Full Count

by C. A. Williams

  Chapter 10

  Dylan

  I started my late shift at the library, being told that I would be training someone tonight. Great, I inwardly cringed when Miss Ryan had informed me of this. I enjoyed the late night shifts that I usually ended up with. It was so quiet around here at this time of night and it gave me time to think, to clear my head when I needed it.

  So when I turned around to grab another book that needed to be re-shelved and found Paiges eyes boring into my back, my night got a whole lot better. “Hey Sparky, need help with some research?” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down at her, and a small smile curved her lips upwards.

  Things had gotten a little weird between the two of us since the dinner last week. We didn’t see each other outside of class and normally we kept up a steady stream of conversation, but lately things seemed a bit strained. I was hoping that maybe she would realize how strong her feelings for me were and dump that loser, but it didn’t appear that way. He still showed up every day after class and Paige seemed unusually quiet around me.

  “Actually, I’m here for my first night of work. I’m assuming you’re the one supposed to be training me?” My eyes widened when her words sunk in. This is who I was supposed to be training? Suddenly I forgot how pissed I was at the thought of having to train someone.

  “Yup, you got that right. I’m here to show you what working at the library is all about, of course this time of night tends to be as boring as shit, but I think we can have some fun.” A faint pink blush touched her cheeks and it made me wonder exactly what kind of fun she was picturing that we could have together.

  “Well…good,” she stammered out, “because it looks like I got stuck with a lot of night shifts, so if you have any tips on how to keep myself busy, that would be awesome.”

  This was seriously fate or something, messing with my life, but in a good way. “I think I can keep you entertained then, since I work almost every night shift too. Looks like we’re going to get to know each other a whole lot better.”

  I went through the boring tasks with her, like where to put her stuff when she came in, how to punch in on the time clock, and the whole job description. The basic training went quickly though and I hopped up onto one of the empty tables for the first of many breaks.

  I patted the empty spot next to me and held out my hand so she could climb up too. “So how long have you worked here?” she asked, inching her body slightly away from me. Yeah, like that was gonna work.

  “Since freshman year, it works out good when baseball season starts and I can still bring in some extra cash. Susanne insists that my rent is only a hundred bucks a month at the house, but I know she’s just trying to help me out.”

  “Yeah, she seems like a pretty great lady. She reminds me a lot of my mom.” She stared off like she was lost deep in thought, swinging her legs out in front of her that were dangling down from the table. “Do you ever wonder about your mom?”

  I shrugged my shoulders to play off her question, but Paige always seemed to ask the kind of questions I really didn’t want to answer. “Nah, she’s the one who left me behind in the hospital and never looked back, obviously I wasn’t good enough for her then and it’s probably the same way now.”

  Her blue eyes clouded up as she patted me on the knee and frowned. “Don’t ever think that Dylan, ever. She had issues that you were never the cause of and it’s her loss really. I mean look at what you’ve done with your life, you made it here on a full baseball scholarship and Chris is always talking about how you’ll make it to the big leagues someday. You should be proud of yourself. I’m sure they’ll make a Lifetime movie about you or something after you’ve made it big.”

  I let out a laugh as I jumped down, checking the clock to see that our break was over. “Thanks Sparky, that means a lot, though I’m not too sure about my life being made into a lame Lifetime movie. It would totally be a blockbuster hit when it landed in theaters.”

  “Har, har, there’s that ego I was looking for,” she teasingly replied, trailing behind me as I punched the button to go down a floor.

  “Promise me one thing though?” I stepped aside to make room for her, wedging the cart in between our bodies in the small elevator. I inhaled deeply as her flowery scent filled the small space.

  “Well, I don’t know, I guess it kind of depends,” she replied, fluttering her thick eyelashes at me. I liked this teasing side of Paige, it seemed like I hadn’t seen it in awhile.

  “If I do make it to the big leagues someday, promise you’ll wear one of my jerseys?”

