She pointed at him and said, “Don’t get fresh.” Then she chased her sentence with a smile over her shoulder and waited for him to unlock the door to his Jeep.
He gently pushed her up against the Jeep and said, “You are slowly going to be the death of me, babe.” He gave her a quick peck and opened the door for her. She was smiling and more pleased with herself then she should be.
***
Jake was still reeling from Lexi’s surprise attack on his lips when they arrived at the football house. The last thing he wanted to do after Lexi kissed him was go to a football party. Instead, wanted to take her back to his place and practice their make-out skills some more. The moment her lips hit his he knew he wasn’t going to ever let Lexi go. She was it for him. It was like their kiss sealed the deal for his future. He couldn’t say that to her, though because she still was very much skittish around him but what he did notice was she started to give in and warm up toward him. The way she touched him, looked at him and of course kissed him, he knew she had feelings for him.
“Are you just going to stare out the windshield, or are we actually going to go in?”
Jake chuckled. “Sorry, I was just thinking about earlier. You know we don’t have to go the party.”
Lexi gave him a skeptical look. “Nice try big shot, you just want to go back to your place and make-out.”
“You read my mind.”
Lexi rolled her eyes and got out of his Jeep. Well a guy could try, he thought. He met her at the front of his Jeep and looked down at her beautiful blue eyes.
“You ready for this, babe?”
“More ready than I ever will be.”
He took her hand in his and led her into the house. Almost everyone was already drunk and having a good time. Jake was confused about how all the guys got to the party before him but then again he was kissing Lexi out in the parking lot for a little bit.
He went to the back of the house, out to the patio where he knew he could find Mason and Brooke. On their way back he made sure to grab two beers from the fridge.
A drunk freshman stopped them and said, “Jake, you were the fucking man tonight.”
“Thanks.” Jake said as a whiff of the freshman’s intoxicated breath smacked Jake right in the face. “Maybe you should lay off the beers for a little bit.”
The freshman didn’t acknowledge Jake instead he was eyeing Lexi which was starting to make Jake’s blood boil.
“What do we have here?” The freshman started toward Lexi and Jake couldn’t take it any longer, the guy needed to be taught to look a girl in the eyes, not her breasts. Jake pinned the freshman up against the wall with his forearm resting against his neck.
Lexi screeched and put her hands over her mouth. “Don’t you dare look at her like that. You hear me?” Jake tightened his grip and the freshman nodded his head. Jake let him go and said, “Call a taxi and get back to the dorm before I let coach know you are a drunken idiot, he will have you running fifties until your legs fall off.” The freshman nodded and scurried away like a dog with his tail between his legs.
He turned to see if Lexi was alright. “You ok, baby?”
She had her fists on her waist. “Was that necessary?”
“Yea, he was eyeing you like you were a piece of meat he was about to bite into.”
“I can handle my own Jake. I don’t need you slamming poor freshmen against the wall for me.”
Jake could tell she was mad at him but he didn’t care, he would do it again. That was what he was there for, to protect her. He wasn’t going to let some drunken idiot go up to her and stare at her like she was his personal prize to look at.
Jake grabbed Lexi’s hands. “I’m sorry that I stepped in, I know you can handle yourself but I want to take care of you.”
Jake saw understanding in Lexi’s eyes but she still tried to sound tough. “Fine, but for God’s sakes, don’t take it out on freshmen. You practically made the poor guy pee his pants.”
Jake chuckled and brought Lexi into his embrace. “Well that taught him to stare at my woman.”
“We’re back at that? You’re woman?”
Jake kissed the top of her head. “Like it or not babe, you’re mine now. Once you kissed me, you signed up to be stuck with me.”
“That was a pity kiss.” She said while playing with his shirt collar.
“Didn’t feel like pity.”
“What little you know. Wait until you see the real thing.” She said with a wink and then dragged him out to the patio.
Jake thought if her kisses in the parking lot were pity, the real thing would send him to an early grave. He walked behind Lexi, holding her hand and admired her short skirt. He was acting just like the freshman ogling her but this was different, he had permission.
They got out to the patio that was lit with string lights and thankfully was not as crowded as the inside of the house. The rule of the football house was the patio was for the more laid back crowd. If you wanted to be rowdy then you could go in the house, the outside was to chill. That’s why Mason and Jake always found themselves out on the patio lately.
Mason and Brooke were sitting at a teak table that was surrounded by tiki torches, another reason why the rowdy crowd had to stay inside. They didn’t want drunk morons setting the house on fire by knocking into one of the tiki torches.
Brooke looked as amazing as usual. Mason sure was one lucky son of a bitch but then again, Jake was even luckier since he had Lexi at his side. Mason tipped his beer at them and waved them over.
“Hey, there’s my boy. Where have you been?” Mason asked.
“Oh, just settling some stuff before we came over.” He gave Lexi a wink which caused her cute little button face to blush. Jake thought how endearing it was. “Lex, this is Brooke, Brooke this is Lexi.”
“Hey Lexi, Mason has told me all about Jake’s failed attempts to win you over.” Lexi laughed and Jake glared at Mason.
