“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I moved and sat on the edge of the bed.
“No,” he sat beside me. “I don’t. In fact…you’re the only one that I’ve ever brought in here.”
“Yeah, right,” I groaned as I flopped backwards and covered my eyes. “I don’t believe that for a minute.”
“It’s true. We’ve always gone somewhere else. Their place, my truck, a hotel, never here,” he shrugged, flopped back beside me, and then rolled onto his side so he could face me. “This space is special to me. I didn’t want to be with just anybody in here,” he reached for my wrist and pulled my hand from over my eyes. “You mean something to me, Leah. You’re the first one I’ve wanted in here. You’re the last one I want in here. Can’t you see that? Can’t you see that you’re special?” His eyes begged me to answer him in the affirmative, but all I kept thinking about was the fact that he gave up his future for me and I was going to have to make the same decision in a mere seven months.
In that short time, I was going to get offers for college. I was going to have scouts calling me, wanting me, begging me to come to them. It was what I’d been waiting for my entire life, and I was going to have to choose. Nick and I had talked about this, but I don’t think he understood what he was doing to me. I was going to tell them yes. I was planning to leave Pittsford, and go to college. I couldn’t do what Nick had done. I couldn’t throw away my future on a high school romance. I only hoped that he understood that and followed me.
“What’s going on in there?” He tapped my forehead.
“Nothing,” I whispered.
Before I could continue, he leaned down and brushed his lips across mine. The heat that had simmered down, roared back to life as he moved us to the center of the bed. His body quickly covered mine as one of my legs lifted to wrap around his hips. He groaned and pressed the erection that was straining inside his jeans against me. I could feel his fingers as they started at my knee and began working their way up to my thigh. His grip was firm, but gentle.
“I love you so much,” he panted as he broke the kiss and licked along my jaw.
“I love you, too,” I squirmed under him. This felt different, being here in his bed. He was different…the way he touched me…so reverently. We were so lost in the moment that we didn’t hear the footsteps in the hallway until it was too late.
“We need to go!” Avery’s voice rushed into the room as the door flew open.
All at once, I shoved Nick off and sprung to a sitting position. Avery’s face broke into a huge grin as she watched the scene unfold.
“My bad,” she giggled as Cam chuckled, “Shit, dude.”
I turned my head to see Nick holding a pillow over his lap to hide his obvious hard- on. “Why didn’t you lock the door?”
“I didn’t think I needed to,” he growled at his brother.
Cam shrugged as he kept smirking at us. “Dude, it has a lock for a reason,” he lifted a shoulder.
“The door was closed, fucker,” Nick huffed.
“Um…well,” Avery stammered. “I’m heading out. You coming?” she motioned to me.
“Yeah,” I sighed and then looked at Nick. “I’m coming.”
His face fell as he watched me stand. The mood had been broken between us and staying was only going to make it more awkward. “I’ll see you in the morning before school?” I leaned in and pressed a light kiss to his cheek.
“Sure,” his shoulders fell. I knew he wanted me to stay, his body was screaming for release after all, but I just couldn’t. I had too much tumbling around in my head at the moment. As much as I didn’t like Avery’s little interruption, I was now thankful for it. It gave me the escape that my brain was asking for.
“Well, we’re outta here,” Avery waved. “You better take care of that,” she pointed at Nick’s lap as she let me precede her through the door.
“Payback’s a bitch,” Nick growled.
“We’ll see,” Avery giggled as she followed me down the hall and out the front the door.
As we climbed into her car, Avery smiled softly. Something had changed in her tonight. The look on her face was different. I didn’t know what had happened between she and Cam while Nick and I were in his room, but I hoped that they worked something out. Seeing my two best friends fighting and miserable was not the way I wanted to spend my senior year. I wanted us happy and carefree the way senior year was supposed to be. We had plenty of time to be stressed out. Real life would be here soon enough. I wanted to live in the fantasy world as long as possible, especially if Nick was there with me.
Chapter 16
Leah
Track season! I thought it would never get here. School has been dragging by for months. Avery and Cam called a truce to their arguing and it’s made things a little easier at school, but Nick has been working like crazy. He says he has a surprise that he’s working on, but won’t give me any hints. I’m almost afraid to ask. He’s been so tight lipped that even Cam doesn’t know what it is.
We were planning to go out tonight after the meet, but I’m not really feeling the whole ‘date’ thing. I’d honestly rather go to the meet then escape somewhere. I’ve been so absorbed with training and studying that all I really want to do is veg out. When I told Nick about my desire to stay in, he said he’d plan something nice for us. Other than the meet this afternoon, I don’t have any idea what’s in store for me. I’ve learned throughout our relationship not to question him because I’m always wrong.
“What’s up?” Cam stared down at me as he leaned against my locker. We were getting ready to head to our last class of day, Gym.
“Nothing,” I muttered as I shoved some books in my locker and grabbed my gym bag.
“Something’s up,” he grinned. “I know you, and you’re worried about something,” he pushed off the locker and crossed his arms over his chest. “Is it about today? You’re going to do fine.”
