Fall for You: Boys of Alabama

by Mica Halstead

  “Uh oh, I’m not apposta open the door when someone rings da bell,” she whispers and looks over her shoulder. At the same time, Zane comes barreling down the stairs.

  “Ah, crap dad, sorry, I asked her to do it.” He shouts down the hallway while narrowing his eyes at his sister. She smiles sweetly back up at him. “Tanks, Zane. You’re da best big brother I ever had,” and with that she snatches a pizza box out of my hand and skips off to the kitchen.

  “Nice try, Z, but I know you’re full of shi….” he trails off as the door tucked under the stairs swings open and he walks out of it, and good gravy he is gloriously shirtless, with a pair of gray athletic shorts riding low on his hips and sweat dripping down his tight and toned six… no wait, nope. That is definitely a fucking eight pack. Crap on a cracker. I stand from my still crouched position and snatch up the beer and hold both things out in front of me.

  “Peace offering?” I say and tilt my head a little. Zane is glancing between his dad and me, his eyes that are the same dark brown as his dads volleying back and forth. Ford grabs the towel that is draped over his shoulder and wipes the sweat off his forehead while keeping his eyes locked on my face.

  “Bud why don’t you go help your sister set the table? I just need to talk to Miss Carter really quick.” He finishes as Zane scurries past us and down the hall to the kitchen. Ford closes the distance between us quickly, catching me off guard and backing me up into the door that I just finished shutting behind me. He tosses the towel back on his shoulder and slams his hand on the wall beside me and leans in.

  “What are you doing here, Lex?” he growls just inches away from my face. I’m trying not to let him see how hot and bothered the whole situation has made me. Sweat glistening on his face, the close proximity of him in front of me. I raise the pizza box that I’ve somehow managed to hold onto during all of this and squeak out, “I just, I wanted to apologize for making assumptions at school the other day. I was way out of line.”

  He glances at the pizza box and then back to my face. A grin breaks out across his face and he cocks his head to the side.

  “Shit. You went to DeAngelos? How could I say no to that?” He brings the hand that’s not against the door up and tucks my hair behind my ear. I suck in a breath. Pushing off the wall and snatching the box from my hand, he turns towards the kitchen. “Grab the beer, Miss Carter, and move your fine ass to the kitchen,” he tosses back over his shoulder as he heads away. I let my head drop back against the door and take a deep breath before meeting him and the kids in the kitchen.

  ◆◆◆

  All the pizza had been devoured and we have somehow found our way out to Ford’s back patio. The kids are playing on their swing set and Ford and I are relaxing on the back steps. I’ve indulged in a few beers and I’m feeling a little loose lipped at the moment. I’m sitting with my back leaned against the railing, my body cocked just a little so that it’s facing Ford, and my left leg extended out and down the steps and my beer bottle hanging loosely in the hand draped over my bent knee. He looks nothing short of perfection. He excused himself after dinner to change out of his workout clothes. The kids and I had decided to head out back after we cleaned up and when he appeared in the doorway, wearing a pair of low slung camouflage cargo shorts and a plain black t-shirt, dangling two beers from his hand my mouth actually watered. This is where we’ve sat for the last hour, laughing and talking about absolutely nothing while the kids play in the yard.

  “You look deep in thought over there,” his deep voice catches me off guard and I jump a little. He chuckles. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

  I feel my cheeks flush and I shake my head a little, “you just surprised me, is all. Thanks for agreeing to my impromptu dinner tonight. I really did want to apologize for the other day, making those assumptions about you and Sophie. She’s a great kid and she’s been a huge asset to me the last week.”

  His deep brown eyes are flicking back and forth between my green ones, like he can’t figure out if I’m being sincere or not. Once he realizes that I am in fact telling the truth, he relaxes a little.

  “Water under the bridge,” he murmurs as he brings his beer bottle to his lips and takes a long pull of it. I try not to, and fail miserably, to watch his throat as he swallows.

