“Yeah, I know. Lou’s going there actually. She got an academic scholarship.”
“No shit? It’s a good school and the head coach is a solid dude. Really good coach and he’s been building a program. I visited. Loved the school. He just signed the number one quarterback in the country too. A kid from Minnesota actually. It could be a helluva ride. But it’s not that easy.” He rakes his hands over his face like he is becoming frustrated just thinking about it.
“But your dad won’t approve.” I say in more of a statement than a question.
“Exactly. He will flip his shit and disown me. I know it. All my brothers went to Georgia and never left this fucking state aren’t doing shit now. I want out. I want better. My sisters? They didn’t stay here and they’re happy and living their best lives. I want more than this.”
“It sounds like you know what you need to do, but are avoiding it because it’s hard. Nothing worth it is ever easy.” It feels like I’m talking to my best friend again. Open, honest, and raw.
“I am. I totally am. That’s why I haven’t committed. I’m dragging my feet because my dad will lose it. He’s the hardest on me out of all of my fucked up brothers.”
I nod. I knew that. It’s why Jess was always the target of Rowen’s drunken rage. I thought it was because he was the youngest and weakest, but even when he grew and surpassed Rollie, Rowen was relentless with him.
“So, Minnesota next year? Why there?” he asks, lightening the mood.
“They offered a scholarship to both me and Staley. They have the graphic design program she wants and a medical school for me.”
“You want to be a doctor?” he asks and cocks his head to the side questioningly.
“Yup.” I know what he’s thinking.
“You hate blood,” he smirks. When we were six or seven we were riding our bikes and Jessup hit a rock and flew over the handlebars. His teeth punctured his lower lip and there was blood everywhere. I fainted at the sight. Jessup had to hold his shirt over his face to stop the bleeding while he simultaneously carried me home.
“I know. I’m hoping to go into Pediatrics. Work with kids… that don’t fly over their handlebars,” I laugh at the memory. “Leave the blood and guts to someone else.”
“That seems fitting,” he agrees and smiles genuinely.
We sit quietly for a few minutes. Chewing, smiling, and it’s comfortable. Like when we were still friends. So why not ruin it…
“Jess, I have to know. Why did you ask me out? Am I like a bet or something? We haven’t really even been friends for a while,” I blurt out because the thought had been niggling at the back of my brain since he asked me.
I’m staring at my plate, poking my food with my fork. I can’t look him in the eyes right now. “You’ve been the one person I had always hoped would ask me on a date once we were finally allowed to go out with boys, but you shut me out,” I admit. Just stop talking, Stanzy.
“Stanzy,” Jessup says and reaches across the table, I set my fork down and he takes my hands in his. “Look at me.” I lift my head to meet his dark, tempestuous eyes. His hands are so big that just one could engulf both of mine. Feeling his skin on my skin causes my senses to stand at full attention and that tingling feeling, that’s become a constant since Saturday, spreads through me again. “I should have asked you out years ago. It’s like one summer we were best friends and the next your boobs came in and we weren’t friends anymore. I didn’t know how to be your friend anymore because I wanted so much more with you. I didn’t think you wanted the same thing.”
“You never even gave me the chance to tell you what I wanted,” I reply.
“You started dating Bentley like immediately after you turned sixteen. It was awful to watch and I hated listening to you talk about him.”
“But,” I pause, thinking about it. He’s right. When Staley and I were sophomores our parents officially allowed us to date and Bentley was the first boy who asked me out. I said yes just because I was so excited to finally go on a real date. He took me to the movies and we met at the park to “talk” which meant make out. I told Jessup that he kissed like a fish, constantly sucking my lips into his whole mouth.
Bentley was the second boy to ever kiss me and I described it to Jess in specific detail. I remember vividly that he cringed the entire time. I thought it was because he was sympathizing with my story, not because he didn’t want to hear about my dating life. Girls were always hanging on him in high school, shit, they hung on him in junior high school. It drove me insane, but I never said a word about it because he didn’t ever give me an indication he thought of me as anything other than his best friend. “You never told me that. How would I have known?”
