I flexed my back, waiting for my turn to run sprints. I was already warm but I never stopped moving during practice. It was a small town, and not a rich one either. We didn't have a lot of equipment so we had to take turns running drills. I didn't mind though. It gave me time to think about what I had to do after practice.

Tonight, I was going to get the girl I'd been dreaming about for years.

I was popular with the ladies, to say the least. Good looking and from a nice family. Decent grades and the quarterback for one of the best football teams in the state. It wasn't that I was hard up for a date. But for some reason, I'd always wanted the one girl I couldn't have.

Shouldn't have.

Girls like her and boys like me didn't mix.

But fuck that. I wanted what I wanted. And from the stares we'd exchanged over the years, I was pretty sure she liked me too.

"There she goes."

My head swiveled as a girl in faded clothes walked past the exterior fence. She looked tense, like she knew we were looking at her. Hell, she ought to be used to it by now.

Everyone was always looking at Shabby Tabby.

I winced at the name, even though I'd just heard it in my head. It wasn't nice. And it definitely didn't do her justice.

The girl might be poor, but she was the best looking girl in this town. Maybe the whole damn state. She'd been blessed with curves that could tempt a saint and the beautiful face of an angel.

I wasn't even religious.

And I definitely wasn't alone.

Everybody wanted Tabby. Guys had been trying to score with her since she hit puberty. Many claimed to have succeeded, but I had my doubts.

The girl looked too pure to me to have had mortal hands on her. Somehow, even in her threadbare clothes, she looked clean as the driven snow. It didn't change the fact that her body was made for sin.

She looked like a pin-up girl or a centerfold. On steroids.

Either way, I was finally taking a crack at her tonight.

I'd waited too long. It was halfway through senior year. If I wanted to go out with Tabitha, it was now or never.

Because once I left this town, I wasn't coming back.

Most of my friends were going to the local community college, with a few guys from the team going to state. A few weren't going to school at all, just taking jobs on fishing boats or in their family businesses like my buddy Lyle.

But me stick around this small town? Hell, no. I was joining the Navy. I was gonna see the whole damn world if I had my way about it.

I grunted, staring at the way Tabitha moved in those worn-in old jeans of hers. Most girls had twenty pairs of jeans. I was fairly certain that Tabby had two. I knew, because I kept track of everything about her. Especially anything that touched her perfect, juicy ass.

She had a dark pair and a light pair of jeans. Both fit her like a glove.

A tight glove.

Maybe a little too tight. But damn, that was a mighty fine thing, if you asked me. If you asked anyone.

Anyone male with a pulse.

Tabitha had been a pretty little girl who'd grown up to be curvier than Marilyn Monroe. Quiet and studious, but nobody noticed her grades. Big, luscious tits, a small waist and juicy hips that begged a man to grab hold of them.

Skinny girls might be in, but a woman with curves like that... well, she never went out of style.

Not with any red-blooded American male anyway.

She glanced over her shoulder before turning the corner. I could have sworn she saw me. Looked right into my eyes. I felt the start of a boner, right then and there.

Nuh uh. Not good. Down boy.

I grabbed my jock and pressed down on it, noticing that a few other guys were doing the same. Didn't matter. The team captain should not be getting a boner standing in the middle of the damn field.

Thankfully it wasn't long before the coach called practice. I hit the showers and cooled down with a blast of icy cold water before soaping off. Pretty soon I was jogging to my car, ready to get on with the weekend already. I dropped my best friend Lyle off and then ate an early dinner with Ma. I showered again, and put on a nice button down shirt. I even splashed a little aftershave on my cheeks.

Just a touch though. I didn't want to drive the girl away. I wanted her to get close.

As close as possible.

There was a bonfire at the beach tonight. I was hoping Tabby would be there. Hell, I was hoping she'd give me the time of day. She didn't socialize much, but everyone went to the bonfires. It wasn't just for the rich kids or the jocks or the druggies or whoever.

It was more about football than anything else, but either way, everyone turned out.

