Crushing on the Enemy (10 page)

“I'd love to,” Alyssa grinned.

“You played really well tonight,” she said as they danced.

“I couldn't let you down,” he chuckled.

“The girls are going to hate me come Monday, but I'm okay with that,” she grinned, “I think I'm going to quit the squad anyway.”

“Huh?” Jake asked.

“Well, I need to study for my SATs and start to work on college applications and I just don't enjoy it anymore,” she explained.

The homecoming dance ended too soon for Alyssa, but she had to admit that she was exhausted. Her legs and feet were aching from cheering and then dancing, but she didn't want the night to end.

She and Jake left his teammates and their dates behind to grab burgers and drive to the park. Alyssa was surprised at how natural it felt for her to wear her expensive dress and sit in the park with Jake eating cheeseburgers.

She kicked off her heels and climbed onto the tailgate beside of Jake. After they finished eating, Alyssa rested her head against his shoulder and looked up at the stars. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up cuddled up to Jake in the bed of his truck. Her phone was ringing off the hook, but she didn't want to move to find her purse.

“Your phone is ringing,” Jake whispered.

“That's Mattie's ring tone,” she sighed and sat up, “she's most likely worried about me. What time is it?”

“Almost four,” Jake said looking down at his phone.

“Damn it!” she hissed and slid out of the truck bed.

“I'm sorry,” Jake said.

“No, I fell asleep too,” she sighed

“It's been a long day,” he said, “Come on, I'll drive you back.”

By the time the truck pulled into the driveway Alyssa had fallen asleep again.

“We're here,” he whispered.

“Oh,” she smiled.

“Where have you been?” Mattie's angry voice came from the porch.

“I think I have a new mommy,” Alyssa laughed softly.

Over the next few weeks Jake barely had time to sleep or see Alyssa. Running back and forth between, work, school, and football practice he was beginning to feel like a dog chasing his own tail.

Jake was sitting down alone for a late night dinner when his dad came through the door.

“Usually I would tell you off for coming in late, but since you beat me home I'll let it slide,” his dad chuckled.

Jake nodded sleepily and tried to focus on his food. His eyelids kept trying to drift shut, but his growling stomach kept him awake.

“I have something I want to tell you, Jake,” his dad said.

Jake blinked for a moment, trying to shake the fog of exhaustion from his brain.

“Okay,” he said.

“I wanted to tell you sooner, but decided to wait, just in case things didn't work out,” his dad said.

“In case what didn't work out, Dad?” he asked.

“You're mom and I have been talking again,” he said.

“What? You've been dating Mom?” Jake laughed.

“Yes,” he nodded.

“That's great!” he said.

The unexpected news gave him a new wind of energy. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

“Who are you calling?” his dad asked.

“I'm going to text Alyssa and tell her the good news,” Jake smiled.

“Now, we're taking things slow, so it might be awhile before she moves back in with us,” he said.

“I know, but I just want to tell her,” Jake grinned.

“I can understand that, son,” his father laughed, “have you kids talked about which college you're going to go to?”

“No, I figure we'll talk about it after the championship games,” Jake shrugged, “I want to wait and see what offers I get.”

“Well, you might want to listen to the answering machine,” his dad said.

“Huh?”

“Your coach called a few hours ago and the scouts from Georgia U want to talk to you Monday afternoon,” his dad grinned.

“How did you know that?” Jake asked, “Didn't you just get home?”

“We ran into your coach at the bar,” he said.

“Oh,” Jake said.

It was weird to think about his parents or coach at a bar. They seemed too old for such things. The thought nearly made him laugh.

“I'm going to call it a night,” his dad said and headed out of the kitchen.

“Night Dad,” he said and dialed Alyssa's number.

“Hey,” she said.

Jake could hear Mattie laughing in the background.

“Sorry to interrupt,” he chuckled.

“No, it's okay, I'm glad you called,” she said.

“Me too, I've missed you,” Jake said.

He heard Alyssa get up and walk into another room before settling down again.

“I had to get out of there,” she laughed, “Mattie was making kissy faces at me again.”

“She's something else,” Jake laughed.

“That she is,” Alyssa agreed, “I'm so happy to hear about your parents, Jake.”

“So am I! I was so excited that I nearly forgot about that!” he laughed.

“What could be more exciting than that?” she asked.

“The coach called and said that the scouts from the University of Georgia want to talk to me Monday afternoon,” he said expecting Alyssa to be just as excited as he was.

When silence fell upon their conversation Jake had to check to make sure the call hadn't been dropped.

“Alyssa?” he asked.

“I'm here,” she said.

“Are you okay?” Jake asked.

“Yea, I just thought we were going to go to Ohio State, since we like, live in Ohio,” she said.