“We both fucked that up, Stanz. But, we’re here now and what I know is that I don’t want this to end with just one date. In fact, I want to have as many dates as we possibly can before we go to college.”
His words make my stomach perform a Simone Biles routine.
“I want that too,” I confess.
“Well then,” he says, “can I see you every day after practice? Even if we just sit in the park and talk? I just want to have time with you. Like we used to be. Always together.”
“It’ll just make it harder to leave,” I try to argue, but I know my attempt is futile. I want to be with him. Sweet, sexy, smart and athletic. He’s the boyfriend jackpot.
“It’s going to be hard either way. Let’s not waste the potential good times worrying about a future goodbye,” he replies with a smile and it warms my insides from the core.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
I nod. “Every day. Me and you.” Staley and Mary Lou will give me epic shit for bailing on them senior year, but this could be worth it. It is worth it. This is Jess we’re talking about after all. The first boy and only boy to ever hold my heart in his hands.
“Me and you. Together, for as long as we can,” he affirms.
Chapter 9: Rhodes
After dinner, it is almost nine and I know she has a ten o’clock curfew. Tonight was a rush of excitement that quickly turned depressing talking about my dad, and thinking about her going to Minnesota and me to Boston next year – if I get the balls to actually go.
I wasn’t lying though. I want as much time with Stanzy as I can get before we leave. My brothers would kick my ass if they knew I was crushing so hard on one girl. The Rhodes’ men don’t settle down, even after marriage, I’ve come to learn.
But what I offered was true. I want her, and only her, as long as I can have her. I just wish I would have manned up years ago.
I’m still deep in thought as I pull up to her house.
“Let me get the door,” I offer and hop out of the driver’s seat.
Stanzy exits the old Chevy and we walk up the sidewalk to the steps leading up to the porch. Her two story Victorian style house is quintessential Georgia complete with front porch swing.
“Swing for a bit?” she asks, checking the time on her phone as she motions toward the porch swing swaying in the Georgia breeze.
“Sure.”
We sit in silence for several minutes before she reaches over and interlocks our fingers. I stare our fingers and the way my caramel skin and her honey skin mix together in a beautiful pattern.
“I’ve missed you, Jess. So much. I know it’s only been one date, but I feel it. I don’t know what it is exactly, but there is something deeper with us. I just wish we had more time.”
“I feel it too,” I confirm. There’s something magical brewing between us. There is a connection on an atomic level and even though we’re teenagers I don’t think we’re imagining it. It’s there. It’s more than what I felt for her when we were best friends. It’s more than her amazing boobs and ass. It’s evolved.
We sit and talk for a while about school, practices, and our crazy friends. We avoid any more discussion about moving and college or my family. There aren’t many good memories of my childhood that don’t have Stanzy in them. She
always made time for me even when she was with Staley and Mary Lou. I was always invited. They’d even invite Clayton and Rollie too so I wasn’t the only boy. But my favorite times were when it was just Stanzy and I.
“I suppose I should go. It’s almost ten,” I say checking the time on my phone. Cada Sutton has always been a father figure for me and I don’t want to ruin that.
She nods, “Thank you for tonight.”
“There will be plenty more.” I kiss her knuckles and that slight taste of her has my cock twitching in my shorts.
She releases my hand to leave, but I turn to her, sliding my fingers into her hair as I cup her flushing cheeks. Just go for it. She likes you. I give myself a mental pep talk. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”
“Yes,” she whispers breathlessly and all of a sudden my body is flooded with electricity and my dick springs to full attention in my pants.
I brush my thumbs along her cheeks and then her lips as she closes her eyes. Her lashes casting a shadow on her cheeks from the overhead lighting. Leaning in, I press my lips to hers. Soft, supple and minty from the Altoid she popped in on the drive here.