  “Hmm,” she tapped a finger to her puffy lips like she was thinking it over. “I don’t know Rookie, I usually only wear jerseys for my favorite players, and while I have heard in fact that you’re definitely a player-I’m not sure if you’re my favorite yet.”

  “Well I guess I’ll just need to work on that then, won’t I?” This time her blush was full blown as my face inched closer to hers across the cart. Her eyes widened as my lips moved in and I swear she moved closer, it was like there was a magnet pulling us together.

  The ding of the elevator pulled us out of our daze though and she quickly pulled back, flattening herself against the wall and not making any kind of eye contact with me whatsoever. Great.

  ************************

  “Dy-la-nn,” Sara whined out, pulling on my wrist to lift me up from the couch where I had stationed myself with a beer. That chick was getting on my nerves more and more every day and I wasn’t sure why I was still keeping her around. If Paige wouldn’t have me, maybe it was time to start things back up with Mia again.

  “What Sara?” I huffed out, taking a sip of the warm beer in my hand, quickly draining my third cup of the night and it was still pretty early.

  Chris had decided on throwing a party since we hadn’t had one all year and our place was the perfect one to have it at. The house that the three of us shared was fairly new and was situated on a big piece of land not too far from campus. The one good thing about it was the neighbors were so far away that they probably didn’t hear a thing.

  “Come dance with me!” Her green eyes were glossed over and I could tell she already had even more to drink than I had. She was definitely a lightweight and when she started to get super drunk, she turned into a super bitch.

  “In a little bit,” I yelled out over the growing noise and she stalked off with a flip of her long red hair, crossing her arms over her big fake boobs. I’d always loved those things but lately I preferred a much smaller set. A set that was currently walking in.

  I jumped off the couch as soon as Paige walked in, arm in arm with Kitty. I let out a low whistle as I approached and that blush that I loved, instantly appeared. Kitty rolled her eyes, whispering something in Paige’s ear and quickly turned in the direction of the kitchen where all of the alcohol was located.

  “Damn Sparky, you look sexy as fuck,” I whispered into her ear, my fingers playing up and down her bare arm, waiting for those goosebumps to cover her skin that I knew would pop up any second. Yup, bingo.

  “Um, thanks,” she replied, licking her lips and tucking back a loose curl that had escaped from the high ponytail she had. It showed off her bare neck and shoulders nicely and the black dress that she had on was hugging every one of her curves deliciously.

  “Where’s your boyfriend?” My eyes flicked behind her, but the douchebag wasn’t in sight. I think my night just got a whole lot better.

  “Not here,” she replied, shifting nervously on the spiked black heels she was wearing that still only brought the top of her head level with my chest. “He had some group study thing or something. Where’s your girlfriend?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged and waved my hands around. “I’m sure she’s out back or something. Let’s get you something to drink.” She followed behind me closely as I pushed my way through the thick crowd. Kitty still had the kitchen occupied and quickly handed Paige a cup that was filled to the top.

  I watched Paige as she sn
iffed the drink and her nose scrunched up. “What in the hell is that?”

  “Oh don’t worry Paigey, just drink it down real quick and you won’t even taste it.” Kitty reached over to clink her cup with Paige’s and they both tipped their heads back to drain the cups. If Paige kept drinking like that, there was no way I was letting her out of my sight tonight. Not with all of these horny guys around and her looking like that. Even though I was one of those horny guys.

  Kitty refilled their cups and handed another to Paige. “Come on, let’s dance.” I watched as Kitty dragged Paige behind her, back into the wide family room that was set up as a makeshift dance floor. I could see the two of them from here and I leaned down to fill my cup up with more beer.

  I moved closer into the family room, standing right on the edge so I could watch Paige. Of course, the two of them drew the eyes of almost every guy there as they worked their hips to the music. Kitty was a good- looking girl, but Paige was just…I wasn’t even sure about what word to use to describe her. She definitely wasn’t as confident as Kitty when it came to dancing, but that wall seemed to break down pretty easily as her cup kept getting refilled.

