Edge of Glory (Friendship, Texas Book 1) (7 page)

"I knew it was too good to be true. There was no way a hottie like Jay Morningstar would stay with dough girl." She smirked, her lips that were practically sticking together from large amounts of lip gloss. "So instead you bring Tweedle Dumb with you, knowing this is the place we all used to go in high school when we didn't want to get carded. Still trying to be a cool kid, I see."

"Actually…"  Sofie tried to speak, but her words were drowned out by Christy's witch-like cackle as Abbey whispered something in her ear.

"Come on Sofie, let's just go back to our lane…"  I muttered, tugging at her shirt.

Sofie nodded with a look of defeat on her face as she put her head down and started toward the lane. But before we could even get two feet we were stopped by a familiar voice.

"There you two are!" Johnny came bolting toward us, almost crashing right into us. He stuck part of a licorice rope behind his ear and looked right at Sofie. "I was hoping you didn't ditch me for another guy or something."

Sofie looked up from the floor, her face almost as red as Johnny's licorice rope. I glanced over at Christy and Abbey who had their mouths wide open.

"Uh, yeah we were just about to get a drink," Sofie stammered.

Johnny put his arms out, interlocking his fingers with the loops of her skirt to pull her closer until their foreheads were touching. "Well, next time, tell me when you're leaving."

She barely got out a response when Johnny sealed her lips with his, bringing her into a kiss that I had to look away from, because it was way too passionate and really loud.

"Hey, Lia." Jay pounced from behind Johnny and ran up next to me, before doing a double take and staring in Sofie and Johnny's tongue-tied direction.

"Are they doing what I think they're doing?" he whispered.

I looked over in Christy's direction, but she had already stomped off with Abbey in tow

"Yeah…"  I smiled, pulling him closer to my side and walked back toward the lane. "I don't think we're going to have to worry about them for awhile."

I was pretty sure we were free and clear of the Dolce drones and actually began to enjoy myself as we bowled. Even though it was Scotty's idea to go bowling, he was really terrible at it. He used the granny shot and didn't get a score that was higher than five each time he rolled the ball. That didn't stop him from smack talking everyone else when it was their turn.

"You got nothing, Morningstar!" he yelled crouching down right next to Jay as he got in position to throw his ball.

I watched the muscles tighten in Jay's back, his gray sweater molding into the curves of his shoulders. I bit my lip, and looked down at my already chipped nail polish, trying not to stare at his flawless body. But who could really help it? Jay Morningstar had been the guy of my dreams since I first saw him on TV and now he was really here. Not just standing in front of me but with me at the bowling alley.

I glanced over at Sofie to try and keep my attention elsewhere, but she seemed pretty busy with Johnny. They hadn't stopped making out since our run-in with Christy and I was wondering how much her braces had to hurt after that much tongue action.

"Hey." I was knocked out of my trance when Jay plopped down next to me, his body brushing against mine. His sleeves were rolled up and his skin felt hot against me, or maybe I was just burning from his touch.

I wanted to trace every line of the Olympic rings tattoo on his arm. He had another tattoo that was right underneath his left hipbone of a tribal shark. I knew about this because of all of the pictures of it on the internet, but I hadn’t seen it in person. But boy did I want to.

I looked up at his smiling face, trying not to think of his amazing hip bones."Did you win?"

"Psh." He leaned back."Do you really think Mr. Granny bowler could beat me?"

"Oh, you want a rematch, Mr. Show Off?" Scotty yelled hopping over a row of chairs and sliding his hand between Johnny and Sofie to break apart their make out session, all while still staring at Jay. I couldn't even chew gum and walk at the same time, yet these guys could multi-task with anything.

"Hey, watch where you're putting your hands. I don't know where they've been."  Johnny leaned back in his seat, Sofie cuddling up next to him.

"Oh you know exactly where they've been. Wanna smell them?" Scotty looked over at Johnny.

"Get that shit away from me." Johnny swatted his hand.

"Oh, you wanna fight now, Romeo?" Scotty stepped closer, putting his hands out in front of him like a boxer with the cock-eyed smirk painted on his face.

"Alright…"  Jay stood up, pushing his way in the middle of them. "As much as I love a good brawl, I'm starving and I say we get a burger before we bring the girls home."

"Oh, dude!" Scotty kicked off his bowling shoes "Can we stop at that awesome pizza joint where they put eggplant on the pizza instead?"

"Yeah," Johnny added, standing up with Sofie close at his side. "That place is the tits."

Jay shook his head. "Are you two really that stupid?"

