We were in the backyard, early October, raking leaves and doing other general fall clean up. I was working up a little sweat in the cool, crisp autumn air. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Jen walking toward the house. Bathroom break I assumed. A few moments later she emerged from the house carrying two bottles of beer.
"Jake," she called out, "wanna take a little break?" She held up one of the bottles and waved me toward the porch.
I had to admit a beer sounded good right about now. It was a little past noon, we had gotten quite a bit done already. I had time to take a break and still be able to finish in time for the game. I dropped my rake and joined her on the porch.
"Thanks, hon," I said, taking the bottle from her and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. We sat there sipping our beers looking out over our backyard. The yard was beautiful. Big and secluded, a high fence ringing it, put in by the previous owners but a good idea in my opinion. There were large trees in each corner of the yard, they made for lovely scenery, but also a ton of clean up when they dropped their leaves. I had decided that we should tackle this chore today, a Saturday, since we both had the time.
"What time is that game?" she asked.
I snapped out of my daydream and turned to her. "Three-thirty," I replied.
She nodded and asked, "and who are we rooting for?"
I laughed. She was playing a little game with me, like she always did. She knew damn well it was the Michigan-Penn State game, and that I was a die hard Wolverine fan. I gave her my best glare, which almost made her spit her beer out.
When she stopped laughing, she looked at me, "want to have a little lunch? We should be able to get the rest of this done, no problem, before your game. I need something. I'll make a couple of sandwiches."
Lunch did sound good. I nodded and smiled. "Sounds great baby. Thanks."
She stood up and headed toward the house. She stopped and turned back with a grin and said, "No problem, love. Of course this means that you have dinner."
"Pizza it is then," I said with my own grin.
"I don't think so mister. I don't want some cheap delivery pizza if I have to slave all day then sit through football."
"Okay, " I said, "bring me another beer and we'll order Chinese instead."
She laughed as she headed into the kitchen to fix our lunch. She returned a short time later with a fresh beer and a nice turkey and cheese sandwich. We ate in silence, looking out over our backyard and occasionally sharing a glance and a smile. I noticed the air getting a bit warmer and when she said she was going to change into some lighter clothes before we continued, I agreed it was a decent idea.
I was finished changing first, I merely changed out of my jeans and put on a pair of shorts, I kept my sweatshirt on as well as the t-shirt underneath. She ducked into the bathroom and I told her I was heading back out.
I was lost in thought, raking the corner of the yard by the shed when I heard the back door slam shut. I didn't look up, instead kept at my work. Suddenly, something hit me square in the back and I heard the distinctive sound of her giggling. I turned to see what she had hit me with and noticed my old football a few feet away. I leaned over and picked it up and stood back up to toss it back at her. When the ball left my hand, I noticed what she had changed into.
She had put on a pair of sweat pants, her favorite pink ones, and had also donned my old Jim McMahon jersey, Chicago Bears #9. The jersey was a holdover from my high school days, it no longer fit me but you don't just throw away a Jim McMahon jersey. It was loose fitting on her smaller frame, but she looked damn sexy. I had always been a sucker for a woman in a football jersey, even more so with her.
I was so engrossed with looking her up and down that I didn't see her catch the ball and fling it back towards me until it was nearly at me. I lunged for it and bobbled it before dropping it to the ground.
With a laugh, she said, "Nice catch, big guy!"
I picked the ball up and threw a high arcing, soft pass back to her. "If it wasn't such a girly throw, I would have had it," I said with a grin.
She cradled the ball into her chest and glared at me. I clapped my hands together inviting her return throw. She glared at me.
"I do not throw like a girl," she snarled before tossing a reasonably decent pass back my way, albeit a little off target.
I lunged to the left and snagged the ball in both hands, tucking it into the crook of my arm. "All- League baby," I grinned before tossing another soft arcing pass back to her.
"Don't patronize me, mister" she said as she caught the ball easily, "give me a real throw." She threw another hard pass my way. I easily plucked it from the air and threw my best spiral back at her.
"Careful baby. Don't want you breaking a nail catching the ball," I said with a grin, "I kind of like those things dragging down my back. She chuckled and threw a nice pass back to me.
We tossed the ball back and forth a few more times. She impressed me with her ability to catch my harder throws, her passes were better than decent as well. All this time, however, I couldn't help looking her up and down. I always found her alluring, but right now, even more so.
A smile formed on my face as I was lost in my thoughts. She noticed it. Throwing the ball back to me she called out, "what are you thinking about?"
I shook myself from my thoughts in time to catch the ball. "Just thinking how much I want to sack you right now," I said as I tossed the ball back to her. This must have caught her by surprise because for the first time she dropped an easily catchable pass.
"Nice hands," I said with a chuckle.
She growled and uncorked a wild throw, off to my right and well above my head. It took some effort but with a leap, I was able to get a hand on it, tipping it to myself for an easy catch. As I spun back around. I grinned and raised my eyebrows, silently saying 'how about that?'
As I threw the ball back to her she asked, "what do you mean you want to sack me?"
"Just thinking of you as a quarterback baby, and me as a linebacker. I want to tackle you," I grinned at her.
"Like you could," she muttered and we continued to play catch.
After releasing a pass to her, I quickly charged. She saw me coming and uttered a little scream. She made no effort to catch the ball as it sailed over her shoulder and I bore down on her. I wrapped an arm around her waist and drug her gently to the ground as I watched the ball bounce away from us.
As we hit the ground, I rolled her onto her back and rolled on top of her. Her leg instinctively wrapped around the back of mine. I looked into her eyes and smiled. My body firmly pressing hers into the ground. I could hear her breath catch as my face hovered above hers.
"I guess you think you scored now, huh?" she panted.
"No baby. I'm just playing defense." I smiled and lowered my lips, softly kissing her cheek, before standing back up and walking to retrieve the ball.
She got back to her feet, her defiance restored. "That wasn't fair by the way. You caught me off guard."
I laughed. "You think so? I doubt it would make a difference. This is my game baby. I haven't lost that much yet."
"You so couldn't tackle me without cheating," she replied, "unless I let you."
"Is that so? Wanna test your theory?" I asked tossing the ball to her underhanded.
"Bring it on tough guy," she said with a grin, she bounced side to side holding the ball, causing me to smile while I stifled a laugh.
"Okay," I told her, "if you get to the shed without me tackling you...you win. If I tackle you before you get there...I win. Start whenever you want, I won't move until you do."
She nodded in agreement before raising her eyes to meet mine. "What do I get when I win? What are we playing for?" she asked.
"I thought we'd play for pride. For bragging rights," I answered.