by Amber Heart
“Are recruiters really watching him?” she asked Sophie when the crowd had managed to calm down.
Sophie shook her head with a laugh. “You really don’t keep up with anything but classes, do you?”
“Well...” Leigh said. “Okay, no. But I’m asking now.”
“Yeah,” Sophie said seriously. “They’ve been watching him for a while. This year especially. I think he could go pro anytime he wanted.”
Leigh smiled. “That’s really good to hear.” First of all, because he wanted it so badly. Second of all, because he obviously intended to graduate before he went pro. Pride welled up within her and she had to hide a smile. She didn’t want Sophie to know. Not yet.
The rest of the game flew by and she was surprised to find herself actually interested. The team was up by quite a lot, but she was almost holding her breath by the last quarter. When the Tigers were announced the winners, she stood and clapped again, joining in as the rest of the people in the stadium shouted happily.
The crowd milled about in cheerful chaos and a few girls Leigh knew from class called to Sophie. Sophie waved back and Leigh made her way down to the field while her friend was distracted. She doubted that she’d get to Dean, but maybe she could wave. She just wanted him to know that she had been there. That she’d seen him exceed everyone’s expectations. That she was proud of him.
As she got within sight of the field, a pretty redhead swept past her, moving confidently toward the players. Leigh thought absently that the girl must be seeing one of the other guys on the team. Then the redhead stepped up to Dean, threw her arms around him, and kissed him.
Leigh stopped in her tracks for just a split second. The girl was stretching up, her body curving sensually to Dean’s. They looked like they fit together. They were both remarkably attractive, both of them exuded confidence. She remembered the way the girl had moved through the crowd, expecting and accepting the way it parted for her.
Leigh spun around and worked her way back through the throng. This time she moved quickly, desperately. If he saw her now... She couldn't let that happen. Her eyes misted over as her throat tightened. Thank God she hadn’t said anything to Sophie. Or anyone else, for that matter.
By the time she managed to get home, she was sobbing and feeling like a complete idiot for doing it. She’d barely been able to see to drive home. As she opened her door, she was profoundly thankful that her roommate had gotten the last of her things the day before. She really didn’t want to run into anyone when she looked like this.
Leigh locked the front door and walked down the hall, trying to stop crying. They hadn’t even been together, for God’s sake! At least, not officially. But she couldn’t stop picturing it. And her heart wouldn’t stop hurting. And, overly dramatic or not, all she wanted to do was drop into her bed and cry herself sick.
She went into the bathroom and washed her face. A glance in the mirror set her off again. She would have bet her life that the redhead cried prettily. She, Leigh, did not. Her nose was as red as Rudolph’s. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut. And she’d produced more snot than she’d thought possible. It was the final straw.
Leigh went into her bedroom, closed the shades to plunge the room into darkness and stripped off her clothes. She pulled on her ratty yoga pants and an old sweatshirt, kicking her clothes in the direction of the hamper in the corner. Then she crawled into bed, pulled the covers up around her shoulders and cried. It hurt more than she’d thought possible.
She hadn’t known Dean that long. But it didn’t matter. She had completely fallen for him. Much too fast and much too hard. And now she was paying for it.
Leigh heard her phone ding with a text. Then another. Then another. Then a phone call. She pulled a pillow over her head. She didn’t want to hear it. It was either Dean telling her that they were through, or Dean not telling her they were through. After the kiss she’d seen, she didn’t want to hear either one.
****
Dean frowned at his phone the second time he got Everleigh’s voicemail. She’d promised to come to the game, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. As he searched through the crowd, he ran into a girl that he remembered seeing with Leigh on campus a few times.
“Hey there, star player!” the girl said with a smile.
Sophie. That was her name. “Hey,” he said. “Have you seen Ev...” He stopped and corrected himself. “Leigh? Did she make it?”
“She should be around here somewhere,” Sophie said. “We sat together. She was on the edge of her seat the whole time.”
Dean felt intensely relieved. “So she liked it?”
“Oh yeah.” Sophie laughed. “She didn’t take her eyes off of you.”
Dean couldn’t hold back a grin at that. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing!”
He hung around for a while, but eventually he had to go to the locker room and get cleaned up. Freshly showered and with no plans, he decided to drive out to Everleigh’s house. Maybe her phone had died. And then they’d just lost each other in the crowd.
Or maybe...something nagged at the back of his mind. No. There was no way. Everleigh wouldn’t have just let that go. She’d have marched up and given him a piece of her mind.
