold front."
She shrugged. "You have a point."
"You ready?" I looked over to Jay as the grin spread wider across his face.
"Let's go."
Ma's eyes followed us out the front door and I swear I could still see an olive-toned hand pull back the curtains of the front window when Jay helped me into his SUV.
"Sorry about that. I don't think she's ever going to stop offering you food. She seems to think that if she offers someone food then they won't go anywhere. She used to do the same thing to my sister-in-law Dana." I buckled my seatbelt and Jay pulled out of the driveway.
"Well, what if I didn't want to leave your house and just wanted to stay and be waited on by some beautiful Sicilian women?" He raised an eyebrow and peered over at me, his hand sliding onto my knee.
I shook my head, "Flattery will only get you so far, Mr. Morningstar."
"There are worse things I could do."
My whole body heated up and I was acutely aware of his hand on my leg. I licked my lips, quickly changing the subject. "Anyway…what movie are we seeing? I haven't even had time to see what's come out lately."
"Johnny recommended this movie about some sort of a zombie and alien battle starring that guy who used to be a professional wrestler, but now is known as that guy who was formerly a wrestler."
I ran my tongue along my teeth behind my lips, trying to think of a response. I guess the movie didn't matter as long as I got to spend time with Jay. Between work, school, and his practices, I never got any time to see him.
He laughed and intertwined his fingers with mine. "I'm kidding, Lia, I know you hate those types of movies and I would NEVER see anything that Johnny recommended, even if it was a commercial on TV."
I let out a deep puff of air, putting my hand on my chest and leaning slightly forward onto it. "Oh thank God! I really didn't want to have to stare at some guy's eyebrows all night as he shot some CGI images."
Jay shook his head, rubbing his thumb along my knuckles. "Then it's a good thing I overruled his pick and saw a preview for some sort of romantic comedy about college freshmen or something."
I tilted my head and placed it on his shoulder. Even under the cologne he always smelled the same, with his hemp seed hair oil, an abundance of Chapstick, and a hit of chlorine. I wanted to bottle his scent and store it under my pillow for whenever I was having a bad day and could just whip it out and inhale it. "As long as I get to spend time with you, I really don't care what we see."
He squeezed my hand. "We could just skip the movie and your mom could make me food..."
I laughed. "You're not getting out of a rom com that easy."
"I think my sister made some kind of random cameo appearance in one. Or maybe she didn't. I sometimes block her out when she talks," Jay said with a laugh.
"Yeah. I tend to tune out Sonny, but I don't think the guy would be in a movie unless he actually left the DFW area."
"So what's your plans?"
I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, I know you complain about living with your parents and you'll have your associates degree this year. What then?"
I licked my lips, wondering briefly if he would think I was a stalker if I told him my plans for California. I decided to bite the bullet and hoped he wouldn't think I was a creeper. "I got accepted to USC for the fall semester. It was pretty competitive to get into their music business program, so I've been thanking all of my lucky stars that I did, now just figuring out all the logistics of it."
"USC? As in LA?" He raised his eyebrows, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah. LA. Don’t get creeped out, though. I wanted to go there before I started talking to you. They have a great program for music business."
He smiled. "So, you want to be a music manager or producer?"
I shrugged. "Something like that. I've always had an affinity for different music and discovering new bands. I'd love to do something with that, even if I ended up just being a local DJ and got some new music on the radio."
"That sounds awesome. I've never actually known anyone that wanted to that, and in my humble opinion, anyone that has the same taste in old school punk as me would be great at it."
"I'm not that cool. Most people would think that's weird. Especially people in small town Texas."
He squeezed my hand. "Well, when we're both in California this fall you won't have to worry about small town Texas."
My body tensed up and I sucked in a breath.
And of course Jay had to notice.
"What. Did I say something wrong?" he asked.
"No. I, um, well I guess I didn't plan that far ahead with us and, you know, you have training here and my parents may still not let me go."
Jay shook his head. "Lia, your parents aren’t going to prevent you from doing something that's good for you and your future. And as far as we go? We don't need to talk about the future right now, but I do plan on going back to California. Texas was supposed to just be a break from the madness, but if you're going to the sunshine state then there isn't a reason for me not to go back as well."
Thoughts briefly flitted through my mind of going to class during the day and spending nights on the beach with Jay. But of course as quickly as those thoughts went into my head, they left. I didn't want to think of the future when it really couldn't happen. If I couldn't get scholarships or financial aid for out-of-state tuition, then I would be in Texas forever and I couldn't expect Jay to stay when his family was in California.
