Player of Life (Perception Book 4)

by Shandi Boyes

  Nick had also called me several times Monday morning. When I first heard his voicemail, I could hear the excitement in his voice when he informed me that he wasn’t the baby’s dad. But it didn’t help to lessen my hurt and anger. I googled how to block certain numbers from calling my phone and the very first number I blocked was Nick’s.

  Monday was a public holiday, so the university was pretty much isolated. The day was cloudy and for the most part it drizzled with rain. It was the perfect weather to match my sullen mood. I spent most of my morning snuggled on the couch reading a book. It was only once I realised that I was reading the same chapter over and over again did I finally decide to give up on reading and flicked on the TV.

  When my cell phone started ringing, I had expected it to be another call from Emily checking in to see how my cramps where going. When I peered down at the screen, I noticed that the call was from an unknown number. Since the area code was local, I decided to answer it.

  “Hello” I greet apprehensively.

  “It’s been years and your voice still makes my heart race” replies a male voice I don’t instantly recognize.

  It is only once he chuckles at my silence and asks me if I am “ready to beg yet” do I realise who is calling me. I haven’t seen or heard from Christian in over three years and I’m surprised he even has my number. He explained that he is currently in New York filming a pilot for a movie and that he had begged my mom last month for my number when he was in town visiting his family.

  “Do you want to catch up?” he questions seductively. He doesn’t even attempt to hide the sexual undertone in his voice.

  I can’t help but to start laughing. I think if Christian could see me right now, he wouldn’t be asking that question. Half of my lounge room in my small apartment is covered in snotty tissues. I’m wearing a pair of yoga pants that have a hole in them from the time I accidently snagged my leg on a steel fence when I went for a jog. My white shirt still has last night’s dinner spilled down the front and I haven’t brushed neither my hair or my teeth today.

  “Thank you for making me smile, but I will have to give it a miss” I reply.

  “Come on Jenni, have a cup a coffee with an old friend while he is in town” Christian instantly pleads.

  “I’m really not in the mood to go out” I reply as I hop off the couch and start gathering the mountain of tissues sitting on the coffee table.

  “Then I guess it is lucky I came to you” say Christian just as three loud taps hit my apartments front door.

  I stand still, frozen in shock, while staring at my front door. There is no way Christian would have been able to get past the security in the lobby. My dad rented this apartment because of its impeccable security services.

  “Answer your door Jenni or I’ll have the security guy come and open it for me” Christian says down the phone and I can also hear his voice coming through my front door.

  My nervous gaze darts around my apartment, before flicking down at my outfit. I consider running into my room and quickly getting changed, but then I realise I am more than happy for my current state to repel Christian as far away from me as possible. He and Nick can both go and row up the same river without a paddle as far as I am concerned.

  I swing open my door quickly before I have a chance to change my mind. Christian smiles brightly while staring into my eyes, his eyes then lower down to look at the rest of me. I roam my eyes over his body and nearly want to stomp my foot in anger. Of course Christian has to be wearing an impeccably tailored suit. His long blonde hair has been cut into a more mature style and he has a slight bit of stubble along his jaw making him appear more mature than his twenty-two years. His body seems to have changed a lot the past three years as well, and the normal skinny boy that I was used to seeing has been replaced with a man.

  “Still as dazzling as ever” he advises while smiling, before leaning in and placing a kiss on my cheek, triggering me to remember that I have failed to brush my teeth.

  “I will be back in a minute” I state panicked before shutting my front door harshly and darting into my bathroom.

  In a record amount of time, I brush my teeth and hair and quickly change my clothes. It wasn’t that I wanted to impress Christian, I just didn’t want to look like a slob. By the time I had made it back into the lounge room, Christian had cleared away all of my used tissues and even stacked my magazines and books into a neat pile on the coffee table.

  “A book I was reading was so sad, one of the characters died. I have always been a bit of sookie la la” I inform, once I notice that Christian is watching me with concern.

  “You’ve always been a big softie” he states while he removes his black suit jacket.

  When my eyes narrow in on the impressive six pack and bicep muscles that are easily visible under his white business shirt, I silently beg for him to place his jacket back on. When he notices my eyes roaming over his body, he chuckles softly before he walks over towards me.

  “You’ve always been a blusher as well” he chuckles, while using the back of his hand to rub my heated cheeks.

  “Yeah I have been, just like you have always been a player” I reply before pulling away from his embrace and walking towards the kitchen.

  He wanted to have coffee, so we are going to have coffee. And only coffee. Christian chuckles loudly as he follows me into the kitchen. I turn on the kettle and collect the mugs from the kitchen cabinet while he takes a seat at one of the two chairs I have around my small shabby chic dining table.

