A Reason (A Reason, Season, Lifetime Series) (6 page)

I’m still in my bra and panties set, but
whatever, they are black and red and not see through. It’s not any worse than a bikini, other than it is Betty Boop. I sit forward and I’m tender but okay.  I stand up and my legs feel like jello, but I can stand.

“Alright. We’ll get you some Tylenol and water. I would do a rub down of muscle rub a couple times a day for a few days. Don’t
overdo it with legs the rest of the weekend. Do some hand blocking and some simple things. Talk out strategy, watch some videos on defense. I have a ton if you want to follow me to my place before you bring her to your house.”

“Thanks, Grant.”
I tell him, while wrapping the towel around me.

“Let’s make this as easy on you as we can. We’ll pick an outfit out of your bag and leave it on the chair. We’ll bring the chair next to the tub closer so you can do as little walking as possible. I’ll carry you out to the car through the side door down this hall. Then come back for everyone else, or see if someone else wants to bring Eva if she isn’t ready to leave. We’ll be right outside the door if you need us.”

“Thanks guys. You have been really awesome on a bad day. I really appreciate it. All of it.”

“Appreciative enough to tell me or show me what other cartoon charact
er underwear you have?” Ryan says with a smile and a small laugh. Grant chuckles.

“Open the black bag, that one’s mine. There are a few pair in there, I guess you can see them and help me get an outfit. I want a warm fleece outfit, please.”

Ryan unzips my bag and looks in. “Bugs Bunny will never be the same. Tweety really did see a putty tat, and oh my God, is that Taz? The cartoons will never be the same again. I think we’ll go with Tweety, they match this outfit. 34c, huh? You are short, you poor thing it’s amazing you don’t fall forward. Not that I’ll ever complain.” He pulls out a warm sweat outfit, the top is a warm fluffy pink fleece. The Tweety bra and underwear set has pink hearts.

Gr
ant smacks Ryan in the back of the head and I laugh and clap. “Thanks, Grant!”

“You’re welcome. He’s a little ahead of himself saying he will never complain. She kissed you once, dude. She just broke it off with your best friend and she’s going through hell. Slow down before I make you a speed bump.”

“You guys can step out now, please. The water is gone, and I’m freezing my ass off just sitting here in my bra and panties! Move it so I can get dressed in my warm clothes!”

“Fine. But I’ll be thinking of Tweety the rest of the night.”

“Your problem, you shouldn’t have looked or asked if you couldn’t handle it!” I tell Ryan, while I stand there shivering in my towel.

“Well, who wears cartoon character underwear sets at our ages? Is it a new popular thing? Should we do a panel to see how many girls have these matching sets? It should be a locker room discussion next
week, I think.” Ryan says. Grant just shakes his head and pushes Ryan out of the room.

I get dried off and I laugh
putting on my Tweety Bird set. It is kind of funny that cartoon characters are on teenage girls’ underwear that was why I had to have them. They are adorable, and funny.

I was a bit sore getting dressed, but not
hing I couldn’t handle. I walk to the door and open it. The guys are in the hall waiting for me. “You ready to be carried again, my Queen?” Ryan asks me.

“Um, I think I’m okay to walk. The spasms aren’t so bad. I can handle it. Thanks though, Ryan.”

Grant grabs my big duffle bags while Ryan walks next to me as I head towards the back door that leads to the parking lot. It’s not that far to walk, luckily. This is the gym we have our games in, so it is on the edge of the building to make it easy for guests to enter and exit for games. I could still feel a couple of sore spots, but it isn’t anything worse than what I had felt in cheer practice to be honest.

Ryan dri
ves a Jeep. Not those stupid ones with no sides that are dangerous and scary, though the top on this one does come off.

I manage
to be tough enough to walk to it, but I have no idea how the hell I was going to get up in it.

Ryan opens the passenger door and leans
against the side of the Jeep. “Are you done being the tough girl long enough for me to get you up into the Jeep?”

I sigh
heavily. “Yes, fine. I’m not used to people doing things for me. I need to get my legs used to doing new things since we’ll be training and, thanks.”

Ryan smiles, kisses me on my forehead and picks
me up again. I have to say it feels nice to be in his arms. No one has ever carried me around like this before. He gets me in the seat and closes my door. I put my seatbelt on while Grant puts the bags in the back.

I roll my window down and he leans on it to talk to me.
“Eva is going to stay a bit longer. Ms. Rivers is going to bring her to the house later. Do you need me to come along, Emma?”

“We can drop you off at your house, Grant. I want some food and then we’ll work on simple things like basic blocking and maybe trying to get out of a couple of hand h
olds so my legs don’t overdo it.”

“I’m going to put in some work out time myself if you don’t need me to go to Ryan’s with you. I need to keep these guns in shape too, not just train you there, strawberry shortcake.”

I laugh when he flexes his muscles and kisses one. His arms are huge for a teenager. “I’m good, Grant. Thank you. I’m going to make him feed me and like I said, we’ll stick with easy stuff. No worries, my legs are sore, but I can take him.”

“No doubt, shorty, no doubt. You behave
yourself, mat rat.” Grant looks at Ryan. They do some secret handshake thing and Grant walks back into school.

“So, what do you want to eat? You didn’t really get a chance to have any lunch, I noticed. We’re having my mom’s spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, but that’s
a couple of hours away. I need to stop and grab bread on the way home from the variety store.”

“If you have to go to the variety store anyway, we can just
have ice cream sundaes.” I tell him.

“Dessert before dinner? Works for
me, I love ice cream.” Ryan says and starts the Jeep. The variety store is on Main Street, just up the road from the school, maybe a half mile. Next to it is our Hardware Store, our one Bank, and there are two churches within a half mile. We drive by the fire house, our little library, and then get to the corner of Main Street. Ryan parks across the street from the little store. There isn’t much traffic here, it is easy enough to walk across.

