Distraction (24 page)

Helmet on, bat in hand, he started swinging. The sound of the
ball ricocheting off the end of the bat made a loud cracking sound in the air.
Every time he bent over, I got a great look at his nice, firm ass. He didn't
miss once and when his time finished, he walked out with the same look Tristan
always had after a practice. His eyes lit with excitement from the game he
loved.

"Ready?" I took in a deep, shaky breath. Sure, I
liked the game, just not as much as I enjoyed football.

"Yeah, I guess?" I put my helmet on and lifted my
bat, standing next to the batter's box. The ball came out fast, seemingly more
so than when Eric had been in here. I missed along with the next two. Dammit.

"Here," he said, and I jumped. "Calm down."
He laughed and wrapped his warm arms around mine. "You hold the bat like
this." Another ball came out but as before, I missed. "Now, spread
your feet farther apart and bend your knees." I did as he instructed.
"Good, now I'm going to help you."

"Okay," I said, determined to hit the stupid,
little, white ball. The ball shot out, Eric's body moved with mine, and we made
contact.

"Good. I'm going to let go. When I say swing, I want you
to swing and hit the ball." Easy for him to say.

"Okay," I said, breathing hard.

"Swing," he said. Without Eric's help, my hands
vibrated when the ball hit the end of the bat.

"Good, now get ready for the next one. Swing."

I tightened my grip on the metal bat and swung. The hit
didn't hurt as bad as the first one, but no other pitches came out. Darn it.

"Green, your pitches are done. You want to go another
round?" The guy from the booth walked around. Suddenly I wanted to knock
the ball a little farther.

"Let's do another round," I said, getting a crooked
smile from him in return.

"Another round, Drake." He turned back to me, still
smiling. "Are you hustling me again?"

I feigned shock and shook my head. "I have no idea what
you're referring to."

"Get ready, you're up." Eric backed away and I took
my stance, remembering to bend my knees and grip the handle tight. He let me
take both rounds and gave me a few pointers. I struck out more than hit, but we
had fun. By the time we finished, the stars were out in full force.

* * *

Between classes and the few extra shifts at work, I didn't
have too much time to spend with Eric. We did manage to meet for a quick lunch
between his history class and my English class on Thursday. The heated kiss he
gave me left me feeling lightheaded when I walked away.

Tristan called me a few times, but I never made it to the
phone before my voice mail answered. We'd ended up playing phone tag all week.
I didn't worry too much. If he really needed to reach me, he'd find a way.

Chapter 14

Tristan

When Kellie asked to pick up the rest of her shit, I made
sure not to be around.

Big mistake.

Most of my clothes were all over my bedroom floor when I got
back. Some shirts even had new holes. Damn, the girl could be vindictive.

Needing a cold one, I went to the kitchen. I opened the
fridge door, pulled out a bud and found the bottle empty. Grabbing another, I
noticed that bottle was empty, too. Fed up, I picked up the six-pack. Every
single beer had been emptied and put back. Pissed, I slammed the fridge door
shut.

Kellie messin’ up my house didn't bother me half as much as
her pouring out my beer.
Who does that shit?
Good, fucking ridden.

My phone rang. Mom called, asking about Kellie. Shit, I never
got around to telling her we'd called off our engagement. She couldn't have
been happier. I laughed. My automatic response was to open a beer, but I was
out. Damn. When I hung up, I dialed Elle's number but got her voice mail
instead.

I sat a minute longer debating if I should try again when an
image of her and Green out on a date weaseled its way in my head. Instead of
calling her back, I grabbed my keys and hit the road. I called up Bret, but he
and Alyssa were together. Fucking pussy. I stayed away from the frat house, not
wanting to see Robbie's face. Being around him during practice sucked enough.
Lucky for him, his punk-ass stayed away.

I pulled into a grab–n–go store, picked up a six-pack, and
headed back home.

Some classes needed a bit of extra attention. I opened a
fresh, cold beer, cracked open my books, and started in.

* * *

I called Elle a few times throughout the week, but she never
answered. Surely she wasn't with her boyfriend every single damn time? When
she'd called me back, I was never in a place to be able to answer. Go figure. I
managed to keep busy. I had a few tests, and during practices, Coach ran our
asses off. We did more than run, but the running helped keep me focused and not
wondering why the fuck Elle hadn't answered my phone calls.

Today was our homecoming game, and I needed my head out of my
ass and focused on winning. It didn't help when I noticed Robbie feeling Kellie
up before I headed into the locker room.

The two of them being together didn't bother me. What pissed
me off was how fucking stupid I'd been not to see the signs earlier. I
should've known something was up between them. Hell, I should've ended shit
between us a long time ago.

"Daniels, get suited up." I looked up at Coach. His
eyes blazed with pent up energy.

"Yes, sir."

Being on the field couldn't come soon enough.

Elle

Homecoming week meant a town full of crazed fans ready to
watch the big game. Me included. Eric and I made plans to go together, and
Alyssa decided to go as well.

"So does this look okay?" Alyssa walked into our
room from the bathroom. She wore her hair in a low ponytail. Her outfit
surprised me. She liked to leave little to the imagination, but tonight she had
on a pair of faded jeans and a regular Tech T-shirt.

"I think you look great. What about me?" I stood
from my bed. I had on my usual jeans and a Tech sweatshirt in case I got cold.

"You look like you always do, and I," she glanced
down at her clothes, "look like you, too."

"Am I supposed to be offended?" Seeing Alyssa's
indecision, I pressed on. "Hey, you don't have to impress anyone. Just
because Bret is on the team doesn't mean you have to change the way you dress
or whatever. Where is this insecurity coming from? You've never cared what
other people thought."

