Scrimmage Gone South (Crimson Romance) (13 page)

“No doubt.” He kissed her and started to unbutton her blouse. “Last night I learned a little about your needs.” He captured her mouth and caressed her bottom lip with his tongue for so long that she would have forgotten what she was going to say if he had not pulled back. “I think I am pretty good at meeting your needs.” And he smirked. Usually she hated a smirk, even worse than eye rolling, but it looked good on him.

“I can’t deny that,” she admitted.

He smirked some more and pushed her blouse off her shoulders.

“But I am not the opposing team that you need to conquer. I need for you to talk to me and make love to me, not rack up points. Can you do that?”

He could have pretended not to understand what she meant, but he didn’t.

“I can do that,” he whispered. And though she had almost forgotten how it looked, and would have never thought she’d see it again, he gave her that sweet misty look, the one from so long ago. It was laced with a little pain and a little living, but it was sweet and misty all the same. Her stomach turned over and she was sixteen again, so in love, lying in the only strong arms she would ever want to know.

“I still want my jersey back.”

“
My
jersey. But yes. You can have it back.” He pulled her tight against him so that his swollen groin filled the apex of her thighs, maybe like they’d never been filled before. And then he cranked up the vibrating function another notch.

Rewarding indeed. She slipped into her first orgasm.

He let out a satisfied little laugh. “Double points if you aren’t naked.” And he reached for the opening of her pants.

Tolly arranged the cupcakes decorated with marzipan tiaras and ballet shoes on a silver rack on Lucy’s coffee table. They weren’t even going to pretend to talk about a book tonight. They were having a little party to celebrate Missy’s forthcoming baby girl. It wasn’t a shower. They wouldn’t dare call it that. Everyone knew it was tacky to have a shower for a second child, but they weren’t ones to let a milestone pass without some sugar and champagne. Except tonight the champagne was a mixture of ginger ale and white grape juice. No alcohol for pregnant girls. The party was supposed to be a surprise, but Tolly suspected Missy knew about it, like she seemed to know about everything, except what was really important.

But Tolly hadn’t shared her suspicion with Lanie and Lucy, and they were giddy with anticipation.

“Is she here yet? I thought I heard her car,” Lanie said as she fluffed her tutu over her little baby bump. They were all wearing blush colored leotards, pink tutus, and tiaras. This party had a theme.

Lucy, who was peeping out the side of the curtain said, “She’s here. But she’s standing on the sidewalk talking to herself.”

“She’s not talking to herself.” Tolly arranged the pink and silver wrapped packages in a wicker basket. “She’s talking to that baby. She thinks no one knows she does it but I heard her say the other day, ‘Baby Girl, if you want to be Homecoming queen you have to be nice to everybody. And don’t wear flannel pants in public — even if you are a thousand months pregnant and you are only going to The Big Starr for a gallon of milk.’”

Lucy laughed. Lanie just bit her lip and looked at the floor. Ah, so Lanie had her own little monologues of the in vitro variety.

“Here she comes!” Lucy said.

“Okay, everyone ready?” Lanie asked. They went to their prearranged hiding places.

“Knock, knock,” Missy called because Lucy had left the door ajar. “Anyone home?”

Tolly had been entrusted to turn on the light and they all jumped out and cried, “Surprise!”

Missy threw up her hands and plastered on her
I am so surprised
game face. Tolly had seen it before and knew it for what it was. Lucy snapped pictures. Lanie held the largest tiara Tolly had ever seen. Not that she had seen that many.

“Oh! Y’all should not have!” Missy said, not meaning a word of it.

“Don’t worry,” Lanie said as she settled the tiara on Missy’s head. “It’s just us. We knew better than to do a shower. This is just a little bit of joy, joy.”

They settled down in the living room and Lucy handed Missy a plate of crab au gratin, steamed asparagus, and cold pear salad with candied walnuts. “Just think — this could be one of you this time next year,” Missy said to Tolly and Lucy.

“Don’t look at me,” Lucy said. “There’s nothing on the horizon. Tolly’s our best bet.
And
if she and Nathan got married we would get to meet the famous Arianna.”

Tolly wanted to bolt. She knew she needed to lighten up, to remember that they didn’t know about everything that had happened between her and Nathan. To them it was a brand new relationship where nobody’s heart was at risk. And as far as Arianna went, she had no idea if Nathan ever even talked to her. Her gut told her that was a subject not to be brought up. He would eventually mention her or he wouldn’t.

