Sucker for the Boss

by Blue Sky Books

  "Meet me more often Rory. I don't know your whereabouts but I have a hearty fondness for you, which even on trying, hasn't really gone away." My face was reddening with a tint of rose and I could sense it.

  Tight gripping each other again for a minute, we regained consciousness by the howl of Rory's girlfriend who stood at the rear watching us in a fury, almost about to bluster in an explosion.

  *****

  Clouds hovered over us as Sally and I nibbled our cake bites, sitting on the patio of a new vintage cafe across the block. The scrumptious chocolaty fudge in the cake did not cure my depression, in fact it only made it worse. Rory advised me to drive away yesterday when Emma, his girlfriend had spotted us together. She was still squeaking at him when I had escaped the situation and I had absolutely no idea what had happened next. I wished for things to be in Rory's favor the minute I left him in that mess, I didn't want this for him. But I didn’t want this for myself either. Him getting alleged for something I did was uncalled-for. And what was itchy was that the last thing I could recall was that he leaned closer to me and muttered under his breath,

  "This is ending right now. As a matter of fact, this has ended Carmela. From this point on we mustn't think about each other let alone be seen with each other. I hope you get everything that's worthy for you. And top on that list is staying away from me. Goodbye and God Bless." He was as unpeaceful about this goodbye as I was.

  The hoots echoed in the hallway and the college was dancing in the colors red and blue; the distinctions of the final teams. I strolled across to the changing room and eyed all the ladies panicking about their skirt fittings, the way their hair was supposed to be done and how everything was slipping through their minds. Our ground routine was a bold blend of classy and hip. I had to admit it was tough, wasn't like those usually practiced by colleges in our town. So I braced myself, heaved out a big sigh and unlocked my locker. Glancing back at my freshman year here in college, I had always waited for this day. Particularly because it was my foremost chance ever of delivering a professional performance in front of the audience. I thought how I could win their hearts or screw it all up in those 15 minutes of my life. I had to perform on the ground. In front of Rory and a crowd I wasn't ready to face.

  After I'd had the 'Rory-encounter', I had become rather an introvert; started restraining myself from college activities and didn't find myself anywhere near my friends who previously I had a comfort level with.

  ''Hey Carmlisa.'' One of the Kim Kardashian-look alikes from our team purposely called me by the wrong name and spoke agitatedly. ''You need to be there first ya know, So get it moving cause' we're runnin' late. You don't want me to tell Mrs (our choreographer) Lee do ya?''

  I hastily slipped up my skirt and wore my top, pulling my hair back into a high ponytail. One of the dressing people quickly ironed my hair from the ends and tied it into a neat version of what I called a high ponytail. Another one of them puffed some peachy blush on the apple of my cheeks and ran a painted a vibrant lip color on my lips. All dolled up, I heard someone yell from behind,

  ''Move move move ladies!! Chop-chop. We ain't here for a pretty tea party. Pull up ya socks and show em what ya got.'' ''Hip hip hooray!!''

  One of the girls was hooting from the front lot. The only thought lingering in the corner of my head was: Rory. Things were going to be a whole lot different today onwards. He was here for just one match. Me bumping into him or our little story was nothing but a mere hallucination. It had to end. It had to stop getting in the way of our previously normal lives. But truth was, it wasn't going to.

  ''I can't do this'' I claimed in a low voice to the girl aligned next to me in the row. '' I cant breathe'' I thought of running away, just escaping this suffocation that was choking me. I couldn't perform in front of Rory who would be playing his last game and leaving first thing tomorrow morning.

  ''Honey you better start breathing because we're in the ground.'' Someone pushed me by the shoulder and speeded by. Even though the ground was damp and climate humid, the players had ample enthusiasm. So did the audience and the cheerleaders minus me. I took my position in our little pyramidal arrangement, again leading the group. My eyes constantly tried to pinpoint Rory from the team mob but failed to do so. Stadium lights in the ground shone in my eyes like a train light that you would see up close and I adjusted my focus on the ground to relieve the stress in my eye muscles. Just as the referee blew the whistle, the ball accelerated high up against gravity and the match ensued.

