Kickoff for Love (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

Andy’s POV

The next day during practice, I couldn’t get kissing Ashley out of my mind. I hadn’t really realized what I was doing when I kissed her, but her lips on mine felt right. 

Coach came to talk to me in the locker room after practice. Technically he called me into his office, which is in the locker room, but same difference. 

“You wanted to see me, sir?” I asked, sticking my head into his office.  He pointed to his chair. 

“Take a seat, Richmond.” He sounded upset. ‘Shit, what did I do?’ I asked myself. He started talking once I sat. 

“I understand you kissed my daughter yesterday.” He said. My eyes grew big. 

“Y-Yes sir.” I stuttered. 

“Now, I realize that I’m from a different generation and my style is old fashioned.” He leaned forward, making him even closer to me. “But if you think you’re going to use my daughter for your kinky college sex games, then you can consider yourself off of my team.”

I had trouble trying not to laugh when he said ‘kinky sex games’. Even he knew that was completely not my scene. “Sir, believe me, I’m definitely not using Ashley for kinky sex games.” I denied. Sex hadn’t even crossed my mind… until now. 

“If that’s the case, then what are your plans with my daughter?” He asked. 

“Well, I…um.” He cut me off. 

“You see, I’m just not comfortable with my little girl kissing guys who she believes aren’t interested in her.” That got me really confused. Hadn’t we discussed this yesterday?

My eyes scrunched together and in disbelief I said, “What?”

“I mean, I’ve heard of those casual relationships. If I thought that was what you wanted, I never would have convinced her to speak with you.”

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. What exactly did Ashley say?” I asked. 

“She said that she couldn’t expect you to date her because you’re a football player in college.” He sounded almost as upset as I felt. 

My jaw dropped and I ran my hands through my hair as leaned back in my chair. “No offense, Sir, but your daughter drives me crazy. She’s so doubtful of everything and she’s always assuming the worst. It’s like no matter what I say or do, she thinks I’m not interested in her. I never said I wouldn’t date her.  Sir, we simply didn’t discuss it.“ I stood up. “Excuse me. I need to go speak with your daughter.” 

He nodded and I left to find Ashley. 

I found her leaning against a wall, reading a book. I walked up to her and put my hands on either side of her head. She looked up startled. “He…” I cut her word off with a kiss that branded my soul. My hands found their way to her hair and waist in order to draw her as close to me as humanly possible. 

I pulled away, biting and tugging upon her lip. “Does that clear things up for you?” I asked. My voice was so rough that I could hardly believe it came from me. 

She blinked, a dazed look clearing from her eyes. “Wh…” Clearing her throat, she asked softly “What?”

“Stop doubting everything I say. Don’t over think things anymore because you’re driving me crazy. I like you, Ashley, more than a friend. I don’t know how else to explain it to you. No more telling your father that you can’t expect me to date you because I’m in college, or that I play football.” I paused at the end, and then quickly added. “Please.”

Ashley didn’t say anything for a minute, and then reached up to kiss me again. It wasn’t as passionate as the previous one, but it would do. “Now excuse me.  I have to go kill my father.” She was about to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to me. 

“Kill him at home later. Stay with me.” I whispered before kissing her again. 

CHAPTER FIVE

Ashley's POV

Andy ended up asking Dad if he could drive me home. Of course Dad approved. "So where are we going?" I asked as we headed off in a different direction from my house. 

A smirk formed on his face as he shrugged his shoulders. I laughed and smacked his arm. "Come on. Tell me!"

He smiled at me and said. "Fine, no need to get so violent.” He pouted. 

I just gave him a look that clearly stated he was an idiot. "We're going to the park.” He told me as we turned into what I quickly recognized as none other than a playground without any children at it. 

"A park?” I asked with a smirk on my face. 

He looked at me seriously. "Yes, a park. Is there something wrong with that?"

I held up my hands in mock defense "Whoa, no judgment here.”

We got out of the car and he sat me down on a swing before he began to push me. "So, what inspired this detour?" I asked as I felt the wind blowing in my hair. 

"I didn't want you to kill your father.” He said. I could practically see his smirk in the back of my head. 

"Shut up.” I laughed. "No really?”

It took a minute before he spoke again. "I don't actually know anything about you. I'm not really the type of person who kisses people I hardly know” I had to smile at that. 

"You're adorable.” I heard him sigh. When I twisted my head around, I saw him smiling. He stopped pushing me and sat on the seat beside me. 

"I'm serious.” He told me. 

"So am I.” I said, looking around the park instead of at him. 

"Come on, talk.” He said, nudging me by swinging his whole body towards me. 

I jerked to the side and glared at him. "My favorite color is blue.” I offered. 

He rolled his eyes. "That's really great to know. Now would you like to tell me something worth knowing?"

"My favorite color is worth knowing. I mean, what if someday you're supposed to pick out a card or something for me and you're sitting there going ‘red? or blue?’ Well now you know that I'll throw away the red card, but probably put the blue in a memory box.” I said defensively. 

