Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series)

by Meghan Quinn

  “When we kick the Tiger’s asses tonight, will you go to the football house’s party afterwards with me?”

  Her free hand played with the collar of his shirt as she stared at him with her crystal blue eyes. It took all the energy in his body not to lean down and kiss her, even though they were already inches apart.

  “You want to go to the football house together? Won’t that be sending everyone a message if we show up together, possibly hand in hand?” She took that moment to stroke the back of his hand with her thumb. Her little touches all over his body sky rocketed his senses. He didn’t know how much more he could take.

  “That is a message I don’t mind sending. What about you?”

  Lexi ran her hand up his arm, as if she was secretly exploring his body. “I think it would be ok.”

  Jake wanted to skip down the hallway like a leprechaun because she agreed to accompany him to the party tonight. By her saying yes, she was giving him permission to claim her as his. He had never felt so amazing.

  “So you don’t mind people knowing we’re an item?”

  “Is that what we are? We only went out to dinner once you know.” She said with a smile.

  “Believe me. I want people to know we’re an item. I don’t need guys thinking you’re available. Sorry to say babe but you’re kind of attached to me now.”

  “Oh is that right? Is that so you can stare at me from the doorway of the weight room and not get caught?”

  Jake felt another rush of heat flow through his body. “I thought you didn’t know I was there.”

  “I’m a good actress.”

  Jake laughed and then changed the subject quickly. “I’m not sure if we settled this or not. Are you going to the party with me tonight?”

  Lexi acted like she was weighing her options. “I don’t know, Tom Hanks or football?” She held her hands out as if she was Lady Justice, balancing her scales. Jake went in for the kill and tickled her. Her hands flew to his chest to stop him. They were inches apart and the feel of her hands on his chest was like an addiction he didn’t think he could ever bounce. She slid her hands up his body and wrapped them around his neck. He placed both of his hands on either side of her head as he stared down at her gorgeous face.

  She spoke first. “Of course, I’ll go with you.” Her thumbs rubbed the back of his neck where her hands were. He leaned forward, even closer. He wanted to kiss her so badly but he wasn’t going to be the one who made the first move, he wanted her to take charge.

  The side door to the outside opened and Margo came into view. “Ugh, get a room.” Jake rested his forehead on Lexi’s in disappointment from Margo’s impeccable timing. He was so close, yet so far. “We have to get going Lex, see you in the locker room.” Lexi nodded toward Margo and then looked at Jake.

  “Well, I have to get going. Good luck tonight.”

  He smiled down at her. “Thanks.”

  She removed her hands and maneuvered out of his stance that pinned her against the wall. Jake let out an exasperated sigh as he turned around to face her. He leaned against the wall and let her take his hand in hers again.

  “Meet you outside by the half wall after the game? Or do you want to go separately?”

  “Oh we will be going together. By the fence sounds good. Have a good practice.”

  “I will, kick some ass Taylor.”

  She gave his hand one last rub with her thumb and took off down the hallway. He watched her walk away and admired her sweet little ass as it swayed back and forth.

  Jake ran both of his hands through his hair and leaned his head against the wall. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. He felt so close to Lexi, yet there was still a huge distance between them. He took a quick sip from the water fountain and then walked back to his locker room. When he got there he checked his phone to see what time it was and noticed he received a text message from Lexi. He smiled and read it as he thought about the little tradition they were starting with text messaging.

  Lexi: Good luck tonight big guy. I will be cheering for you from the fifty yard line. And don’t worry, you will get that kiss soon, maybe it will be your prize if you win.

  Jake smiled when he read her text message. If getting a kiss from Sexy Lexi wasn’t incentive enough to win a game, then he didn’t know what was.

  ***

  “Why are you so jittery?” Margo asked Lexi.

  Lexi didn’t know why she was so jittery tonight. She was nervous about the game because she wanted Jake to so desperately win. It was a huge rivalry game and she knew if the team lost tonight, the Tigers would never let them live it down. Now she knew how her parents felt when, that is when they cared, when they were watching her play. It was so nerve racking to be in the stands. If she had to admit it, she was also nervous about the party tonight. She was going to be seen publicly with Jake and that was a big deal. She was going to be measured up by every girl at the party and most likely deemed unworthy of Jake’s arm, something she wasn’t looking forward to.

  It would be the first time they went out together since their little date at Panera. They talked on the phone and text throughout the week but both of their busy schedules didn’t allow for them to make plans for any dates. Lexi looked forward to their phone calls at night because the sexy tone of Jake’s voice over the phone sent chills through her body, making for a very peaceful sleep.

  Instead of confessing her fears to Margo about her date, she just said, “Uh, just a little cold.”

  Margo looked Lexi up and down, just the way Lexi feared the girls at the party would do. “Maybe if you didn’t dress like a hooker you wouldn’t be so cold.”

