Finding Chase (Chasing Nikki) (11 page)

I grinned. “I like the way you think.” I slipped down beside her, and she wrapped her arms around me again, and we moved together until I was lying on the floor with her above me.

We spent several breathless moments together, exploring the newness of one another before she slipped to my side and laid her head against my shoulder. I stared at the stars overhead as I tried to calm my breathing.

“That was fun,” she whispered and I smiled.

“It was. Why’d you stop?”

“Because . . .” She hesitated. “I figured this is probably the first time you’ve kissed a girl since your . . . well . . . your girlfriend. I didn’t want you to feel rushed into anything.”

My thoughts instantly went—not to Nikki—but the burning kisses I’d shared with Brittney. The image of her lying on the bed beneath me was forever seared into my mind. I saw it every night before I fell asleep. This was probably
not
the time to bring that up.

“What’re you thinking about?” she asked, shifting uncomfortably, and I scrambled to think of something.

“How much fun I’ve had today. It’s been a long time coming.”

She smiled and traced a finger in a circle over one of my pecs before drawing down to my abs. “I hope I had something to do with that.”

“You did.” I grinned as I reached down, arresting her traveling finger and twisting it with my own. I took a deep breath, preparing to take the plunge. “How’d you like to do something with me next week? Maybe see a movie or something.” I wasn’t sure if I was really ready for this step, and I didn’t know if she was the right person to take it with, but I figured it was the least I owed her after making out like we had. I wasn’t sure if I was asking her for her, though, if she reminded me of Nikki—or if I was trying to forget about Brittney being currently wrapped in someone else’s arms. I sighed. When did life get so complicated?

“I’d love to go out with you again. What day?”

Well, I was committed now. “Hmm. I have practice most afternoons, but we are usually done by six. Maybe Thursday at seven?”

“Thursday is perfect.” She squeezed my fingers.

“What movie do you want to see?”

“I’ll let you pick. Surprise me.”

I chuckled. “Okay, but as you stated before, I’m rusty at this, so you can’t be mad at me if I mess things up.”

She laughed. “You won’t. I can’t imagine you messing anything up. You’re too nice.”

I eyed her down. “You should know I have serious issues with the word ‘nice.’ It usually doesn’t mean anything good.”

“Okay then, how about you’re too sweet?”

I groaned. “You really aren’t helping my ego.”

She giggled and shifted so she was leaning over me. “All right. Then how about you’re too much of a stud?”

“
Much
better.” I grinned, and her lips met mine once again.

My mood was beyond foul today. I was currently releasing that aggression during practice drills. I stepped from the pocket and threw the ball as hard as I could toward the receiver, hitting him with a firm smack against his pads. He made another “oomph” sound, catching it this time, and started running the other direction.

Coach Bell blew the whistle. “Set it up again.”

“Will you take it easy, Walker?” the receiver, Jared Webber, grumbled as he returned. “What crawled up your butt and died today? Geez.”

“You take care of your job, and let me take care of mine,” I snapped, grabbing another ball and getting into position.

He glared at me. “I could if you’d quit being such a damn diva.”

I straightened shuffling the football between my hands and took a step toward him. “Well, if you’d learn how to catch
this
without dropping it sixty percent of the time, I wouldn’t have to
teach
your pansy ass how it’s done, now would I?”

He ran at me, lifting his fist into the air, but Brett and several others from the line stepped in front of me, keeping him away.

I grinned and continued tossing the ball as if I didn’t have a care in the world. “Rule number one for the line. Never let them touch your quarterback. Sucks to be you right now, doesn’t it?”

Jared struggled against the guys who held him, his face red with fury. “This is only practice. On this field you’re just another stupid freshman—lower than shit. And no one has named you the quarterback yet.”

I stared him square in the eye. “They will.”

He shoved at Brett, pushing past. “Not if I kick your sorry punk ass so bad you can’t play anymore.”

He got within a foot of me before he was tackled to the ground, spewing more foul obscenities for everyone to hear.

The coach blew his whistle loudly, and everyone stopped. I noticed Matt standing in the background, observing me with a scowl. I sent a sarcastic wink in his direction, and he flipped me off.

“Jared, you’re excused to turn your gear in.”

“What?” he bellowed, rage mottling his face. “You’re kicking me off the team and not him?” He shoved a finger angrily in my direction.

“There’s a no fighting policy on this team,” the coach replied, standing his ground. “We know that there will occasionally be verbal disputes, but if you start throwing punches, you’re done. Now go turn in your gear.”

“I never hit him!” Jared yelled.

“You intended to. That’s enough. I decide what works for my offense, and I want you off my field right now. You can go on your own, or I will call security. What’s it going to be?”

I raised my eyebrows as I watched Coach Bell grow angrier. He was definitely intimidating, and as a burly ex-lineman himself, I certainly wouldn’t be stupid enough to mess with him.

Jared apparently got the same impression, because he turned and strode toward the field exit. I didn’t miss Matt clapping him on the shoulder in sympathy as he walked past.

“Walker!” Coach hollered.

“Yes, sir?” I said, snapping to attention as if I’d joined the Marines.

“Hit the bleachers, son, and don’t stop running ‘til I tell you it’s okay!”

“Yes, sir!” I turned toward the stands.
Damn,
it was going to be a long night. Of course, I’d brought this on myself. Maybe a good exhausting run was exactly what I needed to adjust my attitude.

I couldn’t help it. My mind had been a jumble of turmoil ever since I’d been at the lake. I shouldn’t have made out with Jennifer, especially knowing any feelings of attraction I was having for her were most likely a direct result of her similarities to my dead girlfriend. Then I had to ask her out too, digging myself in deeper. She was going to think I was really into her.

