by Hadley Quinn
“I have the picture hanging up in the house. My teeth are way too big for my face, but I was obviously too happy to care,” she lightly laughed. When Tyse didn’t respond right away, she asked, “What’s the matter?”
He glanced at her and smiled. “I was listening. I was just imagining what you looked like when you were seven.”
She barely shrugged. “Not too different from now.”
He couldn’t resist. “You had a full rack back then?”
She looked at him and laughed out loud. “Well no, not a pair of those. Unless you count the water balloons I always put in my bathing suit.”
“Oh yeah?” he chuckled. “Big ones?”
“Yep, as big as I could fit. Very much your typical disproportionate Barbie doll.”
He laughed again, just picturing it.
Sarah’s phone alerted her with a notification again and she glanced at it. Throughout the night, Ali had been texting Sarah occasionally. Tyse never asked what it was about, but Sarah would usually give him a brief comment that Ali was wondering how things were going or what Sarah thought of the game.
This time, however, she sighed heavily. Tyse dreaded the inevitable, especially since Ali was very social and into the gossip scene.
“Is everything okay?” he asked cautiously.
She paused, and it made him worry even more. Finally she quietly said, “I just don’t know if I’m ready to handle this again.”
“Handle what?”
Another pause. “People in my business again.”
She held up the phone to show him, but all he could see while he was trying to drive were dark blurs that he assumed were pictures.
“I can’t tell what those are, Sarah. What is it?”
She didn’t answer for several seconds, so Tyse decided to take the next exit and pulled over. He took her phone from her and scrolled through the last few texts from Ali. They were various pictures of him and Sarah at the game, all taken from different points at the stadium. Some were far away, others closer, but Tyse was able to spot the two of them in the middle somewhere in each of them. He also caught a text that read: Oh my God I didn’t know your dad was Dan Douglas!!!!!!!!!!! Olivia is your sister????????
“People get word, and it’s all over social media as celebrity gossip,” Sarah said, shaking her head.
“So let ‘em talk,” Tyse replied. It probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear, and it was probably insensitive, but it was his first reaction. He didn’t really care what people wasted their time on. “Sarah,” he sighed, setting down the phone.
He took her hand and waited for a few seconds, just to read her mood. She didn’t pull away or say anything angry. She just sat there in silence, staring ahead through the windshield.
“Are you upset?” he asked.
She exhaled and finally looked at him again. “Not with you.”
He barely nodded. “Okay. You’re upset in general, then?”
“Can we please keep driving? I just need a little time to think, that’s all.”
He didn’t bother arguing with her. If she didn’t want to talk to him, he wasn’t going to make her. He put the car in gear and got back on the freeway.
The last thirty minutes of the ride were silent.
When he pulled into her driveway, Tyse got out to open her door like he had all day, but she was already in the process of doing it herself. He waited at the front of the car after she shut the door, and even though he didn’t expect her to be affectionate and all up on him, he didn’t expect that she’d be so cool and distant.
As he walked her to the front door, he couldn’t bear the silence anymore.
“I’m sorry the night didn’t end well,” he said.
“It’s not your fault,” she answered, sticking the key in the lock.
“Then why are you giving me the cold shoulder?” he couldn’t help but ask. “If I didn’t do anything wrong, why be so stand-offish to me?”
She exhaled and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“Well you’re making a conscious choice to snub me. I kind of take that as you blaming me for what happened in some way.”
“Fine, then I kind of do,” she shrugged as she faced him. “No I’m not mad at you, but I am upset that being with you has brought me back into the gossip circle again.”
He didn’t know how to respond. Since arriving in Los Angeles, he’d received his share of limelight from tabloids and media gossip, but he never bothered to think anything of it. Even though he knew it was a risk, it wasn’t why he came this way. Jay, Teague, and Kellie had been a huge help in teaching him how to avoid the negative weight of it all, and he’d taken their advice without question. Maybe he’d assumed that Sarah knew how to shake it off as well, but since their situations were different and now coming together…maybe his assumptions were completely wrong.
“Goodnight, Tyse,” she said quietly. She kissed him on the cheek and added, “It really was an amazing day. Thank you so much for everything.”
She turned to unlock the door but he took her hand to stop her.
“Sarah, wait.”
She turned around to face him again, and it seemed almost reluctantly. That alone made him worry.
Tyse stepped closer to her and gathered her in his arms. She in no way resisted, so he pressed his lips against hers and kissed her thoroughly. Just hearing that little moan in the back of her throat was enough to tell the rest of the world to just fuck themselves with their gossip and disregard for personal boundaries. Those people had no power here; they weren’t going to destroy something that could potentially turn into something amazing.
He continued to kiss her until her back was pressed to the door and he was right up against her. He hadn’t intended on getting so intimate with her during the kiss, but then he realized she was gripping his back to pull him closer. She had dropped everything she’d been holding, and then her hands slid up the back of his shirt and that took him to the point where a guy really can’t hide that he’s majorly turned on. Obviously Sarah was aware of that because her hands moved to his ass and pulled him even more firmly against her, if that were possible. The way she was pressing her body into him only turned him on even more and his natural response was to slide his hand up her shirt, just below her breast.