  Lexi took offense to Margo’s comment. After practice, Lexi was able to take her time getting ready for tonight. She painted her nails and toenails, took a nice long shower, scrubbed every inch as well as made sure to shave everywhere on her body. Lotion was strategically slathered everywhere to give her skin a smooth glow just in case her body was touched by Jake. She curled her hair in long flowy waves that cascaded down her slender shoulders. She applied some make-up but kept it natural and dressed in her jean mini skirt, navy blue tank top to show off her school colors and put on a pair of her brown sandals. She was casual but cute she thought.

  “I don’t look like a hooker.”

  Margo laughed. “God you need to loosen up a bit Lex, can’t you take a joke?”

  Lexi rolled her eyes at her friend and then nudged Parker. “You’re not even watching the game. What are you looking around for?”

  “Sierra said she was coming to the game.”

  Lexi heard Margo make a disapproving tone but the unladylike noise fortunately didn’t reach Parker.

  Margo was more on edge lately and not as fun as usual, Lexi wondered if it had to do with Sierra. Lexi wasn’t stupid, she knew Margo had a giant crush on Parker and when she had her eyes set on something, Margo just had to have it. Parker was her new target and she wasn’t able to obtain him like she normally would any other man.

  “I thought you weren’t going to settle down with any girl this year.”

  “He’s not.” Margo said with an attitude. “They’re just fuck buddies.” Margo grabbed her purse and said, “I’m out of here. Clearly we’re going to win, we’re killing them. I’ll see you later. Have a good night with Jake.”

  Lexi grabbed her friend’s arm to prevent her from leaving. “Are you not coming to the party tonight?”

  “No, I have a date with one of the lacrosse guys.”

  “Shocker!” Parker said a little more snidely than expected.

  Margo rolled her eyes and left. What was that all about?

  “Why were you just rude to Margo?” Lexi asked concerned that she was so far gone on Jake that she failed to see things fall apart around her.

  Parker rolled out some kinks in his shoulders. “She’s been a bitch to me for weeks now and I have no clue why.”

  Men, they could be so clueless sometimes, Lexi thought. It wasn’t her place to blow up Mar
go’s spot especially since she hadn’t even confided in Lexi about her feelings so Lexi just had to play dumb.

  “Maybe she is going through a tough time, cut her some slack.”

  “I hope she uses protection. Who knows what kind of virus she could catch from those idiots. Doesn’t she realize they’re some of the grossest guys in the athletic department? The things they talk about make me feel ashamed to be a guy.”

  “She uses protection, don’t worry about that. Who would you like to see her with?”

  “Why do I care?”

  The Bears scored another touchdown. The score was not even close now. Lexi watched Jake chest bump with Mason in the air and then walk off the field together. He took his helmet off and put it on a helmet rest while he looked toward her direction. He smiled at her when they made eye contact. She smiled back, trying not to melt on the spot. Trying to act like a normal human, she turned her attention back to Parker.

  “It kind of seems like you do care if you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

  Parker ignored her. “Oh there’s Sierra, I’ll catch you later.”

  And just like that Lexi was left alone in the stands. Thankfully there were only a couple of minutes left in the game so she didn’t have to feel like a complete loser all by herself.

  Lexi pulled out her chapstick and applied a decent amount as she thought about the text she sent to Jake earlier in the day. If they won, she did say she would let him kiss her. And if she knew Jake like she thought she did, he would be cashing in on his prize the moment he saw her.

  She was just putting her chapstick back in her purse when she heard two girls behind her talking.

  “Are you going to the football house later tonight?” One of them asked.

  The other girl replied with a higher pitched voice that resembled Adelaide’s from Guys and Dolls the musical. “I wouldn’t miss it. I plan on congratulating Jake on his victory the only way I know how.”

  Lexi cringed, she had been so caught up in herself and Jake that she forgot there was a world outside of them, a world where women used to throw themselves at Jake and he used to happily accept their advances.

  “Not if I get to him first. Plus you already had a piece of him.”

  Lexi felt like throwing up. Jake had changed so much this semester that she almost forgot about his sordid past. It was hard to forget all the women he had relations with, all the drunk nights that he couldn’t even remember who he had been with. Was she really about to get involved with someone who she would randomly hear stories about that would tear her gut apart, like she was right now?

  “It was just a small piece, or should I say big piece.” Both the girls laughed as the horn buzzed for the end of the game. Lexi shot out of her seat and walked quickly in between cheering fans. She had to get out of there. She felt like she couldn’t breathe.

  Lexi made the brisk walk to the half wall where she was supposed to meet Jake. She sat down on the edge and thought about what she was going to do. Was she strong enough, brave enough to dabble in a possible relationship with a man who dabbled with almost every girl in the athletic department? Every time she was working out in the weight room or was at a party or in class she could risk running into someone who had possibly been with Jake. Then there was the fact that he was extremely experienced and she had only been with one other person.

  Not that she was ready to jump his bones right away. She would be putting that off for a while. She wasn’t going to give her entire body up to Jake until she knew for sure his intentions. She once gave her body to someone who didn’t appreciate her. She didn’t want to go down that road again. Given Jake’s track record, she was going to make him earn the privilege of sleeping with her, of owning her body.

