Safe with You (10 page)

“I can’t believe you interrupted our moment the other day!” I say to Bo. “I was about to kiss her, man!” I was so close, too. All I had to do was lean forward just a tad and no doubt I’d been in Heaven. That situation has been rectified since then, but still.

“Oh, please. I highly doubt she would have let you that day and you know it. Knowing Cassie, she would have stabbed you or something. Besides, you got what you wanted since then so what’s the point, which by the way I’m shocked.” True, she might have turned her head or something. Cassie is a mystery, one I want to solve.

“I think it’s just you. She clearly has it out for you.”

Bo chuckles. “That she does.”

“And you don’t have any feelings for her?” I have to ask to be sure. I know Cassie and I are officially dating, but I don’t want any family competition. I also don’t want any guys going after regardless, but as beautiful as she is, it will be hard not to have guys fawning after her. Bo and I always chose each other over a girl. The last girl I dated who wanted Bo didn’t get either one of us. That’s just how we are. This time, though, I believe I will fight like hell for Cassie.

“Bro, seriously, you’re asking me this again? No, I don’t. She’s hot, but I don’t see her that way. I see her as a sister.”

“Just making sure.”

“I didn’t see her being your type to begin with since she isn’t from the South.”

I didn’t either but dang she has me feeling all kinds of emotions, and fast. “Neither did I, but I’m not just going to let her walk away.”

“Aww…baby brother has it bad,” he teases.

“Just wait ‘til you meet a girl who has you all tied up in knots. You won’t be laughing then.” And I’ll be sure to make fun of him, too.

Bo just laughs. “Yeah, that will not happen for a long time. She would have to be pretty darn special for her to make me feel all jumbled up inside. For now, I will just continue to have fun.”

“Just keep laughing, Bo. Your time will come.”

Our first game is this Friday night and I want Cassie to be there. I know she knows nothing about the sport, but having her there is all the support I need. Plus, if there is a chance we actually do win, I want to be able to run to her and celebrate our win by kissing her soft lips.

The next day, Cassie and I are sitting at the lunch table with Bo and Jessie. Cassie and Jessie are talking non-stop about some girl shit. I move my hand under the table, resting it on her knee, squeezing it lightly. I laugh softly when I hear her stutter through whatever she is saying. She removes my hand from her knee and levels a glare at me.

“Are you coming to watch the game tomorrow?” Jess asks, taking the question right out of my mouth.

Cassie shakes her head. “Um, I doubt it.”

“Why not?” I question. I wonder if it’s because of Bo and I or if she really just doesn’t want to go.

She shrugs her petite shoulders. “Why would I go to a game when I will be clueless the whole time? I will be bored out of my mind.”

Okay, so it’s the latter. I can deal with that. For a minute, I thought Bo and his endless teasing ruined it for me. “Not even for me? You wouldn’t go watch me play?”

“Sorry, but even if I wanted to I won’t have the money to get in.”

Jess dismisses her excuse. I knew I liked her for a reason. “I got you covered, Yankee and you can even ride with me. In fact, you can just come home with me and we’ll even get ready at my house.”

Now, she shouldn’t have a reason not to go. I gaze at Cassie watching her features shift from shocked then softening to an expression I’m not sure how to read.

“Please, Cass. I want you there cheering me on. You can be my good luck charm or something.”

Cassie shifts her gaze to me. “I highly doubt luck is what I’ll bring you. If anything it will be the exact opposite.”

I reach over and grab her hand. “Please, Cass. Think about it, it will be another chance to see me.”

Bo not so discreetly coughs. “Whipped.”

I whip my gaze over to him, narrowing my eyes at him, then turn my attention back to Cassie, determined to get her to come to Friday night’s game. I want to spend as much time with her as I can.

“So, what do you say?” My heart pounds against my chest in anticipation of her answer.

She sighs. “I’ll see what I can do, J.”

“If you don’t go, I’ll just play like crap because all I will be doing is thinking of you. I’ll be wondering where you are, what you’re doing.”

“You don’t fight fair,” she tells me.

I chuckle. “I never said I did. In all seriousness, though, I really want you to come watch me play.”

“I’ll see what I can do. No promises, though, okay?”

“At least it’s not a ‘no’.”

Friday arrives and I am all amped up for our first game of Bo and I’s senior season. This year we want to go out with better stats than we have before. I still haven’t gotten an answer from Cassie yet. Every time I ask she says she doesn’t know yet.

I’m about to pick her up so if she doesn’t have an answer yet I will ask her parents myself.

Cassie is standing in her usual spot on the porch waiting for me. My truck is finally up and running so I won’t need Bo to be my chauffeur anymore. When she sees me she starts making her way toward me, a smile gracing her angelic face.

I hop out and meet her halfway.

“Good morning, Cass.” I place my hand on the small of her back, leading her to the passenger side.

“Morning,” she replies, giving me a peck on my cheek.

Once she is in my truck I jog around the front, jumping in the driver’s seat.

I reverse out of her driveway, occasionally glancing at her. “So, am I going to play like crap tonight or will I get the honor of seeing your beautiful face in the crowd, screaming my name?”

She bursts out laughing. “Yeah, I can go. I just don’t like the idea of someone paying for my ticket.”

“Don’t worry about it, Cass. I’m so excited you get to come tonight.”

“Me too,” she replies, flashing a genuine smile.

Cassie

The moment the final bell of the day rings I shove my books in my locker.

J kisses my lips. “See you tonight babe.”

“Good luck,” I reply, sounding breathless from him kissing me senseless.

He reaches up with one hand, lightly brushing my cheek with the back of his fingers. “You’re all the luck I need.”