I urge her mouth to open with my tongue and when it does our tongues meet in a fireball of passion that’s been restrained for too long. Warm and wet we swirl our tongues together. I work my tongue in and out, sucking her lower lip as I part. She presses her lips onto mine again and rolls her tongue into my mouth with a soft moan.
The blood is rushing fast from one head to the other. My erection pressing so hard against the zipper of my shorts I’m suddenly afraid it may burst open.
I don’t know how long we kiss on that porch swing, but I could have sat there for an eternity and it wouldn’t have been long enough.
Stanzy finally breaks our kiss with a whisper of one word, “Wow.” We’re both breathless and staring at each other.
“That was a first kiss to remember,” I say.
“Second first kiss,” she replies with a shy smile. “Sixth grade, remember?”
How could I forget? “Braeden.” I nod, remembering. “You were scared you would suck at kissing him so you practiced on me.”
“Hey! You volunteered,” she says with a sweet laugh as she punches me in the arm, playfully.
I’ve kissed a couple girls since sixth grade, but fucking hell, this kiss was the hottest thing that’s ever happened to me in my eighteen years on this planet. I figured we’d have chemistry, but this is off the fucking charts. All I can think about is the next time I’ll get to do that.
“It was worth it then and it’s more than worth it now.”
“You’ve gotten better since sixth grade. Practice makes perfect.” She laughs at me. I’m not sure if she is taking a dig at me for my player reputation or if she’s asking me to kiss her again. I’m going with the latter. I didn’t think about how my reputation would make Stanzy feel. That’s something I’ll need to address soon.
“I agree and we should do that more… a lot more.” I lean in and softly kiss her lips again. I can guarantee that I will be manually easing the pain in my pants tonight while remembering that kiss.
Stanzy laughs a deep belly laugh and rings in my ears like a Siren’s call. She could tell me to jump off a bridge or run in traffic and I probably would at this moment. Hormones are firing on cylinders and I can’t think straight.
“Goodnight, Jessup,” she smiles as she stands to head inside.
“Goodnight, Stanzy. I’ll text you tomorrow. Me and you…” I trail off.
“Together for as long as we can,” she confirms and walks inside.
My whole being is lit up as I walk back to my truck. I feel like I should be skydiving or walking on water or punching a shark in the face.
I’m going to marry that girl.
Chapter 10: Stanzy
It’s May, graduation is around the corner and our time is running out. Jessup and I stayed true to our word and we have spent every waking moment together that we could. He started sneaking into my room again, this time not because Rowen had hit him, but because he wanted to be with me. We’d hold each other and make out until just before sunrise then he’d sneak back out. I’m constantly tired during the day, but it’s so worth it.
Staley and Mary Lou got over my perpetual absence after the first couple weeks. It was a lot of bitching to start, but I think they realized that I’m in love and backed off. I actually I think they’re happy for me.
While so much changed in the year we didn’t speak, he’s still very much the same boy I loved growing up. Still has high hopes of being the first Rhodes to make it to the NFL, hates orange juice, loves rom-com movies though will never admit it and will still eat my peas if I ask him to. He craves approval from Rowen, but honestly, his dad has always been a giant dickbag and I don’t foresee him changing. Thankfully, as Jess grew up the physical abuse stopped. Partially because Child Protective Services were called a few times and Rowen ran out of excuses as to why Jessup had cuts and bruises. And it was also because Jessup is bigger and stronger than Rowen now, so he cut back on the beatings. The verbal abuse though? Well, Rowen’s verbal assault game is strong.
I hear a tapping on my window and I know Jess is here. I unlock the window and he crawls inside. He is in athletic shorts, a t-shirt and slides. He looks relaxed and gorgeous as ever.
“Hey, baby,” he says with a smile and kisses my forehead.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” I can immediately tell by his tense body and soft voice that something is off.
“Sorry I’m so late. Got into it with my dad tonight,” he says solemnly.
“Oh, what the…” I begin, anger pooling in my gut, “what now?”
