by Selena Kitt
Most of the time, nostalgia is a thing you feel for a time or a place or a person that has already slipped into the rearview mirror of your life. It isn't always like that, though. There are those rare times when you know, right in the midst of a moment, that it's going to be something you remember for the rest of your life. That was one of those moments. The joyous din of the crowd, the slight chill of the arena, the sight of my husband and my family absolutely out of their minds with happiness. I made eye contact with Cade through the glass, just before he was mobbed by his teammates, and I could see that he felt it, too. Later that night, around three in the morning after the overexcited boys had finally succumbed to the need for sleep, we sat down at the kitchen table.
"Are you sure you don't want to go out?" I asked, knowing most of his teammates were going to be celebrating for many more hours.
Cade smiled at me. In fact he hadn't stopped smiling all night. He shook his head.
"Nope, Ellie. There is literally nowhere else I want to be on earth than right here, right now."
"Me neither."
"Ellie!"
"What?"
He jumped up from the table and did a little impromptu, fist-pumping dance.
"We won the Stanley Cup!"
I grinned and then surprised myself by immediately tearing up. Cade came over and knelt on the floor beside me, laying his head in my lap.
"Don't you start that Ellie. If you start, I'm going to start."
I sniffled and laughed, running my fingers slowly through his hair and across his stubbly cheek.
"Ha! I'm sorry, I know. I can't help it, Cade. I'm so happy. This is the cherry on top for you, isn't it?"
He looked up at me, thinking about it for a minute.
"No, not really."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this is awesome. But I didn't need it. Not the way I used to think I needed it, you know?"
I looked down at my husband. He looked tired and happy. Everything was right. Everything had fallen into place. The Stanley Cup was a bonus, an extra little piece of sweetness for our family, all of whom knew exactly how lucky we were.
"Yeah," I said, leaning down and kissing him, "I think I do know."
About the Author
Author, baking aficionado and connoisseur of the broad-shouldered but tenderhearted alpha male, Jessica Lake lives in the frozen north (Quebec, Canada). Her favorite things include fluffy orange cats, the way the house smells when something delicious is in the oven, the smell of her boyfriend's chest and strong, masculine men who know how to treat their ladies right.
Jessica loves to write about real men and women and all the serendipitous, maddening and ultimately wonderful things that happen when love decides to grab us by the heart and not let go. She believes in happy endings, intense eye-contact and the little thrill that dances up your spine when the one you love touches the back of your neck.
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Anaconda - WINNERS (sports) by Minx Hardbringer
Prologue
“Class, it’s time to go outside.” The teacher calls out to the class as soon as the last student turns in their watercolor painting.
Out on the playground, the girls took turns flipping over the monkey bars and sing songs while the boys played kickball in the grass. One of the boys, already big for his age, kicks the ball over towards the girls. Whether he did it on purpose or the ball’s direction was an accident, will remain a secret swallowed by history.
The ball hits a pretty little girl named Allison in the back as she flipped over the bars. Allison immediately jumped down off the bar and made her way towards the boy. The other boys backed away because although she was small, Allison wasn’t someone they wanted to make angry. She is fierce and a force to be reckoned with when she’s angry.
She walked right up to Hunter Marks, planted her feet and put her hands on her hips. Allison tipped her head up and stared the boy straight in the eyes.
“Say you’re sorry, Hunter Marks, or I’ll make you sorry.”
“You and what army? Besides, you’re just a girl. I’m not afraid of you.” Hunter says and crosses his arms.
“Last chance. Say you’re sorry. I’m tired of you always messing with me, but I’ll let you go if you say you’re sorry in front of everybody.”
“You sure are pretty when you’re angry.” Hunter says and laughs hysterically.
The sharp pain in his nose interrupts his laugher when Allison’s tiny fist makes contact with his face. Hunter drops to the ground covering his bloody nose with one hand, and Allison marches back over to where the girls are all standing around with their mouths hanging open in shock.
This fight is the first time that Allison Landry and Hunter Marks will sit next to each other in the principal’s office because they refuse to get along, but it won’t be the last.
Chapter 1
Allison
“Allison, are you going to finish those fries?” My best friend Terri asks me.
“Oh uh no. You can have them.” I respond after being pulled from my daydream.
“You alright, girl? You look like you were somewhere else.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking about something.” I say hoping she doesn’t press for details.