  “She’s really been a Godsend for me and the kids. I’m not sure I would have survived the last four years without her. Trying to balance life between the kids, teaching, coaching, and still trying to have some sort of an adult life hasn’t been smooth sailing. My mom, she’s really great, but she has a life of her own, ya know? I want her to be able to enjoy her golden years, not burden her with helping me raise my kids when she’s already raised her own.” He rolls his head towards me, pulling his eyes from the kids in the yard and focusing on me again. I hate how when he looks at me, I feel like he can see all of my secrets, secrets I’m not ready to talk about.

  I shift a little, uncomfortable from the searing look in his eyes, and clear my throat. “I’m sure she loves spending time with them. And I’m sure they love being with Sophie, too. It’s a win for them any way you look at it.”

  That’s the moment the kids choose to decide they’ve had enough with playing outside and are ready to head in. I stand up, brushing my shorts off. “Well, that’s my cue. I should really head home, anyways. It’s getting late and I have a few papers left to grade.”

  “Kids, what do you say to Lexi for bringing over dinner?” A chorus of ‘thank yous’ rings out from the kids and I crack a smile.

  “You are very welcome. Thank YOU for helping me clean up the kitchen after we were all done.” I hold my fist out for a fist bump from Zane and he happily obliges.

  “Come on, A.J., I’ll help you pick out some jammies,” Zane shuffles her forward and into the house. “Night, Miss Carter.”

  Ford slides the door shut behind them, leaving us both standing on the back porch. I suck in a breath. “Alright, Crawford James, pleasure doin’ dinner with ya,” I spin around on my heel and head down the stairs. I have one foot on the grass when Ford captures my elbow and spins me around, startling me. He dips down so we are eye to eye, his reflecting nothing but heat and desire.

  “I’m gonna kiss you, Lexi Carter, and if that’s something you don’t want, I need to you to say so right fucking now,” he rasps out, his eyes darting back and forth between both of mine and finally dropping to my lips, which are parted and my breathing has become heavy. I can feel desire pooling between my legs, desire that I haven’t felt in years.

  “I’ve never wanted something so badly,” I manage to finally breathe out.

  “Thank fuck,” he growls as he slides his hand up my arm, over my shoulder, and under my hair, grabbing the back of my neck and closing the distance between us. The minute his lips press against mine it’s like a last piece of a puzzle finally clicking into place. I step up onto the step with him, the wood creaking under our weight. Letting my hands rest against his chest, I press deeper into the kiss. Ford groans, parting the seam of my lips with his tongue. He tastes like beer and garlic and something totally of his own, like a mix between honey and whiskey and a hot summer day. I tilt my head for a better angle.

  Our tongues are dancing together and Ford's hand is no longer in my hair. No, it’s traveling down my back, inching closer and closer to my ass. I’m sure he can smell my arousal. And finally, fucking finally, he grips my ass cheeks with both of his hands and presses me against his straining erection. I can feel it against my belly and my breasts are pressed against his rock-hard chest, my pebbled nipples straining through the fabric of my bra and grazing his shirt, the sensation causing me to whimper.

  Begrudgingly, Ford tears his lips away from mine and rests his forehead against mine, panting heavily. “Shit, I’m so sorry, I got carried away,” he whispers.

  I shake my head back and forth, our foreheads still pressed together. “Please don’t apologize. I can’t say I haven’t been thinking about doing that to you since I fir
st saw you in the classroom.” He leans back and I reluctantly drop my hands from his chest, taking a step back to put a little space in between us. He’s smirking at me.

  “Ah, so you’ve been thinking about taking advantage of me all this time?” He arches an eyebrow, cocky as ever. I roll my eyes. Aria chooses that moment, and thankfully not a few seconds earlier, to slide the backdoor open and demand that Ford read her a book. He steps backwards up the stairs, still facing me, and tips his head back towards his daughter. “Duty calls,” he grins, “but you and me, Lex? We aren’t even close to being finished.”

  My cheeks are pink and I’m smiling wider than I have in a really long time. I shake my head, pivot on my feet, and make my way across his backyard to my house.

