When the Dead Come a Knockin'

by B. L. Brunnemer

  “That would be great, just bring any clothes you want to wear in the pictures. I really like highlighting a single aspect of someone. Well, last night I got two. Sunshine’s hair and eyes.” His eyes were warm as they met mine before he continued. My butterflies went crazy. “So, bring something that brings out your hair color or your eye color. Like black, gray but no white. I was thinking outside shots today.” I looked back at Jinn who was beaming.

  “I’m so in,” Jinn said clearly excited. “How early you want me in Dulcet?”

  “I’d say two and a half hours before dark. That last hour before dark is one of the best times to get some great lighting.” Dylan said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Afterward, you can just hang with us at my house.” He looked at Zeke. “You too, of course.” I hid a smile. Dylan was a smart guy. Zeke looked at Jinn. My twisted side came out to play. I leaned over and staged whispered to Jinn.

  “Pout, seriously. Do it.” Zeke looked at me, his face furious.

  “Damn it, Lexie.” He snapped. I snickered. The other guys started laughing. Jinn looked at me.

  “Is that how to get what I want?” Jinn asked laughing. I smirked.

  “It only works once, and then he’ll run like hell if you ever try it again,” I warned her. Zeke was still glaring at me. I smiled sweetly back. He was shaking his head at me still not happy.

  “You want to play it like that?” Zeke asked his voice hard. He looked at Dylan. My heart dropped. He wouldn’t… “Ask her how much sleep she got last night. Then ask her why.” My mouth dropped open.

  “You shit, that was two!” The guys kept laughing at us.

  “Lexie?” Dylan asked. I winced before looking at him. He had a suspicious look on his face. I smiled tensely. “What is he talking about?” His voice was getting harder, his shoulders tense. Thanks, Zeke.

  “Zeke, just made that sound really bad,” I told him. “I have bad dreams every night, so I don’t get a lot of sleep. Last night, I got maybe, four hours of sleep.” His body relaxed, though his eyes stayed worried.

  “How the hell do you manage like that?” He asked, his eyes running over my face. I shrugged.

  “Lots of caffeine. Work my ass off at the gym, and rock climbing?” I offered. “I usually get more sleep on those nights than any other.”

  “Sunshine, you don’t have to come over today. You can just go home and get some sleep.” He offered making my heart melt. He was so fucking sweet. I looked at him like he was nuts.

  “Fuck no, I’d rather hang out with you.” He snorted, then smiled at me.

  “Do you need some coffee?” He asked sweetly. I rolled my eyes up and looked away. He laughed then gave my hand a squeeze. He let go of my hand as he got up.

  “I can go get my own coffee.” I pointed out, just realizing what he was doing.

  “Stay here Sunshine, or you’ll get lost in the crowd.” He said before heading down the aisle. When he was out of sight, I turned and punched Zeke in the arm, hard.

  “You shit head!” Zeke rubbed his arm as the guys laughed. “You just made my boyfriend think I was cheating on him.” Zeke winced.

  “Shit, I didn’t think about how that sounded.” He admitted. “Sorry.”

  “And you ratted out two of mine.” I pointed out, still a little pissed. Zeke sighed, then gestured towards Jinn.

  “Go ahead.” Zeke gravelly voice was resigned. I looked at Jinn and smiled.

  “Your boyfriend is partly color blind,” I told her happily. Her eyebrows went up as she looked at Zeke.

  “Really?” Jinn asked her voice surprised. He nodded.

  “For the first month we were talking, I thought your hair was blue.” He admitted not even embarrassed about it. Jinn laughed.

  “Oh, that’s so cute,” Jinn said still chuckling. Zeke looked back at me.

  “Even now?”

  “Even,” I smirked and turned back around happy that balance had been restored. Everyone started talking about the game. It wasn’t long before Dylan was back with coffee. I took it from him smiling. “Ooh, best boyfriend ever!” He chuckled as he sat back down next to me.

  “Cream and sugar, I have more in my pocket if I didn’t add enough.” He offered.

