Not that Payton was wobbly or anything. Payton wondered if she might be able to forget about Chance Montgomery altogether … Okay, so that wasn’t going to happen, but she had to admit Craig was a freaking gorgeous distraction. Not that he’d give her the time of day, but hey, at least he was talking to her.
“Speaking of games, you played awesome last night. You really gave the Knights hell, and let me tell you, I had to hold your brothers back when that guy pummeled you into the ground. I thought for sure they were gonna empty the stands and jump him,” he said with a chuckle.
Uh. Even his laugh was cute. Okay, how come she’d never noticed all this about him before?
“They can be kind of overprotective.”
“Kind of?” His brows raised.
“Yeah, probably more than kind of. Anyway, I’m just glad fifty-seven didn’t get through anymore. The line really picked up on him.” Payton glanced up. Crap. How were they already standing outside her class? She wouldn’t have minded a few more minutes with Craig.
“Well, here you are.” His gaze lingered on her for a second. He opened his mouth as if was going to say more, then glanced over her shoulder at something down the hall. “I guess I’ll see you around.” He nodded then hurried away.
“Was that Helton?” Neal asked from behind her.
“Yeah. He just wanted to tell me how awesome our team did. And he’s my brother Marino’s best friend, so he was probably just checking up on me for him.” Payton followed Neal into the classroom.
She was glad to be paired up with Neal for astronomy. He was pretty nice, and they actually got along—and spoke to one another. Unlike her English lit table partner. Ugh. She didn’t even want to get started on that again.
Payton noticed the TV the teacher had set up. Thank God. Maybe she wouldn’t have to do any homework tonight. Which would be a miracle in itself.
“Okay, class, since it’s Friday, I thought I’d give you guys a treat.” Mr. Decker sat perched on the edge of his desk, his green-and-brown argyle socks poking out from beneath his pant legs. “A lot of you might’ve already seen this movie, but I thought I’d put on Star Wars to get your weekend started.”
“Mr. Decker is now my favorite teacher ever. He must’ve known I didn’t feel like doing anything today.” Neal yawned, running a hand through his brown hair. “So, are you going to the varsity game tonight?” He spun to face her.
“Of course—my three older brothers are playing. The games are kind of a forced family-fun night every week.” She twirled her pencil around her finger while the teacher turned on the TV. A moment later, Star Wars music blared throughout the classroom, and Payton glanced at the screen.
“Would you mind if I hung out with you tonight, then? My grandma normally just drops me off.” He peered over at her. “I’m mean, if you’re okay with that?”
“Sure. I think Jake, Kelly, and Matt are going to sit with us too, so it should be fun.”
Payton sat up in the stands surrounded by her friends, watching as her brother Marino went back for a pass. She tugged her sweatshirt tighter about her as a cold breeze slipped down her neck. Goose bumps broke out across her skin, and she shivered. She focused on the play down on the field. Payton stood when she saw Bradshaw make a break for the end zone. There wasn’t a defender in sight. Throw the pass. Come on. Marino sent the ball spiraling toward him. In one swift movement, Bradshaw leapt up to catch the ball, coming down with it for a touchdown.
The people in the bleachers jumped up, cheering loudly as the band joined in with the school’s fight song. Her dad let off the air horn in full Carter tradition. The Tigers had just enough time to make the extra point before the scoreboard indicated it was halftime.
“Hey, do you guys want to go down and get drinks?” Jake asked, pulling his leather jacket tighter.
“Sure,” Kelly and Payton said in unison.
“Dad, you want me to get you anything while we’re down at the concession stand?” Payton handed her dad the cowbell.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll save your seats for you.” He waved to Lily, who’d just finished her shift at the restaurant.
Payton walked alongside Jake and Neal as they pushed their way over people’s legs and coats. There was a long line at the concession stand when they got there, so they huddled together, talking. Payton inhaled deeply, the scent of hot chocolate coupled with popcorn and hot dogs, making her hungry.
