Practice Run (Mount Faith Series: Book 5)

by Barrett, Brenda

  Micah looked at him worriedly. "You know that Deidra likes me, don't you? She claims that I am her one true love."

  "Not anymore," Marcus said seriously. "We like each other."

  Micah shook his head, a frown descending on his brow. "Okay, see you later." His response was less than friendly and Marcus watched him walk off in a huff.

  *****

  Deidra had been watching the exchange between Marcus and Micah through the tinted windows of the restaurant and saw when Micah stormed away. She hoped that Marcus had told Micah that she was the one he was having lunch with. A perverse part of her wanted Micah to feel a little jealousy about her. It would be soothing to her ego after having chased him for so long.

  She watched as his tall, lanky frame rounded the corner, then she fixed her gaze back on Marcus. He had come back to Mount Faith, just to see her. She had mixed feelings about it.

  On one hand, she was elated, euphoric even. She couldn't stop grinning in her class today. She had felt like getting up in the midst of her Professional Business Practices class and singing. On the other hand, there was Tiffany. He lived with the girl and she went everywhere with him.

  He loved her; she loved him. How on earth was Tiffany fitting into this equation? Deidra had too much self-respect to be the other woman.

  Her mother had been her father's mistress for years, and was proud of it. She had had Deidra as a pawn in a game to cement her place in his life. She had no intentions of living her life like her mother had and still did, since she was now the mistress of another man in the Bahamas—Once a mistress, rarely a wife.

  She watched Marcus as he walked toward the restaurant. A tall, dark, handsome, and famous world athlete, and he liked her; liked her enough to come and see her straight after his European tour.

  She really liked him, maybe a bit more than like. It wasn't the possessive, 'why can't you like me' thing she had for Micah. It was more mature, maybe something like what the love struck Kylie was enjoying with Gareth.

  She put her head in her hands. Why did she have to feel this way about Marcus Bancroft? He was the wrong brother. He was already taken, and famous, and maybe the pin up for several women around the world.

  She looked up when he approached the table. Several persons had stopped him on his way over to the restaurant to ask for his autograph.

  "Why are you looking so glum?" he asked when he reached the table.

  "Because you are not single," Deidra said frankly, "and this is crazy. I feel a bit sleazy, like this is the start of some hole in the wall affair."

  He sat down in the chair across from hers and sighed. "So what do you recommend?"

  "I need you to choose," Deidra said, "I feel excited about you. I like you. My heart does cartwheels when they see your sultry brown eyes and those soft kissable lips, but I can't do this anymore. I am going to quit, Marcus. We are a few steps from the inevitable affair. Can't you see that?

  Marcus cleared his throat. "I just had to see you. No, affair intended. You think my eyes are sultry?"

  Deidra chuckled. "They are, and you know that. I am sure you've heard it before. It's those dense eyelashes and the shape of your brows and the way they are deep set. Even without you intending it, they say come to me."

  "Wow. Never heard them described quite that way." Marcus grinned at her. Do you have a thing for me, Deidra, except for friendship?"

  Deidra sighed. "I am not telling you anymore about my feelings for you."

  "Why not?" Marcus leaned forward. "I can tell you what I feel."

  "Don't say it." Deidra looked at him sadly. "It would either make me extremely happy or extremely depressed. Either way, this thing between us will not work, not while Tiffany is in the picture. You already have a pretty committed relationship with tracks and her, there can't be any room for me in there."

  "I'll have to make room," Marcus leaned forward and caressed her cheek.

  Deidra shook her head. "No, let me tell you how this scenario is going to pan out."

  "I am listening," Marcus said giving her a half-smile, which highlighted one of his dimples.

  Deidra almost forgot what she was going to say. She cleared her throat. "We talk to each other every night, you whisper on the phone sometimes, sometimes you text me or email me. You have to do it secretly.

  The next thing is that you visit, telling your girl you are going to see your family, but it is because I am up here. We get involved. I get the scraps of your attention if you are in Jamaica. It can't work and I don't think I would want you to be my boyfriend if you ever cheat on Tiffany. I would have too many questions about you cheating with someone else while with me. I'd never be secure.

