Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series) by Quinn, Meghan (2)

Margo cringed at the thought of being compared to Jake, well what seemed like now as the old Jake. Yes, she had her fair share of men but she was nothing like Jake. She could at least tell you who she had been with, Jake probably had no clue. She also didn’t like that Parker recognized her wild ways. She didn’t want him to think she was a slut. That would significantly lower her chances at ever being with Parker. Not that she was sure if she could be. She still wasn’t sure how Lexi would feel about the feelings Margo has been harboring for her best guy friend.

She decided to laugh off his comment instead of becoming offended. “Oh, you caught me.”

Parker tapped her on the nose with is finger. “I knew it. So guess who talked to me today?”

Curious at the change of subject she asked, “Who?”

“Sierra from the basketball team.”

Trying to hide the frown that formed at her brow, Margo tried to act supportive like a normal friend would do. Inside she was fuming, though. Why the hell would that bitch, Sierra, be talking to Parker? Oh Margo knew why, Sierra was talking to Parker like any other woman with eyes would talk to him. Margo plastered on a fake smile.

“Oh?”

“Yea, she suggested we go out sometime.”

Margo was practically grinding her teeth together. She put down the rest of her frozen yogurt on the table she was sharing with Parker and pushed it away. She was no longer hungry. Parker scooped it up and started finishing her cup.

“Well…that should, uh…be fun.” She said trying to be supportive. “Are you going to go out with her?”

He shrugged. “Don’t really know. I don’t want her to get the wrong impression. I’m really not looking for anything serious right now. I kind of want to live it up my senior year, plus who knows what next year will bring. I don’t want to be attached to someone, especially if I might be travelling all the time.”

The fantastic night Margo was having with Parker came to a grinding halt. He didn’t want anything serious. His words kept ringing through her head as she sat there staring at him. She felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach. She knew that having any kind of romantic involvement with Parker was a long shot but she didn’t know she had no shot at all. He wanted to have fun and that had been her motto all throughout college but she knew she wouldn’t be able to just have fun with Parker. She would get too attached.

There was only one thing she could do, forget about him, about having any kind of romantic involvement with him. That could be easy. She could just drown herself in the lacrosse team. There were plenty of extremely attractive guys on the team she could get lost in. Forgetting about Parker wasn’t going to be a problem at all, she tried to convince herself.

Finally was able to put some words together after her initial shock, Margo said, “Maybe she just wants a fling. Go for it.”

It pained her to say those words but she had to act as if what he just said didn’t destroy all her hopes and dreams for her senior year, or her future.

Parker gave her a quizzical look. “You think?” He licked his spoon and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Maybe I will.”

Well that was it, Margo thought. The end of any kind of relationship with Parker, after tonight she didn’t plan on spending any kind of alone time with him because her heart wouldn’t be able to take it. She had to cut herself off. It was the only way to get over Parker Hill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

              It had been two weeks since the night of the football game. Lexi had not seen or really heard from Jake since he dropped her off. His non-existence in her life could partially be because he had been on the road for back to back away games. Not that she was keeping track or anything.

She had seen a real change in Jake and it killed her that he hadn’t tried to pursue her again. She for sure thought that after the game he was going to ask her out. She wanted him to ask her out. When did that happen? Did she really want to go there? Yes, yes she did. He wasn’t the same guy from the past three years, he was different, he was a guy she could see herself falling for.

              Lexi constantly heard gossip from other girls on different teams that Jake wasn’t his normal self this year and he had been keeping to himself instead of going out like he normally did. The girls were angry that he hadn’t been at parties but Lexi was secretly happy because it meant that he wasn’t putting on some kind of act just for her to get in her pants. If she wasn’t having such a bad week, maybe she would be actually excited about the fact that Jake was a changed man…well hopefully a changed man.

              Starting her terrible week off with a speeding ticket, which was her fault of course but she wished the officer gave her a break, just this once, her crappy week continued. Her dad once again fell off the wagon and the only reason she found out was because her mom called her from the bedroom crying and praying that he wouldn’t find her. Lexi didn’t understand why her mom stayed with her dad. He was an abusive asshole. A long time ago, he had her good times with her dad when they were traveling around going to her softball games but once she hit high school and was able to drive herself, her dad stopped going to Lexi’s practices and games and started hitting up the bar more often.

              Lexi never really talked about her dad to anyone besides Parker and Margo but they weren’t even around to talk to. Parker was too busy with Sierra, the new point guard on the basketball team, and Margo had been gone for nights on end. Lexi’s only guess was she was at the lacrosse house. Sometimes she worried about her friend and wondered if she was making the right decisions when it came to her sex life.

              So instead of talking about her problems with the two closest people in her life, she bottled it up to the point that it affected her play, once again. She wasn’t hitting like she was supposed to and she made a few errors in the field at practice, causing the team to do thirty burpees for every error. Lexi’s legs were sore as hell, she felt like she could barely walk but she continued to work out in the morning and then attend the team’s workout later on in the day. She pushed herself harder and harder each day, and she knew why. She was running away from the pain her dad brought to the family and the pain she heard in her mom’s shrieking voice over the phone as well as the pain from not hearing from Jake.

              Dead silence filled the locker room as Lexi walked in. Usually everyone was talking and joking around before practice but when she walked in, it was as if someone had died. Lexi looked around and all the freshman had their heads down. This wasn’t good. Lexi looked up at the whiteboard that hung in their locker room and saw her coaches hand writing.

 

              Don’t bother going to the field, basketball courts at five.

 

              Shit.

“What’s going on?” No one answered. “I asked what the hell is going on?”

              One of the under classmen walked past her and said, “You’ll find out.”

              Lexi grabbed her running shoes, slipped them on quickly and headed up to the gym. Her stomach was twisting in knots. Whenever they were asked to go to the basketball courts it was never a good sign. It meant something bad happened and they were about to pay for it.

              Lexi walked into the gym and saw her coaches standing in a circle together discussing something quietly. Her head coach was swinging a whistle around her hand.

Fuck. Definitely not a good sign. Lexi spotted Margo and saddled up next to her.

              “Hey, what’s going on?” She whispered.

              Margo shrugged her shoulders and then stretched her quad. “You got me, but I’m assuming we’re about to get our asses handed to us.”

              Lexi agreed with Margo’s obvious observation. Lexi looked at the rest of her teammates and once again the freshman looked guilty. This had to be their fault. What did they get into?

              Her coach blew her whistle. “On the line” she shouted. “Suicides, ten, go!”

              Lexi groaned and took off. Suicides were torture and ten in a row was unbearable. This was going to be really bad.

Lexi made sure to hit every line with her hand and to sprint her ass off in between line touches because if anyone needed to set an example it was her. She was the team captain and even though she had no clue what was happening she needed to lead her team. Her legs felt like noodles, she didn’t even feel like they were attached to her body as she sprinted up and down the basketball court. They felt like dangling muscles that for some odd reason were propelling her forward. If she knew she was going to be tortured at practice today she wouldn’t have done an extra set of lunges in the weight room.

              They finally finished their ten suicides and looked back at their coach to see what was next. Everyone was trying to catch their breath, some girls were bent over but Lexi made sure to stand up straight even though she was sucking air.

              “Freshman, do you care to tell your team why you’re all here getting your asses handed to you?” Their coach said. No one spoke up, which made their coach even angrier. “Give me ten more suicides.” Their coach screamed then blew her whistle.

              This was going to be one long night. Lexi heard Margo groan next to her and she silently agreed with her friend. Lexi tried to push back all thoughts that were floating through her head so she could slip into her blank space she visited when in these type of situations. She just let her body run on auto pilot. She felt numb, she had felt numb for a while now but today she truly had no feelings. She should be outraged, she would normally be screaming at her teammates by now to demand what was going on but she couldn’t, her emotions were checked at the door.

              When they were done with another round of suicides, their coach looked at her. “Where have you been Lexi? You’re supposed to be leading this team and right now, you couldn’t lead a bunch of two year olds if you tried. Fifty burpees, go!” She blew her damn whistle again.

              Lexi felt her face go blank. She really wasn’t being a good leader, she could barely control her own life. How would she be able to take care of a team? Was it because she had no purpose? Was that why she was so empty? She would be saying good bye to the sport she loved in less than a year and she had no clue what she was going to do with her life. She had no plans, at all. Or was it because of her family’s dirty secret? Or was it the fact that an extremely gorgeous man made her think he was interested in her but kept ignoring her?

              Lexi waited for the rest of the team to finish up their burpees while she caught her breath.

              “Anyone want to speak up, yet?” Still there was silence, what the hell? Lexi thought. “Ten suicides, and follow them up with fifty more burpees.”

Their coach’s whistle rang through Lexi’s ears as she plowed through the physical demand their coach gave them. Some of the girls were falling over and picking themselves back up. Lexi thought she was sprinting but when she looked up at where she was in the gym, she realized she was practically jogging but her legs couldn’t go any faster. It felt like cinder clocks attached to her hips as she tried to trek her way down the court. She tried to go faster but her legs wouldn’t budge, they were fried.

              “After your burpees, I want 20 down and back sprints since you’re all taking it so easy on your suicides.”

              Fuck!

No, Lexi could feel herself starting to get upset. She had to go back to her blank space but there were too many emotions floating through her body.

Fury started to trickle through her body as she worked her way through the list of physical demands yelled out by her devil of a coach. Anger, a lot of anger was rushing through her body now. Margo collapsed next to her and Lexi grabbed her by the arm making sure her friend didn’t get in any trouble.

              “Come on Margo.” Lexi said in between huffs.

              Sweat trickled down her back as Lexi felt like she was separated from her body and was watching herself run up and down the court from the rafters. She looked pathetic, useless and pathetic. Never in her life had she despised herself so much. When had she ever let her personal life affect her this much? Screw her dad and his drinking, screw her lack of plans for the future, screw the prick of an officer that gave her a ticket, screw her friends who hadn’t been there for her and screw Jake Taylor.

              When they finally finished their coach’s previous demand, Lexi put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

              “Let’s hear it ladies, what do you have to say.” Still silence.

              Lexi couldn’t take it anymore. She stepped out on the court and looked at her freshman. She pointed at them. “Tell coach whatever the fuck you did because I don’t want to be running on your sorry asses behalf anymore! Damn!”

              Silence enveloped her as her bitch of a coach clapped slowly. Lexi looked at her coach with confusion.

              “Thank you freshman, you were quite the actresses.”

              “What the hell is going on?” Lexi asked, spinning around to look at everyone.

              “Looks like you owe your team an apology, Lexi. You see it took, let’s see how many suicides, burpees and down and ups to finally light a fire under your ass.” Her coach got right in her face. “That is what a captain is supposed to do, control her team, not sit back and make errors while she wallows in her own self-pity. I’m just sorry I had to use your teammates as an example to get you going. You ladies are dismissed.” Her coach looked Lexi dead in the eyes and said, “Get your shit together, Knox or you’ll be warming the bench all year.”

              Her coach turned on her heel and left Lexi in the gym all by herself.

This whole practice was because of Lexi? They just ran their asses off because of her? She had never been the one to cause the running and she just put her team through hell because she was letting her personal life get to her.

              Feeling like pure shit, she leaned against the padded wall and slowly lowered herself to the ground. She pulled her knees into her chest, placed her head on her knees and cried. She let herself cry for a while. She let herself feel again and she let herself have one last pity party.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Jake looked all over his locker for his watch but couldn’t find it. Where did he put it? Practice wasn’t too bad today, he knew his coach was taking it a little easy on the guys because the past couple of games they have killed their opponents. Jake appreciated the break but after practice he went up to his coach and asked him to not let up on the guys anymore, they needed to continue to practice the way they had been so they could continue to play the way they were. Their coach agreed but also stated he didn’t want to run the guys ragged which Jake could agree with.

              The guys were all going to the sports bar after practice but Jake decided to pass up since he was feeling tired and didn’t want to push himself. The last thing he needed was to get sick.

              He gathered his items and walked out of the locker room. He was about to leave when he remembered he left his watch on the indoor track this morning when he was working out with Mason. Jake walked out onto the track grabbed his watch and was heading for his Jeep when he heard someone crying.

              He looked around but didn’t see anyone. That was weird, he thought. He continued toward the exit when he heard another sob. He turned around and looked at the closed door to the gym. He heard there was a team in the gym that was getting their asses handed to him so he decided to take a peak to see if there were any stragglers.

              When he looked around in the gym, he saw Lexi sitting on the floor with her head on her knees, crying. The only reason he knew the person on the floor was her was because she was wearing gym shorts with softball written on them and a massive amount of blonde hair was spilling over the girl’s shoulders.

              He jogged up to her and knelt down. He startled her when he put his hand on her shoulder, which caused her to frantically wipe away her tears and clear her throat. He hated how she always had to be so tough around him.

              “Lexi, what’s wrong? Are you ok?”

              Lexi shot straight up from where she was sitting and then toppled over from being unbalanced. Jake caught her in his arms, trying to steady her.

She stared up at him with watery blue eyes that stole his heart. He hated seeing her in pain. He wanted to be able to wipe away all the pain in her face and make everything better. She struggled to gain her balance but continued to cry so she wasn’t having any success at holding herself up. Instead of helping her back down to the ground, Jake took charge. He escorted her out to his Jeep, buckled her up and drove her to his place. It was a little closer than hers and he didn’t have a key to get into her apartment.

              He pulled her out of the passenger seat where she was curled up and carried her into his apartment. He placed her on the couch and got some water from his fridge for her.

Seeing Lexi so deflated made him nervous, he always saw her so strong and stubborn, never like the mess she currently was. He had never seen her so down before and it was crushing him. He sat next to her on the couch and pulled a pillow onto his lap. She rested her head on the pillow and cried.

              “It’s ok” he said while stroking her head. He had no clue if it actually was ok or what “it” was but he knew whatever happened he was going to help her through it, he wanted to, he needed to.

Ever since he laid eyes on Lexi at the football party he couldn’t get her out of his head.  Now that she was vulnerable and actually letting him take care of her, he wasn’t going to go anywhere, no matter what her problem was.

At that moment, he finally realized what it was like to have someone to care about. Even though Lexi barely gave him the time of day, he cared about her.

              When Mason first started dating Brooke, Jake thought his friend was a fool. He always wondered why Mason would give up his bachelor life to be with one girl. Now Jake understood. It was about taking care of someone, having someone to lean on, to laugh with and to share life with. Right now, he wanted to take care of Lexi, he wanted to wash her pain away.

              Her cries settled down into sniffs and then her breathing turned heavy. Jake continued to stroke her hair and realized that she had fallen asleep. He pulled a blanket over her without disturbing the way she was sleeping and made himself comfortable. Thankfully he had his phone with him because he was able to check ESPN for scores and updates while she slept.

