Dakota and Vida soon went off together, making clear they would be of no help. Not even a second later I was swarmed by a group of pretty ladies, all trying their best to get me to address them personally, to answer questions or take a picture. I went through the motions with them while unable to keep my eyes off of Allie for more than a second. When I happened to witness one particular slimy guy bring Allie a large drink and then put his hands all over her, I couldn't take it any more.
"Excuse me. Sorry, excuse me for one moment, I'll be right back," I told the girls. Who knows what they actually heard as the words fell out of my mouth and I rushed over to Allie's side.
"I think she's had enough, pal," I explained to the shady guy groping my soon-to-be stepsister. Allie looked up at me with indifference as her new friend squared his shoulders.
"Take a hike, pal," he said after looking me up and down and stepping toe-to-toe. At that moment I saw he had a squad with him, a group of sorry looking dudes who instantly perked up once they heard the tone in their buddy's voice. This was an interesting situation I had found myself in, nobody had told me 'no' or talked back to me in I don't know how long. It was time to find out if I still knew how to answer a challenge.
"Finn...just don't," Allie begged while trying to suggestively drape her body over the man who wanted to fight me. He didn't soften or stand down, his chest remained puffed out and his chin lifted high as I brought myself even closer. The two of us were as close as we could be without touching, our nostrils flaring as sharp breaths were brought in and out, waiting for a tipping point.
"Get lost, buddy. Seriously," I warned him one last time. To help get my point across, my hand, the one needed to strum my guitar, landed flat on his chest with a definitive shove. This guy just looked down as his shoulder only gave way slightly, his feet remaining firm in his spot and keeping him planted right in front of me. When his head rose again, his eyes met mine and we both had fires blazing inside, eager to pound the shit out of each other. His circle of boys started encroaching, coming even closer in a weak intimidation move. When I saw my foe's arm cock back, Allie dove on his arms to prevent him from punching. "C'mon, do it. Do it, you pussy," I taunted him, enraging him in the way I had hoped it would. We had reached a breaking point and I began to wonder if I even remembered how to fight.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa," a voice called out and everyone saw Claus pushing through the crowd to put an end to this. The petite man put himself in between us, using his wingspan to push us far apart from each other. I kept my eyes on the greasy dude and he kept eyes on me, neither of us willing to admit to backing away. The only thing possible that could've made me drop it soon appeared at my side.
"You're such an asshole," Allie said with heavy disdain as Dakota whisked her away. I watched them hurry off of the roof and through the door that would lead them downstairs, hopelessly dying for a chance to try and make it better with her. It was too late though, they were gone and I couldn't go and run after them.
"Fucking pussy," the stupid prick yelled from the safety of being yards away. Anger caused me to mock charge, to pretend that I was going right for him before stopping suddenly. The only positive of this encounter was that they guy reflexively flinched and looked like a weakling in front of the whole party. My status as alpha of the rooftop remained in place, my challenger defeated with a simple move. I was all that was man and would lay waste to any and all challengers.
Sadly though, a king is nothing without his queen.
*****
Chapter Twenty Five
Allie
On the rare occasions where I drink, I always end up having a rough time staying asleep. This occasion was no different. In between a few brief cat naps where I tossed and turned, the events of that night ran through my head in an endless loop.
Memories as brief images started to flash in my brain as I tried to piece together every event of only a few hours before. A quick image of Finn looking hot, a gaggle of random boys...a flash of Finn fighting some guy. That's when I started to make connections, remembering my aggressive flirting, the anger I had for Finn. When I started to visualize the many drinks I had thrown down, I could practically taste the alcohol stinging the inside of my mouth and almost started to dry heave. I felt equally sick remembering that Finn had been fighting that guy because of me. Remembering that I had started it made my stomach twist in a way much worse than any alcohol could've done.
Turning in the bed and attempting to let the covers bury me forever, I had another memory. Finn and I in his dressing room, doing what I swore we couldn't ever do again. A dull ache formed between my legs as I cursed myself for not having the willpower to stay away from him. Before leaving for his show, I swore I was strong enough to stay away, strong enough to not give in to the temptation that I couldn't figure out why I wanted. So stupid, Allie.
"Hey there, feeling ok?"
Dakota's voice pierced through my ears and made me burrow even deeper in the safety of the blankets. Ignoring her didn't seem to work as I could feel that she was still waiting in the doorway, waiting for a response.
"Um, cool. You know your mom is here? Says she texted you?" Dakota continued. "I didn't tell her you were hungover though. I'll go tell her you'll be right out."
My body was too weak to object and now I had no choice but to pull myself out of bed and face my mother who could never, ever know the real truth of why I felt so bad.
