“You ready?” Chance called to her.
“Yeah, coming.” Payton hurried to where Kyle was waiting for them. She climbed into his car and waved to him. He winked. Chance’s brother was definitely one of the more conceited boys in the school, not to mention popular. He’d already dated several girls since coming to Aller Falls, most of whom he’d dumped for other girls.
“Can you give Payton a ride home after we’re done with our homework?” Chance asked over the rock music.
“Sure. Whatever.” Kyle shrugged.
When they pulled into the Montgomerys’ driveway, Payton gawked. The house was probably about the same size as her own, but the layout was awesome. It was one of the old plantation-style homes, with a fountain in the driveway. Large pillars wrapped around the porch, while flower gardens and large trees surrounded the property.
“Nice place.” Her eyes shifted over it.
“Thanks … ”
Once they parked, Chance led her into the house. The whole main floor had dark hardwood floors, while the furniture appeared to be there more for decoration than for actual use. “Hey, Mom, this is Payton. We’re gonna to go up and work on English lit,” he told her.
She was tiny, almost fragile looking. And when she talked, she had a small, mousy voice.
“Nice to meet you.” She smiled and held out a bony hand for Payton to shake.
“You, too.”
Chance ushered Payton upstairs. “You can change in my bathroom.”
“Okay, I should only be a minute.” Before she shut the door, she saw him go into the next room down.
Payton took the opportunity to wipe her hands and face before changing back into her jeans and sweater. When she came out, Chance was already waiting for her in the hallway, and he quickly brought her into his bedroom.
A king-size bed sat against one wall, and a desk faced the window, which boasted of the pool below. There was sports memorabilia in cases and hanging on the walls. But one in particular caught Payton’s eye. A football signed by her all-time favorite football player, Jerry Rice.
“We can sit at my desk.” Chance grabbed another chair and gestured for her to take a seat. “So what did you have in mind for the paper?” He took out a notebook and pencil to jot down notes.
“Actually, I thought maybe we could generalize it to cover high-school students. I mean, which one of us doesn’t have secrets or try to hide things from everyone? People I think I know keep surprising me with all these different facets. Like one of my brothers. He always plays it cool, and you’d never think in a million years that anything ever bothered him. But a couple nights ago, I was up late and saw his light on. So I went in, and he was still up worrying about colleges and stuff like that.”
“That’s good.” Chance nodded. “Actually, my idea was similar—maybe we could use some of each of our ideas.”
So, together, they sat back and began to write, scratching stuff out and reconstructing it several times.
About an hour later, Mr. Montgomery barged into the room. “You’re supposed to be out practicing. Get off your ass and get to it.” Then he noticed Payton sitting next to Chance.
“I’m working with Payton on an assignment,” Chance muttered, his face turning red. His body tensed as he gripped the side of his desk.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize we had company. Don’t you practice, Carter?” he asked, his face smug.
“Yeah, but I take breaks to do my homework and work up at the restaurant. My dad’s big on grades—so that comes first,” she added. God, what a flipping douche bag. Actually, he was the king of douche bags.
“I’ll have your mom go pick up some pizza for dinner then. I’ll leave you guys alone.” He disappeared back out the door.
The pair worked in silence for a few minutes before Chance spoke up. “Sorry about my dad.”
“Don’t be.” She shook her head at him. It wasn’t his fault his dad was an idiot. He shifted in his chair, and his leg brushed hers. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
Chance stood and rubbed his temples like he had a headache. “Do you ever get the feeling that your dad is more concerned with his dream than yours?”
Payton felt bad for him. She couldn’t imagine coming home to this every night. To be yelled at and pushed into football. “My dad doesn’t pressure us. We play football because we like it. The only thing my dad really harps on is our grades.”
“It sucks. I spend most of my free time out there.” He pointed out the window, his jaw clenched, his eyes ablaze with anger. “My whole life revolves around football. And if we have a bad game, he punishes us. I’m just so fucking sick of it.”
Payton didn’t know what to say, but she moved closer to him and put a hand on his arm. “Any time you need to get away, you’re always welcome to come over. We have people in and out of our house on a constant basis.” Without a second thought, Payton wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, stroking his hair as if to comfort him.
Chance’s body went rigid, as if not sure what to do, but after a moment he embraced her too. She heard him inhale deeply, and he clung to her as tightly as he could, like he wasn’t used to this kind of attention. Payton didn’t dare lift her gaze for fear she might lose herself with him.
Chance rested his chin on her head, and they stood there for a long time, before his brother Kyle yelled up the stairs that the pizza was there.
“Payton.” His hoarse voice came out as a whisper. His troubled eyes met hers. “Thank you.”
What she wouldn’t give to make things better for him. To make him see how great he was—that just because his dad was horrible didn’t make him any less of a person. “You’re welcome.” She released him but didn’t move away. Payton’s pulse soared, her emotions all over the place. “We should go eat.”
They were both quiet as they made their way downstairs to the dining room, where everyone else was already seated and dishing out pizza.
“So what kind of paper are you guys working on?” Mr. Montgomery asked.