              Soon enough, Jake’s eyes started to get heavy and he drifted off into sleep as well, a very deep sleep.

 

                                                        ***

 

A sharp pain radiated through Lexi’s neck, causing her to wake up. She shifted from where she was laying and almost fell off her bed. She caught herself right before she tipped over. Her eyes flew open from the adrenaline rush of almost falling to the ground and that was when she realized she wasn’t in her bed, she was on a coach. Her hand was on something hard. She looked over and saw that her hand was gripping a man’s thigh. She shot up from where she was laying and saw the man whose thigh she was grazing.

Jake.

              Instant mortification took over her body as her whole body burn with heat. He found her at her worst moment and he didn’t run away. Instead he decided to take care of her. No, she told herself, she was not going to get into this with him. Wasn’t the practice they just had a big enough push away from Jake? She lost sight of what was important for her team and she wasn’t going to let it happen again. She couldn’t let Jake get in the middle of things. She couldn’t let him plant himself in her head again.

              Her coach made it quite clear that Lexi needed to get her head out of her ass and focus on what was important. Lexi was able to succeed her entire college career because she never let a guy interfere with her goals. Jake was a distraction, a handsome distraction, but a distraction she couldn’t afford. This was her last year, she needed to focus on figuring out what she was going to do with her life and she needed to focus on her team. She needed to give them her one hundred percent, not wonder whether or not the hunky quarterback was going to ask her out again.

              Lexi was able to slip off the couch without waking Jake up. She didn’t see any of her belongings around his apartment, probably because they were still in her locker. She had her workout clothes still on so she decided she would turn her trek back to the events center into a little workout, even though it felt like she pulled every muscle in her legs.

              She looked at Jake one last time and then slipped out of his apartment. She stretched her back and started to jog over to the events center. The entire time she replayed what happened last night in her head. All she could remember was crying hysterically and Jake carrying her around. Her mouth went dry and her stomach ached. Life wasn’t fair. Finally she found a guy that was caring and sweet, yea he had a bit of a battered past but he had changed, before her eyes and it pained her that she couldn’t do anything about it.

              Lord knew that she couldn’t handle being there for the team and having her own relationship, something had to give and that was Jake. Not that he wanted to be in a relationship with her, she didn’t know that but it did seem like he cared about her.

              What was she doing? She cursed herself out and picked up the pace of her run. She reveled in the burn that was traveling the length of her legs from the asinine workout she put her team through.

She was supposed to be forgetting about Jake and putting him behind her. She wasn’t supposed to be analyzing his feelings for her and if he actually had any. This was never going to work.

              She arrived at the events center and went to her locker room. Like usual she was the only one there. She pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste she kept in locker and brushed her teeth at the sink in the bathroom. She hated having morning breath before a workout. She brushed her hair and threw it up into a messy bun, grabbed a towel and headed for the weight room.

              After waiving good morning to the trainer she started working out on an exercise ball. She hadn’t done much ab work lately and since she was incredibly sore from yesterday’s practice she didn’t even want to attempt to do any squats or lunges.

              Lexi worked out until she couldn’t feel her abs anymore. It was the only way she knew how to erase her current pain, by causing new pain to focus on, so she did. She spent half on hour on the exercise ball doing all sorts of balancing and weighted ab work. She looked at the clock and realized she needed to get in the shower and get up to class.

              After an extremely quick shower and brush of her hair, she threw on her spare clothes and headed out of the locker room for class.

              “Hey.”

              Lexi stopped in her tracks and turned to find Jake waiting for her. He was leaning against the wall once again but he was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that showed off his amazing muscles. Lexi felt her voice get caught in her throat, so she just smiled at him

              “So you’re just going to walk out of my apartment without saying anything?”

              There was hurt in his eyes when he said his words. Lexi felt extremely guilty. She was trying to figure out what was best for her when she left Jake’s apartment, she didn’t even consider what it would be like for Jake. She was an ass.

              “I’m sorry. I was just, uh, embarrassed.”

              He walked closer so he was only a couple of inches away from her. “Why?”

              She looked up into his green eyes and felt the walls she was trying to build this morning crumble to the ground, they were completely non-existent now.

              “Because Jake. I mean who cries like that? It was embarrassing for you to see me like that.”

              “Why do you care how I see you?” He was even closer now as he placed his hands on her hips. His hands felt so strong, protective, safe.

              She looked down but he lifted her chin so she was looking at him. “I don’t want you to look at me differently?” she said.

              “And how would I look at you?”

              Lexi blew out an exasperated breath. “Like a weakling.”

              “You have to know by now I don’t see you as a weakling. I see you as a strong, confident, sexy woman.”

              “Well I wasn’t last night, especially the sexy part.” Lexi felt herself turn bright red from the thought of what she might have looked like last night. She knew she didn’t have a pretty cry face. She could only imagine the horror she might have caused Jake.

              “You were human last night, it was charming. It made me like you even more.”

              “Like me?”

              He smiled at her and brought his head down toward hers. Oh God he was going to kiss her. She felt her body tense up and panic while at the same time her heart hammered against her chest. She wanted this, she wanted Jake. His lips were a breath away from touching hers as he cupped the nape of her neck.

              “There you are! Thank…Oh, sorry I didn’t know.” Lexi shot away from Jake as if he was acid that was burning her skin off. She looked over at her grinning roommate and Lexi instantly hated herself. “I was worried about you, but if I knew you were with Jake…”

              “I wasn’t with him, well not the way you were thinking.” Lexi looked at Jake who was sporting a deep frown and then she looked back a Margo who would not stop smirking. “I’m fine, I have to go. I’ll see you at practice.”

              Lexi couldn’t even turn to look at Jake to say good bye because she couldn’t stand to see the hurt in his eyes again. She knew she was blowing him off but she couldn’t do this right now, this, whatever it was with Jake. Even though her heart and her body were telling her to skip class and invite Jake to breakfast, her brain was actually working and telling her to get her ass in gear. She had things to do and she couldn’t spend her day pining away at Jake.

 

                                                        ***

             

              Jake watched Lexi walk away without even acknowledging him. What the hell? He turned to Margo who was still standing in the hallway, grinning like an idiot. “Thanks a lot, Margo.”

              She feigned shock. “Oh was I interrupting something, perhaps something that continued over from last night?”

              Jake wished! “No, actually. I had to track her down here when she left my apartment after not saying anything.”

He told Margo about how he found Lexi in the gym crying and Margo told him all about their practice from the night before. Jake could completely relate to what Lexi was going through. He got ripped by his coach last year from not performing as a leader. Being captain was difficult because you had to be the best at everything while being a team leader. It was a tough spot to be in and if you were off your game for one day you were called out on it.

              Jake shook his head. “I wish she would talk to me about it.”

              “And why would she do that?” Margo asked.

              “Because I care, because I want to help her. I would have thought she got that impression from what I did for her last night.”

              Margo just shrugged. “Sometimes with Lexi, you have to voice what you’re feeling. I’m not going to get into it but she doesn’t have the best family life and it takes a lot out of her to trust someone, especially, no offense, someone with your kind of past.”

              “I would tell her how I feel if she gave me the time of day.”

              “You haven’t even talked to her for the past couple of weeks. If you’re interested in her you have to make it known. Stop pussy footing around and take what you want. Don’t take no for an answer. Make her feel special Jake, she deserves it and if you’re not up for the challenge then please just let her be. She can’t take the distraction if you’re not going to be all in.”

              All in, was he all in?

He thanked Margo for the advice and walked toward his locker room. He thought about last night and how great it felt to have Lexi so close to him, to take care of her, to run his hand through her hair and he thought about the moment they shared together right before Margo interrupted them. If being with Lexi meant having to be all in, then he was all in. He couldn’t walk away now. He was so close to something he never thought he would ever want, he couldn’t give up now. He was never a quitter and he wouldn’t start now.

              He pulled out his phone and sent Lexi a text message.

 

Jake: Have dinner with me tonight, after practice. Please.

 

              It didn’t take her long to respond.

 

Lexi: I can’t

 

Jake: I know you have nothing planned, please let me take you out. Just something casual.

 

Lexi: I don’t think that is a good idea Jake. I appreciate what you did for me last night but I think we should leave it at that.

             

Jake: I’m not taking no for an answer. I think after last night I at least deserve this.

 

Lexi: I’m sorry, you’re right. I will meet you after practice

 

Jake: Thank you. See you then and Lexi, have a great day. I will be thinking about you

 

Lexi: You too.

 

              Jake stuffed his phone in his locker after reading her last text message and put on his running shoes. He was going to let Lexi know how he felt at dinner, he was going to take what he wanted and show her how special she was.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Lexi was a bundle of nerves while she was getting ready for her so-called date with Jake. Practice went much better today. Lexi felt like her old self again out on the field. She led the team every way possible, being the first on the field and the last to leave. She even got a brief nod from her coach knowing that was her coach’s way of showing her approval. Lexi might have let her guard down for a second but she was back in the game again. She was able to shut her personal life off when she stepped on the field, something she recently forgot how to do.

              Everyone was already gone, Lexi stayed behind to take a shower and try to make herself semi presentable. She put on a pair of navy blue yoga pants and a tight white t-shirt along with her lime green Nikes. She knew it wasn’t a dress and high heels but she just got out of practice, she wasn’t going to get much more out of herself in the fashion department. She made sure to throw her hair up in a messy bun with a headband and put on a generous amount of mascara to make her eyes pop.

              Looking at herself in the mirror, she approved of her reflection. She wasn’t sex on a stick but she wasn’t half bad either. She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. She made her way to the half wall that was just outside the events center to wait for Jake. It was a beautiful day and she might as well enjoy the weather while she waited for Jake. She knew Jake’s practice ran a little later than hers so she was prepared to wait. She sent a text to Jake to let him know where she was.

              Nerves ran through her body as she couldn’t believe she was actually going on a date with Jake...again. This morning she had sworn him off. How was it that he was able to change her mind so quickly? Wait, her mind wasn’t changed. She was just going out to dinner with him because she owed it to him since he took care of her during one of her lowest points. She was going to hold true to what she told herself. She had no time or room for a guy in her life.

              The side door to the events center opened up and Jake appeared wearing a pair of Cal U gym shorts and a dark grey football shirt. His hair was wet, most likely from a quick shower and he was wearing flip flops. She was glad she went super causal because she would have felt stupid in jeans and a nice shirt. She hopped off the half wall and met him on the sidewalk.

              He beamed at her with one of his kill-me-now smiles. “Hey gorgeous, are you ready?”

              “Yup.” They walked toward his Jeep while she asked, “How was practice?”

              He rubbed his shoulder before he opened the door for her. “Oh you know, painful as usual.” He shut the door and jogged around to his side. She surveyed the interior of his Jeep and came to the realization of how much she loved his car. How stupid was that? It was a just a car, but it was so him, rugged on the outside but soft and safe on the inside. “How about you?”

              She looked at him confused. “Huh?”

              “How was your practice?”

              “Oh, it was a hell of a lot better than yesterday. That’s for sure. It is obviously our off season right now so we focus a lot on technique and drills. It can get really boring at times. I prefer to do situational plays and scrimmages.”

              “Doesn’t everybody? Drills can be so monotonous at times.”

              Lexi agreed with him. Their conversation struck her as strange because the only other person besides her teammates that she talked about her sport with was Parker. No one else seemed to care, so it was refreshing to have another understanding ear to talk to. It didn’t really dawn on her that Jake was going through the same thing as her. Trying to play the sport he loved at a high level while also trying to earn a degree. No one really knew what they went through, unless they were actually in the same boat.

              They continued with mindless chitchat until they pulled up to Panera. Lexi couldn’t help but let out a little giggle.

              “Something funny?” He asked.

              She shook her head and exited the car. He met her in the parking lot. “I just never pictured you as a Panera guy. I expected a Mexican joint or, I don’t know a steak.”

              “What can I say? They have the best mac and cheese. Is this alright? We can go somewhere else.”

              “No, this is great. I love it here but I’m sorry to say, I’ve never had their mac and cheese.”

              Jake stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “You have never had the mac and cheese? That is crazy.”

              “I love the Fuji Apple Salad, I always get it.”

              Jake just shook his head. “Women and their salads.”

              When they got in Panera, they ordered, a salad for Lexi and mac and cheese and a sandwich for Jake. They both got drinks, picked up their food from the counter and found a cozy little booth in the back corner, where no one could bother them. Lexi eyed Jake’s mac and cheese and she had to admit, she was jealous when she turned back to her salad.

              They started eating and at first Lexi was self-conscious but got rid of that feeling right away when Jake got sauce from his sandwich all over his face. He acted like nothing was on his face as he continued to tell her a story about Mason getting stuck in the bathroom at the football house their sophomore year. Jake had a huge glob of sauce on his cheek and Lexi knew he knew it was there, how could he not. She could feel it touching her own skin, it bothered her so much. Occasionally she would wipe the same side of her face hoping Jake would get the hint.

              “So coach was on the field screaming where the hell Mason was and why he was missing practice. None of the guys knew where he was and I started to get nervous coach was going to have a heart attack because he was so mad.” Jake took another bite into his sandwich letting sauce hit his chin, Lexi cringed and he smiled.

              “Are you trying to be disgusting on purpose?” She said with a laugh while handing him a napkin.

              “No just trying to ease the tension.” He wiped his face and continued with his story. “So me and the other guys got back to the house, where Mason’s car was, his phone was in the house along with his backpack. We started to get really nervous because it wasn’t like Mason to miss practice. I started to get terrible thoughts in my head like he committed suicide or a jealous student shot him to death, you know the typical over-reactions.” Lexi nodded in agreement. “Well after calling his name we finally heard him yell out from upstairs. We all went running to his voice and followed it to the bathroom where the knob from the outside had fallen off so he had no way of getting out. We got the door open and there he was with a towel wrapped around his waist and the shower curtain wrapped around his shoulders.”

              Lexi burst out in laughter. “Why did he have the shower curtain wrapped around him?”

              “Apparently the bathroom tiles were cold.”

              Lexi could not stop laughing. Picturing Mason in such a scenario was one of the funniest things she had heard in a while. “Did Mason tell your coach what happened?”

              Jake took a sip of his drink. “Well, once we found Mason we called coach right away. Coach called an early meeting the next day and made us all do fifty yard sprints for half an hour.”

              “What? Why?” Lexi asked in an outrage.

              “As coach put it, if Mason was dumb enough to get himself locked in a bathroom then we should all pay the price as his teammates for having to put up with his stupidity.”

              “That makes absolutely no sense.”

