Infinity & Always (14 page)

“So
what’s up with Bailey?” Max asks, watching me.

“I
don’t know, Max, she was fine earlier.”

“What
did you do?” he questions, sounding just as puzzled as I am.

“I
was just hanging out after you left, then when she came home we had
sex and then she was upset about a song I was singing.”

Max
stops walking and I turn back to look at him. His face breaks into a
huge grin and I shake my head. He starts to laugh at me and gives me
shit about my bedroom prowess.

“Oh
fuck!” he chokes, bending over holding his stomach.

“Get
up you douche.”

I
grab his neck and pull him along the sidewalk not letting him go.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re a
stud in the sack,” he laughs.

“I’m
a fucking machine, asshole,” I push him away and laugh. “Are
you coming to her game tomorrow?” I ask him.

“I
didn’t know she was playing, but I’m down. Are you
telling Dad?”

“Don’t
know, wasn’t planning on it, she only told me about it before
she left.”

Max
hooks his arm around my shoulders and gives me a pat. “She’ll
be okay bro, just stick with it.”

“I
don’t plan on leaving Max, she’s it for me and we all
know it.”

When
I get home, I find her fast asleep in bed with the TV on. Taking off
my clothes I grab a quick shower to try wind down, by the time I
climb into bed it’s after four in the morning.

When
I wake up, I’m alone and I feel all those feelings rush back,
the ones that plagued me all last year. Climbing out of bed I walk
towards the kitchen, but she’s not there. I check the sitting
room finding her on the sofa typing away on the computer.

“Mornin
darlin’.”

She
gives me a smile and says hello. Resting my arm above my head on the
doorframe I watch her. She has her head down again and continues to
type.

“What
time is the game?” I ask.

“Two.”

“Did
you eat yet?”

“No
not hungry.”

“Okay,”
I mutter, turning I head for the kitchen, I stop and look around. It
looks a mess. Sighing, I pile the dishes in the washer and turn it
on. I clean up the food that was left out on the counter and frown at
the dirt on the coffee maker. I walk back into the sitting room.

“What
happened in the kitchen?”

“Huh,
oh sorry, I’ll clean it in a minute.”

Her
fingers fly over the keyboard again and I get annoyed. Walking over I
slam the laptop closed, only in my annoyance I catch two of her
fingers. “What the fuck!” she shouts at me. Getting up I
can see she is crying again and I follow her to the bathroom.

“I’m
sorry I didn’t mean to catch your fingers,” I explain
when I reach her.

She
tells me to fuck off and leave her alone. Walking back into the
bedroom I fall back on the bed and stare at the ceiling. A few
minutes later she walks in with a band- aid on each finger, now I
really feel like a dick.

“I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.”

I
watch her pull on her clothes and shoes and she scowls at me then,
shakes her head.

“Darlin’
where are you going?” I don’t bother to raise my voice or
look at her.

“I’m
going to get breakfast with the team, I was going to invite you but
never mind.”

She
walks out the door and I feel like I traveled back in time, this is
just like last year and I know it’s my fault. Getting off the
bed I have a shower and shave and get dressed. On my way past the
sitting room I notice she left her laptop on the sofa. The temptation
to look at what had her attention is overwhelming.

Shaking
my head I make some breakfast and turn on the TV, after an hour she’s
still not back and the computer is fucking sitting right there. “Knox
you’re being an asshole,” I scold myself, but I open the
computer anyway. When the screen comes to life all I find is
bullshit, or as she calls it computer code.

I
run my hands over my face and rest my head back against the sofa. I’m
about to close it down when a message pops up, from a Derek. Opening
it I find a group chat with her, Becky, Abbey and some Derek dude. I
read through the messages finding nothing but football chatter but
then at the end Derek asks if Bailey is dating anyone. My anger
simmers and I want to fucking smash the computer off the wall.

I
scroll through the messages again and see they went to the diner in
town. I grab my keys and head out. Walking down the street I am not
paying attention and almost pass the place, I walk inside to a full
house. It looks like most of the team and their families are here,
and I feel like a bit of douche now.