Alyssa cast her eyes away from me. Her cheeks blushed, and
then it hit me. I couldn't believe I hadn't seen the signs sooner. Alyssa had
been dating Bret for a while now. Hell, anything over a day should've tipped me
off. She liked to play the field, but something had changed. I'd noticed the
possessiveness in her tone when she yelled at Ginger last week, but I didn't
put two and two together until now.

"I see," I said straight faced, and headed to the
living room.

"You see what?"

I didn't stop to answer.

"Ugh!" She followed me to the living room.

"Are you riding with me and Eric or are you taking your
car?"

"I'm taking my own car. I don't want to be stuck
listening to you make out or whatever."

I smiled. "I can see your point. So, what's the plan
after the game? Are you going to the after party with us at the frat house? I
think we're supposed to help supervise some of the new pledges tonight."

"Yeah, Tisha and I are meeting up there after the game
and–" She stopped when we heard a knock on the door. I walked to the door,
opened it, and found Eric.

"Hey, gorgeous." Eric pulled me in for a quick kiss
in the doorway.

"You could give a girl a break." Alyssa's tone was
full of disgust.

"Did you hear something?" Eric tilted his head and
frowned. "Like an annoying bug or something?" I tried to suppress my
smile, but failed.

"Be nice." Composing my grin, I turned to Alyssa.
"You ready to go?"

"I guess. And, Eric, just so we're clear." Alyssa
paused, and walked over in front of him. "Never call me a bug again."
She grabbed her keys off the end table and hurried out the door.

Eric laughed, shaking his head. "What's gotten into her?"

"I think she likes Bret."

"And that's a problem, why?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "She doesn't like the same guy
for very long. I think Bret's getting past the tough outer layer everyone else
sees. You ready to watch the game? I don't want to be late."

"Yep," he said, and followed me out the door.

* * *

The game was close. Tech gave Iowa State a run for their
money, but it wouldn't be enough without another first down. The ball was
snapped and Jarred ran back, carefully eyeing the field. Everyone was heavily
covered. From the side, Bret rushed past his blocker.

Thankfully, Jarred noticed and threw the pass before being
tackled. Bret jumped in the air, grabbed the ball, and took off in a hard run
down the field. All of a sudden, one of Iowa's deadly linebackers grabbed
Bret's facemask and slammed him on his side. The ball bounced out of Bret's
hands. All of this happened with no flag thrown. The ball was picked up by Iowa
and ran in for the touchdown.

I shot up out of my seat. "That's shit! Come on,
facemask!" I yelled, just one of many in the stands.

"I think I just fell in love." Eric's declaration
caused me to miss the ref's gestured call.

"Wh–what did you say?" My eyes focused on Eric's
amused blue ones.

"I didn't know you liked football this much. A girl who
can hustle her way in pool, loves football, and is hotter than hell..."
His face inched closer to mine. "Yeah, I'm not letting you go anywhere,
but tell me something." His expression turned serious. "Do you like
baseball?"

"Yeah, just not as much as I like football." My
heart pounded in my chest as my mind worked over his teasing comment. I knew he
didn't really mean he loved me, but it kind of freaked me out.

"Oh, my God, Elle. Bret's hurt, look." Alyssa
slapped my arm, pulling my attention back to the game and then her. "I
hope he's okay. What do you think?" Her arms crossed over her chest, and
her brows furrowed as she watched the field.

"I bet he'll be fine, Alyssa," I said, trying to
ease the worry from her. However, when I turned to the field and found the
medical staff hovering over Bret, I couldn't help but worry, too. When he was
carried off the field on a stretcher, everyone cheered. They overruled the
touchdown and we got the ball back.

"I've got to find Tisha," Alyssa said, grabbing her
purse. "I'll call you later, Elle."

"Bye. Call if you need anything."

Alyssa didn't look back as she hurried down the stands.

"I hope he's okay," I said, still a little worried.

"Me, too," Eric replied. "Hey, who's number
fifteen?"

My head snapped up to scan the field. Fifteen was Tristan's
number. He had the same position as Bret, but he usually didn't play during the
second half. I couldn't answer Eric's question as the players huddled onto the
field. My eyes stayed glued to the number fifteen jersey. The team broke and
lined up in formation. The ball was snapped again and Jarred ran back.

His protection fiercely surrounded him. I could only see
Tristan, and he was wide open. Finally, Jarred zoned in on him, throwing a
high, spiraled pass. The ball flew through the air. Tristan leaped up and
caught the ball single-handed. The move was something he was famous for back in
high school, even though he caught shit for doing so.

Iowa's cornerback shifted in his direction. Tristan, being
faster, maneuvered his steps with measured precision around them. The crowd
stood on their feet cheering Tristan on. Now only five yards away from the end
zone, he sprinted faster. Another cornerback caught up and ran into his back,
tackling them both to the ground. I couldn't tell if he'd made it over the
line.

"It's a Texas Tech touchdown," came through the
speakers.

"Yes, he did it!" My heart raced with excitement.
Tristan scored his first Texas Tech touchdown. I couldn't believe it. The punt
team ran onto the field and I held my breath. The field goal was good, giving
us the close win of twenty-one to twenty.

"This is so exciting. I bet Tristan is so hyped right
now." I turned, smiling at Eric. He didn't share my excitement.

"What's wrong? We just won." I arched a brow,
waiting for him to explain.

"Yeah, we won. Let's get out of here before the crowd
gets crazy."

On our way to Eric's car, we had to dodge frenzied fans
leaving the stadium. The breeze swept around the open area, making me thankful
I'd worn my sweatshirt.