              Jake shrugged his shoulders. “It really doesn’t but we did them together, the entire time trying to hold back chuckles. That year at the team Christmas party coach got a mason a nice floral shower curtain with a note attached that said ‘to keep you warm on the bus.’”

              Lexi burst out in laughter again. “Well at least your coach can show a little bit of a sense of humor. I swear it’s a pre-requisite of a division one coach to be completely devoid of humor.”

              Lexi was almost done with her salad but kept eyeing Jake’s mac and cheese and finally gained enough courage to dip her fork quickly into his bowl and snag a bite. She reveled in the taste of the melted cheese when it touched her tongue. Jake was right, that was the best mac and cheese she had ever tasted. She looked at him and saw a huge grin on his face.

              “What are you smiling at?”

              “It’s funny how you so easily reached over and stole some of my dinner without even looking guilty. You know it’s a dangerous thing to steal a sturdy football player’s dinner, especially after a grueling practice.”

              “Oh please, what are you going to do, wrestle me to the ground?”

              Jake started to get up and said, “Don’t mind if I do.”

              “What are you doing? Sit down you oaf.”

              Jake chuckled, “You’re all talk.”

              “What? You think you could beat me in a wrestling match?”

              He looked Lexi up and down and laughed. “Uh, sorry to say short stack but I would own you.”

              Lexi lifted her chin in defiance. “I might be short but I’m quick and scrappy. I would have you down so fast you wouldn’t even know we started.”

              “I doubt that. I’m sorry to say but I probably have about one hundred pounds over you.”

              “I guess we will never know.”

              “I’m willing to settle this challenge. You’re the one backing down.”

              “I’m not backing down. I’m just saving myself the hassle of giving you a free grope session as you try to prove yourself as a man by taking down a girl half your size.”

              “So you admit I can take you?”

              Lexi rolled her eyes. “You’re infuriating.”

              “Yes, but you like it.”

              Lexi looked him in the eyes. They were done eating now and just sitting there enjoying each other’s company. Lexi couldn’t remember the last time she felt so relaxed and at ease. Her doubts of being with Jake left her brain completely and the walls she thought she put up this morning were once again in ruins. She was giving herself over to Jake and she was scared to her core, but she knew she couldn’t avoid what he was doing to her anymore. She was giving in and if she was going to give in then she was going to do it on her own terms. She wasn’t going to let him whisk her away so fast. She was going to take things slow, incredibly slow.

              “I do like it.” She must have shocked the hell out of him because his reaction was priceless, she rendered him speechless. The only response he was able to muster was a smile that stretched from ear to ear.  She decided to cut the night short while she was ahead. “Thanks for dinner, but I have to get back to my place. I have a bunch of reading to do for a class and I don’t want to fall behind.”

              “I understand.” He threw their trash out and escorted her back to his Jeep. “Thank you for coming out of with me tonight. I had a great time.”

              “Me too, thank you for asking.”

              They drove in silence back to her apartment. She didn’t want the night to end, she didn’t want to say good bye to him right away but she didn’t want to get in over her head. One step at a time she kept telling herself.

              They pulled up to her place and they both got out of Jake’s Jeep. He met her at the front of his Jeep and grabbed her hand as he entwined his fingers with hers. Her stomach did flips and she felt the heat in her body rise a couple of notches. They walked hand in hand to her door and turned around to face each other. He looked so good it was almost painful to look at him. How was it possible for one single human being to be so incredibly attractive? Wasn’t it a crime?

              He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Can we do this again, Lexi?”

              He looked so vulnerable when he asked her. She wanted to ease his anxiety. “I would love that.”

              “Great. I’ll call you.”

              He started to lean in and she knew he was going to kiss her but she wasn’t ready so instead of letting him make his move she released his hand, gave him a quick hug and went into her apartment. She was breathing heavily and not from her fast movements. She almost kissed Jake Taylor. Was she crazy? She leaned her head against the door and thought about their evening. It was amazing, it was something that she felt like had been missing from her life and that something was fun, pure fun.

              Her phone chimed and the noise brought her back down to earth from her thoughts. She looked at the screen and surprise, surprise, it was from Jake.

             

Jake: I had an amazing time with you tonight short stack. Thanks for coming out. Sweet dreams oh and P.S. don’t think you can avoid that kiss every time. It’s going to happen.

 

              Lexi felt her face flush from reading his text. He totally called her out but she couldn’t help but giggle like a little school girl. She sent him a quick text good night and went to go brush her teeth. She stared at herself in the mirror and wondered what life would be like if she was actually in a relationship with Jake Taylor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

              “You’re killing me this morning.” Mason said while he tried to catch his breath. “Where are you getting all this energy from?”

              Jake was feeling great, he had felt great since his dinner with Lexi. They hadn’t been able to get together again in a week and even though it was driving him crazy to not see her, he knew he had a plan this morning to see her and he was excited. He had never felt so alive before, it was like Lexi had awakened something in him he never knew was missing.

              “Well, we should stop because I don’t want to tire you out for tonight.”

              “Are you not even tired?” Mason asked while leaning his hands on his knees and breathing heavily.

              “No, I feel great.” Jake said nonchalantly while Mason flipped him off.

              They both grabbed their towels and walked out of the gym toward the locker rooms. Jake stopped him and said, “I have to make a detour, I’ll see you a little later.”

              “Let me guess, checking to see if a certain blonde is in the weight room?”

              “What’s it to you?”

              “It’s not. It just amazes me to see you like this.”

              “Like what?”

              Mason looked Jake up and down and said, “Not a dickhead.”

              Jake playfully punched him. “I’ll see you later, ice those knees. I expect a big score tonight.”

              They parted their ways and Jake walked toward the weight room like Mason predicted. He wanted to be able to catch Lexi before she left. It was a Saturday so he wasn’t even sure she would be there but knowing her work ethic, she most likely would be in there getting a workout in before practice. He admired her for her hard work. No wonder she was so good at her sport, she put more time in the gym than anyone else he knew, even more than him.

              While he walked down the hall toward the weight room he thought about how he was going to miss walking the halls of the event center. There were pictures of past athletes hung on the walls, displaying the amount of athleticism that had graced the halls. There was a picture of Jake hanging near the football locker, it was an honor to be on the wall and he didn’t take it for granted.

              He walked up to the weight room and peaked in. Lexi was by the free weights doing lunges in the shortest pair of spandex he had ever seen and tight tank top with a neon sports bra peeking out. She had ear buds in her ears with her iPod attached to her bicep. Her hair was pulled back in her classic messy bun that stood high off her head because of the massive amount of hair she had. Jake stood in the doorway admiring her from afar, trying not to drool over her luscious ass. Lunges had done her well.

              “Hey peeping Tom, are you going to work out or what?”

              The head trainer scared the crap out of him. Jake didn’t even know the guy was in the weight room. Jake felt a flush creep over his body from being caught staring at Lexi.

              “Uh, no I just need to talk to Lexi and I didn’t want to disturb her.” He walked past the trainer to avoid any more embarrassment and walked up behind Lexi who was looking at herself in the mirror while doing bicep curls. When their eyes met his, he watched hers widen in surprise. She quickly set her weights down, pulled out her ear buds and asked, “Hey, what are you doing here?”

              “I came looking for you.” Jake looked at their trainer who was eyeing them. Jake tilted his head toward the hallway and said, “Uh, could we talk without an audience?”

              Lexi looked at the trainer, smiled and nodded. They walked out into the hallway and hovered by the water fountain. Lexi’s eyes were sparkling this morning and Jake hoped it had something to do with him.

              “What time is practice today?”

              “Ten, I wanted to get in a quick workout beforehand.”

              “I figured as much.”

              They stood there for an awkward moment before Lexi said, “What’s up, Jake?”

              He hated that he got so nervous around her. He never lost his cool before but he so easily did around her. It was as if he was back in grade school and he was asking out a girl for the first time. He felt his hands start to get sweaty so he casually wiped them off on his shorts. He was leaning against the wall, trying to be as casual as possible.

              “What are you doing tonight?”

              “Not sure.” She said with a shrug.

              “Really? You aren’t going anywhere tonight?”

              “Nope, I think I’m going to just hang out at my place. Maybe watch some mushy romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks.”

              “So you didn’t plan on going to one of the biggest games of the season?” Jake asked almost hurt.

              “Oh is that tonight?” She waved her hand in dismissal. “Well, I had no clue and since I already made plans with my couch…I guess I’ll have to pass.”

              Jake just realized she was pulling his leg when she flashed her gorgeous smile at him. Jake rubbed his hand over his face.              

              “Good Lord woman. If you traded tonight’s game in for Tom Hanks we were going to have to have a serious chat.”

              She laughed and grabbed his hand. She mingled her fingers with his and said, “Of course I’ll be there. Parker got us some seats on the fifty yard line. I don’t know how he managed such great seats since students usually sit in the end zone but I’ll take them.”

              He played with her hand and felt their palms come together, it was comforting, supportive. The little gesture of her taking his hand sent his heart rate to a sprinting pace. She was leaning against the wall now so he positioned himself in front of her so her back was up against the wall and his hand that was not mingling with hers was supporting him on the wall right next to her head. He watched her breath quicken and her pulse in her neck take off.

              “When we kick the Tiger’s asses tonight, will you go to the football house’s party afterwards with me?”

              Her free hand played with the collar of his shirt as she stared at him with her crystal blue eyes. It took all the energy in his body not to lean down and kiss her, even though they were already inches apart.

              “You want to go to the football house together? Won’t that be sending everyone a message if we show up together, possibly hand in hand?” She took that moment to stroke the back of his hand with her thumb. Her little touches all over his body sky rocketed his senses. He didn’t know how much more he could take.

              “That is a message I don’t mind sending. What about you?”

              Lexi ran her hand up his arm, as if she was secretly exploring his body. “I think it would be ok.”

              Jake wanted to skip down the hallway like a leprechaun because she agreed to accompany him to the party tonight. By her saying yes, she was giving him permission to claim her as his. He had never felt so amazing.

              “So you don’t mind people knowing we’re an item?”

              “Is that what we are? We only went out to dinner once you know.” She said with a smile.

              “Believe me. I want people to know we’re an item. I don’t need guys thinking you’re available. Sorry to say babe but you’re kind of attached to me now.”

              “Oh is that right? Is that so you can stare at me from the doorway of the weight room and not get caught?”

              Jake felt another rush of heat flow through his body. “I thought you didn’t know I was there.”

              “I’m a good actress.”

              Jake laughed and then changed the subject quickly. “I’m not sure if we settled this or not. Are you going to the party with me tonight?”

              Lexi acted like she was weighing her options. “I don’t know, Tom Hanks or football?” She held her hands out as if she was Lady Justice, balancing her scales. Jake went in for the kill and tickled her. Her hands flew to his chest to stop him. They were inches apart and the feel of her hands on his chest was like an addiction he didn’t think he could ever bounce. She slid her hands up his body and wrapped them around his neck. He placed both of his hands on either side of her head as he stared down at her gorgeous face.

              She spoke first. “Of course, I’ll go with you.” Her thumbs rubbed the back of his neck where her hands were. He leaned forward, even closer. He wanted to kiss her so badly but he wasn’t going to be the one who made the first move, he wanted her to take charge.

              The side door to the outside opened and Margo came into view. “Ugh, get a room.” Jake rested his forehead on Lexi’s in disappointment from Margo’s impeccable timing. He was so close, yet so far. “We have to get going Lex, see you in the locker room.” Lexi nodded toward Margo and then looked at Jake.

              “Well, I have to get going. Good luck tonight.”

              He smiled down at her. “Thanks.”

              She removed her hands and maneuvered out of his stance that pinned her against the wall. Jake let out an exasperated sigh as he turned around to face her. He leaned against the wall and let her take his hand in hers again.

              “Meet you outside by the half wall after the game? Or do you want to go separately?”

              “Oh we will be going together. By the fence sounds good. Have a good practice.”

              “I will, kick some ass Taylor.”

              She gave his hand one last rub with her thumb and took off down the hallway. He watched her walk away and admired her sweet little ass as it swayed back and forth.

Jake ran both of his hands through his hair and leaned his head against the wall. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He felt so close to Lexi, yet there was still a huge distance between them. He took a quick sip from the water fountain and then walked back to his locker room. When he got there he checked his phone to see what time it was and noticed he received a text message from Lexi. He smiled and read it as he thought about the little tradition they were starting with text messaging.

 

Lexi: Good luck tonight big guy. I will be cheering for you from the fifty yard line. And don’t worry, you will get that kiss soon, maybe it will be your prize if you win.

 

              Jake smiled when he read her text message. If getting a kiss from Sexy Lexi wasn’t incentive enough to win a game, then he didn’t know what was.

 

                                                        ***

 

              “Why are you so jittery?” Margo asked Lexi.

              Lexi didn’t know why she was so jittery tonight. She was nervous about the game because she wanted Jake to so desperately win. It was a huge rivalry game and she knew if the team lost tonight, the Tigers would never let them live it down. Now she knew how her parents felt when, that is when they cared, when they were watching her play. It was so nerve racking to be in the stands. If she had to admit it, she was also nervous about the party tonight. She was going to be seen publicly with Jake and that was a big deal. She was going to be measured up by every girl at the party and most likely deemed unworthy of Jake’s arm, something she wasn’t looking forward to.

              It would be the first time they went out together since their little date at Panera. They talked on the phone and text throughout the week but both of their busy schedules didn’t allow for them to make plans for any dates. Lexi looked forward to their phone calls at night because the sexy tone of Jake’s voice over the phone sent chills through her body, making for a very peaceful sleep.

              Instead of confessing her fears to Margo about her date, she just said, “Uh, just a little cold.”

              Margo looked Lexi up and down, just the way Lexi feared the girls at the party would do. “Maybe if you didn’t dress like a hooker you wouldn’t be so cold.”

              Lexi took offense to Margo’s comment. After practice, Lexi was able to take her time getting ready for tonight. She painted her nails and toenails, took a nice long shower, scrubbed every inch as well as made sure to shave everywhere on her body. Lotion was strategically slathered everywhere to give her skin a smooth glow just in case her body was touched by Jake. She curled her hair in long flowy waves that cascaded down her slender shoulders. She applied some make-up but kept it natural and dressed in her jean mini skirt, navy blue tank top to show off her school colors and put on a pair of her brown sandals. She was casual but cute she thought.

              “I don’t look like a hooker.”

              Margo laughed. “God you need to loosen up a bit Lex, can’t you take a joke?”

              Lexi rolled her eyes at her friend and then nudged Parker. “You’re not even watching the game. What are you looking around for?”

              “Sierra said she was coming to the game.”

