The Rookie

by A J Kent

“I’m sorry,” I manage to squeak out.

  Lord, I thought Theodore was big, but this guy is huge. Like Hulk fucking huge. This guy must have been a hockey player or something in another life.

  “Rory, right?” he questions pointing at me with a big and very meaty finger.

  I nod, “In the flesh, and you are?”

  He chuckles, “Thomas Monroe, I am on the same team as Theo.”

  I knew that. I was just playing dumb. I can’t exactly admit that I know a lot about him, even down to the point that I know where he vacationed last summer.

  “Well good to meet you,” I say as I walk past him and head for the fridge where I stored my chicken salad and fruit pot this morning.

  “Rory?” Thomas says, stopping me from getting my lunch.

  I close the fridge and turn around to look at him.

  He is a very good-looking man. Huge muscles, dark hair and bright blue eyes that you wouldn’t mind getting lost in. They’re not the eyes you want to get lost in though, are they?

  “Yes?”

  He walks closer and leans down, his mouth close to my ear, “Go easy on our guy. He’s more damaged than you think,” he says before smiling and heading out of the lunchroom.

  I stand up straight and my breath turns rapid.

  What the hell is that supposed to mean? Go easy on our guy. Our guy. As if Theodore is our guy. Why should I go easy on him when he wants nothing to do with me? Also, what does Thomas mean that Theodore is damaged? More damaged than you think. What has happened to him and why don’t I know about it? As much as I care about Theodore, this is not my problem. This cannot be my problem anymore. He’s not giving me the time of day, so I won’t be doing the same for him. Like I said, if it is a game he wants, then a game he’s going to get.

  I catch my breath before re-opening the door to the fridge. I grab my lunch and walk over to the table by the window, I sit down, put my earbuds in to stop the noise and tuck into my food.

  Silence.

  I love silence.

  I don’t know why but I find it peaceful. Refreshing even.

  It allows me to disconnect with everything and everyone around me and it allows me to clear my mind and refocus on the most important things.

  My life has always been full of so much noise, so much chaos. So, whenever I get a moments silence, I cherish it.

  I savour it.

  I hate to admit it but avoiding Theodore is proving to be more challenging than I thought it would be. For some reason he seems to be everywhere I go. Of course, excluding training as that is kind of mandatory. He goes to the same coffee shop as me, the same supermarket, I’ve noticed that he lives a few minutes down the road from me and he even runs in the same areas of the park that I do.

  It is not like I’ve been stalking him or anything, but whenever we are in the same place my eyes are instantaneously drawn to him. I can’t quite describe the connection, but the magnetic force is too much for me to avoid sometimes. I guess this is what happens when you’ve basically been in love with the same person your whole life.

  I just wish I could get him out of my mind because nothing good comes out of liking someone who does not like you back.

  Like I said before, I am a hopeless romantic, I get hurt by things and not being wanted by someone I’ve wanted for so long is near excruciating.

  One way or another I am going to get Theodore Riley out of my head and out of my heart.

  I am not sure how and when, but it is going to happen.

  It is time for Theodore to vacate my heart and give some room for someone else to go there.

  I want someone to love me just as much as I love them.

  I just want to be wanted.

  5

  Theodore

  “So, how’s the training going?” Henley asks as he deals another round of cards from the deck.

  I look at my cards, two kings, before answering him, “Interesting, there’s some talented rookies.” I can understand why the academy found them desirable as each of them possess something the academy might be lacking or need more of. They’re working hard and even though I hate to admit it, starting to gain my respect.

  “Interesting is definitely one word for them,” he laughs as he turns the cards over from the deck he’s holding.

  “Interesting, how?” Thomas questions as his brow creases as he scans the cards being turned over on the table in front of him.

  Henley laughs, “Have you seen the women?” he asks practically drooling. “They are fucking out of this world.”

  I roll my eyes, “Like I said before, down boy. They’re women, not toys.”

  He holds his hands up, “Hey, I have my eyes for the redhead okay, yours is safe.”

  Fin chuckles and Thomas rolls his eyes.

  “None of them are mine.” I grit through my teeth.

  Fin shakes his head, “She might not be yours, but you definitely have the hots for her.”

  I sigh and sulk into the leather chair I am sat on, “Listen, fuckers, Rory and I were friends once upon a time. We are nothing. She is nothing to me, now move the fuck on.”

  “Touchy,” Henley says.

  I growl, “It just fucks me off that you all seem to think I have the hots for her.”

  They all laugh.

  Seriously what is their fucking problem. I thought we agreed to a poker night, not a fucking ‘interrogate Theo on his interest in rookie’s’ night. Not that I am interested in any of the rookies.

  Keep telling yourself that Theo.

  “Are you blind?” Henley questions.

  “No, pretty sure I can see fine. You’re the one with glasses after all, not me,” I respond in my most sarcastic tone.

  He laughs and shakes his head, “Well she is a fucking blinder. If I wasn’t drawn to the redhead, I would be climbing Rory like a fucking tree.”

  “I agree man, get in there quickly or I’m going to introduce myself,” Fin says.

