She blushed and laughed, almost wishing it would be true that some guy would have a crush on her. And then it hit her. Payton had said when he got back to Edenville.
“Wait,” She turned to study him, her eyes growing a little wider. “You’re not leaving Edenville for the summer, are you?”
“Yep.”
“Well where are you going?”
His grin was wide and playful. “Why? You gonna miss me?”
“Yes.” She blurted it out without thinking, and as quickly as it was out she wished it back in. Her face reddened perceptibly. “Well, that is…” She scrambled to think up something to cover her misguided words. “I’m going to miss your athletic abilities around here this summer. Who else is gonna whoop my butt in field baseball, or teach me how to fish?”
“That is true.”
“Seriously, though, where are you going?”
“Texas. My grandparents live on a ranch out there and they need someone to help them over the summer. My dad thought it would be a good idea if I went and chipped in around the place.”
“That’s nice of you to go.”
Payton shrugged his shoulders and plucked some grass from the ground to play with. “Yeah, well, it’s the least I can do to give back something to them for all they’ve done for me.”
Lizzie didn’t know what that meant, or if she should pry, but she was curious. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing really. It’s just… I think its neat how hard my mom’s parent’s worked. They had nothing and scraped together everything they could to raise money to buy that ranch. They worked hard all their life to finally get their daughter married to a Senator’s son. Besides, they’ve set up my college fund so I won’t ever have to worry about paying for college. They just do neat stuff like that, and I thought it was time I said thank you.”
Wow. Lizzie was impressed. She hadn’t ever heard one of her classmates say something like that before, and she never would have expected it out of the most popular boy in school. But here he sat, playing with pieces of grass next to her on a towel, telling her how much he needed to say thanks to his family. That was amazing, to say the least.
“Payton.” He turned to look at her. It was the first time in his life he ever noticed her say his name. “You really impress me. Not many guys would think to say thank you for something like that.”
He sat on the shoreline beside her, her body warm next to his. Her face was so sincere as she turned it up to him, oblivious to the affect her words had on him. In all his life, he’d had people tell him how great he was, how perfect his throwing arm, his smile, his athletic body, his green eyes were. He’d had girls from two towns away promise him the world just because of his status as a football hero. But never in his life had a girl actually taken the time to look at his character and admire him for that.
His smile was easy, and his eyes caught hers and held. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking but he had a hunch it wasn’t about the kiss he wanted to give her. And suddenly he couldn’t wait another minute to taste her. He leaned in and softly touched his lips to hers. Briefly, the barest meeting of lips and then he pulled away. Her eyes were wide, and her lips still held their puckered shape. Payton chuckled.
That was all Lizzie could take. She had no idea what just happened. One minute she was talking about their summer plans and the next she was fawning all over him, doling out compliments like it was her job, and oh God, she was mortified! He’d obviously just kissed her to shut her up. God, she could be such an idiot sometimes. She had to get up, move away from him for a few minutes. He was too close and she was drowning being near to him. His big body, already well above six feet and filling out everyday with gorgeous, athletic muscle was sending her changing body over the edge. And just realizing how put together he was on the inside made her crush on him that much more severe.
Not to mention that the feel of his lips on hers were seared permanently into every fiber of her being for the rest of her life.
She whipped off her t-shirt and shorts, stripping down to the sensible one piece underneath and dove into the chilly pond water to cool off. She could almost hear the blood rushing through her veins, calling her, begging her to satisfy her craving for him. Only problem was, he would think she was insane, and she had no idea how to even begin going about satisfying the desire she felt for him.
She sliced through the water, and surfaced again on the opposite side of the pond just in time to hear a splash and turn to see Payton’s form gliding underneath the rippling water. He shook his head like a dog when he came up, but of course, his hair fell back perfectly against his head, leaving her even more curious than before how to fill this craving for him.
He laughed. “So why didn’t you wear that suit you wore at Sellars’ house?” Lizzie blushed. She had hoped he would forget about that awful suit.
“That thing? Are you kidding me? Grace picked that out and I only wore it to make her feel like I didn’t hate it.”
“Do you?”
“What?”
“Hate it?”
She giggled. “Uh…yeah.”
“Oh, come on, I think she’s got great taste. Especially in swimsuits.” He ducked underneath the water and surfaced again a little closer to her. His eyes were intent on her when he came up. He glided just beneath the surface, his eyes and nose the only things protruding, and he didn’t even make a ripple as he inched forward, closer and closer to her.
Lizzie felt suddenly nervous, like prey that senses the predator nearby, but she didn’t know if she should run or stay. She knew he would never hurt her- he had come to her rescue too many times for him to start playing rough now. But something in the air told her to run, get out of the way, this boy had danger in his eyes, and they were focused on her.
“Lizzie?” He watched her, inching forward all the while until he stopped less than a foot from her. She didn’t take her eyes from him. She didn’t dare- she didn’t know what he might do.