When Chance didn’t answer, Payton spoke up. “English lit. We’re writing a comparative essay about Shakespeare’s work and how some modern-day things could fit into it.”
“Oh, that sounds boring.” Mr. Montgomery grinned. “Luckily my boys are gunning for sports scholarships … ”
Payton shoveled a piece of pepperoni pizza into her mouth to avoid having to converse with the obnoxious man. She had the urge to gag him. But instead she sat and listened to him tell stories about his football career, including that he went to Lawson back in the day and still held records there. He bragged about his college scholarships and records, which Payton almost asked him about, until she felt Chance nudge her leg. Well, at least Mr. Montgomery had one subject he liked to talk about. Too bad it was himself.
He was nothing but a washed-up football player who wasn’t good enough to make it in the big leagues. Now he was using his kids to live out his glory days.
“My dad used to play football too,” Payton said. “He met my mom in college and decided not to go pro, so he opened a sports restaurant instead. Every Sunday we try to get all of us out to play a game of Carter family football—you know, divide into teams and just have a good time.”
“Sounds nice.” Mr. Montgomery gave her a forced smile. “My boys practice for two hours every night before they go to bed. And on weekends they pretty much live out there. I’ve hired some former pro players to come out and train with them. That’s why they’re so good. Maybe you should try it.”
Holy asshole. Payton realized a cut when she heard one. He was trying to make her look foolish, but she didn’t bite.
“I figure football practice after school is plenty. Besides, it seems to be working all right for me.” She gave the sweetest smile she could manage and put down her fork in fear she might try to stake him with it.
“We’ve got a football field out back,” Chance interrupted. “If you want, we can go check it out.” He leapt to his feet, shoving his chair
back as he went.
“Sweet. I’d love to see it.” Payton tailed after him.
When they were out of earshot, Chance turned to her. “Man, don’t get him started on anything having to do with football. He’s an ass about it.”
“Yeah, I kind of noticed.”
He led her out to a huge field, complete with chalk lines.
She glanced at the ground then turned back to him. “Hey, do you have any balls?”
Chance quirked an eyebrow at her. “Um, yeah.” He started laughing. “I hope that’s not your pickup line, Carter.”
“Oh. My. God. That’s not what I meant.” Payton covered her face with her hand. Her skin went hot, and she was sure she was the color of a tomato. “I meant, do you have any footballs we can toss around?”
He grabbed her hand and tugged it down. “You know, you’re kind of cute when you’re blushing.”
“And I seem to do it a lot around you.” She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t tell me I make you nervous?”
“Nope. Not at all.” Payton stepped away from him and refused to meet his gaze.
He chuckled. “Let me grab a football.” He jogged over to the shed and grabbed one.
He tossed it to her. She ran back and pumped her arm, throwing a long pass down the field. Somehow Chance had managed to get underneath it.
They played catch for a little bit, running some of their team plays as well as making up a few. Payton hiked the ball and was just about to throw it when an arm came down in front of her.
“Holy, sh—” She came up short when she noticed Mr. Montgomery standing there.
“Here, let me have a throw.” He took it from her and whipped the ball down the field to Chance.
It was a beautiful catch, and Payton cheered for Chance and gave him a high five. But Mr. Montgomery immediately rattled off all the things he’d done wrong.
Her eyes widened. What the fuck? He’d done awesome. Payton’s jaw dropped open, and she bit her tongue to keep from telling him off. As she attempted to compose herself, her watch beeped, indicating it was eight o’clock. “Hey, Chance, I wondered if I might be able to get a lift home now? My dad will get mad if I don’t get home soon.” Well, he probably wouldn’t get mad, but she wanted to rescue Chance, and this seemed like the best way to do so.
“Sure, I’ll go get Kyle while you get your things from my room.”
His dad frowned but put the ball away as Chance led her toward the house.
“I hope I didn’t make that too obvious?” She grinned.
“No, but now I owe you one.” He laughed, leading her upstairs. He left her to gather her things while he went down the hall to find his brother.
Payton grabbed her pads then moved over to the desk to pick up her schoolbooks and stuff. That’s when she saw a white folder opened between the computer and its speaker.
She gasped when she saw that he’d clipped out articles about her from the newspaper, as well as the pictures. Payton’s stomach did a flip-flop. Did this mean Chance really liked her? Or was he just scouting his competition? Either way, she was surprised. And confused. One minute, he pissed her off and she couldn’t stand the sight of him. The next, he was kind, smart, sweet, and dealing with shit he shouldn’t have to.
“Hey, you ready?” Chance poked his head into the room.
She shoved the rest of her gear into her bag. “Yep. So do you want me to take our report home and type it up?” She eyed their handwritten material.
“Nah, I’ll take care of it. Besides, I need an excuse to lock myself in my room tonight,” he said with a laugh, but his eyes didn’t quite capture the joke.
“Okay then.” On the way out, she thanked the Montgomerys for dinner, even though she would’ve rather punched Mr. Montgomery in the face. Then she followed Chance out to his brother’s car.
As soon as they pulled out of the driveway, Chance spun to face her. “Sorry about my dad.”
“Don’t worry about it. I mean, you’ll be okay, right? H-he doesn’t hit you or anything, does he?”
