Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series) (20 page)

             
He laughed out loud. “I can do that. I promise if a girl does try to get my attention, I will make it quite clear that I’m off the market and they can take it up with my bad-ass girlfriend.

             
She brought him in closer, her lips were mere inches from his. “That’s what I like to hear.” Then she pulled him in the last couple of inches and kissed him while she sat on the hood of his Jeep as he rested between her legs, leaning in, trying to get as much Lexi as he could.

             
Her lips were so soft and molded precisely into his as if they were meant to be together. She wrapped her hands around his neck and rubbed his cheek as they kissed. Her small touches sent him off to the moon with no return in sight. She made a little moaning sounds which caused him to bury himself deeper in her little body.

             
She pulled away and rested her forehead on his. They both stared at each other in the eyes.

“God, I missed you.” Jake finally said. “I could barely function. I didn’t
work out in the morning until today.”

             
She laughed. “I made a really pathetic gym out of my apartment to avoid you in the mornings, if I knew you were going to be a lazy ass, I could have spared myself and gone to the weight room.”

             
Jake squeezed the ticklish spot right above her knee, causing her to jerk and slide off the Jeep right into his arms.

             
“Do you have dinner plans?” She asked while studying his face.

             
“No, I would love to have dinner with you.”

             
“You’re buying.” She said with a devilish grin.

             
“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?”

             
“That’s what you get for making me work out with cans of beans.”

             
Jake threw his head back and laughed. “You don’t even have your own weight set?”

             
She scrunched her nose. “Beans worked out just fine.”

             
He chuckled and opened the Jeep door for her. “You’re cute babe.” He kissed her on the nose and practically skipped to the driver’s side. When he got in he noticed she threw on his aviators.

             
She shrugged. “It’s sunny out.”

             
“You look fucking hot.”

             
That brought out another smile of hers. “Alright, big guy. Let’s get a move on. I have some things to get done today. Pick me up after practice?”

             
“You got it hot stuff.”

                                                        ***

              Lexi sat on a bench outside the lecture hall studying before her next class. She was having a difficult time focusing because images of Jake kept popping into her head. She knew it was going to be a difficult road but she was ready to face it head on with him. She hadn’t felt this good in a while. She actually felt like a weight had lifted off her shoulders, especially with everything that had been going on with her parents lately. It was nice to have something else to keep her thoughts busy.

             
Images of Jake kept running through her head, preventing her from internalizing any studying materials so when Lexi spotted Parker walking toward her, she was grateful for the break from her books. She shut her books and tucked them away in her bag. She stood up and greeted her friend she hadn’t seen in a while with a big hug.

             
“Hey stranger.” She said.

             
“Hey Lex, how’s it going?”

             
Lexi couldn’t help but smile. “Great.”

             
Parker sat down next to her and pointed at her face. “I know what that smile is. That’s a I-have-a-hot-man-in-my-life smile.” Lexi shook her head, letting him know he was right. He clapped her on the back, almost sending her to the floor. “That’s my girl. It’s about time. He was moping around the men’s locker room area all week. Just in time for game day tomorrow as well.”

             
“Yea, I needed a little help getting my head out of my ass, no thanks to you.”

             
“Hey, I’ve been busy.”

             
“How’s Sierra?”

             
Parker stared out into the quad, like he was thinking about all the different experiences he had with Sierra. “She’s amazing, what can I say? I can’t get enough of her.”

             
Lexi scrunched her nose. “Really?” Lexi didn’t see what all the hype was about with Sierra. Yes, the girl was attractive but she was also kind of an idiot. She said some of the dumbest shit Lexi had ever heard. She never thought Parker would go out with a dumb blonde.

             
“What’s that look for?”

             
Lexi shrugged and tried to pass her look off as nothing but she knew better, he just stared at her until she answered him. She let out a long winded breath and said, “I don’t know Parker, she doesn’t really seem like she’s your type. She’s kind of… you know, ditzy.”

             
Parker waved his hand at her, dismissing her comment. “That doesn’t bother me, since she is hotter than hell in bed.”

             
A swift intake of water got stuck in Lexi’s throat, where water should never be permitted when Parker caught her off guard with his comment. She started coughing frantically while Parker patted her on the back. She wiped her mouth and looked at him. He had the devils smirk on his face.

             
“Jesus, Parker.”

             
He laughed. “Don’t be such a prude.”

             
“Don’t be such a pig.” Lexi surveyed her friend who had been like a brother to her and realized that he had changed this year, and not in a good way. It was like he didn’t care about the people around him and didn’t treat women with respect. It nagged at her. This wasn’t the Parker she knew. He would never go out with a girl if she wasn’t able to hold some sort of intellectual conversation.

Instead of getting into a long drawn out and uncomfortable conversation, s
he changed the subject. “Have you talked to Margo lately?”

             
“Nah, she’s been weird lately and she is always at the lacrosse house.”

