Player

35. Player

PLAYER

Dixie's words hang in the air, and I stand frozen as I process the implications of what she just told me.

"Are you leaving already?"

Dixie's mother's voice interrupts our exchange. I turn to her, still so shocked that I actually speak politely. "I didn't want to intrude on your family meal."

Her kindness shines through in her eyes, the same as Dixie's. "But you're not intruding at all! There's plenty of food for everyone. Join us."

I glance at Dixie who hasn't reacted. She pulls herself together, and gives me an eye roll and a little sigh. "You drove all this way, you should stay."

We stand there, staring at each other.

"Well, that's settled!" her mother says enthusiastically. "Come, I'll get you set up at the table."

Dixie gives me one last inscrutable look before entering the room, and I follow them. Conversations stop the moment I set foot in the dining room. The whole family seems to have gathered. I should feel uncomfortable meeting all of them, but I don't .

"Who is this young man?" asks an elderly woman. Her gaze scrutinizes me, and I feel like she's looking into my soul.

"One of my dorm neighbors, Grandma," Dixie informs her. "His name is Player."

"What a strange name," her grandmother replies. "Your parents weren't very inspired."

"Mom!" interjects a man sitting beside her.

He addresses me, sounding contrite. "I'm Zachary, Dixie's father. Welcome to our home."

Dixie's mother places a chair at the table and motions for me to sit down. I take off my jacket, drape it over the back of the chair before sitting down, noting that Bradley isn't here.

Dixie is seated across from me on the other side of the table.

She's flanked by two girls who look so alike they could be mistaken for each other.

I realize they're twins. They give me pointed looks that leave no doubt they find me attractive, but I couldn't care less.

There's only one woman at this table who interests me, and right now, she's doing everything she can to ignore me.

The conversations resume and all I can do is devour Dixie with my eyes while she talks with the people sitting next to her.

"Would you like some sweet potato mash?" asks the girl to my right, passing me a dish.

"Yes, thank you."

I help myself as she strikes up a conversation. "I'm Venus, Dixie's cousin. It's rare to have friends at our table, you know."

She seems younger than me, and I respond half-heartedly, which doesn't seem to discourage her at all.

I catch curious glances directed my way from the men in the family, but I don't take offense.

I'm a stranger to them, and besides, I'm used to occupying this position. I'm even a stranger to my own father.

My jaw tightens when I think of him. To hell with him! After the month I've just had, I'm ready to not see him for the next four years.

"Don't you miss your family?" my young neighbor asks as if reading my thoughts.

"Not really, no." A shocked expression crosses her face, and I feel compelled to clarify, "Not everyone has loving parents, you know."

She nods, with a serious expression. The dishes keep coming, and I have to admit the cooking is really good. I help myself to another serving of roasted turkey.

"At least he has a good appetite," the grandmother suddenly remarks.

Immediately, silence falls and the attention of all guests focuses on me.

"What are you studying at OMU?" Dixie's father asks me.

"Economics and business, sir."

"Good," he approves. "With that kind of background, you'll do well in our society."

Dixie answers for me, "He's a quarterback on the Jaguars, Dad. I doubt he intends to ever have a real job."

She gives me a cold look. OK, she's still mad at me, clearly my apologies weren't enough.

Then again, what did you expect? Did you think she would forgive everything just because you showed up at her door with a hopeful smile?

"Athletes have real careers, Dixie," her father points out. "You know that very well."

She shakes her head but doesn't add anything. Her grandmother addresses me. "Are you really a quarterback , young man?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Oh, call me Janine, I don't like being called 'ma'am', it makes me seem even older than I am. "

"That's the highest-paid position on a team, Mama," comments one of the men present. "Usually. "

He looks a lot like Zachary, and I deduce they're probably brothers.

"I'm Nick," he introduces himself. "And I'm a football fan."

Immediately, Janine interjects, her expression and face very serious:

"You’re in Alabama, everyone is. But we take traditions very seriously in our family," she informs me, "but football is absolutely not allowed to intrude on our Thanksgiving day."

"Watching the games is forbidden," Venus whispers to me.

I think that football couldn't be further from my concerns today. If I'm here, it's for Dixie. I couldn't care less about missing the day's games.

The discussion picks up again around the table. Despite Janine's declaration, they talk a lot about football, and I get the impression that Dixie is bored to death.

I want to be alone with her, to make sure she's okay and that everything is good between us.

But even after we've eaten dessert, it's impossible for me to approach her.

Her two uncles weren't lying—they're deep fans of football and they've launched into a detailed analysis the leading schools in the Southeastern Conference, and who they think will qualify for the upcoming college football playoffs.

I respond politely, but my mind is elsewhere.

"Come on, you two, leave poor Player alone!" Liane interrupts. Dixie's mother gives me a warm smile that makes me feel at ease. "Dixie is in her room, first door on the right at the top of the stairs."

I nod and take off without another word. I easily find Dixie's room, her door is slightly ajar. I nudge it open, and the movement catches her attention .

I enter and close the door behind me, noticing a poster of constellations hanging on the back of it.

Dixie stares at me in silence. The tension between us intensifies again. If only she could feel how much I regret what happened between us and my attitude toward her.

"Your family is amazing," I say in a pitiful attempt to soften her up.