Her mustang was in the driveway and Dean hurried up the walk with a spring in his step. He knocked briskly. Nothing. He knocked again and then leaned around to look in the window. She wasn’t in the living room. He leaned the other way. Her bedroom curtains were drawn, so he couldn’t tell if she was in there or not. He knocked once more, but he still didn’t hear footsteps.
Dean sat down on the top step and pulled his phone from his pocket. Then he sent her the fourth text of the day.
“Everleigh? Is everything okay? I’m starting to worry.”
This time there was an answer. It wasn’t the one he wanted.
“Yes. Not feeling well. Congratulations on the win and I’ll talk to you later.”
He stared at the message, his heart sinking. The victory suddenly felt hollow without her there. Maybe he was reading too much into it. There was no way that she could have seen Kristen. Just no way.
“Hell, she’s got to see me sometime,” he muttered. “We’ve got this project to finish up.”
They’d done the interviews and they were about to enter writing and proofreading week. And he’d seen her in class tomorrow. He pushed himself up and got back into his car. He’d planned to spend the day with her. Suddenly all he wanted to do was go to bed.
Chapter 9
Leigh had been late to class. Dean knew because he’d been early. He’d hoped to catch her in the hallway before class. He had a feeling that she’d known that and avoided him on purpose. She’d never been late before.
After class, which he didn’t hear a word of, he jumped up and practically bolted out into the hall. She’d have no choice but to walk past him. He didn’t want to act like a stalker, but he damn sure wanted some answers.
Leigh raised her chin as she walked out into the hall. Dean beckoned for her to join him and she did, albeit stiffly.
She crossed her arms. “Yes?”
Dean frowned in confusion. From the tone of her voice, anyone would think that the past few weeks hadn’t happened. He pushed his hand through his hair.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“Come on, Everleigh. I thought...” he paused, completely out of his depth with a woman for the first time in his life. “I mean, we had plans yesterday--”
“I’m sure you weren’t lonely.” She winced. She hadn’t meant to say that. She hadn’t wanted to give away what she’d seen.
Dean bit his lower lip. “I’m guessing that you saw Kristen?”
“Oh, is that her name?” Leigh tried for a casual laugh, but her throat was too tight. “She looked nice.”
“Everleigh, I--”
She held up her hand, tears sparkling in her dark blue eyes. “Don’t, Dean. Please.”
All he wanted to do at t
he moment was pull her into his arms. He knew better though, so he stayed quiet. God, it was killing him that she was crying.
“It’s obvious that we’re two completely different people who want two completely different things,” she said after a moment.
“But we’re not!” Dean protested. “I want you!”
“But you kissed her.”
“I...” he sighed. “Look, would you let me explain?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want an explanation. You don’t owe me anything. Just leave me alone from now on.”
He swallowed hard. “Okay. What about the project?”
She gave a huff of a laugh. “I’ll finish it up. And I won’t say anything to Professor Kennedy. You did your fair share.”
Leigh turned and walked away, leaving him standing there. Dean watched her go. It felt way too familiar. Her walking away from him.
Was that it? Was he supposed to just watch her go? He took a deep breath. No. Not without a fight.
But what could he do? She’d already proven herself adept at ignoring his phone calls and texts. She’d successfully eluded him in class too. He wasn’t going to be the jackass who bothered her at work.
Dean walked absently across the quad. Then the solution hit him. He doubled back so quickly that he would have done his coach proud and jogged back to his dorm room.
He grabbed his laptop and opened his email. Everleigh had sent him the compilation just before the game. All their research and notes. It just needed to be put into paper form. Dean cracked his neck and got started.
“The things I do for you, Everleigh Rice,” he muttered, hoping with everything in him that it would work.
He barely glanced away from the monitor for the next seven hours. Dean ignored three invitations to parties, five shouts about football from people wandering the corridors, and several text messages from friends as he wrote and wrote.
Eventually he rubbed his eyes and saved the finished paper to a flash drive. Only two more steps. With a sigh of relief, he stood and stretched. Then he headed to the library to print the paper off.
When the final page had fallen into the tray, he gathered them together and carefully highlighted one sentence. Something from one the interviews Everleigh had done last week.
He paper clipped a note onto the stack of papers and headed for her house. This was his only shot and he knew it. With a deep breath, he pushed the paper into her mailbox and jogged away. He’d know in a few hours.
****
Leigh skipped class for the first time all semester the next day. She’d barely gotten any sleep the night before and she honestly didn’t need the class time. She walked out around noon and checked the mailbox. A stack of paper had been pushed inside.
With a frown, she pulled it out.
“A Study in Mental Health Practices in the Foster Care System” was typed in 12 point Times New Roman on the first page.
