Keeping Her (The Lexington Series Book 2)

by Belle Winters

  “Hey baby.” He whispered.

  I smiled and turned in his arms. “Hey there.” I told him and pecked him on the lips.

  He stepped back and brought up his hand which was holding a bunch of different color roses. My eyebrows shot up to my forehead. “What’s this?” I asked.

  He shrugged and looked around uncomfortably, “I don’t know. I mean I know girls like this stuff and well I wanted to make you smile.” He finished.

  That earned him a full blown genuine smile. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. He pulled me flush against him and I could feel him beginning to get hard. I pulled back and shook my head. “Cooking Landon.” I scolded and then signaled towards Max. He looked back and sighed.

  “Oops.” Was all he said and I shook my head. Nick decided that was the time to come into the kitchen.

  “What is all of this?” he asked.

  I held up the flowers. “Landon got me flowers.” I told him.

  He let out a girly squeal, “aren’t you two all domesticated these days?” he asked. And truth be told that is kind of how it was.

  NICK

  Christmas came up fast it was only a couple of days away. At James insistence, we would be celebrating this year here at our new home. Erica and Mel would be arriving today and then James, Sam, and Mel’s parents will get here tomorrow. We’re going to have a full house. We decorated the place a few weeks ago at Max’s insistence. I couldn’t wait to see Mel. This whole long distance thing is a hell of a lot harder than I thought. The longing is hard to deal with. When I speak to Mel I could see the same sadness that I feel. We pretty much just started, and we’ve got years ahead of us. Don’t get me wrong, I want this. I want her but the fact of the matter is the whole situation is taking its toll on me. I don’t want to see anyone else… I don’t even notice other chicks. We’re only going to be spending a quarter of the year actually together the next few years but I cared too much about her to let go. It was well worth the wait and the effort knowing that once we got through this we would have the rest of our lives.

  I shook my head to clear my thoughts. She was going to be here and there was no need for the depressing feelings right now. I wanted to enjoy her, not wallow in my self-pity. I can’t wait to get my damn hands on her that’s for sure. I sped to the airport anxious to see her. I waited by the baggage claim for them and I saw her red hair through the crowd and my heart sped up. I’d know her anywhere. She saw me and broke out into a huge grin. I opened my arms for her and without missing a beat she took off towards me and jumped into my arms wrapping herself around me. I breathed her in, god she felt like heaven. I leaned my head back so I could kiss her. She gripped my hair and kissed me savagely. Her kiss mirrored the hunger I felt inside. I started to swell and had to slow down. This would have to wait until we get home. Damn her seeing Lucy, she could wait until I had my fill which might take a few days. I lowered her to the floor letting her slide down my body.

  “Hey sweet cheeks.” I said with a grin.

  “Hey yourself Nick.” She replied with a goofy smile.

  I heard a throat clear and I looked to the side to see Erica watching with a huge smile on her face. I pulled her into a bear hug and spun her around. I placed a kiss to her temple.

  “Hey E, what’s going on? You miss me?” I asked her.

  She scoffed, “of course I didn’t. Who do you think you are?” she responded but I knew she was full of shit she was like my sister. I loaded them up in the car and headed home.

  “This is awesome!” Erica squealed when we got there and I smiled.

  “Thank you, I did all the hard work while Landon and Lucy sat on their lazy asses and watched.” I said with an exaggerated sigh.

  “HA! Yeah right Nick.” Lucy said coming towards the door to greet them. Landon was on her heels.

  The girls squealed and shit and Max came running from his room and tried to tackle Erica. He was getting big, that’s for sure. He’s going to outgrow them girls soon. After they did all their girly greeting shit, Landon took Erica’s bag up to Max’s room where she was going to be sleeping. And I carried Mel’s to my room. They followed me into the family room.

  “I want a tour!” Erica pouted. So Lucy grabbed them and showed them the house. I could hear them chattering the entire time. I went to the kitchen to grab a beer and Landon met me there.