             
“That’s not true. She’s been home a lot lately.”

             
Jake shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “Not what I heard, apparently she’s been making her rounds again.”

             
Lexi got defensive. “No, she’s been home.”

             
“Whatever, not my problem.”

             
“Parker, what is wrong with you? Margo is our friend, if people are spreading rumors about her you should set them straight.”

             
“How am I supposed to know they’re rumors, the girl gets around.”

             
Lexi didn’t care for Parker right now and before they got in a huge fight she decided to leave the situation before it blew up. She stood up and gathered her items.

             
“Hey, where are you going?” He asked.

             
“I should get to class.” He stood up with her and grabbed her arm before she could walk away. He pulled her in close and wrapped his arms around her, planting a kiss on her head like always.

             
“Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you and I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you lately.”

             
Lexi could feel herself start to crumble, she hated when Parker got all emotional on her. “It’s fine.”

             
“No, its not. I haven’t even asked you how your parents are. I know this is always a bad time for your dad.”

             
Damn him for bringing up her family. Parker and Margo were the only ones who knew about her shitty family situation and she planned on keeping it that way. She didn’t want Jake knowing about her dad and his issues, Jake would only judge her. Lexi fought back the tears that tickled her eyes.

             
“They’re not good. My dad had another episode yesterday. Luckily my mom was out with my aunt so she didn’t get caught up in his destructive tornado. When she got home she found my dad passed out drunk on the floor surrounded by a broken coffee table.” Lexi shook her head in disgust. “I don’t know why she just doesn’t leave him. It would be easier on me if they just got a divorce rather than hearing the horrid stories about how much of an ass my dad is.”

             
Parker squeezed her tighter. “She is going to have to make that decision on her own, no matter how much you beg her. She is never going to leave until she is ready. You just need to keep being supportive and encourage her. Maybe if you talk to her about your relationship with Jake and how happy you are, it will give her an idea of what a healthy relationship is like.”

             
Parker was right, he had a valid point. Maybe if she did talk to her mom about Jake it could open her mom’s eyes to what an abusive drunk her father was. Lexi tried reporting her dad once but when the cops came, her mother denied everything. Ever since then, Lexi never went home and only communicated with her mom over the phone, trying to convince her to move on with her life. With the way things were going, Lexi didn’t ever think her mom was going to leave.

             
“I might just do that, thanks Parker.”

             
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I dropped the ball on our friendship. I will talk to Margo too. I was having such a nice time with her earlier. I don’t know what happened.”

             
Lexi knew what the problem was and it was blonde, leggy and ditzy. Margo would never confess to it, but Lexi knew her friend.  She just felt bad for Margo and wished there was something she could do to help her. She didn’t like it when Margo turned to random sex with men to cover up her feelings. She wished she would talk about them like a normal human being.

             
“That might be a good idea. You guys were really hitting it off, I felt like the third wheel for a little bit there.”

             
Parker laughed. “Hey since I’m being such a good guy right now, do you think Jake could score us some more field passes for next week’s home game?”

             
Lexi shook her head at her friends attempt to leverage her relationship with her guy for his own betterment. “You have no morals, do you?”

             
“Not if field passes are involved.”

             
She laughed, “I will see what I can do. Meanwhile, stay on your best behavior, mister.”

             
He crossed his heart and gave her the scouts honor hand signal. “Promise.”

             
They said their good byes and Lexi walked off to class thinking about what she might wear on her date with Jake tonight.

                                                        ***

              Jake couldn’t believe how fast the evening went by with Lexi. It felt like two minutes ago he was knocking on her door and waiting for her to answer. When she opened the door he felt his stomach flutter from how good she looked. She wore extremely tight dark jeans, a green tank top and black heels. Her hair was down and wavy, just the way he liked it. She was perfect.

             
They had a great night at a local restaurant he loved going to because they didn’t treat him like the top dog at school. They treated him like any other normal patron and he appreciated it. Plus the restaurant was very private which was good because he wanted some serious alone time with Lexi.

             
After their romantic and quiet date, Jake walked Lexi back to her apartment. He didn’t want to say good night to her so soon but he had an early morning the next day because they were traveling and she had an early practice. If only they didn’t have their sports for a week or so, just so he could spend every waking hour with Lexi to get to know her more.

             
They stopped in front of her door and turned toward each other. God, she was beautiful. He would never get tired of looking her in the eyes, her expressive, gorgeous eyes. She wrapped her hands in his and pulled him in closer.

             
“Thank you for dinner.” She looked up at him with a smile.

             
He felt himself sigh. “You’re welcome, babe.”

             
Her nose slightly crinkled. “How come you guys didn’t drive out tonight? We always go the night before a game to get settled.”

             
Jake shrugged. “Coach didn’t think it would be a big deal this go-around and he was trying to save money. It’s only a two hour trip so no use wasting money.”