New Girl in Town

All characters are over the age of 18 unless stated otherwise. Thanks for all the comments, feedback and votes.

****

"What was all that about?" Ray asks after the coaches and I emerge from Yates office. "He didn't kick you off the team did he?"

"He didn't but I don't think it was exactly his choice. He said something about the video making me look like a hero but I think it has more to do with Coach Pennington saying that he can use me than anything. That's fine with me. At least my dad won't be as pissed as he has been as long as I'm still on the team." I tell him.

"I guess that's a good thing." He shrugs.

"All right, I need all of you to listen up," Coach Yates shouts to get everyone's attention. Once the room quiets down, he continues. "I'm sure that you've all heard the news about Jamie's suspension by now. He made a bone head play and this is his punishment for it so I don't want to hear anything else about it."

There are several grumbles from the defensive side of the locker room at this but Yates quickly moves on. "I've got some roster changes to announce due to some outstanding performances in the scrimmage game. Ray, you'll be rejoining first team as starting tight end."

"I'm fine where I am," Ray answers shocking everyone.

"He means that he's fine with being back where he belongs, Coach." I announce before either of them can answer. Ray gives me a look but Coach Yates just moves along.

"Fine. Kendall, you showed a lot of heart in the game so you're moving up to first team as our second halfback."

Kendall looks as if he's about to say something but I shake my head at him so he just nods as Yates continues.

"Monte, you're getting there son but I'm still a little hesitant because of your drops. Keep working with the second team and you'll be first team in no time." He tells the speedy sophomore receiver. "All right, let's hit the field. That scrimmage showed us that there's a lot of work to do out there." He shouts then blows his whistle. "Let's get on it."

****

After practice, I'm seated on a bench in the locker room waiting for Ray as he showers when Patrick stomps over to me with Steve and a couple of his other receivers in tow.

"Here this goes," I mutter wondering why it's taken them this long to confront me.

"Nice going, asshole," Patrick states in greeting.

"Thanks, I guess." I answer.

"You got Jamie suspended." He states while poking his finger into my chest. "Why don't you just fucking quit and save us the trouble of having to look at you at practice?"

"I didn't do anything to get Jamie suspended." I defend myself. "His suspension is all on you and whoever you had send that video out to the whole damn school."

Patrick looks shocked and confused for a moment as if I couldn't figure out who was behind the video's release.

"Do you honestly think I'm that stupid Patrick?" I ask. "You bragged to Jessica about how your

office contact

gave you her address when you went to her house uninvited. How else could you have had access to the school's emergency alert system if you didn't use them again? Then there's that clever fucking title... newsflash Patrick, no one but you and your little band of assholes call me

Shadow

. So it was you that got Jamie suspended, not me!"

"Is there a problem over here," Tank asks as he and several members of the defense walk over to us.

"You guy's will agree me that Jake is hurting the team because he got Jamie suspended," Patrick blurts out quickly hoping to turn the argument back to his favor.

"The fuck I will," Tank informs him. "Your little bitch did that shit to himself and he's damn lucky that he did otherwise me and the guys on D were going to have a few words with him over that late hit bullshit he pulled."

"But he's your teammate," Patrick stammers.

"Jake here has always been more of a teammate than that blindside hitting punk." Tank states and several of the defensive guys nod in agreement. "So why don't you get out here and leave my boy alone before we see how quick you can hop back up when I slam your ass to the ground?"

Even Patrick is smart enough not to do anything else to piss Tank off so he and his buddies turn and head out of the locker room.

"Thanks guys," I state once he's gone.

"Don't sweat it, Jake." Tank says. "We should have done that shit a long time ago. Now isn't Jessica waiting on you? You'd better get your ass out of here because I'm not taking on that Wildcat for you."

"What in the hell did she do at that party?" I ask him.

"Man, even with her permission, I'm not telling you that unless she's right here with us. Shit, even then I might reconsider if she flashed those pissed off eyes of hers at me when I started. That girl is scary when she's pissed Jake. You'd better stay on her good side if you know what's good for you."

"I'm trying my best to do just that."

****

"I can't believe I missed that," Ray states as he and I are walking out of the locker room. "The look on Patrick's face must have been epic!"

"It was pretty funny." I admit as we step through the doors and out into the early evening heat.