“Wow, if it isn’t our freshman quarterback.” Kibby gave her a wicked smile and dumped her pop down the front of Payton. “Oops! I’ve got to be more careful where I’m walking. Sorry about that.” She dropped the empty cup at Payton’s feet.
“What a bitch.” Kelly grabbed some napkins and attempted to sop up Payton’s shirt, but it was no use. It was soaked.
“Damn it. Sometimes I wish I could just punch that girl in the face.” Payton tried to peel her wet sweatshirt away from her body. Her teeth chattered as the wind picked up. Already she could feel the sticky, syrupy drink coating her skin. There was no way she’d be able to sit through the rest of the game. Not to mention she had a wet spot on her jeans too. This totally sucked.
Jake glared at Kibby’s back as she walked away. “One day that girl is gonna get what’s coming to her.”
Payton probably wouldn’t be so lucky.
“Would one of you mind going up to see if my dad or Elway would mind driving me home?” Payton fought back the urge to cry. She had no idea why Kibby Carlton hated her so much. Of course, Payton standing up to her on a regular basis probably didn’t help matters. But she damn sure wasn’t going to let some bitchy cheerleader get the best of her.
“I will.” Jake moved around the others.
Payton turned to Kelly. “You can stay and watch the rest of the game if you want.” Her BFF was supposed to spend the night after the game, but she didn’t want her to miss out on everything because she needed to go change.
“Are you kidding? I only come to this stuff because you like it. I never watch the game—well, that is, unless you’re playing,” she said with a smirk. “I’m so not ditching you.”
While she waited for Jake to reappear, Payton spotted Coach Youngman and his wife coming toward her, their hands full of hot dogs and pop.
“Carter, don’t you know you’re supposed to drink your pop not wear it?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, I might’ve missed the memo.” Payton smiled.
“Hopefully this isn’t a fad that catches on. You kids have fun tonight.” He waved before following his wife.
A few minutes later, Elway appeared with their dad’s keys. “Ready?”
“Yeah. I’ll see you guys later.” She hugged Jake goodbye, then turned to pat Matt on the shoulder. Neal gave her an awkward glance as if trying to decide what would be the best way to say good night. He finally just gave her a playful punch in the shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Carter, we’ll help you figure out a way to get back at her,” Neal teased before heading back to the bleachers with the others.
Payton crawled into the front seat of the car with her brother, followed by Kelly. “So I heard you had a run-in with Kibby?” He shook his head.
“Yep. I seriously have no idea what guys see in her.” She sighed, watching the scenery flash by outside.
A few minutes later, Elway pulled into the driveway, the headlights cutting through the darkness. “Do you want me to wait and let you change, or are you going to stay here?”
“I might as well just stay. I’ll see you later.” She climbed out of the vehicle, shut the door, then rushed up to the house with Kelly.
“So do you want to watch some movies in the family room?” Payton turned to Kelly as they trudged down to her bedroom.
“Chick flicks?” Kelly prompted.
“Of course, but we’ll have to watch them before the guys get back, otherwise they’ll ruin it for us.” Because, unfortunately, her brothers didn’t appreciate a good romantic movie. All they did was groan and make kissy noise
s in the background. It was a wonder any of them got dates.
Payton went in to take a quick shower, wanting nothing more than to get the sticky mess off of her and smell like something other than a menu item. The warm spray of the water relaxed her as steam filled the room. It was nice not having to worry about one of the boys banging on the door to hurry up. It was like five minutes of complete heaven. If Kelly hadn’t been waiting on her, she probably would’ve taken longer.
When she finished, she grabbed the big fluffy blanket off her bed and went up to the family room with Kelly. They turned off the lights and started the movie, which was about a reporter who went undercover as a student in order to get a good story but ended up falling in love with one of the teachers.
Payton and Kelly cried when they thought the teacher stood the reporter up after she’d confessed her love for him.
“What an asshole,” Kelly said.
“Ugh, this can’t be the end.” Payton sat up, tugging her blanket to her chest. A moment later, the teacher came onto the baseball field and kissed the reporter. “Oh. My. God. This is perfect.” Payton sighed.