  “How did you get past my security?” I question while adding coffee and sugar to our mugs.

  When he doesn’t answer me, I turn to face him. He smiles at me and then slightly shrugs his shoulders. I really wish he would stop friggin smiling. Christian’s smile is one of the reasons he easily became the school’s biggest player. He didn’t even have to compete with the school quarterback or basketball captain. He just smiled and the girls would come running.

  Christian and I end up spending the next hour talking. He told me everything he has been doing the past several years. He was actually studying at another university in New York before he caught the acting bug and the past year he has been filming a movie that is due to be released in a couple of weeks. He seems to have matured a lot over the years, but I can still see the player sparkle in his eyes.

  “What are you doing all the way in New York?” Christian questions, as he leans his back against my sofa and casually drapes his arm, slightly touching my shoulder. I reposition myself in my seat so his arm is no longer touching me before replying.

  “I am studying fashion design” I advise while smiling. I have always loved fashion. I don’t think you need to find one style and stick to it. Why can’t you love jeans, dresses and skirts all the same. I love dressing to match how I feel for the day. That is why today my outfit is lacking any personality.

  “Like costumes?” Christian questions while moving his hand to gently tug on a piece of my hair that had fallen from my messy bun.

  “No, like clothes you find in stores” I reply before jumping up off the sofa and walking into the kitchen to place our empty mugs into the sink.

  I take in several large deep breaths while I am in the kitchen. I swear I must have a scent that attracts players. Just a certain touch or look and I am like putty in their hands. When I walk back into the lounge, I notice Christian is standing next to my small fire place and is looking at the collection of photos I have there.

  “Emily hasn’t changed” he states when he notices I have entered the room.

  “Who’s the guy?” he questions. I move over towards him and notice that he has one of the photos I had taken of Emily and Noah at Bronte’s peak. They look so incredibly happy as they stare into each other’s eyes.

  “That’s her boyfriend Noah” I respond as I remove the frame from his grasp and place it back onto the mantel.

  That is when my gaze flicks to the picture I had taken of Nick. He was also unaware that I had snapped
his photo that day. He is staring out into the ocean and he has his eyebrows slightly pulled together with a small smirk on his face. I love that photo as it captured Nick’s true personality. He is a little stand offish with his friends and is often seated by himself whenever he attends any gatherings. I use to think that perhaps he enjoyed his own company, but I guess that isn’t really true. He just doesn’t enjoy the company of male companions.

  “Who’s the blonde?” Christian questions when he notices me staring at Nick’s photo.

  “He’s just a friend” I reply sullenly, before turning to face Christian.

  “What do you want Christian?” I ask a little more sternly than I had originally planned. His hazel eyes flick between mine and I can see the sexual hunger that is behind them, but there is something else also reflecting back that I can’t fully comprehend.

  “When I found out you were in New York, I had to come and see my favorite girl” he replies as he gently grips my hand within his. His eyes slowly roaming over my body before eventually returning to my face.

  “Well you have seen me now and I think it is time for you to leave” I respond coldly while removing my hand from his and walking towards my front door. My quota for dealing with players this week has reached its absolute limit.

  Christian grabs his jacket off the sofa chair and hesitantly follows me to the front door.

  “I’ll see you around” he advises. I quickly shake my head. I am done with players in my life.

  He smiles at me brightly before he leans in and places a quick peck against my cheek.

  “I will see you around, as I live in this building” he whispers into my ear, forcing my eyes to quickly dart to his. When I notice the mischievous sparkle in them, I know he is telling me the truth. He winks at me before sauntering out of my apartment, while I stand still looking like a fish out of a water.

  When I close my door, I notice Christian standing near the elevator waiting for it to come up to my floor. His eyes once again roam the length of my body before he cockily states.

  “I am in the penthouse if you change your mind”

  Chapter 20

  Nick

  Eight fucking weeks. That is how long it has been since I have heard from Jenni. I tried her number every god dam day in those first four weeks and I kept getting the same message about her phone no longer being in service. I ended up getting that desperate that I went to Jacob’s house to ask him for her new number. He informed me that her number hadn’t changed. When he noticed the look of surprise on my face, he started laughing loudly. That is when I realised that she must have blocked my number.

  I am going to admit my ego did take a pretty big hit when I found out Jenni had blocked my number, but I still ended up at a payphone straight after leaving Jacob’s house to call her. When she first greeted my call, I thought she had finally gotten over her anger. She sounded happy and pleased to hear from me. It was only once she realised who she was talking to did her tone go from pleasant to pissed off in under five seconds. She ended up telling me to quit calling her and hung up on me. I tried to call her back another three times immediately following that, but she never answered any of my calls.