"What?" Scotty slid into his shoes, hopping toward the stairs. "Johnny's right, for once, that place really is the tits."

"Well for starters, Lia's parents own that place.”

"So that totally means free breadsticks?" Johnny followed behind Scotty, shrugging on his coat.

Jay started to speak, but I grabbed onto his arm, letting my fingers linger longer than I intended to. "Forget about it. You guys can stop there after you drop us off or something."

"You sure?" He turned toward me, the low lighting of the bowling alley couldn’t even dim the brilliant blue of his eyes and I wished at that moment I could just stay lost in them instead of spending the rest of the night probably listening to Sofie talk about Johnny.

I leaned in lightly letting my lips trail against his. "Positive."

"So are we getting noms or are you two just going to stare at each other all night?" Scotty yelled.

"Bro, I think you've had one too many concussions." Jay smiled and followed them out of the lane.

"Just because I don't have a mop of unwashed hair protecting my head," Scotty remarked.

Jay just shook his head, interlacing our fingers as we headed toward the door. "Sometimes I don't know how I do it…" he whispered, squeezing my hand.

It was a little past midnight and most of the kids bowling had cleared out of the place, so it just left the locals at the bar, who seemed to look at us differently as we passed. Like this time they might have actually realized that they were staring at three guys who had been on national TV and broke some world records. I wondered if they knew the whole time, or how they actually figured it out. I shrugged the idea off as I zipped up my coat, preparing to meet the cold night air. But as we stepped out of the door, I was greeted by more than fresh falling snow and found myself staring right at a few camera's and the cheesy grin of Saul Parker from TNC.

"Jay Morningstar, you come to my city and don't give me a call?" he asked.

Jay kept his head down and a close lock on my hand, pulling me forward to the car. "Sorry, Saul, didn't know you were keeping tabs."

Saul and the camera guy followed our group as we made our way to the Navigator. Jay opened the back door for us and Sofie slid in first.

"And is this the new girlfriend? Will we be seeing more of her? Is she keeping you on the straight and narrow or will we see some more mug shots?" Saul asked.

Jay just smiled, putting his hand on my back and helping me in the car. "Goodnight, Saul."

With that, he got in after me and shut the door.

I watched Saul's eyes widen and the camera stay on the car.

Jay didn't speak until we were out of the parking lot. "Sorry about that. I didn't know that douche found out we were here."

"Maybe if Scotty didn't tag himself at the bowling alley," Johnny said, punching Scotty's arm.

"What? How was I supposed to know anyone would care where we were?" Scotty asked defensively.

Jay shook his head, staring out the window. "It doesn't matter. He'll come up with whatever story he wants anyway."

I squeezed Jay's hand, not sure what I was supposed to say. All I knew was that eventually the spotlight would be off him. Of us. At least I hoped it would.

Sofie went inside, claiming she was getting ready for bed, and the other boys waited in the car. It was the first time that Jay and I had any alone time that night. I wanted to know what was going on in that beautiful head of his, but he was quiet.

"You know, Saul wont post that stuff for a couple of days, when he edits the footage, so you don't have to worry about your parents or anyone seeing it," Jay said, looking at the sidewalk instead of at me.

TNC was based out of Dallas and from what little I knew about video editing, I was pretty sure he could have it done in a couple of hours if he wanted to. But I wasn't as concerned about my parents as I was about Jay.

"Are you okay? You've been kind of going off in your own world," I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shrugged.

"Jay...don't lie to me. Come on. Just tell me what's up."

He sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. "I know he shouldn't, but the guy gets to me. You would think growing up in So Cal and having a sister that has been the butt of every Hollywood rumor would’ve made me a little more adaptable to these things. But it doesn't. I was stupid. I just wanted to swim and then I let everything get to my head. Now I have to deal with the consequences of being an ass."

I shook my head. "You're not an ass. I mean if I was talented at something and got in the spotlight, I'm sure I'd do much worse."

"No. You wouldn't. That's just not you."

I raised an eyebrow.

He put his hands up. "That's not a bad thing. You're a good person, almost too good for me. It's probably why I keep chasing you. I like the normalcy. I like having a girl around with rules and boundaries, who doesn't take my shit."

"I'm far from normal."

Jay took his gloved hand, cupping my chin in his fingers and moving my head up until my eyes met his. "You're real and I like it."

He leaned in, his breath just a whisper from mine. My lips were eagerly waiting his kiss, when, of course, we were interrupted.

“Will you hurry it up, I’m freaking starving!" Scotty yelled, laying down on the horn.

Jay reluctantly pulled away from me, putting his arms out to the side. “Dude, come on!”