  “Okay, that’s sexy as hell,” I admitted smiling. The girls actually laughed for once. Dylan just smiled at me as I took a sip. “Oh, that’s good.” Dylan reached over and wrapped his hand around the inside of my thigh, just after the bend in my knee. My stomach did a flip, and my body tingled as his thumb rubbed on my jeans. I peeked up at him; he was talking to Miles about something, I hadn’t heard. But as usual, he seemed not to realize he was touching me. I smiled to myself and took a drink of my coffee. It was a bit later when I slid my arm around his to rest my hand on his forearm when he realized it. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he looked down and went still finally noticing where his hand was. I gave his forearm a squeeze, telling him it was okay as the teams ran out onto the field. His hand squeezed my thigh back, sending my body into tingles again. It felt good. I was suddenly very glad that Jinn and Zeke were coming up to get photos done. They’d help me behave.

  The game started, and it wasn’t going so well for our team. Asher kept taking hits from the same linebacker on Northridge’s team. After a particularly nasty hit late in the second quarter, I noticed it. Every third play the offense made, one of Asher’s fullbacks would let someone slip through almost untouched.

  “Anyone else see that?” I asked the group. Dylan’s hand around my leg squeezed.

  “What the hit?” Dylan asked.

  “No, every third play number forty-eight lets the same fucking linebacker through,” I told him watching the next play get a first down.

  “You sure about that, Lexie?” Ethan asked. I gestured towards the game.

  “Watch him on the third play, I might be wrong, but I don’t think so,” I said still distracted. Everyone watched for it. And sure enough, on the third play, Asher went down hard. I winced.

  “Shit, she’s right,” Zeke said.

  “He’s relying too much on his full backs with him that deep in the pocket. He needs to fucking back out or have the fucker replaced.” I said still not really caring if I sounded like an overprotective crazy girl. Dylan’s hand on my thigh squeezed firmly.

  “Okay, now that is sexy as hell,” Dylan said with feeling. The guys burst out laughing. I looked at him and smiled. The clock ran down with only Northridge scoring. It was half-time. I pulled out my cellphone.

  “Will Asher check his phone at halftime?” I asked the guys.

  “No, they’ll be going over the next half,” Miles answered me. I cursed and got up. Dylan stood up too.

  “Whoa, Sunshine. What are you doing?” He asked, his eyes running over my face.

  “I’m gonna go fucking tell him.” I went to walk around him. He stopped me his hands on my shoulders.

  “How about I go tell him? That way you aren’t walking into the guys’ locker room.” Dylan offered.

  “Good point,” I admitted. “Tell him I said not to be the nice guy on this, this isn’t about winning a fucking game. It’s about keeping his ass out of the hospital.” Dylan smirked at me.

  “Got it.” Dylan turned and hurried down the aisle and towards the locker room. I was worried about Asher, but I admit I also took the opportunity to ogle my boyfriend’s butt. I smiled to myself as I sat down again. I felt eyes on me. I turned to find Trisha glaring at me. Oh, fuck off. I stopped myself from saying it, barely. This jealous, possessive thing she had was getting real fucking old.

  The guys all decided to make a snack run while it was half-time.

  “Zeke.” I looked up at him over my shoulder. “If you get me nachos, you can have nachos. And I’ll buy.” I smiled sweetly. He didn’t even hesitate.

  “Done.” I snickered as I pulled out my wallet and gave him a twenty. This food deal was working out great. I’d have those pounds back soon enough.

  “Can you also grab Dylan a large soda?�
�

  “Yeah.” Zeke agreed, then the guys disappeared into the crowd.

  “How do you eat like that and stay so thin?” Cece asked. I turned and looked up at her.

  “I work out with the guys at the MMA center three times a week for a few hours, and I have rock climbing lessons with Asher another three days a week.” I offered. “Plus, Zeke was really on my ass about my diet because of the whole seizure thing. I am starving for junk food.” Jinn laughed, and Faith smiled. Faith could smile; that was progress. Cece didn’t look like she believed me. I really didn’t care. But I did get an idea. I looked at Jinn. “Do you have any idea what to get Zeke for Christmas? Cause I’m drawing a blank.” Jinn thought about it and shook her head. I cursed.

  “You know what, we should go shopping together for him, two perspectives are better than one.” Jinn offered.

  “Done. Give me your phone number.” Jinn laughed as we exchanged phone numbers. The other girls were oddly quiet. I was about to turn around when I saw Faith and Trisha making faces at each other and tilting their heads towards me. I turned and pretended not to notice. There was a sigh.