She kissed him even harder, practically devouring his tongue in the process. Not that he was complaining; it only turned him on more. His other hand slid up her shirt and he took full ownership of both breasts. She was moaning, he was breathing hard… The intensity of the moment had really reached its peak—
The door suddenly opened and Sarah stumbled backward on her ass, and since it was too late to catch her, Tyse’s first instinct was to not fall on top of her. He put his hands out when he hit the floor so he didn’t crush her.
“Did you just say ‘fuck’?” Ali asked Sarah, feigning disbelief as she stood there staring at them both on the floor.
Once it registered, Tyse actually did remember hearing that word fly out of Sarah’s mouth. He tried not to laugh as he moved away from her and offered a hand to help her up.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Sarah retorted as she stood.
She was obviously rattled by Ali’s intrusion, but so was Tyse. What horrible timing.
“I heard the door moving and sounds and stuff,” Ali answered smugly. “I didn’t realize you two were humping each other outside.”
“Ali!” Sarah admonished.
But Ali was laughing as she walked away, and even though Tyse didn’t prefer to make light of Sarah’s embarrassment, he couldn’t help but laugh too.
“You don’t get to laugh!” she hissed at him as she punched his arm.
“Well she was right,” he shrugged.
“Get out of here,” she said, shoving him out the door.
But she was trying not to laugh too, and it only made the situation even funnier. It was probably the only thing to get his mind off the raging boner in his pants at the moment.
At last she fully smiled and shook her head as she watched him turn for the car. “Goodnight, Tyse.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Well I don’t know what to say about it, man,” Teague shook his head. “She’s definitely got reason enough to be pissed and I wouldn’t disregard that. If she’s had to deal with my brother and dad to the extent I’m only assuming she has, I’d like to apologize to her myself.”
They’d just sat down at a private concert a few nights later, and Tyse had updated Teague and Jay about how upset Sarah was about the media being involved in their date.
“Why do people fucking care?” Jay shrugged. “If her family is in the industry, doesn’t she know that tabloids just move on to the next rumor?”
“Some people can’t shake the feeling that everyone is judging them or thinks bad things about them,” Teague answered. “Or the lack of privacy really fucks people over. And some really do get slammed more than others. You have to admit that it has affected you at some point in your life, Jay.”
“Hell no,” he shook his head. “I don’t give a shit what people think of me. I learned long ago that I can’t even please my own parents, and that was the start to me not giving a damn about what people think.”
“Noted,” Teague agreed. “But you’ve had to deal with the media up your ass plenty of times. Don’t tell me that hasn’t pissed you off.”
“Of course it has,” Jay scoffed. “More times than I can count.”
“So I’m just saying you can’t stand it either. Sarah isn’t you and she most likely won’t take the media all over the damn city, knowing they’re following her, just to mess with ‘em and give ‘em hell.”
Jay laughed out loud, obviously knowing exactly what Teague was talking about.
“Fill me in,” Tyse said. “Where exactly did you lead them?”
With a casual shrug Jay answered, “Well this was back when Max wasn’t such a douche and he was with us too, so of course the media was all over us since we were all together. It was Max’s birthday so we stopped by a few gay establishments, just to give them something to gossip about.”
“Oh my God, my dad was pissed,” Teague shook his head with a smile. “But I have to admit…”
“Yeah?” Jay smiled eagerly.
“I have to admit that it was pretty funny.”
“Of course it was!” Jay laughed. “But we were always doing stupid, immature shit like that.”
“I don’t even know what we were thinking half the time,” Teague shook his head with a chuckle. “I look back and can’t believe we got away with so much of it.” He turned to Tyse and asked, “What about you? You’ve probably never done anything bad in your life, have you,” he smiled.
“I didn’t grow up in your family, remember? No need to rebel against the elders, you see?” Tyse joked. “But…I did get arrested once,” he shrugged.
“Shut the fuck up, no you didn’t,” Jay laughed. “I’ve never even been arrested.”
“Yes you have,” Teague corrected.
“I’ve been ‘detained’ a couple times,” Jay informed him. “But never had my ass in jail, thanks to good ol’ grand-poppy.”
“Well me neither,” Tyse admitted. “But I was cuffed and taken there.”
“What happened?” Teague asked.
Tyse cleared his throat as he decided how to begin. “Well, I was with this girl…”
“Oh my God,” Jay laughed out loud. “Having sex in public! You’re only a good guy now because you’ve been reformed. I knew it!”
“No, not sex in public,” Tyse smiled. “But close.”
“Okay, spill it,” Jay motioned with his hand. “She was in your pants, you were parked—or not. Was it in the middle of the movie theatre?”
Tyse cocked an eyebrow. “I take it you’re speaking from experience?”
Jay barely smiled but shook his head. “Hey, this is your sharing time, not mine. Keep going.”
The band was announced, so Tyse waited until the music started to play before he leaned across the table so the guys could hear him better.
“We were trespassing on private property. Long story short, the cop was a dick and I told him so.”