Chance stared at his hands and then back at her. “Look, I’ll be fine. Kyle and I are used to his shit. He’ll be pissy tonight, then he’ll get over it. So don’t worry about it, okay?”
She swallowed hard. Of course she’d worry about him, he was her friend. And she didn’t want anything bad to happen to him. Their eyes met, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t keep the worry at bay.
“Chance, if you need something or things get bad, you’ll call, right?” She continued to watch him. Payton wanted him to know he wasn’t alone, that she’d be there for him.
He touched her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll call. But I promise, this will blow over. It always does.”
Payton nodded, but it didn’t reassure her in the least. It was only a short ride, and soon they parked in front of Payton’s house. “Thanks for the lift,” she told Kyle as she slipped out of the car. Chance hopped out beside her and helped her bring her things up to the porch.
“I think this is everything.” He gazed at her.
“You want to come in for a minute?”
“No, thanks, I better get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He leaned forward until his breath tickled her cheek.
“Chance?” she whispered.
As if realizing what he was about to do, he took a step back. “I—um, I’ll see you around, Carter.”
“Yeah, see you.” Dazed, Payton watched them pull away. She took a deep breath. What the heck was that? Had Chance been ready to kiss her? Okay, she needed to get her head on straight. Just because they’d connected over homework and football, and she felt bad about his dad, didn’t mean that he’d changed. It didn’t mean she should suddenly throw herself at him. Besides, she had a super hot, super funny senior who she’d promised to go to homecoming with. Someone she didn’t have to worry about freaking out over stupid shit.
“Hey.” Marino looked up from his video game. “You should give Craig a call. He’s pretty bummed.”
“Trust me, I would’ve rather hung out with him than go to the Montgomerys’ house. But I had to get my English lit project written.”
“Yeah, well, it didn’t help it was with Chance. Who, I might remind you, you used to have a thing for.” Marino grinned. “Even I would’ve been kind of weirded out by that. Besides, Craig really likes you, sis.”
Payton blushed then sat down to talk to her dad about Mr. Montgomery.
“Do you think he’s hurting the boys?” her dad asked.
“I don’t know. The whole thing was just odd.”
“I really feel sorry for his kids,” Mr. Carter replied with a shake of his head. “If you hear anything from Chance about Mr. Montgomery doing something physical, then let me know. I’ll see what I can do. People like him really ruin the game, and their kids.”
“I will, Dad. And thanks.” She gave him a quick hug then hurried out of the room.
Payton went and dialed Craig’s house, but his mom said he wasn’t there and gave her his cell number instead. So she called that one too, but got his voicemail.
“Hey, Craig, its Payton. I wanted to see how you’re doing. Your mom said you were out driving around, so I thought if you were in the neighborhood you might want to drop in … ” She hung up, grabbed her sweatshirt, and went out to the backyard.
She found a football and practiced trying to get it through the tire swing. Once she got bored with that, she went over and sat on the swing, pushing herself back and forth and letting the cool breeze lick at her cheeks. Today had been crazy. Well, every day had been lately. She sighed, watching the darkness set in. From behind her, she thought she heard footsteps crunching across the yard.
“Hey,” a masculine voice called out, scaring the living daylights out of her.
Payton fell out of the swing and watched as Craig ran over, stopping the tire before it whacked her in the head.
“Hi.” She laughed, trying to untangle herself from the rope.
He r
eached down and pulled her up. “I got your message and decided to drop in. I’m sorry for earlier.” He held her hand and tugged her over to the picnic table. He took a seat and patted the spot next to him.
“You don’t have to apologize. But I wasn’t lying when I said I had to work on a project. Chance and I are table partners in lit, we didn’t have a choice.”
“I know—and I was a jerk. Seeing you with him made me jealous. Which I’d like to remind you isn’t like me. I just really like you.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve been waiting since early this summer to ask you out.”
Payton slid off the table and stood in front of him. “If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have said I’d go to the dance with you.” Fingers trembling, she reached up to touch his cheek. She swallowed hard, staring at him. She’d never actually kissed a boy, although she’d seen enough movies and hoped she could figure it out. She stood there, staring into his dark-blue eyes.
He took a staggered breath then tugged her into his arms. He held her close to him, his hand tangling in her long hair.
“Do you think your brothers would kill me if I kissed you?” A dimpled smile made her legs turn into puddles.
“I can’t make any promises,” she whispered.
He bent closer, his breath warm on her face. The scent of cinnamon gum wafted in the air between them. Her heart clamored like horses stampeding. But right then, the outside light turned on, and Marino sauntered out.
Craig pulled back.
“Hey, dude, do you want to run up to the gas station with me?” Marino asked Craig.
Payton let out a sigh and caught Craig’s amused glance.
“Sure,” he answered, pushing to his feet and stepping away from Payton.
She glowered at her brother. “Thanks a lot. You wanted us to spend time together, then you barge out and interrupt.”
“That’s what big brothers are for. Besides, I wanted you to talk to him, and it looked like he might be getting ready to do more.”
“He’s your best friend.” She put her hands on her hips.
French Fries with a Side of Guys Page 16