Since I didn't want to think about it, I had to change the subject.
I sighed and put my head on his shoulder. "So tell me more about this rom com."
***
The theatre was already packed by the time we got there. Since it was the only theatre within a thirty-mile radius of Friendship, the parking lot was usually crowded any night of the week. Jay circled the parking lot a few times before we were finally able to squeeze in one of the last rows facing the highway.
"I was hoping to get something farther away, but this will do," Jay said as I looped my arm through his and started toward the theatre.
"I know you just love taking brisk walks in this twenty degrees heat wave." I giggled and huddled closer to him.
"So Cal may have its beaches and beautiful weather, but there’s nothing like not being able to feel your face." Jay's teeth chattered.
"You’d think Texas would be a desert. I think that's what my parents thought. They didn't know about ice."
"When you'r
e in So Cal you won't have to worry about the ice," he said.
"Why couldn't my parents have settled there in the first place? Nope. They wanted cows, I guess." I tried changing the subject off of California, though the more I thought about it, the more my excitement was building. If my parents would let me date Jay, then maybe California wouldn't be too far off.
"It must be kind of cool, having parents from a different country. Have you been to Sicily?" Jay asked, hopping onto the sidewalk.
"Yeah. A few times. Most of my family still lives there. It's not as cool as you’d think. Palermo kind of has a funky smell, but the beaches are beautiful in Mondello."
Jay smiled. "So are you going to take me there swimming? Speak Italian so I don't look like the stupid tourist?"
I blinked. I'd never made plans like traveling with any guy. Now we were talking about a move to California and him visiting my family in Sicily.
"Let's focus on date one first."
He laughed. "Technically this is like date three, so I probably deserve a trip to Sicily."
I laughed, shaking my head. "We'll talk about that after date thirty-three."
Swarms of people gathered in the lobby, waiting in line to get their tickets. Mostly high school kids, huddled in small groups and laughing about who knows what and a few older people who would constantly scoff at the kids.
I hoped no one would notice who we were, with Jay's coat and ski cap covering most of him, but hoping could only do so much.
He usually didn't get noticed. Most people would stare because he was tall and very attractive, but it was like they couldn't quite figure out how they might know him. By the time they probably did figure out he was an elite swimmer, he'd already be gone.
One of the older women turned toward the guy with her and whispered loudly, "Is that, that swimmer guy here in our theatre? You know the one with the DUI?"
I winced. Was that the first thing everyone thought of when they looked at Jay?
"Margaret, what did I tell you about staring at people in line?" The guy groaned, not even looking at the woman as she pursed her giant red lips together and tossed back her heavily teased hair.
"But, Harold, I really think it's him," she whispered again, trying not to let us catch her giant mascara clumped eyes as she peered at us over the man's shoulder.
"Margaret, just stop it."
"Excuse me." She turned toward us, her voice carrying over everyone else's with a thick two-pack-a-day tone. Her long manicured fingernails tugged her giant purse as she pulled her giant leopard print coat around her. "But are you that swimmer that's been staying here in Texas? Because you know you look just like him."
Jay smiled, "Well if you're referring to Jay Morningstar, then yes, yes I would be him."
"OH MY GOD!" she screeched. Not only did her husband turn at the sound of her voice, but just about every other person in line turned toward us.
"Harold, I told you I was right!" She turned toward her husband, hitting him with her purse before looking back at us. "A real life celebrity in line behind me at the movies! Wait until the girls at Bunco hear about this!"
Jay just smiled, sliding his hands into his pockets while the woman rummaged through her purse. "I'm not really much of a celebrity, ma'am. Just a swimmer, coming here to see a movie."
The woman ignored him, still rummaging through her purse.
"Do you mind if I get a picture with you? The girls are just going to die!" She pulled out a giant smart phone and thrusted it at her husband before pushing me aside and sliding in next to Jay. I had to catch myself so I wouldn't fall over from the abundance of rose scented perfume she was wearing, but her smell was the least of my worries.
After her husband took the picture, slowly other people in line started approaching us with their phones out in front of them. I tried to push my way back to Jay, but I kept getting blocked by giggling teenage girls as they texted their friends and snapped picture after picture on their phones.
"Jay!" I yelled, but I was pushed against the back windows and couldn't even spot him in the crowd anymore.
"Jay!" I tried cupping my hands in the shape of a megaphone and yelling louder.
"Don't be so desperate, honey, he's just a boy." A bored looking lady with gray hair and a giant black coat scoffed at me.
I shook my head, trying to ignore her and stood on my tippy toes, trying to find him in the crowd. The lady shook her head, mumbling under her breath the word "desperate" before she moved forward in line.