  “Dude, could you imagine if they all lived here? I mean I’m used to it and I could only tolerate it from them. But it’s been a while since I’ve heard it.” Landon said with a chuckle. I could faintly hear Mel telling Lucy about how she decided to switch her major to physical medicine and therapy. She decided to take that class for her first semester and ended up enjoying it. She had told me about it when she first made her decision but decided to wait to tell Lucy in person. I guess so they can scream and jump all over each other about it, it made me smile.

  I nodded to Landon and passed him a beer. We went into the living room where Max was flipping through the channels and got comfortable. When they were done… 30 minutes later they joined us. That really shouldn’t have taken that long but I’m sure they were up there probably redecorating. I rolled my eyes at the thought.

  Mel came and snuggled next to me on the couch and I wrapped an arm around her. I leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I missed you so much baby.”

  She looked up at me and met my eyes, “I miss you every day.” She said softly and I felt it to my heart.

  When it got late we all retired to our rooms and I practically dragged Mel to mine. As soon as the door closed I was on her. I walked her backwards towards the bed and my hands found their way underneath her shirt. I pushed her back so she fell on the bed and began to climb over here when she put her hands out to stop me.

  “Uh Nick, we can’t.” She told me.

  I shook my head and kept going and she laughed and pushed against me. I growled in frustration, “Listen girl now is not the time to fuck with me.” I told her.

  She giggled, “seriously Nick. It’s that time of the month.” She told me.

  I sighed and let all of my weight drop on top of her. She let out an oomph with a laugh before she slapped me on the back. “Get your huge ass off of me.” She got out.

  I rolled over and pulled her into me. I gave her a light kiss. “That’s fine. I’m just happy you’re here with me. Now cuddle me and give me all the kisses you owe me.” I told her.

  She smiled and shook her head. “I could do that.” And we proceeded to make out for the rest of the night.

  Landon

  Christmas was great and we had a lot of fun. It was different that’s for sure with Dean missing. You could sense it from everyone but we made the most out of it for him as much as ourselves. James, Sam, and Mel’s parents left 2 days after Christmas and Erica and Mel stayed until the winter break was over. It felt good to be with everyone again and Lucy was on cloud nine. She was so happy to have everyone around. I’d kill to have her smile all day every day. This girl can’t possibly understand how much I love her.

  The house cleared out, and it was back to life again. We had just finished an excruciating practice and I was wiped, but today was Ted’s birthday and it was a Friday. They wanted to go out and celebrate and I told him I would go. I knew he wouldn’t feel comfortable being there without anyone he’s close to. I showered and we headed out, Nick was going to meet us there. Lucy would be staying home with Max. I’m not going to lie, these days it does feel like we’ve gotten domesticated and raising Max like he was our own. But honestly, this was what it was like back home before.

  When I got into my car I took out my phone and called her and she answered on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Hey babe what you doing?” I asked her.

  “Finishing dinner and helping Max finish up his math homework. I’m probably going put him in the bath after dinner and then get my essay started. We might watch a movie before bed.” She told me and I smiled.

  “You remember I’m going o
ut right?” I asked her.

  She laughed, “Yes Landon I remember I won’t leave the food out. Do you want me to make you a plate and put it in the fridge?” she asked.

  I smiled wider. She was always thinking about feeding me. “Don’t worry about it babe. If I’m hungry I can make myself a plate. You’re going to wait up for me?”

  She scoffed. “No. I don’t know what time you’re getting home and I’m not going to try to keep my eyes open.”

  I laughed, “Aww babe. I’m going to be out around a whole bunch of drunk probably half-dressed girls and you’re not going to stay up to see what time I get home? Not even to see if I smell like another girl or if I have lipstick on my boxers? You’re a disappointment to women.” I teased.

