Page 133 of Steeling Her
“Really?” Her fingers come closer to my jaw, and I feel my muscles tense under her magnetic touch. There’s something about the way she feels me; when she holds my hand. When she brushes the tips of her fingers along any part of my skin, I feel like I’m on fire most of the time. There’s this pit in my stomach when I’m in her proximity. It’s something I can’t put into words. What I do know, is that I would do absolutely anything for this girl—anything.
“You’re too cute not to look at.” I wink, making her giggle. She covers her face with my chest. I let out a little rumble of my own, making her head bob up and down, adjusting the position of her straight brunette strands.
“Nick!” She smacks me, and I can’t help but elevate her chin back up. She protested at first but then admitted defeat because I’m persistent like that.
“Carter, you are so fucking cute. It’s not even funny anymore. You’re adorable, little one. You’re sexy, hot, delicious, amazing, gorgeous . . . I can keep going if you want?” I joke with her, and she beams back at me. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes at me for being so . . .me. She is totally amazing, and I want her to know that.
I sound like such a wuss. It bothered me at first. Now? I couldn’t give a fuck how I sound in my own head. I couldn’t give a fuck how I look to other guys. They’ve been teasing me about it nonstop. Gage in particular, that idiot keeps checking in on when he can see her next and getting me to tell her the offer’s still there if she’s over me.
Jackass.
“You’re cute too.” She flatters me, and we lock our eyes together. I capture her lips once again. She’s like my crack. I can’t get an adequate amount of her and her lips. I enjoy the sound of my pulse beating in my ears whenever we kiss. Her lips are always so soft and taste like honey. It’s like she wears this balm that entices me to come and kiss her, because every time I do, I don’t want to fucking stop. I don’t want this to stop.
This is all I need. Right here, with her. This is all I need to be content.
I flick my eyes up to the empty theater and decide it’s time to exit before I get any more ideas; particularly, the hot ones where it involves no clothes and a condom.Shit, time to leave now.
I tug her up beside me and adjust the strain in my pants that has gone unnoticed by her as she walks away. I mentally curse myself for the way I watch her perky little butt sway from side to side, singing out to me to give it a good, hard squeeze. I run my hand down my perspiring face to stop myself.
I groan silently as I follow her. I push the door open to permit her to walk out first and I bring her once again close to my body so we’re pressed together. I place my hand around her shoulders because she’s tiny, and we stride side by side out of the cool building together. As soon as we walk out into the dark street, we’re greeted by the sound of skateboard wheels grinding against the concrete pavement along with young people laughing and hanging out together. I remember when I did that with TJ. Not with skateboards though. We always had mountains of footballs at the ready in the car when the girls started to bitch about others in our year. So, we would all run around and play a fun game while we waited for them to stop.
“It’s a nice night,” she says with satisfaction as she admires the sky. Meanwhile, I admire how she looks. Her lips are shiny from the lights above us in the car park, and I can’t help but gaze at her. She has a glow around her that you could mistake it for an aura.
I need to stop doing this to myself.
“I agree, it’s stunning.” I’m not even looking up and speaking about the sky at all. As we near the door of the car, I click the button and light everything up. My chivalrous side comes out again when I open the door for her. My mom trained me well as a child to get the door for any woman. Southern manners, some might say.
Once we’re on the road, I steer towards the restaurant I had booked for us. It’s not fancy, but I love the food there and want to show Carter. It’s like a small biker style restaurant with lots of memorabilia of old rock bands and country singers, with pictures of the owners with other famous people who have stopped by hanging on the walls.
My dad used to bring me and Haley there when we were much younger. It’s a special place to me, and I want to share it with Carter. I want to share certain parts of me with her and hope she does the same. I also hope that she doesn’t run in the opposite direction.
“Where are we going?” she asks me as she stares out the windshield, trying to figure out where we’re going. She doesn’t know much about this area, which is why she doesn’t have a clue. If Haley was in the car she’d know precisely where we’re going; with a loud squeal as a huge spoiler.
“It’s a place where my dad brought me and Haley as kids. It was my favorite place to go to when I was growing up, but he only brought us when we were well-behaved and didn’t fight for the week, which in our house was very rare. It still is . . .” I mumble the last bit but I could hear her laugh in her hand, which put a soft smile on my lips. “If you like country or rock music, it’s the place most people go. The walls are covered in old vinyl’s, posters, photos, and concert tickets; you name it, they have it in some form.
