The Talk of the Town

Chapter Twenty-Two

Halle was going through the items she’d need for the next week at school when the doorbell rang. That would be Quinton to visit Shania. She glanced at the clock then cringed. Shania wasn’t back yet. She quickly got up from the kitchen table and went to the door. Quinton stood on the other side, looking delicious in a black T-shirt, dark pants and those aviator glasses he loved.

“Hey, Halle,” he said. “Shania ready?”

Halle focused on his face and not how good his legs looked in the athletic pants. “She spent the night at my cousin’s last night. Give me a second to check and see when they’ll be back. Come on in.” She stepped back, and he crossed the threshold.

Halle went back to the kitchen and grabbed her cell phone before meeting him back in the living room. A quick call and she learned Shania was eating at the local breakfast place with her cousin. She turned back to Quinton after ending the call.

“They’re waiting on the check and will be here soon. Do you want to wait?”

“Do you mind if I do?”

She didn’t, but the idea of being alone with him made her giddy. They rarely had time to be together without Shania or his family around. His phone calls to make plans for how he and Shania would spend time together was their only alone time.

“I don’t mind.” She motioned for him to sit on the couch. “Good job on the varsity game last night.”

He sat and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Thanks. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to get the win, but it worked out. Were you there? I didn’t see you?”

Halle sat on the far end of the couch. “No, Shania went to the game with her cousin and then they had a sleepover afterwards. She told me about the win.”

The edge of his mouth lifted up in a slight smile. “You don’t like football, do you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“I remember overhearing you talk about how you wish you could get rid of the football program at the middle school.”

Her eyes widened. “When did I say that?”

“It was an offhand comment. It was at my first district meeting. You were upset that they focused on me joining the high school coaching staff and said you wished they’d focused on academics as much as they focused on football. That if you could, you’d get rid of the program all together.”

She pressed a hand to her temple. She remembered that comment. She had been annoyed about the district training being all about the high school’s newest celebrity coach. “I’m sorry. I had to have sounded terrible.”

“You sounded honest. I was surprised when I found out your daughter was playing at the middle school.”

“I was surprised when she went for the team. She played flag at summer camp and was always into basketball, but I thought it would end with middle school. She proved me and everyone else in town wrong.”

“But you still don’t like football.” There was no judgment in his tone.

Halle decided to be honest. “I’ve grown to appreciate it. Shania’s confidence has grown, and I know she’s talented. My issue is growing up in this town when they cared more about football than anything else. In college, I also noticed the school cared more about the teams winning than the other programs. So, I’m a little jaded.”

“A lot of schools put more emphasis on sports than they do on academics. I’m not saying it’s right, but it’s not uncommon. What specifically jaded you?”

Her answer usually satisfied most people; she was surprised he’d realized there was more to her story than an overall disdain of sports. Then again, she shouldn’t be surprised. He was observant.

“I was a student tutor. I didn’t mind helping, so when the former Peachtree Cove High principal made me tutor the star football player, Darren Jeter, so that he could get the team in the playoffs, I didn’t like it but I tried. The problem was that he kept blowing me off. When I confronted him, he said it didn’t matter and that he would be able to play anyway. I went and complained. The principal listened to me, but ultimately blew me off. Not only that, Darren miraculously got an A in English and a B in math. Something I know he couldn’t do and later realized that his grades had been changed. They let him play, patted me on the head and told me that’s the way the world works, and that was that.”

She still was upset when she thought back on that. It was one of the reasons she went into education and later became a principal. To give all students a fair advantage. Academics was her main focus; she wanted all the kids to succeed. If they played a sport or not shouldn’t be a ticket to passing.

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” His eyes were sincere along with his tone. “But you can’t put all athletes under the same umbrella because of that.”

“I don’t, but I don’t have to like the way they’re coddled either.”

He cocked his head to the side. “All athletes aren’t coddled.”

“What about you? You were good in high school before your accident, right? Did the teachers cater to you?”

He snorted. “Hardly. In my hometown, the kids whose parents were able to contribute to the booster club were the ones who got preferential treatment. The poor kids like me, we were lucky to even make the team.”

“But you’re a good player?”

The look he gave said being a good player wasn’t enough. “I was, but if someone else’s kid’s dad gave enough to the booster club then that kid was the starter. I fought for my position, but I also did what I needed to do to keep my grades up because I knew that football may not be my way out of poverty. The accident proved that. I got into college on an academic scholarship. From there, I walked on to the team and earned an athletic scholarship later. It wasn’t easy.”

“I’m sorry for misjudging you. Tracey and Imani tease me about having it out for athletes. I guess I did let what happened in high school cloud my judgment.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand. “No harm was done. I just hope that you’re willing to give this athlete a chance.”

Warmth from his touch traveled up her arm, across her chest and neck and down through her midsection. She wanted to give him a chance. The thought made her take in a shaky breath and her heart rate increased. She did want to. She liked Quinton, not the idea of him, but him as a person. But there were so many things they needed to fix before she could do that.

She pulled her hand away before her newfound revelation sent her across the couch and into his arms. “You said the TravelMagazine editor caused your accident. How did it happen?”

Quinton’s jaw tightened. She thought he wasn’t going to answer but he spoke after a tense second. “According to my principal, boys just playing around.”

Halle’s hand balled into a fist. “What? He didn’t take it seriously?”

“Khris’s family contributed to the booster club, the school giveaways, and was a donor to the mayor’s election campaign. Most people in town ignored any wrongdoing on their part.”

“Did your parents do anything?”