Finding Staci there waiting for Ray isn't surprising but what is surprising is finding a trio of her cheer squad teammates, Somer Douglas, Michelle Pritchett and Cheryl Cline, all waiting with her.

"Hey baby," Staci says greeting Ray with a kiss.

"Hey Jake," Somer, Michelle and Cheryl all say in unison and I wonder if they practiced that.

"Ladies," I answer giving them a nod.

"You didn't call me," Somer says giving me a fake pout.

"During practice?" I ask.

"I guess that would be silly," she admits.

"Jake, can I see your phone?" Michelle asks.

"Me first Jake," Cheryl argues.

"I asked first C.C." Michelle argues back using the nickname that Cheryl has had since elementary school.

"Why do you want my phone?" I ask them.

"They all want to give you their numbers." Staci explains then looks pointedly at them. "Even though I've told them that you're taken for all intents and purposes."

"Is that true Jake?" Michelle asks.

"Is it that tall, blonde girl that I always see you walking around the halls with? She's pretty cute." Cheryl adds then gets nudged by Michelle.

"Jessica," I supply for them. "And I'm not really sure where that stands at the moment."

"What a shame. I'd leave you with no doubts about where we stood, Jake." Somer tells me with a wink.

"No, I don't imagine that you would." I tell her then hand over my phone. Staci gives me an angry look but doesn't say anything as Michelle enters her info, followed by Cheryl who then tries to hand it back but Somer grabs it instead.

"I should make sure that Jessica girl didn't erase my number before you got the chance to put it in." Somer says making it sound overtly sexual. While scrolling through my phone she makes a tsking sound. "Of course she did. Well I'm putting it in here now and I expect a call from you Jake, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," I answer.

"Good," She states then hands my phone back to me. "I expect that call soon, Jake."

Once the trio walks away, Ray lets out a low whistle. "Damn Jake, you should have gotten slammed into the ground way before now if that's the reaction to it." He comments.

"Ray!" Staci hisses then punches his arm. She then turns to me and my good arm even harder.

"Ouch," I exclaim. "What the hell Staci?"

"You know exactly what that was for." She informs me.

"Look, if I didn't give them my phone they wouldn't stop bothering me for it, right?" I ask her.

"Probably not," She agrees still looking pissed.

"And I honestly don't know where this thing with Jessica is going. Over the weekend, we agreed to be friends and see where that takes us. I am willing to wait for her to figure it all out but that doesn't mean that I should close doors that are just now opening for me, should I?"

"Well I don't guess so but..." Staci begins to argue.

"Jessica says that she doesn't want a relationship because she's only here for a year but I don't buy that that's the only reason, do you?" I ask.

"I did until just now," Staci answers.

"Why do you think there's more to it, Jake?" Ray asks.

"I'm not really sure, it's just the feeling I've got." I answer.

"I'm just going to ask her then." Staci announces.

"If it comes up, sure. Just don't push her okay, Staci?" I ask her.

"Fine but since we're asking got favors, Jake I'm going to ask you to not do anything with Somer. I'm getting a weird vibe from her and I don't trust that bitch."

"You sound like Roxie." I chuckle.

Staci also laughs. "I like Roxie so that's quite a compliment. Thanks, Jake."

****

"How was practice?" I ask as we meet up with Jessica on the sidewalk outside the gym.

"Pretty good," She answers and I notice that she's rubbing her right hand.

"You didn't get hurt, did you?" I ask taking her hand in mine to look it over.

"Uh... no," She answers as she feels a wave of heat wash over her from my touch. "I just have to get used to spiking the ball again."

"I know a good target if you need one." Staci tells her as she looks pointedly at me.

"He's already got his brains scrambled, Staci. Piling on would just be cruel." Jessica laughs.

"Can't argue you with you there, Jess," Ray adds tugging Staci towards his car. "We'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Don't forget our group chat tonight, Staci." Jessica calls out to the departing couple.

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it would I, Jake?" Staci asks.

"I'm telling her right now, Staci." I call out to her.

"You'd better be!" She shouts back with a little wave.

"What are you telling me about, Jake?" Jessica asks.

I explain to her about having to give my phone over to Michelle, Cheryl and Somer. "Well I was going to make sure that you got Somer's number somehow. I guess getting a couple more cheerleaders numbers isn't the worst thing in the world."

