by Sam Crescent
“You’re not putting me out, but you know, the pizza place is on the way to your place.”
“I’m not going on a date with you.”
“I know that,” he said, laughing. “But come on, give a guy a break. I’m starving. I was training and it has been a long time since lunch and I don’t have any snacks on me. I’m hungry.” He pouted at her, and she shook her head.
“This isn’t a date,” she said.
“Absolutely not. No date. I promise I won’t even pretend it has the potential to be a date.” He held his hands up in surrender and she couldn’t help but feel hungry herself.
“Okay, fine. We’ll go for pizza.”
He clapped his hands.
“No date,” she said again.
“No date.” He put his fingers to his head and saluted her.
She rolled her eyes as she walked around the car, climbing into the passenger side. “This sucks.” She’d been meaning to get her car serviced, but each time they wanted it for more than a day, she’d declined the available slot. This kind of served her right. She should have just left her car.
“It’s just pizza,” Blue said.
“No, it’s not about the pizza. Sorry. I’m just thinking about getting to school.” She didn’t mind walking, but she’d have to leave her home a little earlier. Again, not a problem at all.
“How about I pick you up?”
“It’s fine, Blue, I don’t want to put you out.”
“Babe, you don’t live that far from me. It’s not putting me out, not even for a second.”
She chuckled. “I don’t mind walking.”
“And when it’s pouring rain?”
She looked toward him. “I thought you were hungry.”
“I am, but I’m also going to make sure you don’t get sick or something. It’s important for you to stay fit and healthy.”
She stared at him. “You’re nothing like I’d expect.”
“Hopefully that’s a good thing.” He winked at her.
“I’m not sure.” She laughed. “Okay, fine. Food and you can pick me up each morning. I don’t like to be late, so please don’t make me.”
He clapped his hands together. You’re not going to regret it, I promise.” He turned over the ignition but she didn’t have the heart to tell him she already regretted it. He didn’t need to hear that.
Running fingers through her hair, she looked out the main window and just watched the world go by. Or more specifically their little town.
Blue hummed to himself as they made their way to the pizza place. She rarely visited by herself. When she was with Becky and John, they preferred the diner across the street. Becky had an absolute love for the different varieties of burgers the main chef seemed to have on the menu. So far, whenever Becky thought she’d tried them all, a brand new one came onto the scene. It always made her smile at the annoyance on her friend’s face.
There was a spare parking space around the back of the place. She climbed out and Blue held his hand out as if for her to take, which she didn’t, instead, giving him a strange look.
“Not a date,” she said, reminding him.
He chuckled. “Of course. I was just testing you.”
“Yeah, of course.” She laughed. She moved a little closer to him.
Several people they passed cheered Blue, giving him a high-five and congratulating him on an amazing game. She didn’t comment as they headed inside.
The guy behind the counter told Blue to sit and he’d bring over his regular. They found a free booth.
“Do you ever hate that?” she asked. “All of the attention?”
“Not really. I don’t mind it at all. It’s good for the guys. What I do hate is when they constantly congratulate me as if I alone run the whole team. I don’t.” He shrugged. “I try to do right by the guys, but it’s not always easy.”
She reached out, putting a hand on his. “At least you try. That has to mean something.”
“It does. The guys know I won’t take all the credit, and I won’t.”
Now this was news to her. She’d seen and heard about how much the town loved him. He couldn’t do anything wrong. She’d often wondered about the rest of the team, and now she knew her answer.
Their pizza was delivered in record time.
“Wow,” she said.
“Being the town’s hero does have its perks.” He winked at her. “Enjoy.”
She picked up a slice and took a bite, closing her eyes as the flavors of tomatoes and cheese exploded on her tongue.
It tasted so good.
“Maybe being popular isn’t such a bad thing,” she said.
“Is that a compliment I hear?”
“Not a big one. Don’t let it go to your head.” She couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nah, you see it’s started. You’re curious about me now. You want to learn more.”
“You do have a high opinion of yourself.”
“It’s the only way to be, baby.”
She enjoyed her slice, and in the time it took her to eat one, he was already starting his third. She couldn’t help but smile at him and hated to admit it was a lot of fun hanging out with him.
Blue wasn’t just some dumb jock.
Chapter Three
“What do you get chicks who love to learn?” Blue asked as Mitchell collapsed against his locker.
“This about Laylah again?”
“When is it not ever about her?” he asked.
News had gotten around the school that he was seen out with Laylah and then of course, he’d arrived at school with her in his car.
Picking her up was a step in the right direction. He didn’t exactly have a plan or know what he was going to do. Just that he had to do something to get what he wanted. He wasn’t the kind of guy to admit defeat. Far from it.
“Books?” Mitchell suggested after a short pause.
“But what kind of books?”
“I don’t know. Why is she always reading, anyway? Doesn’t she realize it calls for everyone to want to pick on her?” Mitchell laughed, but Blue was far from entertained. He didn’t like the single thought of anyone hurting his girl.
