Final Score: Part Two (Game On Book 6)

by Kyra Lennon

  Izzy and Kayla, although aware of the situation, would never be able to grasp the true enormity of Miguel’s question. Miguel was a laid back, easy going kind of guy, but he was also a romantic. And he loved Freya. If he’d been thinking about marrying her, and she wasn’t on the same page… this could easily spell the end for them. Considering everything Freya had been through, he’d asked the question perhaps a little too soon. They hadn’t even been together for a year yet, and Will had only been gone for a year and a half. One of Miguel’s most lovable traits was his impulsiveness, but had he gone a step too far, too fast?

  “I… erm… well, I…” I stuttered. “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him I love him, but also that I’m not ready to make that decision just yet.” She sighed and leaned back against the wall. “I do want to be with him. I can’t imagine being with anyone else. But that kind of commitment? I’m not sure I’m ready yet.”

  Bree caught my eye, and I knew she was thinking about the conversation we’d had a couple of months ago. Neither of us said anything, though. In the end, it was Izzy who broke the silence.

  “May I say something?” she asked timidly, and Freya smiled and nodded. “I don’t know you very well, and I know nothing about your relationship, but I do know that you and Miguel look happy together. If you really aren’t sure, that’s fine, but if you’re hesitating because you’re worried about what people will say… don’t. I know this isn’t the same thing, but there are a lot of people in my life who have an opinion about me being with Jesse. They say it won’t last, and he’ll cheat on me, and who the hell do I think I am dating a famous footballer. But what they say isn’t important. How I feel about him is what’s important.” She shrugged shyly and lowered her head.

  “You’re right,” Freya said. “There is a really big part of me that thinks people will judge me for moving on. A lot of people already have.”

  “It’s not like you’re going to get married tomorrow,” Bree said. “If you want to be with Miguel forever, you can tell him that without announcing it to the whole world. If you know what you want, tell him. And also, make sure he proposes to you properly next time!”

  Bree scowled because the idea of a guy just bringing up getting married in a casual conversation was unacceptable to her. She was all about the grand gestures when it came to weddings. Jude had flown Bree to Paris, and proposed to her at Disneyland. She had once told me Jude had decided there was no better place to propose to her than a place where princesses live, and when he asked her to marry him, he promised to always treat her like a queen. She expected something of equal grandeur for her friends too. Radleigh had only gained seven out of ten for his proposal to me. She’d said that while she thought it was cute that he proposed right after I’d had Jessica, he could have been more creative. I’d shaken my head in amusement at her assessment because to me, his proposal was perfect.

  “I’ll tell him that.” Freya laughed.

  “I don’t think you need to worry about that,” I said, smiling. “Miguel will do something incredible and unexpected.”

  On my first date with him he went to enormous lengths to create the perfect beach picnic for us. Out of all the guys I’d dated, that was probably the best first date I’d ever been on.

  Before Freya could say anything more, Teresa and the champagne girl came back, carrying a dress that made my eyes bulge out of my head.

  “Whoa,” Kayla whispered.

  My friends looked spellbound by the gown, and it was stunning, but… huge.

  “I know you said you didn’t want anything with a large skirt,” Teresa said, noting my expression. “But I’ve been doing this for a long time. I think this will look incredible on you. Will you try it on?”

  Before I could speak, Bree said, “Don’t even think about saying no. If you don’t try that on, I will!”

  Laughing, I eyed the dress for a moment longer as Teresa explained that the white dress had a corded lace appliqued bodice, with Swarovski crystal accents. The appliqued design ran all the way down the train at the back, and halfway down the skirt at the front. It had delicate thin straps which also had crystal detail.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  Teresa followed me into the dressing room, and I shrugged out of my clothes again. As she helped me step into the dress, all I could think was that I wasn’t getting that vibe of magic I got from my first dress. It felt nice, comfortable, but no spark.

  I didn’t look in the mirror until Teresa had buttoned me up at the back. The fit was a little off, a tad too big, but that wasn’t what concerned me. When I finally turned to get a glimpse of my reflection, the only thing I could see was the huge skirt. Where the last one had been closer fitting at the front and loose at the back, this one flared out at the hips, and although the train was slightly shorter, the whole skirt was much bigger.

  “What do you think?” Teresa asked. “We’ll have to take it in at the waist so it fits as it should, but…”

  I sighed. “It’s lovely. I’m just not sure it’s right for me.”

  “Why don’t we go ask your friends?” She smiled kindly and I smiled back, appreciative of her help. Can’t have been an easy job, dealing with fussy brides all day long.

  Teresa pulled the curtain back, and when I stepped out, my friends let out a collective gasp. Nobody said anything, they all just stared, their mouths hanging open.

  “What?” I asked nervously.

  “Uh, that silence is the sound of us telling you this is the one,” Freya said, stepping forward to examine the dress more closely. She stood in front of me, taking in the detail, and I turned around to look in the mirror. Ignoring the looseness around my waist, I stared too, looking more carefully at the intricate detail in the lace.

  “Really?” I asked. “I like it, but I don’t know if…”

  “Leah, you look beautiful.” Freya had tears in her eyes, and when I looked over at Bree, her eyes were damp too, even though she smiled brightly.