              Lexi heard Margo make a disapproving tone but the unladylike noise fortunately didn’t reach Parker.

Margo was more on edge lately and not as fun as usual, Lexi wondered if it had to do with Sierra. Lexi wasn’t stupid, she knew Margo had a giant crush on Parker and when she had her eyes set on something, Margo just had to have it. Parker was her new target and she wasn’t able to obtain him like she normally would any other man.

              “I thought you weren’t going to settle down with any girl this year.”

              “He’s not.” Margo said with an attitude. “They’re just fuck buddies.” Margo grabbed her purse and said, “I’m out of here. Clearly we’re going to win, we’re killing them. I’ll see you later. Have a good night with Jake.”

              Lexi grabbed her friend’s arm to prevent her from leaving. “Are you not coming to the party tonight?”

              “No, I have a date with one of the lacrosse guys.”

              “Shocker!” Parker said a little more snidely than expected.

              Margo rolled her eyes and left. What was that all about?

“Why were you just rude to Margo?” Lexi asked concerned that she was so far gone on Jake that she failed to see things fall apart around her.

              Parker rolled out some kinks in his shoulders. “She’s been a bitch to me for weeks now and I have no clue why.”

              Men, they could be so clueless sometimes, Lexi thought. It wasn’t her place to blow up Margo’s spot especially since she hadn’t even confided in Lexi about her feelings so Lexi just had to play dumb.

              “Maybe she is going through a tough time, cut her some slack.”

              “I hope she uses protection. Who knows what kind of virus she could catch from those idiots. Doesn’t she realize they’re some of the grossest guys in the athletic department? The things they talk about make me feel ashamed to be a guy.”

              “She uses protection, don’t worry about that. Who would you like to see her with?”

              “Why do I care?”

              The Bears scored another touchdown. The score was not even close now. Lexi watched Jake chest bump with Mason in the air and then walk off the field together. He took his helmet off and put it on a helmet rest while he looked toward her direction. He smiled at her when they made eye contact. She smiled back, trying not to melt on the spot. Trying to act like a normal human, she turned her attention back to Parker.

              “It kind of seems like you do care if you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

              Parker ignored her. “Oh there’s Sierra, I’ll catch you later.”

              And just like that Lexi was left alone in the stands. Thankfully there were only a couple of minutes left in the game so she didn’t have to feel like a complete loser all by herself.

Lexi pulled out her chapstick and applied a decent amount as she thought about the text she sent to Jake earlier in the day. If they won, she did say she would let him kiss her. And if she knew Jake like she thought she did, he would be cashing in on his prize the moment he saw her.

              She was just putting her chapstick back in her purse when she heard two girls behind her talking.

              “Are you going to the football house later tonight?” One of them asked.

              The other girl replied with a higher pitched voice that resembled Adelaide’s from Guys and Dolls the musical. “I wouldn’t miss it. I plan on congratulating Jake on his victory the only way I know how.”

              Lexi cringed, she had been so caught up in herself and Jake that she forgot there was a world outside of them, a world where women used to throw themselves at Jake and he used to happily accept their advances.

              “Not if I get to him first. Plus you already had a piece of him.”

              Lexi felt like throwing up. Jake had changed so much this semester that she almost forgot about his sordid past. It was hard to forget all the women he had relations with, all the drunk nights that he couldn’t even remember who he had been with. Was she really about to get involved with someone who she would randomly hear stories about that would tear her gut apart, like she was right now?

              “It was just a small piece, or should I say big piece.” Both the girls laughed as the horn buzzed for the end of the game. Lexi shot out of her seat and walked quickly in between cheering fans. She had to get out of there. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

              Lexi made the brisk walk to the half wall where she was supposed to meet Jake. She sat down on the edge and thought about what she was going to do. Was she strong enough, brave enough to dabble in a possible relationship with a man who dabbled with almost every girl in the athletic department? Every time she was working out in the weight room or was at a party or in class she could risk running into someone who had possibly been with Jake. Then there was the fact that he was extremely experienced and she had only been with one other person.

              Not that she was ready to jump his bones right away. She would be putting that off for a while. She wasn’t going to give her entire body up to Jake until she knew for sure his intentions. She once gave her body to someone who didn’t appreciate her. She didn’t want to go down that road again. Given Jake’s track record, she was going to make him earn the privilege of sleeping with her, of owning her body.

              She felt like she was going to hyperventilate from thinking about what a risk it was for her to get involved with someone like Jake. She didn’t have the typical support system one usually received from their family so what if something did happen to her? What if Jake ended up breaking her heart? It wasn’t like Margo and Parker were there for her right now. They couldn’t look past their own noses to notice anyone else in the world.

              Worrying thoughts of Jake scattered through her mind as she waited for the man in question and she must have been thinking for quite some time because she almost didn’t notice the strong presence walking toward her. She looked up and saw Jake smiling as he got closer to where she was sitting. His hair was wet from a shower causing Lexi’s hand to want to run her hand through the wet strands. He was wearing jeans and a light blue polo shirt. He looked good, and he smelled good.

              “Hey babe, you look hot.” He straddled her against the half wall and placed both his hands on her waist. “What a game huh?” She had a hard time responding because all she could think about were the girls behind her planning their moves on Jake right in front of her. Jake was too in tune with her because he noticed her sour mood. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He said while lifting her chin so she had to look him in the eyes, his beautiful light green eyes.

              She shook her head. She felt so embarrassed to tell him, but if she was going to give their relationship a shot, which she didn’t think she could walk away from, she had to express her concerns.

              “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. You were amazing tonight.”

              “I don’t care about the game. What’s wrong Lex?”

              “I, uh, I don’t know if I can go to the party tonight.”

              “Why? I thought you wanted to.” He looked as if she just broke his heart, she felt terrible.

              “I do, it’s just. Ugh, at the game there were two girls behind me bragging about how they were going to approach you tonight, and you know, offer themselves up.”

              Jake laughed causing her to swat him in the chest. “It’s not funny.”

              He chuckled a little more before he answered her. “So since these girls said they were going to ‘offer themselves’ up to me.” He said while making quotation marks with his fingers, “Then I’m automatically going to sleep with them?”

              Well when he put it like that, he made her feel stupid. “It’s not just that Jake, almost every girl around here has a story about being with you and if you want this to work between us you have to think about how hard it’s going to be for me to hear all those different stories.”

              Jake pulled her in tight and wrapped his warmth around her. She rested her head on his chest and breathed in his scent. She reveled in the fact that he felt so safe, even with all the doubts in her head as to why being with him wouldn’t work, she still felt so safe with him, like he was home.

              He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry that my idiotic past is going to haunt you. If I could take it back I would, but I can’t. You’re just going to have to trust me, trust that you’re the only girl I’m interested in. Can you do that? Can you put your faith in me?”

              She looked up at his pleading eyes and she thought about how, yes, she could trust him. Even though he treated women like crap in the past, she believed Jake and she believed his intentions were pure. She truly believed that he had changed…for the better.

              “Yes, I can trust you.”

              He squeezed her harder and kissed her on the head again. “You don’t know how happy that makes me feel.” He lifted her up so she was positioned better on the cement half wall making her almost face to face with him. “Now, I just have to tell you how hot you look tonight.”

              Lexi felt her skirt hike up to an almost inappropriate level but for some odd reason she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck and brought him in closer. He placed his hands on her hips once again, sending chills down her legs.

              “You look pretty good yourself. Now about that game, you really were amazing. You and Mason make such a good team.”

              “Thanks. I can’t tell you how great it feels to have you cheering me on in the stands. I haven’t had a little cheering section since my parents died. To have you there, watching, means the world to me.”

              Lexi heard about Jake’s parents dying in a horrific car accident his freshman year, but never thought he would ever really talk about it, at least not so soon. She caressed his neck with her thumb and said, “I’m glad I was there to support you.”

              He changed the subject quickly. “So, you ready to go?”

              “Yes, but I need to do something before we go” Jake nodded and pulled away to let her down but she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him back in. She brought her lips to his and kissed him. At first she felt him stiffen up from her boldness but then he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in closer.

              Her entire body lit on fire and she felt her toes start to tingle. She slightly opened her mouth granting him more access into her mouth and he took advantage of it. He worked her lips until she didn’t think she could take it anymore without bursting with joy. He didn’t let up though, he kept diving in for more. Her hands found his chest while one of his hands was on the back of her neck and the other one was working dangerously up her leg. At that moment she decided to pull away.

              They both were breathing heavily and when she finally opened her eyes to look at him, his eye lids were heavy and he looked almost dazed. Lexi took her hand and brushed her thumb against his cheek. “Congratulations on your win big guy.” She hopped down from the half wall and started walking toward his Jeep.

              He finally caught up to her, twisted her around and caught her in his arms. He lifted her head up and kissed her again. This time he was more frantic, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She matched his desperate need to be closer and wrapped her arms around him. She opened her lips allowing him to slip his tongue in hers and explore every surface of her mouth. A dull thud started to pound in her body and she could feel the excitement taking place all the way down to her toes. This was getting out of hand. If she didn’t stop him now she could foresee herself having an orgasm in the middle of the parking lot.

              She pulled away and swatted him on the arm. He rubbed the attacked spot and said, “What was that for?”

              She pointed at him and said, “Don’t get fresh.” Then she chased her sentence with a smile over her shoulder and waited for him to unlock the door to his Jeep.

              He gently pushed her up against the Jeep and said, “You are slowly going to be the death of me, babe.” He gave her a quick peck and opened the door for her. She was smiling and more pleased with herself then she should be.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Jake was still reeling from Lexi’s surprise attack on his lips when they arrived at the football house. The last thing he wanted to do after Lexi kissed him was go to a football party. Instead, wanted to take her back to his place and practice their make-out skills some more. The moment her lips hit his he knew he wasn’t going to ever let Lexi go. She was it for him. It was like their kiss sealed the deal for his future. He couldn’t say that to her, though because she still was very much skittish around him but what he did notice was she started to give in and warm up toward him. The way she touched him, looked at him and of course kissed him, he knew she had feelings for him.

              “Are you just going to stare out the windshield, or are we actually going to go in?”

              Jake chuckled. “Sorry, I was just thinking about earlier. You know we don’t have to go the party.”

              Lexi gave him a skeptical look. “Nice try big shot, you just want to go back to your place and make-out.”

              “You read my mind.”

              Lexi rolled her eyes and got out of his Jeep. Well a guy could try, he thought. He met her at the front of his Jeep and looked down at her beautiful blue eyes.

              “You ready for this, babe?”

              “More ready than I ever will be.”

              He took her hand in his and led her into the house. Almost everyone was already drunk and having a good time. Jake was confused about how all the guys got to the party before him but then again he was kissing Lexi out in the parking lot for a little bit.

He went to the back of the house, out to the patio where he knew he could find Mason and Brooke. On their way back he made sure to grab two beers from the fridge.

              A drunk freshman stopped them and said, “Jake, you were the fucking man tonight.”

              “Thanks.” Jake said as a whiff of the freshman’s intoxicated breath smacked Jake right in the face. “Maybe you should lay off the beers for a little bit.”

              The freshman didn’t acknowledge Jake instead he was eyeing Lexi which was starting to make Jake’s blood boil.

              “What do we have here?” The freshman started toward Lexi and Jake couldn’t take it any longer, the guy needed to be taught to look a girl in the eyes, not her breasts. Jake pinned the freshman up against the wall with his forearm resting against his neck.

              Lexi screeched and put her hands over her mouth. “Don’t you dare look at her like that. You hear me?” Jake tightened his grip and the freshman nodded his head. Jake let him go and said, “Call a taxi and get back to the dorm before I let coach know you are a drunken idiot, he will have you running fifties until your legs fall off.” The freshman nodded and scurried away like a dog with his tail between his legs.

              He turned to see if Lexi was alright. “You ok, baby?”

              She had her fists on her waist. “Was that necessary?”

              “Yea, he was eyeing you like you were a piece of meat he was about to bite into.”

              “I can handle my own Jake. I don’t need you slamming poor freshmen against the wall for me.”

              Jake could tell she was mad at him but he didn’t care, he would do it again. That was what he was there for, to protect her. He wasn’t going to let some drunken idiot go up to her and stare at her like she was his personal prize to look at.

              Jake grabbed Lexi’s hands. “I’m sorry that I stepped in, I know you can handle yourself but I want to take care of you.”

              Jake saw understanding in Lexi’s eyes but she still tried to sound tough. “Fine, but for God’s sakes, don’t take it out on freshmen. You practically made the poor guy pee his pants.”

              Jake chuckled and brought Lexi into his embrace. “Well that taught him to stare at my woman.”

              “We’re back at that? You’re woman?”

              Jake kissed the top of her head. “Like it or not babe, you’re mine now. Once you kissed me, you signed up to be stuck with me.”

              “That was a pity kiss.” She said while playing with his shirt collar.

              “Didn’t feel like pity.”

              “What little you know. Wait until you see the real thing.” She said with a wink and then dragged him out to the patio.

              Jake thought if her kisses in the parking lot were pity, the real thing would send him to an early grave. He walked behind Lexi, holding her hand and admired her short skirt. He was acting just like the freshman ogling her but this was different, he had permission.

              They got out to the patio that was lit with string lights and thankfully was not as crowded as the inside of the house. The rule of the football house was the patio was for the more laid back crowd. If you wanted to be rowdy then you could go in the house, the outside was to chill. That’s why Mason and Jake always found themselves out on the patio lately.

              Mason and Brooke were sitting at a teak table that was surrounded by tiki torches, another reason why the rowdy crowd had to stay inside. They didn’t want drunk morons setting the house on fire by knocking into one of the tiki torches.

              Brooke looked as amazing as usual. Mason sure was one lucky son of a bitch but then again, Jake was even luckier since he had Lexi at his side. Mason tipped his beer at them and waved them over.

              “Hey, there’s my boy. Where have you been?” Mason asked.

              “Oh, just settling some stuff before we came over.” He gave Lexi a wink which caused her cute little button face to blush. Jake thought how endearing it was. “Lex, this is Brooke, Brooke this is Lexi.”

              “Hey Lexi, Mason has told me all about Jake’s failed attempts to win you over.” Lexi laughed and Jake glared at Mason.

              Mason held his hands up in defense. “Sorry man, there are no secrets between us. Although, if there are no secrets, one of us could at least keep our big mouths shut.” He looked at Brooke who just laughed.

              “They act so tough, don’t they? Really they’re a bunch of babies.”

              Jake sat down in one of the wooden chairs next to Mason and Brooke and when Lexi went to go grab a chair, Jake said, “Where do you think you’re going?”

