Soaked

by Courtney Elliott

“Alright ladies and gents, last question. This could be the one to win it all.” He looked from our group to the Tallywackers and then held up the mic. It was almost comical the level of seriousness this game had suddenly taken. “What famous character said the line, ‘You killed my father prepare to die’?” I nearly fell out of my chair. What were the odds that our winning question would be in regards to my favorite novel of all time?

  “INIGO MONTOYA,” I shouted loudly. The man gave a dramatic look back to the Tallywackers like maybe I had shouted out the wrong answer. I knew I hadn’t though. He looked toward the dry erase board and a large smile spread across his face.

  “Winning point goes to Three Sacks and a Rack. Congrats guys.” West, Paul, and Jeremy all jumped up with loud hoorahs and shouts. Then West pulled me up from my chair to stand beside him.

  “You did it Len,” he said happily.

  “You fucking dethroned the Tallywackers,” Paul added.

  “Fuck yeah,” Jeremy slurred. The two of them congratulated each other while West pulled me into a hug. In that moment, I wished for something I shouldn’t. I wanted him to kiss me, boyfriend or no. That probably had something to do with the copious amounts of alcohol that I’d consumed though. I shook my head as a way to rid my mind of the dark path it was trying to take.

  “Good game,” a handsome guy said as he stood next to our table. I recognized him as one of the guys from the Tallywackers table. His eyes fell on me and he smiled. “I don’t think we’ve met. My name is Alex.”

  “Lennon,” I replied.

  “It’s gonna be your name up there before I know it,” he said and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I’d barely answered any of the questions. The last one was pure luck.

  “I doubt it,” I said simply.

  “Maybe I can see you again before you head back.” I felt someone behind me. I didn’t have to look to know it was West.

  “Actually, she’s going to be with me while she’s here.” Alex didn’t seemed fazed in the slightest by West’s words. He just kept his eyes on me.

  “Maybe next time then.” Before I could respond, he turned and walked back to his table. I watched him for a second longer before I turned back and saw West looking down at me. I wasn’t sure since I was a bit inebriated, but it looked like he was jealous.

  “Wanna get out of here?” He asked. I swallowed and nodded my head. He grinned before resting his hand against the small of my back and leading me out of the place. He helped me into the truck and we headed back to the house.

  I thought we would hang out or something, but West ever the gentleman instead just helped me to my room. He laid out a pair of PJ’s for me, and even brought me a glass of water and some Tylenol.

  “Get some sleep, Len, big day tomorrow,” he said before he gave me a kiss on the forehead. I’d completely forgotten about the game we were supposed to be going to the following day.

  “You’re gonna win,” I said confidently. West just smiled that adorable dimpled grin of his. “I really want to kiss you right now.” I’m pretty sure I surprised the both of us with that little confession. West rubbed the back of his neck before telling me goodnight and leaving my room. I looked up at the ceiling and I thought about how badly I had wanted West to kiss me before. How badly I had wanted him to kiss me again just then.

  I knew then that my days with Stetson were numbered.

  Thirty-Three

  I woke up bright and early the next day. My stomach felt a little queasy, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of the alcohol from the previous night or nerves for West’s big game that afternoon. I took a quick shower since I figured it would only be a matter of time before the guys woke up and I wanted to have breakfast ready when they all came out.

  I was in the middle of making the scrambled eggs when the first groggy voice spoke up behind me. I turned to see Jeremy standing in the doorway. He looked around at the food I had already made and blinked a few times like he wasn’t sure if it was real or not. Then his eyes found mine and his brow rose in question.

  “I figured it was the least I could do since you’re letting me stay in the extra room while I’m here.”

  “Stay as long as you want,” Jeremy said before he stepped all the way into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast.

  “Something smells awesome.” Paul was next. He walked over and clapped Jeremy on the back before taking a seat on the barstool next to him. Then he grabbed some bacon and started eating. I finished the eggs and added them to a plate before looking over at my work.

  It wasn’t much, and truth be told, I’d never been all that great with cooking before, but I was confident that I hadn’t messed anything up too badly. Besides, Paul and Jeremy had already each had a bit of food and neither one of them were complaining. In fact they weren’t saying much of anything as they continued to shovel food into their mouths.

  “Should we wake West up?” I asked. It was already nine, and I wasn’t sure what time he needed to be at the field for the game at two. I had never been around him on game days other than the ones in high school, and I knew those were a whole different thing.

  “He’s probably already gone,” Jeremy said before stuffing more toast in.

  “What do you mean gone?”

  “He usually heads to the field to get a work out in before the game. Then Coach usually has them run a few drills to make sure everyone is loosened up. He’ll probably just hang out until kickoff,” Paul added.

  “But…” I began. I figured he would have at least said goodbye or something. I thought we might have even gotten to hang out a little before the game. I couldn’t hide the disappointment on my face, and Paul saw it.

  “He’s usually in the zone on game days. Even if he had been here, he wouldn’t have been his usual chatty self. He’s pretty focused, and I can’t imagine today would be any different.” I knew he was trying to make me feel better, but it wasn’t exactly working.

  “I thought he would take me to the field.”