  “This could not be more perfect for you,” she said.

  “This is the one,” Izzy added. “It looks like it was designed for you.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, turning around and examining myself in the mirror again. “With the first one, I loved it right away. I felt something. With this one… not so much.”

  Bree shrugged. “Well, you didn’t like Radleigh when you first met him, but look how that turned out.”

  Within seconds, all five of us were in fits of laughter, and as the stress dissolved, I realised she was right. The more I looked at myself in the dress, the more right it felt. And somehow, the strange parallel to my relationship made it even more perfect than the first.

  “How much is it?” I asked, glancing at Teresa.

  “It’s ten thousand dollars.”

  Freya had to catch me as I staggered back slightly. “I’m sorry? Did you say ten thousand dollars?”

  Teresa nodded.

  “You have to have this, Leah,” Bree said.

  “And you did say Radleigh told you to get whatever you want,” Kayla pointed out.

  “Oh God.” I laughed, running my hands through my hair.

  “This is it,” Freya told me, taking my hands. “This is the dress you’ll get married in. Screw the cost. You’ve been through so much crap over the last few months. You deserve this.”

  One last glimpse in the mirror was all it took.

  “Okay. I’ll take it.”

  Chapter Seven – Halos and Horns

  “Say cheese!”

  Bree held her phone out as far as she could and we all tried to fit into the shot for our first selfie of my hen/bachelorette party. Kayla had gone home, and we had been joined by Stacey and Alison, my friends from Boston, who were staying for the weekend. We’d had a very dignified dinner at the hotel, during which we were dressed appropriately and behaved impeccably.

  But that was two and a half hours ago.

  Now we were at our first club of the night
, dressed as angels and devils – Bree’s idea – and necking our first round of cocktails. Freya, Izzy and I were the angels, and Bree, Alison and Stacey were the devils – all of us complete with halos and horns. I’d also been given a bride-to-be sash to explain why we looked so crazy. Not that anyone would have batted an eyelid, really. We were never going to be the weirdest sight in an L.A nightclub.

  After finally choosing my dress, I felt lighter and more relaxed. The earlier strain and lack of excitement had been replaced by a buzz I hadn’t felt in a long time. Most of the wedding decisions had been made, everything had been booked for the day, things with Radleigh were back on track, and all I had to do now was not put on weight and look forward to the big day.

  “We look hot,” Bree said, examining the photo she’d just taken. “I could use a selfie stick, though.”

  She passed the phone around and I had to admit, we did look good. We had the faces of women who intended to enjoy every second of this night, and as I handed the phone back to her, I said, “That’s going on Twitter, isn’t it?”

  “Hell yes!” She grinned.

  Alison laughed. “I need to persuade Michael to move here. The clubs here are insane.” She glanced around at the women hanging off the ceiling doing aerial gymnastics, while others gyrated around poles at the edge of the dancefloor. “I mean, it looks dangerous, but it’s mesmerising!”

  “I always thought it was weird,” Freya said, following Alison’s gaze. “When you’re dancing, okay, you can see the pole dancers, but those girls up there… who’s gonna notice them?”

  “People like us,” Izzy pointed out. “We can see them just fine from here.”

  “I don’t think we have places like this in Boston,” Stacey said. “Maybe we should all move here. Billy would love the chance to hang out with Radleigh again.”

  I giggled, remembering how starstruck Billy had been when he met Radleigh in Boston. “Radleigh mentioned him the other day, actually, when I said you were coming here. He liked him.”

  “Oh, I can’t wait to tell him that! Or maybe I shouldn’t. When we come to the wedding you’re probably going to want to be able to talk to Radleigh without Billy following him around!”

  “I remember talking to you about Radleigh,” Alison said with a grin. “You told me you didn’t like him, but there was no hiding the chemistry between you.”

  “You say that, but you didn’t see how mad she was when she found him sitting on my sofa! I thought she was going to kill him!”

  That weekend in Boston was a game changer for Radleigh and me, and as much as I’d tried to deny it at the time, I knew all along that it would be. When I saw him sitting in Stacey’s living room I was furious, and I told myself it was because it was so inappropriate for him to be there, especially since all we’d done in recent weeks was fight. But deep down, I was angry because I knew there was every chance I’d give in to him if left alone with him for long enough. It just worked out that it happened after he’d opened up to me a little. After he’d started to let me see who he really was.

  “I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t like him,” I said, laughing. “Most of the time, I couldn’t stand him. But he’s always been sexy as hell, and that night… alcohol and honesty took over.”

  “About that,” Alison said. “You still haven’t told me what he’s like in bed…”

  I burst out laughing. Alison was the sweetest, calmest person in the world, but as soon as alcohol passed her lips, she said all the things she suppressed when she was sober.

  Freya covered her ears with her hands. “Nope! I don’t need to hear this.”

  “Why not?” Bree giggled. “Don’t tell me you’re not curious.”

  Freya pointed in my direction. “Look at her, Bree! Look at that smile! Look how happy she is every single day. There are no problems in that area. I don’t need to know any more.”