Scanning
the room, I don’t see her. I know the messages said here so I
look again, finding her in the back with some guy and the two
troublemakers she hangs out with. Walking over I pull up a chair and
sit at the edge of the table.

“Mornin,”
I smile at them.

Abbey
says hello and Becky nods at me. I seriously don’t get why she
acts like a dude. The guy nods to me, and Bailey raises an eyebrow
causing me to lift mine in answer. I order a coffee and just hang
out. I can’t leave now because I made such a show of getting
here.

“So
Bailey, how do like being the wider receiver?” Derek, the
douche asks.

She
gives him a polite answer and sips her coffee. I just sit back and
enjoy the show. He makes more talk about football, but he sounds like
he hasn’t got a clue about the game. Pulling out my phone I
silence it and type her a text.

Me: How do you like being a wide receiver?

Bailey: fuck off.

I
sip my coffee without looking up, I hear him try again.

“What
are you doing after the game? Maybe we can take a walk on the beach.”

I
almost choke on my coffee and look at them at least she looks
uncomfortable.

Me: The beach huh? He’s really going all out.

Bailey: Fuck off.

“I
mean we can grab dinner first if you want to,” he says to her.

“Thanks,
but I have to meet my dad tonight,” she says.

“Oh
okay, then perhaps we can hook up after, hit a club or something.”

Me: Hook up? In a club! Damn smooth.

Bailey: Fuck off.

Me: I can hook you up, right now on the table.

Lifting my eyes, I see her blush a little then she types back.

Bailey: No, and fuck off.

Me: damn darlin’, you say fuck a lot. I’m kinda getting hard
sitting here.

Bailey: Then fuck yourself.

I
smile at her answer and listen in, as Derek goes for it again. He
moves a little closer and I sit up straighter, keeping an eye on his
hands.

“How
about you wear that new uniform tonight and we can have our own game
at my place?”

Me: what the fuck!

Bailey: ☺

“Sorry
Derek, I only wear my uniform on special occasions.”

“Yeah
well, we can make it special.”

He
answers and his finger brushes down her neck. Pushing back my chair
so hard it scraps off the floor I stand up. Derek gives me a
dismissive look and I ball my fists. Bailey looks at me, she is
waiting to see what I do. Reaching over the back of the booth I pull
her up into my arms and kiss her hard. She wraps her legs around my
waist but breaks the kiss.

“You’re
still an asshole,” she says, sounding sad rather than pissed
off.

“I
know darlin’, but you love me,” I smile, then press a
kiss to her temple. “I’m sorry baby I didn’t mean
to hurt your fingers.”

“I
know,” she pouts, holding them up. Taking her hand in mine I
kiss each finger.

“What
time do you leave?” I ask.

“Noon.”

Checking
my watch, it’s already after eleven, dropping her to the floor
I grip her hand. I turn to the douche watching us and pat his
shoulder.

“Sorry
bro, sometimes you just have to take charge and let them know who the
boss is.”

Pulling
Bailey behind me I hear her giggle, usually I hate that shit but not
from her. She never really does it and she sounds pretty fucking
adorable. Once we are outside I race down the street to the bar. She
gives me an odd look when I open the door and push her inside. I lock
the door behind me and push her up against it kissing her hard.

“Taking
control, huh?”

“Yes,
darlin’.”

I
kiss her again, walking her back towards one of the booths, opening
her jeans as I go.

“What
are you doing?” she whispers, when I slide my hand inside her
panties and slip my fingers inside her. “Oh okay,” she
breathes.

I
kiss down her throat as I build her up. I can feel her legs start to
shake, so I pull my hand out and push her jeans down. Flipping her
around, I push her over the table then open my own jeans. I want to
be inside her so fucking bad, lowering myself over her I press my
lips against the back of her neck. She lets out a soft moan and
arches her hips.

“Now
Knox,” she growls, reaching back and gripping my hair.

I
fucking love this chick, grabbing her hips I push into her. She moans
and grabs the sides of the table, my body is on fire, and I begin to
move. My hips push forward and she pushes her ass back into me.