  She laughed. “No I’m just not a creep like you. Besides, you do anything stupid I will still get the chainsaw bastard. So take that as your warning to behave.”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ll see you later baby. I love you.” I told her.

  She sighed, “I love you too Landon. And don’t wake me up when you get in either.” She threatened and hung up. I shook my head and laughed then headed to the party.

  When I got there most of the guys were already there. I stopped by a drive thru to pick up a burger and some fries so I had something in my stomach before drinking. I made my way over to Ted and gave him a fist pump.

  “What’s up man?” I asked.

  He shrugged, “nothing much. Let’s grab a drink.”

  I nodded and we headed into the kitchen where all the drinks were. Nick showed up about a half hour later and we spent the time joking, drinking, and people watching. We were there for about 2 hours when I started to get restless. I really wanted to go home and curl up behind Lucy or better yet crawl into her. The party had reached that point where people were wasted and stumbling everywhere. A few of the guys from the team were fucked up. When some of them started having trouble standing up and I felt a little buzz we decided it was time to go. We still had to drive home tonight. I went over and gave a few of the guys fives and slaps on the backs when Dylan stopped me.

  “It’s early you leaving already?” he slurred.

  “Yea man, I’m heading home.” I told him with a pat on his shoulder.

  He threw his arm around me. “You got some good pussy or something waiting for you? You still tapping Lucy? She sure is a fine thing.” He said and my blood boiled. My fists clenched in instinct and I had to control my temper.

  “Lucy’s mine.” Is all I said and tried to shake free of him.

  “Of course golden boy. You get the spot on the team, you get the hot girl. Shit, you even get to make your own rules huh? How did it feel to take my spot? I let you you know. But I wouldn’t get too comfortable if I were you. But dude I think your good and all.” He said swaying and some of the liquor in his cup spilled. The dude was done for but he was telling me what he was really thinking. I knew there was something off with this dude. He resented me for taking his spot and even though he was smiling, I could see the hate in his eyes. He wasn’t thinking of holding anything back because he was too fucking drunk. Now wasn’t the time for this shit.

  I smiled and grabbed his arm to remove his hold on me. “Right I hear you man.” I nodded and turned to leave. Nick and Ted were both watching wearily they had caught the whole exchange. I met Nick’s eyes and we said everything that needed to be said. We’d have to watch this fucker. He’s pissed and people with this much resentment tend to do stupid shit. The fact that he was aware of Lucy and our connection pissed me off.

  I headed home and let the anger seep out of me on the drive. When I got to the house I grabbed a glass of water and headed upstairs. It was a little after 1 in the morning so I knew that Max and Lucy would be asleep. When I got upstairs I went into Max’s room first and checked on him. I went and placed a kiss on his forehead. I left the door cracked then went to our room. Lucy was fast asleep with her mouth slightly open. I undressed and got in the bed. She was going to curse me out in the morning for tossing my clothes on the floor but I didn’t give a shit right now. I studied her face for a few minutes and let my eyes trail over her features. My girl was beautiful. I know she said not to wake her up but I couldn’t resist touching her. I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

  She sighed. “Landon?” she said sleepily.

  I grabbed her up and pulled her into me. “I’d better be the only man you’re expecting in bed with you.” I murmured.

  She cracked one eye open to look at me and then shut it again. She maneuvered herself so she was more comfortable and half of her body was thrown over mine. I wasn’t complaining I loved her on me. “I told you not to wake me up.” She mumbled half sleep.

  I smiled, “you did. I didn’t listen. Now go back to sleep angel.”

  I could hear her smile when she spoke. “You smell like another girl now you have to sleep on the couch.” She said.

  I laughed. “You’re fucking lying but thanks for the effort. Now sleep Lucy.”

  She sighed. “No. I don’t have to. You’re not the boss of me.” She argued.