If I was being honest, though, that wasn’t bugging me the most. No, the problem was the fact that Brittney had caught me practically mauling Jennifer in the bottom of the boat and she hadn’t seemed fazed by it for one second. She’d tried teasing me about it later, saying I certainly hadn’t wasted any time getting my groove back. I realized she must honestly feel absolutely
nothing
but friendship for me. Here I was driving myself insane with visions of her twisted in my arms, and she was laughing at me. I was starting to wonder if she even remembered our shared kiss.

It burned—burned so badly it left a sour taste. The other thing that annoyed me was I wasn’t sure when this had happened. Yes, I’d always thought Brittney attractive . . . okay, she was a knock out . . . but when did it become all about her? When did she become the primary thought in my head?

At night I would lie down in bed and stare at Nikki’s smiling picture. I’d purposely started allowing myself to relive my memories with her—no matter how painful—hoping to find her in my dreams again. Instead, Brittney was blazoned through them, sometimes in all-consuming, passionate scenes that awakened me—on more than one occasion—in a sweat. I could feel my vision of Nikki starting to slip away—an almost tangible feeling of loss—as if she were sliding right through my fingers. I didn’t want that to happen. I wanted to hang onto her with both hands and keep her here beside me, forever in my thoughts. I knew it wasn’t possible. I knew our life together was over.

She was fading and I hated it. I was falling in love with someone else.

I didn’t know what to do.

Chapter Thirteen

I tapped my fingers nervously against my pant leg as I approached the lobby desk of Jennifer’s dorm. “What the hell are you doing here?” I mumbled to myself under my breath.

“I’m sorry?” the receptionist asked with a puzzled expression. “Did you say something?”

“I’m here to pick up Jennifer, uh,” I fumbled to remember her last name, “Lucas. Jennifer Lucas, room 109.”

“Please sign in here,” she said, handing me a clipboard. “I also need to see some I.D.”

I removed my wallet and showed her my driver’s license. She nodded, and I signed the paper.

“Go through the double doors to your left, and 109 is on the ground floor, so continue past the elevators and down the hall.”

“Thanks.” I followed her instructions, and found the hall to be a crazy madhouse—girls running back and forth between the rooms in various states of dress. Doors were open, and music of all kinds was blaring loudly. It was complete chaos.

“Hey hottie. Please say you’re here to see me.” A curvy redhead with cute freckles leaned against her doorway. She checked me out in the most obvious way, her eyes stopping on specific regions of my body before returning to my face.

I couldn’t help chuckling as I grinned back at her. “Actually, I’m looking for room 109.”

She gave an exaggerated pout. “Bummer. Maybe next time.” She winked at me and gestured with her thumb. “Two doors down.”

I nodded. “Have a good night.”

She gave a little wolf whistle as I continued, and it was picked up by several others. A few girls peeked from their rooms to see what the commotion was. I shook my head. I could totally get behind living in a place like this.

The door swung open before I could knock, and Jennifer pulled me inside, quickly shutting it behind me. She took my breath away—her hair styled similar to Nikki’s and then she smiled, looking even more like her. The resemblance was incredible, and all I wanted to do was kiss her and pretend she was.

“Did you survive the rabid dogs in the hall?” she asked with a giggle, the sound of her voice effectively ruining the illusion of Nikki in my mind. I glanced into her sparkling eyes, feeling like quite the jerk. She was a sweet girl. It wasn’t her fault she looked like Nikki, and I shouldn’t be using her this way, but I couldn’t seem to help myself.

“I managed all right,” I answered with a grin. “Only a few bite marks.”

“Well then, I think you’re lucky. I’m sure there are guys who’ve left this hall without their virtue intact.”

A hard laugh rolled through me, caught by surprise at her choice of words. She was a funny girl. “I’m afraid my virtue wasn’t intact before I walked through the door.”

She gazed at me appreciatively. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Are you ready to go?” I asked, not wanting to risk delving into my past any further.

“Yep,” she replied, turning toward the two beds in the room, one of which had no bedding on it. “Let me grab my bag.”

“You don’t have a roommate?” I gestured at the bare side of the small space.

“Not yet. My old roommate left school at the end of last semester, and they didn’t assign me another during the summer, which is fine with me. As you can see, it’s hard to get peace and quiet around here. It’s much worse during the regular school year.”

I raised my eyebrows. “You’re kidding.”

She slipped her arm through mine, and guided me to the door. “Not in the least. Now don’t worry. Hang onto my arm, Walker. I’ll protect you.”

I grinned as I followed after her.

We only suffered a few catcalls as we made our way through the rowdy hallway and into the lobby

“Why do I get the feeling you’re a player?” she asked suddenly when we stepped outside.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you look like you’re enjoying this way too much.”

I laughed again. “There was a time in my life when my dream might have been to live in a place exactly like this.”

“So you’re more of a buffet kind of guy then?”

“Like I said, that was another time. I don’t mind dining on a single entrée these days.” I winked at her.

“Well, that’s good. I don’t share well.”

“Good to know.” A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach still irritated me. I might not be eating from any other dish, but that was only because the two courses I wanted weren’t available. I was beyond low, but if Brittney wasn’t interested, and Nikki was slipping away, why shouldn’t I have someone to pass the time with? Everyone kept telling me I needed to get out and do something fun, and besides, I hadn’t pursued her in the beginning. Brittney was the one who’d set us up. It wasn’t my fault Jennifer happened to look like Nikki, and I hadn’t decided to date her for that reason. It’s not like I was going to marry her or anything. We were just two people chillin’ together and having a good time.