When the orgasmic haze cleared, she slid her eyes open and found Beckett on his side, leaning on his elbow, gazing down at her with heavy lids and a smirk on his face. The hand splayed on her stomach grounded and assured her. She laid her hand over his.
“That was,” Greer wasn’t sure what the right word was, so she settled on, “amazing.”
Beckett rolled onto his back and with his hand urged her to roll onto his chest. Greer gladly complied and let her eyelids slide close. Her body was a loose noodle and the heat coming off of Beckett made her bed a cocoon beckoning her to sleep.
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Chapter 36
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The grating sonar alarm on her phone woke her from a deep sleep and she blindly reached out across cold sheets to grab it off of her nightstand. After several unsuccessful swipes, she reluctantly squinted her eyes open to shut it off.
The first thing she became aware of was her aching body. It was like she’d had a fever she was recovering from. She smiled a little at the thought, it had been a type of fever. Then she looked longingly at the indented pillow next to her and tried to push away the sense of loss she felt. Turning her attention to her phone, her insides warmed with all of the texts from Beckett.
‘Last night was unbelievable. You are amazing.’
‘You are coming to my game tonight.’
‘If we both went to Oak High, we could be with each other all day.’
‘I’m taking you to school today.’
Greer hugged her phone to her chest and pictured walking down the halls with Beckett with interlocked hands. The smallest touch from Beckett always made her feel content and loved. She missed those extra minutes in the truck with Beckett. That extra time to absorb his warmth and charisma that went wherever he did.
But her doubts refused to be silent and her worries surfaced to the forefront of her brain. She could still hear the sneers and feel the hateful stares as she walked down the halls at Oak High. Even knowing Beckett would be there didn’t stop the feeling of daggers in her back. She hated that fear was holding her back, but she wasn’t ready.
Reading the texts from Beckett again, she replayed their night together and sent him a text back.
‘I will always treasure last night.’
As she was getting up another text popped up.
‘It will only get better.’
Hmm, she wasn’t sure how, but she was open to trying. Grinning like a loon, Greer walked into her bathroom making sure her phone was always in sight. They texted the whole time she was getting ready and the urge to put her lips on his made her get ready in record time.
As soon as she stepped out the front door, she drank in the delicious sight of Beckett leaning against the truck. His long, strong legs were outstretched and crossed over each other. When he heard the door open his aviator gaze lifted from his phone and made her body shiver with the intensity of his gaze as he followed her.
Keeping her eyes glued to him she walked with purpose. For the first time in her life, she put a little swish in her hips and watched Beckett slowly straighten as she got closer. Her lips started to part and tingle in anticipation, and without pausing she walked up, stood on her toes, and pulled his neck down. Beckett followed her lead and bent toward her.
With her hands enjoying stroking through his soft, thick hair she fused her lips to his and gave him a kiss that was by no means a light good morning brush. Beckett quickly took control and put his hands on the small of her back to pull her into him. She gasped upon feeling his hard cock through his mandatory black dress pants. His tongue swept in, imitating what he had done last night and hers automatically followed.
Beckett tore his lips from her but maintained a grip on her hips.
“Holy hell, Greer.”
Beckett’s raspy voice and stunned expression made Greer’s heart sing. She affected him.
“Morning, handsome.”
“That was a hell of a good morning kiss.”
She felt like her smile was going to split her face in two. “Too bad you snuck out of my bed. Think about that kiss if it had happened in my bed.”
Beckett’s mouth actually hinged open and delighted with his reaction, Greer laughed, opened the passenger door and hopped inside. She bit her lip when she heard him muttering to himself as he crossed in front of the truck to get in.
As soon as he was on the road, Greer reached across and linked their hands together over the console. They didn’t talk and Greer just enjoyed the connection to Beckett. Last night had forged an intimacy and closeness she hadn’t thought possible. Her heart was full just sharing the same space as Beckett.
It dipped when they pulled into the Public High parking lot. It was time to go. Reluctantly, she pulled her hand from Beckett’s and turned to him.
“Thanks for the ride, handsome.”
“You’re welcome, beautiful.”
His hand reached across and pulled her neck toward him. She gratefully sunk into the oblivion Beckett’s kiss offered. When he slowly pulled away, she kept her eyes closed to keep out the real world for a few more seconds.
“I love you.”
She slid her eyes open. “I love you.”
They pulled apart and as she was opening the door Beckett reminded her. “I don’t have practice because of the game tonight, so I’ll be here after school to get you.”
Something to look forward to. It brought the smile back to her face. “Kay.”
She hopped down and ignored all the faces staring in her direction. She looked past the gawkers, to see if Lexi was close. Sure enough, she was sitting on the wall by the front door. As she got closer, she realized Lexi was absorbed in her phone.
“Texting Jason already?”
Lexi blushed, but chuckled, “You know it. Not all of us can have a scorching good by kiss in front of the school.”
It was her turn to blush. “It wasn’t scorching,” she mumbled.