“What the hell?” she whispered, plucking the yellow post it note off of the front and seeing Dean’s spiky, messy penmanship.
“Everleigh. I really can explain. And I really do want to. I miss you. Dean.”
She flicked through the pages, still in shock. One yellow highlighted section jumped out at her.
“I think it would have been good to have someone to talk to,” the subject says. “It might have helped me with some of the issues I still struggle with...trust, mainly. Once you’ve been hurt by someone as important as a parent, it affects all of your other relationships if you’re not careful.”
Leigh stared at the section for several long seconds. Then she went into the house and called Dean. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey,” he said quickly. “Did you get--”
“Yes,” she said. “If you really want to explain, then come over.”
“I do,” Dean said eagerly. “Everleigh, I--”
“I’ll see you when you get here,” she said, disconnecting quickly.
She started to change into jeans and a tee shirt and then caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and decided to jump in the shower quickly first. She washed as fast as she could, but she was only halfway through drying her hair when she heard a knock at the door.
Leigh gathered her damp hair into a bun and hurried to the door. She took a deep breath before opening it. Dean stood on the other side, looking totally exhausted. He hadn’t shaved and his hair was sticking up in several places.
“Hi,” she said, stepping back to let him in.
“Hey.”
His voice was rough. She crossed her arms, doing her best to steel herself against the desire to lean against him.
“You said you could explain,” she reminded him.
“I can. I just...I don’t know how you’re going to feel about it,” he admitted.
“Were you cheating on her with me?” Leigh asked, finally voicing what she’d been afraid of.
“No,” Dean said firmly. “I’ve never cheated on anybody and I don’t plan to start now. Kristen and I...we had a casual thing.” He shrugged. “No commitments. Just...just sex. She didn’t know about you, that’s why she kissed me. Once I told her, she said she was sorry and she left.”
“Told her what?” Leigh asked.
Dean rubbed the back of his neck. “I told her that I was in love with somebody.”
She caught her breath. “We’re not even official.”
“Well, I was going to ask you after the game,” he said. “But that didn’t exactly work out.”
Leigh looked at him. “Are you being honest?”
Dean reached out, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “Baby, I’ve never lied to you. And I’m not going to. You’re the only one I want.”
“And you...” She could hardly believe it.
His gorgeous emerald eyes sparkled. “Yeah. I love you, Everleigh.”
She flung herself into his arms, pressing her face against his neck and breathing in the scent of him. She’d missed him so much.
“I love you too, Dean.”
“Have we known each other long enough yet?” he asked, trying to pretend like he wasn’t desperate for her answer.
She looked at him seriously for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded. “I think so.”
Dean caught his breath and Leigh’s heart skipped a beat. No one had ever looked that amazed at the thought of being with her. In a split second, he’d scooped her up into his arms and headed down the hallway.
“Which room is yours?” he asked.
She pointed at the door in front of them. “In there.”
He carried her in, kicked the door closed behind them, and dropped her to the bed. Then he closed the curtains, dropping the room into half-darkness. Leigh propped herself up on her elbows and looked up at him. Dean knelt on the bed beside her, dragging her up for another kiss. And another. And another.
She shivered when he groaned against her mouth. He caught the edge of her tee shirt and tugged upward. She did the same for him. Piece by piece, they undressed each other. His hands on her breasts, her fingers digging into his biceps. His tongue twined with hers, and her gasp as she felt his full length in her hand for the first time.
Dean pushed her back onto the bed again, following her down, bracing himself over her. Leigh took a deep breath, but he didn’t move forward, instead he kissed his way down her naked body. He flicked his tongue over her nipples wickedly slowly, until she arched up, feeling his shaft pulse against her stomach.
“Eager?” he asked.
She nodded. She wasn’t capable of speaking.
“Too bad.”
Dean moved down, swirling his tongue around her belly button as he cupped her heat in his palm. Leigh moaned, her head tossing on the pillow.
“Dean, I want you!” she gasped out.
“Good,” he said, his voice rumbling through her as he pressed kisses to her inner thigh. “Because I want you too.”
The first lick made her gasp. The second made her moan. By the third she was crying
out his name. Dean pressed first one finger and then another into her wetness as he continued to lap at her clit. When he began pumping them deeper and deeper, her back arched and she clenched the sheets in her fists.
“Oh God!”
Dean looked up for a split second. This was how he’d wanted to see her. Writhing in pleasure, lost to everything but what he was doing to her. It was worth every second of frustration. Everleigh was always beautiful. On the verge of coming on his fingers and his tongue, she was perfection.