Hotbox (21 page)

“You still
have nothing to say, Ty? H
as
the gag order been lifted?” He was walking toward us.

“G
o to the
truck
,” I told
Jayden
.

She didn’t move
as
Garrett stopped in front of us
.

“What’s a girl like you cost, sweetheart? I bet you’re pretty high maintenance. What are you doing with trailer trash like him?”

Aaron and Jesse were now at my side, but Garrett looked at them smugly. He knew the odds were in his favor; not in numbers, but because the guys he brought with him were bigger than
my
friends
.

“Any of you boys throw a punch, you’ll be sorry,” Coach Tucker said, arriving
cautiously
.

Garrett’s expression changed slightly, debating what to say. Finally he looked at Jayden and
quietly
said, “You’re not even worth my time.
”

Before I knew it, Jayden took a step toward him and
decked
him right in the face! I couldn’t believe it. Apparently neither could anyone else because everyone just stood there and stared at him while he cursed and covered his eye.

“You did say ‘boys,’
right C
oach?” Jayden asked with a sweet smile.

Aaron and Jesse
started
laughing
, and I even saw Tucker trying to hide a smile.

“You bitch!” Garrett growled at her. His friends were already walking away.
“You have to have your girlfriend fight your battles, Huntington?”

“No,
” I chuckled.
“
I think she just finished her own battle
.”

“It’s time for you to leave,” Coach told him. “Get outta here, Freeman. And this doesn’t happen again,”
he
warned
.

Garrett threw one more dis
gusted look and turned to leave, and
Coach Tucker looked
sternly
at the four of us that remained.

“I’m sorry,” Jayden told him. “I’m just really tired of all the trouble he’s caused.”

“Well,” he replied, trying to hide another smile, “I suppose
I could let it slide this time.
Now, you kids should get going. Goodnight.”

When the coach was out of earshot Jesse said, “That was
rad
!
” He and Aaron began
laughing
again
and
talking about it
as they walked away
.

I couldn’t help but laugh a little when I gently pu
lled Jayden to me. “Come here, s
lugger.”

“Since you don’t have
classes tomorrow
,
is
tonight
still
a weekend curfew?”

I hadn’t thought about it. I was automatically taking her home since it was ten
o’clock
. And she was right; I was done with my Tuesday classes.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I guess it could be considered a weekend
—especially since I don’t have practice either
. Why, is there something you wanted to do?”

She smiled. “Well… Can you stay for a while when we get to my house?”

I would much rather be hit with another pitch than face her father again. “Uh, nah, probably not. I’m pretty dirty; I’d like to take a shower.”

She nodded, like she already knew what my answer was going to be. But she surprised me when she said,
“
Then can
I just stay the night with you?
”

I glanced at her
with a smile, thinking that she was just joking. But based on her expression, I
realized she was serious.

“Uh, no,
”
I eventually answered.

“Why not? My car won’t be there.
T
here will be no evidence of my existence,” she smiled.

I swallowed. “Uh, well, because your dad would tear down my door and haul me away.”

She laughed, but I wasn’t even
kidding
.
“Ty, I’m twenty-two years old. I’m not a teenage girl that he can
ground
. I won’t even be living in
his house in another month
; Cali and I have other plans. He’s
just
more opinionated than
anything. H
e doesn’t exactly have any say in my choices.”

I was not convinced. I’d bet that Joe Adams could make me
disappear
if he wanted
to
.

“So you’re worried about my dad?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah, a
little.”

She smiled and said, “So…if my dad weren’t a problem, you would say yes?”

“Well, yeah. But I
know how protective he is of you, and I don’t want there to be an issue
.”

“My dad’s out of town.”

Oh, crap.
“Jayden…”

“You alread
y said yes. Or d
id you just tell me that to shut me up?”

“
Yes
-
I mean, no.
”

She smiled, knowing she had me.
“Then I want to
spend more time
with you.”

As I approached a stoplight I sighed and looked at her closely. I had no idea why she was insisting so strongly.
What did she have in mind?
Especially with Aaron and Jesse in the house. I was confused
,
and before I did something really stupid, I decided I’d better talk to her about it first.

“Tell me what your plans are then, so I don’t have to wonder.”

“You
mean state
my intentions?”
she chuckled.

“Yes,
”
I smiled.