  I sighed. Leave it to fucking Lucy. She threatens me about waking her ass up and what does she do? Find a reason to stay awake to fight with me. Normally this type of shit would piss me off. Granted with other chicks I didn’t do this whole sleeping shit. I mean, I won’t lie and say that I’ve never literally slept in the same bed as a girl and that was only from being fucking wasted and passing out, but there was no holding or snuggling and shit. Even when I took a bitch to bed, I wouldn’t tolerate any of this shit. But her… I could take her bullshit. I actually liked this cute little banter of hers not that I would ever admit it to her. Lord knows what the fuck she would goddamn do with that information. She might think its ok to talk me to death. The thought made me laugh.

  “What’s so funny Landon?” she whispered.

  I sighed. She was fighting her sleep and she would stay up as long as she could. “Stop trying to fight with me and go to sleep Lucy.” I told her. She grunted and I started running my fingers through her hair making sure to massage her scalp. I swear I heard her purr and she snuggled deeper into me. Her breathing evened out within a minute and I knew she was out. I kissed her hair and let sleep come over me.

  We had a game a few weeks later against Michigan. The game was tight and there were players getting hurt left and right. It came to the point where the coaches were playing people to cover for other positions. It was intense but I was holding my own. We were down to the last play and the coach wanted me to take a pass off and go for the touchdown. We needed this play to win the game and I pumped myself for it. We got into position and the ball was handed off. I ran to Dylan for the pass off but when I got there he scoffed and took off down the field himself. I muttered under my breath, he’s fucking up the play and had no one to cover him where he was running. I wasn’t used to taking on defense but I sped up ahead of him. The reason that the coach wanted me to take this play was because I was the fastest on the team. I ran ahead and blocked two players off of him. We kept going down the field as the yards diminished. We were lucky that some of the other guys picked up on the fuck up and started to wing it. It was a fucking mess but thankfully my team had brains. Everyone on the team pretty much took up position to get him to the goal. I kept pace with Dylan even though to me he was moving pretty fucking slow. We were almost there and just needed a few more seconds when this huge beast of a man came running towards us. I braced myself and threw myself right in between him and Dylan. I pushed Dylan over, not hard enough to knock him down or throw him off balance but to get him out of the way. I knew this guy was going to get me down. Dylan stumbled but didn’t fall. I heard the crowd erupt just as I hit the ground… hard. I felt all the wind knocked the fuck out of me. The guy fell on top of me and I felt a pain shoot up my side.

  The guy rolled off of me and I didn’t move. I stayed where I was as I felt the pain linger and throb in my side. Shit. This is definitely not my fuckin
g forte. I stayed there with my eyes closed. I knew this wasn’t an actual injury but it hurt like a mother fucker.

  “Landon…. Landon… fuck Landon!” I heard above me. I opened my eyes to see Lucy on the ground next to me. “Baby are you okay?” she asked frantically.

  I looked over to see coach and some of the medical guys standing behind her worried. I groaned. “Oh Lucy.” I whined.

  “Oh my god! What is wrong? Landon tell me what’s the matter.” My poor girl, she was frantic and scared out of her mind.

  “Angel I think I have a booboo. Come kiss me to make me feel better.” I said with a pout.

  She frowned then growled out, “Landon…”

  “Lucy? Is that you? I think I see the light.” I complained. “I need you to save me baby.” I said feigning imminent death. I heard a grunt and looked over to see Nick smiling and shaking his head and a worried Max. “Max, tell Lucy to save me.” I told him.

  “Lu, you have to help Landon.” Max said worriedly.

  Lucy sighed, “Landon you bastard.” She muttered angrily and I heard snickers. I closed my eyes and groaned. I heard the announcer giving information on me and apparently I was making a spectacle of us but I wanted Lucy to kiss me and there wasn’t shit that was going to stop me.

  “Lucy I’m hurt. You’re not going to leave me like this right baby?” I asked with a loud voice.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you.” Lucy muttered.

  “No you’re not because you love me.” I told her.

  “I fucking hate you right now.” She told me and I smiled.