Homecoming King

by Jami Albright

  The moan she releases opens the floodgates on emotions too big to identify. They crash into me, demolishing any reserve I have about getting involved with her. My lips skim the sweet skin beneath her ear. Her response is to extend her head to the side in an invitation to continue. All I want is to take her sweet mouth, but I take my time, kissing and sucking my way over her jaw until my lips hover a hair’s breadth from hers. I scan her face for signs that I’m crossing lines she doesn’t want crossed. “Tiger.”

  She presses into me with her face uplifted to mine. “Cash.”

  The steam rising from the bubbling water, the stars above, and her soft and willing in my arms is the perfect setting for a kiss that’s long overdue. I take another moment to relish the experience. To breathe in her sweet breath and savor the anticipation just a bit longer. Then I move to close the precious millimeters between us. But before our mouths touch, her cell phone sitting on the patio table rings.

  She jerks away from me like we just got caught making out in study hall. “That’s Donny’s ring. I need to get it.”

  “Yeah, okay.” The warm space she’s occupied is cold the instant she moves and climbs out of the hot tub. I hang my head and try to regulate the air going in and out of my lungs.

  “Donny? Is everything alright?” She grabs her towel and holds it in front of her, and I want to weep when she covers the body that I had plans to explore and memorize.

  During the pause when Donny must be talking, she slides her gaze to me then squeezes her eyes shut like if she wills it hard enough, I’ll disappear.

  Not on your life, sweetheart.

  “Yes, I have them. No, I don’t know them off the top of my head. I need to grab the paperwork and get the numbers.”

  Another pause, and she still won’t look at me.

  “No, no, I wasn’t doing anything important, but I am outside, so give me a minute and I’ll call you right back with the information.”

  Now I’ve been relegated to “not important” status. Nice.

  “Okay, talk in a few.” She disconnects the call and slips her feet into a pair of white flip-flops. “I have to go get some info for Donny,” she says to the ground, because she still won’t meet my eyes.

  “Tiger.”

  One last look at her pink toenails, then she straightens her shoulders and turns the full wattage of her smile on me. I’ve noticed over the past week that she uses that thing like a weapon. It’s her first line of defense to throw people off their game. Good thing I have experience playing a hard-hitting sport.

  “Well, I better go,” she says. “I’m glad we settled things between us and cleared up any misunderstandings. I’d like for us to be friends, Cash.” She gives me a quick wave, then turns to leave.

  My eyes follow her progress until she disappears behind her front door. I hate to tell the homecoming queen, but there’s a lot left to settle between us. And I’ve never wanted to do to my friends the things I want to do to her. Besides, I have plenty of friends.

  But there’s only one Tiger Lyons.

  Thirty-Two

  Tiger

  “Hold your side level,” James barks at me from the other end of the cabinet we’re installing.

  “Sorry.” I don’t usually help with the construction, but this morning I needed the distraction and to not be readily accessible to Cash. I’m not sure what I was thinking last night. Not true. I know exactly what I was thinking. That I’ve wanted this man my entire adult life. So why did I run?

  Nerves.

  Uncertainty.

  Fear.

  Pick one. I’m a thirty-year-old woman who’s only ever been with one man. Cash King has had his pick of women his whole life. And what if I kiss him, and I don’t want to stop kissing him? He’s made it clear that he doesn’t intend to hang around Ryder. And there’s also the issue of football, and his love of notoriety.

  “Tiger, I can get one of the others to help me if you have something else to do.”

  I don’t miss the hopeful tone in James’s voice. He knows my head’s not in this today. “That would probably be for the best. Sorry.” We lower the cabinet and set it on the floor.

  The lines on my friend’s forehead crinkle as he examines me, probably noting the dark circles I must have under my eyes. “Didn’t get much sleep last night?”

  “Not really.”

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  I cut my gaze to him. “Not really.”

  “Ah. I get it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He slips his work gloves off and puts them in his back pocket. “It means that the owner of this house is disturbing your sleep. The only question, is he doing it in person or not?”

  My mouth gapes open. “How …”

  “I know you, baby girl. I’ve also watched the two of you dance around each other since he got here. It’s not really a secret.”

  I jerk my gloves off, fold them together, and pop them against my leg. “There’s not anything going on.”

  His brows inch up his forehead like a bushy caterpillar. “That’s not what I heard at the lumber yard or what Barb heard down at the bingo hall. According to the rumors, you two are going at it like rabbits. Not that I believe everything I hear.”

  “What?”

  He laughs. “You should see your face.”

  I playfully shove his arm. “Shut up.” I cover my overheated face with my hands and try to breathe away the embarrassment. “Fine. There’s not anything physical going on between us. Something nearly happened last night, but I ran away like an idiot.” I cover my face with my hands. “It was humiliating.”

  Big, strong arms wrap around me, and I can hear the chuckle rumble in his chest. “Tiger, you’re not an idiot. You can’t hang a cabinet for shit, but you’re not an idiot.”

  I laugh just as he intended. “Gee, thanks.”