Mason held his hands up in defense. “Sorry man, there are no secrets between us. Although, if there are no secrets, one of us could at least keep our big mouths shut.” He looked at Brooke who just laughed.
“They act so tough, don’t they? Really they’re a bunch of babies.”
Jake sat down in one of the wooden chairs next to Mason and Brooke and when Lexi went to go grab a chair, Jake said, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To get a chair, you don’t expect me to stand do you?”
“Ooo, she has sass, I like her.” Brooke commented.
“Your seat is right here.” Jake patted his lap. Lexi looked at him skeptically.
“Seriously, you want me to be like every other bimbo who has sat on your lap?”
“That’s my girl.” Brooke tipped her beer at Lexi and took a swig. Mason grabbed the beer from her and gave Brooke a kiss on the lips.
“I think that’s enough beer for now, sweetheart. Or else we might have to stick you with the rowdy crowd.”
Brooke grabbed her beer from Mason and slammed the rest of it. She got up from the table, grabbed her purse and Lexi’s arm. “Come on Lexi, we’re going to the bathroom for some girl time.”
Before Jake could even protest, Brooke had swept her away without even a chance of stopping her. Jake looked over at Mason. “That can’t be good for me.”
Mason chuckled, “It can’t be good for either of us. Whenever women get together it’s always a bad thing.” He took another swig of his beer. “So seriously, where have you been?”
Jake couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh, you know, just making out in the parking lot.”
Mason punched Jake in the shoulder. “Man, I didn’t even think you were actually going to get her to come tonight, but you also snaked a kiss? I guess you haven’t lost your touch after all. How was it?”
“What are we women now, sharing our feelings?”
“Fuck off dude, just tell me how it was.”
Jake’s mind went back to the moment when his lips met Lexi’s, when he knew it was the be
ginning of the end for him, the end of his search. He didn’t even realize he was searching, until he saw her.
“Fucking amazing.”
Mason laughed. “That good, huh?”
Jake nodded. “I think that’s it for me man, I think she is it.”
Mason sat up straighter and set his beer down on the table. “Are you serious? It’s only been a couple of weeks since the first time you saw her. Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?”
“I don’t think so, but she would tell you that I’m moving too fast. That is why you have to swear you won’t say anything to Brooke. I don’t need her telling Lexi and then scaring Lexi away. I’m having a hard enough time trying to get her to go out with me.”
“So she’s giving you a run for your money?”
Jake guffawed. “You could say that.”
***
Brooke whisked Lexi away before she could protest. She had never even met Brooke before tonight and she was acting like they were best friends, which Lexi didn’t mind, she just found it odd. Brooke was actually really sweet even though she was halfway in the bag.
Inside the house was tight but Brook took charge. She pushed past a couple of gossiping girls that were standing right outside the bathroom and locked them both in the room. Lexi looked around and realized she was in the most disgusting bathroom she had ever seen in her life. Clearly a bunch of boys lived in the house because she didn’t think the bathroom had seen an ounce of cleaning spray…ever. Since Lexi didn’t have to go to the bathroom, she leaned against the door which seemed like the only safe place to stand.
Even though Brooke was drunk, she was smart enough to hover over the toilet while she peed instead of sitting directly on the seat. Lexi silently gave her props for being able to hold herself so steady over the toilet and not making contact with the contaminated porcelain bowl.
“So, you really like Jake?” Brooke was smiling up at Lexi from the toilet and Lexi, to be kind, diverted her eyes.
“Yea, I was nervous at first given his reputation but he has changed.”
“You can say that again.” Brooke was wiping now, another thing Lexi diverted her eyes away from. “I have never seen him act like this before. It’s as if you gave him a tranquilizer.”
Not knowing what to say to that, Lexi stayed quiet. She did wonder why Jake calmed down his bad boy attitude for her. It was something that bothered her because men never changed that fast and they never really changed for a woman. Her dad was proof of that statement. She spent hours on the phone with him, begging and pleading for him to stop drinking but her cries and her mom’s cries weren’t good enough. He wasn’t going to do what they asked of him, he was only going to do what he wanted to do and that meant drinking and beating the crap out of her mom.
Brooke washed her hands and patted them dry on her jeans, thanks to no towels in the bathroom. “These boys are pigs. I’m so glad Mason doesn’t live here anymore. The first couple of years we were dating were terrible when I would visit him here. Let’s just say we spent more time at my place.”
“Where does he live now?”
“Oh we have a place together in the villas, same building as Jake. I heard you live there too. We should go tanning together.”
What an odd thing to do together, Lexi thought. How would that be an activity they could do together? Unless they shared a tanning bed, which was not going to happen, not that Lexi actually went tanning in the first place.
“Or we can get coffee.” Lexi suggested with a smile.
“Or that.”
They walked out of the bathroom and ran into a bunch of girls. “Are you the girl with Jake?” A scary looking brunette asked.
Lexi looked at Brooke and tentatively said, “Yes, why?”
“Well I would get back to your man if I were you, you can’t leave fresh meat like that unattended when there are a bunch of prowling lionesses waiting to get a bite in.” The girls giggled and walked away.
“What was that about?” Lexi asked.
