Hotbox

by Delia Delaney

  “So what time do you think you’ll be back in town tomorrow?” Jayden asked.

  We were driving down my street, almost to my house. I was already feeling a little anxious since I didn’t want our date to end, so the timing was right when she got me thinking about the next time we would see each other.

  “Uh, let’s see…after the second game… I’d say around seven. Does that work for whatever you have planned for me?”

  She smiled and said, “Yeah, that’s fine. I was thinking nine.”

  “Good, I have plenty of time to pick out the right clothes.”

  She laughed and squeezed my hand. “But I’ll take you sooner if you’re able.”

  With a smile, she tilted her head and peered at me through the dark as a streetlight flashed over us. I pulled into my driveway and a sudden twinge of nervousness hit me. I was thinking about that kiss…

  It was almost one in the morning and I was way past my game night curfew. Jesse promised to cover for me if the coach called, but I still didn’t like being dishonest. But at that very moment I couldn’t care less about the punishment for breaking curfew; I was with the most amazing girl I had ever met.

  I moved around the truck to walk her to her car, but just the sight of her made me weaken. I got that feeling again, just from looking at her, and I knew how badly I wanted to kiss her. She stood there with a partial smile, seeming to wait for me just for that reason, so I closed the distance between us. I stepped close to her and ran my fingers through her hair for the first time. It was soft like silk. The night air had temporarily separated me from her vanilla fragrance, but now it was intoxicating me again. It was very subtle, but just enough to draw me in, wanting more.

  I studied her beautiful eyes before I leaned in. She didn’t even meet me halfway, and for a moment I thought I was making a mistake, but the way she was looking at me… It made my heart pound. I slid my hand behind her neck and just did it. I kissed her. And it was an incredible rush. I took another step toward her and she put her arms around my waist, pulling me closer. Apparently what they say about fireworks is true, but the jolt of electricity I felt through my body was a surprise. It was followed by an intense heat that covered every inch of me, and I had to remind myself that I was a gentleman.

  I probably could have stood there all night kissing her—I wanted to keep her for the rest of my life—but after a while, I slowly pulled away. My heart was still thundering in my chest, and I was even a little short of breath.

  “I could do this all night,” I admitted with a smile, “but you should really get home.”

  She only nodded as she stood there looking at me. I wondered if she could actually hear my heart pounding. Finally she put both her hands behind my neck and pulled me closer to kiss me again. There was no way I was going to object, so I kissed her some more until she was the one that stopped with a smile, took my hand, and walked us to her car.

  “Thank you for the movie,” she said.

  “You invited me,” I reminded her.

  “But you paid, so thank you.”

  “Anytime. Can you call me when you get home? I want to know you got home safely.”

  She nodded, so I gave her a final kiss goodnight (it turned out to be a bit lengthy) and then I watched her drive away. I couldn’t believe how she made me feel. I could almost still feel her on my lips as I staggered through my front door. I’d never kissed someone and felt so…inebriated.

  She called me fifteen minutes later, and my pulse raced just from seeing her name on my phone. I really should have been asleep, and she even told me that over and over, but I couldn’t help talking to her for another half an hour. I even told her that I couldn’t stop thinking about kissing her, and that I couldn’t wait to do it again.

  She softly laughed. “Tomorrow. I promise.”

  “It is tomorrow.”

  “Oh,” she replied. “Then you’ll just have to count down the minutes until you see me again.”

  And that’s exactly what I had in mind…

  Chapter Five

  Our team bus left at six that Saturday morning. I was still tired when I woke up, but I knew that I would be ready to go when game time came around. Also, thinking about Jayden sent the same rush through me as the adrenaline I felt before every game. I was equipped with a double dose that morning.

  I closed my eyes on the bus and put my earphones on, ready to endure the two-hour ride. Our bus was actually pretty nice and fairly comfortable, and because I was a senior, I was spread out across my own seat. I was content with listening to the music, but my main focus was a set of beautiful blue-green eyes, and the lips that went with them.

  My hopes for deterring the guys from talking to me failed when Aaron stopped my music.

  “So tell me about your night with Jayden,” he said.

  I didn’t really want to talk to him about it because of how crass he could be. He had already said some things that I hadn’t wanted to hear, and now he was just making a scene for the other guys to listen.

  “It was great.”

  “Great? That’s it? You didn’t get any action during the movie?” he laughed. “Or is she too ‘respectable’ for that?”

  “She is respectable. It’s nice for a change.”

  I turned the music back on; he said something else and laughed, but I was glad I didn’t hear it. I didn’t know why he gave me such a hard time about Jayden. It got old really fast. I was glad he was moving out after graduation.

  Jayden was respectable, and I think that’s why I liked her so much. She was so different from any girl I’d ever met. She didn’t throw herself at me, but she also didn’t play games, either. She liked me and let me know it, and for a stupid guy that isn’t smooth with the ladies, it suited me just fine.

