by Lexy Timms
Aileen sighed. “I don’t think I’ll be seeing him for a while now.”
Especially if he’s got to learn the quarterback plays and step up his game. You won’t be seeing him till outdoor track. If he even competes. “That sucks.”
Aileen dropped back against the couch. “I really like him, too. I keep trying not to, but he’s so nice.”
“His incredible body isn’t too hard on the eyes either.” Jani leaned back also and stared dreamily up at the ceiling. “Like Carter’s. He’s got these incredible abs. Like abs on top of abs. All these ripples of wonderful muscle.” She sighed. “Not that it’s all about physical attributes, but man, it sure helps.”
“Tyler plans on doing indoor season. It’s only November. That means I’ll have to wait until the beginning of January to see him regularly.”
Jani hated to burst her bubble. “Most of the football players that run track don’t show up till the end of January or beginning of February. There are meetings and stuff with football. If they make a big bowl game, they usually play over Christmas, or the first weekend in January. It’s a long season. Coach Philips pushes them hard. The guys who barely play are the ones that show up first. I’ve never seen Tyler come before March.” She hated the disappointed look on Aileen’s face. “Maybe he’ll come earlier because of you. Just so he can hang out and see you.”
“I wouldn’t want him to do that. I mean, I would love to see him every day. It would mess with my training, but my eyes wouldn’t mind. I’d probably have to try and ignore he was there so I could focus on my workouts.” She gave a half smile. “But I don’t want him coming for me. That’s stupid.”
Jani stared at her roommate. The girl definitely had her head in track. Jani wouldn’t mind having to see Carter work out every day. She would gladly watch and sacrifice a PB if it meant she could see him. “But you would like it if he competed indoors, right?”
“Heck yes! I just don’t want him doing it for me. Tyler’s not the type of guy who would do that anyway.”
“True. I agree with you there.” Jani checked her watch and huffed. “Crap. I have to finish a report that’s due tomorrow.” She stood. “Correct that. I have to start a report that’s due tomorrow.”
Aileen shook her head. “Nothing like cramming it all in last minute.”
“I know. I’m terrible for leaving everything to the last possible moment.” She shrugged. “But sometimes boy talk is way more important.”
“Not if it means a lousy grade and having to go to study hall with Coach Maves. She’s like an army sergeant.”
“Nooo!! I’m not going back there – ever!”
“Freshman year, first semester only, right? Then just keep my grades at three-point-oh, or higher and I’m out too, right?”
“Two-point-five.” Jani turned to head into her room. “I’ll probably be back in there if I don’t finish this report. I’m barely holding my two-point-five.”
“Get working, girl!
She popped her head around the corner and give Aileen a crossed-eyed funny face. “Want to write the report for me? It’s on anything that has to do with the sociology of sport. Three thousand-word essay that…” She grabbed a sheet from her desk just on the other side of the door. “Essay that presents examples of sporting case studies within a sociological analysis. Students are expected to consider sport and wider elements of society as inter-related rather than mutually exclusive.” She slapped the paper on her forehead. “This is going to take all night. I need to pick a topic, find case studies on it and then show how they affected sport and everything else.”
“It sounds kinda cool.”
Jani jabbed a finger at Aileen and pretended to look angry. “Of course you would think so. Miss Science-head likes anything challenging.”
“When did you get this? Friday?”
Jani shook her head. “No, beginning of the year. It’s worth thirty percent of our final grade. I figured it’d be easy because I’m into sport and I like being social. Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“And you do have the gift of gab. Three thousand words is nothing for you!” Aileen laughed. “How about more writing and less stalling?”
Jani saluted. “Aye, aye, captain!” She spun around and cleared her track clothes and training stuff off her desk, dropping it all on the floor. She sat down, opened her laptop and then pushed her chair to the door, popping her head around it one more time. “Not to be rude, but I’m going to close the door so I can focus on this project. Apple TV is way too distracting.”
Aileen stood up. “I’ll go and read in my room. I have a lab in biology; I should pre-read what we’re going to do so I’m prepared.” She reached for the remote to shut the TV off.
Jani held out her hand. “Maybe leave it on so I can hear the music in the background.”
“It’s up to you.” Aileen tossed Jani the remote. “Just make sure you’re not funky dancing instead of working.”
“No funky chickens!” She swirled her chair back to her desk and opened the document on the computer she had started doing some brainstorming on. She had decided to do her report on children’s sporting clubs. How they were organized and the effects of the big city versus rural. She had found two case studies to cite. She figured it would be cool to show what sports produced which kind of athletes at different levels. Like low cost versus expensive sports. Inner city versus suburbs or high classed. She knew she could ace the essay.
Googling the reports and studies she had noted, she printed up the one report and checked through her backpack. The professor had brought in Journals of Sport and Medicine that they were allowed to borrow. She was sure she had taken one home with an article in it about something related to her report. She couldn’t remember. She had brought the darn thing home like three months ago!
A light rap against the front door made her jump. Aileen had gone to her room and probably had her headphones on as she read. The back room seemed to have double insulation and blocked all noises from the front of the house. Unfortunately, Jani’s room didn’t have that. She leaned over to check outside her window and see if anyone was outside by the front door. Her breath caught.