  “I’m here for you. Is this one of those times I need to talk you off the ledge or push you out the window?”

  I pick at a loose thread on his shirt pocket. “I think I need to be pushed out the window.”

  He takes my shoulders and holds me away from him, so he can look me in the eye. “This is me pushing you. You of all people deserve happiness, so if you think this boy will make you happy, then go get him.”

  My lips lift on one side. “I didn’t think you were a fan of his.”

  He scratches the hair on his jawline. “He’s growing on me, and it’s clear that he’s got it bad for you, so I don’t think you’ll have to do much chasin’.”

  I pull the rubber band out of my hair and busy myself pulling it into a ponytail. “We’ll see.”

  “Tiger!” the man of the hour calls from somewhere out in the hall.

  My startled gaze shoots to my friend.

  “You ready?” James asks.

  I roll my head from side to side and bounce on my toes. Suck in a huge breath, exhale, and shake my hands, flinging away my anxiety.

  He winks and says, “Go get ’em, Tiger.”

  A quick nod, then I yell, “In here.”

  Cash comes through the doorway and I fight not to melt into a puddle. His face is flushed, he’s sweaty, and the white tank he’s wearing sticks to every inch of his magnificent chest. “I just got back from my run, and your phone was ringing on the island when I came in.”

  “Oh.” Well that was a little anticlimactic.

  “I saw that it was the rec center and thought you might need to take the call.” He looks past me. “Morning, James.”

  “Cash.”

  “Yes, thank you.” I take my phone, punch the appropriate button, and put the device to my ear. I try and fail not to follow a bead of sweat as it rolls down Cash’s neck, while I wait for someone to answer my call.

  “Do you mind showing me what you’re working on, James?” Cash asks, and they move deeper into the room.

  “Hello.”

  “This is Tiger Lyons. I missed a call from someone there at the center.”

 
; “Yes, Ms. Betty called you. Hang on.”

  I pick at a piece of painter’s tape that holds the day’s schedule to the door while I wait and watch Cash talking to James. Even damp and rumpled, he still looks better than most men do in their Sunday finest.

  “Tiger?”

  “Yes, Betty, I’m here. What can I do for you?”

  “Our after-school director is sick as a dog. You said to call you if I needed some help. This is me calling.” She chuckles.

  “Oh, Betty, if it were any other day, I’d be happy to help, but I have an appointment at the title office this afternoon. I’m so sorry.” Cash gives me an inquisitive look.

  “Oh, darn. Well, I’ll just go to the next name on the volunteer list. You take care, Tiger.”

  “You too, Betty. Bye.” I disconnect the call and turn to the men in the room. “That was Betty Underwood at the rec center. The after-school director is sick and they need a sub.” I lift my hand in a helpless gesture. “I can’t do it. I have that meeting at City Hall this afternoon.”

  “I’ll do it.” Cash looks as shocked that those words came out of his mouth as I am.

  “Are you sure?”

  He rubs the back of his neck. “Sure, why not.”

  “Okay. I’ll call Betty.”

  James walks past me and pulls on my ponytail. “I’ve got to find somebody to help me with this cabinet. The last guy was a dud.”

  I playfully push him away. “Get out of here.”

  “Yes, boss lady.” He glances over his shoulder. “See ya, Cash.”

  “See ya. Great job, by the way.”

  James grins down at me. “See—he’s growing on me.”

  I shake my head, and he laughs all the way down the hall.

  Cash comes to stand in front of me. “What was that about?”

  “Nothing. Just James.”

  “He’s a good guy.”

  “The best. Speaking of good guys, thank you.”

  He lightly punches me in the shoulder. “No problem, pal. What are friends for?”

  The blush is instantaneous. I push my tongue into the side of my cheek and nod. “I deserve that.”

  Warm breath blows across my ear when he leans in to say, “You deserve a lot more than that, Kitty Cat.” He rubs his face against mine like a big cat. “But I can wait.”

  “Oh, yeah? What if I don’t want you to wait?” The words barely have substance. But it doesn’t matter because he’s already gone.

  Thirty-Three

  Cash

  “Pick up your knees, Jared. Good job, Kayla. Way to shuffle your feet.”

  Jared stops in the middle of the skills course I’ve set up for them outside the rec center.

  “Hey, why are you yelling at me, but telling Kayla good job?”

  “Because she’s doing what I ask her to do, and you look like you’re moving through concrete. Now get back to work.”

  He mumbles something, but I ignore him because the Wagner twins have wandered off and are looking for something in the grass. “Twinkies!” I cringe as the word comes out of my mouth, but it’s what they told me to call them when they were together. “What are you doing?”

  “We’re looking for a four-leaf clover for you, Coach Cash,” Marci—or is it Misty?—says.

  The load of stress I’ve been carrying since I got to the rec center and realized I had twelve kids and no idea what to do with them melts away, and I laugh. “Any luck?”

  “Not yet,” the other twin answers.

  “Well, let me know if you find one.”

  “Okay,” they chorus together.

  “Why do they get to stop, and we have to keep going?” Jared complains again.