  Rory caught my attention, making his way through the many players taking control of the ball. Like everything else, his sports skills were defect less. I glimpsed at him in awe and materialized that he could play at an international level and come back triumphantly.

  Hooting and cheering, we started our routine grabbing some of the audiences attention completely. While the others were so tied up in the match, they rarely blinked.

  Rory's paragon was probably football. At least that's what it looked like. His precision with the ball was just remarkable and this was hard-shelled by the commentary of the commentators that thrashed out about the match. I, periodically, took an eyeful of the screen that flashed scores and was appeased to see that everytime Rory's team took the lead. He, again, not in the least eyed me or intended to. It looked as if there were no Carmela-Rory ever.

  I felt like a complete, devastated stranger. Who in her heart was hankering to have one last conversation with the man who wasn't ready to risk anything for their relationship. I wondered why though. Was I not pretty enough? Or was it karma? Because everytime somebody had made the first move with me, I had always given them a stop call instantly. From kindergarten till date, I had done this all my life. And now when I was the one who had collapsed under a heap of sentiments, the other person wasn't even champing a bit. But I was on the brink, the top verge of telling everything to Mom today because I couldn't defy it. Neither could he but he wanted to burn in the zest. I did not. That was the discongruity. I had created a mayhem for him. I was the cause of the botch he probably had to face yesterday.

  Nevertheless he seemed content. He didn't peek anywhere near the cheerleading squad but I could tell that he was pastoral today. Waveless and steady in his game, his mind properly directed. He, in all likelihood, had forgotten about us overnight. Emma perhaps might have helped him do so last night. They might be over and about what happened because he looked in sink. I swiftly looked around to see if Emma was there. She wasn't. She usually supported him by taking the front row seats with her friends but she wasn't there today. This got me even more. The Chicago College fraction of students had to leave today, she might've left early. They must ve planned it. My heart submerged like a submarine that would depress in the deepest part of an ocean. I solicited in a tiny corner of my heart for all of this to be untrue but then brought tiny pieces of it together and endorsed the reality.

  All of us girls moved sleekly, and progressed to the final part. We had to leave in like two. And the match would then proceed for another half an hour. Strangely, I wanted to stay in the ground. I felt more near-at hand to him and I liked that feeling. But the farther end had already started pacing at a steady speed inside. I followed. We unwearied in the changing room and revived to join the audience. This was the tough part. I never liked crowds notably this one. It was vice versa. They weren't fond of me either. So I searched for Sally. She was sedentary in a corner with her head buried in her phone, least interested in the hype of the game around her.

  "Sal we gotta do something. He leaves tonight. Can we just forget for a day, who he is and how it changes everything and focus on what I feel?" I impelled, yelling for her to interpret my motivation. "Ok how about we just tell him and never see him again? I haven't really told him and its beclouding my reasoning power. Do you know how hard that is?"

  "We can always sit and talk about it in a more comfortable, I'd say not so noisy environment Carm." Sally repeated her words thrice for me to get the knack of them.

/>   "Just tell me are you in this or not? I'll be going out anyway. I just want you to be there." I insisted in weary tone.

  "Even when he walked out on your face yesterday?" Sally had throttled her away across the row and was now under my nose. "Yeah everybody knows. His girl spread the word around here like fire. He doesn't give a shit about you Carmela so let's just put it behind already or he wouldn't hide and do things with you and then leave you."

  I felt bruised as the words slipped through her mouth. Teary-eyed, I turned my back to the ground to walk away when I suddenly heard a loud-voiced announcement echo across the vast ground vicinity,

  "Miss.CarmelaRennisi"

  I turned around to see a random picture of me on all of the 3 dimensional screens high-heighted on the towers. One of them displayed the game scores, I realized in a while after I halted my gaze at the picture. Rory's Lions had won the game by a sweet victory and he stood there in the core of the ground holding a microphone in his hand,

  "You're the most angelic person I, Rory Prichette has ever witnessed in my life" Rory's voice rebounded the walls sounding even more intense.

