“Deal, but not tonight. I want Chinese.” Now, it was my turn to frown. There was a Chinese takeout place right down the block from our house so that seemed to be our main source of food six days out of the week. I shook my head.
“Pass.”
“Alright, I’ll figure something out. You can stay here and watch your man there.” He motioned toward the TV where Christian Bale was currently climbing into what looked like a water fountain with two girls.
“He’s not my man,” I said. “That’s George Clooney.” West simply shrugged his shoulders.
“They’re all the same anyway.” Then he leaned forward to start putting his shoes on.
“Are you really leaving?” He glanced over at me.
“I’ll be back. I’m just gonna go to the store real quick. I promise I’ll be back before the end.” He laced up his vans and stood from my couch. I watched as he stretched his arms high above his head, causing his shirt to rise and reveal a patch of his tan, well defined abdomen. He grinned back at me before he left and I was alone watching a movie that hadn’t even been my idea in the first place. I contemplated switching it for Ocean’s Eleven and after a few more seconds of watching, I finally decided to do just that.
My smile was involuntary as my main guy came on the screen. I settled back into the couch and waited for West to get back. He came in a little less than halfway through the movie carrying more bags than I was expecting. I raised a brow as I look back at him. He grinned and headed for the kitchen. I didn’t hesitate to follow after him.
“What is all that?” I asked. He started taking item after item out of the bags. Most of it was junk food, and all the best kinds. There were Twinkies and popcorn, chocolate, and at least three different kinds of chips. In the final bag was a massive frozen pizza and a bag of Chinese stir fry. He walked over and pressed the button to start preheating the oven.
“I felt bad for eating your half so I bought you a whole new pizza.”
“That thing is massive. There is no way I’m going to be able to eat all that.” He grabbed a bag of chips and headed back into the living room with me following close behind.
“Why’d you change the movie?” He asked as he plopped back down into his original spot. I took the one next to him and we both started munching away on the bag of chips between us.
“You reminded me that I had a perfectly good George Clooney sitting there that was just begging to be watched.” West rolled his eyes, but I still saw the trace of a smile on his lips.
We were both completely focused on the movie and didn’t realize that we had moved even closer to one another. That is until his hand reached for the chips and ended up grazing my thigh. I jumped at the feel of his hand on me and he gave me a quizzical look.
“Sorry,” I said.
“Why so jumpy? It’s just me.”
“I know. I just wasn’t expecting it. It just…startled me that’s all.”
“I startle you?” He asked disbelievingly. I didn’t respond. I just stared back at him blankly. His lip tipped slightly and I didn’t know what he was planning to do, but something told me I wasn’t going to like it. I scooted back, but he just moved forward closing the space between us again.
“What’s wrong, Lennon?” He asked as his smile began to widen. I couldn’t help but smile back. I knew he was up to something. He moved even closer and I started to stand but his hand closed around my wrist and kept me standing near him. Then he did the unthinkable. He reached up with a wicked gleam in his eye.
And he tickled me.
Not in the fun light tickling way that you might do with a small child. No, he went straight for my ribs and he didn’t show any mercy as I fell down onto the couch and laughed loudly. He chuckled and moved his hands down my sides, causing me to writhe beneath him.
“Please stop,” I said between giggles. He smiled down at me.
“Say I’m the greater than George Clooney.” I was laughing too hard to actually speak so I just shook my head no. There was no way I was going to admit that. George was a silver fox that made incredible movies. I cared a lot about West, but the scale was very heavily tipped to one side when it came to who was better of the two.
“Say it Lennon and I’ll stop.”
“No,” I managed.
“Alright, you asked for it.” He pinned me to the couch and tickled in the one spot that never failed to make me jerk around like a crazy person. Under my arms. He tickled until I was crying and then tickled more. I felt like I was going to wet myself and I continued to shake my head and say stop, but it was useless.
Then I got smart. West might have me beat in strength, but I was faster than him. I just had to get out from under him and then I knew I would be able to get away. So, I latched my leg around his and tried to roll us. Unfortunately, he caught onto what I was doing and prevented me from going far.
I was persistent though. I hooked my leg again and rolled with him and finally, we both tumbled off the couch onto the floor. West landed on his back while I fell against his broad chest. We were both laughing and I had completely forgotten about trying to get away.
As our laughter died down, we both seemed to realize that I was still lying on top of him. I moved to get up, but he was quicker and laced his arms around my waist, effectively holding me in place. I stared down at him in question, and his stormy blue eyes were locked onto mine.
My heart rate had kicked up a notch and I could tell he was breathing much faster. Before I could say a word, he reached a hand up into my hair and cupped my face. I just knew he was about to kiss me, and while I should have pulled back, I couldn’t seem to make myself. Thankfully at that moment the front door opened and Jessie’s voice came through. I jumped up so fast that it made my head spin. Jessie, Bri, and Layla stepped into the darkened living room and I knew they had to know something was up. For one thing, I was still breathing heavy and West hadn’t moved at all from his spot on the floor. I felt their eyes on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to face any of them.