“I just want you to hold me.
Just like you did Saturday.
You don’t have to do anything else.
”

I
didn’t
have
to do anything else?
The light turned green
while
I considered
if it was possible for her to stay the night and nothing happen b
etween us. I wasn’t really sure, but the idea of it kind of made me uncomfortable.

“I had to defend your honor,” she said.
“
It’s the least you could do to pay me back.”

It made me laugh. “What do you mean?”

“He called you ‘trailer trash.’ I couldn’t let that slide.”

“You
clocked
him because of
me
, not because of the stuff he said about
you
?”

She scoffed. “I don’t care what people say about me, but they’d better not go after those I care about. My claws come out.”

I laughed and shook my head. What was I going to do with her? I loved her so much; I didn’t want to be without her
…

She realized we were almost to my house and she smiled her satisfaction. When we got there
,
Jesse and Aaron weren’t even home yet
.
Jayden
followed me
to my room and
laid herself across my bed while
I headed for the shower. She
was propped up on her elbow facing me when I came out
a few minutes later, perusing through a
Sports Illustrated
.

“How do
you feel after
your
slide into
home?” she asked
, returning the magazine to the nightstand
.

I shrugged with a smile.

“
Do you
hurt?”

“Mmm, a little,” I replied, sitting on the bed next to her.

“Oh, just a little?” she asked, sitting up and moving close to me. “I was feeling bad for you and planned on distracting you from your injuries.” She held my face and kissed me.

“Mmm, actually you’re r
ight,” I said, kissing her back.
“
I
hurt pretty bad.”

She stopped after a short while and moved behind me to rub my shoulders.
I was glad because I was
really
unsure about kissing her
while we were
in my bedroom.
After she asked about my thigh
,
where I had been pegged with the ball,
I heard the front door shut and I assumed the guys were back. They must’ve gotten something to eat on the way home. I closed my eyes and enjoyed her touch and the pressure against my muscles.

“Hey
Ty, you hungry?” Jesse suddenly said at the door. “There’s extra chow
mein
.”

“Uh, no I’m good. Thanks
,
though.”

When he
was gone Jayden said, “Lie down and I’ll massage your back a little better
.”

I didn’t argue and stretched across the bed
on my stomach. She straddled over me
a
nd her hands returned
. I
was in heaven. I don’t think I’d
ever had anyone massage my back before.
She slid her hands up my shirt and it felt even better against my
bare
skin.

“Do you do this often?” I murmured.

She laughed and asked, “Why, does it seem like I do?”

“Yes. But I’ve never actually had a massage before, so I don’t know what to compare it to.”

“Seriously? I think you’ve been deprived.”

“I’ve been deprived of
you
.”

She softly laughed and continued
with her work
. After a while she moved to my
arms and it felt just as good.
Somehow we ended up kissing
again
, and b
ecause I’m a guy
,
you can probably assume what was going through my head at that moment. I had a beautiful girl in my bedroom, a girl that I loved,
and
I truly felt that we belonged together
.

“What happened to just holding you?” I asked
quietly
.

She smiled and kept kissing me. “Well, isn’t that what you’re doing?”

Yeah
, m
y hands w
ere all over her.
I didn’t know what was going through
her
mind, but
I could only see one ending to this and I wasn’t sure I wanted it to happen.
Somehow, even through the years of my father’s corrupt example, I miraculously had a conscience. And even though he’d done nothing to guide me along a moral pathway, I knew that this kind of relationship with Jayden needed a little more time. My love and respect for her was too great, and I wasn’t about to ruin that for anything.

I decided to just slow down first and see if that helped. It
did, and s
he withdrew some of the intensity, and
then
after a few
seconds, she
separated
herself
from
me.
She
smiled
at me for a moment before finally moving to sit on the bed
, but it didn’t change the fact that I still wanted to keep kissing her.
What was I supposed to do?

“I think I should tak
e you home,” I said
suddenly
.

She seemed a little
surprised but said,
“Okay, if that’s what you want.”

I sat up and smiled at her. “It’s not what I
want
, but it’s what should happen.”

“
Okay.”

Was she disappointed? I didn’t know, but I just couldn’t do
this. Even though we had stopped, I was still afraid of crossing the line. I couldn’t handle it if I upset her, or
spoiled
her trust in me.

“I really want you, Jayden—a
little too m
uch.
I have a really hard time…resisting you. It’s
very
difficult
when…”

“I’m all over you?”

I smiled. “It’s not just you.
I shouldn’t even have you in here. I’m sorry.
”