  I was so fucking pissed at her that I decided to go to the ‘Dungeon’ and picked up the first pretty blonde girl with light blue eyes I could find. It was only when I was sneaking out of her bedroom later that night did I realise that it didn’t make me feel any better. Actually, I felt like shit. I had never been so eager to get into a shower just to scrub a girl’s perfume off my skin before.

  My desperation went to a new level two weeks ago when we were recording in the studio. When Noah went into the sound proof booth to lay down some lyrics, I noticed his cell phone sitting on the bench across from me. I pretended that I was getting some more music sheets, but really I just grabbed his cell phone to borrow. It didn’t take a genius to realise that his lock code was Emily’s birthday. I quickly logged into his Facebook app and typed Jenni’s name in the top of the screen. Her profile pictured hadn’t changed since the day she blocked me and I sighed in relief when I realised her relationship status hadn’t been updated either. It was still showing that she was single.

  I darted my eyes around the studio to make sure no one was paying any attention to me as I continued scrolling down Jenni’s Facebook wall. She had been tagged in a few photos that looked like she was out clubbing and dancing most weekends. There are also a few comments that continue to pop up from the same guy.

  “Christian Doherty” I mumbled to myself.

  When Slater came barrelling into the room, he startled me that much that I dropped Noah’s phone onto the ground. Slater’s eyes flicked down to the phone screen before darting back towards me with his eyebrow cocked. I quickly grabbed the phone off the floor and started walking towards the recording booth, ensuring that I signed out of Noah’s Facebook account sneakily on the way there.

  “Emily just called you” I lied, interrupting Noah. He pulled off his headphones and took his phone to return Emily’s call. His confused gaze flicked to me as he left her a voicemail saying he was sorry that he had missed her call.

  “Emily was calling, hey?” Slater questioned sternly as he stood in the doorway of the studio with his arms crossed.

  “Yep” I replied while sitting back down on my seat and picking up my guitar.

  “At two in the afternoon?” Slater questioned with one of his eyebrows cocked, clearly calling bullshit. My eyes darted up to look at his and I shrugged my shoulders at his question.

  “Maybe one of her classes got cancelled” I mumbled, before I started strumming on my guitar, trying to avoid any more interrogation from Slater.

  “Yeah, maybe” he replied back, loud enough to ensure I could hear him.

  Luckily for me, Emily didn’t mention anything to Noah about not calling him earlier. I couldn’t help the sly smirk that morphed onto my face when I realised my sneakiness had gone undetected.

  ****

  The sound engineers and Mickey had all left for the day and it was just us band members left in the studio. We had been putting in some long hours the past few weeks trying to get enough songs to fill an entire album. I tried to convince them to put ‘Player’ back into the line-up but they keep refusing. They are trying to make out that no girls like a Player, but I can attest that that notion is full of shit. All girls like a Player, except perhaps Jenni.

  “Look at this” Marcus instructs excitedly as he walks directly towards Slater.

  “I thought we were the ones that were supposed to becoming famous” Slater chuckles loudly, while slapping Marcus’s back.

  He then hands the magazine he was looking at over to Noah. I watch as Noah’s eyes roam over the open magazine pages before he smiles brightly. When he notices my curious gaze, he reluctantly passes the magazine down to me. When my eyes first roam over the two-page spread, I didn’t initially notice what they were all going on about. It was only as I was about to flick my eyes back up to question Noah do I notice a small photo of Jenni in the top left hand corner of the page.

  Holy hell, she looks fucking hot. She is wearing a sparkling mini dress that looks like it is made out of nothing but shiny beads. Her hand is pinned to the side, exposing her delicate neck and her lips are bright red in color, making her blue eyes appear even lighter than normal. My stiffening dick instantly starts to soften when I realise she has her arm wrapped around a blonde guy wearing a black suit. I quickly flick my gaze up and notice that Slater is watching me with an arrogant smirk on his face, while Marcus and Noah are looking over some music sheets. I dart my eyes back down to read the small caption that was included next to the photo.

  ‘Christian Doherty attending the premier of his new movie ‘Chasing Kate’ in New York with his date’

  My eyes dart over the rest of the pages seeking anymore photos of Jenni. I do notice Christian in a few more photos that were part of the story about the opening night of his new movie. But Jenni doesn’t appear in any othe
r photos bar the small one I had originally seen her in.

  “Who is this Christian guy?” I question loudly to anyone that happened to be listening.

  Marcus and Noah both look over at me before they shrug their shoulders. Slater looks at me and smiles before he spins on his heels and walks out of the room. I quickly jump up off the floor and follow after him.

  “Do you know who that guy is?” I ask while following Slater outside so he can have a smoke.

  “What’s it to you?” Slater questions as he flicks a matchhead and lights his cigarette.