  I sprinted across the seating rows like a bat out of hell, even more dewy-eyed, trying to get a hold of my breath. He simultaneously went on confessing,

  "This has to be the most and only romantic thing I've ever done in my life" The crowd burst into a light laugh murmuring and whispering like squirrels.

  "I knew you what kind of a person you were the minute I laid my eyes on you Rory" I whooped as I strided through a far end of the ground towards him.

  We were intimately up close in the mezzo of the football ground now with a whistling and howling gallery around us. Now that I remember of it, I didn't, for a fraction of a second think about anyone at that moment. Not his parents, not mine, not the classmates.

  "Oh you're all mine now" Rory professed kissing me voluptuously in small doses.

  “Rory! You – how can you do this?” a loud voice came from behind and I titled my head to see it Emma, Rory’s ex now. Rory tied to shield me but instead I turned around and gave him cover. Call me possessive because he was mine now and mine alone. His confession gave me sudden strength that I never knew I could have. The strength with which I could slay the world, this Emma was a very small thing.

  “Your business here is done, Emma. Leave him the hell alone.” I snarled at Emma. We had an audience who was getting entertainment out of our encounter but damned me if I gave a rat’s ass about it. I had my man in my arms, rest was just secondary.

  “Emma…” Rory began but I squeezed his arm and he stopped. “I’ll be more than willing to give you a good taste of your own, Emma, and given we’ve the entire school here, nothing will be more fun.” Grimacing, Emma stormed back and I was back in Rory’s warm embrace.

  “Some show you two!” Sally greeted us as we stepped inside the dressing room and she rushed to our side. She hugged me but that tightness in her eyes said things I didn’t want to hear. “I’m happy for you, Carm, but I still want you to be careful where you walk.”

  It was time I put this entire thing of Rory being a criminal on rest. I had to know what had happen and my heart said it wasn’t Rory’s fault.

  Rory nuzzled along my shoulder line and pressed small kisses on my shoulder bone. I moaned and clutched his hair in fierce grip. God, was this man perfect definition of sexy. “Rory,” his name came out as a husky whisper. “Carmela, you awe me, love.” I wanted to wrap myself around him and never let go but there were a couple of things to be settled before we stepped any further.

  “Rory, tell me what happened back in Chicago, please.” He loosened his grip around me and sat straight and stared at a blank space for the longest while. Just when I thought I won’t be getting out of him, he started to speak, “I was in the wrong company, that much you know.” I did. “And I did kill someone, a boy.” There was more to it, I can sense. So I just held his hand and said nothing.

  “We were at the subway that night, for a deal. Things went ugly and out of hands. It came to fire exchanges.” I tightened my grip on his hand, thanking the divine powers for saving him that night.

  “That boy, he was barely twelve or thirteen, he saw us. My boss…” his voice dried and he swallowed. “My boss … Emma’s father, saw him.” Emma came from drug mafia family? Appearance sure can be deceptive. I never guessed. “He wanted to kill him right there. He couldn’t risk being reported to cops.” Ah, white collar criminal.

  “He tried shooting him but I pushed the boy aside.” He silenced. I didn’t get it. That meant he saved him, right? “You saved him, Rory, not killed him.” I tried to reach for his cheek to comfort him but he held my hand midair. “I pushed him aside, in front of the moving bus. He died.” I sat shock still at the revelation. When shock began to wear off, I started to realize what Rory’s real intention was.

  “I disguise you now, don’t I?” he gave a humorless laugh. I turned to him and cupped his cheek. “Look in my eyes, Rory.” I ordered. When he did, I started to speak, “It wasn’t your fault. You tried to save him. You didn’t know that the accident will happen. If anyone’s at fault, it’s Emma’s father. He’s the one who wanted to kill him, not you.”

