Battling Beckett

by T Christensen

  Tipsy Greer seemed to be the life of the party, but her rolling stomach and headache made her understand why drinking was not a good idea. She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths, slowly thinking back on the night.

  The last part of the night had been unbelievably fun. They had all thrown popcorn, talked, and laughed over the stupid movie the guys had chosen. Eventually, they had all drifted off to sleep. The last time she had looked it was 2:00 am.

  What she had said and done before the movie was slightly embarrassing. Okay, really embarrassing. Did she really say she was going to cut Mark’s balls off? Had the truce between her and Beckett been real? She was going to proceed with caution before she fully believed it.

  First, she had to get up and use the bathroom. Moving her head as little as possible, she got up and slowly made her way to the bathroom and relieved her screaming bladder. After she splashed her face with some cool water, Greer pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail at the base of her neck.

  Gathering her nerve, Greer turned her face to look at the side of it. Most of the redness was gone, except for where the prickly bricks had dug into her skin. She decided her hair and some makeup would easily hide them. She found some toothpaste in the cabinet and brushed her teeth with her finger. Feeling a little bit better, Greer wandered back to her makeshift bed and stopped when she saw Beckett folding up her blankets.

  “I can do it,” she whispered.

  Beckett ignored her and finished folding everything and put it into the pile with all the others. “Finally decided to get up, huh?”

  “Yeah. What time is it?”

  “Ten o’clock.”

  “What time did everyone else get up?”

  Beckett shrugged. “I got up at 9:00 and everyone was up except Mark. He got up at 9:30.”

  Greer sat down on one of the sectionals and looked everywhere but at Beckett. She was unsure if the truce was real and didn’t know what to do. She could feel his stare, but she needed a moment to go through the events of last night. Just to make sure she was remembering everything correctly.

  Even with her fuzzy, dream-like memory she remembered sitting on his lap being surrounded with warmth and security. She had been a shaky mess before Pepper had broken out the shots, but she wasn’t sure this walking queasiness the next morning was worth it.

  Regardless of how she was feeling, she owed Beckett an apology and would rather do it now and stop thinking about it. Then she could go home and lay in her own bed. Rubbing her hands on her legs she raised her somber green eyes to his eyes. She got lost in the peaceful, quietness of his study.

  “I’m sorry for last night,” she blurted into the silence.

  Beckett’s eyebrows flew up and he walked over to sit on the ottoman across from her. He cupped the back of her head and she froze. Greer could hear heart thudding with his close proximity and she was immediately awake watching and waiting. He tilted her head and studied her face. She relaxed slightly when she realized he was looking at her cheek.

  He lowered his hand and leaned on his elbows on his knees. “Why are you sorry?”

  Greer admitted to his bare feet, “I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

  She heard Beckett inhale deeply and then a heartbeat later. “Greer.” Her ears were at full attention, but when he didn’t continue, she peeked up at him and saw one side of his mouth quirked up.

  “Look, Greer, can we just start again?”

  Relief poured through her. “Yes.”

  Greer didn’t want to prolong the moment and quickly changed the subject. “I’m going to get my things and then have Lexi take me home.”

  She stood up at the same time as Beckett and found herself looking at the base of his neck. Greer inhaled and let his smell and warmth surround her.

  “Lexi left,” Beckett said.

  “What?” She lifted her head and realized how close they were. She could feel the tension brewing the longer they stood together.

  “We’re riding home with Jason.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Beckett rolled his eyes and turned her toward the stairs. “Yes. Go get your stuff.”

  Greer went as fast as her queasiness allowed, which wasn’t very. She said a subdued goodbye to Pepper who was laying down with nature sounds streaming through the TV.

  “Bye Pepper. See you later.”

  “Bye Greer. Let’s not drink as much next time.”

  Greer smiled and knew next time she wouldn’t drink at all. She didn’t like how she had talked without thinking and she definitely didn’t like how she was feeling now. Hopefully some fresh air, on the way to Beckett’s house, would have some magic mojo to make her feel better. If her mom figured out why she wasn’t feeling good, it would not be good.

  As soon as she stepped outside, into the sun’s powerful rays, it felt like a knife was being pushed through her head. Greer sucked in a breath and slapped a hand over her eyes. When she no longer felt like bending over and puking, she put her hand up to shield the sun and gingerly made her way to Jason’s black SUV.

  She peeked up and saw Beckett leaning against the passenger door, with his aviators on, which added an extra element to his hotness. Even in her current state her body perked up and reacted to his, urging her closer. Mark’s guffaw released her from her Beckett tunnel vision, and she realized all three guys were leaning against the SUV. All of them were pressing their lips together, trying not to laugh at her.

  “Don’t talk to me,” she muttered.

  Her step stuttered when Beckett opened the door for her. Mark teased her while walking around the hood. “Isn’t it a beautiful morning, Greer?”

  She just glared, as they laughed. If she was feeling better, she would have asked if they all worked for the government. Jason’s SUV was shiny black, and he had black Ray-Bans to complete the look. The only thing they needed was black suits.

