Page 6 of Punt My Life
Chapter 6
Alexis
Thatkiss.I’ve thought about nothing butthat kissthis past week. It’s not just the kiss. It’s the words he spoke and the way he stood behind me while letting me stand up for myself when I was verbally attacked after the kiss. It’s the way he blew off the celebration of his greatest accomplishment on the football field to walk me back to my dorm. It’s the way he offered to get me a ticket to the sold-out game in New Orleans to watch the Bears win the National Championship. It’s the way he’s texted me every day this past week, just to see what I’m up to.
I told him when we got back to my dorm that night that we didn’t fit together as anything more than friends. He’s going to be headed who knows where when he’s drafted to the NFL in the spring, and I still have another year before I graduate.
I could have invited him inside for what I’m sure would have been the best sex of my life. But I didn’t want to taint what could be a great friendship with a one-night stand.
That didn’t stop me from pulling out my favorite toy and getting myself off to the memory of that kiss and fantasies about what else he could do with that mouth. The memory of that night has kept me warm during the coldest winter Tennessee has seen in my lifetime. Which is dangerous to my heart. Because—regardless of my insistence that we are better off as friends—that kiss made me realize that I don’t want Maddox to be my friend…I want him to be myeverything.
I didn’t go to the game in New Orleans. I’m watching it from my regular stool at Ball Busters, cheering on the Bears with the rest of the crowd. Which is thankfully drama free since the team won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Cory’s been hinting at me going home with him all night, but I’ve ignored him, keeping my attention on the TV as the Bears dominate the field and win the National Championship.
When the weather bulletin comes on the screen, interrupting the post-game interviews and announcing that a winter storm is approaching that will be the worst we’ve had in decades, Zack decides to close up early. As I walk back to my dorm, I notice that we’ve already gotten a couple of inches of snow in the two and half hours I was inside the bar.
Mydadcallsthenext morning, insisting that I come home before the storm gets too bad. We’re expected to lose power for hours, possibly days, and my parents have a generator. It’s only about an hour drive in clear weather, but I’m sure it will take longer today with the snow already falling and the wind picking up speed every hour.
My phone chimes with a text just as I’m starting my car.
Maddox: We just got back to town. Zack boarded up Ball Busters for the storm, but TG’s is open. Meet me and the team there to celebrate?
Me: I can’t. I’m headed to my parents’ house in Cherokee Forest.
My phone rings seconds after I hit send.
“You know there’s a blizzard outside, right, Lexi? You’ll be buried alive in that little Subaru,” Maddox jokes before I can even offer a greeting.
“Me and my Subaru will be just fine. It’s all-wheel drive,” I tell him.
When he doesn’t respond, I tap the screen on my phone to make sure the call didn’t disconnect. “Maddox?”
“I’m serious, Lexi. This storm is bad. The damnbusalmost couldn’t make it through some of the roads because of the snow.” His voice has a worried edge to it that’s in complete contrast to his usual chipper tone.
I hate that I love how much he seems to care about me. “I’ll be careful. But I should really get off the phone so I can pay attention to the road.”
I hear noise on his end of the line before he says, “We just got to TG’s and it’s loud as hell in here. I drove my truck and I’m not drinking. Call me when you get stuck.”
“I won’t get stuck.” I roll my eyes even though he can’t see me. He lets out a fierce growl, causing a pleasant shiver to run down my spine. “Okay. Fine,” I almost whisper. “I’ll call you if I get stuck.”
Instead of turning on the music or audiobooks I usually listen to, I keep my speakers silent and let the memory of Maddox’s growl keep me company as I concentrate on the roads. My car does fine through town, but it gets a little tricky on the two-lane highway between towns. Just before I reach the county line, my car hits a loose patch of snow in the valley of the road and sinks.
When I hit the gas, trying to push through the snow, the engine makes a whining noise before I hear a loud clunk and the engine stalls. I try to restart it before I notice smoke coming from the hood. My door won’t budge when I try to push it open to get out of the car in case it catches fire. Looking out the window, I notice that the snow is almost level with the window.
There’s not a lot that makes me nervous, but fire and being trapped are both on the short list of things that truly scare me.And I’m trapped in a car that could be about to burst into flames,I think as my hand shakes when I reach for my phone and call the one person I trust to help me.Hopefully, I won’t burn—or freeze—to death before he gets here.
Chapter 7
Maddox
Iwouldlaughatthe little squeak Lexi lets out at my growl if I weren’t so damned worried about her driving into this storm. Her promise to call me if she gets stuck doesn’t ease the fiery pit in my stomach in the least. If I’d known she was planning to travel to Cherokee Forest, I would have gone to her dorm and driven her there in my truck instead of following the team to TG’s.
Lexi may insist that we’re just friends, but I know better.Sheknows better. You don’t share a kiss like that with someone who’s just a friend. Not that I have much experience in the kissing department since the last girl I kissed cost me my best friend.
Okay. Fine. Ian didn’t bail on our friendship because Ikissedhis stepsister. It was because I fucked her and knocked her up. But that only happened because we’d been kissing for years. We were friends. We were comfortable with each other. It made sense at the time to lose our virginity together.
Losing my virginity—and Ian's friendship as a result—sent me into my playboy era. An eighteen-year-old boy isn’t about to give up sex once he’s gotten a taste, but luckily you don’t have to kiss a girl to get off.
And speak of the devil…I look toward the back booth where Jenny and her friends always sit and of course, she’s right in the middle of the party. I stalk my way over, demand to know where Aiden is, and berate Jenny for being here while he’s safe at home with her parents. I don’t usually call her out on her partying habits as long as Aiden is safe. But I’m on edge and she’s an easy target for my frustration.