Brooke looked concerned. “Those were a bunch of Alpha Sigma bitches. Basically in order to be in that sorority you have to be a whore. Let’s get back to our men.”
Brooke led the way, almost being slammed into a wall by a drunken guy, they finally made their way out to the patio where Lexi stopped in her tracks. Sitting in a wooden chair was Jake and on his lap was some blonde with tattoos. Jake instantly stood up and then locked eyes with Lexi. She didn’t stay to see what happened next. Instead she walked past everyone in the house and stormed out to the road where she started walking at a quick pace and ducked out of sight so Jake couldn’t see her. She dialed a cab number and told him to meet her at the curb.
She was breathing heavily and knew this whole thing with Jake was a mistake. She couldn’t handle all the girls throwing themselves at him. What was wrong with women anyway? She would never do that to a guy, just walk up and sit on his lap. She was glad she never received that gene because those girls were labeled as extremely desperate and she never wanted to be labeled like that.
Her phone started ringing, she looked down and saw it was Jake. Yea, she wouldn’t be answering that.
Her cab pulled up to the curb, she got in and she told the driver her address. Eight calls and twenty bucks later she was back at her place with the door locked and putting on her pajamas. Her phone chimed with a text message.
Lexi grabbed her phone and thought, “This will be interesting.” Of course it was from Jake.
Jake: Lexi, where are you? I can’t find you. We need to talk about this.
Lexi laughed, talk about this, yea right. She brushed her teeth and made sure to floss with extra detail. Her phone chimed again.
Jake: Babe, I’m scared. Where are you? Please answer me.
Babe? Was he kidding? She was not his babe, although earlier she thought the way the term of endearment rolled off his tongue was like music to her ears. Now it made her want to gag the guy uttering the words. She was so mad at him, what possessed him to let another woman sit on his lap? Just like she thought in the semen infested bathroom at the football house, men didn’t change. Another chime.
Jake: Lexi, baby please. Answer your phone. I need to know you’re ok.
Lexi turned her phone off. She didn’t want to hear any more from Jake. She washed her face and made sure all her make-up was off before she lotioned up and turned out her bathroom light. Lexi plugged her phone into its charger, got into bed and turned off the light. She was done for the night.
She laid in the dark of her room as she fought back tears that were starting to prickle her eyes. Why was she going to cry? It’s not like her and Jake were anything serious, right? It’s not like they actually made a commitment to each other. So why did it matter to her? In the back of her mind she knew why. Jake was the one guy that had stolen her heart and too quickly. So quickly that Lexi didn’t even know it was happening until she kissed him in the parking lot.
They had the same goals and aspirations for their sports. He gave her something to look forward to, especially since the life she knew was coming to an end in a couple of months. Jake was something to look forward to and kept her moving forward. He made her want to work harder, even when he was incredibly annoying.
Her bedroom door busted open and Lexi nearly flew out of her bed from the shock.
“Jesus, there you are! Thank God.” Jake was standing in her doorway running his hand through his hair. Mason and Brooke followed right behind him.
“How the hell did you get in here?”
Margo peaked her head around the corner, of course Margo would let him in. “Hey, don’t be mad at me, you’re the one who turned off your phone.”
“Well I’m fine, so you all can take your little party somewhere else.”
Mason stepped forward. “Lexi, Jake didn’t do anything.” Lexi threw her hand up to silence him.
“Mason, I appreciate you coming here to check on me but frankly, I don’t want to hear your story. Please leave.”r />
Mason nodded and grabbed Brooke’s hand who gave Lexi a sympathetic look and waved good bye. Margo slipped out of the room as well, leaving her with Jake who looked like he saw a ghost.
“That includes you too.”
He closed her door and came to her bed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Jake, I don’t know what you’re trying to prove here with trying to go out with me but it’s not going to work. Tonight at the football game, those girls talking, I let that go because it was all talk but when girls take it to the next level and throw themselves at you. I can’t take that. I’m not strong enough and frankly I just don’t want to deal with it.”
Jake shook his head as he looked at his hands. “Lexi, you have to believe me that I didn’t do anything.”
“Even if you did Jake, it’s not like it matters, we aren’t exclusive or anything. We only went out once. That doesn’t mean anything.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, it means everything to me. I haven’t thought about another girl since I’ve laid eyes on you. Lex, you’re all I want.” He took her hand but she pulled it away.
“I believe you, that you didn’t do anything but that’s beside the point. What I’m talking about is girls throwing themselves at you.”
“I can’t do anything about that, except to fight them off. I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“Exactly, there is nothing you can do.”
“So what are you saying?”
Lexi let out a breath. “I’m saying this isn’t going to work. You’re a great guy and all but I don’t know if you’re worth the heartache.”
Jake looked shocked and hurt from her words. Damn, her words came out harsher then she wanted them but she had to get her feelings off her chest. There was no way in hell she would be able to deal with all the Jake fantasizing whores, she wasn’t strong enough.
He got up and started walking toward her door. He turned around before he opened it and looked at her like she just ran over his puppy. She had never seen him look so dejected and it was killing her inside. She wanted to run up to him and pull him into her arms but she wasn’t going to do that.
Fair Catch (Love and Sports Series) Page 12