“What’s your brother up to?” I sighed. “He won’t tell me and I’m worried about what it might be.”
Cam scratched his head, “What are you talking about? Tonight?” He paused as a smirk slipped into place, “I’d say a hotel might be involved after what happened at our house the last time.”
“Well,” I shook my head “true, but that’s not what I meant. I wanna know what this big secret is. He’s hung up on me when we’re on the phone, he’s changes the subject whenever we’re out and someone tries to talk to him, and just the other day he cancelled a date in favor of working. What’s he hiding?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is…he’s hiding it from me, too,” Cam shrugged. “Stop worrying. I promise; my brother loves you. Whatever it is, it can’t be bad.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust him,” I began walking toward the locker rooms “it’s that he’s hiding something from me. What if it changes things?”
“Like what?” Cam’s forehead wrinkled as he stared at me.
“He keeps talking about the future. What if he’s planning something and not thinking about my future. I don’t plan to be around here much longer. I’ve always wanted out,” I tossed my hands in the air. “I don’t think he gets that.”
“Relax,” Cam grumbled. “You’re making this much more than I’m sure it is. Talk to him if you’re so worried.”
“I’m going to, if he’ll stop avoiding me,” I groaned.
ooooooooo
“Hey, you ready for this?” Coach Wilson smiled as he stood beside me.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” I popped my neck and began bouncing on my toes. My heat was up next, and as much as I knew I could win this, I also knew that I needed to beat my personal record. Winning didn’t mean anything if my times didn’t improve.
“Let’s try to break that 1.01 time today,” he grinned at me. “I called a few scouts for you. You show them what I’m talking about and they’ll tell their friends.”
“Scouts? Today? Why am I just now finding out about this?” I panicked. Coach always let me know
ahead of time if someone was coming. Lately though, he’d been very secretive.
“I knew you’d get like this,” he shook his head. “Relax. You’ve got this,” he patted my shoulder. “Go out there, do your best, and show them why everyone wants you at their school.”
“Yeah…ok,” I tightened my ponytail and bounced once more as I heard the officials calling my heat to the starting line. As I adjusted the blocks, I could hear Nick whistling from the stands. He was always my biggest supporter and never missed a meet. You would think with all the screaming that I wouldn’t be able to hear who was cheering, but I could. My dad, mom, Avery, and Nick always sat near the bottom of the bleachers and were always the loudest. I learned to tune out the rest of the fans.
As the official on the track raised the starting gun, I crouched down and put my feet in position. I’d been using blocks since middle school and had my start down to an art. I rocked in place a few times, making sure the grip was right, but settled into place as the starter’s free hand rose. While the screaming around me rose a few notches, the other runners and I were frozen in place. This was the most nerve-wracking part, the waiting. You can’t move once you’re here, or you are disqualified. I’d learned this early on when I fell out of position. Now, I learned to squeeze my leg muscles to help hold me in place.
Just as my eyes made contact with the starter, I heard it. “Pop!” The gun fired and I shoved forward off the blocks. I had the inside lane, so with a staggered start I was at the back. This had never bothered me, but today, I actually had some competition. We were running against a district that we usually didn’t compete against. Their coach had requested the meet and Coach Wilson had agreed.
As I surged forward around the track, I began closing the gap between each runner and me. Adrenaline rushed through me as the wind beat against my face. This was it. I was in my element, and as much work as it took, it was all worth it for this moment. Thoughts of the scouts, Nick’s secrets, and the pressures I’d been putting on myself all slipped away. In my head, I was alone. Just me, running the through Pittsford, lost in my thoughts.
The crowd roared as we rounded the final turn, only 100 meters from the finish line. I was practically side-by-side with the girl in the next lane, but as we passed the stands, I turned up the heat and crossed the finish line first. I knew the moment I saw Coach’s face that I’d had a good run. What I didn’t know was how good.
“Leah!” he beamed. “That was…” he shook his head as he jogged over to where I was pacing, trying to catch my breath. “You’re going to go wherever you want to with a time like this,” he shoved the stopwatch in front of me.
‘Fifty-seven seconds’ was frozen in block numbers. “Are you sure that’s right?” I panted. “I’ve never done that before,” I leaned forward and placed my hands on my knees as I let everything sink in.
“Yeah,” he nodded, and then motioned to someone who was standing not too far away “and this guy is going to prove it.”
The man came over and smiled at me. “Hi,” he reached out to shake my hand. “My name’s Tom Stallings.”
“Nice to meet you,” I shook his hand and smiled. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d heard it.
“I’m a scout,” he continued as if he could read the confusion on my face. “I’ve been following you for a little while and I like what I see. I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be keeping an eye on you this season. I’ll attend several meets and make sure that this time wasn’t a fluke. I’d love to have someone like you run for me.”
“Thanks,” I smiled at him and could feel my face heat. This was the first time that I’d had a scout want to talk to me personally. “I’ll do my best, Sir.”
“That’s what I’m hoping,” he grinned. “Well, I’ll let you get back to your teammates. I’ll be around in the future. Good luck, Leah. You’re a hot commodity right now. I hope to be able to work something out with you.”