  Greer was thankful for the blackout on the windows. Instead of feeling like her head was going to explode, it felt like a bearable headache. The blissful silence lasted for about ten minutes and then Beckett stated the obvious.

  “You can’t let your mom see you like this, Greer.”

  “I know that, Beckett,” she snapped. “Sorry.” she mumbled immediately after, but she shouldn’t have bothered. They were all laughing at her, again.

  “Hangovers make you feisty,” was Jason’s snarky comment.

  She glared over at him. “I hope you treated Lexi better than this.”

  He smirked in his fancy, black-rimmed sunglasses. “Oh, Greer, I treated her soooo good.”

  That got her hackles up and she leaned forward pointing a finger in his face, through the rear-view mirror. “Jason Rodriguez Lexi has been my best friend since elementary school. Do NOT treat her like one of your Oak High bimbos. Got it?”

  Jason held up one of his hands. “I got you, Greer. No messing around with Lexi.”

  Greer slumped back, drained, praying her stomach would settle down. She closed her eyes and let the conversation between the guys drift around her. Snippets of conversation made her brain perk up and apprehension tightened her stomach.

  “Around the bathroom”

  “Not alone”

  “Who?”

  Curiosity got the best of her and Greer couldn’t go back to her mindless drifting. She opened her eyes and turned her head but refused to lift her head from the headrest. “What are you talking about?”

  Turbulent, whiskey eyes met hers. “I want to know who touched you.”

  She inhaled at the deadly tone. Why was Beckett so angry about this?

  “Why?”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw Jason’s head jerk up to look in the rear-view mirror. Mark turned and looked at her incredulously. Beckett held up his hand and deadly silence ruled the car for several heartbeats. Greer was taken aback by the tension in the car but fascinated with the intensity Beckett was staring at her with.

  Gradually she recognized the SUV was not moving and when she sl
id her eyes away from Beckett, she saw they were in his circular drive. Greer reached for the handle and breathed a sigh of relief when the outside air allowed the tension in the SUV to slide out.

  She had one foot out when Mark solemnly stated.

  “Greer, if you are in trouble, you know you can come to me, right?”

  “Us, you can come to either of us.” Jason inserted.

  Greer looked between them and swallowed the emotion bubbling up. With a quick nod of her head, she stepped out of the SUV and stopped short. Beckett, with his hands on his hips, was right in front of her. Without talking he reached for her arm and guided her to the front door.

  Puzzled by his continued silence, and guidance, Greer just followed him. When they were in the cavernous entryway, she tried to pull her arm away. Beckett tightened his grip and continued up the spiral staircase as he yelled.

  “Dad, Greer and I are home. We’ll be upstairs.”

  Greer wasn’t sure anyone even heard him and looked around to see David standing in his office off of the entryway studying them curiously. When he caught her gaze he said, “Is everything okay?”

  Beckett didn’t even pause and continued subtly pulling her up the stairs with him. “Yeah, everything is fine.”

  Greer gave David what she hoped was a casual smile, and patiently waited until they were up the stairs, hopefully out of hearing distance before asking, “What are you doing?”

  Again, Beckett didn’t look, but he did respond, “We need to talk.”

  Greer wasn’t sure what to think, but if the sinking of her stomach was any indication, this wasn’t going to be good.

  Her discomfort was forgotten when they entered Beckett’s room. She let her curiosity take over. The layout was almost exactly like hers, but it was definitely a guy’s room. The floors were hardwood and the décor was navy and white. There was nothing little boy about this room. And it fit him to a tee.

  The nook had a desk with shelves above it lining the wall. And most of them were filled with books. Greer started to wander that way; she was curious what types of books he read.

  “Are you going to gawk all morning or come and sit down?”

  Greer turned startled eyes to Beckett’s mocking drawl. There was the Beckett she remembered. The determination was still there, so she walked over and sat on the black leather chair as he sat on the couch.

  As soon as she sat, Beckett’s hand extended toward her, palm out. “Phone.”

  What? He must have read the question on her face. In the same no-nonsense tone, he expanded. “Give me your phone, Greer.”

  Well, this was interesting. She dutifully dug in her backpack for it and put in his palm.

  He started typing and then took his phone out, looked at the screen, and put her phone on the coffee table between them.

  “If you are in trouble or someone is hassling you call or text me.”

  Greer wasn’t sure what to think of this turnabout. Before, he couldn’t stand to be in the same room with her, and now he was telling her to call him? His eyes were boring into her like he was trying to drill it into her head.

  “You don’t have to do this, Beckett. If you continue to ignore me then whoever this is will just leave me alone. I won’t sit at the same lunch table. Maybe you could drop me off a couple of blocks away from school.” She finally spoke the words into the thick air between them.

  Beckett’s elbows rested on his knees, and his knuckles were white from the tight clasp of his hands in front of him. His jaw clenched and unclenched as he seemed determined to say something, but not quite sure how to say it. It was unnerving her, but she held his gaze determined to have this conversation. It would, hopefully, end the awkwardness between them.

  “I am not, and you are not, going to ignore this situation at school and hope it goes away.”

  “I’m not,” Greer broke in hotly, but stopped when Beckett raised his hand.