“He got home just as I was leaving and he’d been drinking. We got into about my commitment again. He said I’m going to lose my scholarship to Georgia. Same old shit.” He rubs his hands down his face.
I don’t know what to say so I wrap my arms around his waist and squeeze him tight. He returns the gesture, arms wrapped around neck, nose buried in my hair. He inhales deeply, exhales, and I feel his body relax.
I pull back and look at his gorgeous face. “What the fuck is that?” I screech as I pull away from him. Examining the fresh red mark on his cheek. “Did he fucking hit you again?”
He nods. “Yeah. I told him I didn’t want to commit to Georgia. I didn’t even tell him about Cambria and he flipped the switch. He got one shot in before I could even react. Completely caught me off guard.”
“Jesus, I’ll go get some ice.”
I pad down the hallway to the stairs. I’m seething. I would love to kick Rowen right in the nut sack. Fucking prick.
I get back up to my room with the ice pack where Jess is sitting on my bed with his head resting on the headboard. I hold it to his cheek.
“Did you hit him back?” I ask softly. Not sure if I want to know the answer. Jess is strong, but has never been a fighter unless provoked. He hit a classmate of ours sophomore year who said I was so flat that even Christopher Columbus couldn’t find my boobs. Jessup punched him in the face. That summer my boobs came in and I feel like it was karma.
He shakes his head. “Nah, but I shoved him pretty hard. He fell when I did. Knocked over the beer by his chair. He wasn’t too happy about that either.”
“And that makes you upset?”
“Yeah, fuck,” he rakes his hand over the good side of his face, “I don’t want to be him. I don’t want anger to control me.”
“You’re not him, Jess,” I offer as I rub the back of his neck with my free hand.
“Did you know Rollie is my half-brother?” he blurts out of nowhere.
“Um, what?” I had no idea. My brain freezes. I’ve known Rollie as long as I’ve known Jess and this has never come up before.
“Yeah, my dad cheated on my mama. She isn’t Rollie’s biological mother. She treats him just the same as the rest of us so no one ever knew.”
Holy shit.
“When did you find that out? Who’s his mother?�
��
“Some bar skank my dad fucked one night. Rollie just told me last year. Remember when he was getting in fights and just being an absolute asshole to everyone?”
I nod because remember that vividly. Rollie was almost expelled, but Coach Greene spoke to the principal on his behalf and got him reinstated. It was our junior year, the year Jess stopped talking to me. Rollie almost lost his scholarship to Georgia.
“I always wondered why he lost it that year.”
“Yeah, it was because he and Dad got into over something and he told him during that fight that she’s not even his real mama.”
“How heartbreaking!” I exclaim and hold my hands to my chest. Poor, Rollie. I can’t imagine what he felt like hearing that news delivered in that manner.
“Yeah, I can’t imagine what that felt like,” Jess says what I was thinking. “I wasn’t home, but Rollie told me all about it later that night.”
“I’m so sorry for Rollie.” And I am. Heartbroken. All the kids adore Jacqueline. From what Jess has said she is the sweetest lady in the world, but lives in fear of Rowen like the rest of them. He controls her.
“I’m not going to end up like him. Drinking every night, cheating on my wife. Did you know Frankie and Rence all cheat on their wives, Ricky has cheated on every girlfriend he ever had including the one he is living with now, and Rollie basically screws anything that moves.”
I shake my head. I feel guilty, but the phrase pot calling the kettle black pops into my mind. Jessup’s reputation with the ladies isn’t exactly rated PG.
“What?” he asks assessing my face.
“I don’t think I should say it.”
“Why? We’re always honest with each other, Stanz.”
I sigh. “Your reputation isn’t exactly virginal, Jess,” I tell him with a cringe.
He lets out a deep laugh while trying to stay quiet so my parents don’t hear him. Cada and Avery go bed at eight o’clock every night like, well, clockwork, but that doesn’t mean they won’t wake up bust me with a boy in my room. We’re not ten anymore and my dad wouldn’t be pleased.
Completion (Cambria University Series Book 3) Page 8
