“You’re quiet,” he said.
“Oh, not usually. I mean, I am when I meet someone the first time, but not when I get to know them. And this situation is rather strange. Ugh. I’m rambling.”
He laughed.
“Breathe. You’re fine now.”
The way he said it made me want to believe him.
“You guys are having a great season.”
“Yeah, I’m the…”
“I know who you are,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m at all the games. Usually.”
“Nice. What’s your name?”
“I’m Haley.”
“Nice to meet you, Haley.”
“And you too, James. What are the odds of you being out here at the right time?”
“I’m no math whiz, but I bet they’re huge.”
We reached the end of the path.
“Seems you’re no math whiz either,” he said. “We’ve been walking forever.”
“You can go,” I said. “I’m good from here.”
“Nah, I got nothing better to do. And walking is good. We were on our way to a party somewhere on campus.”
“I thought the football players weren’t allowed to party.”
“Wrong,” he said. “We’re not allowed to drink or do drugs, but Coach is pretty lax on us having other types of fun.”
“Oh? Like what?”
Idiot! You know what he’s talking about.
He peered over at me and grinned.
“All sorts of things.”
“Yeah, I know all about your reputation.”
Can I say one thing tonight that’s not stupid? Please?
“My reputation, huh?”
“You’re a player in more than one sense of the word.”
“Clever.”
“My house is right there. The blue one on the next block.”
“You walk all this way yourself every night?”
“No, I was at the lab late tonight. Tabby usually comes to pick me up, but we’ve been arguing.”
“Tabby?”
“My roommate.”
I glanced over. He nodded his head.
“Will your roommate be home?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“Oh, you know, I thought you might want to invite me inside to thank me.”
I stopped. He continued for a few steps then did the same, turning around to face me.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“You’re no better than those frat-fucks.”
“I’m offering you a choice and not groping you.” He stepped forward. “No offense, but I have no trouble getting laid. I thought you might want to…”
His voice trailed off.
“I might want to what? Do you?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I’m not just another woman for a notch in your belt. I’ll find my own way home.”
I walked past him, brushing up against that hard, buff body.
Why does he have to be so fucking hot?
“Hold on,” he said.
I felt his hand on my arm. I stopped and spun around.
“What? Don’t you have women to go fuck or something?”
“Calm down,” he said, which infuriated me even more.
“Look, I appreciate your help, but I’m not the type of woman who just sleeps with a guy when I first meet him.”
“Your loss.”
Ugh. What an ass!
“No, it’s your loss, Mr. Football Star.”
He laughed.
“You’re cute when you’re trying to be angry.”
“I’ll walk home from here.”
I turned and stormed toward my apartment.
“Hey,” he called out. “Hold on.”
Despite my reservations, I stopped.
“What?” I asked, not turning around.
He jogged up and put his hand on my shoulder.
“I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”
“It just comes naturally for you, huh?”
“We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.”
“Tell me about it,” I said. “Goodnight, James. Not very nice meeting you.”
I took a step then another. Part of me hoped he would run up to me again, but he didn’t.
When I reached the porch of my apartment on the bottom-half of an old house, I peered down the street, hoping I saw him. Had I been too rough on him? While an asshole, it might have been nice to fool around with such a hot guy.
The front door opened, shaking me out of my thoughts. Tabby stepped out on the porch wearing red and green pajama pants with a pink tee-shirt two sizes too small for her breasts.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said.
“Yeah, I got jumped on the way home.”
“Are you okay?”
She rushed forward and put her hand on my arm.
“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you about it.”
We walked into the living room. Her clothes, dirty dishes, a pizza box and other junk were spread about.
“I cleaned up in here today,” I said. “What the hell happened?”
She smiled innocently like it was all a joke.
“I’m sowwy,” she said in a baby-voice.
“Cut it out,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”
“What happened?”
After dropping my backpack on the floor, I crossed the room and sat down on my green recliner. It had seen better days, but I’d found it in the alley at the end of last semester and fell in love with it because it reminded me of my grandfather who had passed away two years earlier.
She wouldn’t leave me alone until I told her the entire story, so I took a deep breath and told her the entire story. While I spoke, she sat on the edge of the couch, her hands over her mouth as if I were telling a ghost story around the campfire.
When I got to the part about James saving me, she asked, “Where did he go? Did he just leave you there?”
“No, he was walking me home, but we kind of got in an argument.”
She laughed.
“Kind of, huh? What did he do?”
“Just your typical hot guy bullshit. I don’t have time for a man like that right now.”
“You don’t need any kind of man.”
She dropped her hands to her lap and pushed out her chest, nipples hard as rocks.
“All you need is a woman like me to make you feel good all night long.”
“Ew,” I said, scrunching my nose.
“Ew?”
“You know what I mean, Tabby. I told you I’m not interested in women that way. You’re an okay roommate, but you have to stop hitting on me.”
“An okay roommate, huh?”
