Beautiful (10 page)

A few hours later, Michelle and I were sitting in the bleachers with two Frito pies, two Diet Cokes, and smiles on our faces. I hadn’t really dared to dream that things would go back to normal, but I had hope for the first time in a long time. People still whispered, and I still got looks, but somehow, none of it mattered when I was with Wyatt. He had a way of blocking everything and everyone out.

“Seriously? Did you not learn anything from Charlie?”

My head lifted to see Jenny and her crew standing in front of me.

Deciding the best thing to do was ignore her, I turned to Michelle. “So, are you looking forward to tonight?”

Michelle smiled. “I am! It is going to be one of the best nights ever.”

Jenny let out the evilest laugh I’d ever heard. “Do you honestly think you can ignore me, whore?”

Michelle’s eyes turned dark, and I simply shook my head.

“Hey, obnoxious cheerleader, get out of the way. You’re blocking my view, and I didn’t come home from college to look at your bitch face.” Russell Marko’s voice came from behind us. He’d graduated with my brother Skip.

Jenny looked up at him and smiled. “So sorry. I’m wasting my time talking to this trash anyway.”

Russell stood up and walked down to Jenny.

Oh, shit. He is going to draw more attention to me.

“Wow. I’ve seen some pretty shitty people in my life, but you take the cake, girl. Your jealousy is oozing off of you like waste. You might want to head over to the restroom and clean it off of you before you go out there and act like the prima donna you’re trying to be.”

Jenny’s mouth dropped open as she stared at Russell. “Whatever, asshole.” She turned and stomped off.

Russell looked down at me and winked. “Ignore lowlife pieces of shit like that.”

I let out a gruff laugh. “I’d have to ignore the whole town pretty much.”

Russell chuckled. “Good seeing you again, Sky.”

“You, too, Russ. And thank you for that. I appreciate it.”

He gave me a weak smile. “No one fucks with Skip’s little sister.”

When he walked away, I could feel all eyes on me. I looked straight ahead and saw him.

Wyatt.

He was staring at me with an intense look on his face. I lifted my hand and waved, trying to reassure him that all was okay. Deep inside though, I felt like nothing was okay.

Will Wyatt eventually get tired of all this nonsense? Surely, he will.

He lifted his hand and smiled before the coach yelled for him.

I couldn’t help the sob that escaped from my lips. “Nothing is ever going to change, not until I leave this town.”

Michelle wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “I know, Sky. I know.”

Wyatt

My head wasn’t in the game at all.

The second I’d looked up and seen Jenny talking to Skylar, I knew she was starting shit.

Who was the guy though? He looked older. Maybe a friend of Skip’s?

Skylar’s face had looked horrified.

Calling out a play, I tried like hell to focus. I was sacked three times and fumbled twice.

At halftime, when I looked up at Skylar, she had the brightest smile on her face. She looked happy.

“Mitch, who is the guy sitting behind Skylar?” I asked as we headed into the locker room.

“That’s Russell Marko. He went to school with Skip.”

Nodding, I looked at the guy. He was talking to some girl sitting next to him. Clearly, he’d set Jenny in her place.

When I moved my eyes back to Skylar, she lifted her hand and waved. She seemed to be okay now, which eased my earlier tension. Maybe now I could focus on the second half of the game.

Coach yelled, threw a chair, yelled some more, and then told us all to go and do our best. I would never get high school football coaches.

The second half, I was totally focused. We moved ahead by four touchdowns. Coach had already told me a scout from Baylor University would be here tonight. I was glad I’d finally gotten my head out of my ass.

With less than ten seconds left, I threw a long pass. Mitch caught it and took it in for a touchdown. I quickly looked to see Skylar jumping up and down, cheering. It was a nice change to see her happy and excited.

After showering, I quickly got dressed. I was going to give Skylar a ride home, so I knew she was waiting on me.

Grabbing my bag, I started to leave when Jacob stepped in front of me. He was looking at me like he wanted to rip my head off.

“Hey, what’s up?” I said.

Reaching up, he hit me square in the jaw, causing me to stumble back. Lucky for me, Coach walked around the corner right in time to see that Jacob had thrown the first punch.

Dropping my bag, I went after Jacob. “What the fuck was that for?” I threw him off by lifting my left hand but coming up under with my right before clocking him right in the jaw.

“That’s enough!” Coach yelled while other players pulled us off each other.

“You want to tell me why you threw that punch?” I asked.

Jacob glared at me. “You’re screwing her, aren’t you?”

Anger raced through my body as I broke free and hit Jacob so damn hard in the nose. I was positive I had broken it.

“You asshole! Don’t you dare talk about her like that!” I hollered.

Coach pulled me off of Jacob. “Smith, that is it! One more time, and you’re kicked off the team. Do I make myself clear?”

Mitch walked in front of me, putting his hand on my chest and pushing me away. “He isn’t worth it, Wyatt. He’s just pissed because Skylar blew him off today.”

My eyes landed back on Jacob. Pointing my finger at him, I shook my head. “You stay away from her. You had your chance. Stay the fuck away from her!”

“She was mine first, you asshole!” Jacob said.

“That’s it!” Coach screamed as he got in my face. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at seven in my office, and be ready to work.”