  “Lexie, we’re all kind of drawing blanks on what to get the guys for Christmas.” Faith began. I turned around on the bench and looked at her. “I was wondering if you could help us out?” Was she fucking kidding? After the shit, they’ve been saying about me? I knew I was going to help but damn it. I sure as hell wasn’t giving them my ideas for presents, it took me long enough to come up with them.

  “Yeah, um.” I thought for a second over what I had heard over the last few weeks. “For Ethan, he was talking about stone guitar picks a couple of weeks ago. They’re supposed to make a different sound or something. And for Isaac…” I thought about it, and then I remembered his hand wraps were shit. “He needs new hand wraps, go with Meister hand wraps. He said they make the best.” I looked to Trisha who was waiting patiently. Fuck. “And Asher…” I smiled. “An advanced cooking techniques book. He’s been wanting to up his cooking but is having trouble with a few of the trickier techniques.” They all nodded.

  “Thanks.” Faith said. I gave them a smile.

  “No, problem.” I turned back around. Maybe now they would finally realize I wasn’t after their guys now. I could only hope. It wasn’t long before Dylan came back through the crowd. He came over to me and kissed my forehead.

  “Asher said to give you that,” Dylan announced before sitting down. “He also says ‘Thank you for saving my ass.’” I snorted. Dylan’s hand wrapped around the inside of my thigh again, just above my knee. This time I was sure he knew he was doing it, I went all tingly again. “He was too busy getting hit to notice the pattern.”

  “Are they taking the guy out?” I asked, I really wanted to know that fucker wasn’t out there anymore. Dylan nodded.

  “Yeah, Asher’s refusing to go on the field with him still on the line.” He smiled at me and gave my leg a squeeze. “But seriously, you talking football is sexy as hell.” I smiled as I wrapped my arm around his again.

  “I try.”

  “So, how long have you two been dating again?” Trisha’s voice came from behind us. We both looked over our shoulders at her.

  “Um, four days.” I offered after counting in my head.

  “Officially at least,” Dylan added. “We were already kind of dating for the last two months. We were both just waiting for the other one to make a move.” I smiled and looked at him; we had both been chicken shit.

  “Wow, you guys move fast,” Trisha said in a snide tone. “I mean, his hand is between your legs in public, Lexie. Isn’t that a little much?” Jinn cursed behind me. That was it. I was done. Dylan’s face went cold; I mouthed the words ‘I got this’ before looking back up at Trisha and her smug face.

  “First, his hand is on my knee. Second. I’ve known Dylan two months Trisha. And we’ve only kissed and cuddled a bit.” I met her eyes with my dead stare. “You’ve known Asher two weeks. I’ve seen you two making out on movie night, I’ve seen him grabbing your ass, and sneaking little gropes elsewhere.” I looked at her chest just to clarify. Her smirk disappeared as her face turned red. “A blanket only hides so much in a dark, crowded room. So, get off your fucking high horse.” Jinn burst out laughing as I turned back around to watch the halftime show. Dylan squeezed my thigh.

  “Okay, that, was really sexy.” He whispered out of the side of his mouth. I snickered and squeezed his arm back. I don’t know if she would have had a comeback or not because the guys came back with food. Zeke handed me a cardboard container of nachos. Zeke also handed Dylan a soda.

  “Thank you, Zeke,” I said smiling up at him.

  “No problem, Lexie.” Everyone started talking again, except Trisha. She remained strangely quiet. I didn’t really care, after tonight I was going to avoid her like the plague. It was getting harder and harder not to smack the shit out of her. I shared my nachos with Dylan, and he shared his soda with me as we watched the second half. Asher didn’t get hit nearly as much, but the damage had already been done. We lost. The crowd started moving, we all stayed put. We had to wait for Asher anyway. I told Zeke that Jinn and I were going shopping for his Christmas presents together and his face looked so pained I started laughing. When the crowd had thinned out enough, everyone got up and picked up their trash. We climbed down the stairs and threw it away on our way to wait for Asher near the gate.

  As we were waiting, Dylan wrapped his arm around my waist. I leaned back against him happily as we talked to the others. Asher was taking longer than usual today. I looked up at Dylan.

