Fighting For Love - A Standalone Novel (A Bad Boy Sports Romance Love Story) (Burbank Brothers, Book #5)

by Naomi Niles

  “Shall we talk about that quarterback?” Barbie said.

  Again, Helena rolled her eyes. She opened her books and, I guess, let the conversation flow around her.

  “He was watching you do that split, Taylor. I think he’s into you.”

  I shrugged, pretending it was no big deal, but he was Hot. With a capital H. “Maybe.”

  “I bet he asks you to the dance,” Barbie said.

  “We’ll see. Then I have to decide if I want to go with him.”

  Chapter Three

  Dylan

  I opened my eyes and couldn’t believe that I had slept the whole night. That was the first time in years. I wasn’t cold or hungry. I felt safe. The idea bothered me a little. My stay here might not be long, so I shouldn’t get used to it.

  I doubted that Taylor would put up with me for too long. I listened at the top of the steps as her and her friends talked last night. Wow. Girls are whacked.

  No, I hadn’t had sex with a lot of girls and some of the girls who claimed to have had sex with me, I didn’t even know. Glad that in rumors I was getting so much tail.

  I showered in my own bathroom. It was different after always sharing one. When I walked down to the kitchen for breakfast, Taylor was looking at her phone. Her mother was making some bacon. I couldn’t remember the last time I had bacon, let alone the last time I’d had more than stale cereal to eat. A lot of times that was dinner, too.

  “Good morning, Dylan,” Mrs. Dean said.

  “Good morning.”

  “There’s orange juice in the fridge. Please use a glass.”

  I’m poor, not ignorant, I thought, but I pressed my lips together. I had the impression that my stay here was against her judgment. I glanced at Taylor, but she didn’t look up. I wasn’t the quarterback. I wasn’t even an athlete, though I thought I could be. I wasn’t in her realm at all.

  Oh, well. She could be nice and at least grunt at me.

  “Good morning, Taylor,” I said, not knowing why. I couldn’t resist.

  She paused in tapping on her phone and looked at me. She rolled her eyes when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. “Morning.”

  She went back to her phone.

  “Mr. Dean left a phone for you. We had an older iPhone lying around,” Mrs. Dean said.

  What else did this family just have lying around? She handed me the phone. “Thank you.”

  She also handed him a piece of paper. “Here’s the phone number for the phone and all of our phones.”

  “Even mine?” Taylor interrupted.

  “Yes, even yours. In case of emergency.”

  “Not sure how I can help since you’ve taken my car away,” Taylor said.

  So Taylor wasn’t such a goody two shoes? That surprised me.

  “You’ll get it back in a week, young lady,” Mrs. Dean said.

  Taylor frowned.

  “I hope bacon and eggs are okay. I’m not that much of a cook,” Mrs. Dean continued.

  “They’re great, ma’am.”

  She put a plate in front of me and I dug in. I could see Taylor watching me for a moment. She looked away when I made eye contact. So, she was curious about me. She had a bowl of cereal in front of her that she was snacking on.

  “Use a spoon, Taylor and put down your phone and talk to the boy.”

  “It’s fine, Mrs. Dean. If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I’m okay. I’m usually by myself for breakfast most days.”

  I could see the pity in her eyes, so I looked away. I was trying to better myself, but it was hard. I knew that my time here might be short.

  “I called the hospital this morning. They are keeping your mother another day,” Mrs. Dean said. “Mr. Dean will take you to the hospital this evening to visit if you want.”

  “I’d like that.”

  I wasn’t sure I did, but there was no reason to piss her off if I was just going back there in a few days. Better to keep the peace.

  “It’s almost time for school.”

  I looked around. “There’s no bus?”

  “I don’t take the bus,” Taylor said. “I usually drive, but my car is on impound.”

  “I should make you take the bus,” Mrs. Dean said.

  “I have to be in early,” Taylor said.

  “Then hurry.”