  She felt like she was going to hyperventilate from thinking about what a risk it was for her to get involved with someone like Jake. She didn’t have the typical support system one usually received from their family so what if something did happen to her? What if Jake ended up breaking her heart? It wasn’t like Margo and Parker were there for her right now. They couldn’t look past their own noses to notice anyone else in the world.

  Worrying thoughts of Jake scattered through her mind as she waited for the man in question and she must have been thinking for quite some time because she almost didn’t notice the strong presence walking toward her. She looked up and saw Jake smiling as he got closer to where she was sitting. His hair was wet from a shower causing Lexi’s hand to want to run her hand through the wet strands. He was wearing jeans and a light blue polo shirt. He looked good, and he smelled good.

  “Hey babe, you look hot.” He straddled her against the half wall and placed both his hands on her waist. “What a game huh?” She had a hard time responding because all she could think about were the girls behind her planning their moves on Jake right in front of her. Jake was too in tune with her because he noticed her sour mood. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He said while lifting her chin so she had to look him in the eyes, his beautiful light green eyes.

  She shook her head. She felt so embarrassed to tell him, but if she was going to give their relationship a shot, which she didn’t think she could walk away from, she had to express her concerns.

  “I’m sorry, I’m being rude. You were amazing tonight.”

  “I don’t care about the game. What’s wrong Lex?”

  “I, uh, I don’t know if I can go to the party tonight.”

  “Why? I thought you wanted to.” He looked as if she just broke his heart, she felt terrible.

  “I do, it’s just. Ugh, at the game there were two girls behind me bragging about how they were going to approach you tonight, and you know, offer themselves up.”

  Jake laughed causing her to swat him in the chest. “It’s not funny.”

  He chuckled a little more before he answered her. “So since these girls said they were going to ‘offer themselves’ up to me.” He said while making quotation marks with his fingers, “Then I’m automatically going to sleep with them?”

  Well when he put it like that, he made her feel stupid. “It’s not just that Jake, almost every girl around here has a story about being with you and if you want this to work between us you have to think about how hard it’s going to be for me to hear all those different stories.”

  Jake pulled her in tight and wrapped his warmth around her. She rested her head on his chest and breathed in his scent. She reveled in the fact that he felt so safe, even with all the doubts in her head as to why being with him wouldn’t work, she still felt so safe with him, like he was home.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry that my idiotic past is going to haunt you. If I could take it back I would, but I can’t. You’re just going to have to trust me, trust that you’re the only girl I’m interested in. Can you do that? Can you put your faith in me?”

  She looked up at his pleading eyes and she thought about how, yes, she could trust him. Even though he treated women like crap in the past, she believed Jake and she believed his intentions were pure. She truly believed that he had changed…for the better.

  “Yes, I can trust you.”

  He squeezed her harder and kissed her on the head again. “You don’t know how happy that makes me feel.” He lifted her up so she was positioned better on the cement half wall making her almost face to face with him. “Now, I just have to tell you how hot you look tonight.”

  Lexi felt her skirt hike up to an almost inappropriate level but for some odd reason she didn’t care. She wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck and brought him in closer. He placed his hands on her hips once again, sending chills down her legs.

  “You look pretty good yourself. Now about that game, you really were amazing. You and Mason make such a good team.”

  “Thanks. I can’t tell you how great it feels to have you cheering me on in the stands. I haven’t had a little cheering section since my parents died. To have you there, watching, means the world to me.”

  Lexi heard about Jake
’s parents dying in a horrific car accident his freshman year, but never thought he would ever really talk about it, at least not so soon. She caressed his neck with her thumb and said, “I’m glad I was there to support you.”

  He changed the subject quickly. “So, you ready to go?”

  “Yes, but I need to do something before we go” Jake nodded and pulled away to let her down but she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him back in. She brought her lips to his and kissed him. At first she felt him stiffen up from her boldness but then he wrapped his arms around her and brought her in closer.

  Her entire body lit on fire and she felt her toes start to tingle. She slightly opened her mouth granting him more access into her mouth and he took advantage of it. He worked her lips until she didn’t think she could take it anymore without bursting with joy. He didn’t let up though, he kept diving in for more. Her hands found his chest while one of his hands was on the back of her neck and the other one was working dangerously up her leg. At that moment she decided to pull away.

  They both were breathing heavily and when she finally opened her eyes to look at him, his eye lids were heavy and he looked almost dazed. Lexi took her hand and brushed her thumb against his cheek. “Congratulations on your win big guy.” She hopped down from the half wall and started walking toward his Jeep.

  He finally caught up to her, twisted her around and caught her in his arms. He lifted her head up and kissed her again. This time he was more frantic, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. She matched his desperate need to be closer and wrapped her arms around him. She opened her lips allowing him to slip his tongue in hers and explore every surface of her mouth. A dull thud started to pound in her body and she could feel the excitement taking place all the way down to her toes. This was getting out of hand. If she didn’t stop him now she could foresee herself having an orgasm in the middle of the parking lot.

  She pulled away and swatted him on the arm. He rubbed the attacked spot and said, “What was that for?”