He grabbed Mitchell’s shirt. “What the fuck are you saying?”
“Whoa, dude, I didn’t mean it like that. Chill. I mean it, chill.”
He was far from chilled and as he looked at his friend, he realized quite quickly how crazy he must sound. Letting go of his friend’s shirt, he forced a smile and a laugh. “It’s fine, but if you find anyone bullying her, you come to me.”
“Yeah, man, sure. You know, I think you need to see someone about this obsession you’ve got with this chick. Like seriously.”
He couldn’t deny it and was about to agree when he spotted her walking with her friends, Becky and John. He’d gotten some of the nerd guys to do a bit of recon to discover if John was a threat to him, or Becky. Neither were. In fact, John was in a long-distance relationship with a girl he met at camp, and Becky hated men of all kinds right now. She was going through what she considered her feminist phase.
After shaking Mitchell’s hand to let his friend know they were good, he made his way over to Laylah. She stood to the left side of Becky, and he put his arm across her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
“I missed you today,” he said.
She stopped and turned to look at him. “Blue.”
“Hey, drive along.” He winked at her. “Hey, Becky. Hey John.” He tried to knuckles the friend but John clearly didn’t have a clue so it looked odd.
Laylah had a forced smile to her lips and she grabbed his arm, marching him away from her friends. “What the hell are you doing?”
“What? I can’t hang out with you?”
She folded her arms and glanced behind her. He did the same to see Becky showing John what he was trying to do. She turned back to look at him. “I don’t know what you’re doing, Blue, but I don’t like it. We’ve never been close or even friends. Now you’ve asked me out on
a date, and you’re acting like …”
“Like I want to go out with you and you know, be your boyfriend?” He wasn’t going to be vague. There was no way he wanted Laylah to mistake his intentions. He wanted her. Plain and simple. He watched her, waiting.
“Yes.”
“I do,” he said.
She looked away from him and shook her head. “I don’t think this is right. I want you to give me some space.”
“You’re telling me you don’t want to go out with me?” He stepped close to her, not wanting any distance between them.
“No, I don’t.”
“I find that very hard to believe.”
“You do have a high opinion of yourself.”
“No, I don’t. What I am is confident. I know what I want and I’m going after it. No questions asked, and you, baby, is what I want.” He stared at her as she looked at him, seeming completely clueless about what to say. To help her along, he grabbed her hip, and in front of the entire corridor of people, he slammed his lips down on hers, kissing her.
It wasn’t how he’d hoped to have their first kiss, but for now, it was going to have to do.
Tracing his tongue across her lips, he waited for her to open and the moment she did, he plunged inside, hearing her moan. It was quiet at first but deepened as he sank his fingers into her hair.
All of a sudden, the kiss that shouldn’t have been changed. She pushed him away hard. Right there in front of everyone, she slapped him across the face and stormed away.
He was left speechless as he admired her ass on the walk away.
What the fuck had he done?
He’d felt her submission. She’d wanted his kiss and he wasn’t going to allow her to deny it. He’d fucking felt it.
Blue touched his cheek as Becky and John came toward him.
“That wasn’t a good move, slick,” Becky said.
“Don’t worry. She hates everyone, and well, Laylah, she doesn’t exactly trust easy.” John slapped him on the shoulder, much in the same way he’d done with Mitchell, and they both left.
Seconds later, Mitchell was at his side, laughing his ass off.
“Shut up.”
“I’m sorry, but come on. This is going to be all around the school. How can you not find it fucking hilarious? The town hero can’t get the girl of his dreams and she slugs him right in front of everyone.” Again, more laughter.
To everyone, Laylah had rejected him, but he’d felt it. She’d enjoyed his kiss to begin with and then changed her mind.
He didn’t know why she had, but he wasn’t put off. No, he was intrigued, and what was more, he knew he was going to kiss her again, because it was the best fucking kiss of his life.
****
“I can’t believe I slapped him,” Laylah said.
She was outside for lunch with John and Becky. They’d opted for the warmth instead of the constant staring inside the cafeteria. Everywhere she went today, people pointed and whispered. She hated it. She’d never been the kind of person who craved attention and yet, here she was, getting it.
Blue had kissed her.
Really kissed her in front of everyone at school, and it was crazy how she’d responded. No one seemed to know that. Her lips, even now after a few hours, tingled. She resisted the urge to touch them and instead drank some of her milkshake. The pizza on her tray was unappealing compared to the one she’d shared with Blue just last night. She had to stop thinking about him.
“It was fucking epic,” John said. “I don’t think I’ve seen any girl slap him or reject him.”
Laylah winced.
“The cheerleading squad is going to be after you, babe,” Becky said. “You know he’s a man whore, right?”
John snorted. “Please, there’s no way all those rumors are true.”
“Please tell me we’re just talking about him screwing with the entire team and not anything else?” Laylah asked.
“You might want to wash your mouth out,” Becky said. “I heard he’s a player of the highest order. We’re talking lots of women. Even a cougar or something.” She shrugged. “Girls talk in the locker room and the squad has a whole host of things to say.”