  “I’m counting on it, Crawford!” I holler, just before I hit the patio door. I can hear him chuckling as I slide mine shut, flip the lock, and turn around and let my head drop back against the glass. My phone dings on the counter where I left it when I headed over to Ford’s. Only a few people from the last four years have my new number. I change phones every nine to ten months, always prepaid, still constantly looking over my shoulder. Something I feel like I will be doing for the rest of my life.

  I push off the door and kick my flip flops off. Throwing open the fridge and snagging a bottle of wine, I take a swig from the bottle because hello, perks of living alone and never having to share your wine. Ever. I snag my phone, unlocking the screen and clicking the new message.

  Unknown: Thought you could run, bitch? Think again. You’ll be home soon, Mrs. Crenshaw.

  The bottle slips from my hand, crashing to the ground and shattering into a hundred pieces, the cold liquid sloshing up on my legs. I’ve spent years preparing for this moment. Taking all the classes, going to all the support groups. But nothing, absolutely nothing can prepare you for the moment your abusive husband decides he wants you back.

  Fuck.

  Ford

  I closed the princess book that I only got about two pages into before she fell asleep and lay it on Aria’s bedside table. I pull her blankets all the way up to her chin and tuck it around her sides. Brushing her hair off her face, I press a kiss to her chubby little cheek and reach over and turn her butterfly lamp off. Her entire room is decorated in butterflies, something Zoe would have loved. I sneak out, closing the door part-way behind me and head down the hallway towards Zane’s room. His light is still on and I tap lightly on the door, pushing it open with my foot and propping myself up against the door jam. He’s in his bed on his iPad.

  “Time for bed, bud.” He glances up at me and huffs out a sigh. He tosses the ipad onto his nightstand and flops back in his bed. Scooching down under his covers, he looks up at me. Sometimes it physically hurts how much he looks like his mom. Brown hair just like her, the same sharp cheekbones. Identical noses. I push off the wall and walk over to his bed, leaning over to flip off his lamp. “I love ya, kid. I’ll see you in the morning.” I ruffle his hair and walk back towards the door.

  “Hey dad?” his little voice comes quietly from the other side of his room. I catch myself on the doorway and look back towards him.

  “What’s up?” He rolls over and looks at me. I can’t quite make out the look on his face. Hope, maybe?

  “I like Miss Lex. She’s really nice. And I had fun tonight.”

  I knock twice on the door frame. “Me too, kiddo. Me too.”

  Making my way to my room, I strip out of my shirt and head into my master bath, starting the shower. Stripping out of the rest of my clothes, I snag a wash rag and step in, sliding the glass door shut. I let the hot steam relax some of the tension in my neck and shoulders. Thoughts of Lex’s hot body pressed up against me start to take over my already distracted mind. The way she sighed into my mouth, how she tasted like strawberries and sunshine.

  Putting one hand against the marble tile on the shower wall, I run my other hand down my stomach and let it travel down to my cock. I grip it in my hand, giving it a squeeze. Stroking myself as I think of her tits pressed against me, perky with her nipples pebbled, pressing against my chest. I imagine her wet heat enveloping my shaft. Fantasize about those tits bouncing in my face as she rides me, imagining my hands gripping her tight little ass. And for the first time in a long time, I come with such a force, my release dripping down the shower wall, to thoughts of a woman that isn’t my dead wife.

  ◆◆◆

  There was an extra pep in my step this morning as I got the kids ready for school Most mornings there are temper tantrums and some tears, but today was smooth sailing. Usually, the tears are mine.

  Just kidding. Sort of.

  Anyways, I drop Aria off at her classroom with a peck on her cheek and an ‘I love you, daddy’ after Zane ditches us at the front door of the school. Glancing at my watch, I realize I have about seven minutes to spare before I have to have my ass in my desk chair, or my students will start a riot. Taking the back stairs two at a time, I hit the third floor that houses the high schoolers and make my way down the hallway. Her door is shut but her light is on, so she must be in there. Not bothering to knock, I swing the door open and pop my head in.