“Too bad guys aren’t like that in real life.” Kelly snorted. “Can you picture a boy from our school doing anything remotely romantic?”
“Um—no. They’d be more likely to try to feel you up then tell the whole locker room about it.”
From upstairs, Payton heard the door open and leapt up, wearing only her knee-length nightgown and fuzzy, blue bunny slippers. “I’ll be right back,” she called to Kelly.
The boys came in with their sweatshirt hoods pulled up over their heads, and Payton immediately launched herself at who she thought was Bradshaw, almost knocking him over. She threw her arms around his waist and hugged him.
“You played great tonight. I’m sorry I had to leave early.” She looked up. Oh God. Not Brad. Instead, a pair of familiar dark-blue eyes stared back.
“Thanks.” Craig grinned, hugging her to his sleek, muscled chest.
“Sorry—I thought you were Bradshaw.” She groaned, wishing the floor would swallow her up. Of course the boys all laughed at her.
She took a step back, finally spotting her brother. Payton moved to his side. “Your touchdown before halftime was great.”
“Yeah, it was pretty BA wasn’t it?” He ruffled her hair. “Rice said you had a little run-in with Kibby tonight?”
Payton shrugged, not wanting to get them started. “Yeah, but no big deal—I lived to tell about it.” She released him.
“Ask Marino the score and how many yards he threw for,” her dad interrupted.
Payton turned her attention to her oldest brother, eyeing him curiously. “So? How’d you do?”
“We beat Clarksdale 17–0.”
“So you’re trying to copy me?” Payton said with a smirk.
“Not really, because I only threw for 298 yards.”
“What? I actually beat you by two yards? I threw two more yards than my big brother.” Payton jabbed him in the ribs, until Marino started tickling her.
“How come everyone else got a hug for playing well but me?” Dave Atkinson pouted. “Centers never get any respect.” He shook his head in disbelief while pretending to cry.
Payton jumped off of her brother and hugged Dave too. “You played a good game, too. Besides, I know how important a good center is. Heck, Matt’s the one that keeps my butt safe in the pocket.”
Everyone chatted for a few minutes while Payton’s dad changed into some old sweats. “I brought home some foot-long subs from the restaurant, if anyone’s interested. Since we have a full house tonight, I also grabbed a few scary movies.”
Oh, God. Craig was spending the night? Her gaze drifted over to her brother’s best friend. She pretended not to notice how his t-shirt stretched across his chest. Or how his arms flexed whenever he lifted them. Easy there, girl. You don’t need to act like a dog in heat.
“I got dibs on the plaid couch,” Marino said, rushing toward the stairs.
Everyone raced down to the family room, trying to get seats. At the back of the family room was a ginormous, black, leather wraparound couch, complete with built-in recliners and cup holders. There were also two other couches, one against each of the walls, and at the front of the room was a large-screen TV with surround sound. A total man cave.
Payton shoved her brother Bradshaw off to the side, but he ended up getting a section of the wraparound, placing her between him and Craig. She flung herself onto Brad’s lap, squishing him. Laughing, she grabbed her blanket.
“Hey, you can sit next to me if you share your blanket.” He grinned, attempting to shove her off.
“Fine, but no screaming when the monsters jump out to kill people.” She jabbed him in the ribs.
“Will you two cut it out?” Montana tossed his wadded-up dirty socks at them. “You guys talk through every movie.”
Payton and Brad glanced at each other and started laughing. “Love you, bro.” She tossed her blanket over him. Between him and Marino, she didn’t know what she’d do without them. She definitely dreaded the spring, when Marino would graduate, and that meant the following year Brad would be gone too.
“I love you too, baby sis.” He covered up with the section of blanket she’d given him.
Kelly and Rice pulled up a couple sleeping bags and everyone else sat on the couches while Mr. Carter brought down popcorn and subs.
“Do you need any help, old man?” Marino hopped to his feet to grab a few things from him.
“Yeah, there’s pop upstairs, and I’m gonna go up to get some more popcorn made.”
