Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series)

by Meghan Quinn

  Lexi grabbed a pint of ice cream from her fridge and sat down on the couch to watch the game. Margo and Parker were both busy tonight so she was all by herself which she didn’t mind. Since she had been crowded by her mom for a while she enjoyed the peace and quiet. Margo actually was visiting her parents the past week which was good because that gave Lexi a full bed to herself while her mom had been visiting. Coach gave Margo a little break to go back home and gather herself after the horrible rumors that were spread about her.

  All hell broke loose when Coach approached the Lacrosse coach about his players’ careless way of treating one of her players. Needless to say the lacrosse guys got their asses handed to them and then the whole athletic department had to sit through a lecture about spreading rumors and bullying. Lexi felt like she was back in middle school but as long as Margo’s name was cleared, Lexi didn’t mind.

  She talked to Margo on the phone earlier to see how she was doing. It was refreshing because Margo sounded full of energy and ready to come back. Lexi was happy for her friend that she was bouncing back from the hell she was put through. Margo was bouncing back faster than Lexi thought she could if she was ever thrown into Margo’s situation.

  The Bears returned the ball to the forty yard line after the first kickoff, what a great start she thought. She settled into the couch and watched Jake work his magic. He was so fluid with his movements and bounced around in the pocket as if there weren’t three hundred pound men coming after him. Jake threw the ball to Mason for a gain of twenty. So close to the end zone, Lexi thought. They were going to score a touchdown within the first minute of the game. Lexi sat on pins and needles waiting to jump in celebration.

  Jake yelled out a play and then the ball was hiked. He fake handed it off to their running back and then looked for Mason in the end zone. All of a sudden it was like someone pressed the slow motion button on the remote. Jake had his back turned and his gaze fixed on his receivers instead of floating around like he usually did in the pocket. Out of the corner of the screen came a huge linebacker and Lexi just sat there and screamed when Jake was pummeled from behind and flattened to the ground. She could feel the impact of the hit as if she was the one eating grass instead of Jake. She sat on the edge of her seat while Jake laid motionless on the ground.

  Tears formed in her eyes as she shook her head in disbelief. He wasn’t getting up. Why wasn’t he getting up? The trainers went running up to Jake as the ref’s tried to clear the way and get the players out of the area so Jake could be properly tended to.

  A phone rang through the silence that was encompassing her apartment, startling her out of her negative thoughts. She looked down at the caller ID and saw that it was Margo. She picked up instantly knowing Margo would be the only one she would want to talk to at the current moment.

  “Hello?” She practically said in a whisper.

  “Are you watching the game?” Margo said in a panic.

  Lexi brushed away a tear that slid down her face. “Yes, how come he’s not getting up, Margo?”

  “I don’t know sweetie.”

  The insensitive reporters kept showing the collision in slow motion so Lexi got to continuously watch Jake’s head fly back in an odd way as he got hit from behind over and over again. Lexi thought she was going to throw up from the gruesome replays.

  “Can they please stop showing how he got hit!” Lexi shouted to nobody in particular.

  “Lex, he’s going to be ok, he is built like an ox.”

  “Yea and the guy who hit him is built like a steam train. Oh my God Margo, what if something serious happened to him? I could never forgive myself for how I treated him this past week.”

  “You can’t think like that.” They both watched in silence when the on-field stretcher and medics came out and started attending to him.

  The announcers started talking. “Wow, this could be a career ending injury. What do you think Bob?”

  “Well Mike, I couldn’t agree more, a hit like that when you’re caught off guard isn’t easy to recover from, especially since he hasn’t moved since he landed on the ground. We might have just watched Jake Taylor’s last play on the football field. Let’s take a break, we will be right back.”

  Lexi was crying as she barely held the phone to her ear. She heard Margo from a far distance talking to her. “Don’t you listen to them Lexi, those guys will say pretty much anything. Jake is going to be just fine.”

  “I have to go, Margo. I’m going to try to contact him. At least let him know I’m watching and I care about him.”

  “Good idea. Please let me know if you need anything.”

  “I will.” Lexi hung up the phone and pulled up her text messages she clicked on a one she recently sent to Jake and started typing frantically.

  Lexi: I know you can’t look at your phone right now, but I just want you to know I was watching the game and you are going to be ok, I just know it. Hang in there big guy.

  She knew he wouldn’t get the message for a while but as she sent the message to him it felt like she was silently communicating to him. She sat on her couch and waited for the commercials to end as she rocked back and forth, hoping and praying that Jake was going to be ok. She couldn’t imagine if his career was over, he was so brilliant on the field it would be such a waste.

  Graphics for the game came back on and the announcers started talking.

  “If you just missed the last five minutes of the game, here is a replay of what happened.” They showed the clip again and Lexi cringed as Jake once again fell to the ground. “We are getting news from the locker room now that Jake Taylor, is in fact…” The announcer pressed on his ear, probably trying to hear whatever the little guy in his ear was trying to say. “Yes, he is awake now in the locker room and most likely suffering from a concussion. He is moving around…”

  That was all Lexi needed to hear, he was moving around. She cried into her hands as they held her head up. She was so grateful that he was ok. She tuned out the rest of the game as their backup quarterback took over and threw a handful of interceptions costing the Bears their first loss of the season. Lexi didn’t care though, all she cared about was that Jake was going to be ok.

