Scoring Wilder

  I didn't answer his question. Instead, I flexed my arm and grinned. It was toned but still pretty skinny. Liam laughed, stepped forward, and wrapped his fingers around my arm, pretending to feel my muscle.

  “Does this look like the arm of a girl who doesn’t eat enough?” I winked like Popeye.

  "Good thing you aren't a defender," he laughed.

  "What!" I argued, dropping my arm. "Becca is a defender and she's my size!"

  He nodded and moved toward his door. "True. But I'm not making out with Becca in dark living rooms, so I don’t have to worry about her well-being," he challenged, flicking the light off in his room and leaving me standing in the dark. I had no choice but to follow him out. The bastard.

  "She'd never have you!" I yelled, running to follow him. Then I blushed when I saw him already standing at the end of the hall with Penn and Becca.

  "Kinsley!" Becca exclaimed, jumping forward onto me. I wasn't prepared to catch her weight, so I toppled backward, landing with a thud on my ass and jamming my elbow into the ground.

  "Ouch! Get off me, you mongrel." I couldn't decide if I should cry or laugh, so I just yelled with a smile on my face like a weirdo.

  Penn shook his head and reached down to grab Becca, who had obviously had another cup of punch after we'd finished ours a while ago.

  "You're supposed to be SuperGirl! You were supposed to catch me!" Becca stomped.

  I pretended to spin kick her. She laughed and spun around and soon we were kicking and punching down the hallway away from the boys. Becca brought out the weird in me.

  "My elbow seriously hurts," I laughed as we paused to catch our breaths.

  Penn and Liam were standing a little ways down the hallway, laughing and nodding their heads in agreement. They were probably agreeing that they should ditch our asses for sexy, worldy, models that didn't pretend to be tipsy super heroes. Pfft, no. That sounded boring, who would want that?

  "Is Peen cool? He's super hot," I joked, unable to stop the laughter from spilling from my lips.

  Becca actually karate chopped my arm after that. We needed to get out of these costumes stat.

  "His name’s Penn," she corrected, loud enough for the boys to hear, which made me laugh harder.

  "That's what I'm saying: Peen."

  Becca shook her head but couldn’t conceal her smile. "You suck, but yes, he's awesome and super funny. Cute and funny! Can you believe it?"

  I high-fived her. "I'm going to go get something to eat with Liam, I think. How weird is that? Do you guys want to come?"

  We started heading back to the boys.

  "Nah, I think Penn is going to take me home." By the tail end of her sentence we were in range for the boys to hear our conversation.

  "Yup," he confirmed, rocking back on his heels.

  "Can I trust you with my friend, Penn?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and pretending to puff my chest like a superhero would. I imagined my cape floating in the AC draft behind me for added dramatic effect.

  "I got her," he winked. "Have no fear."

  Liam laughed and stepped forward to grab my hand. "Let's go, SuperGirl."

  I let him drag me through the front door toward his car but not before yelling goodbyes to Becca. All the while, I smiled about the fact that I actually got away with being Liam’s date at a party. Sort of. Okay, hardly. We weren’t together around anyone, and when we kissed it’d been pitch black. He also didn’t ever refer to me as his date.

  But we were in matching Superhero costumes.

  Sooo, it seemed pretty official to me.

  "My elbow really does hurt," I said, finally sobering enough to realize that it was throbbing.

  Liam reached inside his jean pockets and unlocked his SUV. He came around the passenger's side and opened to the door to let me in.

  "Let me see," he said after I'd hopped up onto the seat.

  I showed him the back of my right elbow.

  "You're always injured at my parties." He shot me a playful frown.

  "Because of Becca! She bruised my face with her gyrating hips last time." Damn Becca. She’s worse than Shakira.

  He laughed and stepped back. "If it still hurts after we eat, I'll take you to get it looked at. And I think I should hear more about the gyrating hips story."

  I laughed and buckled up. "All right, I'll explain it on the way."