“Great, just great.” Laylah dropped her head into her hands. “This is bad, isn’t it?”
“Define bad?” Becky asked.
“Like, I’m going to get a lot of boos or the cheer squad is going to do something nasty to my locker.” She didn’t even want to think of everything they could do, and she covered her face, not wishing to talk about it.
“Or, you could be in for an even bigger surprise as the man himself is heading this way,” John said.
“Wait? What?” Laylah looked behind her and sure enough, Blue was heading in their direction.
She expected him to go elsewhere, but no, he dropped his tray onto this table. “Hey, people,” Blue said. “Did I miss much?”
He sat close to her, picking up his burger and taking a large bite.
She checked his face to see if there was any kind of handprint and nope, there was nothing. She didn’t know if she should breathe a sigh of relief or be a little disappointed.
“We’re just talking about your many conquests.”
“Becky!” She tried to kick her friend under the bench but she ended up getting John, who glared at her. “Sorry.”
“I don’t kiss and tell.” Blue took a fry this time.
“So you haven’t screwed your way through the cheer squad?”
Laylah watched him, but he didn’t give much away. “Again, I don’t kiss and tell.”
This time Becky snorted. “Oh, please. I bet you go off and tell all of your football buddies. You probably even rate them.”
“If that shit happens, I don’t know about it. I don’t rate anyone.”
Silence fell on the table. Laylah had already lost her appetite.
“You may as well come clean. If any of the cheery girls think they’ve got a chance, you ever thought they might turn on Laylah?” Becky shrugged. “We’re going to be the ones to pick up the pieces while you have your fun. Typical male.”
“You know what, I think I’m done right now.” Laylah grabbed her tray and left the bench. She was done with the name-calling, the pointing, and the whispering.
Rather than wait as Blue called her name, she kept on walking, heading for her locker.
“Laylah, wait,” he said. He caught up to her, grabbing her arm.
She pulled away. “Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on with you or with this. I don’t even know what’s going on in your crazy mind, and the truth is, I don’t think I ever want to know, but … I…” She couldn’t think of what she was trying to actually say. Instead, she shook her head and made her way out the front door.
Blue wasn’t easily defeated. “Yes,” he said.
She stopped and turned toward him.
“I fucked the cheer squad. Those aren’t my finest moments. Most of the rumors about me are true. I’ve slept with married women, and all that shit.”
“You don’t have to tell me this.”
“But I do.” He stepped toward her.
In the back of her mind, she was screaming at herself to turn and run, but she kept herself grounded, watching him. “Blue, don’t.”
“You know I want to go out with you. This is no joke and I’m not looking to add to my list. I want you, Laylah. No doubt about it, but you’re not like anyone else. From the moment I realized I wanted you, I haven’t been with anyone else. There will never be anyone else.” He cupped her face. “I want you.”
“This is crazy. You don’t even know me.”
“But I want to. When I say I can’t stop thinking about you, I’m not kidding. I want you, Laylah. Just tell me what I need to do to get you to see it.”
Tears filled her eyes, and she shook her head. “I don’t know.” She pulled away from him. “Leave me alone.”
She turned away, swiping at the tears that for some odd reason were spilling down her cheeks
. She didn’t understand these feelings.
Blue did as she’d asked. He didn’t chase after her, and she was thankful.
She’d never felt this way around a guy at school. Blue with his reputation and everything that he was, the jock, the town hero. She didn’t think she could trust him. He’d been with so many other girls, and in comparison, she was nothing.
This was why she avoided dating in high school. There was just way too much drama.
Chapter Four
Blue didn’t know what the hell to do.
When it came to girls, he knew what to do to get them. Most of the time, they came on to him.
Laylah wasn’t like any other girl, and he didn’t want her to be either. The feelings he had for her were different. He couldn’t even begin to describe them.
After school, he didn’t go to practice, but instead, took off, going to her home. He needed to talk to her. She wanted to be left alone and he’d given her space, but now, he wanted to talk to her.
He had a past, and yes, it wasn’t a great one, but that didn’t mean he was going to use her or hurt her. He wasn’t used to feeling this way.
Arriving at her home, he saw there were no cars in the driveway, meaning her parents weren’t home yet. He climbed out of his car and made his way to her front door. He knocked. As he did so, he couldn’t help but smile. He’d never gone to a girl’s door before. Damn, he’d never tried to date a girl before.
With Laylah, she was encouraging a whole lot of firsts for him.
Running fingers through his hair, he tried not to let the nerves get to him.
Seconds passed and finally the door opened.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey. Can I come in?”
She hesitated for a second and then stood back, allowing him to enter.
He stepped inside her home and stared at her. It didn’t look like she’d been crying.
“I asked you to leave me alone,” she said.
“In my defense, I did.” He forced a laugh, but clearly, he wasn’t entertaining today. “And now I really want to talk to you.”
“You’re persistent, aren’t you?” she asked, closing the door behind him.