Slowly nodding, I mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

“You, too, Miller. My office, seven in the morning.”

Reaching down, I grabbed my duffel bag and started for the door. Mitch was right behind me.

“Don’t mention this to Skylar, okay?” he asked as we made our way out.

My hand came up to my jaw. Rubbing it, I let out a frustrated sigh. “Why in the hell did he do that?”

Mitch laughed. “Jealousy. Michelle told me someone tripped Skylar this morning before first period. Jacob tried to help her pick up her stuff, and I guess Skylar put him in his place.”

“Still…I don’t get it. He’s never done anything to stop the rumors. He hasn’t talked to her or even looked at her in months. He broke up with her, for Christ’s sake.”

Mitch slapped me on the back. “That was before you showed up and put the life back into my sister’s eyes. My guess is, Jacob realizes what an idiot he was, and now, he wants Skylar back.”

Clenching my jaw, I shook my head. “Well, she isn’t his to take back.”

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Mitch said. “Wait, she’s not yours either, dude.”

Laughing, I gave him a quick punch in the arm. “I know. I’m just sayin’.”

Mitch and I walked up to Skylar and Michelle as they leaned against Michelle’s car. The moment she saw Mitch, she ran into his arms and wrapped her legs around him, giving him a kiss. I had to admit, I would have loved for Skylar to do that to me as well.

But what she did do surprised the hell out of me. Her lips were pressed tightly together when I stopped in front of her. Slowly giving me the sexiest yet sweetest smile I’d ever seen, she reached up on her toes and kissed me on the lips.

The feel of her lips against mine was more than I could take. Dropping my bag, I pulled her closer to me and deepened the kiss. When she moaned into my mouth, I about lost all control. I knew people were watching though, and the last thing I wanted was for more rumors to get started.

Pulling my lips back, I smiled. “That was the best congratulations I’ve ever gotten.”

Skylar’s face blushed. “Oh, that was just hello. I figured we could save congratulations for later.”

My dick jumped in my pants. I knew she wasn’t talking about sex, but just the idea of her hands anywhere on my body caused an immediate reaction.

I reached for her hand and called over my shoulder to Mitch and Michelle, “Behave, you two. We’re out of here.”

Mitch wasn’t going to the stupid party Mike Barnes was throwing. He had a special night planned for Michelle. The less I knew, the better.

As Skylar and I walked to my truck, hand in hand, I glanced over at Jacob. His eyes burned a hole straight through me. I hoped the asshole had seen the kiss, and it’d set him straight.

Tomorrow, he and I were going to have a come-to-Jesus moment. There was no way we could continue to play together with how things had been left.

“Did anything happen in the locker room? Mike Barnes walked by and made a comment to me.”

My heart dropped. “What did he say?”

She frowned as she looked up at me. “He said something about you and Jacob being in a cockfight.”

Damn you, Mike.

“It was nothing we can’t work out.”

Not saying another word, we walked in silence the rest of the way to my truck.

When I opened the door for her, Skylar stopped and faced me. “You don’t have to defend me, Wyatt. I’ve been doing fine this whole time.”

I placed my hand on the side of her face. My heart warmed when she leaned into it. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Skylar. I’d never felt this way before about anyone. “It’s hard to let people talk about someone you care about.”

Her eyes lit up while a soft smile appeared. “I care about you, too. Wyatt, I need you to know that I’m not ready to take things…further.”

“I need you to know that I’m not on a time schedule, Sky. Things will work out how they work out. I will never push you into anything you’re not comfortable with.”

A single tear made its way down her cheek. I took my thumb and gently wiped it away.

“I wish I had met you before…before…”

My other hand cupped her face while I brought her eyes up to meet mine. “Do you know what I think you need?”

“What?”

“Dairy Queen.”

Skylar busted out laughing. I quickly kissed her lips, dropped my hands, and motioned for her to get into the truck. Mitch had mentioned that, when Skylar was feeling down, he would take her to Dairy Queen. One Peanut Buster Parfait, and she would be much happier.

Walking around the truck, I couldn’t help but notice Jenny staring. Why that girl couldn’t just drop things, I’d never know.

Once I was in the truck, I looked at Skylar and smiled.

“How did you know DQ was my weakness?”

“Your brother.”

She giggled and shook her head. “Wyatt, did you want to hang out with the team or anything? I mean, you know you don’t have to hang out with me.”

I pulled out of the parking lot, and I reached for her hand. “Don’t be silly. Hanging out with you is my favorite thing to do.”

We spent the rest of the night sitting in Dairy Queen, talking about everything.

Skylar was still holding something back. I could see it in her eyes. I wanted desperately for her to trust me, but I wasn’t going to push.

“Is there anything you’d like to do?” I asked as we walked out of Dairy Queen.

With a shrug, Skylar looked around. I noticed she did that all the time. She was either nervous or worried that someone would see us together.

“Want to go to our spot?” I asked.

Glancing up at me, she grinned. “I did promise to congratulate you. I can’t stop thinking about how nice it feels when you kiss me.”

My heart was pounding in my chest. Looking into her eyes, I took her hand in mine and brought the back of it up to my lips. “Who am I to deprive you of that?”