  I rub at my forehead where the mother of all headaches is beginning to form. “Because they’re only six, and the rest of you are older and big enough to handle the course.” I walk over to him and squat to get on his level. “If you’d stop complaining, Jared, you might realize that the things I’m asking you to do on this course will help you with your game.”

  His arms, bigger than most sixth graders, cross over his chest. “I don’t need no help. I’ve been MVP of my peewee league for the last three years.”

  About a foot taller than the other kids his age and twice as broad, it’s no surprise he’s done well in a peewee league. “Listen, kid. One day all these other boys are going to start growing, and you won’t have the size advantage anymore. That’s where these skills will benefit you.”

  “That’s BS. I’ll always be bigger than everyone else, my dad told me so.”

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t really have my big growth spurt until I graduated and went to the University of Texas to play. By then, I was bigger and taller than all the guys I’d played with in middle school and high school.”

  “So?” His tone is defiant, but I can tell he’s lost a little of his swagger.

  “So, you might grow more, but you might not, so you should learn the fundamentals to help you when you don’t have the size advantage.” I stand to my full height and force him to look up at me. “But what do I know? I’ve only been playing in the NFL for nine years.”

  Jared rubs his nose and looks around at the other kids. “Yeah, well, you’re just filling in today. It’s not like you’re going to be around to really teach me anything.” He’s still got his back up, but I hear the question in the statement.

  “If I were around, would you show up with the right attitude?”

  He kicks the grass with what I can see is a pretty beat-up, off-brand pair of tennis shoes. “I might.”

  I cross my arms and check to make sure the Twinkies are still sitting in their patch of clover. “Might isn’t enough. I need a definite yes, or it’s not worth my time.”

  “Yes.” The kid barely whispers the word. I get it. I understand how heavy that chip on your shoulder can be.

  “Okay, then. I’ll see you here tomorrow after school.”

  He eyes Kayla whizzing through the tire obstacle course with her knees high and her back straight. “Is it for everyone or just guys, because the girls will hold us back.”

  “It’s everyone or no one.”

  He says nothing, just continues staring at Kayla.

  “Take it or leave it, kid.”

  “Fine, I’ll take it.”

  I slap him on the shoulder that feels like a piece of granite. The kid really is built. “Great.” I stick my fingers in my mouth and whistle. “Okay, we’ll take a ten-minute break. Go inside and grab a drink of water, then we’ll come back and run some patterns.”

  The group lets out a collective whoop, then file inside. I move to the edge of the building where I placed the orange pylons.

  “… nothing to worry about, Mr. Clark.” I would recognize Brad Watson’s sniveling voice anywhere. I peek around the side of the center and see him on his phone. “I’ve spoken to Elva Clayton, and she’s assured me that she’ll sell me the property.”

  What? That can’t be right. True, Elva never made any promises, but I can’t believe she’d sell without even speaking to me and Tiger. I should’ve pushed her for a commitment.

  “I know what she said, Mr. Clark, but I had a long talk with her last night over dinner, and I’m certain she’s willing to sell to us. Of course, I had to offer her more money and promise to come to her house for dinner every Thursday for the foreseeable future, but it’s worth it. She’s just a lonely old woman, easy enough to handle.” The smugness in Brad’s voice makes me want to tackle him to the ground.

  Well, he’s not getting away with this. He’s taking advantage of a poor, lonely woman, who just wants a little company.

  The kids begin to file out of the building, but only five of the twelve are present. “Where is everyone?” I ask Kayla.

  “Parents picked them up.”

  “Where are your parents?”

  Kayla scratches the back of her left arm with her right hand. “My mom sometimes has to work late, so I usually walk home with Jared and Cam. Sometimes the Twinkies wal
k with us, if their grandmother can’t get here in time.”

  A plan begins to form. I eye my Bugatti in the parking lot and whip out my phone. “Do you all know how to get in touch with your parents or grandparents?”

  Jared points to Kayla and Cam, who are both his age. “We do, but I’m not sure about the Twinkies.”

  “We know Gaga’s number. We had to memorize it before we started kindergarten,” one of the twins says with enough indignation to sink a ship.

  “Great, call your parents and your Gaga, and let me talk to them.”

  They each take the phone, and ten minutes later, the six of us are walking to Elva Clayton’s house. The kids think we’re going to visit and have dinner, but I know what it really is.

  A quarterback sneak.

  Thirty-Four

  Tiger

  I push out of the double doors of City Hall into the late afternoon sun. It took me longer at the title office than I expected, and now I’m anxious to get to the rec center and relieve Cash. I was surprised when he volunteered, so I don’t want to take advantage of him.

  Lost in thought and in a hurry, I run straight into Brad. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

  He holds my shoulders to steady me. “No problem. Are you alright?”

  “Fine.” I quickly move out of his hold and he lets me.

  “Well, I better be going.” He won’t meet my eyes, and he isn’t his usual let’s get back together self. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy about that last part, but his desire to get rid of me is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

  I search his handsome face. “What’s going on?”