Carter.
Standing casually with his hands stuffed into his jean pockets and a black coat protecting him from the chilly wind. Winter was sending nippy wind warnings that it was on its way. He didn’t seem to notice. His hair looked slightly wet. He’s probably just finished at the pool. She slid her chair back to the desk and checked her face in the mirror. She had showered and changed into jeans and a long sleeve black top. Nothing fancy, but not sloppy. Decent. It would have to do.
She hurried when a louder knock sounded again on the door. She swung it open. “Hey, stranger!” She smiled, pretending to look surprised. She couldn’t believe he had come by!
“Hi!” He waited for her to invite him in, not an ounce of uncertainty on his face – like he knew she would.
She pushed the door open further. “Come on in.”
He ducked out of habit as he stepped through. A whiff of his cologne teased her nostrils as the cool air blew past her. “Have you had dinner?”
“Not really.” She stepped closer to try and smell his fresh showered scent again. He had some wicked kind of body wash. It smelled incredible.
“Want to go out?” He flashed her his perfect James Dean smile. “My treat.”
She thought about the unfinished, unsaved report barely started on her laptop. If she said yes, she knew her essay was never going to be finished. Dinner with Carter meant some kind of dessert after. That sounded way more interesting than three thousand words. “Sure.” She smiled. “Let me just save this paper I’m working on.”
“Oh yeah, you mentioned that before. Did you get it done?”
“Pretty much,” she lied. “The professor loves athletes. I bet I can get away with handing it in a day late.”
“Sweet.” He caught her waist as she moved past him toward her room. He pressed his lips against hers and pulled
back just when she moved to get closer to him. “I promise I’ll make it worth your while finishing it tomorrow.”
Her body heated at the vision that popped into her head. She had no intention of arguing with him.
Chapter 5
“Where are we going?” She didn’t really care. Jani had just tossed her chances of no study hall next semester out the window and was feeling a little on the wild side. It felt… irrationally awesome. The thrill made her excited instead of stressed as she had thought it would.
“What do you feel like?” Carter’s truck slowed for a stop sign and he accelerated again as he headed toward downtown.
There weren’t a lot of vehicles around. Most students were chilling out, getting ready for classes tomorrow or doing homework that had been neglected all weekend.
“Let’s do take away. We can go and park the truck somewhere and eat out of plastic containers, overlooking some view or something.”
“You want to go parking?”
She playfully punched his arm. “I meant, like a picnic.”
“In a truck?”
“Sure. It’s too cold to eat outside.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Sounds good to me.” He drove to the local Spaghetti Factory and parked in the near vacant lot by the entrance. “We can be like Lady and Tramp.” He hopped out, waiting for her on the sidewalk to get out of the truck.
Jani jumped out and followed him into the restaurant. They ordered and sat back to wait on a bench for their food. She jumped up when she noticed a game table on the bar side of the restaurant. “Come on.” She knew exactly what it was.
“What is this?” Carter asked when Jani slipped the quarter into the slot. The game groaned loudly and she slid an orange rounded cone looking thing his way.
“It’s air hockey! You seriously have never played?” She bent down to see if the flat plastic puck was sitting in her goal holder. “Puck’s in your net.”
“I’ve never seen this.” He looked down and tossed a cream-colored disc on the top of the table. It skimmed smoothly across as the air coming from the small holes on the table assisted it.
“Where are you from?” Jani laughed as she glided her orange cone over to hit the disc. “This game is huge in Canada. New York’s got hockey fever, how can you not?”
“I’m not from here.” He moved his hand, hitting the puck too hard and sending it flying over to Jani’s end. It smashed against the edge and came surging back toward him. He lifted his hand, paranoid he might crush his fingers.
The puck fell into his net and a muffled cheer came from inside the old hockey table.
“I think this thing is going to explode.” The noise from the air pushing through the small holes made a wheezing sound.
“It’s fine. Stop being such a wuss. You’re going to get hammered by a girl.”
Those were apparently the kind of words that sparked Carter. He grabbed the puck and tossed it back on the table. He set his feet shoulder width apart. “Game on!”
The puck flew back and forth before finally hitting the edge of Jani’s goal and then her handle. It ricocheted back at her and fell into her net.
“Yes! One – One now.” Carter grinned and winked at her. “I’m from Arizona, by the way. We don’t do hockey where I’m from.”
“Poor you,” she teased. “All that sunshine.”
He ignored her comment and tapped the air hockey table. “Who taught you how to play this?”
“My dad picked one up at a garage sale when I was a kid. It was huge!” She laughed. “It was probably the same size as this one, but when I was a kid it seemed so big. He set the freakin’ thing up on one side of the garage and we used to play it all the time after school, till my mom called us in for dinner.”
“Your dad still have it?”
“I think my mom made him get rid of it when I left for school. We hadn’t played it much when I started high school.” She had gotten into track and boys. They seemed a lot more fun than a silly game made of air. She felt a little tug in her chest. She wished she had played it more with him in high school. “What about you? What kind of games did you play as a kid?”