  She spent the rest of the night waiting by her phone, waiting to hear something from him, any kind of information that he was doing alright, but she never heard a word. She decided that she was going to meet him in front of the events center when their bus returned from the airport. She wanted to see him more than anything and as soon as possible.

  ***

  Jake rolled his head to the side and cringed, he was sore as hell thanks to the semi-truck that hit him from behind on the field. Not to mention the bus beds weren’t the most comfortable bed he had ever stayed on, thankfully it was a semi-short trip from the airport. Jake replayed the moment he got hit over and over in his head. He had been thinking about Lexi, not about what was going on around him which cost his team the game. He never let his personal life creep into his game before but he did this time and he got burned because of it.

  He could easily blame Lexi since she had been so evasive the whole week but he didn’t. He was the one who brought his problems on the field and that was ultimately why he got hurt. The doctor in the locker room kept telling him how lucky he was that he walked away with just a concussion. His first ever concussion. He didn’t care for it too much. He didn’t think he was going to get any concussions until he was at least in the pros but now he could add one to his football resume.

  He swore at himself for losing focus during the game. He would never let that happen again. James, one of his linebackers, felt awful for not defending the steam engine that charged at Jake but Jake knew it wasn’t fully James’ fault. It was a combination of everything, especially a lack of focus. Jake was supposed to relax the rest of the week and do some easy workouts if he wanted to play in next week’s game, which Jake was determined to do. He was livid that the team lost. He was going for a perfect season and that wasn’t going to happen now.<
br />
  Mason came up to Jake’s bed. “You feeling better man?”

  Jake rubbed his neck. “Yea just a little sore, that’s all.”

  “Why don’t you get out of that bed we are about five minutes from campus, you should stretch out a bit.”

  Jake agreed with Mason, gathered his stuff and got out of the bed to head to the front of the bus. The guys gave him the night to recover from the injury but after that they started ribbing him for having a concussion. Jake knew it was all in good fun but he had the hardest time laughing along with his teammates.

  “What are you doing tonight?” Mason asked.

  “I don’t know. Hopefully Lexi will want to hang out. I haven’t talked to her since the hit.”

  “Why not?” Mason said looking worried. “Everything ok between you two?”

  “I don’t really know. I wanted to talk to her, she was the first person I thought about but I didn’t want her pity. I got a text from her after I got hit saying I was going to be ok but I can’t help but wonder if it was a pity text. She’s been so weird lately. I guess I just wanted to see her reaction when I got back into town. I didn’t want to hear it on the phone. Does that make sense?”

  “I guess so. Go to her place when we get back and don’t take no for an answer.”

  “I don’t think that is going to happen.” One of the freshmen piped up from the front of the bus.

  Jake and Mason both looked at him as if he had lost his mind. “Excuse me?” Jake said.

  The freshman pointed toward the events center and said, “Looks like Lexi has moved on, man.”

  Jake and Mason scrambled to the front of the bus to see what the idiot was talking about. When Jake focused in on what he was pointing at, Jake almost fell to the floor. Standing in front of the event’s center was Lexi wrapped up in Parker’s arm and he was kissing her head.

  “What the fuck?” Jake yelled.

  Mason put his hand on his shoulder. “Dude, calm down, they’re just friends. You know that.”

  Jake did know that but with everything that had been going on between them and the way Parker was holding her made Jake think something was going on. His teammates decided to continue the ribbing from earlier and started to push his buttons even further.

  “Looks like you can’t hold a woman down, Taylor.”

  “Can’t blame her, I would have dumped his sorry ass after getting scared like that too.”

  “Parker is the man!”

  Jake turned to Mason for support but Mason just shrugged his shoulders as if Jake was on his own. Good friend he was. Jake peered out the window again and saw Lexi spot the bus. She shook Parker off quickly and watched him walk away. Nothing was going on Jake’s ass. She was busted and he was going to make sure she knew it. Jake turned to Mason.

  “Can you take care of my gear for me?”

  “Jake, don’t do it.”

  Jake got in Mason’s face. “I didn’t ask for your fucking opinion just take care of my damn gear please.”

  Mason held his hands up in defense. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  Jake was seething mad and could feel his body tense up more than it was before as the bus got closer and closer to its designated spot. He tried to calm himself but once the bus stopped and the doors flew open, he jumped off the bus and headed straight toward Lexi who now moved to her car and was standing in front of it waiting for him.

  She held her arms open. “Hey, there you are…What’s wrong?” She said with a confused expression. Jake grabbed her by the shoulder and moved her to the side of her car so they had a little bit of privacy. She ripped her arm way from his grasp. “Ouch Jake, that hurt.”

  “What the fuck was that all about?”