              “To get a chair, you don’t expect me to stand do you?”

              “Ooo, she has sass, I like her.” Brooke commented.

              “Your seat is right here.” Jake patted his lap. Lexi looked at him skeptically.

              “Seriously, you want me to be like every other bimbo who has sat on your lap?”

              “That’s my girl.” Brooke tipped her beer at Lexi and took a swig. Mason grabbed the beer from her and gave Brooke a kiss on the lips.

              “I think that’s enough beer for now, sweetheart. Or else we might have to stick you with the rowdy crowd.”

              Brooke grabbed her beer from Mason and slammed the rest of it. She got up from the table, grabbed her purse and Lexi’s arm. “Come on Lexi, we’re going to the bathroom for some girl time.”

              Before Jake could even protest, Brooke had swept her away without even a chance of stopping her. Jake looked over at Mason. “That can’t be good for me.”

              Mason chuckled, “It can’t be good for either of us. Whenever women get together it’s always a bad thing.” He took another swig of his beer. “So seriously, where have you been?”

              Jake couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, you know, just making out in the parking lot.”

              Mason punched Jake in the shoulder. “Man, I didn’t even think you were actually going to get her to come tonight, but you also snaked a kiss? I guess you haven’t lost your touch after all. How was it?”

              “What are we women now, sharing our feelings?”

              “Fuck off dude, just tell me how it was.”

              Jake’s mind went back to the moment when his lips met Lexi’s, when he knew it was the beginning of the end for him, the end of his search. He didn’t even realize he was searching, until he saw her.

              “Fucking amazing.”

              Mason laughed. “That good, huh?”

              Jake nodded. “I think that’s it for me man, I think she is it.”

              Mason sat up straighter and set his beer down on the table. “Are you serious? It’s only been a couple of weeks since the first time you saw her. Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?”

              “I don’t think so, but she would tell you that I’m moving too fast. That is why you have to swear you won’t say anything to Brooke. I don’t need her telling Lexi and then scaring Lexi away. I’m having a hard enough time trying to get her to go out with me.”

              “So she’s giving you a run for your money?”

              Jake guffawed. “You could say that.”

 

                                                        ***

 

              Brooke whisked Lexi away before she could protest. She had never even met Brooke before tonight and she was acting like they were best friends, which Lexi didn’t mind, she just found it odd. Brooke was actually really sweet even though she was halfway in the bag.

              Inside the house was tight but Brook took charge. She pushed past a couple of gossiping girls that were standing right outside the bathroom and locked them both in the room. Lexi looked around and realized she was in the most disgusting bathroom she had ever seen in her life. Clearly a bunch of boys lived in the house because she didn’t think the bathroom had seen an ounce of cleaning spray…ever. Since Lexi didn’t have to go to the bathroom, she leaned against the door which seemed like the only safe place to stand.

              Even though Brooke was drunk, she was smart enough to hover over the toilet while she peed instead of sitting directly on the seat. Lexi silently gave her props for being able to hold herself so steady over the toilet and not making contact with the contaminated porcelain bowl.

“So, you really like Jake?” Brooke was smiling up at Lexi from the toilet and Lexi, to be kind, diverted her eyes.

              “Yea, I was nervous at first given his reputation but he has changed.”

              “You can say that again.” Brooke was wiping now, another thing Lexi diverted her eyes away from. “I have never seen him act like this before. It’s as if you gave him a tranquilizer.”

              Not knowing what to say to that, Lexi stayed quiet. She did wonder why Jake calmed down his bad boy attitude for her. It was something that bothered her because men never changed that fast and they never really changed for a woman. Her dad was proof of that statement. She spent hours on the phone with him, begging and pleading for him to stop drinking but her cries and her mom’s cries weren’t good enough. He wasn’t going to do what they asked of him, he was only going to do what he wanted to do and that meant drinking and beating the crap out of her mom.

              Brooke washed her hands and patted them dry on her jeans, thanks to no towels in the bathroom. “These boys are pigs. I’m so glad Mason doesn’t live here anymore. The first couple of years we were dating were terrible when I would visit him here. Let’s just say we spent more time at my place.”

              “Where does he live now?”

              “Oh we have a place together in the villas, same building as Jake. I heard you live there too. We should go tanning together.”

              What an odd thing to do together, Lexi thought. How would that be an activity they could do together? Unless they shared a tanning bed, which was not going to happen, not that Lexi actually went tanning in the first place.

              “Or we can get coffee.” Lexi suggested with a smile.

              “Or that.”

              They walked out of the bathroom and ran into a bunch of girls. “Are you the girl with Jake?” A scary looking brunette asked.

              Lexi looked at Brooke and tentatively said, “Yes, why?”

              “Well I would get back to your man if I were you, you can’t leave fresh meat like that unattended when there are a bunch of prowling lionesses waiting to get a bite in.” The girls giggled and walked away.

              “What was that about?” Lexi asked.

              Brooke looked concerned. “Those were a bunch of Alpha Sigma bitches. Basically in order to be in that sorority you have to be a whore. Let’s get back to our men.”

              Brooke led the way, almost being slammed into a wall by a drunken guy, they finally made their way out to the patio where Lexi stopped in her tracks. Sitting in a wooden chair was Jake and on his lap was some blonde with tattoos. Jake instantly stood up and then locked eyes with Lexi. She didn’t stay to see what happened next. Instead she walked past everyone in the house and stormed out to the road where she started walking at a quick pace and ducked out of sight so Jake couldn’t see her. She dialed a cab number and told him to meet her at the curb.

              She was breathing heavily and knew this whole thing with Jake was a mistake. She couldn’t handle all the girls throwing themselves at him. What was wrong with women anyway? She would never do that to a guy, just walk up and sit on his lap. She was glad she never received that gene because those girls were labeled as extremely desperate and she never wanted to be labeled like that.

              Her phone started ringing, she looked down and saw it was Jake. Yea, she wouldn’t be answering that.

Her cab pulled up to the curb, she got in and she told the driver her address. Eight calls and twenty bucks later she was back at her place with the door locked and putting on her pajamas. Her phone chimed with a text message.

              Lexi grabbed her phone and thought, “This will be interesting.” Of course it was from Jake.

 

Jake: Lexi, where are you? I can’t find you. We need to talk about this.

 

              Lexi laughed, talk about this, yea right. She brushed her teeth and made sure to floss with extra detail. Her phone chimed again.

 

Jake: Babe, I’m scared. Where are you? Please answer me.

 

              Babe? Was he kidding? She was not his babe, although earlier she thought the way the term of endearment rolled off his tongue was like music to her ears. Now it made her want to gag the guy uttering the words. She was so mad at him, what possessed him to let another woman sit on his lap? Just like she thought in the semen infested bathroom at the football house, men didn’t change. Another chime.

 

Jake: Lexi, baby please. Answer your phone. I need to know you’re ok.

 

              Lexi turned her phone off. She didn’t want to hear any more from Jake. She washed her face and made sure all her make-up was off before she lotioned up and turned out her bathroom light. Lexi plugged her phone into its charger, got into bed and turned off the light. She was done for the night.

              She laid in the dark of her room as she fought back tears that were starting to prickle her eyes. Why was she going to cry? It’s not like her and Jake were anything serious, right? It’s not like they actually made a commitment to each other. So why did it matter to her? In the back of her mind she knew why. Jake was the one guy that had stolen her heart and too quickly. So quickly that Lexi didn’t even know it was happening until she kissed him in the parking lot.

              They had the same goals and aspirations for their sports. He gave her something to look forward to, especially since the life she knew was coming to an end in a couple of months. Jake was something to look forward to and kept her moving forward. He made her want to work harder, even when he was incredibly annoying.

              Her bedroom door busted open and Lexi nearly flew out of her bed from the shock.

“Jesus, there you are! Thank God.” Jake was standing in her doorway running his hand through his hair. Mason and Brooke followed right behind him.

              “How the hell did you get in here?”

              Margo peaked her head around the corner, of course Margo would let him in. “Hey, don’t be mad at me, you’re the one who turned off your phone.”

              “Well I’m fine, so you all can take your little party somewhere else.”

              Mason stepped forward. “Lexi, Jake didn’t do anything.” Lexi threw her hand up to silence him.

              “Mason, I appreciate you coming here to check on me but frankly, I don’t want to hear your story. Please leave.”

              Mason nodded and grabbed Brooke’s hand who gave Lexi a sympathetic look and waved good bye. Margo slipped out of the room as well, leaving her with Jake who looked like he saw a ghost.

              “That includes you too.”

              He closed her door and came to her bed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

              “Jake, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove here with trying to go out with me but it’s not going to work. Tonight at the football game, those girls talking, I let that go because it was all talk but when girls take it to the next level and throw themselves at you. I can’t take that. I’m not strong enough and frankly I just don’t want to deal with it.”

              Jake shook his head as he looked at his hands. “Lexi, you have to believe me that I didn’t do anything.”

              “Even if you did Jake, it’s not like it matters, we aren’t exclusive or anything. We only went out once. That doesn’t mean anything.”

              “That’s where you’re wrong, it means everything to me. I haven’t thought about another girl since I’ve laid eyes on you. Lex, you’re all I want.” He took her hand but she pulled it away.

              “I believe you, that you didn’t do anything but that’s beside the point. What I’m talking about is girls throwing themselves at you.”

              “I can’t do anything about that, except to fight them off. I don’t know what you want me to do.”

              “Exactly, there is nothing you can do.”

              “So what are you saying?”

              Lexi let out a breath. “I’m saying this isn’t going to work. You’re a great guy and all but I don’t know if you’re worth the heartache.”

              Jake looked shocked and hurt from her words. Damn, her words came out harsher then she wanted them but she had to get her feelings off her chest. There was no way in hell she would be able to deal with all the Jake fantasizing whores, she wasn’t strong enough.

He got up and started walking toward her door. He turned around before he opened it and looked at her like she just ran over his puppy. She had never seen him look so dejected and it was killing her inside. She wanted to run up to him and pull him into her arms but she wasn’t going to do that.

              “You know Lexi, if it was the other way around. You could bet your ass, you would be worth the heartache to me.”

              With that he left, leaving Lexi feeling like a left over pile of crap on the football house’s floor. She spent the night crying herself to sleep. Wondering what possessed her to say such awful things to the guy who had stolen her heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9

             

              It had been a week, a week since she last saw Jake. She didn’t know why she was counting since she was the one who had ended whatever they had, which was not much. Still she felt herself lazing about her apartment when she wasn’t at practice or in class. She skipped out on her morning workouts in the weight room, due to fear of running into Jake and instead she did her own workouts in her apartment which was proving not to cut it. Lifting cans of beans and doing stairs on two steps was not a sufficient way of keeping her up to her own workout standards.

              At least she had an exercise ball in her apartment which made her workouts a little bit better, that was until Margo walked in and said it looked like Lexi swallowed her gum and farted out a huge bubble. Ever since then, Lexi couldn’t look at an exercise ball the same.

              She was just putting away her cans of beans when there was a knock at the door. Lexi fixed her messy bun and answered it. Mason was standing in her doorway holding two smoothie cups from Jamba Juice. He gave her a tentative smile and handed her the smoothie.

              “Can I come in for a second?” Lexi couldn’t turn him down since he brought her a smoothie so she let him in.

              Mason looked around at Lexi’s sad attempt at a gym and asked, “Is this where you’ve been working out in the morning?”

              Lexi felt embarrassed because it was obvious that she was avoiding the weight room in fear of seeing Jake. She lied, “Uh, yea, you know just needed a change of scenery.”

              Mason didn’t buy it. “Uh, huh.” He sat down in her couch and pushed aside a workout band. “What are you doing Lexi?”

              She sat down in a chair across from him and took a sip of her smoothie. It was strawberry banana, her favorite. “What do you mean?”

              “Why are you torturing you and Jake?”

              “I would not say I’m torturing myself, I’m fine thank you.” Lexi said with an indignant tone.

              Mason looked around her apartment and gave her a “yea right” look. “Lexi, he misses you. He has been moping around, not working out like he had been. He’s been terrible at practice and is not even close to prepared for the game tomorrow.”

              “How does that have to deal with me?”

              Mason blew out air and ran his hand over his face. “God, you really are stubborn.” His voice turned sterner. “Look, Jake is trying hard to change. I know he has a fucked up past that might cause issues for whoever he dates but he’s trying, he likes you, he wants you. Why can’t you give the guy a chance? He is throwing himself out there and you are too stubborn to realize it. He is making a change, a change to be with you, why can’t you sacrifice a little and try to be with him as well? You guys are meant for each other. You need to get that through your thick skull.”

              Lexi couldn’t even believe the things Mason had said. She was speechless. She didn’t even know where to start. She was just about to blow up at him when Mason interrupted her.

              “Do you know what he said to me while you and Brooke were in the bathroom?” Mason didn’t give her a chance to answer. “He told me you were the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on and not only were you beautiful but you made him feel whole again since his parents died. He said you made him feel alive again. Don’t tell me you’re just going to walk away from him because you’re not strong enough to stand up to a couple of bitches. I’ve seen what you can lift in the weight room. You can take out any of those noodle armed whores. You are just too chicken to face that fact that you actually like Jake and he might be the one for you.”

              Mason got up and walked toward her door. “Call him Lexi. He really needs to hear your voice, especially if we want to win tomorrow.” Mason slammed the door shut before she could even say anything. She buried her head in a couch pillow and screamed.

              Mason was right, she was being a chicken. She was too much of a coward to throw her heart in the wrestling ring of love in fear of her heart being wrung out to dry. But what was worse, not giving in and keeping herself semi safe from any kind of heart break or throwing everything she had into a relationship with Jake? Well right now she felt like crap and when she was with Jake, yea it was stressful but it was also amazing. She missed the way she felt in his arms or the way he smiled at her or the way he would lean against a wall and wait for her like he had nowhere better to be.

              She was an idiot and it took Mason to help her figure it out. Lexi looked at her watch, tore her clothes off and headed to her bathroom for a quick shower. Thirty minutes later she was in her car headed down to the events center parking lot. She had thrown on a pair of jean shorts, white t-shirt and her brown flip flops. Her hair was in a messy bun on top of her head and she was able to throw on a little bit of make-up before she headed out. She pulled up next to Jake’s Jeep and looked at the clock. He would be done with his morning workout and out to his Jeep in a couple of minutes. She got out of her car and decided to sit on the hood of his Jeep.