  What I wasn’t expecting to find was a much different woman than what I left last night. That woman was hot as fuck, with pink cheeks and a glint in her eye. This woman is different entirely. She’s got her head resting on her hand while she’s writing on a sheet of paper on her desk. But she looks sad. Really fucking sad. And maybe a little worried. What the fuck.

  “Honey, what’s wrong?” I say gruffly, maybe a little harsher than I meant to. But fuck if it isn’t doing something strange to me to see her upset like this. She jumps and screams a little, her wild eyes shooting up to me. She places a hand on her heaving chest.

  “Jesus, Ford. You scared me,” she shakes her head a little, swiping what I can see now are tears that are running down her face. Her cheeks and nose are red, her eyes puffy like she’s been up half the night crying.

  “What is this? What happened? Why are you so upset?” I start firing questions at her after kicking the door shut and stalking over to her desk. I drop down to my knees next to her chair, taking her hands in mine. “Talk to me, baby. What has you so worked up?” My eyes are searching hers, but I’m seeing nothing but fear and apprehension.

  She waves me off and tries to laugh but it comes out shaky. “Nothing, I’m just being silly,” she snatches her hands out of mine, reaching across her desk to grab a tissue. She starts blotting at her face. “I must be getting ready to get my period,” she laughs again. I’m not buying it for one fucking second.

  I drop back on my haunches, pushing up from the floor and propping my ass on her desk. I cross my arms over my chest and look down on her, trying to see if she’s actually telling the truth. But she won’t make eye contact. She starts nervously shuffling papers around her desk and rearranging pencils.

  “Everything is great. Really.” She pushes her chair back and stands up, placing her delicate little hand on my forearm. She finally, fucking finally, makes eye contact with me. “I promise. I’m good. Just having a day.” She leans over and pecks me on the cheek just as the first bell rings. I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear, letting my palm rest on her jaw and stroking her cheek with my finger.

  “Are you sure you’re good? You’d tell me if something was seriously wrong, right?” My eyes shift back and forth between her sky blue ones. She tilts her head towards my hand and lets her eyes fall close before she opens them back up, blinking twice.

  “I promise,” she says, covering my hand with hers, and then turning her head to kiss my pulse point on my wrist. “Now go on, get outta here. These kids are going to come bursting in at any moment and if they catch us together it will ignite the rumor mill.” She laughs a little as I bend down and grab my bag. She creates a little space between us and snags a dry erase marker from her desk, turning around she uncaps it and reaches up like she’s going to start writing on the board. Just as I go to open my mouth,
probably to do something crazy like tell her how I can’t stop thinking about her, the door to her classroom bursts open and a few students start to trickle in.

  “Thanks for the reminder, Mr. James,” Lex says as she starts writing on the board. “I’ll be sure to let the cheerleaders know about the pep rally on Friday.” She looks back over her shoulder, her wavy blonde hair flipping over to her opposite shoulder as she shoots me a wink.

  “Yeah,” I say clearing my throat, “pep rally. Great. Thanks again, Miss Carter.” I turn and head out the door, acknowledging a few students with a chin lift and a few fist bumps. Pep rally, my ass. This conversation isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

  ◆◆◆

  The rest of the day slowly passes by. Between classes there’s no time to pop down to see Lex, and during lunch she’s nowhere to be found and her classroom door is locked. I finish out the day and head down to the athletic office to change out of my school attire and into my shorts and t-shirt for practice. Locking up the office after changing and grabbing the mesh bag with the footballs in it, I make my way out to the football field, popping my head into the locker room to tell the boys to hurry up.

  I make it to the field where Jax is already setting up cones so we can run plays. Jax is my best friend and has been since we were just kids. He works as an accountant during the day and spends his evenings and weekends helping me coach football. We get to work setting up the field and once the team is out, we start practice.

  Same as it’s always been, we practice on the field and the cheerleaders run their practice on the sidelines, at the same time as us, two days a week. I’ve usually never bothered to pay attention, but there’s a certain blonde that I’ve had my eye on who looks super sexy in a pair of tight as fuck black shorts and a Jefferson High t-shirt stretched across her magnificent tits. It is taking everything I have to stay focused on my team and not on her ass in those shorts.