  She searched his eyes, as if she didn’t know what he was talking about but he wasn’t going to fall for it.

  “What was what about?”

  He got inches from her face and pushed her up against the car. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Is Parker the reason why you neglected to be with me this past week?”

  She tried to push him away but he didn’t budge. “Jake, you’re scaring me.”

  “Just tell me the truth.”

  “About what?”

  He pushed her against the car again, not realizing that he might be hurting her, he was just so mad, mad about the game, mad about her neglecting him, about the guys on the bus.

  “Don’t fuck with me Lexi, are you fucking Parker behind my back?”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock and she slapped him across the face sending a sting through his head. He grabbed her wrists and put them by her side. She squirmed telling him to let go but he wouldn’t.

  “What’s going on over here?” Jake’s coach stepped in. Jake backed off of Lexi just enough so she could give him a swift kick to the shin.

  “Son of a bitch!” He screamed while clenching his leg.

  Lexi shouted over to his coach. “Control your men coach.” She got in her car and drove off, leaving Jake in the parking lot, hobbling on one leg.

  “Taylor, what the hell has gotten into you? I told you not to fuck around with that girl, she is too good for you. You better treat her with respect next time I see you two together or I will make it my personal mission that you never see a minute of playing time in the pros. Do you hear me?”

  Jake shook his head and said, “Yes, Sir.”

  His coach walked off and Jake hobbled over to Mason’s car to wait for a ride. He was going straight to Lexi’s, thankfully he had her emergency key so he could get in what he knew was going to be a locked door.

  ***

  Flinging herself on her bed, Lexi buried her head in the pillow and started crying like a fool. Did Jake really think she was cheating on him with Parker? Jake knew Parker and her were close, he accepted that, so why now? Why the questioning? Lexi shifted in bed and felt the rough lace lingerie she was wearing rub against her body.

  She planned on picking Jake up after he got off the bus and take him back to her place to finally let him fully have her, mind, body and soul. To think that she was going to finally have sex with that Neanderthal. He treated her just like her dad would have treated her mom, well maybe in a more subdued way but still it scared the hell out of her.

  Why did he freak out so much? She ran into Parker when she was waiting for the bus. He asked how her mom was and how Jake was doing after his big hit. Parker was just leaving and giving her a hug good bye when the bus pulled up. He was going out with Sierra which was another thing. Jake knew Parker and Sierra were an item so what would possess him to think Parker and her were together?

  Was that why he never contacted her yesterday after his injury? She couldn’t believe he never text her or called her, especially after her trying to contact him for hours. She for sure thought she would hear from him, at least this morning to let her know he would be home soon. It hurt that he didn’t contact her, more than she thought it would hurt. Even though he caused her pain, she still wanted to make up with him and reconnect with him in a way they hadn’t yet, hence the lacey lingerie.

  Lexi sat up in her bed and decided to get into her pajamas because she had no use for the uncomfortable lingerie anymore. She pulled off her t-shirt and jeans and put them in her hamper. She was about to take off the lacy push up bra that extended a little past her rib cage that opened in the front when she heard her front door slam. She froze in her tracks. Margo wasn’t due back until Monday so that meant only one thing.

  Jake.

  ***

  Jake tore through Lexi’s apartment and headed straight for her bedroom, he stopped abruptly when he saw what she was wearing. She had on black lingerie, the top was something he had never seen before and she was wearing what Jake could only imagine was a lace thong since the fabric was so small and dainty. He felt all the blood rush to his groin even though he was seething mad at her.

  Then a thought occurred to him, why was she wearing such an outfit? It sure as hell wasn’t for him since she
wasn’t ready to have sex with him, but it currently looked like she was ready to have sex with someone. He felt his fists curl at his sides and his breathing grew heavy from the thought of another guy seeing Lexi in her current get-up. He watched her put her hands on her hips as if what she was wearing wasn’t the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Her stomach rippled with muscles and her toned legs were completely bare, giving Jake a mouth-watering view. She lifted her chin at him in defiance.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Why the hell are you wearing that?” He pointed at her outfit while ignoring her question.

  Lexi looked down at herself and then answered, “That’s none of your business.”

  “To hell it’s not. Last time I checked you were my girlfriend and I have the right to know why the fuck you’re wearing…that.” He said while pointing up and down at her body.

  “Oh, is that right? Then how come you didn’t give your girlfriend the courtesy of letting her know you were ok yesterday?” Her voice caught in her throat. He couldn’t deal with her right now if she decided to cry. When she cried it completely tore apart his touch exterior and broke him down to absolute mush.

  “Oh, you mean you actually wanted to know how I was? You didn’t have other things to do? You weren’t too busy to care?”

  “How dare you.” She said while charging toward him. She pushed his chest but he stood still, not budging an inch. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me…out of spite.”

  “It wasn’t out of spite.”

  “Yea, right. You’re a fucking bastard. I was worried sick about you, wondering if you were going to be able to walk and instead of easing my worry you decided to use that moment to get back at me? What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that?” A tear ran down her face but she quickly wiped it away.