First and Goal (Moving the Chains #1) (42 page)

He laughs with his arm still around my waist. I don’t miss the look he shoots to Jackson. “You think I’d skip out on the check? I told you I wasn’t leaving. Besides, I’m sure I tip you better than he does.”

The fleeting thought of his magical hands runs through my mind, and I have to agree. But I’m not about to admit that out loud.

“You can’t sit here until I’m done working all by yourself. I have another three or so hours.”

“Oh, I won’t be alone. Captain Ahab and I have a lot in common.” He winks at me and his smirk makes the dimple in his cheek deepen. He slides back into the booth and digs his phone and book out of his bag. Feeling that this scenario is all wrong, I watch silently as he checks his phone and pecks out a few texts.

“You really shouldn’t be here, Rob. You should be talking with Dream Girl or something.”

He puts his phone down with a weird look on his face that borders on fear again. Then, taking a deep breath, he turns and grabs both of my hands in his, looking into my eyes in all seriousness. “I am.”

Of course. He’s texting her. That’s why he asked Alex to leave him here. He must be asking her to come and meet him. Then she can take him home. And they can finally work things out.

“Oh, okay.” I hope my smile is convincing enough. Somehow I doubt it.

The face he gives me is plainly disbelieving, so I guess I didn’t fake it well enough. “Seriously? That’s it?”

Well, what else does he want me to say? I feel bad enough for what I said about her this morning. He told me that she was upset at the game last night, so I guess I can’t complain too much. “Yeah…”

“Really? You’re not gonna punch me or anything? You’re not even mad? I kind of expected you to be pissed.”

“Why would I punch you?”

Oh my God. The kiss. He thinks…he thinks I’m mad at him for talking to Dream Girl because I kissed him. Jesus. My face feels like it’s on fire.

“Okay, then.” He shrugs, kisses my hand where he burnt it at the bonfire, and goes back to his book.

This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Luckily, the dinner rush is just coming in, so I don’t have time to dwell on it. Or cry.

I stop by and refill Rob’s drink a few times, but he’s lost in his book. I’m busy as hell, so there’s no more conversation. The more time that goes by with him still sitting here though, the angrier I get. That bitch won’t even come and pick him up even though he got hurt last night and can’t drive. Unbelievable. He still texts her occasionally while he sits here. I really wish Alex had told me who she is, so I could rough her up on Monday.

I have to stifle a laugh when Jackson leaves. Rob waves at him, happy to see him go. When my shift is finally over, I’m grateful that Sheila doesn’t ask me to stay. I’m honestly exhausted and starving. I slide a plate over to Rob as I sit next to him with a burger and fries for myself. If his little bitch is going to leave him to rot here with me all evening while he has a bum ankle, the least I can do is buy him dinner.

We eat in silence as he continues his in depth perusal of the joys of whale hunting. Until I spot a group of cheerleaders enter and sit in Gena’s section. My hopes of evasion are dashed when Kerri does a double take.

“Rob, horny moron at ten o’clock.” I elbow him to get his attention.

“Hmm?” He looks up from his book, obviously not having heard a word I’ve said.

Kerri slides into the opposite side of the booth. Too late to run now.

“Rob! Fancy meeting you here!” She giggles as I fight the urge to gag.

There isn’t enough Advil in the world to make her tolerable at this time of the month. It’s bad enough that I have to put up with having our lockers next to each other. But this is outside of school, and I’m already tired enough after this shit day.

Rob’s already gone back to his book. Come to think of it, I’m surprised that no one else has tried to sit with him the last few hours while he was alone here. Plenty of girls from school have come and gone already. Kerri and I glare at each other as I continue to eat slowly, waiting for whatever she’ll unleash tonight.

“So what are you doing here?” she croons.

Well obviously, he’s reading.

“Reading,” he replies, monotone.

I can’t stop my laughter even with a mouthful of food. Yeah, he can definitely read my mind.
Shit, he can definitely read my mind.

“Well, I can see that. I mean, what are you doing here, reading? It’s Saturday night; don’t you have any plans? No date tonight?”

Oh smooth, Kerri. You clearly don’t have a date tonight, so you think you can just wrangle one out of him?

“Yeah.” He turns to the next page as he tips his head in my direction.

Either Kerri misses his gesture completely, or she just needs clarification. Hell, I need clarification.

“Well, where is she?”

Okay, she had missed it completely.

“Sitting next to me,” he says absentmindedly, never looking up.

The laughter that sprouts from Kerri’s mouth makes me want to reach across the table and throat punch her. I hold it together…barely.

“Seriously? I thought you were working.” She crinkles her nose in disgust.

Ah, she’s finally decided to address me. “I was. I’m done.”

“So, you two,” she gestures between us with her finger, “are on a date?”

“Yes.”

“No.” We both answer at the same time. I wonder if she can see his little smirk behind the book that he has in front of his face.

“I’m driving him home. Alex was here but had to leave. He asked me to drop Rob off since he can’t drive right now.”

