The Line Between(17)

I leaned in closer. “I don’t fucking know, Kennedy. I don’t fucking know.”

I pressed my lips to hers, gently at first, testing. When her initial shock wore off she pressed harder, coaxing me. She sucked in a breath, and I took the chance to sneak my tongue into the hot contours of her mouth. The taste of strawberry’s, and caramel goaded my senses into an uncontrollable frenzy.

I laced my arm around her back, and pushed my other hand into her soft hair. Her response was immediate. Her body aligned with mine, and her hands slid up my arms, her nails digging into my biceps. I swallowed her moan, and sighed into her mouth when her tongue slowly danced with mine.

It was dangerous. She was dangerous. But I couldn’t bring myself to care enough to stop.

It ended too soon though. She pushed me away, breathless and wide-eyed.

“Dane, you…we can’t…you shouldn’t have…”

Her voice dragged me from my lust-induced stupor, and the stupidity of what I’d done hit me square in the chest. I was supposed to hate this girl, and fuck it I did, but the opportunity to taste her, to touch her, was more than I could handle. Hell, it was more than any man could handle when they were anywhere near her.

“Fuck.” I pulled my hands through my hair. “That…I’m…”

I was tongue-tied, unable to find the right words. Explaining myself out of this wasn’t possible.

Remembering what Kennedy meant to me, and how she could interpret what I’d just done, stirred me into action. I left her against the wall, and walked away.

I needed to find that fucking waitress.

Now.

** ** **

“OKAY BOYS, RUN through the play one more time, then you can hit the showers.” The guys in front of me groaned. It was hot out and they were tired, I could see that, but we were two weeks away from a game against Auburn University’s Tigers, and I didn’t want us to be caught unprepared. Our Saturday morning practice had run a little longer, and it didn’t help that most of us were nursing hangovers after a wild night at Kolony.

“Great job Winters. They’re looking good.” Coach Ford clipped me on the shoulder, and I turned to watch him head towards his office.

“Thanks Coach,” I yelled back.

As part of my attempt at ‘cleaning up my act’, my father had arranged an Assistant Coach position with Brighton University’s football team. I was already familiar with Coach Ford and his coaching philosophy, and had things turned out differently for me in my senior year of high school I would’ve been starting quarterback for his team. But a busted knee, and some torn ligaments ended that dream in one night, taking my scholarship with it. If it weren’t for my mother and her need to still take care of me, I’d be working to pay for school myself.

A red Audi A1 pulled into the lot, and I was surprised when Jade hopped out. She turned towards the field, and when her eyes locked on me, she started stomping in my direction. Judging by the tight line of her lips, and the furrow of her perfectly shaped brows she was pissed. Great.

I knew the exact moment her eyes landed on Reid. Her shoulders straightened, and her walk became a little more purposeful. It didn’t matter that there was football team in the middle of practice. She waltzed right into the center of all the chaos, and grabbed Reid by his helmet. The guys all stopped, and took notice.

“What the fuck, Jade?” Reid’s face was contorted in anger, but Jade didn’t flinch.

“We need to talk,” she replied. “Now.”

“That’s not possible,” I said, raising my voice. “We’re in the middle of practice. You can wait until we’re done.”

Jade scowled, folding her arms across her chest in defiance. With a shake of his head, Reid looked back at me, and let out an exasperated grunt as he dragged Jade away from the team. They were out of earshot, and Jade’s lips started moving too fast for me to catch anything comprehensible. It was when she threw her hands in the air, and hit Reid on his chest that I realized she was the angriest I’d ever seen her. Granted, she had always been a hellcat, and I was sure it had everything to do with her Spanish heritage, but this? I’d never seen this side of her. Ever.

She got in Reid’s face, and stood toe-to-toe with him, even when he spoke harshly. They’d fought before, and most of the time it was fueled by repressed sexual tension, but this time it was different, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had something to do with it.

After five minutes Jade stormed off back towards her car, and Reid shoulders collapsed. He rubbed his face, looking up at the sky.

“Okay, boys. That’s enough for the day. Hit the showers,” I shouted. Reid cut his eyes in my direction, his jaw rigid. It wasn’t often that Reid got mad, but when he did, he had just cause. He walked towards me, and stopped less than a foot away.