Lexi laughed, “Oh my god, Greer, what does a scorching kiss look like then? I wanted to fan myself from that kiss.”
“Like you aren’t like that every time you see Jason?”
Lexi waggled her brows. “I know and I love it.”
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Chapter 37
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It was the last game of the season, and Greer’s third game she had been to since leaving Oak High. For the first two games, Pepper, Lexi, and Greer sat at the top of the stands, cheering their men on. Tonight, they had taken their usual spots when a girl she recognized, came up to them.
“Hi, Pepper!”
“Hi, Caroline.” Pepper responded enthusiastically.
Then Caroline turned to her and hesitatingly said, “Hi, Greer.”
“Hi, Caroline.” she smiled and Caroline looked relieved. Weird.
Then Caroline looked at all of them. “Do you want to come sit with us in the student section?”
Greer’s first reaction was an emphatic no, but her gaze snagged Pepper and Lexi looking longingly where Caroline had gestured. She bit her tongue and turned toward the student section. It was on the fifty-yard line and the students were sitting in the first row all the way up to about the twentieth row.
Caroline turned to her in the awkward silence. She seemed to understand she was the holdout. “We are sitting in the last row, but it’s still great seats.”
She didn’t want to, but she couldn’t ignore the hopeful looks from Pepper and Lexi. They had never once complained about sitting so far from the action. With her gut churning, Greer tried to inject some enthusiasm in her response, “It’s okay with me if it’s okay with Lexi and Pepper.”
“Great, I’ll see you down there!”
Greer was flummoxed with the excitement Caroline exuded. It was the opposite reaction she was used to getting.
She turned to Lexi and Pepper who were
already gathering their blankets and bags.
“Guys, I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish. I didn’t even realize your boyfriends were playing and you would want to sit closer.”
Lexi turned to Greer with a fierce expression. “You are not selfish, Greer. I think you are amazing just being here. I wouldn’t blame you if you had just wanted to stay at home and watch in your room.”
Pepper nodded with every point Lexi made and then just as determinedly said, “She’s right, Greer. We don’t have to go down there if you don’t want to. Caroline is Harrison’s girlfriend and she has been sitting with the team at lunch. She’s good people. I wouldn’t go if she wasn’t.”
Her hands were sweaty and her whole body was locking up, but she forced the words out of her mouth. “We will sit wherever you want.”
Greer saw the worried glances between Pepper and Lexi. She took the bull by the horns and started down the stairs to the student section. After a few steps, she heard them follow and then felt Lexi’s hand on her shoulder.
“We don’t have to do this, Greer.”
Concern radiated from Lexi, but Greer was not going to let fear stop her. “Yes. We do.”
Thankfully, they continued to follow her down the stairs, without more talking. It gave Greer the extra seconds she needed to take some deep breaths to slow her heart down and put on a neutral expression to mask her internal upheaval.
There were plenty of looks from the student section, but also some nods and friendly waves. She didn’t know what was going on, but it was enough to let her guard down a little. Everyone at Oak High was not her enemy, but she wasn’t going to pretend everyone loved her either. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
As the game progressed, she became engrossed watching Beckett and less concerned about the student population watching her. By the time the game was over, her voice was hoarse, and she felt like she had a couple of new friends from Oak High. Lexi and Pepper sat on either side of her, but Caroline sat in front of them and turned around to chat and yell whenever one of their guys had a standout play.
Now that the nail-biting game was over, Greer was sitting with Lexi and Pepper on the tailgate of Beckett’s truck waiting for the guys to appear. They were all absorbed in their phones until Greer looked up and realized the opposing team’s bus was leaving.
“The guys must be taking some extra time to celebrate.”
When she looked at the time, she realized forty-five minutes had passed since the ending of the game. Usually, the guys finished showering and started drifting out after about thirty minutes.
“Did you see Mark grab that pass to win the game?” Pepper was looking dreamily back at the field, which was still lit up in lights.
Greer and Lexi looked at each other and busted a gut laughing. Pepper snapped out of her star-dazed love fest and grinned at them. “What? Too much?”
Greer felt her phone buzz in her hand and looked down as Lexi put her arm around Pepper and said. “Oh girl, you got it bad.”
Pepper playfully elbowed Lexi. “Like you don’t.”
“True.”
Greer waved her phone at them. “The guys want us to meet them by the locker room.”
“All right!” Pepper exclaimed with a fist pump and turned to go.
“I think they meant outside the locker room, not in it!” Greer clarified.
“Too bad.” Pepper pouted.
They were all laughing as they turned the corner and were met with a chorus of greetings. Beckett’s baritone cut through the crowd.
“Greer! Come here!”
She happily started toward him and found herself surrounded by tall, muscular football players. She was being lifted, twirled, and hugged before being passed to someone else. Eventually, she landed in Beckett’s arms and she threw her arms around him and reveled in his familiar arms and scent surrounding her.
She pulled back and brushed a swift kiss over his lips. “You did it!”