  I grew up with a man who had no moral scruples, you understand? I am a child of one of his unscrupulous unions."

  Marcus nodded. "I see. I am sorry about this. I just had to see you today. It was not done with any ulterior motives. Except to see you."

  He gazed at her, drinking her in, as he did every time he saw her. He liked her soft pouting pink lips, her smooth skin, and long lashes. "I respect what you said, and I agree. I've never been unfaithful to Tiffany though. I guess I am confused. I just can't get you out of my head. I should start charging you rent."

  Deidra giggled. "Ditto. I feel the same way. It's intense. Never quite felt this way before."

  "Not even with Micah?" Marcus raised his brow. "He said you said that he was your one true love."

  Deidra grimaced, "I was a mess. I used to throw myself at Micah. Thank God he had more sense than I did."

  "So you don't love him anymore?" Marcus asked.

  "I never really did. I think I wanted to possess him like one would a car or some other inanimate object. It's surprising that he remembered when I told him that I always got the impression that he never really took my over the top declarations seriously."

  Marcus sighed. "I think deep down he likes you. He is mad as hell now that I am here with you having lunch."

  "What for? He is seeing my step-sister Charlene." Deidra grinned.

  "You find it funny that brothers are fighting over you, huh?" Marcus grinned with her. "Are you really hungry?"

  "No," Deidra replied, "Want us to go back to the house and hang till two?"

  "Alone?" Marcus asked, wagging his fingers. "No, Deidra. I hugged you today. I am a man that stepped off a plane from Europe yesterday and had to see you as soon as I came to Jamaica. Alone spells trouble. You are like a magnet for me."

  "Well, there are the gardens beside the Psych Center. It's very peaceful there. We could sit under a tree and talk," Deidra suggested, getting up.

  Marcus followed her, contemplating what she had said earlier. If he cheated on Tiffany with her, she wouldn't want him either. He had to choose.

  The way he was feeling now about her it wouldn't be hard, but he had to choose based on his head, not his lower anatomy, nor his heart.

  *****

  "Hey Dr. Jackson," Deidra waved to a guy in a pale yellow shirt in the parking lot and the guy waved back. He was in the company of two women, both of them scowling at each other.

  "That's your brother," Deidra said.

  "Oh, and who are those women with him?"

  "The one with the page boy cut is his girlfriend, Natasha, and the other one is your sister's boyfriend’s ex-wife, Jackie."

  "Whoa." Marcus laughed. "Which one of my sisters?"

  "Kylie," Deidra said to him, incredulously, "Jessica is not ready for the dating game yet. Too young, according to your Dad."

  Marcus shrugged. "I wouldn't know which sister. Things have really changed around here. My mom does her best to keep me up to date, but sometimes I get the info, jumbled. First I heard that I have a new brother, then I heard that Adrian, who can do no wrong, married an exotic dancer, and now Kylie, who would jump at her shadow, is living alone and dating."

  "Want us to go over and say hello?" Deidra asked him. "Taj is a nice guy."

  Marcus shrugged. "I'll meet him later. Now is your time
. What have you been doing since I last spoke to you?"

  Deidra grinned. "That was a day ago: classes, and planning programs for my big producing debut on MFTV. I am doing one season. After that, I have to hand it over to another student, so I want my season to be memorable."

  "It will be memorable," Marcus smiled at her. "When I was living up here, they did not have an MFTV. It seems as if everything has gotten exciting since I left."

  "Mount Faith exciting? No." Deidra laughed. "What was it like when you were growing up here."

  "My growing up here was pretty ordinary. Micah was my role model. He was as crazy as hell, and my Dad had a hard time keeping up with him. I think I got away with a lot because Micah got all the blame." Marcus chuckled. “Adrian and I used to have fun when Micah got into trouble. It was like watching a drama unfold.”