  I closed my eyes and thought about kissing her. I couldn’t wait to see her again…

  “Hey, Ty, there’s someone here to see you,” Jack said with a smile.

  My first thought was my dad, and I was almost shocked. But Jack nodded his head toward the fence past first base and I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  Jayden had come all the way to see my game.

  She saw me look her way and she waved. I had the perfect opportunity to go see her, so I jogged over to where she was, looking cute and perfect and just…kissable.

  “I’m absolutely stunned to see you here,” I told her.

  She shrugged with a smile and said, “I felt like going for a drive.”

  “You’re not here by yourself, are you?”

  “No, Cali came with me. She’s always up for anything. Plus she’s kind of hot for your third baseman.”

  “Devin?” I chuckled. “Huh.”

  “You’d better thank him. That’s why I had to start coming to the games with her in the first place.”

  “I will definitely thank him. I think I’ll be forever in his debt.”

  “Well, you’d better get back to your team. I don’t want your coach to ban me from your games. Get a hit for me, ‘kay?”

  She leaned forward to kiss me over the four-foot fence.

  “Absolutely,” I replied, the adrenaline restarting once again. “And you look beautiful, by the way.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Well thanks. You must really be a jeans-and-sweatshirt kinda guy.”

  “You look amazing in anything. In fact, you could be wearing nothing and I guarantee I would like it.”

  With that she laughed and lightly patted my face. “I’m sure you would, sport. Now get your head in the game.”

  “Yes ma’am. Oh, and tell Cali that Devin’s available.”

  “Okay,” she smiled.

  I kissed her once more before rejoining my team. The feel of her lips set my whole world right.

  “Unbelievable,” Aaron said. “She’ll follow you to away games?”

  He also said a couple of remarks that I pretended not to hear.

  I was so excited Jayden was at the game. The thought of her coming all that way really meant a lot to
me. My dad was only in Tacoma and he didn’t even show up.

  I noted where she sat before I immersed myself into my other role. That way I wouldn’t have to take a lot of time searching for her when I had a moment to look.

  The game was a tough one but we played it really well, and even though I played the same way I always played, there was something about having Jayden there that made me feel ten times better. I did get a couple of hits for her, but I suppose the best one was a homerun. It sent two of us home and we ended up winning the game 4-2. We were just as successful with our second game that day, and we beat them again 5-1.

  The guys were hauling their gear to the bus when I saw Cali talking to Devin near the stands. I didn’t want to interrupt anything they could be talking about, but I had to ask, “Where’s Jayden?”

  “She was right here,” she said, looking around. “You’d better find her. She’s been fighting the guys off with a stick.”

  I gave her a questioning look, hoping she was just joking, but I did see some guys talking to them earlier. I didn’t think anything of it though, assuming it was someone she knew.

  “Nice game, catcher,” I heard her say from behind me.

  I turned around and replied, “Thank you,” as she wrapped her arms around me.

  “So all I have to say is ‘get a hit for me’ and you’ll hit a homerun?”

  I smiled but Devin laughed and said, “Ty’s our homerun hero, didn’t you know that? He leads the division.”

  Jayden looked at me with a smile and said, “I guess I have a lot to learn.”

  “Well, you can take all the time you want,” I told her. “Anyways, where’d you go?”

  “Oh, a little girl hit her shin pretty hard on the bleachers, so I went to get some ice.”

  “That was nice of you,” I replied.

  She looked up at me with another smile, and I was happy I could finally kiss her again. It was becoming addicting.

  A couple of guys walked by and looked us over noticeably. At first I thought they were bothered that I was kissing my girlfriend, but Jayden seemed to tense up when she saw them, and she turned her back to them.

  “Hey Ty, you ready?” Devin asked, making his way toward the bus.

  I looked at Jayden and said, “Wait here with Cali for just a sec, okay?” and I made my way to Devin. “Hey, do me a favor will ya? Can you take my bag to the bus? I’m going to walk the girls to the car.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Those two guys were standing at the edge of the parking lot looking our way, and I didn’t like it one bit.

  Jayden joined me as I turned around and she asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, nothing. I just want to walk you to your car.”

  “Aw, how sweet,” Cali replied, but Jayden eyed me cautiously and seemed a little less fooled. However, she didn’t say anything about it as we walked to her car and I kissed her before she got in.

  “I’ll see you back in town,” I told her.

  “Okay, bye.”

  I watched until her car left the parking lot and then I headed for the bus. The two guys were still standing there, and one of them laughed.

  “Did she tattle on us?” he asked with a smirk.

  I stopped about five feet from them and replied, “No, why? Do you have something to say to me?”

  His smirk disappeared and he stared at me. I could tell he was torn between walking away and trying to finish what his big mouth started. I wasn’t sure what his problem was, so I just waited for him to answer my question.

  Finally he turned to his buddy and said, “Let’s go,” and they left.

