Claiming Xana (Wildcat Graduates Book 2)

by Xana Jordan

  STACE: Staying at C’s.

  “Looks like you have an extra roommate tonight,” she teases, replying back to the message with a short ‘K’.

  “I’d much rather it be you.” I lay back on the bed and pull her to lie on top of me, my arms wrapped around her back and one slides under her hair to grip the base of her neck. I take her mouth in a demanding kiss, and my tongue fights with hers as she returns it.

  There is nothing I’d rather do than spend the rest of the night kissing her, having her here with me. Xana’s legs move to either side of mine and I pull her hips firmly onto me. Raising my knee I shift until she is lying on her back and I’m leaning over her in the same position we were in before we were so rudely interrupted. Xana’s hands move to the hem of my shirt and tug it up my body. I take the shirt away from her and remove it myself while she removes her own.

  Leaning back on my knees I take the time to really look at her. Her alabaster skin is flushed from head to toe, and I can’t help but feel proud that I did that to her. Laying down beside her, we wrap ourselves around one another and continue where we left off. Being skin to skin with her like this is the best feeling in the world.

  “I love being like this with you. Just us and no one else,” I say as I lick my way down her neck to nip at her collar bone. My hands find their own way to her breasts and pull the cups down below them.

  Just as she starts to speak, her phone rings. “Ugh,” she groans and I rest my head on her chest. “That’s Mom’s ringtone.” Cock blocked again.

  “People have the worst timing tonight,” I complain as I move away and hand her phone to her. She blows a stray hair out of her face and grimaces as she answers the phone.

  I stand from the bed and walk over to the small fridge she and Stacy share and grab a bottle of juice to cool off with while she talks to her mother. Looking through the blinds in her window I can see lots of people milling around the steps of the music building next door. There must be some sort of recital or concert going on over there. Xana’s isn’t until May, so I am left wondering what could be going on over there until I feel her arms wrapping around my waist from behind and her breath on my back.

  “What are you looking at?” she asks as she looks around me to the window.

  “Nothing. Just watching people over at the band hall. Everything alright at home?”

  “Probably some choir or orchestra thing,” she replies and kisses my shoulder. “Everything’s fine at home. Mom just wanted to tell me about some tests my grandmother had. She hasn’t been feeling well, and knows I hate it when I’m the last to find out things.”

  I move my arm over her head and behind her, pulling her to my side and kiss the top of her head. “Why don’t you go ahead and check me out? I can see you’re tired and need to rest.” She looks up at me with the saddest eyes she can give.

  “I wish you didn’t have to go. I sleep better when you’re with me,” she whispers, her voice dropping off to almost nothing. She hugs me closer to her and rests her almost naked chest against mine. Holding her just as tight, I place my chin on the top of her head and close my eyes.

  “I know you do, but I need to go, and there’s no way I can climb back inside with your window four feet off the ground and not be noticed. You’re too close to the front of the building.”

  Sighing, she burrows her head further into my shoulder. “I know. I guess I’m just emotional tonight. I know it’s all in my head and we say goodbye every night, but…” she says with a watery voice.

  “I know, baby,” I say quietly into her hair. “At times like this it kills me to leave you here alone.” I pull her away from me so I am able to look into her teary eyes. “Come check me out, and I’ll run a lap around campus while you get showered and ready for bed. I’ll call you when you’re done, okay?” Her hormones are really getting the better of her this time around. She was finally starting to feel better, and those cysts just have to give her problems again. She nods her head and gives me a weak smile.

  “Okay,” she responds quietly. She moves to the bed and throws my shirt at me, then puts hers back on.

  Xana reluctantly walks me to the lobby and out onto the front steps where she seems hesitant to let me leave, but she’s always a little clingy when they start acting up. There’s nothing I can do to fix it for her except be there with her, and dammit if the blasted curfew prevents me from even doing that.

  I give her one last kiss and turn her toward the dorm doors before leaving for my run. I’ll talk to her all night if I have to so she will feel better. That’s just what I do.

