Bush League: New Adult Sports Romance

by Pfeiffer Jayst

  My fingers typed furiously as the venom frothed in my brain. It was hard not to laugh at how easily the words came to me and also at how therapeutic this whole exercise was. Letting out this pent-up steam was the first thing that had made me feel better since my world had come crashing down.

  Like some sort of poor-man's Captain Jack, Finn takes the stage armed with juvenile lyrics and a very basic understanding of the guitar strapped across his body. SharkFin's devoted fanbase couldn't care less, they continue to return for accessible fluff, comfort food. Like crowds inside of a fast food restaurant, they know what they're eating is basically poison but push that to the back of their minds so that they can choke down another genetically produced, preservative laden slop-sandwich, the only redeeming quality of which is that it's warm, or in this case, ridiculously loud. The band cranks their amps “to 11” in an attempt to mask what they're selling as “music”.

  It was mean, it was petty but I absolutely loved it. Mikki was gonna have a fit but thankfully, she didn't hold the reigns too tight. She was never hesitant to let me dig my own grave, which I appreciated. It may hurt Finn a little as well but that wasn't a concern of mine; he had enough people blowing smoke up his ass. Big boy was going to have to get used to the fact that some people were going to see through his shit.

  Who knows what would be left of my diatribe after a few rounds of edits but so far, this was proving to be quite cathartic. Finn was human, a flawed human who wasn't worth the pain and anguish he had caused me. If I we to be honest with myself, he wasn't even that hot. His look had been done a thousand times before and better too. The boyish charm would soon fade and he'd be just another washed up loser in leather pants.

  I felt the chains keeping me tied to Finn fall off of my body as the epiphany erupted in my head: I had been making him out to be someone he was not. He was clearly flawed, hiding behind a made-up persona that was fooling people for the time being but unlikely to last. Once that major label album came out, he'd be a tiny fish in a big ocean of sharks ready to eat him up. His clock was ticking. A little chuckle to myself as I thought about how silly it was of someone like me getting so hung up on someone like him.

  “What are you doing?”

  My blood ran cold as I heard his voice suddenly at my door.

  *****

  Chapter Fourteen

  Finn

  She didn't need to know that I blew off those hot girls to race back to her. She didn't need to know that I drove that bike way too fast and certainly too recklessly to get to her as soon as I could. All she needed to know was that I was there, in front of her.

  "Hey," I muttered or something equally as aloof as I accidentally scared her. Allie hadn't been expecting me and she froze in place on her bed. She looked so damned cute with her eyes all wide, all flustered and waiting for me to make the next move. As she stared me down, I watched as she slowly tried to move her laptop out of view.

  "What's that?!" I asked with added enthusiasm, a purpose now for my visit. Allie struggled to hide the laptop under her pillows, her braless chest bouncing with each movement she made on the bouncy bed. I dove onto her mattress to gain possession of that computer, to find out what she was up to.

  My body landed on hers as we wrestled for control of her closed computer. Her legs wrapped around my body in an attempt for leverage, our outstretched arms intertwined against her soft blankets. We both had our hands on one portion of the computer as she let out a small, exasperated groan right into my ear. I could feel her breath against my face, her hair tickling my skin. I got incredibly hard almost immediately, pressing into the soft spot between her legs and against her pajama pants and I know she felt it.

  "Finn..." she whispered as our eyes met, no longer fighting for control of the laptop but instead fighting against what we both clearly wanted so badly. I kept eye contact with her as my lips extended and met hers, soft, supple and inviting.

  It was a slow, tentative kiss but enough to set my whole body on fire. I felt her all around me and realized we were meant for each other, we fit perfectly. There was nowhere else in the world I would rather be.

  Not soon after our tongues had barely come into contact, I felt Allie's flat hands against my chest, applying increasing pressure to push us apart. It wasn't enough to deter me and I found her lips again, kissing her as though my life depended on it. She seemed at war with herself, trying to push me away while her mouth couldn't stop kissing me.

  "Finn..." she whispered again while being sure to put a distance between us. "We can't."

  Allie crossed her arms over her chest and scooted over to the far end of the bed, not even able to look at me as she pouted. The frustration boiled in my body and I reacted too quickly.

  "Come on, you know you want more of this. Everyone does."

  Her face turned sour at my poorly chosen words. A look of disgust soon washed over her face, something I never wanted her to feel about me.

  "Don't you remember the chateau?" As I tried to get closer to her, Allie jumped off the bed and to the other side of the room. She turned her back to me when I tried to join her there.

  "We had such a good time together..."

  As Allie remained focused on the desk I had her up against, I pressed my whole self, including the stubborn erection, into her warm, inviting body. I felt her shiver as I caressed her bare arms.

  "It meant nothing, Finn. It was just a fling. You meant nothing."

  She squirmed a little but I wasn't budging, not after she so clearly tried to hurt me.

  "It was just a fling," I purred into her ear. "I didn't mean anything, you're right. I just thought I'd give you another go-round with the best you'll ever have. This may be your last shot, there's a long line of girls begging me.”