              Just like clockwork, Jake exited out of the side door of the events center and walked toward the parking lot. He was looking at his phone so he didn’t see her until he was a couple of feet away. When he looked up, he stopped in his tracks.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Jake felt like crap, he had felt like crap for a week and there was one word for it; Lexi. He promised himself he wouldn’t call her or bother her. He wanted to give her space and time to think about what they had, what they briefly shared together. Yes, she was right, they only went out one time but there was much more to them than just the one date. They had a connection he had never experienced with anyone else before and once he lost that connection he found it quite hard to function.

              He finally was able to drag his carcass out of bed for a morning workout since he missed the rest of his workouts all week. Mason didn’t even show up this morning, probably because Jake had stood him up every other day of the week. Jake didn’t mind working out on his own though, he was able to abuse his body without Mason telling him to take it easy.

              Practices had been awful. He had been playing like hell all week so he decided to punish himself, even if he had a game the next day. He needed to get his head back in the game but it was hard since his head was somewhere else. He had a meeting with his coach yesterday about his piss poor behavior and Jake had to lie, saying he thought he was coming down with something. He didn’t think his coach bought it but he let Jake go, slightly unscathed. Jake left the meeting with his coach telling him to pull his shit together because Saturday night was a big game.              

              Jake exhaled and headed towards his Jeep, he was checking the football rankings on his phone when he looked up and saw the most beautiful sight in the world. He stopped a couple of feet away, not believing what he was seeing. He blinked a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t making things up in his mind.

              “Hey big guy.”

              Her voice confirmed that she was in fact sitting on his Jeep. He adjusted the strap of his messenger bag that was hugging his chest and walked closer to her so she was only a couple of feet away.

              “What are you doing here?” He asked, still shocked that she was near him.

              She turned so she was facing him and put out her hand for him to take. He reached out and she clasped her hand around his, pulling him into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kept him close while she stroked his hair with the hand that was not holding his.

              “I’m sorry.” She said. “I’m sorry I scared you the night of the party, I’m sorry for the things I said that I didn’t mean and I’m sorry for letting you walk out the door when I should have gone after you.”

              Jake couldn’t believe what he was hearing, was this the stubborn Sexy Lexi he was talking to? She bent her head down and kissed him on the forehead. It was such a tender gesture that melted his heart.

              “Do you forgive me?”

              Jake looked into her pleading eyes, her crystal blue eyes. How could he not forgive her? She was all he ever wanted. “Of course. I’m sorry I put you in that position at the party.” He kissed the palm of her hand that was caressing his cheek. “I don’t want to upset you and I promise, I will do whatever it takes to show you how much I truly care for you and want to be with you.”

              She shook her head. “You don’t have to prove anything to me Jake, I believe you. But there has to be some ground rules if we are going to make this happen.”

              He kissed her hand again. “Lay it on me babe, I’m all ears.”

              She smiled. “Well first off, keep calling me babe, I love it.”

              “Easy enough.”

              “Secondly, if I’m going to be with you, I’m only going to be with you. It has to be exclusive.”

              “Done.” His quick response brought out her gorgeous smile.

              “Thirdly, I want to hear of every girl that throws herself at you because I’m going to have to personally kick their ass and let them know that you belong to me now. Maybe then girls will start getting the hint?”

              He laughed out loud. “I can do that. I promise if a girl does try to get my attention, I will make it quite clear that I’m off the market and they can take it up with my bad-ass girlfriend.

              She brought him in closer, her lips were mere inches from his. “That’s what I like to hear.” Then she pulled him in the last couple of inches and kissed him while she sat on the hood of his Jeep as he rested between her legs, leaning in, trying to get as much Lexi as he could.

              Her lips were so soft and molded precisely into his as if they were meant to be together. She wrapped her hands around his neck and rubbed his cheek as they kissed. Her small touches sent him off to the moon with no return in sight. She made a little moaning sounds which caused him to bury himself deeper in her little body.

              She pulled away and rested her forehead on his. They both stared at each other in the eyes.

“God, I missed you.” Jake finally said. “I could barely function. I didn’t work out in the morning until today.”

              She laughed. “I made a really pathetic gym out of my apartment to avoid you in the mornings, if I knew you were going to be a lazy ass, I could have spared myself and gone to the weight room.”

              Jake squeezed the ticklish spot right above her knee, causing her to jerk and slide off the Jeep right into his arms.

              “Do you have dinner plans?” She asked while studying his face.

              “No, I would love to have dinner with you.”

              “You’re buying.” She said with a devilish grin.

              “Oh, is that how it’s going to be?”

              “That’s what you get for making me work out with cans of beans.”

              Jake threw his head back and laughed. “You don’t even have your own weight set?”

              She scrunched her nose. “Beans worked out just fine.”

              He chuckled and opened the Jeep door for her. “You’re cute babe.” He kissed her on the nose and practically skipped to the driver’s side. When he got in he noticed she threw on his aviators.

              She shrugged. “It’s sunny out.”

              “You look fucking hot.”

              That brought out another smile of hers. “Alright, big guy. Let’s get a move on. I have some things to get done today. Pick me up after practice?”

              “You got it hot stuff.”

 

                                                        ***

 

              Lexi sat on a bench outside the lecture hall studying before her next class. She was having a difficult time focusing because images of Jake kept popping into her head. She knew it was going to be a difficult road but she was ready to face it head on with him. She hadn’t felt this good in a while. She actually felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders, especially with everything that had been going on with her parents lately. It was nice to have something else to keep her thoughts busy.

              Images of Jake kept running through her head, preventing her from internalizing any studying materials so when Lexi spotted Parker walking toward her, she was grateful for the break from her books. She shut her books and tucked them away in her bag. She stood up and greeted her friend she hadn’t seen in a while with a big hug.

              “Hey stranger.” She said.

              “Hey Lex, how’s it going?”

              Lexi couldn’t help but smile. “Great.”

              Parker sat down next to her and pointed at her face. “I know what that smile is. That’s a I-have-a-hot-man-in-my-life smile.” Lexi shook her head, letting him know he was right. He clapped her on the back, almost sending her to the floor. “That’s my girl. It’s about time. He was moping around the men’s locker room area all week. Just in time for game day tomorrow as well.”

              “Yea, I needed a little help getting my head out of my ass, no thanks to you.”

              “Hey, I’ve been busy.”

              “How’s Sierra?”

              Parker stared out into the quad, like he was thinking about all the different experiences he had with Sierra. “She’s amazing, what can I say? I can’t get enough of her.”

              Lexi scrunched her nose. “Really?” Lexi didn’t see what all the hype was about with Sierra. Yes, the girl was attractive but she was also kind of an idiot. She said some of the dumbest shit Lexi had ever heard. She never thought Parker would go out with a dumb blonde.

              “What’s that look for?”

              Lexi shrugged and tried to pass her look off as nothing but she knew better, he just stared at her until she answered him. She let out a long winded breath and said, “I don’t know Parker, she doesn’t really seem like she’s your type. She’s kind of… you know, ditzy.”

              Parker waved his hand at her, dismissing her comment. “That doesn’t bother me, since she is hotter than hell in bed.”

              A swift intake of water got stuck in Lexi’s throat, where water should never be permitted when Parker caught her off guard with his comment. She started coughing frantically while Parker patted her on the back. She wiped her mouth and looked at him. He had the devils smirk on his face.

              “Jesus, Parker.”

              He laughed. “Don’t be such a prude.”

              “Don’t be such a pig.” Lexi surveyed her friend who had been like a brother to her and realized that he had changed this year, and not in a good way. It was like he didn’t care about the people around him and didn’t treat women with respect. It nagged at her. This wasn’t the Parker she knew. He would never go out with a girl if she wasn’t able to hold some sort of intellectual conversation.

Instead of getting into a long drawn out and uncomfortable conversation, she changed the subject. “Have you talked to Margo lately?”

              “Nah, she’s been weird lately and she is always at the lacrosse house.”

              “That’s not true. She’s been home a lot lately.”

              Jake shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Not what I heard, apparently she’s been making her rounds again.”

              Lexi got defensive. “No, she’s been home.”

              “Whatever, not my problem.”

              “Parker, what is wrong with you? Margo is our friend, if people are spreading rumors about her you should set them straight.”

              “How am I supposed to know they’re rumors, the girl gets around.”

              Lexi didn’t care for Parker right now and before they got in a huge fight she decided to leave the situation before it blew up. She stood up and gathered her items.

              “Hey, where are you going?” He asked.

              “I should get to class.” He stood up with her and grabbed her arm before she could walk away. He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on her head like always.

              “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you and I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you lately.”

              Lexi could feel herself start to crumble, she hated when Parker got all emotional on her. “It’s fine.”

              “No, its not. I haven’t even asked you how your parents are. I know this is always a bad time for your dad.”

              Damn him for bringing up her family. Parker and Margo were the only ones who knew about her shitty family situation and she planned on keeping it that way. She didn’t want Jake knowing about her dad and his issues, Jake would only judge her. Lexi fought back the tears that tickled her eyes.

              “They’re not good. My dad had another episode yesterday. Luckily my mom was out with my aunt so she didn’t get caught up in his destructive tornado. When she got home she found my dad passed out drunk on the floor surrounded by a broken coffee table.” Lexi shook her head in disgust. “I don’t know why she just doesn’t leave him. It would be easier on me if they just got a divorce rather than hearing the horrid stories about how much of an ass my dad is.”

              Parker squeezed her tighter. “She is going to have to make that decision on her own, no matter how much you beg her. She is never going to leave until she is ready. You just need to keep being supportive and encourage her. Maybe if you talk to her about your relationship with Jake and how happy you are, it will give her an idea of what a healthy relationship is like.”

              Parker was right, he had a valid point. Maybe if she did talk to her mom about Jake it could open her mom’s eyes to what an abusive drunk her father was. Lexi tried reporting her dad once but when the cops came, her mother denied everything. Ever since then, Lexi never went home and only communicated with her mom over the phone, trying to convince her to move on with her life. With the way things were going, Lexi didn’t ever think her mom was going to leave.

              “I might just do that, thanks Parker.”

              “You’re welcome. I’m sorry I dropped the ball on our friendship. I will talk to Margo too. I was having such a nice time with her earlier. I don’t know what happened.”

              Lexi knew what the problem was and it was blonde, leggy and ditzy. Margo would never confess to it, but Lexi knew her friend.  She just felt bad for Margo and wished there was something she could do to help her. She didn’t like it when Margo turned to random sex with men to cover up her feelings. She wished she would talk about them like a normal human being.

              “That might be a good idea. You guys were really hitting it off, I felt like the third wheel for a little bit there.”

              Parker laughed. “Hey since I’m being such a good guy right now, do you think Jake could score us some more field passes for next week’s home game?”

              Lexi shook her head at her friends attempt to leverage her relationship with her guy for his own betterment. “You have no morals, do you?”

              “Not if field passes are involved.”

              She laughed, “I will see what I can do. Meanwhile, stay on your best behavior, mister.”

              He crossed his heart and gave her the scouts honor hand signal. “Promise.”

              They said their good byes and Lexi walked off to class thinking about what she might wear on her date with Jake tonight.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Jake couldn’t believe how fast the evening went by with Lexi. It felt like two minutes ago he was knocking on her door and waiting for her to answer. When she opened the door he felt his stomach flutter from how good she looked. She wore extremely tight dark jeans, a green tank top and black heels. Her hair was down and wavy, just the way he liked it. She was perfect.

              They had a great night at a local restaurant he loved going to because they didn’t treat him like the top dog at school. They treated him like any other normal patron and he appreciated it. Plus the restaurant was very private which was good because he wanted some serious alone time with Lexi.

              After their romantic and quiet date, Jake walked Lexi back to her apartment. He didn’t want to say good night to her so soon but he had an early morning the next day because they were traveling and she had an early practice. If only they didn’t have their sports for a week or so, just so he could spend every waking hour with Lexi to get to know her more.

              They stopped in front of her door and turned toward each other. God, she was beautiful. He would never get tired of looking her in the eyes, her expressive, gorgeous eyes. She wrapped her hands in his and pulled him in closer.

              “Thank you for dinner.” She looked up at him with a smile.

              He felt himself sigh. “You’re welcome, babe.”

              Her nose slightly crinkled. “How come you guys didn’t drive out tonight? We always go the night before a game to get settled.”

              Jake shrugged. “Coach didn’t think it would be a big deal this go-around and he was trying to save money. It’s only a two hour trip so no use wasting money.”

              “That’s true and it’s not like you guys play a three game series like we do.”

              “Yea we could never do that.”             

              Lexi twisted her foot while she stared at the ground. It looked like she wanted to say something but was too shy. He encouraged her. “What is it, Lex?”

              She stabbed him in the heart with her blue eyed gaze once again. “I’m just going to say it. I’m not ready to have sex with you.”

              Jake felt like she pushed him back in the bushes without a warning. Where the hell did that come from? He felt like the wind was knocked out of him, he didn’t even know what to say but she searched him for some kind of comment so he gathered his whit’s and answered her.

              “Uh, where is this coming from?”

              She didn’t look at him when she answered. “I know how you are Jake, I’m just not ready.”

              Tension soared through his body from her judgmental sentence. He thought she understood him, but maybe he was wrong. He tried to stay calm but he could hear the anger in his voice.

“And how am I Lexi?” He gritted through his teeth.

              Her eyes shot up to him, realizing she made him angry. She put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “I’m so sorry, that came out wrong.” She started to try to dig herself out of the hole she put herself in and it was kind of charming to watch, even though he was still angry. “You know how guys are, they are all about sex and I just wanted to let you know I’m not ready.”

              They weren’t holding each other now, instead it felt like they were a million miles away. He missed her warmth. He wished she never said anything about sleeping together. They were having such a good night.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was putting out the vibe that I was pressuring you to sleep with me.” He knew sarcasm wasn’t the way to communicate but he couldn’t help himself. She made a snap judgment and it hurt him, especially after all the changes he had made in his life.

              “You’re not! Oh this is coming out all wrong.” Lexi said while holding her head and shaking it.

              “What are you trying to say?” He said while he folded his arms across his chest. She looked up at him and separated his arms, making him circle her waist. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him close so they were mere inches from each other.

              “Jake, I’m sorry. What I was trying to say was, I’m not ready to have sex but I don’t want to leave you just yet. I was going to ask you if you wanted to spend the night, but without the sex.”

              She made a cute wrinkle in her forehead and Jake kissed it away. “You want to spoon, is that what you’re asking?”

              She buried her head in his chest and nodded. “I should have just said that. Will you stay even though I insulted you?”

              “Of course, babe.” She unlocked the door and brought him inside. “Just so you know. I’m never going to pressure you, ok. When you’re ready, you’re ready. You are worth the wait.”

              She smiled up at him and pulled him down for a kiss, just what he was looking for. She led him into her bedroom and he took instant comfort in her personal surroundings, as if he was meant to be in her room. She shut her door and dug around in her bag that was on the floor. She pulled out a brand new blue tooth brush and smiled.

