Perfect Match (21 page)

“Well, this is great that you asked me to
lunch. I’ve been wanting to ask you what you thought about
Jennifer’s news. That’s something about her having a baby.”

“It’s the best news ever! I can’t wait to
spoil the baby!”

“You wanna know something, Lady? I can’t wait
to do that too.” Larry confessed.

Noelle had a great lunch with Larry. She had
a long conversation with him about wrestling life. She was able to
really get his opinion on Jackson. She is happy that her Pop told
her how much respect he had for Jackson in and out of the ring. So,
even though Jackson is forbidden because of his profession, at
least he’s a person her father already loves.

After lunch, they decided to go bowling like
they used to when she was a kid. They stop by her place so she can
change first. She left Larry in the living room while she went into
her room to change.

Noelle walked into her bedroom and was
shocked to find Jackson laying there in the sweats that she finds
so damn sexy. She gasps when she sees him on the bed and

instantly shuts the door. With her heart
racing, she runs back into the living room and tells Larry to watch
some TV just in case it takes her a minute. She lied and told him
that she had to call her friend Chelsey back. At least with him
focused on the TV, if he hears her talking, he’ll think she was on
the phone. She takes a breath and goes back into the bedroom.

She closed the door behind her and tried to
be angry, but just looking at him lying there melted away any fake
anger she may have. He was so damn irresistible.

“What’s with you slamming the door? Aren’t
you glad to see me?”

“Shhh. Pop is out there.”

He gave her a look that told her he
understood but he did not lose his smile. “Here I thought you’d be
happy to see me.”

She smiled in spite of herself. He was hard
to resist. “I am. I’d be happier if Pop wasn’t in the next room
waiting for me”

“Yeah, that is a shame too, because I have
the perfect spot for you, right here.” He patted the empty side of
the bed beside him.

“Jackson! You are making this so hard for me.
I’m going bowling with Pop. I didn’t expect to see you today.”

“I’m sorry. I thought you’d be happy to see
me.”

“Oh, I am, but I already told Pop that we’d
go. It was my idea.”

“It’s cool, Noelle. I’m exhausted anyway. I
could really use a couple hours of sleep. I’ll be here when you get
back.”

Noelle smiled brightly and ran over to kiss
him lightly on his perfect lips. Jackson wrapped his arms around
her. “Mmm, this is nice,” he said when they were done kissing. “Go
have fun with Larry.”

She reached for his cheek and caressed it
lightly. Her heartbeat quickened, because this adorable, sought
after man was hers. He was dressed in the sweat suit that she
bought for him. She was right when she thought he’d look great in
it. Most people would not find men in sweats sexy, but she got to
see Jackson shirtless, not that there was anything wrong with
Jackson shirtless, but she felt that he’d look sexy in just about
anything.

She shyly changed out of her dress pants and
cashmere sweater, and into a pair of jeans and a purple long
sleeved t-shirt. She knew that Jackson was watching her the whole
time. She started to tie her shoes. “Oh, by the way” Jackson
started, “The guys loved my toes.”

Noelle tried to control her laughter. “Oh
my…”

“Yep. They all think that I have a nightlife
as a cross dresser.”

“I’m sorry.” She kissed him.

“It’s worth it,” he said as he took his hat
off and laid his head on one of the pillows to get more
comfortable.

“I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“I’ll be here.”

She went to the door to leave and turned back
to look at him. “Most men would be laying here naked, you
know.”

“Yeah, but it’s more fun when you take my
clothes off.” She watched as he

smiled at her and slowly closed his eyes.
Poor baby. He looked so tired but was glad that he was going to be
able to get some sleep.

Noelle really enjoyed her evening with her
Pop, but couldn’t wait to get back to her place. It was hard to
relax when she knew that she had Jackson waiting for her in her
bed. That was not the sort of thing she really wanted to think
about as she was spending time with her father. So as soon as she
went home, she went straight to her room. She walked quietly into
her bedroom hoping that Jackson was still sleeping because now that
she was home, sleeping was the last thing she wanted him to be
doing.

