Infinity & Always (29 page)

“Sorry,”
my body deflates against him again. Knox walks me back to the locker
room so I can grab my stuff and we walk home. He runs a bath and
pours some bubbles into it. I watch him smell all my essential oils
and he pours nearly half a bottle inside before I stop him. “You
only need a tiny bit babe,” I laugh.

“Oh,”
he shrugs, “smells good though.”

Peeling
off my sweat soaked clothes, I climb in and sink down into the too
hot water. Knox appears back with the lighter and a few candles. He
is doing all this for me and he is the one facing something horrible.
Reaching out I take his hand and tug it.

“Come
in with me?”

I
don’t have to ask again, he pulls off his suit and climbs in
behind me. “Holy fuck! It’s hot,” he shouts.
Laughing, I turn around to see his eyes huge and his mouth open,
trying to breathe through the scalding water.

“Sorry,
I added more hot,” I wince and kiss his cheek. We relax
together in the bath and I watch the shadows from the candles dance
on the wall.

“So
what happened today darlin’?”

Sighing,
I tell Knox about my day from college hell. He holds me closer and
kisses my shoulder, telling me it will be okay and I have to do my
exam. “No Knox, I’m not leaving you to face that alone.”

“I
won’t be alone darlin’, Max and my dad will be there.”

“It’s
not the same, I’m supposed to be there with you,” my eyes
prick with tears again and I swallow the lump in my throat. Knox
tilts my face to his and kisses me tenderly.

“I’ll
be okay, baby, I promise.”

His
words penetrate my heart and try to comfort me, but I know deep down
that he can’t make such promises. Deep down, fear consumes me.
It reminds me every day that no one can make such promises and it
makes me remember the last few days before Summer died, and before
Nan died. She seemed so full of life and energy, then bam, she was
gone just like that.

Knox
rubs my shoulders and sings to me, his voice echoes in the bathroom
and surrounds me, just like his body. We stay together until the
water gets cold, then climb out, wrapping towels around ourselves. In
the kitchen I make us some hot chocolate and bring it back to the
bedroom. Knox is in bed already rubbing his eyes.

“You
okay babe?”

“Yeah,
the usual.” He frowns and points to his head. My heart breaks
all over again as I climb in beside him. We watch some tv and fall
asleep together - everything feels good right now.

It
feels normal.

***

“Come
on Abbey!” I shout across the field. I know she can’t
hear me with the crowd here, but I try anyway. I watch her move
through the other players only to be brought down, shit. Georgia
groans beside me and we exchange glances.

“Ready
girl?” she asks.

“Yeah
let’s do this,” I reply.

We
stand off the bench and pull on our helmets. The crowd is yelling and
shouting and the cheerleaders are causing some excitement. Our
cheerleaders from the men’s team offered to cheer for our last
game and coach thought it was very nice of the girls. I am actually
happy to see Chase’s sister get in on school spirit. Glancing
over my shoulder, I find my number one cheerleader, a huge smile
splits my face when I see him. He waves at me and I wave back,
earning one of his megawatt smiles. Max, Paige, Richard, Ryan, and
Dad are all there shouting along with the rest of the people. But my
eyes stay on Knox. He winks and clenches his hand into a fist, giving
me a sign to go ‘get em.’

We
all huddle around Georgia, who calls the play. Once we get in
position, things happen fast. Before I know it I am off running like
a wild hare, glancing over my shoulder, I see the ball sailing my way
so I take a chance and jump. Reaching out my fingers grip it and I
clutch it close to my chest. My legs keep moving and my eyes are
scanning, but out of nowhere I am on my ass with about a hundred
girls on top of me.

After
I am finally free, the referee checks to see where the ball is.
Rolling over I clutch it to my chest like a newborn baby, the home
crowd gets louder as I stand up. My eyes find Georgia and she makes
what one would call a ‘gang sign’ but we know what play
she is calling. One we call ‘holy fuck’ because every
time we practice it, it goes wrong. It’s first down on the
five-yard line with six seconds on the clock. My heart pounds and my
mind blanks. All I can see is the play in practice, the whistle
blows, and I’m gone.