“Well,” Missy said. “Let’s let her get through Homecoming first. And Halloween.”

Glad for the change of subject, Tolly gave Missy a grateful look. “Homecoming? What’s to get through?”

Missy, Lanie, and Lucy laughed in unison.

“You’re kidding, right?” Lucy said. “You know how this town is during Homecoming week.”

“No,” Tolly said slowly and tried to dredge up a memory. “I really don’t. Last year was my first fall here and I don’t remember anything.”

“How can that be?” Missy asked. “I don’t know how you missed it, since you aren’t blind or senile.”

“Wait,” Lanie said. “She wasn’t here. You were at that conference in St. Louis.”

“I guess.” Tolly took a sip of her drink and wished it was a glass of chardonnay. “I did go to St. Louis. Harris didn’t want to, so he sent me. I still don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Oh, you are in for it.” Missy rubbed her hands together. “There’s not a town in this nation that loves Homecoming like Merritt.”

Lucy nodded. “I’ve lived all over the southeast and I’ve never seen anything like it. The whole downtown decorates, but there are very strict rules. We’ve already had two Downtown Merchant Association meetings about it and there’s another one in the morning. We can’t start decorating until after the game Friday night. That’s when Homecoming week officially begins.”

“Right.” Lanie nodded. “I’ve got a crew coming at ten tomorrow night to decorate Heavenly Confections so everything will be ready when we open Saturday morning.”

Tolly’s eyes widened. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Not a bit of it,” Lucy said. “It’s tradition. It seems that some of the stores put up their bunting and painted their windows early back in the seventies, and Merritt High lost Homecoming. So it’s bad luck to decorate early. The only thing worse is to not decorate at all.”

“You mean to tell me,” Tolly said, “that Miss Annelle is going to trick out her interior design storefront with blue bobcats and such?”

“Well, we’ve got to be ready for the parade on Thursday,” Lucy said.

“And the boys will be coming downtown for the alum dinner Wednesday night at the hotel, with the prayer meeting after,” Lanie said. “Where is that this year? It was at our church last year. I know because I made candy for the dessert table.”

“That would make it the Baptists’ turn. They do not put out nearly as good a dessert spread as we do,” Missy said.

“And how does all this eating fit in with Nathan’s holy nutrition plan?” She could just about imagine how Nathan would feel about all this distraction from what was really important — football.

“Tradition. What good is nutrition if you mess with the mojo? There’s breakfast at Lou Anne’s Friday morning too,” Missy said.

“And don’t forget the bonfire after the parade,” Lanie said. “I’m keeping the store open late. I’m making bobcat shaped chocolates and I ordered some special cups for the coffee bar.”

“Anyway,” Missy said to Tolly, “you had better rest up. You are in for big week.”

“Don’t you mean Kirby is in for a big week?”

“Same thing.” She took another bite of pear salad. “You’ll have to chaperone the float building at least once. And take snacks. Lots of snacks.”

“Float building! What the hell are you talking about?”

“Do you think Homecoming floats just grow out of the ground? Those kids have to build them out of tissue paper and chicken wire. On a flatbed truck. They will have already designed them and bought the supplies.”

“Where is this float? When does it start?” Tolly’s voice came out a little shrill. This Homecoming thing was new territory. New territory always scared her.

“The seniors’ float will be in my father-in-law’s barn,” Lanie said. “As I understand it, that’s tradition too. The senator has let the senior class use his barn for years and years. In fact, we were out at the farm last week when they came and unloaded a bunch of stuff.”

“For sure, as long as I can remember.” Missy nodded. “My senior year, when she was
supposed
to be stuffing chicken wire, Jenny Pylant kept sneaking off to the loft with various members of the team when the chaperones weren’t looking. But she still did not beat me out for queen. Bless her heart. I hope she’s heard I’m getting to crown the queen this year.”

“So, now, on top of all this, you’re telling me that some girl is going to try and swap sexual favors with Kirby for queen votes?”

“Don’t rule it out,” Missy said.

Lucy said, “Did anyone mention the Homecoming yard rolling?”

“That’s the best part!” Missy said. “That will start Sunday night and go on every night until the game.”

“What is yard rolling?” Tolly had never heard of such a thing.