  “Hon, you can go ahead and head to your house. I just want to see that Asher’s okay before I leave.” I offered.

  “I didn’t drive today, a friend of a friend of mine was coming to the game, so I got a ride with him.” His husky voice was soft, making me smile.

  “Oh, that works.” Ethan looked at me a sly smile on his face.

  “Aren’t you driving us home?” Ethan asked, an eyebrow raised. Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell them.

  “Actually, no. You guys are going with Asher.” I answered. “I am going up to Dulcet to spend the day with Dylan and his friends before tonight.” Ethan gave me a look, a knowing look. I narrowed my eyes at him and stepped away from Dylan to smack him upside the head. “Bad Ethan!” I chided. The guys and Jinn laughed. Ethan just snickered.

  “Hey!” We all turned to see Asher walking towards us, freshly showered and in his usual clothes. He had his gear bag over his shoulder. Trisha smiled a big smile and hurried to him.

  “You did awesome, baby!” Trisha gushed before going on her toes to kiss him. I rolled my eyes.

  “Thanks honey, just give me a sec,” Asher said sweetly as she let go from hugging him. He dropped his bag and headed towards me. He looked at Dylan. “I’m hugging your girlfriend, man. Sorry, but I gotta.” Dylan chuckled and stepped back as Asher swooped me up in a big hug. My feet were off the ground, and my hands went to his shoulders as he squeezed me hard. “You so saved my ass, Ally girl.” His rich baritone rolled through my ears like hot chocolate.

  “Can’t...... breathe…” I gasped out dramatically. Asher laughed in my ear and loosed his hold a bit. I leaned back and looked down at him. “You trust your fullbacks way too much, get your ass out of the pocket once in a while.” The guys burst out laughing.

  “That’s what the coach was calling today.” He pointed out; he gave me another squeeze before putting me down. I eyed him. He looked okay for the beating he took today.

  “You feeling alright? You took a lot of hits.” I asked. He smiled down at me.

  “Football’s over, I’m happy,” Asher told me simply. I smiled back. That’s all I needed to hear. He went back to pick up his bag. I noticed Trisha glaring at me, her arms crossed over her chest. No one was looking so I gave her an ‘are you serious’ look and flipped her off. Dylan had a sudden coughing fit that covered his laughing. I stopped giving her the bird then looked to the others.

  �
�Okay, guys. I’ll see you Ethan at Vegabond around seven. Jinn and Zeke, we’ll see you soon.” I announced to the group. The guys said bye, so did Jinn. Dylan grabbed my hand, and we headed out to my truck. When we were out of earshot, Dylan started chuckling.

  “Sunshine, I love it when you tell her off,” Dylan said as we walked through the parking lot.

  “I’ve had it. I’ve been nice.” I began my voice showing how irritated I was. “They all asked what to get the guys for Christmas, and I gave them some damn good ideas. Right before you showed back up.”

  “It’s like any affection Asher shows you, she takes it personally.” He said. “Like it’s a slight against her.” I nodded.

  “And I’m sick of it.” I looked up at him. “After tonight, I’m done talking to Trisha. If she’s going to be somewhere, I’m not.” Dylan smiled down at me.

  “Well, that will give you more time to see me.” He pointed out cheerfully. I smiled.

  “Very true.” We reached my Blazer when a thought occurred. “You didn’t mind Asher hugging me, did you?” He snorted.

  “Sunshine, he was taking a beating out there.” He said simply. “If it bothered me I would have said so.” I went on my toes and gave him a quick soft kiss, then dropped back to my feet smiling.

  “That’s one of the things I really like about you,” I said, my voice going soft. His arms came around me, pulling me to him. His eyes were warm as they ran over my face.

  “So, what else do you really like about me?” He asked smirking. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned against him.

  “I really like your eyes, your laugh and...” I smirked and met his eyes. “You have a great ass.” He burst out laughing.

  “Just when I think you're going to be all romantic and shit, you say something like that.” He shook his head smiling down at me. I smirked up at him.

  “That’s me, the moment killer,” I admitted without shame. He leaned down and kissed me. My heart raced as his lips touched mine. It was a simple soft, chaste kiss. But I felt it all the way down to my toes. He pulled back and smiled at me.