I’m up and out of my seat before the sound of the bell echoes through the school, realizing then that I never took my textbook out of my backpack. It’s Monday, right? School is very overrated in my opinion anyway.
When I come around the corner I see Katelyn and Mason with Josie. This instantly brings a smile to my face. They’re my family and the only ones who truly understand me. Josie is leaning against her locker, her face pensive.
“Wait until Liam sees this,” I overhear Mason say as I approach them.
“Sees, what?” I ask as I bend down to kiss my girl before turning to Mason. “What’s this?” Mason hands me a piece of paper. It’s folded into fours like the notes girls would pass to us in class back in middle school. I open it and read it, wishing my eyes were deceiving me, but they’re not. I take a deep breath and look at Josie. “What’s this, Josie?”
“I don’t know. Katelyn brought it to me. I don’t even know what it says.”
I look at Katelyn who shrugs as if this is no big deal when in reality it’s huge. I’m going to kick someone’s ass, someone who deserves to have a freaking beat down for even looking at my girl.
“He gave it to me in history class,” Katelyn says as Mason wraps his arms around her. I know he knows what I’m thinking but if he thinks I’m going to take it out on Katelyn, he’s nuts. She’s like a sister to me.
As pissed off as I am I can’t help but find the humor. Does this
asshole really think a love letter to my girl is going to win him any brownie points? I look at the paper and try to contain my laughter.
“It says,” I start. “Dear Josephine, Do you realize how beautiful you are? I see you in the halls and wish I had the courage to talk to you, but I don’t. I wouldn’t know what to say. I would like to get to know you better. Call me. Yours, Nicholas Ashford.”
Mason and I bust out laughing as soon as I’m done reading it. Josie rolls her eyes and walks away from us. I look at the letter one more time before folding it back up and slipping it into my pocket. I’m keeping this shit for later and after my fist is done reminding Ashford that Josie is mine, he can have his letter back.
I run to catch up with Josie before she enters her class. I don’t say anything to her as I guide her out the double doors and toward the football field. No one will come out here, especially if they saw us heading this way.
I spin her around and push her up against the concrete wall of the concession stand. I know she’s angry with me for being a Neanderthal, but I can’t help it when it comes to her. She’s mine and I don’t share well. My hands cup her ass, her legs wrapping around my hips instantly. I move my hand to her face, cupping her cheek as my mouth captures hers. “Do you want to call Ashford?” I ask as my other hand moves under her skirt.
Josie shakes her head and that’s enough for me. I know my girl is faithful. She’s never given me a reason to be jealous, but I know I am of Ashford.
“He’s jealous of me, baby. He wants everything I have. Please don’t give it to him.”
“I won’t, I promise.”
In my heart I know she won’t, but right now that’s not good enough. I need more. I work the buttons on my jeans and release myself, plugging right into her. It’s stupid having sex without a condom, but right now I need this from her.
The moment her mouth drops open, I take advantage with my tongue. Her nails are digging into my neck, encouraging me. I’m trying to be gentle and not slam her against the wall but she feels too good and I’m having a hard time controlling myself. I pull back a little and slam into her again. She whimpers into my mouth before biting my lower lip. Our eyes are open and focused on each other. I love this girl with everything that I am.
I thrust a few times before saying the words that are going to piss her off. “I need to pull out.”
“What, why?” she asks, moving her body in rhythm with mine making it hard for her to keep control.
“No condom,” I say as I pull out. I have to set her down quickly and move away from her so I can finish myself off. It only takes a few seconds, which is not a good sign. I wipe my hands on my jeans and right myself before going back to her and pulling her into my arms. “I love you, Jojo.”
She leans her head on my shoulder with her arms around my waist. “We can’t be stupid like that, Liam. A baby would totally mess up your future.”
“And yours,” I say.
“I could handle it. You don’t need the stress. You’re so close to achieving all your dreams,” she says in between the kisses she’s placing on my neck. This isn’t the answer I’m looking for. She’s supposed to be angry with me and she’s not. She’s too freaking worried about my goals and dreams and not her own. She should have her own damn dreams for the future and not brushing off that we just had sex without a condom.
I step away from her and make sure her hair isn’t messy and her clothes are straight before we walk hand in hand back to school. We ditched class and she’ll probably get a call home even though I know that I won’t. That’s how this school works. The golden boy can do no wrong. Maybe I need to use that fact to my advantage more often.
Chapter 7
The calls from scouts are starting to come in and it pisses me off that my dad is fielding them. He bought me a cell phone for this exact reason, yet coach still gives out my home number. Sterling will not choose my college for me. I refuse to allow that to happen. This isn’t an opportunity for him to relive his life through me. I will not live in a state that I don’t like or that is too far from Josie. She’s far too important for me to be away from her.
Another evaluation period is coming up and knowing this has me on edge. These coaches and scouts are snooping around my life and there isn’t shit I can do about it. They talk to teachers, coaches and whoever else they want so they can find out what type of kid I am. “A rich, snobby one who gets away with everything because of what he’s done for his school” needs to be the answer they give, but they won’t. I’m sure their responses are all scripted to suit each recruiter that comes through town. If this were a recruiting week, they’d all be waiting by my truck when I get out of practice. That will be a nice week.
We’re sitting pretty at number one in the standings. Four wins with one of them being too close for my liking. Winning by three is not how I like to end my games. We played well, but they played better. I’m just thankful that there were no scouts out that night. Not only am I worried about myself, but I’m also worried about my teammates. Everyone wants to play at the next level and that falls onto me. If I perform well, they do too. We’re a team, a family.
I take my helmet off when coach blows the last whistle of the day and head toward the locker room. The mood of the team is somber. It always is after a close game. As their captain it’s my job to reassure them, and I do. We won’t have another close game like that. Not on my watch.