  I shoveled the rest of the food in, grateful that I wouldn’t be hungry the whole day. I was waiting for them by the car when Taylor finally sauntered out. She was clearly in no hurry. She was adorable with her long, blonde hair and large blue eyes, but she knew it. She didn’t look at me as she climbed into the front seat.

  I took the back of the Mercedes SUV. I didn’t care. My stomach was full and I thought might actually learn something today.

  We the whole trip to school was in silence. I didn’t care. I had things to think about, like how to keep my nose clean. Trouble always seemed to find me and I ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  Taylor stopped me when we climbed out of the car. “Don’t get any ideas about talking to me. We aren’t suddenly best friends because my father considers you a stray.”

  “Fine.”

  I didn’t really want to talk to her, anyway. She thought the quarterback was worth dating when I knew he was a d-bag first class.

  She walked away as if I’d been put in my place. I wandered into homeroom. I didn’t have any friends. Not like I could invite them over to my house. At least my clothes were clean today. That didn’t always happen.

  First period was math with Taylor. She didn’t look my way, but I started watching her more. She flirted with some guys and passed notes the whole time. Maybe if she paid attention, she might understand the subject better.

  I had a pop quiz in history. That day I realized how often I passed Taylor in the hallway. I had noticed her as much as any guy noticed her, but now there was a connection. She would glance my way, but I didn’t acknowledge her. She had girls and guys hanging off of her everywhere she went.

  Wow. That crowd was tough. One wrong word or outfit and you could be an outcast. Real life had to be better than high school.

  This place sucked – only, a little less so if I wasn’t living with my mother.

  ***

  Last night, Mr. Dean sat me down and said that I needed to find an activity to occupy my time for the rest of the school year. I used to play baseball before things went to shit at my house. Since that sport was holding tryouts after school, I went for it.

  That didn’t have to be my activity, but if I made it, why not. There were other things I could try, but being physical appealed to me. I had a lot of stress and anger and I might as well take it out on a ball and bat.

  I showed up in shorts and shirt. Others had uniforms, but I was new to this. Of course, everyone looked at me and my tattoos. My mother thought tats were cool, so she let me get them. Guess I should have covered those up, but frankly, I was proud of them. I’d get more, but I haven’t had the money.

  No one talked to me until one other guy showed up. He was taller than I am, which was hard to do. He held out his hand.

  “I’m Cole Hassett. I’m the Captain of the team.”

  “I’m Dylan Cabot.”

  “This your first year trying out?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, good luck.”

  Cole walked away. Suddenly, I wasn’t invisible. Several other members of the team approached me and shook my hand. For once, I felt as if I could be part of something. Usually, I stood on the sidelines, never getting involved because I never knew if something would come up and I would have to bail.

  I still didn’t know, but Mr. Dean had never talked to me about when I was moving out. He planned on taking me clothes shopping this weekend. As if I were staying.

  The only thing permanent in my life had been change. My mother and I had moved around a lot until last year when we settled in the trailer. I think her brother owned it and didn’t make her pay too much rent.

  I’d had a few jobs since I w
as sixteen, but nothing stuck because I always seemed to be bailing out my mother. She was always in a crisis.

  A man with a whistle around his neck who I recognized as a science teacher walked out of the school. “Gather around. Here’s the drill today. We’ll do some fielding, then we’ll bat, and then I’ll make my decision.”

  That didn’t seem like a lot.

  I had a glove that Mr. Dean had found. He said if I made the team, he’d buy me a new one. Nothing came for free, so I was still waiting for what the catch was. Would he get bored of me as his project and kick me out?

  I would have to prepare for that day. It could easily happen.

  The coach, Mr. Rivera, had a clipboard in his hand. “Okay. I need Hassett at right field. Alphonse at center and Cabot in left. I’ll be hitting out to you to see what you can do.”

  Cole smacked me on the back. “Good luck.”

  I nodded and ran out to left field. I caught everything that came my way, amazed that I could remember how to do it. Then the coach hit to centerfield, and I glanced around.