He reached over and took my hand in his, swaying us from side to side. "You're right, and I do want to know your favorite things. I was thinking that right now I could learn more about who you are.” He explained. 

I sighed, knowing that this was what he wanted. "Fine.”

I waited for a few minutes. "So, are you going to talk?" He asked me eventually. 

"What do you want me to tell you?” I asked. 

"Anything.”

"Like what? I don't know what you want to know.” I said. I hated talking about myself. 

"Look, I just want to know you. You can tell me anything.” He said. 

"Okay. Well, um, I grew up with my mom. She married Steve when I was twelve. He's got some older kids. Jason and Mike are in their mid-twenties and I think that Rachel is in her early thirties. After they got married, he told my mom that he was done raising children, she sent me to live with my father. Before I moved in with him, I only saw him on weekends, school breaks, and holidays. That was more my mom’s fault for not making the time to drive me to him, though.” 

"He was always a hero in my eyes, you know? I mean, I think that I idolized him because I never got to see him much. I realized after I moved in with him that I didn't see him much anyways. You footballers take up a lot of his time. The only way I figured I could spend time with him was if we shared the same interests. I knew he probably wouldn't take well to my choices in movies, books, or music. So I took up football.” 

"It Turns out that I ended up being fairly good at it. I mean, I threw the ball once in our old neighborhood and was immediately accepted as part of the gang.  Me and the guys would go outside every day and play football in the street. After a few months of playing with them, and actually enjoying myself surprisingly; my Dad noticed that I was decent. He started taking me to games on the weekends, and practices when I didn't have school. It was really nice; I never had that kind of connection with my Mom.” 

"Soon enough, I managed to become something of a mascot for the team. They became like big brothers to me. It was awesome because, until recently. I’m an only child. It's funny; the first boy who broke my heart didn't have to deal with a gun-happy father. Instead a whole team of college football players paid him a visit. Danny apologized to me the next day, but I only laughed. The guys gave me hell for weeks when they saw how wimpy Danny was. They'd always figured I'd fall for somebody more like them.” I trailed off, remembering how funny I thought it was. 

I realized that Andy was watching me carefully when he began to speak. "What about now? I mean, that was when you were younger, right? What's the Ashley in front of me like?" He asked, grinning. I rolled my eyes. Wasn't it bad enough I had to talk about my past? Now he wanted me to talk about current events?

"Hmm.  .  .  I don't really know actually. I mean, I have the best friend in the world, Lindsey. She comes off kind of strong sometimes, but she's amazing. It was actually her brother, Paul, who I kicked in the balls.” I grinned, thinking about his face as he cupped his injured package. "At school, I mainly hang out with Lindsey and her boyfriend, Bryan. They're adorable together.” 

"My grades aren't over the top, but they aren't horrible either. I hate math but manage to pass the class each quarter, so that's a plus.” I paused, thinking about what else to say. 

"I love to read." I added passionately. "Seriously, there's nothing in this world that makes me happier than a good book. You'll even be able to tell usually if I haven't read a story in a while. I get really crabby.” I laughed at my own honesty. Andy chuckled. 

"I don't know. I mean I'm not sure what else I can say other than the little things.” I shrugged my shoulders. "So I guess it's your turn." I smiled because he couldn't back out. I went and now he had to. 

He blinked a couple times, "Um.  .  .  well, I've got two sisters who are each two years younger than me. They're twins, Katy and Khloe. They're kind of the world to me, you know?" He asked, glancing at me. I could see it in his eyes that they really were his whole world. "I'd walk through fire if it meant they'd get to be happy." I smiled softly, wishing that I could have somebody who loved me like that. 

He cleared his throat, when he spoke. His voice grew was deeper. "My parents were both killed in a car accident when I was about fifteen. I had a younger brother, Derek, who was in the car with them. He died about a week later from traumatic brain injury. It took a really long time to come to terms with everything, but I realized that the twins needed me. They were only thirteen at the time. We moved in with my Uncle Peter and Aunt Sonya after that. They've been really great about it too. They couldn't have children of their own. I think that us living with them was a blessing for them in its own way.” I was speechless.  There was nothing I could do other than grab his hand. He squeezed mine back and intertwined our fingers. 

"In the middle of junior year, the coach of my high school football team caught me running down the hall. He told me I was too fast not to join the team, turns out that I can catch pretty decent too.” He paused. "Here I am today, running back for the Cal Poly Mustangs.”

I nudged him with my swing, bumping him with my whole body. "Not to mention that you're the captain.” He blushed. 

"I honestly didn't ask to be.” He said softly. 

I laughed. "No need to be modest. You're good at what you do. You go in there, get the job done, and also lead your team well. I promise you that there wouldn't be nearly as many victories for the team if you weren't good at what you do.”