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever been skinny dipping?” He nearly laughed when he saw her face crinkle in disgust.
“No!”
“Oh, come on, it’s not that bad. Honest. It’s like… well, the most freeing experience you can have.” He paused to think. “Well, almost. You should try it sometime.”
“You think so, huh?”
“I certainly do.”
“When? When should I experience this… this freeing thing?”
“Right now would suit me just fine.” She laughed. Right, like she was that dumb. He might not try to hurt her, but she wasn’t going to let him make a fool out of her. She snuck a look at her watch and noticed their two hours were up by fifteen minutes.
She held her arm up and smiled impishly, “Oops. Saved by the bell.”
“That’s a shame, Liz.” She smiled. He’d just recently started calling her that, and she thought it was kind of cute. “You’re really missing out on something great.”
“I’m sure I am, Payton. But maybe I’ll just try it out by myself first and then I’ll go co-ed. How ‘bout I let you know when you get back from Texas.” She pulled herself up on the opposite bank and let some of the water drip off her. “By the way, when do you get back?”
He’d told her he wouldn’t get back until time to leave for summer football training over at a junior college in Clarkston. Her heart had felt heavy, and she knew it was simply because she was sad he was leaving. She’d grown accustomed to their summer meetings at the pond.
But maybe it was better he was leaving, she told herself as she walked back slowly to her house. This way she could get rid of her stupid crush if he wasn’t around for her to see him all the time. It was obvious that she was holding out for something that would never come. If she held on forever, wishing the boy who didn’t even think about her along the same lines she thought about him would make a move, she’d probably be waiting forever.
And who knew, maybe by the time he came back, she would have found some new guy to
crush on, and she wouldn’t even remember Payton Cartwright’s name. She knew that was wishing on big dreams, but it was worth a shot at least.
Payton finished hauling another bail of hay up to the top of his grandparent’s barn and paused for a minute to catch his breath. His body ached, and he was exhausted, but he was happy for the exercise and a chance to work his muscles doing something that was not only good for his body, but also gave him a chance to repay his family for everything that had been given to him in his life.
He lay on a bail for a minute, letting the slight breeze flush over him as it whipped up from the breezeway and into the loft. He thought of home, of what his parent’s must be doing right then, and of all his friends that he missed like crazy. A pair of green eyes and long dark hair floated through his mind, and he wondered what Lizzie was doing. It seemed so odd that he always thought of her at the strangest time, but somehow whenever he did it made him smile to think of her.
What was it about her that always kept her stuck in his mind, he wondered. And then he thought back on the last few times he’d seen her. She was beginning to change. Not in personality. He didn’t think it possible for a girl to remain so unaffected by instant popularity as she had, but he was happy to see that her rise to fame hadn’t damaged her loveable attitude. And he’d long ago discovered that not only could she outmatch him any day in a genius contest, she could also hold her own on the sport’s field, and when she put her mind to it, she could have him busting a gut laughing at some crazy thought she had rolling around in her brain. She was like the coolest person he’d ever met, and well, lately… something else had come to his attention.
It was, well… her body. He’d begun to notice it in the spring, the way her clothes fit her more snugly and in all the right places as well. He hadn’t wanted to notice, but simply by him just being a guy, he had picked up on it.
Then there was the day at Sellars’s pool party. Man, he’d thought his hormones would make him die right there on the spot. He’d expected Lizzie to be there, but not in what she had on. For some reason he had been picturing her in her usual conservative attire- some bathing suit that covered every inch of skin, and when he arrived and seen quite the opposite he thought his eyes would pop out of his head.
All he had dreamed about for days was that red and white striped bikini and the small amount of skin it covered. Even now he could picture the small breasts that had started to appear. In the back of his mind he wondered what they looked like now.
God, he had to get her out of his mind. It was driving him insane. If he kept thinking about her like this, he was going to have to go out and find some cheap substitute to take her place so he could get his hormones back in check.
Payton stood and climbed back out of the hay loft. He had at least three truck loads more of hay to unload and then the horses had to be fed before dinner. He hoped it would be enough to sap his energy so when he fell into bed that night it would be a black oblivion instead of filled with dreams of Lizzie.
Chapter Seventeen
Payton broke up the huddle where his offensive line was grouped on the opposing team’s thirty yard line, and tried his hardest not to look over at the crowd in the stadium. It was the first game of the season, and he had been crowned the official starting quarterback for the next two years.
That was all well and good, but it wasn’t going to get him many pats on the back if he didn’t win this game. It was the first game of the season, and just their bad luck, the game was played on the other team’s turf. They were nearing the end of the third quarter and his team was down by ten points. Dixie could make that up, easily, if he could just concentrate long enough to throw a decent pass to someone who didn’t happen to be surrounded by the other team or end up throwing it to the other team itself.
But that wasn’t an easy feat when his ability to tone out the crowd seemed to be failing him miserably tonight. It also wasn’t easy when every time he glimpsed over at the fans he caught sight of Lizzie with all her girlfriends.