  Watching Noel jog away from the dorm was hard. I walked back to my room mad at myself, and took an extra long shower. I decided to let the hot water and shower gel help me relax and hopefully be a little more ready to sleep. Walking back into my room, I find my phone ringing with a call from Noel.

  “Hey,” I answer as I put my wet towel on the hook in the closet to dry.

  “Feel any better?” I can hear noises in the background and what sounds like a dog barking nearby.

  “Where are you? Did you not go back to your dorm?”

  “Nah, I’m actually sitting outside under your window. I figured I could sit here and talk while you go to sleep since it’s so nice outside.” Can he get any sweeter?

  Walking over to the window, I open it and look down at him through the screen. He smiles and places his outstretched hand on the brick underneath my window sill, so close but yet still so far away. “Noel,” is all I’m able to say before he speaks into the phone.

  “Go get in bed, and I’ll sit right here until you’re ready to sleep.” Reaching my hand out to touch the window screen, I nod and walk to my side of the room.

  After locking the door and turning off the lights, I crawl in bed and listen to him tell me about house hunting with his parents next weekend. He tells me about the upcoming charity tournament they will be coming to watch in between looking at properties, and the latest antics of his hilarious Gramps. Lying there, listening to his low, deep voice soothes me, and without much effort, I fall asleep listening to him stay with me.

  After a long week and a lot of baseball, we’ve decided to spend Sunday at the lake, just hanging out and relaxing. The weather is nice and warm, the sun chasing a majority of the clouds away. I’ve loaded the ice chest into the car and only need to pick Xana up before heading to meet everyone there.

  After pulling up to the side of her dorm, she meets me in the lobby so I can get the blanket and her beach bag to load into the car, while she locks up her room. “I’ll meet you at the car,” she says, then kisses me on the cheek.

  I’m standing beside the driver’s door when she finally makes it to the car. As she walks to my side, I say, “Catch,” and toss her the car keys, the look on her face priceless.

  Looking at the keys in her hands, then up at me, she smiles apprehensively. “You sure you don’t want to drive?

  “Nope. Today it’s all you. You’ve been doing really great when you’ve driven with me. You can handle this, I promise.”

  Her smile slowly turns to one of excitement and, on tiptoe, she throws her arms around my neck and plays a thorough kiss on my lips. Pulling away to stand flat, she breathes, “Thank you.”

  “Always,” I assure her, and make my way to the passenger seat so we can leave.

  I’ve been helping her feel more comfortable driving for the past few months. The trauma from her childhood car accident was something I couldn’t overlook any longer. I hate that she felt so scared to drive by herself most of the time, and became determined to fix it. After I broke my arm, it was easier to get her driving on her own since she wanted to take care of me. Needing to get things for me while my arm still hurt spurred her on to drive on her own more often.

  Halfway to the lake Xana turns slightly to glance at me. “Everyone’s going to be very surprised when they see me driving and not you.” She giggles lightly, a smile plastered on her face. Damn, I love how her face lights up like that.


  After we’ve gotten the coolers and blankets situated, we get everything set up for a game of beach volleyball. “How are we going to split teams?” Xana asks as she looks around at the seven of us. “We’re not even.”

  “How about girls and Noel against the rest of you guys?” Mallory asks, looking to everyone for agreement, which she gets, and we take our places on both sides of the net.

  “Three guys against girls? How is that fair?” Dillon asks, getting the most evil smirk from Stacy he has ever witnessed since he’s not been around us all that much. Now, I’m a little nervous about what he just unleashed. I’ve been around that girl long enough to know that grin meant Stacy was going to let him have it.

  “Shut up, dude! Now you’ve just screwed us all,” Cade scolds him, and slaps the back of his thick head.

  “Ouch, what was that for?” Dillon rubs his head and glares at Cade, just as Mallory and Xana double over in laughter. We are so screwed now.