  “Hey,” Sara stumbled up next to me and I caught her around the waist before she landed head first onto the floor. “Wanna head back to your room?” she purred out, slurring the words. I gave her a quick shake of my head and she literally stomped her foot on the ground.

  “Fine, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but I’m leaving. Katie’s going to take me back to my place. If you care,” she added on, trying to make me feel guilty or something I guess. But I didn’t. “You know what,” I pulled on her wrist to stop her from going any further. “I actually don’t care.” Her mouth dropped open and her green eyes narrowed. “What did you just say to me?”

  “I said, I don’t care,” I repeated, “and as of right now we’re through. You got me?”

  “Yeah, I got you, Dylan Turner. You were such a waste of my time. I thought you loved me and then you go and treat me like this? You don’t love anyone but yourself. You are such an asshole,” she screeched out, turning on her heel and stumbling her way to the front door. Loved? Was this girl delusional or what? “An asshole,” she screamed before slamming the door a few times to get her point across.

  The people crowded into the house seemed to lower a few decibels, staring after the crazy redhead that had disappeared. Jeez, maybe I should have gotten rid of her a lot sooner. Why did I seem to attract all of the crazy ones?

  I turned around, searching the floor with my eyes for Paige to see her reaction, but her and Kitty had both disappeared. Before I could go off on my search for her, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned expecting to see Sara, returning for more.

  “Yo, dude. What in the hell did you do to Sara?” Chris slung an arm around my shoulder, leaning against me and I’m pretty sure he was drunk off of his ass. “Not much buddy,” I replied, guiding him to the nearest empty chair. “I just broke up with her; she was a little pissed off.”

  “A little?” He snorted and beer came spraying out of his mouth. “Good thing you have a piece of shit car or I’d tell you to watch out. She looked like she was on the warpath, literally looking like the devil.”

  “I think I can handle whatever crazy she comes up with,” I patted him on the shoulder and crouched down next to him. “Do you need anything? I’m kind of looking for someone…” I trailed off when I caught sandy brown curls stepping through the back patio door and started to walk that way.

  “Nope I’m good,” he answered back, his head leaned back and his eyes half closed. Ha, Claire was going to have some fun tonight, dealing with that.

  Chapter 11

  Paige

  The breeziness of the night hit me in the face as soon as I stepped outside, taking away a little bit of the dizziness the alcohol had set in to my brain. Kitty had wandered off with Claire to hunt down Chris who had apparently already had too much to drink and according to Kitty, he tended to get a little crazy. I couldn’t imagine Chris Chapman being anything but his reserved self, I’m sure that was a sight to see.

  It wasn’t as crowded in the sprawling back yard and only a few people were scattered around on the back deck that stretched the entire length of the house. This definitely wasn’t the type of place most college students lived in. I could see what Dylan meant when he said Susanne gave him a heavy discount when it came to rent.

  I pulled my phone out when I heard it chirp and unlocked the screen to see a message from Ben waiting. Miss you, hope you’re behaving yourself. A little smiley face was added at the end, I guess to lighten the controlling tone of the message.

  I think Amy had seriously messed him up when she cheated on him. He seemed to be more and more controlling lately as our relationship progressed, always wanting to know where I was and who I was with. And apparently, even though she cheated on him, he was still in love with her.

  Ugh, sigh. Wait, did I just inwardly sigh? I think it was time to break up with Ben, really I just didn’t feel it between the two of us. No need to get all stressed out about the whole situation. I know I didn’t have a lot of experience with the whole dating thing, but I wasn’t feeling it.

  Now when it came to Dylan Turner…that was a whole different ballgame. He got me so flustered at just the small little touches that he placed on my body, immediately setting me on fire and stirring up feelings that I had never felt before.

  “Thinking about me?” A husky voice whispered in my ear, sending shivers to my toes. “How’d you know?” I asked coyly, even though he was completely spot on. How in the hell did he do that?