He twisted our swings to the side so we were facing each other. Holding mine in place with his hands on the chains. "You know, it's a little weird to have a girl giving me pep talks and advice about football” He grinned. 

I bit my lip. "I'm sorry. I'll try to stop. It's just that when I know something's worth saying, I generally say it.”

He laughed softly. "Don't stop. I said it was weird, not that I didn't like it.” He leaned forward and kissed my lips. It wasn't overly soft, but it wasn't quite as passionate as the ones we'd shared earlier in the day. "I have a question." Andy said a little nervously. 

"Okay…” I said, sounding unsure of myself. 

"Are you always this unsure of yourself?" He asked as I laughed. 

"Actually, no. I have no idea why, but it's really only around you. I can't even explain it. I mean, I wouldn't be heartbroken if you didn't like me. It'd suck, but I'd move on, you know?" I asked. He nodded. "So I don't even know why it happens. It's not like I'm never around college guys or something. You're just special, I guess.” I said the last part almost shyly, realizing I'd been talking nonstop about how he affected me. 

He smirked and leaned in for another kiss. "I don't think you have anything to worry about when it comes to being who you are.” He murmured against my lips. I smiled into the kiss, wrapping my arms around him. He lifted me off of my swing and balanced me on his lap. It was awkward but easier to kiss that way. 

CHAPTER FIVE

Andy's POV

From conversations with Coach, and the brief ones I'd had so far with Ashley, you'd never guess that she'd grown up so lonely. I couldn't imagine growing up without my brother or sisters. Granted, Derek hasn't been there from fifteen on up, but he was there for the first part. Those memories are the most important of all. 

It had been harder than I expected to tell her about my parents and Derek dying. Sometimes I feel like I'm at a place where I'm moving on and really dealing with it. While others, like with Ashley, I feel like it happened last month. Then all I want to do is hide under a rock. Before she grabbed my hand, I was seconds away from breaking down. Her gentle touch brought me through it. 

Now, I was sitting on a swing set, with her on my lap. I was kissing her with enough force that we'd both probably have bruised lips. But it was worth it. She was so beautiful and down to earth. Perfection wrapped up into one body. How could I be thinking that after only a couple weeks of knowing her? I'm not a ladies man by any means, but I'd been around the block a couple times. Love was something I rarely let myself fall into. It's only happened once in my life. Comparing Elsie to Ashley, I found myself feeling more towards Ashley than I did when I first met Elsie. What did that mean?

I knew I wasn't in love with Ashley. Did the feeling in the pit of my stomach mean that love was the direction I was headed? At this point of thought, most guys would have pulled away and made some dumb excuse about why he didn't want to see the girl. I, however, only pulled Ashley closer. It may be soon, but I knew how valuable life was. After my parents' death, I decided to live it to the fullest. If that meant falling in love with Ashley, then so be it. 

After who knows how long, I slowly started pulling back. When I opened my eyes, I saw that it was nearly dark. "I need to get you home." I told her huskily, pulling her to my lips once more. 

She moaned something and dug her fingers into my hair, pulling lightly enough not to hurt, but hard enough to make me groan. "We need to stop." I said, cursing whatever part of my body that decided to be rational today. 

She simply nodded and awkwardly got off of my lap. Blushing slightly, I rearranged the front of my pants before walking her towards the car. It was hard not to have a physical reaction with somebody as sexy and amazing as Ashley sitting on you, sucking the life from your body with her kiss. I opened the door to the car for her and she rolled her eyes. This told me in her own way that she was an able body who could open car doors for herself; but she loved that I did it for her. 

When I parked in front of her house, I pulled her into a kiss again. It was nothing compared to the park. It still made my blood pump faster. "Do you want me to walk you to the door?" I asked. 

She looked at me with a grin and raised her eyebrows. "My mother always told me that a date is only a date if he walks you to the door. Anything else is just a cheap hookup. She was quite the role model.” My eyes widened and I opened the door. 

"Looks like I'm walking you to your door then." I told her softly. She blushed and met me at the sidewalk I had parked in front of. When we got to the door, I kissed her forehead. Whispering "I really liked being with you today. No more overthinking anything. If you do, talk to me about it. Okay?" She nodded and I began to walk away. 

"Hey Andy," she called out softly. I spun around to see her looking like she wanted to say something. But didn't want to; only she knew she had to. 

"Yeah," I asked a little worried. 

She blushed before she asked. "Will you tell me when this becomes something more than random kisses and getting to know each other and maybe turns into something more like dating, or even never speaking to each other again?" Her voice was so soft I could barely hear it. I could tell that she hated asking it. 

I smiled and slowly walked up to her, kissing her lips softly. "I'd call this more than random kisses and getting to know each other. If you want to call it dating, or going out, or whatever, you should do that. It's exactly what I'm going to be calling it.” I kissed her briefly once more before pulling back to see her smiling. I hugged her close before walking back to my car and pulling away. Making sure she was inside first.