  I felt her body grow cold underneath me and, after doing her best to avoid making eye contact with me, she was now staring deeply into my eyes. It wasn't hard to see the hurt radiating from them, I had stuck the knife too deep.

  Allie grabbed me by the arm and forcefully dragged me to the door. "You're such an asshole," she bellowed loud enough to convince us both that she meant it. Scrambling my brain for a retort proved futile and I stood there stunned, full of regret. When the door slammed in my face yet again, I still hasn't found the words to make it better.

  *****

  Chapter Fifteen

  Allie

  After Finn had exasperated me so, I knew continuing to write would be impossible. A simple nap was in order to try and clear my head. The ease at which I fell asleep was surprising considering how annoyed and angry I had been. My slumber was peaceful and pleasant until it was interrupted by the sensation that I wasn't alone in the room. I had to remember that I wasn't alone in my studio apartment, I was in the farmhouse where privacy wasn't something to expect. With eyes still closed I rolled over, assuming Dakota would get the hint and either go somewhere else or go to bed herself. When she didn't, I let my eyes open a tiny bit to see what she was up to. My heart began to race once I saw that the intern wasn't sitting at my desk, it was him.

  "What the hell are you doing in here?" I asked with the appropriate amount of anger. He was sitting at my desk, rudely going through the laptop I had placed there, as though he had every right to do so. This guy just didn't quit.

  "Well now I know what you really think of me," he said as though he had the right to be hurt or offended. My blankets were pressed to my chest as I tried to fathom the audacity he showed in going through my stuff as I slept. There was just no way I could fathom someone acting the way he did. Even so, I cursed myself silently when I couldn't help but notice that I still found him impossibly hot. Something about the hurt in his voice was true and it made him vulnerable, something I thought that I had wanted.

  "It's just a first draft," I explained. He didn't wait for more of an explanation, instead coming over to the bed again.

  "A walking cliche...," Finn's eyebrow raised as he inches towards me on his knees. "A poor-man's Captain Jack..."

&nb
sp; There was no way around it, he was going to see what I wrote sooner or later. Still though, it was hard to own up to the venom; the final version would be much less raw and he should never have seen the words that flowed from my brain without the benefit of editing.

  Without even doing so consciously, or maybe even as a sort of apology, my legs slowly kicked the blankets off of my body, bringing us just a little bit closer. There wasn't much of a barrier between us and I found him hovering over me again, Finn's sweet breath dancing with my own in the small space between us. My legs opened slightly and he took the cue, positioning his body between my thighs, pressing himself against me, dismaying me because of how badly I didn't want it to stop. As the smile and charm I had alternated between melting for and hating returned, Finn lowered his face even closer to mine, stunted breath from my lips bouncing off of him in record time. Our bodies became in sync, my chest rising and lowering with the tempo of his own breath.

  "Preservative laden slop-sandwich ...really?"

  He had managed to embarrass me and I was angry when I realized that I wanted to apologize. He didn't appear to be waiting for such, instead pressing himself and his hard bulge firmly against my lower half as he brushed my hair off of my forehead. I squeezed my thighs tight against his body, betraying every promise I had made to myself. The lust pulsating inside of me demanded to be satisfied, whether my brain agreed or not.

  "Can't wait to read the rest," Finn said out the corner of his mouth with the devil in his eyes. Just as quickly as he had arrived up against me, he had removed himself, pulling back and leaving me alone, damp and heaving on the bed. I was too incensed to even say anything, words were proving impossible. Finn enjoyed my flustered state and rage grew inside of me after he winked, just before leaving. There was no way I could keep letting him work me up like this.

  *****

  Chapter Sixteen

  Finn

  I was not even two steps outside of Allie's room when I heard Vida clear her throat impatiently. She had been waiting for me and wasn't going to let me escape again.

  "Dude..." she nagged in a way she had appeared to grow fond of, "we gotta get something done."

  My feet dragged to where she was sitting, looking back at Allie's door to see if she'd magically appear to save me but no, I had to face this on my own.

  "I gotta..."

  "Finn!" Vida's patience was spread way too thin. Though I knew my reluctance to do work could possibly reflect poorly on her, my thoughts and heart were elsewhere. This wasn't how I did things.

  Vida handed me a notebook and pen, clearly hoping I would immediately start writing the next big hit. Truth was the words weren't coming to me, it was like I was blocked. My hired co-writer didn't need to know that.

  "Let's start with some general ideas," she offered, "something to help us get off the ground. Love...from your first album it sounds like you've been there. Let's talk about it."

  For the first time I looked her right in the eyes to assure her that this low-rent psychological fishing wasn't going to be as easy as she thought. I just shrugged my shoulders, raised my open, empty hands in the air while sliding down further in the chair. Vida felt she was on to something and moved herself closer to me.

  "You have felt love before, right?"