  “Carmela, you…” I covered his mouth with my hand. “No, you listen. It wasn’t your fault and I’ll not let you suffer for what that you aren’t guilty of. You are going to make your statement against Emma’s dad and tell cops the whole story. I know they’ll not free you right away but that’s a lot less than serving for the murder you never commit, Rory. Let those guys pay who should be paying. Or else every day a boy will be killed and a Rory will be made looked guilty whereas the people behind it walk freely. You have to do justice to it. I won’t let you walk away from this,” I was on a roll.

  “I love you, Rory, and I will not see the man I love, spending years in jail just because he’s covering the men who’re more powerful than him.” A small smile appeared on his face. “What? Why are you smiling?” He grabbed me by waist and pulled me closer until I thought I couldn’t breathe, but damned if I was complaining. “I love you too, Carmela. And you are right. I should be doing what’s right. My silence will make others like me suffer.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you for saving me, Love,” he whispered and clutched tighter to him. I wasn’t letting him go no matter what.

  It was me and him against the world now and forever.

  Schooling the Boxing Champ

  Heather checked the clock on the wall and then looked around her, everybody’s head was hung low, their pencils scratching wildly against the paper. She nearly smiled but didn’t want to be too cocky so she just sank back in her chair and waited. She had fifteen more minutes to kill till the buzzer went off and everybody would have to put their pencils down. She didn’t know what was taking everybody so long, if anything this exam was way too easy.

  She noticed her best friend Sarah was chewing the end of her pencil as well. Sarah was usually almost as quick as Heather in finishing a paper. Next to Sarah was Shaun. Shaun Hollister, the boxing champ, the school heart-throb. She wasn’t surprised to find him staring at his paper blankly. She sniggered silently at the thought of how frustrated he must be right now. Pull Shaun away from the boxing rink or peel the girls who throw themselves at him, off of him and what are you left with? Shaun Hollister staring at an exam paper, picking multiple choice answers based on pure luck.

  Not to say that Heather didn’t appreciate the pure physical beauty that Shaun represented. Who in their right minds could deny that those chiseled features, the dirty blonde hair and the broad chest are anything but drool-worthy. But that is all he is and Heather reminded herself of that as she caught herself staring at him; a thing of beauty.

  The buzzer went off just as she jerked her head away from him and she was the first to stand up from her seat. She handed her examination sheet to the teacher at the desk on her way out and waited for Sarah near the door.

  “Man, I was stumped by the last t
wo questions” Sarah said while scratching her head with her pencil. “You made it look like a piece of cake though” she added and rolled her eyes at Heather.

  “Wanna discuss the questions at my place?” Heather asked as they walked towards their lockers.

  “Let’s do it over the weekend? My brother is having that party at our place tonight” Sarah said.

  “Have your parents left already?” Heather couldn’t be more disinterested.

  “Yeah they left yesterday and he wants me to help him out with the arrangements” Sarah rolled her eyes again. The biggest binding force between Heather and Sarah had always been that they both equally hated to socialize. They would any day spend the evening watching horror films and munching on huge buckets of popcorn rather than deal with ear-piercingly loud party music and have drunken boys try and dance with them.

  “Okay, but are you going to stay for it? Why don’t you come over later and you can stay over at mine?” Heather asked. They had collected their stuff from the lockers and were now walking towards the main doors of the school building.

  “That’s the thing. I was meaning to ask you if you wanted to come over for the party. My brother has made it very clear that he wants me to stay and help him out. I would feel a lot better if you came…you know for moral support” Sarah said and gave Heather a squeeze on her shoulder.

  “Are you crazy?” Heather nearly screamed at Sarah, but her best friend was pouting at her and had a pleading expression on her face that Heather couldn’t resist.

  “Fine I’ll come, but only for a very short while. Just to make notes so that I can make fun of you later” Heather said and punched Sarah lightly on her arm. Sarah squealed and jumped to give her a proper hug.

  “Alright alright. Don’t make me regret my decision!” Heather tried to calm her down, but she was smiling as well.

  “It’ll be an adventure!” Sarah said and clapped her hands wildly.