  “Will you dance with me?” he asked, nuzzling his nose into the crook of my neck and I tilted my head to give him better access. What was wrong with me? I felt like a freaking dog in heat when Dylan was around.

  “Lead the way, Rookie.” His arm wrapped around my waist and I threw my empty cup in the large trashcan placed right outside of the door, declining when Dylan asked if I wanted a refill. I needed as clear of a head as I could get when he was around and alcohol wouldn’t help the situation.

  I didn’t spot Kitty when we walked back in and I figured that was for the best. If she saw me with Dylan, I knew I would get the third degree from her, and I really had no clue what was going on between the two of us.

  His fingers grasped my hips as he pulled my body against his and then twisted it around so my back was against his front. He moved one arm to twist around his neck and leaned in to nip at my ear as our hips moved to the music. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm my body down, but it wouldn’t listen. He continued to trail his lips down my neck, darting his tongue out as he went, and I did nothing to stop it. I couldn’t.

  My eyes popped open when I heard a loud voice and felt a wetness streaming down the front of my dress. The dress that totally wasn’t mine and I’m sure would cover half of my tuition. Kitty was going to kill me. The familiar looking perpetrator held an empty cup and ran a hand over the front of my dress to try to wipe away the liquid that was clearly some kind of sticky alcohol. Great.

  “Get your fucking hands off of her now, Dean,” Dylan bit out, moving to stand in front of me and shoving into Dean’s chest, causing his hands to fall off the front of my dress where they had seemed to be lingering. Oh yes, I remembered Dean. The asshole from the football game.

  “Sorry dude, total accident.” His cocky smirk told otherwise and Dylan’s face started to turn red as he shoved him into the wall. “Right, an accident. Believable story.” I saw Dylan’s fist clench at his sides and he kept flicking his gaze between Dean and I. “Just get the fuck out of my sight and I better not see you near her again.

  Dylan rejoined my side and placed his hand at the small of my back. “C’mon, I’ll find you something dry to change into.” He led me up the stairs to the second floor and pulled out a key to unlock the door at the end of the hallway, before ushering me and locking the door behind us. “Um, are you kidnapping me or something?”


  “Ha, not yet,” he barked out, walking across the wide room to pull open the door on a walk- in closet. He stepped back out after shuffling through the hangers and tossed a shirt at me. “I just have to keep it locked or people would be up here hooking up. I don’t have anything expensive in here, but I don’t want people touching my shit.”

  I gave a slight nod as my eyes took in his room that had his personality all over it. Mementos from baseball teams he had played on were hung all over the walls. Picture frames were lined up in rows all over the top of his dresser and computer table, most of them including the Chapmans. They really were like family to him.

  I held out the t-shirt that he had thrown at me and saw that it was an old baseball shirt with his last name in block lettering across the back. I snorted as I remembered the promise I had made him and he looked at me with amusement in his chocolate brown eyes. “See, I knew I could get you into something with my name on it.”

  “Very funny,” I waved him away with my hand while reaching around to undo the zipper on the side of the dress. Of course, his feet remained in place, not moving an inch. “Dylan, please just turn around.”

  He finally turned around reluctantly with a loud huff, and I quickly shimmied out of the dress with my back to him, knowing he wouldn’t stay that way for long.

  “You are so beautiful.” His lips were on my shoulder while his hands wrapped around my waist, leaving me standing only in my see through black panties and bra. Kitty had dragged me to a lingerie store when she thought things with Ben and I was starting to get hot and heavy, insisting I needed something sexy. I felt ridiculous, not sexy.

  “Dylan, this is wrong, we both have…” He interrupted me by spinning me around, his brown eyes boring into me with a deep intensity. “I don’t, not anymore. You can’t deny this attraction between the two of us, Paige. Stop trying to fight it.” His lips were on mine in an instant, backing me up until my knees hit the edge of the bed and landing on top of me.