“You told him he was a dick?” Jay smiled. “Like actually said, ‘You’re a dick.’”
“Yes,” Tyse nodded. “Because he was. He was a fucking pervert, too. He wouldn’t even talk to me at first, just kept looking my girl up and down, saying a pretty thing like her shouldn’t be hanging out with guys like me. I guess my tattoos and piercings obviously meant I was a thug, right? Anyway,” he shook his head. “I don’t really remember what was said, but he ended up getting in my face and then put me in cuffs.”
“Sounds like he was trying to goad you,” Teague shook his head.
“Exactly,” Tyse agreed. “The girl I was with actually complained to the department about how he was talking to her and that I was only sticking up for her, so luckily there weren’t any charges that stuck. My ass spent a night in jail, though.”
“Was this your ex-fiancée?” Jay asked.
“No, different girl. But she actually introduced me to my ex a month later.”
“Ha, one gets you arrested and the other crushes your heart,” Jay noted. “They should get together and write a book.”
“It is what it is,” Tyse shrugged. “I’m okay with it. Life plays out in ways we don’t expect, you just gotta go with it.”
“Kicking ass and taking names, that’s what I do,” Jay took a final drink of his beer. “It is what it is, right?” he grinned.
“There are only so many options,” Tyse joked back.
The three of them sat at the back of the music lounge for thirty minutes before Tyse was ready to go. He’d come to hear a particular band so he could make a decision on recording with them, but he was slightly disappointed and left without a meeting.
“Have you talked to your mom lately?” Teague asked as they walked to his truck.
“Mmm, not too much. Maybe every couple of weeks we’ll talk for a few minutes. She’s mentioned visiting, but I doubt it. She’s still pissed that I’m here. Feels like I traded her in or something.”
“Well you pretty much did,” Jay said matter-of-factly. “I mean you may not see it as ‘trading her in’, but you are over here and not there.”
“It’s not like I lived with her or anything,” Tyse laughed as they climbed into the truck. “We lived a few hours apart and I didn’t see her that often.”
“Yeah, but she kept your dad a secret for all these years for a reason,” Teague said as he started the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot. “She’s gotta feel a little slighted that you went against her wishes.”
“Well what does she expect? I felt like things in Arizona were coming to a close and I needed a change. The timing was right. And plus, she was the one that decided to lie to me. She may have had her reasons—and I can certainly see they have merit—but I’m a grown ass man.”
“Ohhh, there really is rebel blood in this McCallan,” Jay laughed, smacking Tyse on the knee. “I knew it was there, brother.”
“Well I don’t have as many ‘go fuck yourself’ buttons to push as you do,” Tyse told him with a smile.
“This is true,” Jay nodded seriously. “You have a ways to go.”
“Nah, that’s not me, nor do I want it to be.”
“Well everyone has a breaking point,” Jay told him. “Teague is way nicer than me in most instances, but he’ll bust someone’s ass if he’s pushed hard enough. I can see it in you, too.”
“Of course I would, but it doesn’t mean I want to,” Tyse told him. “I have a very long fuse.”
“What about that cocksucker that worked at Grandpa’s—the maintenance guy’s son or nephew or whoever the fuck he was. Melanie told me all about that one. I’d rough him up myself if you hadn’t, and if he still worked there.”
Tyse s
hook his head at the memory. “Like you said, everyone has a breaking point. And disrespecting women is high on my list of things I won’t tolerate. It was an easy choice to clock that dumbass.”
“Then you would have kicked Jay’s ass a few times if you’d met him sooner,” Teague joked as they traveled on the Ventura Freeway for Camarillo.
“Hey, I never purposely set out to demean women unless they deserve it,” Jay argued.
“And who judges if they ‘deserve’ it?” Tyse scoffed, eyeing his brother from the back seat.
“Okay, okay, that sounds really bad,” Jay agreed and looked back at him. “I just mean if they come to me first and are really forward and desperate and just aren’t taking no for an answer or use the McCallan name in a—”
“What the fuck?” Teague interrupted, slamming on his brakes.
The truck skidded for a few seconds and Jay’s hands flew up to brace himself against the dash.
“Put your fucking seatbelt on,” Teague told him gruffly as he pulled into the left lane and pressed the gas.
“Yes, mommy,” Jay replied, buckling himself in. “What the hell happened?”
“That asshole flew past me, cut into my lane, and then slowed way the hell down.”
They passed the car in the middle lane—a green Malibu with four people inside. The occupants of the vehicle were all staring out their windows at Teague’s truck, including the driver.
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Jay shook his head, just as Tyse noticed the same thing. Three of the four—even the driver with a cell phone—had cameras aimed their direction.
“Reporters?” Tyse asked.
“Sharks,” Jay corrected him. “People that want a goddamn photo to sell to tabloids. Jesus, they’re in full Princess Diana mode.”
Teague had slowed way down, and when the Malibu did the same, the truck sped way up to blow by and pull in front of them. But the dumbass at the wheel practically cut off a semi in the right lane to catch up to them again. The semi truck blared his horn, but it didn’t stop the other idiots from pursuing them again.
