by Magan Vernon
Was he following me? Should I have been worried? Okay, I wasn't worried in the least bit. There was something about him that wasn’t threatening at all. Something almost endearing.
Every interview I'd seen of him, he was a giant goof. Usually the internet would come up with tons of memes of his dumb answers to every question. But I wondered if I would have any better answers if I was ambushed right after swimming all day. TNC always seemed to bombard him right outside where he practiced in LA.
Not that I watched every single one of his interviews.
Slowly he slid his giant, blue down parka off of his shoulders and stepped behind me.
“Can’t a guy just take a nice little stroll behind a restaurant in Texas when it’s sixteen degrees out?"
He stepped closer. "Here, I’m sure this place wouldn’t be able to operate if you were out of work from getting sick." He draped the jacket over my shoulders then I turned around to face him.
“No, it’s fine, really. I’m fine." I lifted my hand to take the jacket off of my shoulders when he put his hand on top of mine and let it sit there.
“No, really." The temperature in my hand pricked up to a million degrees. Every part of me was aware of his hand on mine. He smiled a tight-lipped smile that filled his whole face.
I just stood there staring at our hands, not noticing that he was completely staring me down with those ice blue eyes.
“Uh…” I stammered, “Thanks. I mean. This is nice. What are you doing here anyway? Don't you live in California or something?"
Way to go, Lia. Just go and ask questions and start poking around.
He smiled, nodding slightly. "Yeah. It's where I usually live, but Coach found a place for us to train out here, so we thought we'd get away from everything and spend some time in Texas. I am a little disappointed that I haven't seen many cowboys, though."
I snorted. "Go to the rodeo and you'll find the real ranchers and the K-Mart cowboys that wouldn't know a donkey from a mule."
"I don't think I know the difference."
I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not sure I actually know either."
His smile turned into an all-out grin. "Oh, good I don't look like an asshole then."
"I don't think you could be an asshole."
Shit. I grinned like an idiot, staring at his panty-dropping smile.
"That's not what everyone else seems to think," he muttered.
"I'm sorry?"
He shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry. Sometimes I get into my own head and say things out loud I shouldn't. I guess that's why I always end up looking like an ass when I'm on TV and not in a pool."
"I'm sure TV crews can make anyone think what they want."
He sighed. "I guess it's my own fault too, you know? Win a few gold medals, break a few world records, and you go crazy. Instead of focusing on the sport that got me here, I took the newfound celebrity status and ran with it. Now I'm here, trying to get back to the sport."
I never thought I’d meet Jay Morningstar, let alone have an actual conversation with him. Now here he was, telling me his whole life story, or at least the recent life story, and all I could do was stare at him.
He smirked, pulling his hand back and pulling a vape out of his pocket before taking a long drag of it. "Sorry about that. I shouldn't have spilled all of that. It sort of just happened. I think I just get nervous when I see a beautiful girl."
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore his comment, but could barely get my words out. "Should you be doing that? Isn't that bad for your swimming lungs?"
He laughed, shaking his head. "You don't tell my teammates and I won't tell that angry, Sicilian guy inside that I saw you out here."
My eyes widened. "Shit, what angry Sicilian guy? I'd better go inside."
He put the vape back in his pocket. "Too bad, I thought we could hang out and you could try and Google what the difference was between a donkey and a mule. Or maybe even talk about your taste in music and shirts. Is that a Sam Smith reference?"
I looked down at my black stained t-shirt with Stay With Me scrawled across it.
“My taste in music isn't that bad, this is for The Dictators. I mean, unless you're into Sam Smith then I'm sorry you have bad taste in music, and I should really stop rambling." I gave a lame little laugh, but stopped myself before I snorted, which I came awfully close to and had to catch my breath. Then he actually laughed in return. And not a “ha-ha you’re dumb” laugh, but like he actually found me funny!
“Well, I’m glad that it's for The Dictators. I was going to feel really stupid if it was for Sam Smith. I don't think I've ever met another person who listened to them.”
“Yeah. I kind of like old school punk. You definitely didn't sound stupid. I don't think you ever could sound stupid." I winced, okay now I was just sounding like a gushing teenage girl, which I actually was.
“Then you obviously haven’t been around me long enough..." His words fell flat. I wanted to know more and of course I couldn't help it, I had to ask more as my finger lingered on the door.
“Well are you going to be around here awhile? I mean it’s not like we get many famous people walking into the restaurant." I crossed my arms over my chest, his coat had practically molded itself around me, and I felt guilty for still wearing it when he was just standing there in a thermal and jeans. But he did look really good with the shirt hugging each line of his chiseled upper body.
“Well…” He shoved his hands back in his pockets, the cold didn’t really seem to be bothering him. “Coach is from this area originally. They built some new training center for elite swimmers a few miles from here and his family owns an old ranch up the road. I guess he figured it would be a good spot for us to train for a few months. Get away from the So-Cal madness.”
The madness. I wanted to ask how many of the TNC and tabloid rumors were true. If the girlfriend from a reality TV show was still around or if he really was on probation.
