United

by A. Aubry

  Chapter One

  A hot shower had never felt as good as it did right now. Coach Thompson had been singlehandedly kicking our asses with drills for practice all day and my muscles were sore. I couldn’t wait to get out of the shower and dressed so that I could go home, crack open a beer, and just relax. When my muscles felt thoroughly soothed, I turned off the shower, wrapped my towel around my waist, and walked back to my locker. My phone vibrated on the top of my bag, yet another text from my ex-girlfriend, Natalie.

  Natalie: Finny, please, it was one mistake. I miss you, I need you…

  Oh, did I forget to mention that I caught Natalie cheating on me just over a week ago? Yeah, I tried to be all fucking romantic and shit for her, taking off of work early to surprise her at her place. That was when I caught her fucking her male best friend in her bed. The very bed that we had just fucked in that morning before I left for practice.

  God, I was so over this bullshit. I had been with her for two years and I should have known we were doomed because she still couldn’t keep any of my family’s names straight. Like she never really cared in the first place. I mean sure, I played soccer for the Minnesota United FC, but that didn’t mean that you shouldn’t know the names of my family members after two years of dating. That just made me think she was after the nice paychecks that I worked my ass off to earn. I decided to finally respond to her barrage of text messages from the last several days.

  Me: It was a mistake that you made several times with the same guy, Nat. That doesn’t mean it was just one mistake. We are done.

  I tossed my phone back into my bag before I got dressed. Before a week ago, I was happy. Well, as happy as one could be in a long-term relationship. My feelings for Natalie had been changing but I had assumed that it was normal. It had happened with all of my other girlfriends in the past, everybody changed but only sometimes it was for the better.

  As I zipped up my jeans and started slipping on my socks and shoes, Bo finally separated from the group that was talking loudly on the other side of the room. It was Drake’s birthday today, and he was trying to get a group of people to go out with him to celebrate.

  “You want to come out with us, Finn? Drake is only going to turn twenty-one once,” Bo asked as he sat down on the bench within his wooden locker.

  “I don’t know about tonight, man. You guys solely go out to meet and pick up girls, you know I’m not into that…especially after all the shit with Nat.”

  Bo rolled his eyes, “Stop being such a baby. She cheated on you, so what? There are plenty of hot ass women at The Loop just waiting to be picked up.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him, “And that right there is why I would rather go home and drink myself into oblivion alone.”

  He stood up and grabbed my car keys from me, “Come on, Finn. You haven’t been out with us in months…mostly because Natalie wouldn’t let you. You owe it to me, and especially Drake, to come out.”

  I tried to grab my car keys back, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to say no. He wasn’t completely wrong when he said that Natalie hadn’t let me go out with them. Every time they asked, and I told her I was going to go, she would whine that she never got any time with me, that my schedule was crazy enough as it was. Soccer season hadn’t even started, I never understood why she said that. That was until I caught her cheating, then her complaining about me going out and potentially meeting girls made more sense.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll go with you guys, but I’m not picking up any girls. I don’t need one right now.”

  Bo finally gave me back my keys, “No one said that you need to pick up girls. Just come hang out with your friends.”

  Picking my phone back up out of my bag, I put it in my back pocket along with my wallet. While I was over the age of twenty-one—by almost five years—I still got carded whenever I went out. It was a blessing and a curse, I guess you could say. Bo and I joined our teammates and discussed who was driving and who was not. I said I had to drive myself. Some of the guys on my team were amazing soccer players, but terrible drivers.

  Soon, our line of cars were pulling into the parking structure of the shopping and dining district where the bar was. Parking was getting a little more difficult to find around this time, but we each found our own spots. The Loop was rather packed for a Saturday night, then again…it was a Saturday night. Somehow my friends had a knack for picking the places that were the busiest whenever we went out. More women for them to prey on, I assumed. We set ourselves up on one side of the long rectangular bar and ordered our drinks. I ordered a beer, foregoing my usual Manhattan, since I would be driving, and I had to be able to keep my wits about me.

  Girls filtered through our group like water through a faucet as the hours passed by. Each group that came and went, one girl would stay behind for one of my many teammates. They were getting loud, Bo voicing his drunk arrogant feelings because he was looking for a chick to hook up with. Any other time of day, Bo was a pretty good guy. It was when he was drunk that he was loud and annoying, the filter in his brain failing to work more than ever.

  The latest group of girls that had come over to talk to us, complete with the signature hair twirling that our jobs brought on from most women, had lasted longer than previous groups. A red-headed girl from across the group had been eyeing me. I knew she wanted me to try to pick her up, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty, she was petite, fair skinned, and rather beautiful, but it wasn’t a beautiful that I could see myself being thoroughly attracted to…if you catch my drift.

  Drake was playing the birthday card on yet another overly skinny blonde when I looked over my shoulder. A beautiful girl, one that I could be attracted to, was pushing her way through the crowd to get to the bar. Her dark brown hair was long and wavy, looking so silky that I just wanted to run my fingers through it. Her pink sweater had the tops of her shoulders cut out in order to show the soft skin that I found myself wanting to kiss.