“Jesus
fuck,” I whisper, as we push against each other. I reach around
and use my fingers, making her cry out, and I feel her lose it, a few
more thrusts and I’m done. Collapsing on top of her, I pant out
that I love her.

“Fuck
off,” she whispers and laughs.

I
walk her over to the bus on campus and agree to meet her at the game.
I text my dad as I walk back to the apartment and tell him about her
game. He replies that he will meet us there. When I get home, Max is
waiting for me.

“Hey,
where did you go?” he asks.

“Out
with Bailey.”

He
shrugs and goes back to Xbox, and I have to laugh at him. He has
Paige’s old apartment, but he spends all his time here. I kick
his leg, then sit beside him grabbing the other controller. After an
hour, we hit the road, arriving at the game just before kickoff.

“Shit
bro she’ll kill us.”

Max
laughs as we run through the stands to find my dad. I see him sitting
behind her team and curse his ass. We fall through the people and say
sorry or excuse me a million times before reaching him.

“Hey
Dad,” I’m breathless and he laughs at me.

“Boys,
a little late.”

“Fuck
no we’re on time,” Max laughs, pushing against me.

We
stand up and shout when the team runs on the field. I know at first I
was afraid for her, but seeing her play is fucking awesome. The
uniforms make me choke and my dad frown.

“Did
they shrink the uniforms?” he asks, looking worried.

“Yeah,”
I grind out. Max is having a feast looking all the ass cheeks hanging
out. We cheer and shout during the game. Our team loses by two points
and the girls are walking off with their heads down. All I want to do
is run down and grab Bailey and make her feel better.

Bailey

In
the locker room, we are all down. We played our asses off but still
lost.

“Next
time ladies,” Coach says, as we file onto the bus.

All
the way home we are quiet. Most girls have their headphones on and
some are sleeping. I stare out of the window thinking about Knox and
him taking control. I can’t help the grin on my face. I want to
spend tonight alone with him.

When
we arrive back at campus I find him waiting for me, he gives me a sad
smile holding out his arms. I smile back as I walk straight into him
and get wrapped up in a hug.

“Sorry
you guys lost darlin’,” he kisses me.

“Thanks,
but it’s only a game,” I shrug.

He
takes my bag from me and leads me home. “I was thinking we
could stay in tonight, get a pizza, and watch some action movies.”

“Sorry
darlin’, Chase has the flu or some shit so he is out and I
can’t ask Max to do it again. It’s not fair.”

“Okay,
that’s fine. I’ll come over and hang out, maybe even get
drunk.”

“Hey
now, that’s enough of that talk,” he teases.

After
dinner I follow Knox over to the bar, it’s full and he is run
off his feet. I offer to help, but he refuses and hands me a Jack and
Coke, telling me to relax and have fun. I watch the customers sing
and laugh when they are bad, even though I’m alone I still
manage to feel good. At the end of the night, I help clean up the
glasses while Amber stocks the fridges and Knox counts the cash.

“Night
Amber,” I call when she leaves.

Knox
wraps his arms around me and kisses me. “You look tired, Knox.”

“I
am darlin’,” he sighs.

We
walk home wrapped around each other against the chill in the air and
although I still feel guilty about that song, I’m happy that we
are us again. I stop walking and he yawns as he looks down at me.

“Everything
alright?” He asks.

“Yes,”
I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. “I
just wanted to say that I love you, really, really love you.”

“Yeah?”
he smirks.

Nodding
my head I kiss him again gently, “Yeah.”

***

Christmas Eve

Standing
in the crowd, I shuffle my feet again against the ache that is
starting. I’m anxious and I just want to get the hell out of
here. Finally I spot her and wave, running towards her we clash in a
hug.

“Oh
my god, it’s so good to be home.”

Walking
outside the sun is shining and I watch Paige stop and spread her arms
and close her eyes, tilting her face towards the sky.

“Sunshine,
how I’ve missed you.”

“Get
in the car Paige, have you seen the traffic?” I push her along
the walkway and she grumbles at me.