But I didn't.
Truth was, I didn't care about his past. I didn't care what the media said about him. There was something about the guy that I liked. More than I even thought I would from my fantasies that involved him in just his medals and Speedos. He was a genuinely nice guy, the first I'd been in around in a long time.
“So…uh…I guess I should get back to work and you should get back to um…your friends." I was trying to hide the nervousness in my voice, but I couldn’t help but trip over my words. I slid the coat off of my shoulders and handed it back to him. He took the coat and shrugged it back over his arms. I tried not to stare as his thermal lifted ever so slightly to reveal his defined abdominal muscles that definitely came from spending a few hours in the gym every day and not sitting in the kitchen, eating mozzarella.
“Uh…yeah…I’ll see you around…” I turned and started to creak open the back door.
“Wait!” I looked over my shoulder to see that he had his phone out.
“Do you mind if I get your number or something?” he stuttered, not looking up from his phone as he started tapping away at the keys. “It’d be kind of nice to talk to someone that wasn’t one of my teammates or coaches and since we'll both be around, I just figured we could exchange numbers or whatever."
My mouth gaped open. Was he serious? But what about Christy? Would he forget about me as soon as he spent a night in the hot tub with her? Well, I figured that if he was going to stand out in the cold with me, I guess he must be semi-interested. Or he would realize that I was just a lame ass community college student with strict parents.
“Yeah. I can do that."
Chapter 2
“So has he called you yet?”
Winter break was over and so was the idea that I had any chance with a certain Olympic swimmer.
Second semester of my sophomore year of community college in Dallas was just starting. Only a few more months and I'd have my associate’s degree. My parents wanted me to attend UT Dallas in the fall and stay at home, but I had other plans. My eyes were on the
west coast.
But right now, I had to get through English class.
My best friend, Sofie, would not leave me alone since she found out about Jay asking for my number. That had been a week ago, though, and he still had yet to call, text, or really do anything.
I drew circles on my paper, not looking up. “No…just like yesterday and the day before…”
“Ugh…” You could hear the air blow out of her braces as she spoke. “I’m tired of seeing Christy's post on Facebook about her night with the swimmers. You getting a phone call from him would be just the thing to tell her to stuff it in her flute and blow it.”
I pushed my glasses up off the bridge of my nose as I looked up at Sofie. “That didn’t make any sense.”
She twirled a frizzy brown curl around her finger. “Well…”
She put her hand down and pouted out her bottom lip. “It’s just not fair. I mean just because she’s rich and pretty and kind of skeezy doesn’t mean that she should get everything she wants.”
I sighed, Sofie didn’t need to remind me. The entire Internet, and all of our former classmates at Friendship High School had heard about her escapades in the hot tub with Scotty, but I was happy that Jay’s name was left out. It helped out a lot since it was the only silver lining I had to him not calling.
"Why are you even friends with her on Facebook? You hate Christy."
Sofie shrugged. "Because I like keeping tabs on her, okay? Geez, you're friends with her too."
I rolled my eyes before writing down the assignment for that night and packing up my stuff.
I shuffled down the hall, listening to Sofie talk. I didn't want to be reminded of the fact that a guy hadn't called me...again. Story of my pathetic life.
When I finished high school and went to community college, I thought my social life would improve. I didn't have the stigma of being the weird girl with the strict family, like I did in my small town.
But every time I'd get close to a guy in class, I thought about bringing him home to meet my parents. The embarrassing questions my brothers would ask. My nonna saying rude things about him in Italian under her breath.
And that would be if they would even consider letting a guy come over.
January was a little bit colder in Texas and the ground was crunchy underneath our feet as we crossed the small quad to the parking lot.
"Are you headed to work?" she asked.
I shook my head. "I have to go home and feed Nonna's goat then I go in later tonight.”
Sofie nodded, opening her car door, which was parked right next to my old SUV. It used to be Sonny's and he beat the hell out of it. "Okay. Text me later. Especially if Mr. Swimmer calls you."
I rolled my eyes. "You'll be the first to know, I promise."
With that I got in my car and pulled my phone out of my purse after fiddling with the key until the engine sputtered then purred to life.
Of course there wasn't a missed call or text on my screen.
I held my fingers over the phone then opened up the Facebook app, typing "Jay Morningstar" in the search bar.
The first thing that came up was his fan page so I clicked on it.
This was a stupid idea, but I had to. My fingers were flying faster than my brain as I clicked on the 'message' app.
Hi,
This is Lia, from the Italian restaurant on New Year's Eve. I know this is kind of stupid and you probably don't even check this page, but I just wanted to say 'hey' since I hadn't heard from you.
Okay, bye.
I let out a deep breath and leaned back in the seat.
God that was stupid.
And there was no way I could take it back now.
When my phone buzzed in my hand, I expected it to be Sofie, asking if I received a text, but instead it was a Facebook message from Jay's page.
Hey, Lia.
Sorry, I dropped my phone in the pool and lost my contacts and haven't replaced it yet.
I rolled my eyes. Okay, this had to be some sort of a joke.