“Spin the bottle, cards, you know, all the usual games kids play back in grade school.” He tried hitting the puck again and completely missed. It slid into his net. “Shit! This is stupid.” He glanced at her with a rueful smile on his lips. “I’m sure this game is super popular in Canada, back where your winters are so cold, you have to stay in your igloos for days. Even your pee freezes before it hits the ground.”
“The tough guys break it off like an icicle.” She rolled her eyes. “Really? Why does everyone always assume Canada is full of ice and snow? I live on the west coast. It’s mild, like English weather.”
“West coast?” He looked at her and a moment later the waitress came back with their order in takeaway containers. “Thanks,” he said to her and gave her money to pay for the food. When the lady headed back into the entrance ordering area, Carter turned his attention back to her. “I know you’re Canadian but I had no idea you were on the west coast. I figured you were from Ontario or something, just above the state of New York.” He let the puck slide into his goal again and set his floating handle down. “What made you pick Gatica? It’s a long way from home.”
“Same as you. Arizona’s probably further.” The air hockey table drizzled to a quiet hiss before turning silent. The game time must have run out.
“I can’t picture you a big mountain, downhill skier-type resort-style person.”
She dropped her head to the side, trying to picture what he had just attempted to describe. “I can’t either. Only because I have no clue what you mean.”
He sent her a lazy grin. “I figured you for a big city kind of girl.”
“Vancouver’s pretty big.” She didn’t picture herself as a metropolis kind of person. The comment surprised her.
“I’ve heard of Vancouver.” He watched her a moment before reaching for her hand. “Hey, I wasn’t dissing you. I just meant…how do I explain it?” His eyes moved heavenward as he stared up at the ceiling a moment. “Okay! There’s this guy on the swim team who graduated last year. He’s from Canada. I can’t remember where. It wasn’t from a province though. It’s like some Eskimo city way far up north. His town has a population of like a hundred people. In the winter, the only way to get to his place is by plane and they barely fly up except for supplies because it’s so bloomin’ cold the engines can freeze.”
Jani pressed her lips to suppress a giggle. “You mean a territory? Like Nunavut?”
He snapped his fingers. “Yeah! That’s it!”
“How in the world did a guy from there turn into a swimmer?”
“He said he had an uncle in the state right above North Dakota and went down there for high school. He made the swim team there and was pretty decent. He was on a full ride.”
The state Carter was referring to was the province of Manitoba. She didn’t feel the need to correct him on it. That was just being cheeky. “That’s really cool.”
“He was a nice guy. Never got into trouble, kept his head down. Good swimmer.” He lifted their food. “Let’s go eat and you can tell me your athletic story and how you ended up here. Then I’ll tell you mine.” He slipped his arm around her shoulders and led her outside.
Once inside the truck, Carter drove them to the outskirt of town and found a scenic hill to look out the front truck window at. You could see the football stadium and larger buildings of the university.
“I’ve never been here before,” Jani said and handed Carter his container. She unclicked her seatbelt and settled comfortably on the seat to eat.
“You haven’t?”
She shook her head as she sucked up a long noodle with sauce. She stared down at the end of her nose when it seemed like the noodle was never going to end.
Carter laughed at her silly face. “I’m having déjà vu of Lady and the Tramp.”
“I can’t believe you watched
that movie.”
“I have a little sister. She’s ten years younger than me. When I was sixteen, she was six. I used to babysit and she was all about Disney. Not the new stuff with princesses and shit but the old, original movies. She still is.”
She pictured Carter at sixteen, tall and sexy, hanging with his little super cute sister. It wasn’t hard work to imagine. “Is your family still in Arizona?”
He shook his head as he finished chewing. “We’re military brats. My dad’s some bigwig dude, my mom’s the silent follower and then there’s me and my sis. Grew up on a couple of bases. I was born in Arizona, we were in Germany a few years, then a couple other European cities. We came back to the States when I was nine and settled in Arizona again. Lily was born there. Dad ran the base training where he turned boys into combat men.” He jabbed another forkful of food in his mouth.
Jani noticed his voice had dropped when he said the last sentence, as if trying to imitate his father.
Carter swallowed. “Anyways, we moved three years later and lived in New Mexico a couple of years before returning to Arizona, west side this time, where I finished high school.”
“You swam in high school then?”
“I swam ever since I could remember. At least under water I don’t have to listen to my father talk to us like we’re a bunch of useless army recruits.” He snorted. “I took the first full scholarship offer on the table and high-tailed it out of there.” He picked up a long noodle and mimicked Jani’s sucking face as he slurped it into his mouth. He winked at her and his tense body relaxed. “That’s my story of how I ended up here. Pretty boring.”
Jani thought otherwise. “When’s the last time you saw your sister?” She had the feeling he didn’t go home for Christmas and probably took summer school just so he didn’t have to go back.
“We FaceTime a lot. She’s in some accelerated program at a boarding school. Loves it.”
“That’s impressive. Is it in Arizona?”
“Nope. Folks are in Louisiana or Kansas or something now. Lily’s in Connecticut.”