  “You can ride with us,” Jeremy offered as a bit of egg fell from his mouth back onto his plate. I gave a slight smile before making an excuse and heading for my room. I checked my phone to see if maybe West had sent me a message or something, but the only message was one from Stetson telling me he wanted to talk. I ignored him and dropped the phone back down trying not to let it get to me that West had left without saying anything. After all, today was a very big deal for him. It was a huge game and I couldn’t be upset that I wasn’t his top priority. It was natural for him to have other things on his mind.

  So instead of thinking about West, I tried to find other ways to occupy my time before it was time to go. I read a little, sent an email home to my parents, and even worked on one of my assignments. Thankfully just as I finished up, there was a knock on my door. It was Paul telling me it was time to go.

  The car ride was kind of awkward since I still didn’t know the guys all that well, but I will hand it to them that they were at least trying to make me feel welcome. Or at least Paul was. Jeremy mostly just kept trying to think of clever ways to get information about Katie out of me.

  “Ignore him,” Paul said as we pulled into the parking lot. There were cars everywhere, and there had to be at least five people to every vehicle with how crowded the place was. I’d never seen anything like it before. Paul slowly drove as close to the front as he could get, but I wasn’t sure why. There was no way he would ever find a space that close.

  He pulled through what looked like some kind of privacy fence and a guard immediately came walking toward us. I watched as Paul rolled down his window and passed over a little card that he had pulled from his visor. The guard looked it over then handed it back. Then he motioned us through.

  “What was that?” I asked. Jeremy was the one to answer me.

  “Knowing Weston Blake has it’s perks. He gave us that card back at the beginning of the semester and now we get to park in the specialty parking. It’s fucking awesome.” Paul just chuckled befo
re he slowed and pulled into a space as close to the front gates as we could get. I was amazed. I figured it was one thing for West to get us tickets to the game, but to be able to pull off specialty parking too was something I hadn’t been expecting.

  I helped the guys get the ice chest from the back and then the three of us made our way inside. I’d never been to a football stadium before, at least not one outside of the Podunk high school one Leering offered. That had nothing on this place. It was easily twenty times the size and not surprisingly, there seemed to be even more people in here than what had been outside.

  The guys wanted to get to our seats first so we could leave the ice chest. I didn’t think we would be allowed to have it since I had seen a few signs on our way in instructing no coolers of any kind, but they weren’t letting that stop them. They kept going and I had no choice but to follow behind them.

  After a good bit of walking, we finally reached the section marked on our tickets. An older gentleman was standing there checking everyone out as they came through and he stopped us as we walked up. He had a cheery smile on his face as he looked over our tickets. He asked the guys to open the cooler, but didn’t seem upset by it’s presence. Then he just let us walk right on through.

  “How come he didn’t stop us from bringing in the cooler? I’ve seen signs everywhere that say they aren’t allowed.”

  “Art is a buddy of ours,” Paul answered over his shoulder. “So long as we make sure to save him a few, he doesn’t really care what we do.” I should have known better than to question them. They had come to many of West’s games before and clearly knew what they were doing. So, from that point on I decided to just go with it.

  They let me sit between them so I didn’t have to worry about drunk fans getting a little handsy as the game progressed, and I was extremely appreciative of that. Once I was settled, I really took in my surroundings. I just couldn’t believe I was actually there. West was in a televised rivalry game and I would get to see it in person rather than watching him through a TV screen. I checked my phone for the time and saw that it was only a few minutes before kickoff.

  “There’s West,” Paul called out. I followed the direction he was pointing and sure enough there was number twenty-seven standing on the sidelines with some of the other players. I’d completely underestimated just how good he would look in his football gear. Even with all the bulk of the equipment, it was obvious how fit he was. We were close enough that I heard a group of girls near the railing call out his name. He turned in their direction and the girls screamed even louder. He made a point to wave at them before he turned away again.

  I kept watching them and they were all squealing and jumping at the fact that he had paid them attention. I felt a rush of jealousy, but I quickly dismissed it. They were just fans. While I’m sure he was grateful for them, in the end, he didn’t have any other attachments to them. Besides, it’s not like I had any claim to him. I was dating someone else.

  “Happens every game,” Jeremy said. I looked over at him and he nodded towards the girls. “The one in pink there is usually wearing a glittery pink jersey with his name on it. I think she’d piss herself if he ever actually spoke to her.” I nodded my head, but didn’t offer any comment. I wasn’t interested in those girls. The only thing I cared about was watching number twenty-seven.

  West dominated. He scored a touchdown in every quarter and it seemed like he was floating across the field. Every time he caught the ball, the other team couldn’t touch him. He just sailed into the end zone and each time, the crowd went crazy for him.

  There was a moment right after halftime that I was a little concerned for Houston. Even with West’s touchdowns, they were down by twelve. It wasn’t that I doubted West’s ability to win the game, but the rest of his team I was a little unsure of. They seemed to be struggling to keep the other team at bay. By West’s third touchdown though, it was like a whole new team came out on the field. Suddenly, they were completely in sync. Ryland was throwing perfect spirals and the other team started to quickly lose their lead. Then West scored his fourth touchdown and we were up by three.