  Her head cocked as she stared me deep into my soul, trying her best to pull out what I wasn't willing to give her. She didn't know that since I had felt love before, I never wanted to feel it again. What's the point? It all ends in shit anyway, with everyone hurt. I couldn't put myself through that again, even if the only person I had ever loved was right down the damned hallway.

  "No."

  My eyes refused to make contact with Vida as she hemmed and hawed about how I should try to open up, to let myself let people in.

  At night when my eyes would close, I'd try, really try to let new songs come to me but instead I would only think about the fuzzy happiness and warmth I felt in that hotel room with Allie. What was the point in ever trying to recapture that feeling? It happened and was now over and wouldn't ever happen again.

  The sound of Allie's door opening snapped me right back to reality. As Vida droned on about something or other, my heart raced as I watched the pretty girl, now dressed and made up, walk right towards us. For all of my tough talk, the moment I saw her again I was reduced to a bunch of nerves. I watched her coming right for me and then pass right by without a word or even a glance. She was off to find Dakota and left me with the frustrated Vida, trying desperately to get words to paper.

  "Maybe you'll just have to fake it, I don't know what to tell you," Vida fumed.

  She was unaware but had just handed me the sentence for the rest of my life. When I noticed that Allie hadn't left yet, that she was lingering and trying to listen to what we were up to, I used that to my advantage.

  “Kind of warm in here, no?” I asked a confused Vida. When I motioned that she might be more comfortable if she took off her pink hoodie, she agreed and slowly zipped the zipper down. Maybe she forgot that she only had a tight, tight tank top on underneath but whatever the case, her two large, barely covered melons were soon out. I heard Allie audibly scoff, letting me know I had her where I wanted her. It took Vida a few moments to realize how exposed she had let herself become, crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at me as she waited for new lyrics to flow out of me.

  Since it was obvious that Allie was still keeping close tabs on what we were doing on the couch, I couldn't resist having a little fun. Vida had moved on past my leering and let her guard down just enough for me to have an in. I started stretching my arms and back, moving my shoulders back and forth. Vida looked on curiously, trying to figure out what I was doing.

  “There it is,” I said after relaxing my shoulders. “My little trick. If I can't press my shoulder blades together, I know I'll have to get to the gym asap.”

  It was fun to watch the wheels turning in my co-songwriter's head as she tried to process what I had told her. The power of suggestion had her stretching, trying to press her own shoulder blades together. Her thin tank top struggled to contain her two gorgeous, full breasts as she pushed them forward. Allie figured out what was going on and huffed loudly as I struggled to contain my own glee. Vida took a bit to pick up on it, letting her large breasts protrude almost right up in my face. Once Allie stormed out of the house, Vida put two and two together. With one hand she pulled her hoodie over those glorious tits while her leg shot up and pushed me further back into my seat.

  “You're such an asshole!” Vida chastised me as I watched the door for Allie to return.

  “I know,” I assured Vida.

  *****

  Chapter Seventeen

  Allie

  Needing to get out of that house and away from him, I suggested to Dakota that we go for a drive to go over ideas for my piece. She happily agreed, eager to have a chance for some input with the article. Without a destination or a plan really, we drove off in search of inspiration away from the anger that leaked over my last draft. Dakota flashed her phone and plugged it right into the car, without even waiting for my approval.

  "I brought this for us to listen to. Finn let me record him playing."

  Dakota reached for the volume knob and was so bold as to turn it up as though volume would make everything all better. It was clear she hadn't studied audio engineering, the static noise from the air in the room was almost as loud as the first few chords that he started to strum. Since I had heard SharkFin's music back and forth, I was waiting for something familiar to start to play. A few bars in and it was clear I was hearing something new.

  "He said this is something he's working on -"

  "Shhhh," my reprimand was fast, unwilling to miss any of this exclusive.

  Gator's got teeth and she knows how to bite

  What I wouldn't give, for just one more night...

  I had to pull over the car to concentrate on the song. There were only the beginnings of a verse and a chorus but enough to l
eave me breathless. Dakota was kind enough to keep quiet as I took her phone and started the song again and then once more. Instead of being gleeful - one of the most popular musicians in the world was clearly singing a song about me - I felt a rush of emotions I didn't understand. Embarrassed, angry, sad. It was a challenge to contain it all in front of the intern.

  "Are you...ok?" Dakota asked while gesturing to her face, clearly alerting me to the fact that mine had grown red. She didn't need to inform me, I could feel the warmth above my neck, like a pressure cooker needing a release. Turning the wheel sharply, I hit the gas to get us back to where we had come from.

  "Email me that song, I've got some writing to do."

  *****

  Chapter Eighteen

  Finn

  Vida and I hadn't made much progress when Allie came storming through the door, Dakota close behind. Vida did her best to keep my attention but I just lazily strummed my acoustic guitar as I watched Allie go off to her room. Even angry I found her impossibly cute, her button nose wrinkled as she did all she could to avoid my gaze. The door slammed and Dakota hung on the perimeter of this song-writing pow-wow, mystified though clearly there wasn't any magic happening.