              “This is for you.”

              “You planned on whisking me away in your bed, didn’t you?”

              She smiled, “Let’s not get carried away there, big guy. I just like to plan ahead.”

              He tipped the tooth brush at her. “Good planning.”

              “I’m going to get changed real fast and then you can brush your teeth.”

              Jake wanted to laugh at her because she was acting like this was some sleepover with her friend, not her boyfriend. Was he her boyfriend? They talked about being exclusive but did that make her his girlfriend? If he had anything to say about it she would be.

              He scoped out her room while she was in her bathroom. She had a bunch of pictures of her team and friends. She was the prettiest in every picture. She had one of the best smiles he had ever seen. She was so full of energy, it was infectious. He noticed a couple of odd knick knacks placed on flat surfaces throughout her room. There was a little gerbil looking thing that had heart boxers on, Jake wondered what the hell that was about. She had all the seasons of “Friends” stacked next to her little TV and DVD player. Jake thought about the size of his TV compared to hers, it was almost comical.

              Drawings by children scattered the surfaces of her walls, thanking her for her help out on the softball field. She must of helped them out at a clinic, that was something the football team did as well. It was one of his favorite parts of the summer, helping the kids out with different skills related to football and teaching them how to stay active. She must enjoy it as well, he thought, since she kept the thank yous from the kids she helped.

              He was studying a picture that looked like might be her parents when she stepped out of the bathroom. He turned around to head for the sink with his toothbrush when he stopped in his tracks. She was wearing just her boy short underpants and a tight black tank top with no bra. He felt his mouth start to water. Was she trying to kill him?

              “What the hell are you doing?” He asked. “Are you trying to be a cock tease?”

              She looked down at herself. “What? This is what I wear to bed.”

              He swallowed hard. This was not going to be easy. He huffed past her and went into the bathroom closing the door a little harder than he wanted to. He pulled out his tooth brush and brushed his teeth till his blood levels turned back to normal.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Giggling to herself inside, Lexi smiled at her little nighttime wear. The look on Jake’s face was priceless. She wasn’t going to have sex with him but she thought might as well throw the guy a bone. That was why she chose her tightest tank top and cutest boy shorts that showed off a good portion of her ass. She knew she was being a tease but she couldn’t help herself. The reaction her outfit warranted was perfect.

              She knew she was bold stating she didn’t want to have sex with Jake and cuddle instead but she wasn’t ready to say good night to him and she definitely wasn’t ready to give herself over to him either.

              Climbing into bed, she made sure only her bedside lamp was on. She heard the toilet flush and the water turn on, indicating that he was almost done in the bathroom. She gave him points for washing his hands, not many men thought it was necessary to wash their hands after using the bathroom which disgusted her. She was happy she didn’t have to teach Jake good personal hygiene.

              He popped out of the bathroom and smiled at her. “Thanks for the tooth brush, babe.”

              “Of course.” He stopped right before the foot of her bed and took his shirt off revealing the most impressive muscular chest she had ever seen. Her mouth went dry and she felt heat spread throughout her body. He was beyond ripped from his chest down to his abs, to the little “v” in his sides that pointed to his unmentionable. The contours of his muscles were so defined she couldn’t help but stare. Finally tearing her gaze away from the Adonis in front of her, she looked him in the eyes where she noticed he was smirking like a fool.

              Then he started taking off his pants and she snapped out of the muscular induced daydream she was in. She held out her hand to stop him. “What do you think you’re doing?”

              “You’re not the only person who sleeps in their under-roos.” He said with a grin.

              She laughed. “Touché.”

              He shed his socks too and climbed into bed with her. Thankfully she had a full sized bed so there was enough room for the both of them. Although, she did notice how much smaller her bed was with Jake in it. He let himself under the covers and grabbed the ticklish spot above her knee.

              She shrieked. “Jake!”

              He laughed. “That’s for being a cock tease. I brushed my teeth extra-long to calm myself down.”

              They turned toward each other and she stroked his cheek. “Oh, poor baby.”

              He grabbed her at the waist and pulled her in closer. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest from the close proximity of their bodies and the heat that was pouring off of him. She felt so safe. She never wanted to leave this moment as their legs tangled together and their foreheads pressed against each other.

              “I don’t think we hammered out one detail this morning.” He said while making tiny circles on her hip with his fingers, causing heat to flee to places she hadn’t felt in a while, or maybe ever.

              “What’s that?”

              “We didn’t establish titles. Am I allowed to call you my girlfriend?”

              Lexi’s heart melted, he looked like a little boy in grade school, trying to ask out his first girl. It was so charming.

              “Do you want to call me that?”              He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and nodded. “Well then I guess it’s settled.”

              “Perfect, now tell me about your family.” He nodded toward the picture of her and her parents at her graduation. “Are they your parents?”

              Lexi tensed up immediately. She didn’t want to ruin this moment with talking about her crappy family life. Jake didn’t need to know her personal problems and Lexi wasn’t ready for him to know. So she tried to be as evasive as possible

              “Yup those are my parents, they’re back home. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. What about you?”

              “You know my parents passed when I was a freshman and I don’t have any brothers or sisters either.”

              “Do you miss them?” She stroked his face to help encourage him to talk. She could tell the subject was difficult for him to talk about. She wished she could be as strong as Jake. Instead, she hid all her problems and tried not to bring them up.

              “Every day. They were the couple that would have made it to fifty years plus together. I only hope I’m able to have a marriage someday like theirs.” He shook his head and she placed a kiss on his cheek. “I only wish they could see me where I am today. They always believed I would be playing in the NFL, I just wish I could share that with them.”

              Lexi stroked his cheeks with her thumbs and kissed him on the lips. She didn’t know what to say so she kissed him with all the love she had in her body. He pulled her even closer so their bare stomachs touched, he pushed her shirt up even more then it was and he rested his hand on her ribcage and stoked right under her breast. She felt herself go weak. If she was standing, she wouldn’t be able to hold herself up.

              She opened her mouth and he kissed her even deeper. She felt his erection against her body and was turned on even more from the thought that she could turn on a guy as hot as Jake. She shifted her body to get closer and when she did his hand slid up her body, slightly making contact with her breast. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped her leg around his waist so their groins matched up together. His hand slid up a little bit higher so now his thumb was stroking the underside of her bare breast, causing her to lose control.

              Not being able to hold back, she drove her tongue into Jake’s mouth and he met every stroke with hers. Her body tingled from his touch and burned where his thumb stroked her. She moved her body lower so he was almost caressing her nipple. She moaned again which gave Jake the go ahead to fully cup her breast. She flew her head back in pure enjoyment from the way his strong hand gripped one of her most tender spots. The moans and cries coming from her mouth sent Jake into a mad friendsy to find her mouth again while he squeezed her breast.

              “Jesus.” He breathed out heavily. “You’re so damn hot.”

              She couldn’t even respond since he was kissing every single sensitive spot on her throat. Things were getting out of control and she needed to stop him before they hit the point of no return, which was coming at an alarming rate. She felt heat starting to pool between her legs, thanks to his touches and the prodding of his stiff cock against her groin. She felt here entire body go numb with pleasure as he ground his hip into her and continued to squeeze her breast. She realized at the moment she was seconds away from a powerful orgasm.

              She moved her hips so they were rubbing against his stiff rod and gave him better access to her breasts and neck. He pushed up her shirt so that there was nothing between her breast and his mouth. She guided his head down and watched as he sucked gently on her nipple and thrust his groin into her once again which sent her over the edge. She threw her head back and ground her hips onto Jake while tremors of ecstasy took over her body. She rode the pleasure he gave her until there was nothing left in her body.

              She looked up at Jake and instant mortification took over her body. She covered her face with her hands, trying to avoid eye contact with the man she so furiously dry-humped.

              “Oh my God, I can’t believe that just happened.”

              He removed her hands and kissed her lips. “That was fucking hot, babe.”

              She looked at him as if he was crazy. “I just got off from dry humping.”

              He laughed, “There was nothing dry about that.”

              She swatted his arm. “Don’t be disgusting. I clearly have no self-control. The minute I get you in bed, I attack you” She looked down at his lap and saw how excited he was “I’m sorry.” She reached down to stroke him, so they were even on the pleasure score but he stopped her.

“Don’t even think about it.” He said.

“Why not?”

“Because, I didn’t do that to you so I could get pleasure too. Just because you got off doesn’t mean you have to return the favor.” He turned her so her back was nestled into his chest. She still felt him poking her from behind, but that was natural after such an intense moment of passion.

“I just feel bad. What you must think of me right now” She shook her head in disgust.

“Don’t.” He said while kissing her ear, sending chills up her leg. “I enjoyed myself just as much as you did. By the way, you have the most amazing tits I have ever felt in my life.” She booty blasted him, causing him to groan. “Watch it baby, it’s a little sensitive down there.”

She turned around so she could face him, quickly put her hand on his crotch and almost gasped from what she felt. He pulled her hand away quickly.

“Seriously, Lex, I don’t need that. I just want you in my arms.” He kissed her on the lips ever so gently, twisted her around and pulled her in close. He buried his head in her hair and sighed. “Now go to sleep.”

“You’re no fun.” She joked. She scooted backward until she didn’t think they could get any closer and relished in how safe she felt in his arms. If she wasn’t careful she was going to wind up falling very hard and vary fast for Jake Taylor.

“Jake?”

“Hmm?” He said in her hair

“I really like you.”

He squeezed her tighter. “I really like you to. You’re everything I never thought I wanted.”

She laughed. “I guess that’s a good thing.”

“It’s a really good thing. Now shush those luscious lips and close those beautiful eyes of yours.”

She sighed and relaxed into his embrace. “Good night, Jake.”

He kissed the back of her head. “Good night, baby.”

 

                                          ***

 

              Jake settled into his favorite bed on the bus they took to away trips. The football team had their own private bus that had beds lining the sides and in the middle were tables with benches on either side so guys could do their work, or play cards. Jake always got the bed in the back where no one could disturb him. He usually watched game tapes or just slept while listening to music. After last night, he would be sleeping so he could dream about Lexi.

              Last night was the best night sleep he had in a while. It felt so natural to have Lexi in his arms, sleeping next to him. When she asked if he wanted to spend the night he didn’t think he could get any more excited until she walked out in what she claimed was her bedtime gear. If she wore that to bed every night, she was doing the male race an injustice by keeping to herself for so long. He loved lingerie and the way it looked on a woman but all Lexi had to do was wear a tight shirt and boy shorts and she had him begging for more.

              It took all of his will power last night to not let her return the favor of the pleasure they briefly shared. If it was anybody else he would have gladly obliged but he wanted to prove to Lexi that he wasn’t the selfish asshole she heard about and saw the last three years. He wanted to give her pleasure and give her all the attention.

              When they started kissing last night, never did he think they were going to end up where they did but he was glad they did. When she moved her body down so his hand slid next to her breast he picked up on the permission she gave him. When she groaned in his mouth and he fully grasped her amazing breast in his hand he almost threw all his inhibitions into the wind and fully attacked her.

              He was proud of himself for staying in the northern region of her body and what an amazing northern region it was. It was funny to Jake how damn sexy she was even though she didn’t even really play it up. Any other girl with her tight body and heavy chest would be showing off her goods everyday but not Lexi. She didn’t have to.

              Man was he lucky. When he thought about his college career he never thought it was going to end up like this in the end. He tried not to think about what was going to happen after they graduated but he liked where his life was heading. He was hopefully going to be drafted, but what about Lexi? If he had anything to say about it, he was going to take her with him. He couldn’t imagine being away from her. He hated that he had to go on a road trip right now and would be away from her for a night.

              “Taylor!” His coach screamed. Jake grunted, got out of his bed and headed for the front of the bus.

              “Yea coach?”

              “Someone is here for you. Make it quick.”

              Jake instantly panicked. Occasionally random fans of the female nature would come wish him good luck before a game. In the past he gladly accepted the “luck” they disposed on him but now that he had a girlfriend, now that he had Lexi, he wanted nothing to do with blood sucking leeches.

              “Uh, is it one of those girls again, coach?”

              “Yea, she brought snacks for everyone though so you need to at least say thank you.” His coach said while biting into a cookie. Jake rolled his eyes and got off the bus to thank the girl.

              “Took you long enough, big guy.”

              Jake turned around and saw Lexi leaning against the bus with her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing sweats, a softball shirt and her hair was up. She was about to go to practice but she still looked as good as last night.

              He sauntered over to her and pulled her in for a hug. “What are you doing here?”

              She gave him a kiss on the lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Just wanted to drop off some treats for my man and his men.”

              “That was sweet of you. Coach has already started in on them.”

              “Figures.” She said, “He was more than willing to take them off my hands.”

              Jake chuckled. “That’s coach for you. He’s got quite the appetite.” Jake kissed Lexi again and this time lingered on her lips. He didn’t want to let her go. “Thank you for letting me stay last night. I had the best night’s sleep ever.”

              She rubbed his face with her thumbs, something he had grown accustom to and found comfort in her touches. “So did I. We should do that more often.”

              “Agreed.” He pushed Lexi up against the bus and kissed her, like it was the first time he ever kissed her. He couldn’t get enough of this sweet and amazing woman. Her lips were so soft and so full, he felt like he was in heaven whenever their lips met.

              “Get a room, Taylor.” Mason said as he walked by and shoved Jake with his bag causing Jake to ram Lexi into the bus.

              “Hey, watch it dickhead.”

              Mason got on the bus and shouted over his shoulder. “They make rooms for a reason.”

              Jake shook his head. “He’s just jealous his girlfriend doesn’t come down here to say good bye.”

              Lexi pushed on his chest with her fingers and then she sighed. “Ugh, why do you have to be so damn good looking and fit?”

              “Sorry about that, I’ll start working on my beer gut when I get back.”

              “Alright, I will work on my muffin top.”

              Jake laughed. “Please don’t.” He squeezed her waist. “You don’t want to mess with perfection.”

              Lexi started making gagging noises and moved away from him. “Honestly Jake, could you be any cheesier?”

              “What? I thought that was good.”

              “It was lame and because of that I’m leaving you to your cheesiness. I can’t be late for practice.”

              He pulled her in close again and gave her a big hug. “I’m going to miss you, babe.”

              “I’m going to miss you too, big guy. Good luck, you’re going to be amazing. I know it. Bring home a win and I might give you another reward.”

              Jake wagged his eyebrows at her. “Fans should pay homage to you for being the best motivator for me to win.”

              “I’m thinking about making a website so people can pay me to reward you.”

