17. Allie
CHAPTER 17
Allie
The music pulsed around us, and my body moved against Teddy’s. My arm snaked behind his head, and his hand splayed on my stomach. I’d played my last show in London tonight, and while I was exhausted, I wanted to give Teddy and his friends— our friends—at least one fun night out together before we flew back and he got to work preparing for the playoffs.
Thankfully his final game before the championship would be in New York, so I could easily attend and then go home. We rented the top floor of a pub for the night, and my entire team was here to celebrate. I had one leg left of my tour, and that was back in the US after a much-needed two-month break. The drinks flowed, the food was good, and the music was killer. I loved all music and saw it as part of my job to know about all kinds of music.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom,” he said into my ear, and I nodded. When he walked away, the girls descended on me, and we began dancing together in a circle. My security flanked the walls of the room, but it wasn’t overly necessary. We were the only ones up here. There were other patrons downstairs, but they weren’t allowed up. A bartender and some waiters made sure we had enough food, but that was it. I felt—free. That didn’t happen often.
The music changed and I immediately knew it was a remix of a hit song, “Shooting Star,” from my first album. It was played often in the club scene, not that I knew that firsthand—until now. The room realized it a moment after me, and they all turned to point at me. Lifting my drink in salute, I began to sing the words about a girl wishing for true love on a shooting star. The girls all sang around me. We used our drinks as microphones, and my team had their phones out, recording us. I knew I didn’t have to worry about them posting this on social media unless I allowed them to.
The room echoed with my lyrics and the dance beat, and that was when I saw Teddy out of the corner of my eye just as we got to the lyric “guide me to a love that’s here to stay.” He reached out his arms and pointed at me while saying the exact lyric that played. He knew the song. The crowd split for him as he got up to me just in time for the words “her forever love, now in sight.” He pointed at himself and the room awwed.
As the last chords of the song finished, I felt my face flame. He really just did that. He sang my line to me and pointed at himself. My forever love?
He gathered me in his arms and leaned down for a kiss. I closed my eyes against the noise in the room and just felt him here with me. He swayed me back and forth as we continued to kiss. Our friends, my people, cheered around us. This was really happening. All these huge moments for us. Out in public. He was fine. He handled it. He not only handled it, he loved it.
The night of my first show in London had proved that. I saw all the reaction videos people posted online. He blushed and danced and pointed to me. He blew me kisses. He sang along with my songs. And when I sang the song I wrote for him? He had tears in his eyes. He wrapped his arm around my mom. Hell, I think she would marry him at this point. We were viral for so many reasons, and this time, I had brought it on myself, but I didn’t even care. I loved him, and I was done worrying about what others thought about my dating life. I was taking a page from Teddy’s book and loving him out loud, too. He deserved that.
The song ended, and we continued dancing as the beat changed. When had I ever done this? I couldn’t recall a time, but damn, it was fun. Brittanie handed me a drink, and we clinked before taking respective sips. Isaiah grabbed her, and they danced next to us. Before long, Spencer and Lacey were back on the dance floor with us, and Sydney and Xavier right after. We sang and danced in a circle for so long I could no longer feel my feet.
Eventually, after even more drinks and dancing, we realized it was late and we were exhausted. I indicated to Juan and Rico that we were ready to leave, and it took them a few minutes to prepare our entourage to go.
“Huge gathering outside,” Rico said to Teddy, but looking at me after he said it to be sure to include me in the information. Teddy’s face sobered immediately, and I kind of loved that he took my safety so seriously. It made my stomach swoop like when you dropped on a roller coaster.
“The word got out quickly. They’ve been out there for hours. The restaurant did a good job of not letting them in, but they’re definitely waiting for you to leave. And either way we go out, we will be mobbed.”
“Is there a risk to her?” Teddy asked, his arm tightening around my shoulders. I looked up at him, and his expression could only be described as lethal. The only other time I saw that from him was on the football field. I wrapped my arm around his waist and squeezed, reassuring him. Without taking his attention from the guys, he kissed the side of my head.
“No,” Juan said from the other side of me. “Just typical stuff. I just wanted to let you know what we were walking out to. We will have the walkway blocked off so they can’t get in your faces, but they will be flashing lights and screaming your names.”
“Okay,” he said. “We can deal with that. You ready, angel?” He looked down at me, and despite the fuzziness of my brain after the last four days of performances and the many drinks I’d had tonight, I felt everything when our eyes met.