Yeah, right. Whoever is trying to punk me on this page, you're really funny.
This isn't a punking.
Prove it.
I watched the dots on the screen until he replied.
Give me your number again.
Why? You don't have a phone.
Just give me your number.
I didn't have anything to lose, but maybe my pride, so I typed it in and immediately had a FaceTime call from [email protected]
My breath caught in my throat and I stared at the screen before pressing 'accept' and Jay's blue eyes stared back at me.
"Still think I'm punking you?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, you win. How are you even calling me?"
He leaned back and I got a few of his broad chest. His broad, shirtless chest. Damn the guy had to work out every moment of every single day.
"It's my computer. I just got done with practice."
"You probably shouldn’t use your computer near the pool if you tend to drop your phone in there."
He laughed, genuinely laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it. I'm starving. I actually just got on here to order a pizza and saw your message."
"If you wanted a pizza you should have just called me. I do work at the best Italian restaurant in Friendship. Okay, the only Italian restaurant."
A sexy smirk curved on his lips. “Well if I had a phone I would have been able to do that. Are you trying to tell me that you're going to bring me food?"
I laughed nervously, trying to think of a reply. "Well, I have to feed my nonna's goat first, but I'm sure I can put in an order for a pizza for you."
"Will you hand deliver it?"
"If I knew where you lived..."
The smirk turned into a smile. "I'm staying at the Lucky 33 ranch off of FM 6. The gate code is 4419. How long will you be?"
Holy shit. He couldn't be serious. I swallowed hard.
"Um, I can be there in about half an hour? Maybe forty-five minutes."
He grinned. "Better make it an XL pizza then. I'm starving. Can't wait to see the food. And you."
Chapter 3
The late winter snow covered the roads and had turned to slush. We didn't get much snow in Texas, and when we did everything closed down until it melted.
My car barely barreled through the muck as I took the winding road toward the ranch. Which wasn't a ranch, per say, it actually looked more like a resort.
I think my whole house could have fit inside of it twice over. The first thing I saw as I approached was a giant pond leading right up to the large structure, surrounded by a blanket of trees. I circled the pond to come up to the wooden porch that wrapped around the house and looked like it took hundreds of trees to build. I couldn't help but stare at the frosted glass windows and marvel at the intricate carvings on the gables.
"Wow,” I whispered.
I was totally out of my element. This place looked like a giant, medieval castle instead of the usual Texas ranch style.
I stared at the pizza box in the passenger seat. I told my parents I was bringing it to Sofie's to study. They believed me. I hated lying to them, but if I told them it was for a boy, a very famous boy, either they wouldn't believe me, or Ma would suggest that he come over for coffee. I didn't want to think of Jay sitting at the dining room table with my parents staring him down and asking him what his intentions were with their daughter.
"You can do this, Lia. I believe in you." I gave myself a little pep talk and fixed my hair.
I should've changed out of my flannel shirt and into something a little bit sexier to spend time with the golden boy swimmer, but it would've just made my parents more suspicious. I swiped on a coat of lip-gloss and finally opened the door, grabbing the pizza before I shut it.
Slowly I trudged to the front steps and then pressed my finger to the doorbell.
It barely rang before the door opened and there stood Jay, the Greek God himself in a waffle knit shirt and dark jeans that hug
ged his flawless legs. Seriously, I don't know what muscles he had to use to get his thighs and legs in that good of shape, but they were amazing. Even in jeans.
If I wasn't absolutely the worst with guys, I may have said something sexy. Instead, I just stared.
"You made it! And you really did bring me food. Come in!"
He grabbed the pizza with one hand and put his other hand on the small of my back, guiding me in as he shut the door.
Holy hell his hands were warm.
"Hey Jaybird!" someone yelled.
I turned my head to see Johnny and Scotty camped out on a large L-shaped leather couch, wearing nothing more than some gym shorts as a War type video game blasted away on the giant TV that was mounted on the wall above a fireplace.
"Hey, guys." Jay edged me toward the room with him. I was afraid that my muddy Chuck Taylors were going to stain the ornate wooden floors and tried not to focus on how much slush I was dragging in.
"Whoa." Johnny sprung up from the couch. He actually sprang a little too much because I swear that I saw more from his shorts than I really needed to. "You brought us pizza?"
Johnny opened the box and grabbed a piece, shoveling it in his mouth. "I hope Jay told you that he's the least attractive of all of us and has the smallest penis so don't get too excited by his gold medals."
"Uh…" I looked up at Jay.
"Dude!" Jay jabbed Johnny in the shoulder. With the size of Jay's arms compared to Johnny's that had to sting.
"Ah, dude." Johnny rubbed his shoulder. "I was just messing with you."
"Well are you going to introduce us or keep her all to yourself?" Scotty sauntered over, grabbing two slices of pizza.
All three guys were definitely attractive and any girl's wet dream with their lean yet muscular builds and short, spiky hair. Sofie would have been in heaven.
"Dudes, you guys met her already, but I'll introduce her again. Lia, this is Scotty and Johnny." He nodded toward them. "Guys, this is Lia."