Focus, he must force himself to focus. He managed to concentrate just long enough to throw the twenty five yard pass to a wide receiver that managed to leap into the end zone before the opposing team’s defense pulled him down. Good. Now they were only down by four, soon to be three points if they made this field goal.
He headed off the field and let his defense take control for a while and tried to give his body and mind a break. But he found himself staring across the field, through the defenses pitiful maneuvering, and back into the stands to where Lizzie sat with her sister and their friends.
If he had thought before he left for the summer that she was growing into her looks, he wasn’t quite sure what to think of her now. Now… well, let’s just say now he had a hard time concentrating whenever those long, long legs, and lush firm breasts came into his mind. Somehow over the summer what was before an attractive teenage girl had now morphed into a stunning, woman that had curves in all the right places and silky smoothness everywhere else.
Payton shifted on the bench, trying to dislodge the thoughts in his mind that were making him rather painful behind his jock strap. He forced himself to study the guys on defense so he could give them pointers in practice on Monday. But whether he wanted to or not, his eyes kept skimming their way back up to the bleachers to the dark, curly hair and big bright smile of Lizzie.
He cursed violently to himself when defense fell apart and let the other team’s player slip through. He crossed into the end zone and slam dunked the ball between his legs, and Payton could hear their crowd behind him going wild. Great, another touchdown to recover before the end of the game, and as it was, there was only ten seconds left in the third. He still had the fourth quarter to catch up, but he knew the odds were stacking up against him, and he could feel the pressure settle on his shoulders like buzzards just waiting for some wounded piece of wildlife to die.
He knew that he was that wounded piece of wildlife.
Payton grabbed up his helmet, tried to shrug some of the pressure off of him, and headed out into the field to turn what he feared might be their first loss of the season into a win.
“All right boys, listen up, and listen good. Coach is spitting fire right now and we all know that. Let’s get out there and swing this game back into our territory. Jim, I want you to fade back when the ball comes of the line. We’re going to fake to the right, and Clint I want you open to catch for the touchdown. We all know we’re down to the wire, let’s make every step and second count. Got it?”
“Got it!” Payton was glad to hear his team at least sounded optimistic.
“Good, now on three… one, two, three- break!”
Lizzie’s stomach was a bundle of nerves as she watched the game beside her sister. No matter what the offense did, Dixie’s defense stunk it up every time they hit the field, and Lizzie was worried that Payton’s offense couldn’t hold the team together very much longer. Whatever the reason, this certainly didn’t look like the Dixie football team she remembered from last season.
She cheered with the rest of the fans, trying to get the players back into their momentum, keeping her fingers crossed that they wouldn’t lose this first game of the season. Someone bumped into her and down the row she heard a small fight break out, but she was too wrapped up in the game to really care about anything beyond the field.
It was the offenses turn out on the field, and there was only forty-five seconds left in the game. They had managed to eek out a touchdown early in the fourth, but had missed the field goal. Dixie was still down by a solid four points, and needed to make a touchdown to win the game. This was their last chance at winning the opening game of the season.
Lizzie could feel her pulse hammering and her body tensing with nerves. The team crouched, waiting for the ball the snap, and then as if in slow motion, they were off, pushing their way through the defense. From the stands, she could see the player moving down the field, open now for the pass. It was going to be close, as the most enormo
us player on the field was quickly closing the distance to Payton, intent on taking him out. At the last second, Payton threw the ball, his body perfectly positioned to hurl the ball down the field milliseconds before the defensive lineman took him down.
The crowd stilled, Lizzie’s heart skipped a few beats, and then… wham! The ball slammed against the receiver, and he high tailed it the last ten yards into the end-zone. The stadium went wild, the cheerleaders were doing flips all over the place, and Lizzie’s heart finally settled back into a semi-normal rhythm again.
The post-game party was going to be a blast.
Payton stood underneath the shower water in the locker room for a solid fifteen minutes, letting the cool water ease his aching muscles and tired brain. He didn’t know exactly how it was that they had pulled out a win in those last few seconds, but he knew he was happy about it.
He would have been more excited about a solid smashing of the other team, but a win was a win and it all added up in the play books. One thing was for sure, though, coach was going to work the dog stew out of them in practice on Monday, he was sure of that. But for now it was the weekend and there was the post game party to get to.
Payton wrapped one of the locker room towels around his waist as he shut the water off, and let the water drip from his upper body and head of hair. He quickly stashed his football pads in his mesh football bag to take out to his truck with him, and threw on the change of clothes he’d brought for the rest of the night.
He was just about the last one left in the locker room, but he called out his good byes as he left and headed out into the warm evening air. The stars had finally peeked out from behind a thunderhead that had been threatening to break open throughout the game. Luckily it had held together, and it looked like it was going to turn into a nice night after all.
The Heart Will Lead You Home Page 16