Wow, if I wasn’t breathless before, I am now. He sneaks in one last kiss before Jess is dragging me away.

“Come on, Yankee, we have a football game to get ready for!”

I idly wonder why it will take us three hours to get ready for a football game, but I don’t question it because I’m thankful to be out of the house. My parents really shocked me when they told me I could go to tonight’s game. I seriously almost fell out in the floor. For a moment, I thought Hell was freezing over.

It isn’t long before I figure out why it will take us a long time to get ready. Jess has two white t-shirts laid out on her bedroom floor with blue paint sitting next to it.

“Uh, what are we making?”

“T-shirts, duh, Yankee. What else?”

“What are they going to say?”

She pats the spot on the floor next to her so I sit down next to her on the plush carpet. “Well, mine is just going to say ‘Go Tigers’. Yours will say ‘Go Tigers’ across the front and have ‘Michaels’ across the top with ‘My # 30’ under it.” She claps her hands excitedly.

I groan, but on the inside, I’m grinning like a fool.

An hour later, the shirts are done. I jump in the shower, needing to wash all the paint off me. When I am done, I change into the outfit I had brought for tonight, sans shirt since I just made one, which is nothing fancy. Just my new shirt, jeans, and my chucks.

She wants me to wear boots, but I am putting my foot down and saying no.

Jess shoves me into a chair and starts giving me a makeover. I want to run far away so she can’t touch me with any of those brushes, yet I am being a good friend and refraining. Plus, knowing Jess, she’d tie me to a chair if I tried to get away.

When she is done she hands me a mirror so I can see her work.

“Wow,” I breathe. In Jess’s masterpiece, I see a glimpse of the girl I used to be. The old me is surfacing piece by piece. A well of emotions stir within me and I fight to keep them buried.

“Now, put this in your hair and we’ll be ready to rock and roll once we have our shirts on,” she says as she tosses me a royal blue ribbon.

I swear I look like a darn cheerleader.

We arrive an hour before the game starts so we have time to grab some food and get good seats. Apparently, everybody and their mother comes to these events.

“So, are you going to explain to me what is going on in the game? I’ve never watched football before.”

Jess whips her head around to me wide-eyed. “Never? Oh Yankee, you have a lot to learn about the South. Football is our favorite sport down here. Bo is the quarterback whose job is to get the ball down the field. He’ll either throw it to J, who is a running back or anyone else who is open, or he will hand it off and they can run it up the field.”

“Do you think they will win tonight?”

Jess shakes her head. “I doubt it. We are playing Cold Springs tonight and they creamed us last year, and plus they only lost like two games last season.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. Oh, look! Here they come!” Jess straightens, pointing to the corner of the field where our team is running on the field. She is cheering and clapping with the rest of the crowd.

I figure if I want to get the most experience out of it, I need to join in. I join her in yelling at the top of my lungs, which surprisingly is kind of fun. I’m beginning to find a lot of things are fun to do around here.

Jess looks at me in surprise, but I just shrug a shoulder and continue cheering for our team, more importantly, I’m cheering for my boyfriend.
Wow, that feels actually good to say.

The team is warming up on the field now. I search for J’s jersey number through the sea of players, but I can’t spot him.

When I finally get a glimpse of him he is running, looking back at the football being thrown to him. He catches it with ease and runs back.

Maybe this game will actually be exciting.

Chapter Thirteen

Cassie

The only downfall to football games is Ellen and her minion, Heather. Since they are cheerleaders, they are right there on the field, just down from J and the rest of the players. Nothing is stopping her from walking over to J. I clench my fists in my hands as I watch her try to flirt with him. J keeps shrugging her off, but she is not seeming to take a hint. Having enough, I walk down the bleachers and step right up to the fence.

“J!” I yell, trying to grab his attention.

He whips his head around to me and smiles brightly. J jogs over to me, beaming. I love it when he looks at me like this.

“Cassie, I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too. So far it’s been kind of fun. Do you like my shirt?” I spin around so he can see the back.

“I love it. You’re going to wear it to all of our games, right?”

“As long as I get to make it to all of them.”

He turns his head when someone yells at him.

“I’ve got to go. Wait for me after the game?”

“Absolutely.”

J leans over the fence to give me a quick peck on the cheek.

“Good luck!”

“You’re all the luck I need,” J says as he backs away. He winks at me then turns and jogs over to one of the coaches.

Grinning from ear to ear, I climb back up the bleachers to my seat.

Jess gives me a bright smile. “Oh girl, I can’t believe how smitten he is with you. And did you see Ellen’s face when he kissed your cheek?”

“No, I didn’t.” I wasn’t even paying attention to her honestly.

“Yankee, she looked like she wanted to rip your head off.”

I throw my head back and laugh. Yeah, tonight is going to be a good night.

I am a bundle of nerves as the game starts. My eyes never leave J’s jersey when he is on the field. Jess fills me in on what is happening during the game and I’m trying to keep up with everything she is telling me. Geez, there is a lot to remember. First downs, flags, penalties… I hope I can remember it all for the other games.

I feel like someone is watching me and it is kind of creeping me out. I look at Ellen down on the field cheering, but it isn’t her. J has his back to me so, it isn’t him. I look around at the crowded bleachers. Everyone is either engrossed in the game or chatting to the person beside them… except the guy sitting behind me, several rows back.

His gaze automatically shifts from mine to the game. I squint my eyes at him when I think he looks familiar. He is wearing a dark hat and sunglasses. His face, though, looks like…oh no. It can’t be. My ex-boyfriend Zack wouldn’t be down here. Besides, Zack had sandy blond hair, not brown.