Needing some time to put myself together, I headed for a hot, steamy shower to help sweat out at least some of the bad stuff that was making me feel so ill. The piping hot water poured down on me as I bowed my head and relished the therapeutic heat washing over me. When I opened my eyes a little as water streamed down my face, I saw a small mark on my left breast. Little, purplish, like a bruise. Very vividly I began to recall Finn's lips pressed on that very spot, causing the discoloration with suction that drove me wild. All of the emotions from our little tryst flooded my memory and I remembered Finn taking control of my body and merging us together as one.
It took a herculean effort to insist to myself that this was wrong and I needed to stop even fantasizing about him. Just when I thought I was successful, it surprised me to find my arm wedged between my legs, my wrist located in the perfect spot for my mound to grind on. I had positioned myself so without even realizing it, oblivious to the needs my body was insisting on. In an attempt to do the right thing, I jumped out of the shower with a quickness, eager to move on with my day without any more taboo thoughts of him. My clothes were on just as quick as my mind tried to remain pure.
"There she is," my mother announced as I stood only feet away. My eyes squinted, trying to adjust to the harsh, bright lights. I joined her at the table in hopes she had made a nice, greasy breakfast but instead found her organizing many sheets of paper. Mother went on to explain that I had agreed to help her pick the music for the band to play at the wedding.
"And I know what you're thinking," she told me without any clue that no, she didn't have any idea what I was thinking. "Why not just have Finn and his band play, right? Well, we're going for a different kind of music, that's all. Something more wedding appropriate."
Before I could even nod in agreement, my heart practically stopped when I heard him enter the room.
"Aw, c'mon Marybeth, SharkFin is wedding appropriate!" Finn said through his typical cheeky grin. He had an apple in his hand that he was taking bites from and he couldn't have looked more pleased with himself. Every emotion known to man coursed through my veins as I stared him down. I hated him, hated his smug face, hated that he was forcing himself into my family, hated that he called my mom by her first name, hated how much he loved himself. Still though, I also felt a flutter in my stomach every time he spoke and hated him for that. His hold over me could only weaken with distance, if I could get these days behind us, I'd keep myself away from him forever.
My mother was just as flustered, having been caught stating she didn't want Finn's music anywhere near her weddi
ng.
"It's lovely Finn, really. It's just...it's not love music, you know? Wedding's are about love," she insisted. Kill me now, is this conversation really happening between them, right in front of me?
Finn wasn't going to let it go. "You must only know some of our songs, Marybeth. There's quite a few that may surprise you. But hey, maybe not. Sometimes I try to say what I mean but it comes out all wrong." Nobody seemed to notice that Finn was looking right at me as he spoke those words. He may have an easy time bullshitting me but I was anxious to see my mother tear him to shreds, as she would've if I had tried to same hackneyed routine on her. “Hear me out,” he continued, “see if you can tell what my heart is trying to say.”
To my absolute horror, my mother asked him to go get his guitar. He readily obliged and when he wasn't even that far away, my mother tried to share a secret squeal with me, as if I could possibly share in her enthusiasm.
“There's just something about a man with a guitar,” she winked and made me pray for a piano to come and fall on my head.
*****
Chapter Twenty Six
Finn
Though I did my best to enjoy being celebrated as a songwriter, nothing bothered me more than when people misunderstood me. My writing wasn't entirely transparent and elementary but it completely baffled me when I heard the different meanings people took away from my songs. Hearing my soon-to-be stepmother proclaim that my clearly love songs were anything but, I just needed to set the record straight.
To her credit, Marybeth sat through an entire performance of “Lock Box” without interrupting or looking bored. She had plenty to do and still took the time to hear out my effort to show her how sensitive I could be. Allie looked completely aggravated and annoyed too but she stuck around and listened to the song that was so clearly about her. Marybeth was the only one who politely clapped when I was done, the others in the house already over the novelty of the rock star in residence.
“Well, that was beautiful, Finn,” Marybeth praised me after the performance. “I'm starting to see what you meant. It's very different without all of the loud instruments so I can actually hear your voice.”
I hope that she was able to see that I wasn't angling for a chance to perform at the wedding, just making an attempt to clear my name as a brainless dolt. The look on her face let me know she had questions.
“So...what's it about?” she asked.
“It's about...love,” I told her and heard a loud scoff from someone elsewhere in the house. “It's about the pain you feel when you lose someone you love.”
Marybeth practically melted right there and that really got under Allie's skin. She stepped forward defensively as though I had been trying to pull one over on her mother.
“In school I was taught about unreliable narrators,” she said to me. “Like in this instance, did the person singing the song 'lose' someone or did he just walk away and find something new?”
Nobody else in the room knew what Allie was getting at but the tension between the two of us could be felt by all. Everyone backed away to let us have it out, not knowing how deep the resentment was on both sides.