Sofie’s front door opened as she poked her head outside. “Tell him to quit it!  I don’t want my cranky neighbors to call the cops!" She looked at Jay, her overgrown brows furrowed.

He sighed. “All right…I guess that’s my cue to leave." He slowly turned back toward me, placing a quick peck on my cheek.

“I’ll text you in the morning. And, or, FaceTime you tonight. Probably both,” he said before he jogged toward the Navigator, grabbing a fist full of snow and throwing it in the open window at Scotty on the way there.

I followed Sofie inside as her stocking feet slid across the floor while we moved to her bedroom. Sofie’s house was very tiny. I think the whole house could’ve fit into my parents’ living room, but that didn’t stop her dad from piling it with stuff. She never liked to admit it, but he’d become sort of a furniture hoarder since her mom passed away a few years ago. I had to press myself against the wall just to get past the three couches and two recliners in their living room and down the narrow hallway to Sofie’s bedroom.

Sofie wasn’t a furniture hoarder, like her dad, but she did manage to pile a shitton of stuff in her tiny room. Her twin bed, dresser, and desk all formed a circle with her closet and framed her bright pink shag rug in the middle, which was always covered with celebrity gossip magazines. I stepped over the latest issue of some UK magazine with a headline about the latest celebrity to use a surrogate. Then I grabbed my bag from her desk chair.

“My parents are going find out about this and I’m going to be grounded forever." I sulked, tossing my coat on her desk chair.

“Well, it’s not like any of this stuff will get posted for a couple days, so you’ll at least have some time before your parents find out. And that's even if they'd catch anything. I can't see your mom reading TNC," Sofie reasoned.

“So…Miss Chapped lips. What about you and Johnny?" I tried changing the subject

  “It was just making out. It’s not like I’m going to marry the guy," she scoffed, plopping down on her bed, the springs squeaking underneath her lime green comforter.

“Well you two seemed to really like each other,” I sang and slid off my sweater and exchanged it for a white tank top.

She rolled her eyes, quickly getting into her pajamas before she snuggled under the covers. “Please, Lia, I’m a realist. I know we were just having fun and I’m not going to let some cute guy take up all of my time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?" I arched an eyebrow and slid into a pair of flannel pajama bottoms.

“I’m not going to waste my energy on some guy who is just going to be gone when his training is done and leave me crying like some desperate bimbo.”

I swallowed hard as I climbed in bed next to her. She must have realized what she said and widened her eyes. “I mean, not like Jay would do that to you or anything.”

She smacked her forehead with her palm as I curled in next to her. “I’m sorry Lia, I wasn’t thinking.”

“No... it’s all right," I forced a tight-lipped smile as she turned off the light before lying down next to me. “That’s why you’re my best friend; you say it how it is. And, you're right, it's not like we're actually together or anything. I'm probably just his good time.”

But even as I said the words, I knew I didn’t completely mean it. Yeah, I meant that she was my best friend and I liked that she told me how it is, but it wasn’t all right. All I could think of was if she was right and once Jay went back home after training, I would be left alone crying. There was no way my parents would let me go to USC at this rate and even if they did, I couldn’t count on him wanting to stay with me.

I was almost twenty years old, an adult essentially. Yet, I was still a little girl, living with my parents, and obeying their rules.

Why in the hell would a guy like him want to stay with a girl like me?

I barely even shut my eyes when my phone vibrated in my coat.

Sofie moaned and rolled over. Since she was probably going to pass out soon, I grabbed my phone and crept out to the living room before answering the FaceTime call.

"Hey, babe." Jay's bright blue eyes lit up the screen.

I smiled, sliding down on one of the couches. "Since when did we graduate to cutesy names like that?"

"I can come up with something more original. What's the Italian word for beautiful?" He smirked.

Even though it was a cheesy as hell line, I still could feel the flush in my face. "It's bella, so not real original either."

"How about you suck it up and take my compliments instead?" He raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of girl would I be if I just laid down and took what you gave me?"

Scotty's head popped onto the screen. "The kind that isn't very good in bed."

"Shut up, Scotty." Jay shoved him out of the picture, but Scotty's laugh still rumbled in the background.

"I'm going up to my room. Hold on, you're going to have to walk with me," Jay said, standing up and angling the phone so I got just the right view of the cut of his hip bones and that black tribal shark tattoo. He was a lean guy but toned. A wicked body that definitely made him very agile in the pool, and I'm sure in other places that I didn't want to think about while I was sitting alone on my best friend's couch.