“Ready,” I said. I turned back to our friends. “You ready for this mayhem?”
“Born ready!” Brittanie yelled, and the group laughed. Forever the party, Brittanie was always ready.
“Remember,” Teddy said to the group. “Do not engage with them, no matter what they say.” He looked pointedly at Brittanie, and the group laughed again. My head spun with happiness and love for this man. I didn’t need anything or anyone else ever again. At this moment, I had everything I’d ever wanted in life.
“Yes, boss,” Brittanie responded.
Juan and Rico led the group as we descended the stairs into the main part of the restaurant. People stopped to watch us as we weaved through the room and to the door. Teddy held my hand, walking next to me and looking around the room like someone might jump out at us. People recorded us and clapped, but no one tried to approach.
We made it to the door, and Juan and Rico stood on either side of the walkway. My eyes widened at the sheer number of people standing out there at this time of night. Flashes immediately started, and Teddy used his other hand to take over holding my hand so he could put his arm around my waist. His large hand gripped my body like he was afraid I would disappear. It was hot as hell, and I was here for it.
“Stay close,” he said, his voice so low it made me shiver. He definitely didn’t have to tell me twice to stay close to him.
The shouts began the second we came into view, and the flashes were blinding. He walked with me slowly, his attention moving from the crowd to my face. He winked at me and his dimple showed me, as serious as he was, that he was playing around with the bystanders. I squeezed his hand and smiled up at him. We reached the waiting SUVs, and he opened the door for me, turning back toward the screaming crowd. He still held on to my hand, and he did not let it go as I slid into the seat. He followed me in, and Rico slammed the door shut.
Teddy pulled me to him as soon as the door shut. “That was so hot,” I said.
His eyes darkened and his hand went right to my thigh. “What was?”
“You, being all protective and unbothered by all of that.”
He smiled. “Mallie, I am protective and unbothered. Nothing will ever happen when I’m around, that’s for damn sure. You’re my girl, and they’d have to kill me to get to you. Also, it doesn’t bother me. I am proud as fuck that you’re mine. I welcome them to take pictures of us.”
Well, hell. I was over here making this about lust, and he turned it into one of the sweetest things he could say.
“I love you,” I said in response. “You continue to show me just how much.” His dimples appeared, and I leaned over to kiss them. “I also love these fucking dimples. You make me weak in the knees every damn time I see them.”
“How about wet in the panties?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Oh, definitely. The way you were dancing with me in there? Rather sure I had several small orgasms. I’ve been horny for hours.”
Teddy groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face. “It’s a damn good thing you’re wearing pants right now because I want to know just how wet you are.”
“We will be there soon,” I said and kissed my way up his neck and to his lips.
“This night was so fucking fun,” he said against my lips. “Thank you, Mallie.”
“Thank you,” I said, “for being here with me. I love spending time with you and your friends.”
“They’re our friends now,” he said. “And I love spending time with your people, too.”
“What’s going on with you and Briggs?” I asked, sipping my drink. Bailey and I looked out over the field, watching for the guys to come out to warm up. I was exhausted, but I wouldn’t miss this playoff game for the world. This was it for the Blaze. They’d either win this game and go on to the championships, or their season was over. I loved when Bailey was able to come, and it just happened to work out this time. I knew she’d talked to Briggs some after that first game months ago, but she hadn’t mentioned much about him.
Bailey shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, he’s hot as fuck. Seems to be a fun guy.”
“But,” I said.
“He’s younger than me,” she started. “And in girl years, that’s a million. He’s a playboy. I’ve seen his social media and the press coverage of him. He always has girls hanging off him at every event, and never the same one twice.”
“Recently?” I asked.
Bailey looked over at me. “No. I have seen nothing since we started talking a few months ago. He swears he is done with all of that.”
“But you don’t believe him,” I said. Bailey had a hard time trusting for many reasons, all of which I understood.
She shrugged again. “I want to, but I’m not convinced. So I’m holding him at arm’s length, and he’s getting tired of it.”
“How do you know he’s getting tired of it?”
“He basically told me. He asked me a few weeks ago if I was interested in him or not, and I appreciated that direct question, but when I told him I just wasn’t sure yet about pursuing something, he kind of said he wasn’t going to wait around forever.”