She stepped inside as quietly as possible and
she noticed that he was pretty much in the same position as when
she left him a few hours earlier. He was still leaning on her
headboard surrounded by all of her fluffy pillows. He looked
adorable and so peaceful. She couldn’t believe how much she loved
him, and the amazing part was how much she trusted him. She never
trusted before.

She stood there a moment watching him,
wondering how much longer she should let him sleep. He hadn’t been
sleeping well. Still, she mused, it seemed like a waste to have
that sexy man in her bed, and not enjoy him. She hated to think
about how badly his body has been getting beat up lately. She
smiled and wondered what it felt like to be a wrestler. She giggled
and thought about surprising him by waking him up with a Shot to
the Heart. She has seen him do his move plenty of times. How hard
could it be? He ran and hit someone in the chest with his chest.
She can do that. Yeah, she just had to do it.

She ran and jumped on the bed. She almost got
caught on the quilt and clumsily hit Jackson. He apparently saw it
coming because as soon as she made contact with him, he wrapped his
arms around her and started laughing.

“Jackson! My goodness! You are like a
rock!”

“What the hell were you trying to do?” he
asked in between laughter.

“Your move,” she said as she rolled out of
his arms and lay back on her pillows.

Jackson laughed even harder. “You are too
funny, Scout. Oh, and just so you know that was nothing like my
move. What you did was a belly flop without the pool.”

Noelle playfully hit him. “What did I do
wrong?”

“Well, you don’t hit with your chest. You hit
with your shoulder. And in wrestling, the opponent knows it’s
coming so he drops back with it. but I love you for trying.”

“Well, show me.”

“Are you serious?” he asked raising an
eyebrow.

“Yes. You used to want to show me moves all
the time when we were kids. I want to know how to do it.”

“Why? Are you dreaming of becoming a wrestler
too?”

“Not at all. I just want to be able to do one
on you.” She kissed his cheek.

“Okay, get up on your knees,” Jackson said as
he got up off the bed. Noelle kneeled in the middle of her bed and
Jackson stood before her. He explained how he aims his left
shoulder for his opponent’s chest and takes him down on contact.
“Noelle, I’m not going to hurt you,” he assured her. “Are you
ready?”

Noelle’s heartbeat quickened even though she
knew that Jackson would never hurt her. “I’m ready.” She closed her
eyes to a squint. Instead of him flying towards her, he moved
rather slowly. His shoulder made contact with her chest and he
wrapped his arms around her and gently pushed her back on the bed.
He fell on top of her and his lips met her neck. He started kissing
her while his hands moved up her chest. “Mmm,” she purred, “I
better not see you do this to anyone in that ring.”

“Just you, babe. Just when I think that I
cannot love you anymore, you do something crazy like wanting to do
my own move on me. You have me all crazy,” he said against her
ear.

“I love you so much.” She kissed him hard on
the mouth. Enough playing around. She was ready to do to him what
she has been thinking of since the moment she saw him sprawled out
on her bed. Her hands went to the back of his sweatshirt. She
grabbed the hem and pulled it up over his head. She threw it down
and his lips were on hers again in an instant. He pushed his
erection against her and she knew he had the same thing on his
mind.

Later that evening, Jackson’s phone signaling
that he had a text woke him up. He groaned after he read the
message from Mike.

DUDE, EVERYONE HAS BEEN TALKING ABOUT YOUR
RED TOES!

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Noelle missed her friend, so she was happy to
be out with Chelsey. Chelsey had always been there for her when
she’d swear off men, when she had her heart broken, or when she
couldn’t find a guy she wanted to date if her life depended it on
it. So it felt really good to be hanging out with her best friend
when she didn’t have a thing in the world to complain about.

Jackson was just finishing up a two-week
promotional tour, and she missed him something fierce. The biggest
event of the year was coming up, Holiday in Hell, so he was going
to be a lot busier. So Noelle was happy to get her mind on
something else other than missing her boyfriend. Noelle was really
dreading Friday night, knowing that she still had the whole weekend
to go before she’d see him again, so when Chelsey called to tell
her that they needed a girls’ night out at Monroe’s, she did not
hesitate. She even bought herself a new outfit for the occasion.
She was so extremely happy and wanted the world to know it.