"I guess not," I answer noncommittally as I begin to rub the back of her sore hand with my thumb and her palm with my fingers.

"Ooohh... what are you doing, Jake?" She asks, her voice dropping to a breathy whisper.

"Helping... I think," I answer as I continue my massage.

"Uh huh," She nods before closing her eyes. She has to bite her bottom lip to prevent an appreciative moan from escaping.

"You know, I never did get to hear what you were about to do at the party." I tell her. "You should probably tell me about that now."

"Not fair, Jake," She groans.

"No?" I ask as I stop rubbing her.

"Keep massaging and I'll tell you, deal?" She asks. In answer, I start rubbing her hand again. "Mmm," she sighs before continuing. "I'm at the party after enduring all of Patrick's lies on the way there."

"Were they honestly that bad?" I ask her.

"After getting to know you, yes. They were downright idiotic." She answers, letting a slight moan slip out before continuing. "Where was I? Oh yeah, so we get there and he keeps trying to give me drinks but we've already established that I'm not a dummy. I don't drink anything that's handed to me at a party unless I trust the person and I don't trust that asshole one bit. After awhile he finally figures out that his plan A isn't working and I assume, goes off somewhere to regroup for another try. I take walk around the party looking to see if there's anyone there that I know that might be willing to give me a ride home when I hear Jamie. Damn, you're good at this."

"Okay, that's gross." I tell her.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" She asks.

"You just said that you heard Jamie saying that someone was good at something. My mind went to an ugly place."

"A perverted place is more like but I was talking about you, you jerk." She clarifies with a giggle.

"So you're saying that I should pursue a career as a hand masseuse? Do they even have those?" I ask her.

"You could be the first." She tells me. "Now should I get back to the story before our ride gets here or not?"

"Please," I answer.

"I heard Jamie bragging about how he was the one that and I quote

knocked you the fuck out

. It pissed me off to hear him being so callous about it so I started to go over and tell him what a piece of shit that I think he is but that's when Antoine and Twanda stopped me. They saw how pissed I was so they got me out of there before I could start anything and gave me home. They're very sweet."

"He could have hurt you Jess." I tell her worriedly.

"Nah, my daddy taught me knees and elbows a long time ago." She states.

"Knees and elbows?" I ask.

"Elbows are really hard to break just by hitting someone with them and knees... well that's pretty self explanatory I'd think." She answers. "Plus with mom being a doctor, I know just where to hit people with my knees and elbows."

"You do huh?" I ask.

"Noses are good for a first shot because it's sensitive so when you hit it, the eyes will tear up and people will usually grab at it out of panic. That usually leaves them open for a strike to their throat and that will stop most fights. If that doesn't do the trick then you can kick out a knee, especially on a big guy like Jamie. It looks like he does a lot of upper body work but neglects his legs for the most part. That gives him weak knees." She explains.

I stare at her in disbelief for several moments until she nods towards her hand. "Keep massaging please, Jake."

"Are you going to punch me in the throat if I don't?" I ask only half in jest.

"Nose first then throat but no, Jake, I wouldn't punch you in the throat. I might elbow you in the ribs though." She laughs.

"Massaging away," I state getting another laugh from her as she shakes her head. "Did your parents raise a daughter or some kind of superhero?"

"A little of both," She answers with a grin.

"You've got Wonder Woman Underoos don't you?" I ask.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teases.

Before I can answer a car pulls up and her dad calls out to us. "Dad's Taxi service has arrived."

****

"I really appreciate the ride, sir." I tell Mr. Golden as we pull out of the school's parking lot.

"Of course, Jake." he assures me as he turns to Jessica in the passenger seat. "I noticed that you seemed to be having trouble with your hand. Anything I need to know about?"

"I'm just a little out of practice." Jessica tells him. "You know how it gets when I first start back practicing."

"She usually has to soak her hands in an ice bath when she gets home from practice but if you're helping her Jake, I guess that's something else I need to thank you for." He laughs.

"I'm just glad to be of service, sir." I answer from the backseat.

"Speaking of helping out, I've been meaning to ask you something." He tells me. "It's becoming obvious that we need to look into getting Jessica a car and with that ride of yours I figure that you're the guy to ask where we should start looking around here."

"She could borrow my car if she needs it. I'm not exactly in a position to drive at the moment." I tell him.

"I'm not ready to try to handle

The Beast

yet." She laughs.