“Well, the guy in the song,” I tried to explain, “was pulled away. He had no control over it. The girl he's in love with was pulled away too. They both have careers, he wasn't the only one who left.”
“But he's the only one who promised he'd come back...”she retorted. If there had been a mic nearby, Allie would've just dropped it. The room was silent as I was left scrambling for a comeback that wasn't coming to me. Finally Marybeth came between us to help diffuse the tension that she didn't understand.
“Well Allie, I know you're a very good writer and all but Finn did write this song. We'll have to trust what he's telling us,” Marybeth gave her best attempt at a diplomatic solution. Only Allie and I were still fuming. “And I thought you two would be too old for this sibling rivalry stuff...”
Marybeth turned her attention to some papers on the table as I started Allie down. She broke first and started to storm off, completely done with any attempt I made at proving I wasn't a bad guy. I wasn't ready for her to have the last word so I followed her down the hall.
“Hey!” I called out after her, not caring who could hear me. “Hey!” I yelled again, this time getting her attention. Allie whipped around, ready to fight. It was actually terrifying and caused me to jump back a step.
“WHAT?” she shot at me. Now I was concerned about privacy so I got close to her and whisper-yelled my frustrations at her.
“What the hell happened last night?” My hand found her arm in an attempt to get her to stay. She pulled herself out of that hold almost immediately. The look she gave me was one of pity, as if she felt bad for me.
“You're really something else, Finn,” she said while shaking her head. “You can just go and do whatever you want and you expect me to just wait around for you. You're something else...”
There was nothing I could say, she had made up her mind about how things were and no matter what I tried to do to change things, she just kept getting mad. My brain cycled through a million different things I wanted to tell her to try and get her to see things my way but before I could say any one of them, the breeze of her door slamming swept across my face.
*****
Chapter Twenty Seven
Allie
I slammed the door to free myself of Finn and my mom, hoping to turn to my article as an escape. Re-reading the words I had already written caused a spark to ignite inside of me; not only did I feel these descriptions were accurate, I felt they were too kind. My fingers were soon on fire, pecking away at the keyboard with added vigor, happy to expose the fraud.
I'm gonna tear down the walls around your heart...
His singing entered into my head without permission. No matter how hard I tried, all I could hear was him singing those lyrics that felt immensely personal.
Don't look back now baby...
There's no way he could feel something so strong. I refused to believe he had the sensitivity required to feel something apart from himself so deeply. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop hearing him sing, couldn't help but let his lyrics touch me. As I felt my lip quiver and a long, hot tear fall down my cheek, I grew angry again that he had been able to make me feel this way. And now he was getting in the way of my career. Begrudgingly I opened a new document and hated myself for saving it as "SharkFin draft 2".
Front-man Finn Aikens saves the band from the reliable tropes that trap and ensnare most other hard rock acts. Instead his lyrics present themselves as poetry, dancing in between the thunderous rhythm section and sharp guitars. New layers present themselves upon each listen of SharkFin's music, all built upon a foundation of honesty and authenticity almost always discarded by their peers. SharkFin present a challenge for their listeners, a challenge with a reward greater and above the typical head nodding and fist pumping that are often used as a barometer of success. If this band is laying out a new blueprint for all of those that come after, we are in very good hands.
A large part of me hated myself for heaping such praise but if I was going to preach about honesty, I had to follow the rules as well.
When I felt someone watching me, I composed myself and prayed it wasn't Finn.
"You working?" my mother asked as she lingered in the door.
"I'm kind of stuck where I'm at." As soon as the words left my mouth I realized what a mistake that was; I had freed myself up for whatever errands she was going to ask me to run. She quickly proved that my assumption was correct.
"Great," she beamed, "I'm going over to the hotel with Finn. Think you can make a quick run for me?"
Mother needed her dress picked up from the tailor and brought to the house so she could try it on one last time before sending it to be cleaned and pressed. Though both parties had been married before, Mom still insisted on a white, flowing dress and it would have to be absolutely perfect.
Mother had a need for me and when I looked
back to this wedding, I knew I needed to be able to say I was the pillar of support that I was supposed to be. She had found love, love without the damning strings attached to the one I had thought I had. It was my duty to be there for her and celebrate her accomplishment at believing a man when he said he loved her. Her joy in being able to say 'I love you' back without fear of being considered foolish. Her support got me through some very lean years, the least I could do was be present during the fattest of hers.
Dakota came bouncing into the room once mother was gone, the endless, incessant chatter soon filling my sanctuary. Once she made a mention of Vida, my scrunched up nose told her all she needed to know.
"Why do you hate her?" Dakota felt the need to grill me. It was then that I had to recall the lessons learned from that one acting class I took in college. Just convince yourself that you're telling the truth.
Bush League: New Adult Sports Romance Page 24