She stood up and walked over to me while wiggling her fingers in the air.
“It’s tickle-time!”
“No,” I said, laughing before her hands even touched me. “I’m serious. Stop.”
“You’re way too ticklish, woman,” she said.
She stood with hands on her hips, staring down at me.
Our eyes met for a moment. I looked away first then stood up.
“I’m going to bed,” I said while yawning. “I have classes tomorrow and work too.”
“All work and no play makes Haley a dull woman.”
“Yeah, but I’ll be able to afford my school loan debts if I graduate and get a good job. I’m too far down the path to turn back now.”
I stepped around her and walked toward the hallway.
“How’s your classes going, by the way?” she asked.
“Oh, they’re fine, I think.”
“You think?”
I turned around and saw her sitting in my recliner.
“Yeah, I think. Do you want to get lunch tomorrow? We can talk more then.”
“Sure.”
“I should have called you to pick me up from the lab.”
“You can call me anytime.”
“I know, Tabby. Thanks. You have a good night.”
“You too, babe. Talk to you in the morning.”
I waved then resumed the journey to my bedroom. Inside my domain, I closed the door behind me and locked it. As I got undressed and ready for bed, the events from the night played themselves out in my head over and over again.
The danger had etched James and all his features into my mind. I drifted off to sleep with images of his hot, naked body trying to seduce me in my dreams. Between classes and my job at the Med-Center, I hadn’t been with a man in a long time. Too long for my liking.
Would James even be interested in someone like me?
THREE
James
On my way to the house I shared with Curtis and two guys who weren’t on the football team, I ran the events from earlier through my mind. Had I done something wrong in saving her or wanting a little thanks and consideration?
Haley had overreacted. Big time. I had no need for women like her, but thoughts of her lingered in my mind unlike most of the women I met.
She’s just stuck-up. Don’t let it get to you
, I told myself as I neared our two-story house a few streets over from where Haley lived.
If I had left earlier or later, I would have never crossed paths with her. As I walked up to the porch, I heard the sounds of guns and explosions coming out of the screen door.
Brian and Teddy were hardcore gamers, but I enjoyed having them as roommates. Neither of them looked up from their spots on the couch as I walked in our shared living room.
The stench of sweat, Mountain Dew and junk food hit my nose as I walked over and looked at the carnage happening on the television screen.
“What’s up, fellas. You won the war yet?”
Teddy looked up and grinned, a mess of curly red hair on the top of his head.
“Oh, hey, James. Curtis said you guys almost beat down some frat-fucks tonight.”
“Almost,” I said nonchalantly, as if it had been an every-day occurrence.
“We didn’t think you would make it back.”
“Watch out! Your flank!” Brian yelled.
Teddy turned back to the television. I made my way upstairs where Curtis and I had bedrooms across the hall from each other. Seeing light streaming across the hardwood floor from under his door, I knocked. No tie on the doorknob meant he wasn’t busy.
“You up, bro?”
“Yeah, come in,” he said.
I opened the door. He looked up from his desk with a textbook open in front of him.
“You made it back early,” he said. “Did you fuck Haley?”
“Nah,” I said, playing it off. “She’s not my type.”
“Respect,” he said. “I was going to give you her phone number. She gave it to me this summer when I was in the Med-Center.”
“You want her?”
He shook his head.
“Hell no, but you never know, right? I thought she might be a freak, but it didn’t turn out that way.”
“You’re a dog, bro,” I said, causing him to smile proudly. “I bet she is a freak in the sheets. The quiet ones are always kinky as hell.”
“Do you want her number?”
“Yeah, sure. Like you said, maybe I’ll be desperate enough one night to hit that ass.”
“I’ll send it to your phone.”
“Alright man, see you tomorrow.”
“For sure, bro.”
We nodded at each other before I closed the door and walked across the hall to my room. Inside, I turned on the light then headed over to my bed. My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Curtis had sent me a text with her number.
Curious about her and why she had gotten angry with me, I tapped the screen then put the phone to my ear as I laid down on my King Size bed.
Ring.
She’s not going to pick up
. Ring.
No big deal
. Ring.
Well
…
“Hello?”
The sound of her voice captivated me as I laid back with one hand behind my head and the other holding the phone.
“Hey, it’s me. I wanted to check and make sure you’re okay?”
“Who is this?”
“Me. James. I saved you tonight.”
“Oh my God! I said thank you. Are you stalking me now?”
“This is hardly stalking.”
“How did you get my number?”
“Does it matter?” I asked. “You doing okay? Those fucks better not try anything else.”
“I’m fine. Just trying to study for a pop quiz tomorrow.”
“How is it a pop quiz if you know about it?”
“Well, it wasn’t officially announced, but I’m smart enough to have noticed the pattern of the professor in giving them.”
“Ah, a smart woman.”
“You have a problem with smart women?” she asked.
“Not at all. In fact…”
I stopped talking.
“What?”
“You don’t want to hear it,” I said.