"We appreciate the offer Jake but she could use her own set of wheels now and we're looking ahead for when she heads off to college. She'll definitely need her own car for when she moves all of her stuff. I'm thinking a tractor trailer would hold half of it." Mr. Golden answers.

"I don't have that much stuff, daddy," Jessica argues playfully.

"Tell that to the movers that decided to charge us extra once they got a look at your old room." He laughs.

"They did not!" She says then turns in her seat to look at me. "That totally did not happen."

"So Jake, where should we start looking?" He asks with a chuckle.

"Are you looking for new or used?" I ask them.

"Her mom is in the new camp for all the safety features but I lean towards used for less distractions and a metal body over fiberglass but it's really up to what Jess wants." He answers.

"I'm not really sure which I want." She answers. "Does the place where you got your car only sell Beasts or do they have normal cars, too?"

"He specializes in American muscle cars but he usually has a few normal cars on the lot." I tell her.

"Can we start there?" Jessica asks her dad.

"We can head over on Saturday and make a day of it." He answers her. "Did you want Jake to go with us, Jess?"

"Yes... I mean if he wants to that is." She answers then looks back at me. "Do you want to go with us?"

"If you all want me to tag along, I'd be glad to go and help out." I answer.

"We'll discuss a time and Jess can let you know later this week then. Sound good?" He asks while looking at me in his rear view mirror.

"Sounds great, sir." I answer.

"We'll buy you lunch for your time and don't try to argue about, Jake." He tells me. "You've been a great help already, so let us pay you back a little bit."

"Okay, sir." I answer. "I'll introduce your family to Smitty's burgers and fries. They're amazing."

****

"I expected you home a few hours ago." My dad says in way of a greeting when I walk in.

"I had practice." I remind him.

"I thought you were quitting." He answers looking back down at his dinner plate.

"Coach Pennington said he could use me to help out the defense so since Coach Yates is too afraid to cut me, I decided to stick around." I tell him.

"Why would Coach Yates be afraid to cut you?" He asks.

"Because the whole school saw this," I tell him as I pull up the video on my cell and hand it to him.

"What's this honey?" Mom asks as she leans over to watch the video with my dad.

"A video of how I got hurt." I answer before stepping into the kitchen to make myself a plate. It's isn't an easy thing to do with one arm but I manage to get a slice of meatloaf into the plate alone with some corn and a baked potato before returning to the dinning room table.

Dad looks pissed as he hands me back my phone when I sit down. "He'd better be expelled." He tells me.

"Suspended for a week," I answer.

"That's it?" mom nearly shouts.

"That was Jess's reaction too but you know how this town is, Mom." I state. "Jamie was an alternate for the all state game last year and they aren't going to dump someone like him for taking out a back up no matter how dirty the hit was."

"They didn't even throw a flag on the damn play." Dad mutters.

"Coach Pennington said that he has a call in about that." I answer.

"You showed him this?" He asks.

"It got sent to everyone in the school and before you ask, no, I don't' know who sent it out but it's pretty obvious that it was one of Patrick's friends." I tell him then give my mom a smile. "This is good, mom."

"Thank you dear." She answers smiling back. "Who gave you a ride home? I didn't recognize the car."

"That was Jessica and her dad." I answer. "Volleyball practice started today so she was staying late and offered me a ride."

"Well, that was certainly nice of them." She points out. "I really like that Jessica, Jake. She's such a sweetheart."

"That she is." I answer with a laugh and can almost hear my dad's eyes rolling as he sighs.

****

"He got me fucking suspended!" Jamie shouts as he and Patrick are seated in Jamie's garage.

"I know," Patrick answers. "I tried getting Coach to kick him but when everyone saw that fucking video, he had to let him stay. I misjudged the reaction to everyone seeing it."

"You fucking think?!" Jamie yells.

"Have a beer and calm the fuck down." Patrick states as he nods towards the cooler in the corner. "I get you a week's vacation and somehow, I'm the bad guy here."

"It's not a vacation if I gotta make up all the work I'm missing." Jamie points out while twisting the top off his beer bottle. "I'm barely passing as it is, you know?"

"You'll be fine." Patrick says taking a beer for himself.

"I'd better fucking be." Jamie snorts. "I want to get into college where I can fuck those football groupies and sorority sluts."