Jake's heart dropped into his stomach. The scouts were from a school that thrived in football, it was a dream come true, but he hadn't considered that Alyssa might not want to move that far from home, until now.

“I bet nothing will come of it anyway,” he shrugged.

“No, Jake I'm sure something will,” she said.

Jake could hear the strain in her voice and it pained him.

“We'll see,” he sighed, “I'm tired so I think I'm going to call it a night. Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Alyssa said.

“I'll call you in the morning to make plans,” Jake said.

“Good Night, Jake,” Alyssa said,

“Night,” he said and ended the call.

This is what his father had been talking about. Could he really go off to another state if Alyssa didn't come with him? He was sure that he could. He was more than able, but did he want to? They had really grown close over the last few months and he didn't want to lose her. Then again if something did come of the meeting with the scouts, he didn't want to miss out on that either.

Jake put his dirty dishes into the sink and flopped down on the sofa. What the hell was he going to do? Part of him thought that he should just see what the scouts had to say before he thought too hard on it. He wondered if Alyssa was thinking about the same thing? Was she talking to Mattie about it? If she was, what would she tell her?

Jake and Alyssa went to the park the next afternoon, but a thick awkward silence hung between them as they walked the trail. Halfway through the path Alyssa stopped and kissed him. His arms wrapped around her slender waist and instinctively pulled her close.

When the kiss broke Alyssa looked more upset than ever.

“Jake, if Georgia U wants you, I want you to go,” she said, avoiding his eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“I mean it! I don't want to be the reason you're not happy ten years from now,” she said.

Jake could see that Alyssa was fighting back tears.

“You could come too,” he said as he wiped away a tear that had fallen onto her cheek.

“I can't leave everyone,” she cried, “I can't go that far away.”

“We could come back to visit,” he said.

“I know that, but..” she said.

“You don't want to go,” Jake frowned.

“Fine! I'm not going,” Jake said throwing his hands up in the air.

“Yes, you are Jake!” Alyssa snapped, “You've worked so damn hard for this!”

“I didn't do it alone,” he sighed.

“No, your coach and teammates helped you a lot,” she nodded.

“It wasn't them, Alyssa, it was you,” he said taking both of her hands in his.

“No, it wasn't. Sure, I cheered you on, but you did it, Jake!” she said.

“I couldn't have done it without you,” he said, “You've said it before, it's the spirit and the cheering that makes the team great.”

She bit her lip and Jake sighed.

“Jake, I can't do this to you, and if you can, you need to go,” she said and ran back towards where they had parked.

Jake followed her, but she was smaller and quicker than he was. She made it to her car and left before he even made it off the trail. Jake turned and kicked the nearest tree. Pain shot through his big toe and he instantly regretted it. He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands as he waited for the pain to past.

Now he understood why Alyssa insisted on driving to the park herself instead of having him pick her up like he usually did. How long had she been planning their breakup? Were they officially broken up or just having a fight?

Jake pulled his phone out of his pocket and tried to call her, but Alyssa didn't answer.

“Damn it!” he swore as he limped to his truck.

Alyssa managed to make it to Mattie's house before she dissolved into heaving sobs. Mattie was waiting outside for her and helped her out of the car. She tried to hug her, but Alyssa pulled away.

“I just need some time alone,” she said as she sat down on the steps.

“Okay, I'll be inside if you need me,” Mattie said frowning.

“Thanks,” Alyssa said.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and cried until the tears would no longer come. Her body shook as she tried to gather her wits.

“I did the right thing,” she said over and over.

She lay on the wood floor of the porch and focused on breathing. Alyssa knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she didn't think every inch of her body would hurt after wards.

She gasped and nearly scrambled inside the house when Jake's truck pulled up, but she didn't have the energy.

“Alyssa,” he said as he sat down next to her.

She moved so that her head lay in his lap, but she didn't speak.

“We can make this work,” he sighed.

“I won't take it away from you,” Alyssa cried.

“You're not taking anything away from me,” he said, “I want to be with you. I love you. Even if we go to different colleges it doesn't change that. We'll make it work. Come on,”

Alyssa allowed Jake to help her sit up and then leaned back against him.

“What's it going to be four years?” he asked.

“Maybe longer,” she said.

“We can still see one another. I'll drive up or you can fly down,” Jake said.

Alyssa looked up at Jake and was surprised to see that he was so upset. She touched his face softly wiping away a single tear that he hadn't been able to contain.

“And anyway,” he said, “I won't know anything until Monday afternoon.”

Alyssa nodded, but didn't say anything.

“I just don't want to lose you,” he said.

“And I don't want to lose you either, but long distance relationships never work. Have you never picked up a magazine?” she asked.