Brad reached over and jerked Payton’s bunny slipper off. “Are you ticklish?” His lips turned up at the corners.
“Don’t even think about it,” she said.
“You mean this?” Brad grabbed her foot and began tickling it.
“Quit.” Payton wriggled around, trying to break free. Leaning over the edge of the couch, she pulled some of his leg hair, hoping he’d let go. But instead he picked her up and threw her backwards, causing Payton to hit her head on Craig’s chest.
“Umph … ” he called out.
“Sorry, it was Bradshaw’s fault.” She glanced up at him. Payton watched as a devious smirk spread across his face. Oh hell.
Craig grabbed a pillow next to him and hit her in the head with it.
“Oh, it’s on!” Payton lunged, grabbed a pillow from the other side of Bradshaw, and let it fly at Craig.
He ducked, then leapt to his feet, taking the first pillow he could find, which happened to be under Montana’s head. They started hitting each other, trying to knock the other one over. And of course Dave thought it was funny and clocked Kelly upside the head with one. The next thing Payton knew, Kelly had a weapon of sorts, trying to find a target. Pillows and cushions flew through the air.
It was like a huge, feathery war. When Bradshaw knocked Payton down onto the couch, she dive-bombed him and jumped up on his back, trying to drag him down with her. Instead, he staggered back and knocked them both onto Craig, who was sitting down again.
“Ahh. Are you trying to kill me?” Payton was now sandwiched between Craig and Bradshaw. She leaned her head back with the hopes of getting momentum to toss her brother off her. But he didn’t budge. She sagged against Craig, resting her head on his shoulder. Payton turned slightly and was surprised to see him gazing down at her.
“Hey,” he whispered.
Payton’s face felt like it was on fire. “Hey.”
“Pile on!” Dave shouted, and soon all the boys dove on top of them, squashing them further into the couch cushions.
“Shit, I think my rib cage is going to poke through my back.” Bradshaw groaned.
“Try being on the bottom.” Craig grunted, his breath warm on Payton’s cheek.
She shifted her head once more. Butterflies danced in her belly. Oh, crap. What was wrong with her? There was no way she had a thing for him. She’d known him pretty much her entire life. She’d always b
een just “one of the guys” to him. But there was no denying the crazy tingles rushing through her body. But Payton pictured Chance Montgomery and quickly pushed all her foolish notions from her mind—or at least tried to. The moment Craig’s cheek rested against hers and she caught the scent of his aftershave, her eyes fluttered shut. Was this supposed to be happening? Maybe she’d had some bad popcorn or something. Because in her world, you didn’t fall for one of your brother’s best friends. She just had to forget about it. Focus on someone more attainable.
“I’ve got a present for you guys.” Rice grinned and ripped a nasty fart that stunk like a mixture of rotten eggs and dead animals.
“Judas, what did you eat for dinner, a dead skunk?” Montana yelped, being the first one to hop out of the pile.
They were all groaning and coughing, trying to move away from the smell, but it was like a vaporous net clinging to everything in sight.
“What are you guys doing?” Mr. Carter asked as they all made their ways back to their original spots.
“Don’t you smell that?” Elway fanned the air around him as if the gesture would somehow make it fresher.
“What’d you do, crap your pants?” Dad wrinkled his nose. “That had to have been Rice.”
Everyone soon settled back in, and the scary movie started, the first scene set in a foggy graveyard. Payton spread her blanket out so it covered up Bradshaw, Craig, and herself. Already her eyes were growing heavy. It’d been a long week with practice, work, and school.
“Here’s a pillow.” Craig patted the couch next to him, laying the pillow out for her.
She yawned. “Thanks.” Payton propped her feet up on her brother’s legs. For the first time in a long time, she felt content and secure, surrounded by her family and friends. Who could ask for anything more than that?
Payton awoke the next morning, hanging halfway off the couch. Her brother Bradshaw was stretched out at her feet, his legs behind her back. As she twisted her head, she saw that Craig was sharing her pillow with his legs facing the opposite end of the couch.
French Fries with a Side of Guys Page 6