  “You are letting them win if you isolate yourself. I’m not going to let someone use me to get to you.”

  Greer looked away to try and cover the internal flinch she felt at his words. Now she understood. It wasn’t about her being bullied. It was about how they were using the king of the school to do it. He was feeling manipulated. Since Beckett’s ego was involved, she knew there wasn’t a chance in hell he would let this go. She would simply have to do her best to avoid him.

  With her mind made up, Greer did what she needed to leave Beckett’s room. “I’ll call you if I need you.” She picked up her phone and went to her own room.

  ««« »»»

  “Where’s Greer?”

  That was the first thing Mark asked Beckett and Pepper when he sat down at their lunch table. He looked between the two of them. Beckett had no idea where Greer was, and it pissed him off.

  Why did he care so much about what happened to this girl? He caught himself looking for her in the hall and he had to resist the urge to go in the girls’ bathroom every time he passed. Even now he was looking at Pepper hoping she knew where Greer was. Maybe then this niggle of worry would go away.

  Pepper looked up from her plate. “She said she was going to study.”

  What the hell? Didn’t Greer remember what had happened when she went off by herself? Mark, Jason, and Beckett looked at each other. It was obvious the same thoughts were going through their heads.

  “Did she say where?” Jason asked.

  “No.” Pepper continued to eat.

  The three guys shared another look. “I’ll go look,” Jason stated.

  “I’ll go.” Beckett bit out and got up, leaving his tray behind. He stalked out of the dining room toward the library. This shit of her avoiding him was done. Greer rode with him every morning, but then he rarely saw her the rest of the day.

  He pushed through the library doors and started his search. When he saw her in the back, sitting in a chair by the window, he stopped. Her lunch was spread out on the table and she was leisurely eating her sandwich as she leaned back in the chair, with her feet stretched out, crossed in front of her. He walked closer and saw the earbuds in her ears with her eyes closed. It was obvious she was in the world of whatever she was listening to.

  Beckett took a minute to drink her in, with her unaware. Whenever they were together, she was never relaxed, she always had a wall up. With a grin, he remembered how the wall had fallen when she had been drinking. He had been stunned how readily she had sat with him. And when her body sank into his, something in him clicked, it felt right having Greer near him.

  The sun was glinting over her chestnut hair and for the first time, he noticed the red glints. She seemed to be basking in the sun coming through the glass. Beckett knew he had to push his anger at her away to convince her she couldn’t wander off alone, at least until he figured out who was trapping her in bathrooms. His eyes went to her cheek and he let out a relieved breath, the scrapes were gone.

  Pushing himself forward he closed the distance between them. “Greer.”

  She jumped and opened eyes that held a hint of fear. “Beckett, what are you doing here?”

  He ignored the stupid question. “I thought you were studying?”

  Her gaze went back to the windows and she mumbled, “I got done.”

  He clenched his jaw and fought not to call her on the lie. He took a deep breath to steady his irritation and spoke gently, but firmly.

  “Greer.” He waited patiently for her to look at him.

  Her eyes slowly locked with his.

  “Stop avoiding me.”

  He locked down more irritation when he saw the surprise flutter across her face.

  “You need to make sure you are with someone. All the time.”

  Her jaw tightened and he could see a fire brewing behind her eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter, Beckett.”

  In one movement, Beckett leaned down, lifted Greer from her chair and sat them down together in it.

  “What are you doing?” Greer hissed while frantically looking around.

&n
bsp; “I like the Greer who sat in my lap on Friday night and talked with me. She was open and honest. I don’t like this Greer. She wants to hide from me.”

  “That Greer was drunk.”

  Beckett tightened his arm across Greer’s stomach, and finally, she stopped trying to get up. His dick was liking it, but he didn’t think Greer would appreciate it if she felt it. He pushed her head under his chin and leisurely stroked her soft, thick hair. Gradually she lost her stiffness and sank into him.

  “I’m going to figure out who is bullying you and make sure they understand it needs to stop.”

  He continued stroking her silky strands and waited for her. He barely heard her when she finally asked. “Why? Why do you want to?”

  “Look, Greer, it pisses me off that someone thinks it’s okay to lay their hands on you. How about we use as an opportunity to learn to be friends, since our parents are getting married?”

  Beckett felt her big exhale and he breathed easier with her barely audible. “Okay.”

  Finally, he felt like she meant it. “So, no more going off alone, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  ««« »»»

  With every stroke of her hair, Greer felt some of the tension roll out of her and contentedness roll in. She should get off of Beckett’s lap, it was too dangerous to her heart how much she liked being surrounded by his warmth and protection. For once, she actually believed what Beckett said. He loved David and he was warming up to her mom. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, family was important to Beckett—and for better or worse, she was a part of it.

  ─────────────────

  Chapter 18

  ─────────────────

  For the next couple of weeks, Greer was never alone, unless she was at home. Beckett met her at the end of most of her classes and walked her to her next one. If it wasn’t him then it was Mark or Jason. Even after their early morning football practice, Beckett had the equipment manager, Steve, walk her to the building if Pepper didn’t appear by the end of practice to sit with her.