He shrugged. “What could they do? Khris’s dad owns half of the rental property in my hometown. Hell, the apartment my parents could barely keep was owned by him. They covered up being slumlords by giving a lot to the community and the school. When they argued that their son was just horsing around and ‘accidents happen,’ there wasn’t any way for my parents to fight. They didn’t even bother to pay my hospital bills. It’s part of the reason why my family struggled when I was in college. My dad was trying to make enough money to pay for what the scholarship didn’t cover, but there was too much debt and too much to take care of.”

Halle understood why he didn’t want anything to do with Khris Simmons. The more she learned, the more she didn’t want anything to do with him either. “What are you going to do when he gets here?”

“What do you think? Should I beat him up?” he asked with a half smile.

Halle reached over and poked his arm. “I don’t condone violence. I don’t know how you can avoid him, but I know you don’t want to be around him. Do you need me to talk to your principal?”

“Are you offering to take care of me?”

The question was innocent enough, but the spark in his eye and the sexy tone of his voice made her stomach flip. “I’m offering to step in and help. You said you’ll look out for me. I can at least do the same.”

“I appreciate that, but don’t worry. I can deal with talking to him. Years have passed and I’ve more than proved that I can survive. I’ll tell him about the football team and avoid him after the interview is over.”

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and gently tugged. Even though she shouldn’t, Halle slid closer. “Are you sure? You shouldn’t have to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation just for the town.”

“Coming from the woman who will bend herself into all kinds of contortions to make other people happy.” He let go of her wrist and spread his fingers.

Halle mirrored the movement and pressed her palm against his. “That’s just for special people.”

His fingers threaded with hers. “Am I a special person?” he asked in a low, sensual voice.

“You’re a certain type of special, but not getting any contortions from me.”

His lips quirked and he gently squeezed her hand. Tingles flashed from her arm down her spine. Quinton’s dark eyes met hers as he slid closer on the couch. “I might like contortions from you, Halle.”

Images filled her mind. Her body bent with pleasure. Her legs twisted around his waist. Delicious spasms as she clenched around his length. “Don’t tease me like that.”

“It’s not teasing.” His thumb brushed over the racing pulse in her wrist.

Her nipples hardened and desire slid between her thighs. “Shania should be here soon.”

His hand rested on her thigh. His gaze was questioning, asking if the touch was okay. Halle scooted even closer, until their bodies touched. His palm slid up her thigh to her waist. He leaned in and murmured in her ear. “I want to see you.”

“You see me now.” She tried to tease, but her voice was breathless.

His nose nuzzled against her hairline. “Not like this. The two of us. Without Shania, or your cousins or my family. Just us.”

Halle closed her eyes. She savored the way his lips lingered over her temple. “We can’t be together right now.”

His lips brushed across her ear. “We can find a way to make this work.”

“Shania doesn’t want us together.” Her hands went to his chest, but she didn’t push him away. His heart was a heavy drumbeat beneath her palm. Her fingers trailed down to his stomach.

“Because she’s afraid we won’t make it, but what if we can make it? What if this is real?”

“Quinton, I—” His lips brushed against her neck, cutting off her words. Her body shuddered as he pressed sweet, hot kisses across her neck. She needed to pull away, but instead she leaned into him. Her head fell to the side and he gently sucked on her neck. His hand came around and slid beneath her shirt, cupping her breast. His fingers played with her nipple, and she gasped. Her hand lowered from his stomach to the hard ridge of his dick. Quinton sucked in a breath as she palmed his length.

Quinton’s hand left her breast and lowered to the waistband of her loose-fitting pants. She should stop him. This was getting out of hand. But by now, desire had taken over her brain. Her legs spread. One agonizingly slow beat later, Quinton’s hand slid past the elastic waistband. The seconds it took for his hand to reach her center felt like an eternity before his long fingers finally brushed against her panties.

He let out a hiss. “Damn, you’re so hot. Can I touch—”

“Yes,” she said quickly. If he didn’t touch her, she was going to scream.

Quinton’s fingers pushed past her underwear and slid across the slick heat of her sex. Halle cried out. God, it had been too long since someone touched her like this.

The sound of voices and laughter came from the front porch. Halle’s eyes flew open and she pushed on Quinton’s chest. “It’s Shania.”

Quinton cursed but quickly pulled away. Halle eyed his bulging erection. “She’ll see that.”

“Bathroom?”

She pointed. “Down the hall.”

He jumped up and moved with lightning speed. The front door opened just as he reached the bathroom door. Halle stood and hoped she didn’t look too ruffled. She felt as if her world had been knocked off-kilter.

“Mom, Coach Q, are you here?” Shania called.

“I’m here,” she called back. “He’s in the bathroom.”

Shania came into the living area. Kayla and Nadia right behind her. Halle went through the motions of thanking Kayla for letting Shania spend the night. Shania and Nadia went into a story about what they’d seen at the diner, which kept Kayla from being nosey and asking questions. Questions she knew her cousin had from the way she eyed Halle.

Quinton came out of the bathroom just as the story ended. “Shania, you ready?” They were going back to his place to spend time with him and his family.

Shania nodded. “Yep. Let’s go.”

Quinton glanced at her. Their eyes met and she was back on the couch. She quickly looked away. They didn’t get a chance to talk about what happened or make plans for what would happen next as everyone shuffled to get out of the house and Kayla watched them like hawks. Quinton was the last one out the door and he turned to her when Shania walked off the porch with Nadia.

“Let me see you. Away from everyone. Just us.”

She didn’t hesitate to answer. “Just say when.”