  Izzy’s cheeks were flushed, and as the youngest of the bunch, I figured this conversation might be too much for her. But then she met my gaze. “Well, you could tell us something…”

  My mouth dropped open in mock horror. “Isabelle! I’m shocked!”

  She chuckled and I smiled at her, glad she felt comfortable enough with us to joke around.

  “I am disturbed by this conversation,” I said, and sucked at my drink through the straw. “Are you all imagining what my man is like in bed?”

  “Not imagining,” Alison said. “Just… wondering.”

  “I wonder what this says about my man,” Bree mused. “I bet none of you have imagined what Jude’s like in bed!”

  Another chorus of laughter rang out, and I said, “Well, I’ve never imagined it, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with him. Jude’s gorgeous.”

  He was, too. But he was so quiet he often got bypassed for the likes of Radleigh, Bryce, and Cody.

  “He is gorgeous,” Bree agreed, nodding. “And in case you were wondering, he’s hung like a horse.”

  I threw my head back as the laughter continued.

  “I do not need to know this,” Freya said, giggling. “Please stop.”

  “You love it!” I nudged her arm. “But if we must change the subject, what would you like to talk about?”

  “Nothing. I think it’s time we hit the dancefloor!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me up, leading me out amongst the crowds.

  After a couple of hours of drinking cocktails, laughing, and dancing, I considered my hen party a total success. My girls and I were having the time of their lives, and as I spun around on the dancefloor, I loved everyone and everything.

  Life gets really good after a few cocktails.

  “Leah!”

  Freya’s voice cut through my happy musings, and I smiled at her, grabbing her hands. “Dance with me!”

  She shook her head. “I can’t right now. I need you to come outside with me.”

  I stared at her as if she’d grown another head. “What? No way! It’s party time!”

  “Leah. You need to come with me now.” I could barely stand up straight as Freya took my arm and led me from the dancefloor.

  “No!” I protested, trying to dig my heels into the floor. I wanted to dance, dammit!

  “Leah, please, it’s important.”

  Had I been fully lucid, or even just a tad more sober, I’d have noted the concern on her face a lot faster. As it was, though, all I cared about was getting my groove on, and I grumbled as she dragged me outside.

  “Fuck, it’s cold out here!” It probably wasn’t but it felt like a hundred degrees inside the club, and in my drunken state, the shock of the cool air was like having a bucket of ice water thrown over me.

  “Leah!” Freya put her hands on my shoulders and shook me a little to stop me trying to get back inside. “I need you to focus. And I need you to stay calm because we’re gonna have to move real fast as soon as I tell you what I have to tell you. Can you please stay with me?”

  The beginning of concern began to trickle into my consciousness as I stared at her. “Okay.”

  She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “I don’t really know the best way to tell you this, but there’s been an accident. Well, not an accident…I… Bryce just called me. Radleigh’s in the hospital.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean Radleigh is in the hospital. He’s… he’s been stabbed.”

  I leaned back against the wall of the building, my already useless legs giving up underneath my body. “I don’t… I don’t understand. How… what happened?”

  “Babe, I don’t know yet. I think we need to just get to the hospital and then we can-”

  “Is he okay?” I stared at her. “Freya… is he going to be okay?”

  She shook her head, her face paling. “I don’t know. Bryce didn’t have any answers. He just told me to get you there as quickly as possible.”

  Reality pushed its way farther through my drunken haze. Stabbed. My Radleigh had been stabbed. But… how? He was just out
with his friends, just like me, just like the thousands of other people on this Saturday night. How would he have gotten into a situation where someone would have stabbed him? And… oh God.

  “Wait there,” Freya said firmly. “I mean it. Do not move until I get back, okay?”

  I nodded because there was no way I could stand up unaided anyway. I was hammered and suffering major shock.

  Blurred bodies passed by me as I waited for what felt like an eternity for Freya to come back. When she did, she handed me my bag and said, “I’ve told Bree to explain to the others what’s happened, and also told them not to tell anyone because we have no idea what we’re dealing with yet. Bree is going to come to the hospital as soon as she can but we need to go right now.”

  Nodding again, I straightened but stumbled into Freya. Christ, I am too drunk for this. She held me up even though she wasn’t so sober herself, and we hailed the first cab that came near.

  All the way to the hospital I said nothing. Just stared out of the window while the bright lights stung my eyes as we sped by. With every second it was like the alcohol was evaporating from my blood stream, and by the time we rushed into the hospital and found Bryce, I almost felt sober again.

  Bryce paced the waiting room, wringing his hands, and Jude, Miguel, and Cody waited with him. They looked up at the sound of our hurried footsteps and I ran to Bryce but stopped abruptly when I took in his blood-covered shirt. The whole right side of his grey shirt was soaked.

  Bright red. Still wet. Radleigh’s blood.

  The colour red was the only thing I saw as I dropped to the ground and the world went dark.

  Chapter Eight – No Macarena or Electric Slide

  I heard someone mumbling a string of incoherent words as I blinked my eyes open. Oh. That was me. And where the hell am I?

  I was looking up into the face of a man I didn’t know. He had sandy-coloured hair and was dressed in a white shirt. He smiled kindly at me. “There she is.”