“Thank you, Sir. Me, too,” I turned to make my way back over to where the rest of the team was sitting, all the while wracking my brain trying to figure out where I knew that name from. I knew Nick had been an athlete. Maybe he’d know. I could ask him later on when we hang out. I couldn’t wait to tell him about the conversation, I just hoped that he was just as excited as I was.
ooooooooo
When the meet ended, my parents, along with several other random people, came over to congratulate me. I was used to this at this point. Most of the time, I was the last person to leave the track. Everyone wanted a piece of me and sometimes it was a hard pill to swallow.
“You did great, honey. I’m so proud of you,” my mom wrapped me a hug as my dad squeezed my shoulder.
“Thanks,” I grinned at them.
I looked around, but didn’t see Nick. “Where’s Nick?”
“He said to tell you he’d meet you at his truck,” Avery shrugged. “Something about tonight?”
“Oh, ok,” my smile faltered slightly, but I slipped it back in place as I shrugged out of my parent’s embrace. “I’ll see you guys later, all right?”
“Have fun,” my dad chuckled. “Tell Mr. Sutter not to keep you out too late.”
“Sure thing, Dad. I’ll be home regular time,” I laughed as I slung my team bag up on my shoulder and began walking toward the parking lot.
When I rounded the stadium, Nick was standing there leaning against the side of his truck. He had a huge smile on his face, and his eyes lit up when he saw me. “Come here, Number 1,” he opened his arms, beckoning me into them. I laughed as I began jogging towards him and fell into his embrace.
“Number 1, huh? No more Golden Girl?” I teased.
“How ‘bout ‘Mine’? I like that name the best,” he smirked as he leaned in to kiss me.
“I like that the best, too,” I agreed. “What are we doing tonight?” I glanced around at the empty parking lot. Nick had parked on the far end, but even the cars that were there for the meet were now gone.
“You got a change of clothes in there?” he pointed to the bag on my shoulder.
“I’ve got what I wore to school,” I giggled.
“I’ve got something I want to show you tonight, but let’s go to my house first. You can shower and then we’ll go,” he smirked. “My mom’s not home tonight, and Cam said something about meeting up with Sarah after the meet.”
“Again?” I shook my head. “What’s he see in her?” I grumbled as I thought about the possibility of Avery seeing them leave together.
“An easy lay,” Nick groaned. “He’s playing with fire. Just wait. She’s gonna burn him. I don’t know when, but she will eventually.”
“Yeah, and while he’s having fun with her, he’s burning bridges with others,” I rolled my eyes as I climbed into the passenger side of the truck. “Let’s go. I feel gross and I want to get out of these sweaty clothes.
“Your wish is my command,” Nick teased as he cranked the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
ooooooooo
After cleaning up twice, Nick had decided that I needed two showers, one with him and one alone, we were finally leaving the house. I had been bugging him the entire evening trying to get whatever the secret he had out of him. He was so tight lipped; it was cute.
“Just tell me, please?” I reached across the center of the seat and gripped his thigh through his jeans.
“Leah,” he warned. “That’s not gonna work.”
“Please?” I stuck my lip out and reached for the buckle on my seatbelt.
“What are you…” he swallowed when my hand left his thigh and began to rub against the hard ridge in his pants.
I slid my body flush with his and craned my neck so I could nibble on his ear lobe, “Please?” I tried again as my fingers tightened their hold and I felt him grow.
“Leah?” His voice was strained and the truck swerved as he tried to hold himself together. “We’re gonna have an accident if you don’t stop.”
“Just tell
me,” I giggled as I peppered kisses up his neck all the while working him over with my hand. When I went to loosen his belt, he snapped.
“Aww, hell!” He growled as he pulled off the side of the road. He threw the truck in park, ripped his seatbelt off, and shoved me back as he covered my body and ground his hips into mine. “You fucking drive me nuts!” he panted against me. “I can’t do a damn thing when you’re around.”
“Where are we?” I broke the kiss.
“Nobody’s gonna see. I promise. It’s dark,” he whispered as he worked to get my shorts off. This was a first for us. We’d never been this crazed and desperate for one another.
“Nick?” I skimmed my fingers down his chest, feeling the muscles bunch as he shoved his jeans over his hips. He fumbled for minute as he searched his pocket for a condom. After quickly rolling it on, he leaned down and pressed his mouth against mine in a searing kiss, and with one forceful roll of his hips, he entered me.
“Shit!” he gasped. “You feel so good. Are you ok?” he peered down at me from where he was frozen in place.
I nodded quickly. I’d never seen him like this. It was almost as if he was possessed. His eyes were dark with lust and his entire body was tight with tension. He pulled back slightly right before his hips surged forward again.
“So…tight…shit!” His words were jumbled and I watched in wonder as he fell apart. We were lost in each other and it still amazed me that he could make me feel this way. I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but sex with Nick was like nothing I ever dreamed. I knew that he was perfect for me just by the way he could play my body. I didn’t even have to try and it would yield to him.
We laid there for a few moments as both of us came back to Earth. “I’m sorry,” Nick cringed as he pulled back and began righting his clothes.
Destined Page 14