  The cheerleaders were practicing next to us. I noticed that Taylor was looking at me. Or at least, looking my way. Maybe she was checking out Cole. I didn’t want to presume.

  Some of the other girls were also looking my way. No. They couldn’t be looking at me.

  Maybe they were wondering about my tattoos. Everyone asked. It wasn’t like most people didn’t have them. I was old enough to get them on my own, but these I had from when I was younger.

  I looked away, then back at Taylor. She looked away as if I’d discovered a secret of hers. They began another cheer. Did they cheer for baseball?

  “Look alive, Cabot.”

  I looked up in time to catch a fly ball, then throw it back to the coach. When I looked Taylor was smiling.

  Maybe she was looking at me, after all.

  The coach called us in for batting practice. It took me a few tries to find the bat I wanted. When I was up, I put a helmet on and stepped into the batter’s box. The first pitch whizzed by me. It made a loud smack in the catcher’s mitt.

  The catcher laughed. “You’ll get used to those.”

  He threw the ball back, and I was able to hit the next three pitches over the pitcher’s head and into center field. Couldn’t complain. I didn’t know if it was good enough, but I did my best.

  Cole patted the seat next to him when I finished batting practice. “What made you try out for baseball?”

  Was he telling me I sucked that badly? “I have to find an activity. This was the only sport trying out today.”

  Cole laughed. “That’s fine. Hey, some of us are going to get burgers afterwards. You want to join us?”

  I had money. Mrs. Dean had made sure I had some cash before leaving for school this morning. I could actually do that. “Uh, sure. Will we know if we made the team by then?”

  “You’ll get an email tonight.”

  I didn’t have anything other than the school email and it wasn’t set up on my phone. I could probably do that while we waited. Several more players batted before the tryout was over.

  Cole didn’t leave my side. “We’re going to Joe’s Burgers. You need a ride?”

  “I do. I don’t have a car.”

  Should I tell someone that I was going out? My mother often didn’t care, but I had a feeling that Mrs. Dean would. “Let me talk to someone, and I’ll be right back.”

  I walked over to where Taylor was giving instructions to her squad. I stood off to the side, waiting for her to finish. She turned to me finally. “What?”

  “I’m going out for burgers with some guys. Should I tell you mother?”

  “Send her a text. She’ll want to know.”

  She turned back to her friends. I’d been dismissed.

  Chapter Four

  Taylor

  “Did you see that Dylan kid? Trying out for baseball?”

  I ignored what the other girls said. I couldn’t decide how I felt. It really took guts to try out for a sport your last year in high school. I’d been cheerleading since I was seven, so I couldn’t imagine trying something else at this point.

  I was Captain – the height of my career. I might even cheer in college if I could figure out where I wanted to go.

  “Hey, Taylor,” Cole said to me.

  I refocused onto him. He’d been talking to Dylan most of the afternoon. I was probably paying more attention to the baseball tryouts than Cole was. “Hi, Cole.”

  He was a good guy, but not dateable. He was firmly in my friend zone, and I was a little hurt that he was okay with it.

  “I hear Dylan lives with you.”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s temporary. How did he do?”

  “I think okay, but my opinion doesn’t matter. Coach has to choose.”

  Barbie stalked over. She had a crush on Cole. She had a crush on most boys. “Hi, Cole.”

  At least today she didn’t hang on him. “Hi, Barbie.” He turned back to me. “I have to go; the guys are waiting. See you around.”

  “Bye, Cole,” Barbie called.

  Even I could hear the pout in her voice. She was disgusting. She had no taste. “We need to practice that cheer one more time.”

  “Oh, Taylor. Haven’t we practiced enough?”

  That whine cut through me. Barbie always wanted to stop early. “Well, we could do the cheer or we could do laps.”

  “I hate running,” she said.

  “Then do the cheer again. I need to see how we look for the competition,” I said.