Jumping
away from some menacing looking chick. I turn my head and the ball is
there. “Fuck!” reaching out I plead with myself to catch
it. The laces bounce off my fingertips and it rolls in the air. Fear
grips me and I grab at it again, the corner of my eye registers a
white and gold blur heading straight for me. With the ball firmly in
my hands I run like hell, like the devil himself is chasing me. My
foot just crosses the touchdown line and whistle blows.

Falling
to my knees I clutch the ball to my stomach and cry. I get slammed
from all directions when the girls jump me. They are screaming and
cheering, but I lay on the ground still.

“Come
on girl we did it.” Georgia’s voice sounds from beside
me. Opening my eyes I turn to look at her. She grins at me and slaps
my back, reaching out a hand to me. Gripping it she pulls me into a
hug. Abbey and Becky jump on us, jostling our bodies together.

“We
did it!” Abbey shouts, hugging me close.

“I’m
keeping the ball,” I shout at Georgia. She smiles and shrugs
like it’s no big deal. Finally I remove my helmet and run over
to our bench. My family is going crazy behind our bench. Pointing to
Knox, I throw the ball to him. He catches it and then runs down to
me. Excitement rips through me at the sight of him pushing through
the crowd, once he is on the field, I run into his arms.

“Holy
shit darlin’, you were amazing!”

He
twirls me around in his arms squeezing me hard. Our lips crash
together and I wrap my legs around him. Our kiss is hungry and
passionate, as we devour each other.

“Get
a room!” Someone shouts before a very cold dose of water
sloshes over us. Knox drops me with shock but I hold onto his neck,
everyone is laughing at us and join in.

“Well
I guess that’s that,” Knox says.

“Hell
no,” I chatter and kiss him again. Knox and my family leave
after the trophy is awarded. We have opened the bar to the team
tonight in celebration. Max had some food catered and heads off to
get it all ready. The whole team is on a high in the locker room,
grabbing my stuff I remind them to come over to the bar and head home
to get ready. Paige is in the apartment waiting for me.

“Hey
what you doing here?” I ask, smiling at her.

“I’m
your official escort to the after party,” she laughs and twirls
around.

“Thanks,
I’ll be about thirty minutes.” After another shower and
hair wash, I get ready in a new short cream mini dress. I slip on my
platforms and grab a small black clutch for my phone and keys. I know
I don’t need money, so I leave my purse and head out to Paige.
We walk through campus and the blood in my veins is still coursing
with adrenaline and joy.

“You
played really well Bailey, congrats.”

“Thanks
Paige,” I can’t help the huge smile on my face as we walk
across the street. The bar is jammed so we use the side door. I slide
through the beads and find Knox waiting at my seat with our dads. He
smiles at me, as I walk around the bar and Dad hugs me tight
congratulating me. Richard grabs me after my dad and hugs me too.

“Congrats
darlin’,” Knox takes me into his arms and shelters me
from the world. We have a few drinks and eat some food. Knox and I
hit the dance floor with Max and Paige. Knox’s hands grip my
hips as we move together and I can feel his body heat wrap around me.
He kisses down my neck and pulls me closer, while his thumbs graze my
ribs.

“Are
you sure you were never a stripper?” I ask, teasing him.

“Nope,
never, but I can be if you’re short a few dollars for your
student loans,” he smirks at me. Laughing, I kiss his lips and
wrap my arms around his neck.

“Thanks,”
I whisper.

“What
for darlin’?”

“For
everything you do for me.”

His
lips brush off mine, “You don’t have to ever thank me
darlin’. I love you, that’s why I do things for you.”

“Love
you too but I’m still grateful for it all.” My lips brush
off his as we talk, our bodies slow down with the rhythm of the
music. Resting my head on his shoulder I close my eyes and enjoy
every second of being in his arms.

“Mornin,”
Max groans and crawls onto our bed. Opening my eyes, I find his face
right at mine and laugh.

“Hey,
why are you here so early?” I ask. Knox groans and pulls me
closer into him.

“We
have some stuff to do and so do you,” Knox answers. Max leans
forward and presses his nose to mine, then pulls a face. Knox pushes
him away from me and laughs.

“Get
away from my woman, asshole.”

“Why,
you know the three of us would make a hot ass team,” Max winks
at me, because he knows Knox will get pissed off. I mouth ‘stop,’
at him, as Knox lifts up on his elbow, to look at Max.

