Nash Technically, being suspended meant I wasn’t supposed to be on school property for three days. I decided I didn’t give a shit. I’d left Haegan’s house in time to be there when Tallulah walked out of the building. She had texted to check on me, and I had not responded. Simply because I wanted to talk to her face to face. Apologize. I’d let my temper get the best of me, and she was just being sweet Tallulah, worried about me. When she walked out, I watched her head toward me with her head down. She held her books close to her chest in a defensive way. I could tell she was upset, and I felt guilty now for ignoring her text. I fought the urge to go to her. I needed her to walk to me. I was trying not to be seen. It would just make my suspension worse. She finally lifted her head to check the parking lot before crossing the lane to where her car was parked. After looking both ways, she paused, and her eyes came back to me. They widened in surprise, then she walked quickly in my direction. I made sure to smile. She needed reassurance. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did today with her. Coach D just pissed me off. I hated that man. The moment I smiled, she walked faster. Relief had taken the place of worry on her pretty face. Damn, I felt guilty about that. I had tried to not think about the fight and telling my parents I was suspended today. Instead, I had focused on observing as Haegan edited his video footage from the past
couple of days and made a vlog out of it. I was impressed with how much time he put into it. I also had a main role in this new video. Wasn’t sure how that would go, but I went with it. Now, seeing Tallulah, I knew I’d been selfish just thinking about myself. She deserved a response today. If for no other reason so that she wouldn’t worry like she obviously had. “Hey,” she said with a soft nervous voice. I’d done that to her. I was a dick. I st epped closer and put my hand on her waist, moving her against me slowly before covering her lips with mine. I didn’t ke ep it quick. I tasted her. I didn’t care who saw or if anyone was watching. I wanted them to see. This was me making a fucking statement. To Tallulah and everyone else. Her hands rested on my arms, and I flexed them under her touch. She squeezed, and that only made me flex some more. I was attracted to Tallulah. She made me happy. She reminded me of what was good in this life. She made me want more. Dream of more. With her, football wasn’t that important. The mint on her breath was intoxicating. I didn’t want to stop. I could hold her like this, love her like this for hours and never get bored. But I would want more. I wanted more now. Tallulah had to be the one to end the kiss. I wanted to continue, but if I was caught here, I’d get in trouble. “We need to get you off the property before a teacher sees you,” she said in a whisper still close enough that her breath was warm on my skin. “Leave your car here. Go with me,” I said, needing to ke ep her close.
“Are we going to Haegan’s?” she asked. I forgot I’d mentioned that before everything else that happened. “No, I want you to myself.” Her immediate grin made me want to kiss her again, but she was right. We had to get out of here. If Coach D saw me, he’d be sure I paid for this with more suspension. The man wanted me gone. I wasn’t positive, but I had the feeling he liked Tallulah more than a teacher should. The looks he gave her were starting to annoy me. Telling her that, though, would cause a fight. She’d never believe me. I opened the passenger door and helped her inside. Giving in to my need, I pressed a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth before closing the door and hurrying to get in on my side. We had just pulled out of my parking spot and were headed to the exit when my eyes met Coach D’s. He was watching us. Nothing he could do now. He had no proof. Like the mature guy I was, I saluted him, then pulled out onto the main road. “Who was that?” Tallulah asked. “Ryker,” I lied. “Oh, I thought he’d be at practice.” “He’s headed there now. Guess he saw my truck and wanted to check it out.” I shouldn’t have lied. But she wouldn’t understand the truth. She liked Coach D. But she was naïve and sweet. She liked everyone. The life she’d lived before her weight loss had k ept her in a bubble of sorts. The world around us was fucking ugly. She only saw the happy. The good. Which was unique, considering how she’d been treated before now.
“Where are we going?” she asked. “My house.” “Oh, do your parents know about today?” I shook my head. “Not yet. They’ll know before they get home from work, though. They always do.” She was silent a moment. I let her think it through. “Will they be upset I’m there?” I laughed then. My momma would be upset about a lot of things. But having Tallulah over at my house wasn’t one of them. She may call all the ladies in her church prayer circle to tell them the good news. I was dating a girl who wasn’t known for her r eputation. “No. They’ll be fine with you being there. We will be up in my space above the garage. My dad had the upstairs of the garage finished out this summer for a game room. He was tired of all the noise when my friends were over. We took over his television and living room, so he fixed the situation.” The truth was, he had done it to give me an es cape. A place of my own. Somewhere for me to recuperate and hopefully lift my spirits. That hadn’t happened. I wasn’t supposed to have girls over there without my parents home, but it was Tallulah, and I figured I had a good chance of getting away with it. After the day I’d had, I wanted her alone. We had three hours before my parents got home. “Wow, that was nice of him.” “It was for his own personal comfort, but yeah, it was nice. The guys enjoy the freedom of being able to curse, sneak beer in, and stay up later than they can at their houses.”
She laughed. “I imagine they do,” she r eplied, amused. I pulled the Escalade into the garage and looked over at her. “We’re here.” Most girls would expect to go upstairs and make out. Or straight up have sex. Tallulah was not planning on either. I knew that, and I had to be gentle and patient with her. This was all new to her world, and I liked it. No, I fucking loved it. I wasn’t worried about her having any STDs for starters. I’d made Blakely go to the free clinic with me and get checked before I did anything with her. I was safe. Tallulah opened her door when I did and climbed out. I wanted to spend the next three hours tangled up on the sofa with her. It would make this shit day so much better. “I wanted you alone for a reason.” I was almost warning her. She turned her head slightly and cut her eyes my way. “I know.”