  Barbie stalked back to the group and told them. They all groaned. I glanced back as Dylan was walking with Cole toward his car. Guess they were bonding. I wasn’t sure how I liked that.

  Cole was in my group of friends. This might give Dylan entry into my world. I didn’t know how I felt about that. He might not be a resident of my house for long. Should I give him a chance?

  He did try out for baseball. Even if he didn’t make it, I thought he and Cole would be probably friends.

  Cole got along with everyone. I don’t know how that happened. How did a person not settle on a group? Everyone had to be part of some group, except for those few kids on the fringe of everything.

  They’d be the ones I’d read about years from now having shot people in a fast food joint.

  I turned back to my squad. They were looking at me to start them cheering.

  “A little distracted, Taylor?” Bailey said.

  “No.”

  “I think you’re hot for Dylan.”

  “What?”

  I knew that I wasn’t hot for Dylan. I just was curious about him. I wasn’t going to explain that to them.

  “Dylan and Taylor sitting in a tree,” Bailey sang.

  “What are you? Four? Let’s go girls. We need to get this cheer down if we expect to win the competition.”

  I watched them go through it. My part didn’t interact, so I could watch for a few times. “Bailey, your cartwheel was crooked. Sally, you were one beat behind.”

  Was this the first time these girls were doing this?

  “We’re tired, Taylor,” Bailey said. “Can’t we quit for today.”

  I looked around. “Is that what everyone wants?”

  “It’s almost six. We’ve been doing this since three,” Barbie whined.

  They did have a point. “Okay. We can call it a day, but I expect everyone to work twice as hard on Saturday.”

  “The SATs are on Saturday.”

  “Not all day,” I said.

  These ladies were not the fierce competitors I wanted them to be. I glanced back at the parking lot as Cole drove out. Dylan was in the front seat of the car. Guess they were friends.

  “I think you’re jealous that Dylan has made a friend,” Bailey said in my ear.

  I spun around. “I don’t care what Dylan does.”

  “I think you do. Come clean, Taylor. You like him.”

  “I don’t even know him,” I told her.

  I didn’t.
We really hadn’t talked. Bailey left as I cleaned up our pom poms. I called my dad. He arrived fifteen minutes later to pick me up.

  “So, Dylan went out with friends?” he said when I climbed in the car.

  “Cole, a guy on the baseball team.”

  “So, you were keeping track of him today?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, Daddy. He just came up to ask me if he should let you guys know.”

  “I’m glad he’s making friends. Didn’t he have friends before?”

  “I don’t know. I never noticed him until you brought him home. Why did you bring him home?”

  “Because we have so much and he has so little.”

  “Where did you find him?”

  “That doesn’t matter, pumpkin. I just wish you would try to be nice to him. He’s had a rough life.”

  “I was impressed that he tried out for baseball,” I said.

  I didn’t want my father to know that I’d actually ignored the boy all day. I really didn’t know what to say to Dylan.

  “That’s good. I did ask him to find an activity. I think doing those activities keeps you out of trouble. You have to budget your time better when you have things going on.”

  “Is he taking the SATs on Saturday?”

  “I don’t know, honey. I’ll have to ask him. He should. That would leave his options open.”

  I nodded. He’d been preaching my whole life about keeping options open. I wanted to believe that if I chose something other than college, my dad would be okay with it, but I wasn’t sure. My mother wanted me to go to college to meet a man. How old-fashioned.

  ***

  My homework awaited me after dinner. Dylan came home from burgers with his friends and disappeared into his room. He was at the other end of the second floor. My parents’ room was on the third floor.

  I liked having that much privacy.

  My father poked his head into my room. “You need anything from me, cupcake? I’m going to bed. I have to be out even earlier than usual tomorrow.”

  “No, Daddy. I’m fine. I might get some ice cream later.”

  “Don’t stay up too late.”

  He kissed my cheek then left me. As I turned back to my computer, I heard a knocking on my door. I turned to find Dylan in my doorway.