The truth is I was thinking about Hunter Marks again. I hate him, but for some reason I can’t get him out of my head. He’s such a huge prick, and if the rumors are true, he’s got a package that rivals his personality. Hunter is also drop dead gorgeous in a way that is almost frightening.
I’ve never met another high school boy with a physique like his. Sure, some of the football players are pretty muscular and fit, but Hunter is the kind of perfection that is hard to describe with words. His body looks like it’s carved from the finest marble, and there is not an inch of fat anywhere on him. He’s eighteen and he already looks like a man. Not that I’m interested.
As far as popularity goes, I’d say he and I are the king and queen of Longridge High. Most of the school can’t believe we’re not a couple, but we’ve never gotten along well. He pulled my hair in kindergarten, and in return, I punched him in the nose. We’ve been bitter enemies ever since.
Hunter is the quarterback for the school’s All State football team, and I’m the head cheerleader. We’ve won the last three State Cheerleading Championships, and we’re going to win again this year because I am not losing the title after Hunter took the football team all the way to the finals. He would never let me live that down.
He’s a snake too. Hunter likes to think we call him Anaconda because of the size of his manhood, but I say it’s because he’s a lying, cheating asshole who devours women for sport. The guy has broken the hearts of at least half of the cheerleading squad, a few girls on the basketball team, most of the girl’s swim team, and two members of the marching band. Oh, and four girls on the debate team got in a fistfight over him junior year.
My eighteenth birthday party was over winter break, and I was afraid to invite him because so many girls want to either date him or strangle him. I had to, though, because he’s the quarterback. He didn’t event tell me happy birthday at my own party. I’ll tell you a little secret. That hurt my feelings, but
I have no idea why. It’s not like I like him or anything.
It would just make everything easier if he and I could get along. We could rule the school together instead of always fighting. Hunter would have to stop being a total ass for that to happen, and that’s never going to happen. He’s constantly pulling this alpha-male act and intimidating anybody who isn’t one of his jock cronies.
Hunter is such a disgusting caveman, and yet I can’t help but wonder what his lips feel like. His mouth is so perfect, and his sky blue eyes are rimmed with thick black lashes. When he looks at you, it feels like you’re the only girl in the whole world, but then he opens his mouth and it ruins everything.
“You’re thinking about Hunter again.” Terri says as she takes the box of fries off my lunch tray.
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes you are. I can always tell. Your eyes look all dreamy, but your nose is all scrunched up like you smell something bad. It’s the weirdest thing.” She says and pops a fry in her mouth.
“I hate him. Why would I be thinking about him?” Damn, now she’s got me.
“Uh huh. You hate him about as much as I hate fries.”
“You’re such a bitch. Why do I put up with you again?” I say and grab my purse off the floor.
“Because I’m your best friend and you love me. Where are you going?”
“I need to go to my locker before physics. I don’t want to be late again, Mrs. Perkins won’t have mercy on me. I’ll see you in class, okay?” I say and get up.
“Sure thing Alley Kat. I’ll save you the seat by the window again.”
“Thanks.”
My locker is on the far end of the building and the hallway is normally deserted. Today, I hear two male voices before I turn the corner, and I immediately recognize one of them as Hunter. The other voice belongs to Danny Young. He’s the captain of the debate team, and his current girlfriend, Lisa, is one of the girls involved in last year’s debate team brawl over Hunter.
“You treated Lisa like shit, and you need to stay away from her. She’s my girlfriend now, and I don’t appreciate you hitting on her in front of me.” Danny says trying to sound confident, but I can tell he’s a little scared.
“Oh yeah nerd boy, what are you going to do about it? You want to go outside and have this out like real men?” He says and I hear him hit a locker, and it’s probably the one next to Danny’s head.
I race around the corner, and sure enough, Hunter has Danny pinned up against the wall. I have to admire Danny for trying to stand up to Hunter, but it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. I don’t think Hunter would really hurt someone badly, but he’d do enough to make Danny live out the rest of his senior year in constant humility.
“Hunter Marks, what the fuck is your problem?” I shout at him as I walk quickly towards the scene.
“Oh look, little Danny’s got girls sticking up for him. Gotta have girls fight your battles for you?” He says and inches closer to Danny.
“Back off.” I yell loud enough that it startles him.
“Danny, go find Mr. Yates.” I say as he slips away from Hunter.
I walk towards him and he turns to face me. He’s at least a foot taller than me, but I square my shoulders and look right up into his eyes. If he thinks he can intimidate me, Hunter has another thing coming. I couldn’t be any less scared of him. They call him Anaconda, but I’m not afraid of snakes.