“You have to understand that. You have to either give him a chance to prove it to you or let him go find someone else. He’s young and hot, and as much of a catch as you are, he won’t want to wait around forever. If it helps at all, Teddy likes him a lot,” I said, “but he still has a lot to learn. He basically just got out of college and was drafted first round to the Blaze with one of the highest-paid salaries for his position. This is his first year with them, and he has made it to the playoffs. He is a little cocky and loves the attention, and now he has set his sights on a superstar, so he’s feeling himself.” I shrugged. “I mean, you can’t blame him.”
Bailey looked down at her phone and smiled. “Speaking of.” She turned the phone so I could see it.
I can’t wait to see you today.
I wouldn’t tell her that the smile I just saw on her face was way more than “holding him at arm’s length.” Okay, she was scared. I could help her work through that. From all the times I had spoken to Briggs, he seemed like he had a heart of gold.
“Give him a chance. A real one. Not a half one,” I suggested. “And see what happens. I know all about being scared. You know this.”
Bailey sighed. “Honestly, the only reason I am even thinking about it is because of you and Theo.”
I smiled. “That’s a good reason. You know how I felt months ago.”
“I am so happy for both of you,” she said.
“You know the little hearts Mom passes out at the shows?”
Bailey nodded. “Yeah. They are so cute. People lose their shit trying to collect them. I’ve seen so many social media videos of people freaking out over your mom giving them one.”
“So we were packing up to leave London and I found one on the floor in our room. I was so confused about how it got there because Mom was in her own suite when Teddy walked in from the bathroom. He walked right up to me and said, ‘Oh, thanks! That’s mine,’ and tucked it in his pocket like it was totally normal for him to have a heart from my show. When I asked him about it, he told me he found the first one at my first show back in July and kept it ever since. At the time, he didn’t know what the significance was, but he kept it in his underwear drawer at home to remember being at the show that night. Now he collects one every night when he goes to my shows. So he had four of them with him for the four nights of London.”
“Is this man for real?” Bailey said. “Jesus, Al. How the fuck did you get so lucky to get this guy to pursue you? He’s literally perfect.”
I shook my head. “Honest to God, I have no idea. I was so dumbfounded by him caring about these little felt hearts, and he was like, ‘What? They make me think of you when I’m not with you.’”
“Tell me you dropped to your knees and sucked that man’s cock after that because I totally would’ve.”
I laughed loudly, glad Teddy’s parents weren’t there yet. “I definitely showed him my love and appreciation for his sentimentality.”
“You two are totally getting married,” Bailey said. My heart fluttered at her words. It wasn’t that I hadn’t thought of it, but I tried not to. It was so early and I didn’t want to jinx myself after years and years of disappointment.
The door opened and Teddy’s parents walked in, so I got up to greet them. Lacey, Sydney, and Brittanie would be here soon, according to their texts, so fun was about to happen. It was cold, it being February in New York, so I was bundled up in a vintage jacket I’d gotten custom altered to have Teddy’s name and number put on the back. I wore a red scarf under it, and then the rest of my outfit was black, as I preferred. I had my hair curled and down under my black beanie.
“Hi, sweet girl.” Teddy’s mom enveloped me in a hug. “You look gorgeous, as usual. It looked like you guys had fun in London. Your show was amazing. Theo sent me some videos. I’d love to come see you sometime.”
“Anytime and anywhere you want to come, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of,” I said. “We sure did have fun.”
Of course every angle of our walk from the pub to the car had been posted all over, as well as tons of footage of us from the shows. However, on top of that, someone from the pub had leaked videos of us dancing, singing, and kissing. To say that our relationship was viral would be an understatement. I knew for a fact it wasn’t anyone in our group, so it had to be one of the workers.
As much as I wanted to be upset about it, I actually wasn’t. The videos were fun and showed us having a good time together, and I just couldn’t stress over it. I had to have fun in my life, and Teddy helped me do that. They were going to talk about me anyway, so they may as well talk about me being in love with an amazing man who truly loved me for who I was.
“Have we told you how much we love you?” Teddy’s dad said, hugging me also. “It’s my new part-time job to watch pictures and videos of him with you. I have never seen my boy love someone as hard as he loves you.”
“It’s beautiful,” Sandra said, dabbing her eyes. “All we want is for him to be happy and loved. He’s had the career he wanted, he just needed someone to love. He has always done everything with his entire heart, and it is so great to see him channel that love into you.”
I sniffled. I didn’t expect to cry today. “I feel the same way,” I reassured them.
“Oh, we know,” his dad said. “Neither of you have to say a word. We know.”