  I don’t know why but I feel sick to my stomach and I feel like I want to smash one of their fucking smug faces against a brick wall. How did I end up with best friends who want to fuck any woman in the vicinity?

  They can have any woman they want, why are they showing so much interest in Rory. I’ve showed them pictures of her before and they’ve never made a fuss so why here, why now? I get it, she has curves for days that are screaming to be fisted and a face that leaves you breathless. But she is just another woman.

  Once again, keep telling yourself that.

  Keep telling yourself that Rory is just another woman. Another woman you don’t care about.

  “You guys are fucking disgusting,” I scowl, throwing my cards across the table to fold.

  They laugh, “All we’re saying is that girl is not going to be single for long” Thomas says as he takes a sip from his beer bottle.

  Wait, do they know something I don’t know.

  “What do you mean, she won’t be single for long?”

  “Red told me she has a date with Hanksy on Friday.”

  Hanksy. Ethan Hanks. As fucking if would Rory agree to go on a date with that womanizing jackass. Don’t get me wrong, myself and my friends love women just like the next person but when we are with a woman, we treat them with respect, we treat them how they should be treated, but Hanks, he’s a different kind of breed.

  He sees women as objects. As prizes, as trophies.

  Two years ago he got into a lot of shit for having a list of all the women he fucked or was going to fuck at the academy and for some reason, the dull fucker put the Director of the FBI on the list. He beds women and then bins them.

  Don’t you kind of do the same thing as well?

  Rory surely knows this.

  Surely, she is smarter than this.

  “That guy is a sick fuck,” I say, bile rising up from my stomach to my throat

  “Hear hear,” the guys say in unison.

  Henley deals another round of cards and Fin grabs us each another beer as we settle in for the ev
ening and I continue to play the game, keeping my game face on.

  I need to find a way to get Rory out of her date with Ethan, but we aren’t best friends anymore and sure, I know she’s a hopeless romantic and whenever she gets with someone, she is thinking of her endgame. Marriage, children and a happy ending.

  She has always longed for a husband and a happy family.

  I guess it’s because she came from a broken home and the fact that she made us watch too many chick flicks growing up, she has unrealistic expectations of people, of men, of the world.

  She thinks the world is full of unicorns and rainbows.

  When in fact it is full of cutthroat people ready to knock you down the first chance they get.

  Well I am not letting that happen to Rory.

  She may have hurt me in the past, but the thought of her spending time with Ethan makes me want to throw up on this table.

  The fact that this guy makes me feel physically sick just proves how horrid he is.

  Okay Theo, let yourself believe that your issue is with Hanksy.

  ◆◆◆

  Me: Meet me at Pine View Park. Fifteen minutes.

  The three dots appear straight away as I eagerly wait for a reply.

  Rory: Who is this and how did you get my number?

  Me: Mallory, really.

  I am the only person outside of her family who knows her real name. I’d be surprised if she told her best friend Charlotte that her name was not actually Rory.

  Rory: Like I said before, how did you get my number?

  Feisty as ever, I love it.

  Me: Mallory Raymona Holmes, I work for the FBI…

  Rory: Dickhead. See you in fifteen.

  Oh, thank fuck for that. I really thought she was going to refuse to see me.

  Then again, curiosity runs through her blood, so she is not going to be able to resist seeing me to find out what I want.

  I pull my black hoodie over my head and grab my FBI baseball cap from my bedside table. I run downstairs and jump into my car before starting up the engine. Seven minutes later I am pulling into the car park at Pine View Park and Rory is already here sporting her own FBI baseball cap, her blonde hair loose, with her curls hanging down her back with a few strands loose at the front.

  I get out of my car and jog over to where Rory is stood.

  “Theodore,” Rory says as I get closer.

  When will this fucking woman realise that nobody is allowed to call me Theodore anymore? It is fucking Theo.

  Well, at least two can play this game.

  “Mallory.” I reply.

  “Touché,” she laughs as she kicks a pebble into the lake in front of us.

  “So, I guess you’re wondering why I summoned you here?”

  She pushes her lips into a straight line before smiling and looking up at me.

  Christ.

  Those eyes.

  Those sapphire blue fucking eyes.

  They’ve been the bane of my existence since fucking middle school. She would bash those gorgeous eyes at me whenever she wanted something or when something wasn’t going her way and I would cave, I would always give in.

  Things haven’t changed by the looks, as I am just about ready to give into anything she wants right now.

  I don’t care what the demands are, I am ready to submit.

  “So why am I here, Riley?”

  Use of my surname. Interesting.

  “I heard you are going on a date with Ethan?”

  Her smile falters and she crosses her arms, “Yeah so, what’s it got to do with you?”

  Stubborn woman.

  “I’m just looking out for you, that dick is a fucking womaniser and will hurt you.”

  She scoffs, “Why do you care if someone hurts me Theodore?”

  I shrug, picking up a pebble and skimming it across the lake, “We might not be friends anymore Rory, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you and your feelings.”

  I don’t want to care about her, I want to stay away, I want to avoid her but that is proving to be difficult.