  The way her light blue pants with rips hugged her legs made my cock harden a fraction, and it didn’t help that she was wearing sexy knee-high brown boots. From what I could see, she had some meat on her bones, but it filled out her face so that she didn’t look like she had been starving herself and her hourglass figure was driving me mad.

  “Ow, hey!” She said before she started losing her balance, heading straight for the floor.

  I had seen my fair share of drunk girls falling over, but she didn’t seem all that drunk. Whether she was drunk or not, I couldn’t let a beautiful girl like her just fall and embarrass herself in a crowded bar like this. Working off instinct, I quickly got up from my barstool and hooked my arm around her waist to keep her from falling flat on her face. She looked up at me, her face flushed, and I found myself actually considering that she was drunk.

  “Have you had a lot to drink?” I chuckled, looking into her eyes as she drank me in.

  Her reaction was normal, most of the girls that had been filtering through our group had given me the same exact look. But feeling her eyes on me was something completely different, it made my heart race…it made me not want to let my arm around her go. As I helped her stand up straight, I had to look down at her. She must have been at least a foot shorter than me, it was a major change of pace from the girls that I had dated in the past who were between 5’6” and 5’9”. I found myself watching her light blue eyes as they scanned over my face, down my body, and back again.

  Her long wavy hair moved rapidly as she shook her head, “No, I’ve only had one drink. Someone bumped into me, I just wanted to get a glass of water.”

  From how close she was standing to me, I could smell the hint of blueberries on her breath but her flowery perfume was enticing me to move a little closer to her. Damn did her lips look soft or what? I
t didn’t even occur to me that she was watching me and waiting for my response. I also found myself not caring that she rambled a little while she was justifying why she came up to the bar. The only thing I was thankful for was that she ended up in my arms. Wait, what the fuck was I thinking?

  “Water is always a good choice after having alcohol,” I nodded, a teasing smirk playing across my lips.

  Seriously, Finn? You said you weren’t going to pick up a girl tonight, my inner voice said to me.

  Who said I couldn’t change my mind? At least I didn’t jump one of the other fifty girls that had gone through my group like a dog who was looking for a bone. The way her cheeks blushed as she looked down and away from me only made me want to look into her eyes more. No girl had ever made me feel like this, not even Natalie.

  There was something honestly wrong with me right now, maybe Coach Thompson’s killer drills fucked with my head. When her eyes didn’t look back up at me, I checked to see where she was looking…did I have a hard on like I thought I did? She was looking at my arm around her waist, thankfully. Shit, maybe she had a boyfriend…I did not need to have the shit kicked out of me because I laid my hands on someone else’s girl. I moved my hand away from her waist and laughed nervously as I put it into my back pocket.

  “Why don’t I help you get your water?” I asked, moving backwards and slightly shoving Isaac and Joel out of the way before I offered this mystery woman my seat.

  The bartenders were really busy tonight, the bar more packed than I assumed was normal. It was the least I could do to help her out and get one of their attention for her.

  “Thanks, but you don’t have to do that…um…I don’t even know your name,” she nervously ran her hand through her hair as she bit her lip. Holy hell.

  Then it hit me. Yeah, we didn’t exactly do the whole introduction thing. I did just sort of pick her up mid-fall, there wasn’t much time to exchange pleasantries.

  I extended my hand out to her, being the gentleman that my southern upbringing had instilled in me, “Finn.”

  “Julianna,” her soft hand slipped into mine as her smile lit up her face.

  My breath caught in my throat momentarily. That shit never happened to me.

  Swallowing my breath, I returned her smile, “Now, let’s see if we can get you that water.”

  I turned to the bar and raised my hand at the bartender who had been serving me and my friends for most of the evening. When we went out, we were great tippers, so he practically jumped at the chance to come over and get me whatever I needed. Just as I was about to tell him that she wanted a glass of water, I felt a light pressure on my shoulder and for the second time in such a short period of time, my damn breath caught in my throat.

  “Finn, it’s totally fine. You can get back to your friends and your girlfriend. I’m perfectly capable of attempting to get a glass of water.”

  Girlfriend? What girlfriend? My gaze returned to Julianna as confusion took over, “Girlfriend?”

  Julianna looked over my shoulder and lifted her chin in the direction of someone behind me, “You know, the girl who looks like she wants to ravage you right here on the bar top?”

  I turned around and looked at the red-head that was staring at me earlier. Before I could stop myself, I started to laugh in disbelief. How could she think that that was my type?

  “To be honest, Julianna, I don’t know who that girl is. She came over with her friends to talk to me and my friends.”

  She nodded, narrowing her eyes slightly. I guess she didn’t exactly believe me and any other time I wouldn’t care, but for some reason I cared now.

  “What can I get you, Mr. McAllister?” The bartender asked, a little too polite for my liking.

  “What did I say, Tom? Call me Finn,” I chuckled as I threw a few dollar bills on the bar, “This lovely lady would like a glass of water.”

  I knew that water was free, but he was eager to help and I only found it right to tip him. While the bartender filled up a glass with ice and water, I could hear Bo trying to pick up a girl nearby. We could use the soccer player card as much as we wanted—because it was the truth—but he was laying it on thick tonight. The bartender handed me Julianna’s glass of water and I thanked him before giving it over to Julianna.