I take off my seatbelt, and b
efore I could jump down, Ryan is there to pick me up out of the Jeep. “You have two choices, my Queen. You enjoy winning our bet and let your slave carry you across or you get on my back to get across.”

“So, either way you carry me, I just get a choice of being on your back or not? You think you can carry me up the steps too? There’s five or six steep steps to get into the store, Ryan.”

“Which will hurt your legs. So back or front, or you tell me what you want on your Sundae and I make it for you if you want a third option.”

He has
a point, it would hurt my legs, but no one is making me my sundae. It’s an art form. “Fine, I’ll get on your back I guess because I want you to be able to see the steps and the curb and not drop me!”

He smile
s, my heart stutters, and he turns around. You can tell this guy works out because his shoulders are broad and strong. My hands itch to want to touch him. I lean forward, wrapping my arms around his neck and he grabs my legs to wrap around him. I can feel his muscles bunch as he adjusts me on his back. Um, wow. A virgin should probably not be feeling the lust I am right now, but holy yum. Thank God he has a shirt on is all I have to say.

He jo
gs, yes jogs, across the street and up the steps of the store as if I was a simple backpack or something. My thighs ache a little from holding onto him, but I can’t help but be impressed.

We ge
t inside finally, after just a little work to get the door open without putting me down. There are seats inside, so he sits me down on one of the tables.

“Um, tables are for glasses, not asses, you could have set me down on the floor, Ryan, I do have feet.”

He laughs, throwing his head back. “Cute, Bambi. What do you want on your sundae?”

“I have to make it myself, you’ll totally mess it up. I can walk that far, help me down so I don’t have to jump, please. That would probably hurt.”

We walk over to the ice cream area and I choose mint cookie, it has Oreo’s in it as well as mint ice cream. He chooses cookie dough. We get to the toppings and I turn around and grab a bag of plain chips. I wave it to the lady behind the counter and she waves me on. I crumble up the chips and put some on my sundae. I then pour some hot fudge, and fluff on top. I sprinkle nuts and grab three cherries. Three is my favorite number, it’s just my thing.

“Wow, seriously? A tiny little thing like you can eat all that?
Chips on a sundae?” Ryan says with a laugh.

“Honey you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Was it a bad day, baby girl?”
The woman behind the counter asks.

“Yes, Mona. Mom is back in the hospita
l, for the whole weekend.” I tell her.

“Well then come on over here baby and momma Mona will hook you right up.”

I smile at her and walk a few steps over to the deli. She sprinkles some pickle juice on my sundae and gives me some sweet pickles by tucking a couple into the sides of my sundae. She grabs a can of whipped cream out from behind the counter and hands me the can. “I love you, momma Mona. You are totally my favorite person right now.” I walk over to the table with my sundae, past Ryan, whose mouth is hanging open.

“Get used to it, handsome. That girl deserves pickles and a can of whipped cream and anything else her little heart desires. She asks for very little and gives more than most ever have to.
”

“So what toppings should I try, since you’re t
he expert, my Queen?” Ryan asks me.

“Cookie Dough? It needs more cookies for one thing. Open a package of Grandma’s over there. Give him a dill pickle please, momma Mona, some whipped cream
, hot fudge and three cherries. Oh, wait, before the whipped cream I have chips left, come here so I don’t have to get back up.”

“Why are you so sore today, baby girl
? Cheer practice rough today?”

“No, momma Mona, I decided to bet this one I could push the whole rack on the leg press. Of course I won, but then I started singing and dancing along to the radio and held it too long. My legs are like jello with Charlie horses.”

Mona throws her head back and laughs. “Of course you did. You never can resist showing up them boys. I’ll tell you a secret, since you’re still kinda new around here, handsome. Your money should always be on the country girl, especially that one.” She winks at him and motions for him to come back to her after I sprinkle chips on his sundae. She fixes his sundae up for him and he walks back over to sit with me.

We grab our sp
oons and dig in. The hot fudge is hot so everything is already starting to melt together. The hot fudge melts to the chips which is heavenly. Chocolate and salt is a heavenly combo.

“Ryan, I think you’re moaning. Shush before you make Momma Mona come over here and swat you.”

“This is freaking amazing. The salt from the pickle and the chips with the sweetness of everything else, it’s ridiculous. My tongue is having a field day. The fudge melted to the chips which is incredible. Wow, Bambi, you continue to surprise me.”

“Stop talking with your mouthful before you lose your nickname of handsome. Mona and I will both cuff you for bad table manners. Glad you like it, you never know until you try it. I was bored one day, was really stressed out and just wanted ice cream. I had to get out of my house, so I walked to town. Momma Mona got me talking and made me lunch, including a crazy sundae. I come and visit her at least once a week now. She’s become family, and a friend. She teaches me to cook
, and other things. I’m not allowed to see my grandparents. My sperm donor says they are too nosy, so she’s the closest thing to a grandparent. Can we just eat and not talk for a few minutes, please?”

Ryan reaches over, squeezes my hand and goes
back to just eating his sundae. Mona puts Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet tape into the radio and we just enjoy hanging out for a little while.

Later we g
et to his house and he insists on carrying me inside, on his back because he had to walk up a few steps. We get inside and we are the first ones there.

It
’s a big white farmhouse about a mile from my house. Inside it looks like has original wood details. The stairs are beautiful. Ryan walks through, with me on his back, to give me a tour.

“Here’s the main living room, the comfortable one. We have a fancier sitting room on the other side for if mom has adult company, but this is where we can be comfortable and spend most of our time. This is obviously the dining room and through that door is the kitchen. You’ll see that soon when I teach you how to make home
made garlic bread.” Ryan laughs and jiggles me on his back.