  “Do you never listen, ya moron? Haven’t you heard us talk about how competitive that one is?” I question, pointing to Stacy whose grin is wider than before. “Don’t you remember hearing about her when we’ve gone bowling?”

  Laughter continues and Cade and I simply shake our head in resignation. All along, Stacy simply continues to toss the ball in the air and grins. “Ready boys?” Stacy looks at Dillon and Gavin and winks, then turns to us. “Let’s go, people! Mamma’s got a game to win.” Hearing that, Xana’s laughter stops and she is no longer smiling. We both know how this game is going to end.

  As we take our places, Cade gives Dillon one last pat on the back. “You’re so screwed, Steele. She’s after you now.” Unphased by the warnings, he gets into place and prepares to play.

  “Let’s go, Blondie! If you think you can handle me,” he taunts her, unable to comprehend the what he just unleashed. There goes the relaxing part of the day.

  “Crap,” Xana mutters, looking over to Cade for help, but he merely settles into position with the rest of his team. Dillon may just get hurt at some point.

  “Get ready pretty boy, time to get dirty,” Stacey shouts and volleys the ball over the net toward Dillon. He is taken by surprise with the force she hit the ball when it hits him in the gut. “Point, Team Awesome! Team Pretty Boy, ZERO!” He seems undeterred by the hit and gets right back into position. Xana shakes her head as she watches Stacy take her position, one that we’ve seen too many times last year. She’s out for blood.

  I keep an eye on Xana to make sure she isn’t getting too sunburned. She’s just gotten all of the burn from Galveston to go away, and she is always more susceptible to burn again afterward.

  Dillon and Stacy are playing like they are the only two players in the game, and after two games, they are starting to slow down so the rest of us have more of a chance to get our hands on the ball. By the third game, we are tied, waiting for this game to end in order to determine a winner. Like I need to know who is going to win. I know our team will win. It’s a given when people constantly underestimate Stacy’s abilities because she’s short and blonde.

  Halfway through the match, Xana steps out to rest, not looking as good as she did earlier. The beach has gotten more populated by this time, and several people are crowding around to watch Dillon and Stacy battle it out. It really is a sight to behold, with all the trash talk that’s going on. “You about ready to admit defeat, little girl?” Dillon taunts her one more time as he prepares to serve.

  “I’m ready to admit you’re a loser to everyone here, pretty boy. Quit stalling, ya big chicken,” she challenges him, and he returns with a killer serve right to her. Mallory moves out of the way so I can cover Stacy from behind, but she has a good angle on the ball, so she jumps into the air and smashes the ball back over the net to land right in front of an unsuspecting Cade. The look on Dillon’s face is priceless.

  As Stacy celebrates with the crowd, Cade walks up to Dillon and places his hand on his shoulder. “We tried to warn ya. Maybe next time, man,” Cade laughs when Dillon shakes his head and mutters something about being beaten by a girl.

  Stacy runs up to Cade and jumps in the air so he can catch her. “Great game, Short Stuff. I knew you’d win as soon as he opened his mouth.” She throws her head back and laughs, her laughter carrying over the sounds of the lake. He really does know how to handle her. Better him than me, though.

  Mallory and I walk over to our side and sit with Xana on the blankets where she has some food sitting out for us. When the rest of our group joins us, Xana says, “You fell for all of her tricks. I thought you were smarter, Dill.”

  “Only because she’s got her boyfriend helping her on the side, otherwise she wouldn’t have won,” he mutters while eating his sandwich. Cade instantly smacks him on the back of the head, yet again, causing the bite of sandwich he was chewing to fly from his mouth.

  “I don’t have to help her, asshole. She was captain of the winning intramural volleyball team last year. You just suck,” he laughs and takes a seat on one of the blankets..

  “Yeah, Stace is the volleyball queen,” Xana giggles and Stacy takes a bow.

  “Come prepared next time, pretty boy. You’re looking a little ragged.” She grins and takes her seat next to Cade.

  “Now you’re never gonna live this down,” Mal giggles.

  “You’re all crazy, ya know that, right?” Dillon asks, causing us to break out in laughter while Noel just smiles.

