8. Penetration in the Backfield
8
Riggs
The smell of frying bacon makes my stomach growl as I whip a couple of eggs in preparation for scrambling them. I have a large tortilla spread out with some grated cheese on top, and once I add the bacon and eggs, I’ll splash on some hot sauce and fold it up into a perfect breakfast burrito.
My mind wanders as I cook, trying to figure out what I want to do today. I’m feeling a little isolated in this house, but every time I head into town, I get bombarded with fans. I usually don’t mind the attention. Without fans, I wouldn’t have a job or make anywhere near the amount of money I’m pulling in for playing a fucking game I love.
But today? I’m just not feeling it. I suppose I could drive to Branston and hit the gym. Maybe I’ll call the guys and see if they want to join me.
I finish cooking my breakfast and sit down at the bar to eat it. With the burrito in one hand, I pick up my phone in the other and tap out a message in our team group chat with my thumb. Before I can hit send, there’s a knock on my door. Setting down my food and my phone, I slide off the barstool and head to answer it.
The thought that it might be Tessa pops into my head, and I pause for a moment to run my fingers through my hair and make sure I didn’t drip any grease on my tank top. Finding it clean, I pull open the door.
“Hey, there, neighbor.”
I smile down at Miss Nelly, hoping she doesn’t see the disappointment on my face. “Well, this is a nice surprise.”
“I made lasagna,” she says, holding out a casserole dish for me to take. “Put it in the oven at three-fifty for twenty minutes or until it’s heated through.”
“Thank you, Miss Nelly,” I say, taking the dish from her hands.
“I’m guessing you haven’t seen your lawn this morning?” she asks, jerking her head back toward my front yard.
I step out onto the porch, skirting around her to stare at my lawn with wide eyes. Setting the lasagna down on the chair next to the door, I cross my arms over my chest and read the message again, hoping I’d read it wrong the first time.
“Riggs Malone loves penetration in the backfield,” I whisper as my eyes scan the crooked lettering.
“They spelled penetration wrong,” Miss Nelly says as she moves in beside me with a chuckle.
“They?” I ask.
She nods her head toward Tessa’s house. “Those girls were making quite the ruckus last night. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it.”
“I’m a hard sleeper,” I say absentmindedly, my mind spinning with the idea that Tessa and her friends somehow felt the need to do this.
“Well, I heard them,” Miss Nelly goes on. “All that giggling and cursing had my poor Puss all tied up in knots.”
“Your…what?” I ask, staring at her with wide eyes.
“Puss is my cat,” she says with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Get your mind out of the gutter, boy. Do you think I’d be talking to you about my privates? I’m a lady, I’ll have you know.”
“Of course. My apologies,” I say solemnly even though I’m pretty sure she’s yanking my chain.
Proving me right, she laughs. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy having you in the neighborhood. It’s been dreadfully boring until now.”
She nods at the writing on my lawn and chuckles again. Then with a wave, she heads down my porch steps where she pauses and looks back at me.
“I don’t know what you did to piss her off,” she says, nodding toward Tessa’s house, “but this looks like war.”
She wanders back to her house with a wave, and I return it before looking back down at the obscene message painted across my lawn. I know Tessa is still angry with me. Maybe this prank helped her get some of that anger out of her system. Maybe now, we can move on.
I read the words again, humor tugging up at my lips.
“Or maybe this is war,” I mumble to myself.
Tessa White fired the first shot, and now it’s my turn. My smile grows wide, and I turn to grab the pan of lasagna off the chair and take it inside. Sliding it into the fridge, I sit down at the bar to finish my breakfast. Picking up my phone, I delete the message I’d typed out in the group chat before pulling up Miles’ number.
Me: Shots fired. I need your help. Can you come over?
I set my phone down and pick up my burrito. Taking a big bite, I chew slowly as my mind races with ideas. I discard most of them as soon as they come to me. This has to be good. It has to make a statement.
Something that tells my prickly neighbor that I play to win, but also isn’t so bad that it gives her even more reason to hate me.
My phone chimes with an incoming text, and I laugh as I read Miles’ response.
Miles: Shots fired? Are you hit? Did you call an ambulance?
Me: Metaphorical shots, dumbass. Do you really think I’d be texting you if I got shot?
Miles: Say what you mean, man. Your sick humor doesn’t translate through text messages.
Me: Tessa and her friends spray painted my front lawn last night. It’s war, and I need you to come help me figure out my next move.
Miles: Ooh, sounds fun. I’ll be there in an hour.
I lean back and smile. If it’s a war Tessa wants, it’s a war she’ll get.
This is going to be fun.
Twelve years ago…
“I’m terrible at this.”
I laugh as I watch Tessa’s bowling ball roll right into the gutter before slowly making its way to the end. When I look back at her, she’s got the cutest little pout on her face. Not fighting the urge in the least, I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly against my chest. She stiffens at first, then relaxes into the embrace.
It feels fucking amazing.
“It’s okay,” I mumble into her dark hair. “You’ll get better with practice.”
Ever so slowly, her arms creep around my waist, and as she hugs me back, I feel like the world shifts into focus for the first time. I inhale deeply, breathing in the coconut-lime scent of her hair, and my breath catches in my throat as she rubs her cheek against my chest.
Then she pulls back to look up at me, and I can’t resist another moment. Remembering what Hollis said about hearing her talk about never having been kissed, I move slow, giving her plenty of time to pull back if it’s not what she wants.
But she doesn’t pull back.
She tightens her grip around my waist, using my body as leverage as she pushes up on her toes, meeting my lips halfway. I hold her closer, brushing my lips over hers in a sweet, chaste kiss before pulling back to look into her eyes.
“Wow,” she mouths, but no sound comes out.
I smile and kiss her again, this one just a quick peck on the lips, before putting some distance between us. Her face falls, her disappointment obvious and potent. She turns to hide it, but I catch her against me once more, dipping my head to speak directly into her ear.
“When I kiss you again, it’s going to be somewhere more private so I can explore every inch of your mouth without an audience.”
I feel her chest rise as she gasps, and she stiffens for a moment before pulling back to look into my eyes. Panic zips through me, and I wonder if I went too far. If it’s too much, too soon for someone as inexperienced as Tessa is. But then, one corner of her mouth quirks up.
“I’m done bowling if you are. Let’s get out of here and find someplace a little more private.”
Surprised laughter barks out of me, and Tessa grins back in response. I wrap my hand around hers and pull her down beside me as I sit to take off the rented bowling shoes and put my own back on. Tessa changes quickly, and once we turn them in and pay for our game, she grabs my hand and tugs me toward the door.
“You’re full of surprises, Tessa White,” I say as we jog toward my car hand-in-hand.
“Oh, Riggs,” she says as I pull open her door for her, “you have no idea.”