“You need to quit before somebody shows you that you don’t need big muscles to hit hard.” I yell at him.
“Is that a threat, Princess?” He’s still completely calm and that just fuels my rage.
“Don’t call me Princess you dirty man whore.”
“Whoa, there, sweetheart, why don’t you just take a breath and calm down?” He says and takes a step towards me.
We’re inches apart and my fists are clenched at the side of my body. Part of me wishes I were a boy so I could hit this son of a bitch in the nose again. I made him bleed when we were five, and I’d love to do it again. But, I know he won’t hit me back, and I’m not going to start an unfair fight.
“What would your mom think if she knew her precious boy was really a lying, womanizing bully?” I scream at him.
“You leave my mother out of this.” He finally yells back.
Okay, that wasn’t fair. I know that his mother works two jobs to pay the bills and struggles to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. She’s been on her own since sophomore year when Hunter’s dad split with a younger woman.
I’m pretty sure it’s part of the reason he’s become such a complete asshole. He’s always been a bit of a jerk because his father raised him to be one, but when his dad took off, Hunter started taking being a bully to new levels. Hurting inside isn’t a good reason to treat people like crap, though.
“Oh yeah, well…” I’m interrupted before I can shout my next insult.
“Ms. Landry and Mr. Marks I’m going to need to see both of you in my office immediately” Mr. Yates booms in our direction.
You would think they would have separated us, but no. Hunter and I have to wait in Mr. Yates’s office together while he talked in the hallway with Danny. I was feeling confident about how things were going to go until Mr. Yates came in and took a seat at his desk.
“So, can I go?” I asked him. I wasn’t expecting the sour frown that pulled the corners of his lips.
“Why would I let you go? You’re in just as much trouble as Mr. Marks.” He said grimly.
“Wait, what did I do?” I said with as much righteous indignation as I could muster.
"Ms. Landry, do you really think that shouting obscenities in the hallway of the school is okay?" He asks me sternly.
"Well, no. I guess not, but I was just trying to help Danny." I said, but I already know that I'm going to be in trouble no matter what I say.
"I appreciate you trying to help a fellow student, but the way you handled yourself is unacceptable. The two of you are supposed to be role models for the rest of the students, but you're always fighting like children." Mr. Yates says with exasperation and takes opens one of our files. "You guys are constantly displaying disruptive behavior in relation to one another, and frankly, I've had enough."
"Mr. Yates, Danny tried to start a fight with me. I just wanted to defuse the situation and go to class." I can't believe he's trying to make himself sound like the victim.
"That's a lie. He's..." Mr. Yates cuts me off.
"Allison, let me handle this. As for you, Hunter, I know exactly what you were doing, and your behavior lately is disappointing. You're an adult and a star football player, and you've been acting no better than a schoolyard bully. All of this nonsense is going to stop. I cannot deal with the two of you for the rest of the year. You’re both eighteen and about to go to college in the fall, so it's time you learned a little grown up responsibility. Your punishment, no we'll call it a learning opportunity, is to spend your weekends cleaning the school. Together." He says and smiles a little too happily.
"For how long?" Hunter says calmly.
"At least the next five weekends, possibly longer if you two can't behave like civilized adults. Oh, and Hunter, if you don't complete this learning opportunity to my satisfaction, you don't get your letter in football for the year."
"There is no way I am spending every weekend with him ." I can't believe this is happening.
"Do you have a job, Allison? We can certainly work the schedule around your employment if you do." Mr. Yates asks me.
"Well, no. That's not why."
"Very good then, thank you for your time. I'll see you Saturday morning at eight a.m." Mr. Yates says stands.
I gathered by the way he stood up and motioned towards the door that the discussion was over for now. Fortunately, my class is in the opposite direction from where Hunter is going. I'm so mad that I can't even look at him right now. I guess I shouldn't have sworn, but this is ridiculous. Hunter was picking on another student, and I got the same punishment.
<
br /> When I get home from school, I do all of my homework. That takes me about an hour, so I use the rest of my energy to go for a quick run and then clean the house up a bit. About thirty minutes before my dad comes home, I start cooking dinner. We have the ingredients to make taco casserole, so I get started on making it. Terri calls, and I talk to her on speaker while I put dinner together. We still can't believe I have to spend the next five weekends with Hunter.