“Ellie loves it too. She worships the pictures of famous people. She even knows all the old rock bands and country singers thanks to my parents. When we were growing up, they used to strap us in the back of the car and blare the music so we could all sing along. As kids, we all learned the lyrics to a good chunk of them.” I rest my finger across my lips, remembering all of this with a hint of a grin on my face. “I wanted to show you where I grew up. This is all what I grew up on.” I point to the fields outside the glass. “I’m a country guy. I love this place,” I tell the open road, passing by the old trees lining the road.
“I’m a city girl”—she laughs—“but I spent most of my summers here as a kid. Just a little more south from here, actually. My parents are both from this state. They met in college together when my dad played for Ole Miss. That’s why my brothers went here too, except Chris left early because he got a contract as soon as he stepped foot in college. My mom was really unsure if he should just stick it out for a little while longer and get some sort of degree, but Chris whined enough for the entire year about wanting to go pro. So, she just let him and he told her he can go back to college later on. But we all know that won’t happen, he’s lazy when it comes to studying.” She rolls her eyes heavenward and I laugh at her reaction.
“That’s why you never played with him. If he stayed, you probably would’ve gotten the chance. Austin graduated, at least. The both of them are wrapped up in being famous right now though; Chris more than Austin. They sometimes forget about me in the hustle and bustle of the NFL. I miss my brothers a lot. I only get to talk to them when they feel like it.” I can hear the somber tone when she speaks about missing them a lot. Her face slightly morphs into a gloomy expression but she masks it soon after. “They haven’t spoken to me since we’ve come back, same with my dad . . .” she whispers while fiddling with her fingers.
“It’s prime football time right now, you know? The Super Bowl is coming up soon, so all the teams are focused. I know both the Chargers and Giants will be in it like always, and your family is on both sides of the fence with that battle. I have no doubt in my mind that they miss you too and they’re not doing it on purpose.” Those three beasts absolutely adore her and get any chance they have to see her. I understand it too, she’s easy to be around and to have fun with. Her smile is infectious, and that’s why people gravitate to her so quickly. Plus, summer is coming up soon, and she’ll get to see them once again.
“You’re right.” She turns her head around to face me with that toothy smile that I can’t get over.
“I know.” I wink confidently and turn my attention back to the road coming up to the turn. “I’m always right. It’s my middle name.” She shakes her head, a light chuckle escaping her mouth.
“No, it’s not. Aidan’s your middle name.” I feel myself glow at her and at the mere thought of her remembering my middle name. “Nick Aidan Jackson . . . It’s a nice name,” She says my name with a hint of admiration. The way she said it fully caught my attention in an instant. To hear it in her voice just made my night.
“Aidan Jackson was my grandfather’s name on my dad’s side. He was my absolute hero and was the one who told me to play football.” I rotate into the car park of the restaurant, fairy lights dotting around the sides to help direct you to the entrance of the main door and the route to take to park. “He and my dad were very close. He bought me my first jersey when I was a kid as well as my first football. I still have both of them in my room back home. He’s the reason why I fell in love with the game so much. He made it fun for me, but my dad was all about the serious part of it. He made sure I was watched by scouts and reminded me that they were there. He put pressure on me, and still does to this day. I love my pops, but . . . my grandfather always reminded me to have fun. In high school, he came to every single one of my games until senior year.”
And that’s when I hit rock bottom; when I lost him. I lost myself along with him. I did senseless shit after his funeral. I had already slept my way around, but I ramped it up a notch after his passing. I would barely show up for school and practice. I was on the verge of being dropped, which only pissed my dad off even more, resulting in more disputes between the two of us. “Do you remember the night we had our first kiss?” I stop the car after backing into a free space and taking the keys out of the ignition. I watch her nod back in silence. “And do you remember when I told you that Maya helped me through a tough period?” The mention of her name causes Carter to grimace. I feel like I should share this with her. As much as I really don’t like Maya now, there were times when she would help me. I lost myself, and she helped me gain the true me back so I was strong again and ready for the season.
“Yes,” she whispers softly, asking me to carry on.
“That was the time she helped me through a period I really hate looking back on. I have never felt like that before. When I lost him, I went to a very dark place. I was fighting, drinking . . . and . . . you know.” I bob my head, praying she gets the hint. I don’t want to mention the thought of me sleeping around with other girls on our date right now, but I want her to know I had an ugly side too. I went through some shit, all of which I brought on myself. When she nods, I can see her eyes dropping, the small twinkle in them making my entire heart fall into the pit of my stomach.
“It was the worst time in my life. I had lost one of my heroes, and I couldn’t cope. I almost lost so many scholarship opportunities because of how stupid I was. I know you’re not her biggest fan, and I completely understand, but she did help me through that time when nobody could.” She reaches across the divider, taking my hand in hers. The warmth of her touch brings my heart back up. Once again, it’s pounding rapidly.