  I shook my head and made my way to the bus, realizing that Jack and Devin were standing at the door watching the entire interaction.

  “What are you guys doing? Just waiting until I get my ass kicked?”

  Jack smiled and said, “No, we were just waiting until they threw the first punch. That way we could rescue you properly.”

  It made me laugh as I stepped onto the bus, and at the same time, I received an array of comments. But Coach Tucker’s stuck out in my mind when he said, “Already having to defend her honor, huh? The pretty ones are always trouble.”

  I thought about that for a second and nodded my head. “Yeah, but she’s worth it,” I replied.

  We got home at six-fifty that night. I was so excited to see Jayden again that even Aaron’s comments couldn’t keep me down. He was currently restating his previous opinions about those two guys earlier, claiming that Jayden was probably just a tease. It pissed me off, but with Aaron, it didn’t matter what you said to him, he would oppose you no matter what.

  “What are you doing tonight?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.

  “Girls, girls, and more girls,” he smiled. “Bunch of us are gonna hang out at Zero, wanna come? Or does your girl have Bible study for you?” he mocked.

  “Actually I’m heading there, too. I’m supposed to meet her at nine.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? She got friends as hot as her?”

  “I don’t know, I thought you said she was there once. I’m sure she was with her friends then.”

  He thought for a moment before shrugging. “I only remember her,” he smiled. “Besides, I wanna know how you convinced her dad to let her go out with you. What was the interrogation like?”

  “I’ve never met her dad.”

  “What?” he laughed. “Oh, man, that means he doesn’t know about you! You’d better be ready to explain why you’re seeing his daughter behind his back. I’d hate to see what kind of trouble he could get you into.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You don’t know who her dad is, do you?” He was staring at me with a smile, and I wondered if he himself had just found out from someone..

  Adams… Did I know of any prominent people with that last name?

  “No, I don’t. Who is he?”

  Aaron laughed. “Joe Adams. He’s like…the big head honcho of the courts. I’m not talking about sports, my friend. I’m talking about the kind that slams the gavel. At least that’s what Everett told me.”

  I let the information settle for a moment. Jayden’s dad was a judge? Huh. It hadn’t even occurred to me what he did for a living; I only knew that he was pretty protective of his only kid.

  “You better make sure those skeletons want to come out because her dad will rip off the closet door. I guarantee it.” He seemed proud of his unveiling, so with another smirk, he headed for the bathroom to shower.

  I thought about the people my father associated with; people that I associated with because of my father. Jayden’s dad probably dealt with guys like me all the time. What was I even thinking? Could I seriously be dating his daughter while knowing the comings and goings of a notorious crime family at the same time?

  My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts, and I knew who it was before even looking.

  “Hey, did you get back safe and sound?” Jayden asked.

  Whatever worries I just had completely disappeared with the sound of her voice.

  “Yeah, we’re back. I was just heading for the shower.”

  “Are you still okay with meeting me here? I’m already here with my friends, taking care of something.”

  “Oh, uh, no, it’s fine.” Taking care of something? I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t question it.

  “Okay. We kind of have a section reserved, so Silvia will send you the right way. Oh, and there’s room for two or three more if you want to bring some friends.”

  I chuckled. “Is that something you want me to do? Because Aaron’s already going to be there and I don’t think you really want him at your table.”

  “Aaron?”

  “My roommate. Our second baseman?”

  She sort of laughed. “Oh yeah, I’ve met him before.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard. Apparently you’re not his type,” I teased.

  With another laugh she said, “Good. His approach is a little�
��unpleasant. But you can invite him if you want. It’s up to you. But I gotta go for now. I’ll see you in a bit, okay?”

  “Okay, see you later.”

  I hung up and headed down the hall, just as Jesse came out of his room, already showered and dressed.

  “Hey, you going with Aaron tonight?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, I think so. Why, what are you doing?”

  “Jayden has tables reserved. Do you want to sit with us? There’s room for you.”

  “Yeah, that sounds cool. What about Aaron?” he asked warily.

  “Doubtful,” I said with a smile.

  He laughed as I closed the door to my room.

  Zero was already pretty crowded when Jesse and I got there around nine. Aaron left to pick up some other friends and was coming later, so I was glad he’d probably be too busy to sit with us. I recognized Jayden’s friend Silvia when we entered. She was friendly and reintroduced herself to me in case I forgot, and then I introduced her to Jesse. She walked us across the club to a table off to the side. Cali was there with some of her other friends, so after everyone was introduced, she invited us to sit down.

  “So where’s Jayden?” I asked her.

  With a smile she said, “She’ll be out here in a bit.”

  “What do you mean ‘out here’? Where is she?”

  “She’s backstage with Shawn, a really good friend of ours. His band is playing tonight.”

  “Oh,” I nodded. I realized the part of this night that was ‘very much Jayden’ was going to be live music. I knew that was one of her passions, so I wasn’t surprised. “Hey, I have a question for you,” I decided to add.