A care-free enthusiastic smile lit up Beckett’s face. He turned her in his arms, keeping her anchored against his front and yelled.
“We did it!”
“BooYAH!” Was the resounding team response.
“How did we do Greer?” The question was yelled from someone in the group.
Greer’s face flamed at being the center of attention, but her heart was melting. That was the question someone always asked at the end of practice. It was always asked with a cocky assuredness, but with their undefeated record, Greer couldn’t deny they had every right to be cocky.
Usually, Greer mimicked whatever she had heard the coach say. So, she deepened her voice and said, “You did good tonight, but I want that trophy to stay at Oak High. Don’t take your eye off the goal!”
A chant of, “Oak High! Oak High!” broke out and Greer joined in.
“Where are we celebrating tonight Greer?”
The yelled question silenced the crowd and all eyes were on her. Greer sucked in a breath and felt her body stiffening up. Beckett’s arms came across her shoulders and folded them in front of her. She loved being with the team again, but she didn’t know if she was ready to be at an Oak High Party. There would be more than football players there.
Collin stood the closest to her. “Come on Greer, we miss you. We don’t live with you,” Collin jerked his thumb in Beckett’s direction, “like this guy.”
Evan stepped up. “You know we will look after you. Nothing will happen.”
The whole team was silent, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. She gripped Beckett’s forearms and looked pleadingly at the couples flanking them. Both Jason and Mark had their arms around their girls looking at her impassively.
Pepper murmured, “Your choice, Greer.”
Lexi nodded, “We go where you go.”
Greer could hear her accelerated breathing and she hung on to Beckett’s arms like a lifeline. It was time to take another plunge. Beckett deserved to go out with his team. It wasn’t fair to isolate him from them because of her fears.
“Let’s party.” It was meant to come out enthusiastically, but it was more of a croak.
Beckett turned her and tucked her under his arm and started walking to the parking lot. Collin and Evan flanked them talking to her and asking her questions as they got closer to the truck. Their excited chatter helped calm her nerves. It was cute how they would ramble about play after play and then excitedly turn to her and asked, “Did you see that, Greer?”
“Wasn’t that exciting, Greer?”
“What was your favorite play?”
She barely had time to respond, before they were analyzing the next play.
They reached the passenger door of the Beckett’s truck and Evan was in the middle of commentating the last play of the game. She remembered her tension watching Beckett release the ball and how she had held her breath watching it fly through the air. Enthusiastically, she cut in to finish the play.
“Beckett’s pass was right on the money. He hit Mark’s number, slipping it between two defenders. Winning touchdown!”
Evan’s eyes bugged out a little before he laughed ruefully and looked over Greer’s shoulder and said to Beckett, “You are one lucky son-of-a-bitch. You know that, right?”
Beckett’s hands slipped around her and rested on her stomach. When he touched his lips to the top of her head, she swore she melted into him. “I know man. I know.”
“You’re going to Henderson’s, right?”
He gazed at Greer to answer.
She grinned. “We’re going.”
Beckett opened her door and made his way around to the driver’s side. By the time he talked to several players and got in most of the team had disbursed. Beckett looked over at her solemnly.
“I didn’t know they were going to ambush you about the party. We don’t have to go.”
Her heart gave a little thud at the worry in Beckett’s voice. His team was going to the finals and he was worried about how she felt going to the victory party.
“I miss the team. I want to go.” It was true. A part of her did want to go. The other part of her was in the thick of a panic attack, but she kept her sweaty hands to herself and pasted a smile on her face.
Beckett’s gaze bore into hers, and she silently held her breath as she silently repeated, I can do this, over and over in her head.
He finally nodded his head and started the truck. The mood was entirely too somber. It needed to change—they were going to a celebration party.
“Does Henderson live in a mansion?”
“He lives in Little Italy. What do you think?”
Beckett’s casual mention of the richest neighborhood in Manchester made her smile. She pushed on remembering her goal to get Beckett’s carefree smile back.
“Does he have a firepit?” She asked, innocently. She kept her grin hidden when Beckett whipped his head around.
“Oh, baby.” Her heart stuttered with his low, drawled endearment. “We don’t need a firepit.”
Her lips parted to draw in some much-needed air and Beckett’s eyes lowered. Automatically Greer’s tongue came out to lick her lips and before she could blink, Beckett’s hand wrapped around her neck, tugging her toward him. Their lips met in a scorching kiss.
Greer’s whole world was centered around returning the invitation of Beckett’s tongue and enjoying every leap of excitement generated by his touch when a horn intruded on her descent into all things Beckett.
Startled, she jumped back into her seat looking around. It looked like Jason’s SUV that was turning out of the parking lot. An embarrassed groan had her covering her face. She wasn’t that girl. The one who made out in public. She peeked at Beckett and he laughed.
Her hands came down and she glared. “Why are you laughing Beckett Dawson?”
Beckett shook his head and put the truck in gear. “You are the only girl I know who would be embarrassed about being caught kissing me.”
Battling Beckett Page 27