"Were you just checking me out?" Jay brought the phone back to his face, his brilliant smile flashing.

I curled my upper lip. "No. Definitely not."

He shook his head, laughing before he stepped into what I recognized as his bedroom and plopped on the bed. "You definitely were. It's okay. You can look all you want and if we're playing show and tell..."

I widened my eyes, blinking rapidly and trying to figure out what to say. "Um..."

He laughed. "I'm just playing with you. I can already see enough in that shirt."

I crossed my arms over my chest and put my chin down. I should have maybe put my sweater on before I answered the call instead of having everything hang out.

"Come on, Lia. I'm just kidding around. You don't need to be so self-conscious."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what all guys say," I muttered.

He sighed and sat up. "Look, we both know that if I was looking for a quick hook up, we would’ve already gone there. But that's not what I'm looking for, no matter what that douche at TNC likes to say about the supposed stoner playboy athlete. Even though I don't get to see you as much as I'd like, I still enjoy talking to you. The best part of my day used to be when I hit the pool in the morning, and now it's when I get to FaceTime you every night."

"That was almost cheesier than the bella line."

"But did it work on you?"

I put my thumb and forefinger together. "A little bit."

"Is it even cheesier that I wish you were here right now? So I can actually hang out with you in person instead of just seeing your face on the screen all the time?"

I closed my eyes and opened them, shaking my head. "It's not cheesy at all. I wish I could be with you right now, too."

"So...when is that going to happen?"

I sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. Soon. I hope. At least."

"Is this because of Saul? Are you having second thoughts?" he asked. It was the first time I'd seen any kind of trepidation on his face as he slightly furrowed his brow.

"What? No. I'm not just going to listen to what some guy on some really bad celebrity network says."

Jay sighed. "I shouldn't let the shit on TNC get to me, but it does."

"He sounds like a high school mean girl," I muttered, briefly thinking of Christy and all the things she'd said to me and Sofie over the years.

Jay laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah, I guess you can call him that, but he's not all wrong about things. I was stupid. Stupid for too long. I concentrated on my newfound fame instead of the pool that got me there. Now that I'm trying to get back to where I was, it's like the ghosts of my past keep following me."

"You know my nonna has a saying and it doesn't translate very well literally but something about not being able to kill a ghost. The only way to get rid of a ghost is to let it know that you've moved on."

Jay licked his lips. "Have I told you how smart you are? I don't know why you still hang around with a dumb jock like me."

I wanted to tell him that I liked talking to him. That I loved that he learned how to play one of my favorite songs on bass and made me feel wanted for the first time ever. But I wasn't going to be that cheesy. Instead, I just smiled.

"I have to get up early for practice tomorrow, but can we hang out after? I'll even swing by the restaurant if you wear that tank top." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"I think my parents would have a heart attack if I wore this to work, but maybe we can talk after. I can figure out something. Tell them I'm hanging with Sofie."

"So, they still don't know we're together, I take it?" He raised his eyebrows.

I sighed. "It's complicated."

"Are you embarrassed of me?"

"No! Not at all." I widened my eyes.

"Then what is it?"

I tried to think of the right words. How would I explain that my parents were strict, straight off the boat Sicilians who believed in the rules of the old world?

"Jay! Quit having cybersex with your girlfriend and come play COD with us!" Scotty or Johnny yelled, pounding on the door.

First time I was ever happy for their interruption.

"Shut up!" Jay yelled, turning toward the door so I got a good view of that chiseled jaw that I wished I could lick.

He turned back to the screen. "Hey, I gotta go. Text me, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

I smiled. "Okay, bye, babe."

He grinned. "Bye, babe."

***

I awoke to the sound of my phone vibrating against Sofie’s desk.

“Lia, tell your lover boy not take wake me up so early," she mumbled, turning over and smashing her pillow over her head.

I glanced at the clock. It was six o’clock and there was no way Jay would text me that early. I knew he had practice in the morning, but wouldn't be done until a lot later, and we didn't get off the phone until close to two a.m.

Odd.

I sat up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and grabbed my glasses before looking down at the phone. A picture of Sonny with his trademark cocky grin popped onto the screen.

“This better be important…” I yawned and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Have fun at the bowling alley last night?" he asked.

“What?" I sat straight up, suddenly feeling wide-awake. How did he know? Did one of his friends see us there? Was it on Facebook? Shit. Did my parents finally watch TNC?

“Have you seen the morning paper?”

I shook my head, letting out a silent laugh through my nose. “Sonny, no one reads the paper anymore, not even Ma and Dad. That’s what the Internet is for.”