  “Your water, m’lady,” I grinned as she took the glass from me, her fingers brushing against mine slightly. Her touch was so light, but it still made my heart race.

  “Thank you again,” she started, her next sentence seemed to surprise even her, “So, do you think you’re the shit like your friends over there?”

  Laughter bubbled out of my mouth, apparently, she could hear Bo more than I thought. When I started laughing, Julianna quietly giggled and I had to fight off my breath catching my throat yet again.

  It was time to be honest with her, “Well, I guess sometimes soccer players have a bit of an inflated ego.”

  Her lightly glossed lips latched onto the black straw that sat in her water and I could barely focus on her next question, “Soccer players? You guys play soccer?”

  “Yeah, we play for Minnesota United FC. The major league soccer team.”

  Whenever I mentioned that tidbit of information, girls were almost always ready to drop their panties for me. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was about athletes that made girls so desperate, but it wasn’t all that bad. Her reaction was one that I wasn’t expecting as she pursed her lips.

  “Was that last part supposed to make me swoon?” She questioned.

  My eyes opened wide. No girl had ever asked if she was supposed to swoon for me, “Most girls do, I will admit.”

  Julianna stood up from the barstool that I had vacated for her and gently patted my shoulder, “Well, I’m not like most girls then I guess. Thanks for the water and thank you for saving me from a major fall.”

  “Anytime,” I found myself saying, even though I was in complete shock.

  I watched her walk away from me and I couldn’t stop watching her until she took her seat next to another brunette. There was only one guy at the table with her, but he was watching the girl next to him with the look that Cooper and Ashton looked at their wives. Julianna was definitely not like other girls, I had never had that type of connection and easy-going conversation with any girl before. Fuck, what was she doing to me?

  “Are you okay, man? I saw you chatting up a girl,” Bo leaned over after he placed another order of alcohol for himself with the bartender.

  “She was not any ordinary girl, Bo,” I shook my head as I asked for my own glass of water.

  My body felt like it was on fire with just the memory of her body flush against mine. I felt like I could still hear her voice right next to me, feel her hand on my shoulder. What in the world was I feeling right now?

  He drunkenly chuckled, “What do you mean? She looked pretty ordinary to me.”

  I shot him a look that told him to back the fuck off, “You didn’t talk to her, dude. She was…sassy and smart. Fuck, I don’t even know how to describe anything right now.”

  “Then go fucking talk to her again, Finn. I haven’t seen you this hung up on a girl in…well…ever.”

  Before I could come up with a reason as to why this was probably a bad decision, Bo shoved me off of my barstool. It couldn’t hurt to see if we really had the connection that we had, right? If I got her alone and out of here, maybe I would see that it was just the electricity of all the people around us that made me feel like that. I made my way over to where Julianna sat with her friends. Her head was down as she swirled her straw in her drink, her friends ceasing whatever conversation was taking place the second that I came up behind her.

  Julianna took notice to the sudden silence of her friends and raised her head, “Uh, why are you all staring at me?”

  I cleared my throat to get her attention, since none of her friends were saying anything to her. She slowly turned around to look at me over her shoulder. Surprise registered before a blush painted her cheeks, causing me to smile. I
had never been able to make a girl blush as much as I had made Julianna blush in our short period of knowing one another.

  “Hey, Finn,” she said quietly.

  “Julianna, do you want to take a walk with me?” I asked, hoping she would say yes.

  She looked at the pink Fitbit that sat on her left wrist and bit her lip, “It’s almost midnight, how can I be sure that you aren’t some axe murderer trying to lure me away from my friends to kill me?”

  Damn, she was funny. If I was an axe murderer, I would have kidnapped her while we were talking at the bar. Okay, I needed to stop watching murderer documentaries on Netflix.

  I extended my hand out to her once again, “Guess you’ll just have to take a leap of faith.”

  Smooth, McAllister, very smooth.

  Her friend beside her nudged her arm, “Go ahead, we won’t leave without you. Take your phone…just in case.”

  Julianna hesitantly took her phone out of her purse but left her purse on her chair. She slid on her gray winter jacket before she took my hand in hers. When I turned around and led us outside, I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure why I was bracing myself for disappointment.

  There was a lot of electricity buzzing happening with the people around us, that was probably why I felt such a strong connection with this girl that I had just met. The night air was cold, just another sign that winter was in full swing in the Twin Cities. I could only hope that my hand wasn’t nervously sweating as Julianna’s hand held onto mine. It was time to get to know this woman just a little bit more.

  “So, I told you what I do. What do you do, Julianna?”

  She took a deep breath before she answered, “I write for the Variety section of Star Tribune. Mostly about celebrities, but I write about books and music as well.”

  “Have you always wanted to write?” I moved my gaze from the bench further in front of us over to her.

  “Isn’t it my turn to ask a question?” She giggled, gently bumping her arm into mine.

  She had a point, “Fair enough, your question is…”

  “Why did you want to walk with me?”