  With only a minute left in the game, Houston’s kicker came out and scored a field goal to end it all. The stadium erupted around me. I couldn’t hear anything Paul or Jeremy were saying, but it was obvious they were celebrating. It was amazing, and I couldn’t wait to see West to let him know how proud I was of him.

  The three of us made our way down to the railing to hopefully see him, but he was busy chatting with reporters on the sidelines. I watched as he had that dimpled grin on full display. He was incredibly happy and it made him even sexier than he normally was. In that moment, I wanted him badly.

  Finally, he caught a glimpse of us standing there. He made his exit and came straight over. Jeremy and Paul both told him how happy they were, but he didn’t seem to be listening. He kept his eyes laser focused on mine as he climbed up to the railing. Then without any kind of warning, he laced one arm around my back and pulled me toward him. His lips found mine and he kissed me like we were completely alone.

  When he pulled back, he looked me straight in the eye. “To be continued?” He asked. I couldn’t speak though. So, I just kind of mumbled instead. He smiled that heart stopping grin of his before he hopped back down and ran back to the field. I was still trying to catch my breath from that kiss. I looked over and saw Paul and Jeremy both staring at me with their mouths open.

  That’s when I realized we hadn’t in fact been completely alone. Nope, we were surrounded by hundreds of people and dozens of cameras. Cameras that were broadcasting this game on TV’s across the nation. Like the one Katie was probably sitting in front of. As well as the one Stetson was watching.

  Crap.

  Thirty-Four

  The next morning, I was terrified to leave my room. I just knew the second I did, something horrible was going to happen. Not that my staying in there was going to save me either. There was no telling how many people had seen that kiss, but there was only one that I was worried about.

  As if on cue, my phone rang again with his name highlighted on the screen. Once again, I let it click over to voicemail. Ten missed calls, eight voicemails, a countless number of text messages filled with nothing but capital letters and I’m sure several expletives.

  A knock on my door caused me to turn my head. West slowly poked his head inside and the second that smile touched his face; I felt my whole body relax. Suddenly, it was just the two of us again. When I smiled back at him, he took that as a sign that it was okay to come in.

  He closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed. He didn’t bother sitting even though I moved over to give him room. My phone started going off again, and he looked over at it. I knew it the moment he saw the name because he winced. His gaze swept back over to me.

  “Has he been calling all morning?” I nodded my head slowly.

  “Yeah, I haven’t been able to answer him yet.”

  “I’m so sorry, Len. I wasn’t thinking.” I shook my head at his apology. That kiss between us had been one of the better kisses of my life. The last thing I wanted was West regretting it. I didn’t. “Are you gonna answer?”

  I shook my head. “Not until I know exactly what I want to say.” West kind of nodded and then looked out the window. He squinted his eyes like he was looking at something and then his brows rose up and he turned back toward me again.

  “I have a proposition for you.”

  “What?”

  “How about instead of spending all day cooped up in this room dodging calls from your soon to be ex, you let me show you something that you’ve always wanted to see?” With that grin, he was too hard to resist.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I’m taking you to the beach.” I couldn’t fight my smile at the thought of getting to see the ocean. I moved quickly. I grabbed my swimsuit from my bag and changed faster than I realized I could. When I stepped back out, West had been leaning against the wall wai
ting for me. He pushed himself off and his eyes took a slow sweep over me.

  I watched as they went all the way from my white tank top that was see through enough for him to see my purple bikini underneath, to my shorts that were shorter than anything else I’d ever worn around him, and finally his gaze took in my hot pink painted toe nails peeking out from under my sandals. Then they made the slow trek back up to my face that had turned a shade of pink under his perusal.

  “Ready?” He asked, and I could have sworn I heard a husky shift in his tone that wasn’t normally there.

  “I just need to grab my phone.” He shook his head.

  “Nope, no phone.” My brow quirked up so he elaborated. “It will just distract you. Today is about us just having fun with me. Nothing else, Len. Just us.” Well, I couldn’t exactly argue with that. So, I left my phone behind as I followed him out to his truck. He helped me inside before trotting around to the driver’s side and climbing in.

  He started it up and the melodic voice of Freddie Mercury came through the speakers singing about another one biting the dust. It was by far my favorite of all the Queen songs. As West pulled out and got us onto the highway, I didn’t miss the way his fingertips drummed along to the beat. It caused a happy smile to spread across my face.

  We pulled into a space a little after one and I helped West lug out the ice chest we decided to bring. The we walked down to the beach and settled into a spot about twenty feet from the shoreline. I could smell the salt in the air and hear the seagulls as they flew around us looking for bits of discarded food. It was perfect. I couldn’t wait to get in the water.

  West helped me lay out our blankets and apply some sunscreen. Then I took off for the water. I could hear him laughing behind me and when I turned to face him, he had the happiest dimpled grin I’d ever seen. It was infectious.

  It didn’t take me long before I was splashing around like a five year old. I kept looking toward West and he just watched me back with a large happy smile on his face. I motioned for him to join me, and he got up and came toward me. He stopped just in front of me and moved a strand of wet hair away from my forehead. My breath hitched as we just stood there staring back at one another.