  “Welcome to the band, man.” I tell him, and we laugh even harder as his face grows more exasperated. He may not want to hang out with us again anytime soon.

  Today is Xana’s birthday, April 25, and I have something very special planned. I haven’t spent the last two birthdays with her because we weren’t together any longer, and I plan on making this the best one she’s ever had, at least up until this point. It’s take me several months to plan this out so it will be perfect for her.

  The gang has decided to go out to dinner to celebrate with us, so we are all meeting them at the little Italian restaurant in town. It’s nothing too fancy, but nice enough for special occasions like this. Xana and I are supposed to be the last ones to arrive because Stace and Mal have something else planned, and that is more than enough time for us to make our first stop.

  She is waiting for me in the lobby when I arrive to pick her up. She’s wearing a bright blue halter top dress that ends halfway to her knees and a blue and aqua stone necklace sits around her neck matching her outfit. Her curly, strawberry blonde hair frames her face on both sides, and I swear her face glows from the smile she gives me. She looks better than she has in months, almost as beautiful as the day we met in high school summer band practice. She chose me then, and she chose me again, even after I royally screwed things up. Damn, I’m a lucky son of a bitch.

  “Hey, Sweetness,” I say as I walk up and wrap my arms around her waist so we’re face to face. “You look so beautiful.” Closing the gap between us I give her a sweet, short kiss on the lips, and move a wild piece of hair away from her eyes.

  “You look pretty damn good yourself there, Handsome.” She smiles sweetly looking up at me with those sparkling blue eyes of hers and all rational thought nearly leaves me. The urge to forget dinner and spend the evening with just her is strong, but I have more important plans for the time being.

  “You ready? We have a stop to make before we go to the restaurant.” I take her hand in mine when she confirms she’s ready to leave and walk us to the car. After we are all buckled in, I make my way to the ball field. This confuses her, but she doesn’t question me about it. Pulling to a stop and parking the car, I help Xana out and walk her toward the gate by the home team dugout.

  “Did you forget something at practice?” She looks at the field from the gate as I open it.

  “Not exactly. Come on,” I reply, pulling her through the gate behind me, and we make our way to the dugout where her surprise awaits. Once we reach it, she stops dead in her tracks, and her free hand covers her m
outh.

  There, spread out on the bench is the quilt we always used in high school, a vase full of purple tulips, and a blue thermos with two mugs. Urging her inside, I sit us down on the quilt and pull her to my side.

  “I wanted this birthday to make up for the two I missed while we were apart and make this one special somehow.”

  “Oh, Noel,” she interrupts, but I continue on as I stare at her smiling face.

  “We’ve been through so much together and apart, but I’ve never loved anyone but you, even when you weren’t mine.”

  “I love you, too,” she says shakily, a lone tear escapes from her eyes and I wipe it away, kissing where it fell.

  “You’re always there to support me and encourage me when I don’t even realize I need it. You make my life better and I’ll spend the rest of our lives together doing the same for you.” Tears are now falling freely down her peachy cheeks as her smile quivers. Wiping them away again, I place a small kiss on her tear streaked lips.

  “You already do those things for me,” she replies, her voice skipping. “You’re always taking care of me in more ways than you could ever know. There could never be anyone else I love like I love you. I’ve been without you, and I never want to do that again.” She closes her eyes and wraps herself around me, hugging me tightly.

  “Never.” I return her hug, squeezing her to me, then pull away so I can wipe away her remaining tears. Once her cheeks are dry, I hand her a small box wrapped in shiny aqua paper. The white ribbon wrapped around it curls around the edges as she shakes it. Looking at me with a wary smile, she asks, “What did you do?”

  “Open it.” I have been hiding this present from her for weeks, which wasn’t exactly an easy feat since she is in my room all the time.

  She gently unties the ribbon from the package and sets it to her side before removing the lid and tissue paper inside it. Picking up the gift, she looks at me, confused, and says, “A baseball?”