“You really didn’t get out much, did you? Yard rolling. Tree rolling. With toilet paper. The kids take toilet paper and throw it all over yards and in trees.”

“That is criminal mischief!” No wonder she’d never heard of it. She’d been a good girl. Mostly.

“That is tradition,” Missy said.

“Well, I won’t have it. I will tell Kirby he is not allowed. And I am sure no one will do it to him. He’s well liked.”

Again, Missy, Lanie, and Lucy dissolved into laugher.

“That’s the point,” Miss said. “The more you’re liked, the more you get rolled. My yard was rolled every single night. Since the Homecoming game is the night before Halloween, I expect the rolling to reach epic proportions this year.”

“Oh, no. No! Miss Caroline will have a fit!”

“Miss Caroline will expect nothing else. She was born in this town. She and Judge Brantley raised Brantley’s mother in this town. And then, there was Brantley.”

“And isn’t there just always?” Lucy said and rolled her eyes.

“Always what?” Missy asked.

“Nothing.” Lucy put a forkful of food in her mouth.

“I think it’s going to be bigger than ever this year,” Lanie said. “Merritt hasn’t won a Homecoming in five years. Luke says that since we aren’t going to the state playoffs this year, everyone kind of considers this like a championship game. Like the rebirth of a winner after a long dry spell.”

“I don’t like all this,” Tolly said. “It’s too much pressure for Nathan and Kirby and the rest of the team.”

“Honey,” Missy said. “You really don’t understand football, do you? They were made for pressure — they
thrive
on it,
require
it.”

“Still, it’s not good.”

“Next thing, you’ll be saying, ‘Why don’t we just play for fun and exercise? Let’s don’t even keep score!’”

Not a bad idea, but Tolly knew better than to say so. And she could just imagine what Nathan would think of that idea.

“Well.” Lucy got up and started picking up plates. “I think Homecoming week will be fun if you’ll let it. Now, how about we have some of those gorgeous cupcakes and let Missy open her gifts?” Lucy smiled her impish little smile. “Plus there’s ice cream. Full fat ice cream, made with real sugar.”

“Best idea since Homecoming queens!” Missy said.

• • •

“Must be book club night. What book are they
not
reading this month?” Lou Anne handed Nathan a stack of menus. “Pass these around, honey, and I’ll get your drinks.”

The diner was bursting with people and energy. Not surprising. It was chicken and dumpling night, one the best nights at the diner. How he’d gotten drawn into the Book Club Night Widowers and Orphans Club, Nathan wasn’t sure, but he didn’t mind. He liked these guys. There wasn’t much he minded these days except that he wasn’t having sex as often as he liked and he never got to wake up in the bed with Townshend. She wouldn’t have sex unless Kirby was gone or asleep and she wouldn’t let him stay overnight with Kirby there. Leaving Kirby alone all night was absolutely out of the question. In theory, he agreed, approved even. But he didn’t have to like it worth a damn.

“We haven’t told you what we want to drink yet,” Luke Avery said to Lou Anne as he wrestled a bib around three-year-old Emma’s neck. Cute kid. So was Harris’s boy, Beau. He wasn’t wearing a bib. Probably Harris thought bibs weren’t macho. He’d be right.

Lou Anne laughed. “I
know
what y’all want, Judge. It’s a talent of mine. Water for you. Milk for Emma and Beau. Sweet tea for Harris. Unsweet tea for Nathan and Coke for Kirby.”

“Wrong,” Nathan said. “Kirby will have milk too.”

Lou Anne looked to Kirby for verification. He didn’t dare disagree.

As she walked away, Beau Bragg called out, “Grilled cheese!”

“Yea! Grilled cheese,” Emma echoed and they laughed like it was the funniest joke ever. Then they began to slap their hands on the table and chant, “Grilled cheese,” over and over, laughing and squealing the whole time.

Nathan laughed too. Not at the grilled cheese mantra but at Harris and Luke trying to quiet them — to no avail.

“If I start yelling for fried chicken, do you think I can have it?” Kirby laughed. There for a while he thought he’d never see that boy laugh again. Townshend was doing a good job, he had to admit. She’d be a good mother.
Wait. Stop. Where did that come from?

“Sure,” Nathan said glibly. “You can have all the bad for you food you want. It’s just that I thought you
wanted
to play college ball.”