              “Wouldn’t that be whoring yourself out.”

              Lexi shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, support your Bears, is what I say.”

              Jake chuckled and kissed her on the lips. “I’ll call you later.”

              “Sounds good.” She winked at him. “Don’t think of me too much.” She said as she walked away.

              “Thanks for the treats, baby.”

              “Anytime.” She said while spinning around and then headed toward the locker rooms. Man he had it bad.

              Jake got back on the bus and noticed there were only three cookies left, apparently the team heard there were treats on the bus and took advantage of the homemade confections. His coach stopped him before he could head to the back of the bus.

              “Is that the centerfielder on the softball team?” Jake nodded cautiously, wondering where his coach was going with this. “She’s good for you, Taylor. I’m glad to see someone has wrangled you in.”

              Jake was shocked by his coach’s omission. First of all, his coach’s mouth was dripping with salvia and screaming his head off and secondly, he never talked about personal things so hearing him say he thought a girl was good for Jake was like seeing a blizzard in Cuba.

              “Uh, thanks coach.”

              His coach pointed his finger at Jake and said sternly, “Don’t screw it up, Taylor. She’s a good girl and you’re lucky as shit she is hanging around with the likes of you.”

              Jake got the point but tried to lighten up the mood. “Jeeze coach, if I would have known some cookies could win you over, I would have brought you cookies my first day on the field.”

              “Get your ass seated Taylor before I sit your ass for you.”

              Jake saluted his coach and went to the back of the bus where Mason was settling in his bed. He punched his friend in the arm. Mason rubbed his arm and said, “What was that for?”

              “That was for shoving Lexi into the bus.”

              “Well if you weren’t mauling her, she wouldn’t have been shoved into the bus.”

              “Don’t get jealous, green is a fucked up shade on you.”

              “Fuck off.”

              Jake smiled at their playful banter, something he would miss when they graduated. Jake got in his bunk, pulled out a picture that Lexi gave him and stuffed it in the ceiling above him so he could look at it. He put his ear phones in and played his music so he could drift off and think about how amazing his life had turned out to be.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 10

 

              The last thing Margo wanted to do right now was sit through a meeting with her coach, she would rather be lying in her bed with a pint of ice cream nursing her state of depression. What was Parker thinking, going out with Sierra? What happened to his statement of not wanting to start up a relationship his senior year? Margo was an attractive girl, why wasn’t she good enough for Parker? Yea, her hair was a chestnut brown to Sierra’s blonde and Margo’s eyes were green compared to Sierra’s blues but Margo thought she had more substance to her body then Sierra. Sierra was a bean pole and Margo had some Latina flavor in her. She got her Latin heritage and her dark green eyes from her dad, a lethal combination in Margo’s book.

              Didn’t all guys like a little spice in their life? Margo sighed as she waited for her coach to return to her office. Her coach had every medal, honor and award hanging in her office along with a retired jersey from when she played. She was a bitch, but she was a smart bitch. Most of the time the team hated her but she was good at what she did, leading them to many conference championship games which they finally won last year.

              They had a lot of expectations to live up to this year. Margo felt the pressure so she could only imagine how Lexi might feel being the team captain. Speak of the devil, Margo thought, as Lexi came strolling into the office with a stupid grin on her face. She must have just seen Jake. Their whole relationship made Margo want to stab her eyes out with rusty cleats. They were sickening but unfortunately sweet at the same time.

              Lexi looked at Margo. “What are you doing here?”

              Margo shrugged. “I don’t know, coach called me in.”

              “Me too.” Lexi sat down and checked her phone. Clearly she received a text message from Jake because she was smiling while she sent a text message back. Margo decided enough was enough.

              “Interesting noises coming from your room last night.”

              Turning her phone over, Lexi sat up straight and stared at Margo with her mouth open. “Margo!”

              “What? Just pointing out the obvious.”

              “Well can you keep your observations to yourself. Good Lord and it wasn’t what you thought it was.”

              Margo snorted. “Ok, Lex.”

              “It wasn’t, we didn’t do anything…technically.”

              “Yea, technically.”

              “Good morning ladies.” Their coach walked in and Margo turned to look at her friend who was bright red from the conversation they were just having before her coach walked in. Margo could only imagine what was going through Lexi’s mind right now. Their coach continued, “I’m just going to get right down to business.” Her coach turned and looked Margo in the eyes. “What is this I hear about you spending every night in the lacrosse house, being passed around by every guy and getting yourself into trouble?”

              Margo nearly fell out of her seat. “What?!”

              “I got wind from one of the assistant coaches for the lacrosse team that you’ve been the team, how did he put it, uh gang bang.”

              “Oh my God!” Margo felt tears starting to form in her eyes and she couldn’t do anything about it. Crying in front of their coach was a big mistake because she took it as weakness but Margo couldn’t help it, she was completely humiliated. Who would start such an awful rumor?

Think about who might say such awful things about her, Margo thought it was a stupid question to ask herself. She knew exactly who started that rumor.

              Lexi stepped in before Margo could say anything. “Coach I assure you, Margo has been home alone every night. She hasn’t gone out in a while.”

              Their coach looked at Margo. “Is that right?”

              “Yes coach, I’ve been home. I swear.”

              “Then why would the lacrosse team be telling people otherwise.” Their coach raised a questionable eyebrow at them which so desperately needed to be plucked because it looked like a grizzly bear’s ass was plastered across her forehead.

              Margo put her head in her hands and felt Lexi rub her back like any good friend would. “This is so humiliating. I shouldn’t have to be talking to my coach about this.”

              “You’re right.” She said. “This is shit I don’t want to deal with so tell me right now what the fuck is going on Margo.”

              Pulling herself together, Margo sat up straight and explained. “A week ago after the football game, a guy on the lacrosse team brought me back to his place and he tried to have sex with me but I didn’t want to. When I kept refusing his attempts and walked away he said he would tell everyone we did it anyway so might as well make it a reality. I left without looking back. I haven’t been there since. I most likely bruised his ego so in retaliation he started running his mouth.”

              Lexi continued to rub her back. “Oh, Margo. I’m so sorry.”

              Margo jut nodded at her friend. Her coach spoke up. “I’m going to need a name.”

              “Coach, I would rather not. Can’t we just move on?”

              Her coach slapped the desk with her hand. “Not when one of my players is being dragged through the mud. Now you give me a name or I will sit your ass for the rest of the season and you can enjoy your senior season picking splinters from your butt cheeks.”

              Well when she put it like that. “Doug Yolk.”

              Lexi twisted her face and raised an eyebrow at her friend. “Doug, really?”

              “I was in a bad place. You can understand my refusal to sleep with him.”

              “Uh, yea. Gross, I think he showers like once a month.”

              “Ladies!” Their coach shouted to stop them from talking. “I don’t need to know the hygiene rituals for the horny lacrosse team. Margo, I will take care of this. If you’re having problems with something that drive you to a man that apparently doesn’t shower, I expect you to talk to your captain about them and your friend.”

              Margo nodded at her coach and then they were dismissed just like that. Lexi and Margo walked to their locker room together so they could grab their stuff for practice.

“What do you think coach is going to do?” Margo asked, trying not to sound completely paranoid.

              “I don’t know, probably talk to their coach and bring the lying rumors to his attention. What their coach does with it is up to him. It doesn’t seem like Doug would be the only one who gets in trouble. I talked to Parker the other day and he was telling me how he heard the rumors about you from other guys.”

              Fucking rich! Margo wanted to slam her head against the concrete walls. That was the last thing she wanted, for Parker to think she was out whoring around town while he was tucked away at home with Sierra.

              “Great, glad to hear the whole athletic department sees me as some used up taco.”

              Lexi shivered. “That’s disgusting.”

              They got to their locker room door but Lexi stopped Margo from going inside. “Margo, what’s bothering you?”

              Yea right, like Margo was going to tell Lexi that she has a massive crush on Parker. Lexi was with Jake now but still friends didn’t go out with each other’s exes. Instead of telling Lexi the truth she lied. She lied to Lexi for the first time since their freshman year when they met.

              “Just upset about this being our final year. I’ll get over it.”

              Lexi eyed her skeptically but continued into the locker room. Thank God Margo thought. The last thing she wanted to do was get into a long discussion with Lexi about her inappropriate crush on Parker.

 

                                                        ***

 

              Nervous flutters flowed through Lexi’s body as she made sure her room was straightened up and devoid of all clutter. She had lit a candle and was playing some Adele on her computer for a sensual atmosphere. Jake was supposed to be back from his away trip any moment and he was coming over right after he got off the bus.

              The football team continued their undefeated season by narrowly squeaking by with a three point win. The game was televised so Lexi was able to watch part of it. Towards the end of the game she was biting her nails, thankfully they won. She was happy they continued their winning streak but she also was excited because she really wanted to reward Jake. She was planning on giving him a massage, mainly to relax him but also so she could feel up his glorious body. She even got special lotion to use.

              Lexi made sure to stock up on Jake’s favorite PowerAde and snacks so he didn’t have to go anywhere, he could just stay with her in her room. She asked what he liked when they were talking on the phone the other night. They talked for over an hour and finally hung up because the guys were ragging on him for being on the phone too long.

              She didn’t think she had ever been this happy before. She looked at herself in the mirror for the tenth time and adjusted her top so her ladies looked a little perkier. She wore an extremely low cut shirt that she wouldn’t normally wear but it was for Jake and she paired the shirt with her favorite pair of yoga pants that made her ass look amazing.

              There was a knock at her door and Lexi went flying to open it expecting to see Jake but instead came face to face with what looked like her mother but Lexi was having a hard time telling because the lady’s face was bruised beyond belief.

              “Mom?”

              “Hi, honey. I’m sorry to stop in like this, I just needed a place to stay tonight.” Her mom shuffled around on her feet looking extremely nervous

              Lexi ushered her mom inside and sat her on the coach while she got some ice from the freezer for her mom’s face. Her mom’s battered face was something Lexi unfortunately was not shocked by but this time the abuse was worse than she had ever seen it.

“Mom, what happened?”

              “Your father was upset about a bet he lost and I got in his way.”

              “You got in his way?” Lexi asked incredulously.

              “Yes, I knew he was upset and I should have just steered clear of him. But instead I tried to make him feel better. I should have known that wasn’t the right thing to do.”

              Lexi just stood there, in shock, listening to her mom and how weak she was. How pathetic she sounded. Lexi loved her mom but she didn’t respect her. What woman stayed with a man who beat the living hell out of them? The whole situation made her completely sick to her stomach causing Lexi to think enough was enough and went to grab her camera. She brought it out to the living room and turned it on.

              “What do you think you’re doing?” Her mom asked while covering her face.

              “I’m taking evidence to show to the cops. He needs to be stopped Mom and if you’re not going to do it then I am.”

              Her mom ripped the camera out of Lexi’s hand and threw it against the wall, smashing it into pieces. Not knowing how to react, Lexi just stared at the broken camera on the ground.

              “Don’t even bother taking pictures with your phone because I will do the same thing. I came here to get a good night’s sleep, not to be chastised by my own daughter who should be helping me out and if you don’t think you can handle doing that this one night, then I guess I’ll just have to go back home and face your father.”

              Lexi just stared at her mom, she couldn’t believe her. All Lexi wanted to do was help her mom but her mom wanted nothing to do with setting the record straight, setting her dad straight for once. Not having much of a choice because Lexi didn’t want her mom going back to the wrath that was her father tonight, she decided to let her mom stay.

“You can take my bed Mom. I can sleep with Margo.”

A loud knock on the front door shook Lexi out of the situation with her mom and reminded her of the night she had previously planned. Lexi’s heart dropped, it was Jake and the last thing she wanted was for him to see her mom for the first time like this, let alone know about her parents.

              “Mom, go wash up and throw on a pair of my pajamas. I will be in to help you in a second.”

              Her mom left the room and Lexi went to grab the door. She wiped at her eyes to make sure she didn’t have any tears showing, she didn’t need Jake wondering why she was so upset. She flung the door open and her heart sped up from just the mere sight of Jake. She quickly scooted herself outside so he couldn’t see the inside her apartment. He greeted her with a confused look.

              “Hey babe, what’s going on?”

              She couldn’t believe she was about to lie to Jake, she didn’t want to but she had to, she had no other option. She knew this wasn’t the way to conduct a relationship but she didn’t want him knowing about her despicable family history, not yet anyway.

              “Uh, tonight’s not a good night. I have a headache and uh, just don’t feel good.”

              Jake brought her into a hug. “Let me take care of you then.”

              Lexi pushed away. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She pretended to yawn. “I’m tired anyway.” She gave him a quick peck on the check and said, “I’ll call you tomorrow, night.”

With that she shut the door on him and cursed herself. She could have handled that situation way better but she panicked instead. She was so nervous that her mom was going to come out of the bathroom and ask her a question that she tried to hurry Jake out of her apartment as quickly as possible.

              Regret flew through her body, making her question if she did the right thing. She couldn’t forget the hurt look on Jake’s face when she brushed him off. If only he knew how excited she was to see him, to have him spend the night, to spoil him rotten with a massage. Instead she was stuck staring at her mom who didn’t even seem like the woman Lexi once knew. Instead of the strong confident woman Lexi once knew, there was a ghost in her place. Her mom fell to her dad’s abuse and based her life around him, something Lexi swore she would never do. She would never rely on a man so much that he became her world, because that was when you got in situations like her mom.

              Lexi settled her mom into her bed and went over to Margo’s room where she would be shacking up for the night. Margo was still out with a couple of the girls so Lexi wrote a note on the door so when Margo came back to the apartment she wasn’t scared shitless when she found someone sleeping in her bed.

              Lexi was just snuggling into the covers when her phone chimed with a text message. She knew it was from Jake without even having to look.

 

Jake: Look, babe. I don’t know what that was all about back there but you’re scaring me. Is everything alright between us?

 

              Yup, Lexi felt like complete shit. She definitely should have handled Jake better tonight. Instead of comforting him and sending him on his way, making sure to show him that everything was ok, she made him think there was something wrong between the two of them when in fact that was farthest from the truth. Lexi cursed out her dad for putting them all in this position. She wrote back to Jake.

             

Lexi: Everything is fine, I promise. I just needed to take care of something. I’m sorry.

 

Jake: So you don’t have a headache?

 

              Shit, this was why she didn’t lie, she wasn’t good at it. She was digging herself quite a hole where Jake was concerned. She was going to lie again to fix her slip up but decided not to. She was already in too deep. She wish she never lied in the first place but that would have meant letting Jake see her mom and there was no way in hell she was going to expose Jake to her mom’s battered face.

 

Lexi: No, but something important came up. I promise I will make it up to you.