I drove down to the beach after picking up Lyle and Topher. They were already drinking. I was driving tonight so I wasn't having anything. It was better that way, especially if my plans worked out.

I didn't care about drinking with my boys. I just wanted to see her.

Fuck it, maybe she was easy. Hell, maybe I'd have her underneath me tonight. The image of us going at it gave me renewed energy. I put the pedal to the metal. I even cleaned out the backseat once we pulled into the parking lot just in case.

Just to be prepared…

The party was already hopping with at least three kegs on tap. I was surrounded by the popular crowd right away. Other athletes and most of the cheerleading squad were in a cluster, their chatter flowing around me like water.

I smiled and nodded and kept my eyes peeled for my quarry.

About an hour later I finally saw her. She was sitting on a piece of driftwood, half-heartedly sipping from a red cup. Another girl I saw her hanging around with sometimes was sitting beside her. Jackie. The girl had a nose ring and short dark hair.

There was a guy too. Dennis something. I wasn't worried about him though. The word was that he played for the other team.

As long as he wasn't competition, he was off my radar. I got a fresh beer and walked over to her. She looked up and our eyes met. She was wearing that beat up old army jacket of hers.

Somebody had told me it was her daddy's. I knew she lived with her grandma, so I assumed her folks were gone. The jacket swallowed her petite frame, making it hard to see her gorgeous body. Didn't matter. Her face was enough to stop traffic.

Huge, dark hazel eyes stared up at me, almost looking gold in the firelight. Her skin was a creamy, warm olive tone. Her high cheeks and full lips were pink and soft. And her cute little nose was just slightly upturned, making her look a little bit mischievous.

A lot mischievous, I hoped.

"You want a fresh beer?"

I held it out to her and she took it, then looked back at me suspiciously.

"It's not spiked. Here."

I took a sip and handed it back. She took it and had a small sip.

"Thanks."

"Mind if I sit down?"

She shrugged non-commitally. Her friends made themselves scarce and I sat next to her. She smelled amazing. Clean and fresh and girly. Not like perfume though. Just like... soap and warm skin.

I felt a surge of lust, thinking about touching that skin.

"I'm Gabe."

She rolled those gorgeous eyes at me.

"Yeah, I know. We kinda grew up together."

I cleared my throat.

"Yeah, but we never talked."

"That's true."

"Thought I'd remedy that. Before school was over for good."

She looked at me, then turned back to the fire. She wasn't making this easy. Not that she was being rude. She just wasn't falling into my lap and taking off her top either.

"So I was wondering..."

"Yeah?"

"If you'd go out with me."

Now she was looking at me.

"What do you mean?"

"We could go out. Hang out. Together."

She rolled her eyes and stood up.

"You mean roll around in the back of your car."

"What? No-"

She stood up and walked away from me. I chased her across the sand towards the water. Finally she stopped. She seemed surprised to see me behind her.

"I didn't mean it like that-" Even if I had just cleaned out the back of my car. But there was no reason for her to ever know that. I cleared my throat. "I meant we could date. Exclusively."

She chewed her lip and stared at me. I gave her a charming smile and tried to tease her.

"You know... go to the movies. Get something to eat... crazy stuff like that."

She looked almost hopeful for a second.

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you want to date me? Did someone tell you I was easy? Because I'm not."

"Hey, Tabitha- no- I mean-"

"Forget it, Gabe. You seem like an okay guy but- I'm not up for it. Thanks anyway."

I grabbed her arm before she could run off.

"Wait."

She gave me a hard look. She had a reputation as kind of a tough girl. I was suddenly realizing why she had to be.

"Just...Why not?"

I stared at her face in the moonlight. She was almost too pretty. I wanted to kiss her but she looked upset. I didn't get why asking her out would hurt her feelings, but I could see it had.

"Is it me?"

She looked at me and I saw something in her eyes that pierced my stupid teenage brain for a minute. Her feelings were hurt. She did think I just wanted sex. And dammit, maybe she was right.

"No Gabe. You're- just find someone who wants to roll around with you. I'm sure there are plenty of takers. Goodnight."

And then she was gone.