After about fifteen minutes of trying to find Jay and just getting shoved back against the windows, I gave up and slumped down to the floor. This was the first time anything this crazy had happened with us. TNC and the local news were one thing. I didn't expect a bunch of teen girls to fawn over him like he was the second coming.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, thinking that it was probably Sofie with gossip I ignored it. Slowly I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my forehead on top of them. If I couldn't get through to Jay, maybe I could just take a nap until he found me.
Vrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrr.
My phone vibrated again.
Dammit Sofie, this better be good gossip.
I lifted my head up and pulled my phone out of my pocket before looking down at the screen.
One new message from Jay:
Where are you?
I looked up, but still couldn't see him past the swarms of people with their phones.
Sitting on the floor near the windows. Didn't want to be in the way.
I sent the message and slid my phone back into my pocket before standing up. I hoped he would get to me soon. It was almost another ten minutes before he finally pushed his way through the crowd and found me.
"I don't think we’re going to make the movie," he yelled and took my hand.
I shook my head. "At this point I just want to get the hell out of here."
He nodded before he pushed his way through the crowd until we were out in the parking lot. Suddenly the air didn't feel as brisk, but refreshing to finally be away from the hot bodies of the theatre and snarls of the girls that saw me with Jay. I was used to getting called names by Christy, but it was pretty tacky when girls I didn't even know were finding new ways to describe my looks.
She's too ugly for him
Ew. Mismatch.
Jay, baby, I can make you feel way better than she ever could.
"Sorry about that. I swear that never happens. A few months ago no one knew who I was." Jay said, shutting the driver's side door.
I shook my head, looking down at the seat. "I don't know how you put up with all of it."
"Yeah, neither do I."
We sat in silence for a few moments as he fiddled with his keys and then pulled out his vape, taking a long inhale. Most of the people who swarmed him didn't follow us out to the car and we were parked far enough out that no one would want to. The temperature had dropped since we first went inside and a thin layer of frost formed over the car, covering the windows in a white glaze.
"Okay. I'll be honest. I'm not used to all of it. I was a nobody. Just a dumb jock that only other swimmers knew about. When I won my first gold medal in the games, people started to take notice and I was like a deer in headlights. By the time I won my eighth, every single reporter wanted to talk to me. There were girls screaming my name. I couldn't go anywhere outside of the Olympic Village without someone trying to get my attention."
He sighed and licked his lips. "I let it go to my head. Swimmers aren't usually celebrities, but then I started getting invites to red carpet events and access to the best clubs. I got greedy. I partied. I didn't care about swimming. Then pictures appeared on the Internet. Ones of me drunk on the sidewalk outside of clubs in LA or standing with my ex-girlfriend when she passed me a bowl at a party. I turned it down, but I guess the picture spoke louder than words. When the last article came out calling me "The Dumbest Athlete Alive” that was when I knew I had to get away. When Coach offer
ed this trip to Texas to train, I couldn't turn it down. I knew I had to get back to swimming. To the real focus."
"So...does that make me a distraction?"
He blinked before shaking his head and looking at me. "The farthest thing from it. Lia, you're the first girl I've been with in a long time that has a life. A family. You don't care that I'm a swimmer, and neither do your parents. They treat me like I'm a normal guy and I love that. I love that it brings me back down to the level of human."
I laughed. "I never thought anyone would like being yelled at by my dad."
"I mean, I'm not saying that I like the fact he thinks I'm some kind of cockroach, but after all of the fake people in my life since the games, it's nice to have some realness. I feel like I was on the edge of being great and then I let it get to my head. After being in Texas and meeting you, I'm hoping to get that back."
He leaned over the seat, his fingers grazing my chin as he pulled my face to his. I smiled as his lips pressed against mine. They were cold and chapped from the outside air, but his warm tongue glided along mine and made me forget everything else.
I could get lost in him. His kisses tasted like chocolate and I wanted to savor him as long as possible.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrr.
My phone vibrated against my leg. I wished that I could have thrown it out the window. I ignored the vibration as Jay unzipped my jacket.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Stupid phone. I wanted to focus on the way Jay's hands felt as his fingers trailed underneath my sweater and even though his hands were freezing my body instantly heated up from those soft fingers sliding down my back.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Jay pulled back, moving his hands from my skin. "Are you going to answer that?"
"No…it's fine. Whoever it is, I'll just get back to them later." I barely opened my eyes and reached for Jay's hands, trying to pull him back toward me.
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Vrrrrrrrrrr.