  Like I said before, there’s some magnetic shit pulling us together.

  “Theodore, you are so hot and cold,” she says removing her hat and pulling her long, blonde hair into a messy top knot. Don’t even ask how I know what they are called.

  “Ethan has done horrible things to women; I just didn’t want you to be one of them. I would have said the same to any other woman.”

  When are you going to stop kidding yourself Theo. Yes, you may have warned other women away from him but there’s only one you really care about.

  “I know he’s a jerk,” she admits, “He was just going to scratch an itch I needed assistance with,” she says with no hint of embarrassment in her voice.

  You fucking what now.

  I cough and nearly choke on the words that just left her heart shaped, full lips.

  “Pardon fucking me?” I manage to get out.

  She laughs “Women have needs as well Theodore, unlike you I don’t have men lining up to help me with those needs, so I need to seek people out myself, I’m tired of itching those scratches myself.”

  Dumb founded, bewildered, speechless.

  Horny.

  Oh lord, what is she trying to do to me right now.

  I hope there’s a defibrillator close as my heart is about to give out.

  Is this woman absolutely, fucking insane?

  Does she not realise that all the single men in the academy and probably the fucking world would do anything to have her on her back, panting their name as she reached her release.

  Hell, I even want her on her back right now. Thinking of her touching herself is enough to send me over the edge.

  “I think you sell yourself short, Rory,” I say as I walk closer to her, “A lot of men want to fuck you.”

  And I’m at the top of the list.

  A gasp leaves her lips and her skin turns crimson.

  Bingo. I love how her body reacts to my words.

  “Well I don’t see them lining up,” she says flapping her arms around.

  So naïve, so oblivious, so unaware.

  “You’re not looking hard enough, sweetheart.”

  All you need to do is look right in front of you.

  She shrugs, “Maybe, maybe not. But that doesn’t matter anymore as I have a date to relieve me of this irritating and ever-growing itch.”

  Fuck me. This girl is giving me a raging hard-on in a fucking public place.

  I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on by words coming out of a woman’s mouth.

  Well not all women are Rory are they dickhead.

  “Well I’ll be seeing you,” she says as she walks back towards her car.

  Stop her Theodore. Stop your former best friend from getting her sexual release from someone who turns your stomach.

  Tell her you’ll be happy to oblige.

  I want to stop her. I want to tell her not to sleep with him but it’s not my place. She’s a grown woman and I’m her ex-best friend. She’s never going to listen to anything I say, Rory is the kind of woman who doesn’t like to be told what to do. If you tell her to do one thing, she is almost always going to do the opposite, at least when it comes to me.

  If you tell her not to dye her hair, she’ll turn up with turquoise coloured hair, if you tell her not to go to a party, she will go to a party and strip to her underwear and dance on the table. I’m not sure if she just does it with me or if she does it with other people, but either way Rory Holmes does not listen to me.

  She’s her own woman.

  A hopeless romantic.

  A tenacious mind

  And a beautiful soul.

  I guess she is the woman I allowed to get away.

  The woman I never admitted to having feelings for in high school.

  The woman who broke my heart when she went to college three thousand miles away, the one who broke my heart when she didn’t reach out and the one who tore my heart to sheds and
lit it on fire when she blanked me and acted as if I didn’t exist when we crossed paths a few years ago.

  I guess she is the one that got away.

  Either way, I promised myself that I would never fall for her again. I promised myself I would never give her or another woman my heart. I may be tough and strong on the exterior, but my interior is wounded, broken and fragile.

  I guess in short, Rory broke me.

  Rory broke me.

  Shit. How did I not realise this?

  No wonder why I’m fighting my urges to make up with her.

  My heart can’t handle another heartbreak.

  I can’t handle another heartbreak.

  6

  Rory

  Game, set, match,

  Thoughts of Theodore’s face when I told him that I was going to sleep with Ethan flash through my mind as I search through the dresses on the rails of the small, local boutique Lottie insisted we came to, to get a dress for tonight.

  He looked like he was going to combust into a thousand pieces.

  That or he was majorly turned on by the words coming out of my mouth.

  Hell, I was turned on when he said a lot of men wanted to fuck me. My body couldn’t help but respond to those dirty words.

  My mind couldn’t help imagining his body on top of mine.

  I continue searching for the perfect dress as Lottie does the same. The academy is throwing a charity gala and all members of the academy, including Rookies have to attend.

  All members of the academy, including Theodore.

  Theodore in a suit. Oh boy, I might be in trouble.

  “What about this one?” Lottie asks as she pulls a white dress from the clothes rack and holds it up in the air so I can see the whole thing.

  “It’s cute, but not you,” I say as I continue to push dresses upon dresses across the rack.

  “So how did it go with Ethan?”

  I shrug, “It didn’t.”

  She stops what she is doing and walks around so she is stood directly in front of me.

  “How come?”

  This is why I don’t tell Lottie if I intend on sleeping with someone. She gets so caught up on it and wants to know all the ins and outs.

  “I just didn’t fancy letting him touch me.”