“Uh, we were just watching a movie. Are you guys hungry? There is a pizza in there that’s big enough for all of us.” I felt like my voice was too high, and I just knew they were going to call me out on it the second we were alone. I looked down at West and told him with my eyes that it was time for him to go. He slowly started to get up.
“Well ladies, it was nice to see you again, but I think I’m gonna head out.” I chanced a glance at the girls. They looked disappointed.
“You don’t have to. We can hang out in the kitchen until your movie is over,” Bri offered. West looked my way and I noticed the slight frown he gave.
“Nah, I’ve got a long drive ahead of me in the morning. I really should get back to the hotel. You ladies have a nice night.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I offered. West grabbed his coat from our closet and made sure to grab my sweater too since it was actually starting to get pretty cold out. We stepped out into the chilly night air and I made sure to close the door behind me. West took a few steps but stopped at the edge of my porch. I wasn’t really sure what to say given the almost kiss that had just happened. He let me off the hook though.
“I had fun,” he said. I smiled.
“Yeah, me too.” He turned around to face me. I noticed the tired look on his face and it made him look oddly adorable. My smile widened because of it. “Maybe next weekend, we can have a George Clooney marathon.”
“Actually, I was thinking that maybe in a few weeks you could come down to Houston. I still owe you a trip to the beach.” I hesitated. Hanging out and watching a movie together was one thing. Driving to Houston for what would have to be at least a weekend visit was something else entirely. I knew that would be crossing a line.
“We don’t have to. I just thought it might be nice.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if it’s the right time.” He nodded his head.
“I get it. The boyfriend.”
“Yeah. I don’t think he would appreciate me taking a trip
down to see my ex.”
“He doesn’t have to know I’m your ex. You could just say you’re going to visit friends.” I gave him a knowing look and shook my head. “Yeah, I understand.” Then he stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. I didn’t hesitate to put my arms around him in return.
“I’ll text you,” he said into my hair. Then he pulled back. His handsome smile was still in place as he stepped off my porch and made his way to his black Chevy truck. He lifted his hand to wave and I returned it. Then I watched as he drove away.
I stepped back inside and sure enough all three girls were waiting for me. Each one with a beaming grin on their beautiful faces. I ignored them and went into the kitchen to start cleaning up.
“So, you and West were looking pretty cozy,” Layla sing sang as she walked into the room. Jessie and Bri were right behind her.
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but we were just watching a movie.” I kept my focus on the food in front of me. I grabbed the chips and started to put them away in
“Uh-huh,” Layla said.
“We were.”
“Right, so he was on the floor with you standing over him because…?” I tried to come up with something fast, but it wasn’t working.
“Why can’t you just admit that you still like him?” Bri asked. I turned toward her.
“Because I don’t. We’re just friends.”
“And who do you think you’re actually fooling with that one.” I ignored her question while I scrubbed at a spot that wasn’t really there.
“I just don’t see what the big deal is,” Bri said. “You like him, he likes you. What’s the hold up?”
“I happen to have a boyfriend,” I reminded them.
“Do you really see that becoming a long term thing though? I mean don’t get me wrong Stetson is a nice guy and all, but do you honestly think he could be ‘the one’?” I didn’t have a good answer for that one. So, instead I finished cleaning up and made some excuse about being exhausted before I disappeared into my bedroom.
Twenty-Eight
I plopped down on the couch with my bowl of popcorn and flipped through the channels until I saw an old re-run of Friends. I clicked on it and tossed the remote to the side. The second I had gotten comfortable, there was a knock on the door. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was already after midnight. I couldn’t think of anyone that would be dropping by so late on a Monday, so I decided to ignore it and I turned my attention back to the TV.
Another knock followed and shortly after that, my phone buzzed from it’s place next to me on the couch. I glanced at the screen and saw West’s name. I quickly picked it up.
West: Open the door before someone calls the police about the creeper standing on your porch.
It took a second for his words to register, but when they did, I sat my popcorn aside and made my way to the front door. Just to be safe, I looked through the peephole and sure enough West was there. I unlatched all the locks and opened the door. He beamed when he saw me and it just about knocked me over.
“Hey Len,” he said casually.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as a slow smile spread across my face. It had been a few weeks since the last time we had been able to hang out in person and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t missed him. We had messaged each other pretty regularly, but between classes, work, and me spending time with Stetson even those were few and far between.
“I got you something,” he announced. Then he pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal a little gift bag. My eyes dropped to it briefly before moving back to his still grinning face.
“You drove an hour and a half to give me a present?” I asked. “Are you crazy?”
“I wanted to see your face when you opened it,” he said like it was no big deal. “Besides it’s been almost a month since the last time I was here, and it seemed like a good time for another movie night.”
“You’re crazy.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“Debatable. Now are you gonna let me in or keep me out here all night?” I grinned before stepping to the side to let him in. I made sure to relatch all the locks before following him back into the living room. He quickly plopped down in the seat I had vacated, and then took it upon himself to start munching on my popcorn.
“Hey,” I said a little too loudly when I saw him reach for the remote. “You just got here. Do you think maybe you could wait a minute before making yourself at home?” He blinked at me a few times before he went right back to munching on my popcorn and flipping through the channels.