She frowns. "You came all this way just to talk about them?"

I shake my head and move closer to her. Her gaze doesn't leave mine, a glimmer of defiance shines in her eyes. A pale ray of late afternoon sunlight comes through the window, illuminating her skin.

I clench my fists harder in my pockets, afraid of doing something stupid. It would take so little for me to pull her against me and kiss her.

"Player..."

Her voice catches in her throat; I'm almost certain she knows what I'm thinking.

I take my hands out of my pockets and reduce the distance between us even more, until I'm so close that our breaths mingle.

Our gazes are locked together. I rest my forehead against hers.

"I missed you, Alabama."

The words came out on their own, and I don't regret them.

They reflect the truth. If she only knew that I thought about nothing but her during the four weeks that just passed.

She's the one who kept me going in that stupid cell, it's still Dixie who kept me company when I was studying to catch up. But of course, she has no idea.

She closes her eyes for a moment, and when her gaze meets mine again, the coldness has disappeared.

"You're a real jerk, you know that? "

I shrug, she’s right. "I never claimed otherwise."

She lets out a sigh that dies on my lips. "And you always have an answer for everything. Such a stubborn mule!"

"Just like you..."

My hands find hers, and I intertwine our fingers.

"You'll need to apologize to Bradley."

"He wasn't innocent in all this," I remind her. "He's the one who attacked me."

"I know. You're both equally stupid."

But the little smile that plays on her lips contradicts her words. That mouth—I've dreamed of it every night... I close my eyes and breathe in the air filled with her scent.

I could stay here, right against her, for hours. But Dixie has another idea, because when my eyelids open again, her gaze plunges into mine, and I can read the desire within her.

It's like someone just struck a match over a puddle of gasoline, I ignite instantly.

My lips find hers, claiming them, devouring her. I'm hungry for her, and it's not just physical, it goes beyond that.

"Player," she whispers.

I grasp her waist and press her body against mine. I don't want to leave her, I don't want her to move away from me or stop kissing me. I need her. It's in my blood, in my soul.

Her tongue caresses mine, and this sensation sends pulses of pleasure throughout my entire body. Dixie rises on her tiptoes to kiss me better, and I grab her ass to lift her.

I step back, and my calves hit the edge of her bed.

Without breaking our kiss, I sit down on the mattress with Dixie on top of me.

I slide my hands up her back, under her top.

I'm dying to taste her skin again, but I'm not sure that making love to her right now would earn me any points with her family.

I finally break our kiss. We're both breathless, consumed by the same desire.

"It's going to be hard waiting until we get back to OMU," I observe.

A mischievous smile lights up Dixie's face, and I swallow.

"I could join you in your hotel room."

I shake my head, regretful. "I haven't gotten one yet. I came straight here when I arrived in town."

She cups my face in her hands, her gaze locked with mine.

"Who are you and what have you done with the Player I know?"

I answer in a serious tone, "He doesn't exist anymore." Dixie frowns, and I explain, "You made him better."

Tears fill her beautiful eyes, and I feel my heart beating differently, as if it had chosen a new rhythm, in unison with Dixie's.

When she kisses me again, there's such tenderness in her gestures that I feel something melt inside me. Dixie has managed to break down all the protective walls I've built, and there were many.

But I've understood that I shouldn't fear her. And if there's one person on this planet who is capable of destroying me, Dixie is the one who knows how to rebuild me.

She ends our kiss. "Player, I..."

A knock on her door interrupts her. I help her stand up, and she calls out, "Come in!"

Liane appears in the doorway. She smiles at me. "Are you staying for the night?"

I'm speechless with surprise. The idea of sleeping with Dixie under her parents' roof has something forbidden about it, and also terribly exciting.

"The guest room is available," she specifies.

"He's staying," Dixie confirms.

Liane gives us one last smile before closing the door. I look at Dixie, one eyebrow raised. "Are you aware of what's going to happen if I sleep in the same house as you?" She bites her lip while shaking her head, and I clarify, "I won't sleep anywhere but in your bed."

And I do exactly what I said later, after midnight when everyone else is asleep, I slip into Dixie's bedroom. She welcomes me between her sheets.

I take her in my arms and rediscover her scent, her warmth.

"I missed you," I whisper.

My confession earns me an even more intense kiss that leaves us breathless. Our movements are tender, marked by deliberate slowness. Dixie climbs on top of me, her hips resting on mine.

I stifle a groan, hissing, "We're not going to do this."

She silences my protest with another kiss, and when she rocks against me, I let myself be convinced.

My hands move to assault her ass, which I grip to better accompany her movements. She's not wearing underwear, and this discovery threatens to drive me crazy, but I maintain my self-control . Her breathing quickens when my fingers find her slit, she already soft and warm, and so wet.

I give her pleasure with my fingers, my mouth, everything except my erection, because I have no intention of moving away from her to get protection.

"Player!"

I sit up to silence her whisper with a kiss.

She comes around my fingers, and I love the sensation of power it gives me.

I'm responsible for the pleasure coursing through her, and I’m proud of that.

She slides down onto my chest, her head buried in my neck.

I slowly caress her back while she regains her senses.

When she kisses me, I feel I'm at the edge of an immense precipice, but I'm no longer afraid. I can jump as long as she's with me.