  …

  I was expecting to go inside the restaurant like most normal people, but Liam ordered from the car and then a waiter ran out with our order a few minutes later. Liam tipped him handsomely before handing me the bag of food.

  "Sorry that we can't go in, but the press would have a field day, especially now that you're 'The Rising Star in Soccer'."

  "What? Is that printed somewhere?"

  "It was the title of an ESPN article the other day. Did no one mention it?"

  I shook my head. Who would have mentioned it? My friends didn't check ESPN, my dad was busy working, and my mom was busy sending me care packages.

  I didn't really mind not knowing about articles like that though. I didn’t need anything else going to my head.

  "I don't want to read it, but you should save it for me so I can read it when I'm like sixty," I laughed. “When I need to cling onto my glory days.”

  "Will do… but you’re okay with eating in here?" he asked, eyeing me cautiously.

  His question almost shattered our happy moment. When we were at the party things started to feel normal, but that was because we were secluded in our own tiny world. There were no seniors, no press, and no adoring fans. Now it was a completely different story, and the reality of our situation was starting to sink in. We couldn’t leave his car for fear that someone would recognize us and leak the story to the press

  But we still had a little while to live in lala land. When I got home I'd worry about the consequences of my actions, but for now I'd just appreciate being with him.

  "What'd you order?" I smiled, tucking my thoughts away for later.

  "Chicken and waffles. You'll love them," he answered with confidence.

  "Oh, I don't like chicken or waffles," I joked.

  "Humor me," he winked, preparing a bite and handing it over to me.

  "You don't mind if we eat in your fancy car?" I asked, eyeing the nice leather upholstery.

  "It can be cleaned and this meal is more than worth it."

  Because it was with me or because he really liked chicken and waffles?

  After I tasted the bite I feared it was the latter.

  "Holy shit, that's good!" I exclaimed, stealing the next two bites after that as well.

  "Well, I guess I know where to take you to fatten you up," he laughed before finally taking a bite of his own.

  We ate in silence for a bit. Well, he was silent. I moaned and groaned in bliss about the maple honey butter they'd used to coat the waffles.

  "You know it's probably not a good idea for us to be seen together at those house parties anymore," Liam announced, catching me off guard.

  I chewed the rest of my bite. "You're probably right." I agreed with him even though his announcement made me feel sick. Was he regretting everything, again? No. He was being smart.

  "I don't really enjoy them much anyway," he continued, staring out his front windshield.

  "Why do you live in that house then? I don't get it, not to be rude, but it seems like you have enough money to move out of the Animal House."

  Liam smiled. "I own that house and let some of the guys from the team pay rent. My other place is being renovated, so I’m staying there for now. It's usually a lot of fun, but they've been throwing a ton of parties lately."

  He owned the house? It was massive.

  "Do you mind that they throw parties in your house?"

  "It's not so bad, and that's kind of the point: Party hard now before settling down."

  Of course. They were all young, attractive athletes. Liam was still in the partying hard phase.

  I dropped my fork back into the
bag and cleared my throat. "I’m kind of tired," I said, sitting back against my seat.

  He concentrated out through the front window as his eyes narrowed. Finally he spoke. "Yeah, it's getting late anyway."

  I thought I could push my negative thoughts away until I got home. I’d been wrong. The feeling had sank in as soon as he brought up the fact that we shouldn't be seen together. And it only hurt worse because he was absolutely right. We'd been careless, trying to push the bounds without weighing the consequences.

  When we got to my house, Liam put the car in park a few houses down so that no one could see us. We sat facing out through the front windshield, completely silent as the night crept on around us.

  When he turned his head toward me, I could feel it. I could feel his eyes rake over my skin. I swallowed and stared at the black dashboard, trying to get my head on straight. This was all so confusing. I knew Liam wasn’t good for me, so why couldn’t I get out of his car? It was no use; feeling his eyes on me was like feeling his fingers glide over my skin. I bit down on my lower lip, trying to quell the desire flowing through me.