They waited until they ordered their
margaritas before they even started to talk about anything fun. The
margaritas were at the table when Chelsey dropped her bombshell.
“Well, it’s official. My parents are getting a divorce.”

“Chelsey, no!” Noelle said.

“Yep. Mom left and told Dad that he can have
the house. She was tired of living a lie of a marriage and said she
already had an apartment.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure. On one hand, they haven’t
gotten along in forever, so it was always kind of tense whenever
they were together. So now the tension will be gone. The bad part
is Dad believes that she found someone else. I can’t even think
about that yet. But the other side is these are my parents. They
are supposed to be together forever. Thank goodness for Darin. He
has been a saint through it all.”

“He is a great guy. I’m so happy for you.”
Noelle said.

Chelsey smiled at her friend. “Thank you. I
don’t want to talk about my depressing parents anymore. I want to
talk about you.”

Noelle couldn’t help but smile. “Me? What
about me?”

“You and that sexy boyfriend of yours.
Seriously, Noelle. He is wonderful!”

“He is! I’m so glad you like him. I am so
glad you kept pushing me towards him.”

“It doesn’t really matter if I like him, but
I do. Oh Noelle, it is so obvious how he feels about you. That man
is crazy about you. You totally deserve this. You really do.”

“I love him so much. It’s crazy. I’ve never
really been in love with anyone in my life. And I can’t believe how
great it is. I feel ridiculous smiling all the time.”

“It’s great, isn’t it? Where is he
anyway?”

“They have a show in Kentucky tonight. They
have nothing tomorrow and finish up the tour in Cleveland Sunday
night. I can’t wait to see him.”

“Have you told your Pop yet?”

“No, and I know I’m gonna have to.”

“Give Larry some credit. He is your father
and every father would be at peace if they had someone love their
daughter the way Jackson loves you.”

Noelle’s cell went off signaling that she had
a text message. It was from Mike. “Oh no.” Noelle almost dropped
her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Chelsey asked.

“Jackson’s is sick. He was told to take it
easy and overdid it in the ring. He is stubborn and now he is
feeling really sick.”

“It’s okay. Did he say how serious?”

“The message was from Jackson’s friend Mike.
It didn’t say. All he said was Jackson is sick but refuses to be
checked out by the doctor.”

“Don’t panic. He will be fine.” Chelsey
assured.

Jackson insisted that he just ate something
bad and the soreness he feels in his side isn’t out of the
ordinary. He reasoned that he would be able to rest up on Saturday,
and finish up the tour and get checked out by his regular doctor on
Monday. Sunday night he’d just do a promo with no actual match.
Noelle was glad to hear that, but knew it was only a matter of time
before he would change his mind and get involved with a match on
Sunday. She decided she was going to go see Jackson on his road
trip. She needed to be there to make sure he takes it easy. Her Pop
told her the hotel the guys were staying at, and the fact that he
wasn’t going was all she needed to make her decision. Even though
he was involved in the wrestling side of the business for the
upcoming holiday show, he did not tour. So she didn’t have to worry
about Larry catching her and wondering why she was on the road. As
for Jackson, she was going to surprise him in Cleveland. He was
hurt, he missed her and she missed him so much that she couldn’t
think straight. For the first time in days she felt energized. She
couldn’t wait to see the expression on his gorgeous face when he
saw her.

She hoped that she didn’t give anything away
when she talked to him earlier that day while she was packing her
bag. “So how long before you get to the hotel?” She asked him. He
was on his way from Kentucky to Cleveland with Mike. With nothing
planned on Saturday he told her he was looking forward to being
able to relax and sleep that evening.

“The way Mike drives? We should be there in
an hour.”

“What’s your plan once you get there?”

“Sleep. This tour has been great, but I’m
exhausted. We don’t have any practice runs or obligations until
late tomorrow, so I plan on catching up on some sleep and rest my
back and stomach.” Jackson paused and she imagined him looking out
the window, “I miss you, baby.”