  I started tracks at high school and quickly became committed. I really loved it, but it was all consuming and I guess I never really got integrated into the Mount Faith world like Micah, who had loads of bad friends, or Adrian who was wrapped up in Cathy. Tracks was my girlfriend. I never looked back since I got started at about twelve years old. Always knew I wanted to be the best in the quarter-mile. It was really hard training up here though, with the air being so thin and cold. I had to force myself to get up in the mornings. Those days, I was really self-motivated."

  Deidra grimaced. "So what motivates you now?"

  "Deidra. I think of Deidra and I know I have to push my training harder so that I can go home and talk to her."

  "Stop it!" Deidra said, wearily. "I know you said it back in the summer, but you can't say stuff like that if you want to be just friends. It's confusing for me."

  Marcus looked at her seriously. "It's true. I am going to miss you when I go to Africa next week."

  Deidra nodded sadly. "I'll miss you too."

  Marcus shook his head, "I just can't explain it. This feeling. Why you, why now?"

  Deidra's throat suddenly got dry. "Marcus, we should probably stop communicating all together. This is not just friendship."

  Marcus sighed and then shifted on the seat uncomfortably. "I know."

  "Do you love Tiffany?" Deidra asked softly.

  Marcus squinted and looked up into the poui tree they were under. "I think if you had asked me this a couple months ago I would have said yes. I haven't really thought about it. With Tiffany, it was more of a drifting into a relationship sort of thing. I am not sure how to answer now. I know intellectually that somebody just doesn't fall out of love. I have lots in common with Tiffy. We like the same things, usually. She was my first real girlfriend."

  He looked at Deidra, "I know it's unfair to her that I am feeling this way about you. Trust me. I beat myself about it all summer."

  Deidra groaned inwardly. Every word he spoke was like a slap across her heart. This attraction to Marcus had to stop, here and now.

  It was the right thing to do. Cut it off and it will die.

  She looked at him solemnly and wondered if she would be stupid to say what she was about to say. Here he was; he liked her. To hell with Tiffany! She was bossy and possessive anyway. But he had mixed feelings, and she liked him too much to prolong this Tiffany and Deidra choice he had to make.

  He looked at her sideways. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

  "Yup." Deidra nodded and bit her lip from saying anything more.

  "Such an ugly word," Marcus said, "when attached to your name."

  He said it slowly, "Goodbye, Deidra." Then he leaned forward and kissed her briefly.

  It was like naked fire running across her lip seams. Deidra sighed when he raised his head.

  "I'll sleep at my house tonight," Deidra said hoarsely, "if you are staying over, because if you do, prolonging this would be too painful."

  Marcus had a dazed look in his eyes. "Not sure if I should stay over anymore. I should go back to Kingston, sort out my life… Goodbye, Deidra."

  "Goodbye, Marcus." She cleared her throat. "For good this time. Want me to drop you back to the Business Center."

  "No." Marcus shook his head.

  Deidra couldn't move. She willed herself to get up. Marcus intertwined his fingers with hers and she sat there, not moving for a long time. Eventually, she pulled her hand away.

  Chapter Five

  "Why can't I come to Africa with you?" Tiffany was pouting. "It's eight whole weeks? What on earth am I going to do in this apartment alone for eight whole weeks?"

  Marcus was moving slowly from the front room to the back room, where he was packing. "Tiff, remember when we just started dating? You said you wanted to open a sporting goods store."

  "Yes," Tiffany pouted. "So?"

  "So do it." Marcus said briskly. He had just about reached the end of his tether with Tiffany. She had been on his case about him going to Mount Faith without telling her. He could understand why she was upset, but she had not stopped complaining in the four days since he had gotten back from Mount Faith.

  She was acting more possessive and clingy than normal. It wasn't usual to see Tiffany in such a temper.

  "I want to go to Africa with you," Tiffany said. "Besides, if I open a store it will take up too much time away from you."

  Marcus silently folded a shirt and wondered if being apart for a while would be such a bad thing. He could smell the first vestiges of spoilage in their relationship. It was all his fault though. He was the one who had fallen for Deidra. He was the one who wanted out, and that made him feel guilty.