  One second I was in my own world, and the next Liam had unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap. Every consequence that had been flitting through my mind only seconds ago no longer seemed relevant as our lips melted together. His mouth tasted sweet from the syrup as I wound my fingers through his tousled hair.

  With us it was always 0 to 60 in three seconds flat.

  His hands dragged up under my skirt to the edge of my spanks.

  Everything has a consequence.

  I bit down on his lip, spurring him on.

  Everything has a consequence.

  His finger skirted the material, making my spine curl.

  He pulled back, separating us by an inch, just enough to stop the chemical reaction ricocheting between us.

  “You need to get some sleep,” he murmured so that his breath fell across my lips.

  “No.”

  The edge of his mouth curled up.

  “Yes.”

  I swallowed, trying to regain my composure.

  “I’m sorry this isn’t easier,” he murmured, lessening my worries enough that I could answer his apology with an edge of playfulness.

  “Nothing to apologize for… that was the best goodbye kiss I've ever had."

  When I was with him, there were no consequences.

  Chapter Thirteen

  "What did you and Penn talk about last night?"

  "Marriage mostly. Where we wanted to buy a house and raise kids," Becca answered flatly. We were lounging around after she woke me up by jumping on my bed a few minutes earlier. I'd pulled the comforter out from under her and she'd fallen back and hadn't gotten back up.

  "Oh, that's cool. Don't forget me when you're toting the kids to soccer practice."

  Becca rolled over and propped her head up on her hand. "Ew. No. Stop. We didn't talk about anything important. I was pretty tipsy, so I'm sure I tried to make a lot of jokes, but he didn't seem to mind."

  I smiled. "Any hankypanky when he dropped you off after the party?"

  Becca frowned. "Nada. Nothing. He was really sweet and he walked me to the door, but he went in for a hug, which is almost as bad as a high-five. No, a high-five is better because then we could have laughed and he would have thought I looked so charming while I laughed that he would have wanted to kiss me."

  "Hmm, he's definitely into you. That's what Liam said when they joined us on the dance floor. So, maybe he's just trying to take it slow, or maybe he thought you were still tipsy and didn't want to take advantage of you."

  "Is it taking advantage when I would have willingly helped him attack me? I would have taken my BatGirl outfit off for him."

  I laughed. "I'm not sure, but he is super hot. Can't blame you there."

  Becca stared at the comforter and nodded as if thinking the same thing herself.

  "I want some chicken and waffles," I demanded.

  "You just had them last night. I can't believe you ate in his car. I would have handcuffed myself to the console and never left."

  "I'm trying to stay away from the psycho-killer approach..."

  Becca laughed. “To each their own.”

  A small knock sounded at my door, and then one of the sophomore girls stuck her head inside.

  "Hey, Kinsley, there's a delivery guy downstairs asking for you."

  I glanced over toward Becca, but she just smiled and declared, "Strippergram. I thought we should start our Sunday morning off right."

  I laughed and hopped off my bed to follow the girl back downstairs. Just as she'd promised, there was a middle-aged delivery man standing on our porch holding a clipboard and a big box.

  "Kinsley Bryant?" he asked when I pushed open the screen door.

  "Yes, sir!”

  I signed, thanked him, and then ran back upstairs at lightning speed. Becca hadn't budged an inch. Lazy cow.

  "My mom seriously needs to relax with the care packages. I fear that it's her main pastime these days."

  Becca hopped up to help me open the box. "Pfft, don't knock her gifts. If she wants to order random things from Amazon and ship them here, let her. I now have a year supply of deodorant thanks to her."

  I rolled my eyes and peeled the tape off the box. Inside, beneath a lot of colorful tissue paper, there was a hot pink bicycle helmet, elbow pads, knee pads, band aids, and ice packs. At the bottom of it all there was a simple piece of white card stock with what I'd learned to be Liam's handwriting.

  For your protection whenever you're around Becca. Hope your elbow is feeling better. - L

  "No he did not," Becca laughed, pulling the card out of my hand. "Damnit! He doesn't get to be funny, too. That's not fair."