Kerri purses her lips in a way that is completely unattractive. She must not care since Rob’s eyes aren’t glued to her face. “Oh. Well you look awful, Eva.”

Gee, thanks.

“You must be exhausted after working all day. I’ll take Rob home for you.”

Yeah, I bet you will.
“That’s okay, Kerri. I got him.”

“Don’t be silly; I insist. You just go home and take a shower and get some beauty sleep. God knows you need it.”

Bitch.

“Besides, he’s injured. Even if you could get him home, you’re obviously too exhausted to take care of him and get him all settled once you get there.” She’s giving him such obvious bedroom eyes that I can only imagine what her idea of getting him settled must be.

Looking over at Rob, it’s clear that he isn’t paying attention to anything going on around him. He’s missed Kerri’s obvious offer. Which means I can have a little fun. It’s not like Kerri knows who Dream Girl is to go racing off and telling her about it.

“That’s okay, Kerri. I think I can handle him. I was thinking of drawing him a warm bath, giving him a nice massage and a blow job, then tucking him into bed. I’m sure he’ll pass right out once he’s satisfied. Wouldn’t want our starting quarterback to go without.” I wink at her as I stuff another fry into my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Rob slowly turn his head to me. His eyes are practically popping out of his skull. Oops. Maybe he was paying attention.

And she notices his reaction this time too. Figures. “Well, I don’t think Rob really likes that idea.”

“No, I’m good.” His voice is unmistakably husky as he slowly turns back to his book, his eyes still wide.

“Thanks for stopping by to check on him.” I flick my hand dismissively. “But as you can see, he’s in good hands. Have a nice night.”

I offer my brightest smile in victory.

Kerri glares at me as she gets up to leave. “Well Rob, you call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay.” He’s back to reading and not really paying attention. Thank God.

Once she’s gone, I blow out a breath. What a skank. I can’t believe I’m reduced to fending off other girls for Dream Girl, who couldn’t even be bothered to come and take care of Rob.

“I’m not letting you give me a blowjob tonight, you know.”

“It wasn’t a serious offer, you know.”

“Just so we’re clear.”

What kind of person does he think I am that I would actually do that when he’s trying to get with someone else? And what does he mean,
let
me…
tonight
? “Are you ready to go? It’s just a matter of time before someone else decides to try to steal you away for a date since you’re clearly not here with me.”

He finally sets his book down, shooting me a weird look. He glances at the food still sitting on my plate. “You’re not gonna finish eating?”

His food is long gone.

“No. That Advil Alex gave me is wearing off, and my cramps are coming back. I don’t wanna risk it.”

“All right, where’s the check?”

I slide out of the booth as he packs his stuff up. “I already paid it. I couldn’t have any open checks before clocking out.”

“I guess I owe you then.” He winks at me.

I wrap an arm around his back to help him walk out. Not that I’ll be able to do much. He’s got over a hundred pounds on me. Still, he seems grateful for the support and wraps his arm around my shoulders as we slowly make our way out of the diner.

E
vie cuts the engine in my driveway, and we both climb out. She’s around the car, wrapping her arm around me before I even take a single step away. I could get used to this. Wonder if she’ll be as touchy at school?

She moves towards the porch, but I guide her to the garage.

She peeks up at me with a questioning look. “Why are we going in through the garage?”

I’m already punching in the code on the keypad by the door. “Um, because I didn’t drive, so my keys are upstairs in my room.”

“Oh. Well, why would you need your keys?”

“Because…no one’s home?” Shit. I hadn’t counted on this making her uncomfortable, but I can see by the look in her eyes that it does. Stupid Eddie. I should’ve known better.

“Where are your parents? Working?” She peers into the dark garage and honestly looks like a frightened animal. I’m going to have to work harder to prove to her that I’ll never treat her the way he did.

“No, my mom texted me earlier that they were going out tonight. Is that…okay with you?” I step into the darkened garage, not pressuring her to follow.

She hangs back, uncertain. I wonder how long I’ll be walking the fine line of showing her how much I care about her while trying not to frighten her.

Turning around to her, I pull her against me in a gentle hug. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first. I’ll be okay to get in myself. If you wanna go home that’s all right. I understand.”

He’s screwed her up so badly that she looks up at me like she can’t believe I would respect her and not actually be demanding a blow job the first night we’re together. “I just…I can’t see anything in there. How are you going to even get to the door?”

“I live here. I kind of know my way around.”

She blushes up at me. “Okay, then. Lead the way.”

Clearly, what I think she’s thinking and what she’s actually thinking are two different things. If she wants to come hang out with me for a while, I’m definitely not going to deny that. It’s only about nine. I’m pumped as hell about getting to spend this much time outside of school with her. I still can’t believe how easily she took it when I told her the truth. We weren’t together, and now we just…are. I have to remember to take things slow though and treat her gently. I’ll let her take the lead. God knows I don’t want to do anything to screw this up now that she’s finally mine.