I rolled my eyes before giving in and taking the seat beside him. He tossed the remote to the side after landing on some movie from the nineties that I had seen a few times, but couldn’t remember the name of. Some futuristic movie with big bugs and the soldiers that kill them.
West turned to me and sat the gift bag on my lap. He motioned for me to open it, but I hesitated. West had never given me anything. Not even when we were dating. I wasn’t sure what he could have possibly bought for me now, and truth be told it was making me slightly nervous.
“Are you gonna open it?” He asked. I looked in his direction and his stormy blue eyes looked brighter than usual. He was happy. I pulled at the ribbon holding the thing together and it came apart easily. I glanced inside and saw what looked like a rolled up shirt of some kind. I pulled it out, allowing it to come unraveled.
It was a blue jersey with the name ‘Blake’ written across the top in gold. Below that was the number twenty-seven; West’s number. I turned it over and noticed that on the front corner was my name is neat purple cursive. I looked at West and he was grinning widely.
“I figured seeing as how you’re my number one fan and all that you needed something a little different than what everyone else is wearing. So, I had this specially made for you. It just came in today.” My eyes felt misty as I looked over my gift again.
I ran my hands over my name and smiled before looking back up at West. “Thank you West. I love it. I’ll wear it every game day.” That made him grin even wider. I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen him look so happy about something. It was adorable. In that moment, I found myself wanting to kiss him. I couldn’t do that though. I wouldn’t be that kind of girl. I just needed to say something to break up the moment. So, I said the first thing I could think of.
“Were they out of Ryland jerseys or something?” I asked. West’s face turned serious for half a second, but I saw the little smile playing in the corner of his lips.
“Oh, you’ve got jokes, huh?” I blinked back at him. “You know he’s taken, right?” I snapped my fingers like that actually bothered me.
“The good ones always are,” I replied.
“I’m not,” West said. Just like that, we were right back in our little bubble of sexual tension. West’s gaze flicked down to my mouth and without really thinking about it, I swiped my tongue over my bottom lip. His eyes snapped back up to meet mine and I swallowed hard.
“Len, are you in here?” Jessie asked from the doorway. I pulled back quickly. I looked over my shoulder and saw a sleepy Jessie rubbing her eyes as she looked back at me. She blinked a few times and I saw it the moment she realized she had just interrupted something. “Oh,” she said simply. “Sorry, I’m just gonna get a glass of water. Don’t mind me.” She disappeared into the kitchen, but by that point, the moment was lost. I wasn’t sure where to go from there so I just settled back into the couch and tried to focus on the TV, but it might as well have been in a foreign language. All I could focus on was yet another moment between us that we had thankfully been interrupted. I wasn’t sure how much longer we could keep pushing that boundary before something actually did happen.
After a few more minutes, West stood up from the couch and rubbed a hand over his tired looking face. I felt awful, he looked exhausted, and even though it might not be a good idea to let him stay, I didn’t feel comfortable having him drive all the way back either.
“You should stay,” I offered. “I know this couch doesn’t look like much, but it can be pretty comfortable.” West smiled sweetly.
“Thanks, but I have to go back. I have a class early in the morning.” I frowned.
“You shouldn’t have come. You could have just mailed me the jersey.” He shook his head.
“Nope, it was worth the drive just to see that smile of yours.” My heart flipped in my chest at his words. He smiled back at me. “Night Len.”
“Night West.” He flashed me one more smile before he turned and walked out of the house leaving me standing alone in my living room clutching my new jersey and wondering how big of a fool I was to honestly think we were capable of being ‘just friends’.
Twenty-Nine
I read the same sentence for the millionth time before letting out a sigh and pushing my Bio book away from me. It was no use. No matter what I seemed to do lately, I couldn’t get West out of my head. I just kept thinking how incredibly sweet he had been by giving me that jersey. I glanced over and saw it hanging on the back of my closet door. I felt the urge to call him, only I didn’t have anything to really say.
I had just decided that didn’t matter and reached for my phone when three short taps came from the doorway of my bedroom. I turned and saw Stetson leaning against the door frame smiling at me.
“Hey beautiful, how’s the studying going?” I frowned in response and he chuckled. “That well, huh?”
“It could be better.” He stepped further into my room and walked over to me. He placed his hand on my neck as he leaned forward to plant a tender kiss on my temple. He looked down at my desk with my Bio book and at least four pages full of notes, or at least attempted notes. Most of the pages were actually covered in little doodles of hearts.
“Can I help? You know I’m actually pretty good with biology?” He raised his brows suggestively, and I couldn’t help but laugh. He had been making suggestive comments like that pretty much since we had first began dating, but he had yet to pressure me once. So far, he seemed perfectly content with the fact that in the five months since we had started dating, we still hadn’t taken our relationship all the way. We had moved on from kissing and a little bit of other nighttime activities, but every time we got even close to taking things further, I would pull back. I just wasn’t ready, and Stetson didn’t seem to mind. I was thankful for that. I knew not a lot of other guys would be as understanding.
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