  In five minutes flat I had on all the gear and was traipsing around my room like a five year old about to go out on my first bike ride. Well, either that or someone that just escaped from an insane asylum.

  "C'mon. Let's go wakeup Emily," I said, walking awkwardly to the door of my bathroom.

  "Ok, but you have to do it since you're the one in that gear. I don't have anything to deflect her punches if she attacks me."

  "You realize we're talking about Emily, right?"

  Becca paused and held up her hand. "The same Emily that almost broke your neck in that pillow fight. I think she may secretly be a boxer or a fighter. I swear."

  "Good point," I laughed. "Stay behind me."

  …

  Unknown: Come to practice early tomorrow.

  Kinsley: Who is this?

  Unknown: Liam.

  Kinsley: Prove it…

  Liam: She thought she could, so she did.

  Kinsley: Okay. You pass the test, lover boy. How early are we talking? And is that a good idea?

  Liam: You're supposed to be the young and reckless one... 5:15.

  Kinsley: What if there are photographers?

  Liam: I'll make sure there aren't any.

  Kinsley: Did you just make me an accomplice in their murders?

  Liam: My bad. Delete this text.

  I scanned through our text exchange three more times before dropping my phone onto my chest. I had no clue what he wanted from me, but I knew I had to see him.

  After telling Becca that she'd have to drive herself to practice because I was going early to meet with Liam (to which she squealed in my ear for thirty minutes), I picked out a cute workout outfit and attempted to shut off my brain to no avail.

  At 5:00 A.M., I rolled out of bed, pulled on my clothes, and threw my hair up into a messy ponytail. If he wanted me to be anywhere at 5:15 A.M. other than in my bed, then he better not expect me to have actually brushed my hair. No way, Jose.

  When I got to the practice field there was a white Toyota parked where Liam's car usually sat. There wasn't anyone behind the windows, but when I checked my phone, I saw a text from Liam that he’d sent a few minutes prior.

  Liam: I just got to the field house.

  Before I went insi
de, I turned around to make sure there weren’t any lurking photographers. The fields were completely abandoned, so I ducked inside and made sure to close the door securely behind me. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath until I exhaled slowly.

  We were officially sneaking around.

  I’d never been to Liam’s office before. It was down the main hall, past Coach Davis' office and the conference room. When I walked up, the door was open a little bit and I could see Liam sitting behind a desk scrolling through his phone.

  I tapped on the door before pushing it open gently.

  "Morning," I said, suddenly feeling nervous.

  "Morning," he answered with a small smile, dropping his phone onto the desk and giving me his full attention. "Are you hungry?"

  I nodded and pushed the door closed behind me. The room suddenly felt tiny. Well, it was actually really small, but Liam filled the space and made it so I couldn't take a breath without catching a whiff of his bodywash.

  "Nice office," I said, glancing around. Clearly he hadn't changed a thing since the other assistant coach had left for maternity leave. "My favorite part is your ovulation calendar." I pointed to the wall beside his head and he shifted his gaze toward it and cracked up.

  "I guess I should have actually looked around, but I'm hardly ever in here," he laughed, then shifted his focus toward me. It was too much. Standing across his desk with his dark eyes pinned on me made me fidget in my running shoes. I dropped my cleats and water bottle on the chair in front of his desk, and then for one brief moment, I felt bold.

  Bold enough to walk around to the back of his desk where he was sitting. "I'm kind of nervous. This is a weird situation and you seem much too calm."

  While he was sitting, I had the height advantage and I liked it. He was the one in control of our situation. He was the one in the position of power, but right then I felt like I had the upper hand.

  He reached his hand out and wrapped it around my waist. He didn't pull me toward him, he just rested it there. My power evaporated as quickly as it had arrived.

  "You should eat. Give your body time to digest a bit before practice starts."

  I hadn't even noticed the plethora of food sitting on his desk. There was fruit, protein bars, two smoothies, and some granola. I reached for one of the smoothies because it seemed like the easiest thing to eat. I wasn't that hungry. My body was focused on other, more important things.