“Seriously
Max, if you weren’t my brother I’d fuck you up.”

Max
leans forward and plants a kiss on my forehead before rolling off the
bed and dodging a slap from his brother. “C’mon douche
get up we have shit to do,” he says, on his way out the door.

Knox
bends down to kiss me hello and smirks at me. “You need to
shower darlin’, your mom will be here in an hour.”

My
head whips around to watch him hop out of bed. “My mom? Why?”

“Wedding
dress shopping darlin’, unless you want to walk down the aisle
naked. Which is totally cool with me, but there will be family and
friends there.”

“Knox,”
I moan, burying my face into his pillow. His arms circle my waist,
and he kisses my cheek then, pulls me up from the warmth of the bed.
“Okay, I’m up.”

“Good
now go have fun and I’ll see you later. If you want we can take
your mom to dinner, just let me know.”

“Okay,
but where are you going?” I ask, watching him smirk.

“Never
mind,” he kisses me gently, then a little rougher while sliding
his hands over my naked butt. “Ugh, I need to go before I
can’t.” I watch him leave the room and shout for Max. I
hear him brush his teeth and then he turns on the shower. “Shower’s
on darlin’,” he calls then leaves the apartment.

After
my shower, I pull on a dress and sandals. I hear a knock on the door,
opening it my mom smiles at me.

“Surprise!”
I give her a hug and laugh at her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t
make the game last night,” she says.

“That’s
okay Mom, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here for a
game.” This is the first time she has been to the apartment and
I give her a quick tour. On our way out I call Paige and ask if wants
to come along. We meet her at my car and take off to the mall.

“So
what’s first on the agenda?” Paige asks.

“A
wedding dress,” Mom laughs at her. Rolling my eyes, I park the
car and climb out. We walk through the mall into the only store here.
I flick through the racks, but nothing jumps out at me. Paige and Mom
are pulling out dress after dress and my eyes hurt, from all the
tulle and bows.

“No,
let’s just go,” I moan, planting myself against the door.
Mom says five more minutes and Paige takes off with her. My phone
beeps with a text from Knox, asking how it’s going.

Me: Horrible, I want to go home.

Knox: don’t give up darlin’.

Me: I’m not, just annoyed. You know there is only one dress shop in
this place.

Knox: go to Marion, the high street has a couple xx

Me: How do you even know that?

Knox: Ha ha not telling now go, love you.

Me: love you too. I want a date night tonight.

Knox: done!!

“Hey
Mom, come on I have more shops to annoy myself in.”

I
shout from the door of the store. The sales clerk scowls at me and I
push open the door to leave. When we leave the store, I drive to
Marion and Google the High Street shops. I find five bridal stores
and we make a plan.

“Okay,
we’ll do two then get lunch and then the other three,” I
announce.

Mom
and Paige agree only because they have no choice and I’m not in
the mood. I always thought I’d have a great time buying a
wedding dress. Summer and I used to dream about it when we were kids.
We’d often walk into a bridal boutique in Grove just to play
out our fantasy.

“What
about this one?” Paige asks. She holds out the most god awful
looking thing. She is snickering behind the dress and I can see her
shoulders shake.

“Yeah
I like that,” I answer. Her head pops up and she looks at me.

“You
freakin' liar!” She puts the dress back and moves on. We spend
about an hour in this store and leave. My stomach is rumbling already
and I’m getting more annoyed.

“Who
wants food?” I sing out. I think my mom is getting annoyed with
me because I catch the scowl on her face.

“Sorry
Mom, I know I’m being a pain,” I sigh and link my arm
through hers.

“It’s
okay baby, I get it.”

She
pats my hand and agrees that food is in order. We find a little café
and stop in. Our lunch consists of coffee, cakes, and more coffee. In
the next shop, I make an effort to look for a dress and go so far as
to try two on. Mom shakes her head at both so we leave that place.
Walking into the next place we are accosted by a sales clerk. He
greets us with air kisses and a glass of champagne each.

“Oh
I’m driving,” I smile, putting the glass back down on the
tray. He clicks his fingers and a woman brings over a glass of orange
juice for me. I thank him and turn away not knowing what the heck is
going on. The store is bright and airy with a huge crystal chandelier
hanging from the ceiling.