  Tiffany crumpled at the doorjamb. "Did you deliberately tell them to exclude me this trip?"

  "No!" Marcus said. "I explained to you that my sponsors want me in Africa and are paying for the trip. I have to go to several countries to make appearances: first, South Africa and then Kenya, I think, or is it Nigeria?… not sure. Take it from me, it is not the typical fun trip."

  Tiffany snorted. "You would have carried your precious Deidra, wouldn't you?"

  Marcus' breathing almost stopped. He had been trying to stop thinking about Deidra. He had managed to restrict his thinking to about three or four thoughts an hour. He would have loved to take the trip with Deidra, yes, but that was because he was infatuated, he reasoned. He figured that by the time he got back in early December he would be fine and Deidra would be carefully wiped from his mind. It was his first trip to the African continent; surely that would fill his mind. That's what he had said when he left for Europe. He had no idea if Africa would be any different.

  "Aren't you going to answer?" Tiffany was still looking at him accusingly.

  "Deidra is not an issue," Marcus said abruptly.

  "But you went to see her. That's an issue, and you refuse to discuss it."

  Marcus wondered why he was so honest. He could have made up a lie to soothe Tiffany, but instead, he had told her that he went to Mount Faith to see Deidra. That he had also added that he had decided not to see her again had not registered with Tiffany.

  "It was a lapse," he said, heading out of the room again. "A lapse in judgment, emotions, whatever..."

  "A lapse, Marcus?" Tiffany ran her hands across her face, then looked at them as Marcus walked pass her again. Her hands were trembling with rage. She felt as if she was on the verge of an outburst, and it was all directed at that girl, with her smug face.

  She hadn't slept since Marcus casually dropped the information in her lap that he went to Mount Faith to see Deidra Durkheim. She felt like screaming from the pressure of jealousy in her head.

  Now Marcus was talking about a lapse in emotions. Didn't he know that that was the last thing that she wanted to hear? Emotions were a different level than just sex. Perversely, she would have preferred if he had slept with Deidra.

  She could have dealt with that fall out... but emotions? That hurt. Tears rolled down her cheeks unchecked. She didn't want to lose Marcus. Her life was tied up with his. She had carefully chosen him, groomed him. He was hers.

  The expanse of two months without him spread before her.
She had to go to parties alone and hang out with their usual crowd as a single. She hated being single… she thought of Neil.

  He owned her favorite boutique in Jamaica, and he was also a friend who made it clear to her that he wanted her. She crossed her arms and thought about it.

  Maybe Marcus should have a taste of his own medicine. She should show him how painful being disloyal is. The minute the thought crossed her mind she dismissed it, but it came right back when a picture fell near her as Marcus folded his clothes.

  She grabbed it up and turned it over. It was a picture of Deidra. She was in a white top and was smiling at the camera. Her perfect white teeth were gleaming, and her long luxurious hair streamed on one side. Fake. Tiffany thought spitefully. She has a fake pageant smile. She pocketed the picture before Marcus passed by again.

  "I think that's it," he said, turning around. "I'm finished packing."

  Tiffany cleared her throat. "I am going to hang out with Neil when you are gone."

  Marcus looked over at her and frowned fiercely. "Tiff..."

  "What?" Tiffany growled, "don't see him? He likes me and he's a good friend. I am just going to hang out with him while you are away."

  Marcus came to the doorjamb and leaned on it, crossing his arms. "If you are planning to sleep with Neil, tell me now."

  "Were you planning to sleep with Deidra?" Tiffany said sullenly from her place on the floor.

  Marcus stiffened then answered honestly. "Not while you and I were still together."

  Tiffany sniffed. "You were disloyal to this relationship. You have this girl in your head. Why can't I have some fun with Neil too, and let you see how it feels?"

  Marcus looked at her long and hard, she looked so miserable. Once more he felt regret that he told her about Deidra. That was taking honesty a bit too far, he realized.

  "Tiff, get up from the floor."

  Tiffany pouted in a childish manner that he found funny, but he curbed the urge to laugh at her now. This was a serious discussion.