Page 5 of Punt My Life

“I didn’t know you had a son. I’m glad you had a good time with him…except for the pissy pants part,” I say with a grin.

Maddox smiles brightly as he leans forward until our faces are only a few inches apart. Close enough to feel the tension pull between us and smell the cinnamon whiskey he’s been drinking when he says, “I love your smile, Lexi. You shouldn’t be so stingy with it.”

Knowing I should put some distance between us before I can get my hopes up, I lean back and point toward the crowd at the bar. “I’m surprised you’re back here with me, Ken doll. All the Barbies are over there.”

Chapter 5

Maddox

Idon’tletmysmile fall when Lexi pulls back. This has become a game between us. I try—and usually fail—to get her to smile. Each one she gives me is like a small win. I’ve yet to hear her laugh, but I already know when I do, it will be my favorite sound. The fact that she’s here—and actually talking to me—excites me as much as our team winning the Mountain Bowl earlier tonight.

I lean closer to her, chasing her floral scent. She smells just like my mom’s rose garden in the spring. The way her face flushes lets me know that she’s not as immune to me as she’d like me to believe.

“I didn’t come here for them,” I tell her with a smirk. “I came to celebrate with my team…and to hang out withyou.”

She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms, making the sweatshirt she’s wearing pull tight across her ample breasts. “We don’t hang out, Maddox. We’re not friends.”

Heeding the “back off” expression on her face, I step back out of her personal space. “We could be friends. We could be more than friends. Why do you fight it so hard? I know you like me.” I bounce my eyebrows at her playfully.

She scoffs incredulously. “You don’t like me. I’m just another game for you to play.” The vulnerability in her voice stings.Is that really what she thinks this is for me?

I don’t grin or wink like I usually would. I look her dead in the eyes so she can see that I’m being serious. “Idolike you, Lexi. I’ve told you that literally every time I’ve seen you since we met.”

Her eyes widen and her lips part, but before she can say what’s on her mind, her phone chimes with a text alert. She pulls it out, rolling her eyes at the screen before looking toward the bar.

I follow her gaze to see Cory looking at her with a raised brow and a cocky expression. I know that look. I’ve had it on my own face countless times before meeting Lexi.

My eyes shoot back to see her reaction and I’m relieved when she shakes her head before turning her attention back to me…where it belongs. “Are we playing?” She waves toward the warped pool table.

“Uh uh. What were you about to say? Spit it out. We were having a real conversation for once,” I say with a desperate edge to my voice. When she shakes her head, I reach out and take her hand. “Please.”

Surprisingly, she doesn’t pull her hand from mine. She squeezes slightly as she lets her eyes study my face before she lets out a sigh. “I feel like you’re just making fun of me when you say things like that. You’re a playboy looking for the next blond bimbo to hook up with. I know I’m not your type. Which is fine. But if you really want to be friends…”

“Stop,” I cut her off, using my hold on her hand to pull her toward me as I lift my other hand to cup her face. “Fuck, Lexi. I’m usually begging you to talk to me, but your words cut deep.”

Her breath hitches as I lean forward. When she doesn’t pull back, I close the distance and take her soft lips with mine, letting a little of my own vulnerability seep into our first kiss—the first of many, I hope—because I’ll be damned if I’ve even glanced at another woman since meeting her. I’m hers.

She melts into the kiss right along with me, tasting like Long Island Iced Tea with a subtle hint of roses that I’m realizing is justher. I chuckle when she leans up on her toes, chasing my lips as I break the kiss.

I give her one final peck before I stand straight, dropping my hand to hold both of hers as I tell her, “I may have been a playboy, hooking up with those blond bimbos before I met you. Butyouare my type, Lexi. Your black hair and cream-colored skin that reminds me of Snow White. Your soft body that my hands are aching to touch. Your wit. Your intelligence. Your sexy lips and everything that comes out of them.You.”

“Maddox…I…”

Her words are cut off by a loud wolf whistle. “Looks like Kicker is hot for Teacher,” Dirk yells before the blond that hit on me earlier smirks from beside him. “Yeah. No wonder you shot me down tonight. When did you become a chubby chaser, Maddie?”

Before I can say a word, Lexi pulls her hands from mine and turns to face the crowd. She straightens her shoulders and puts her hands on her wide hips as she laughs. It’s not a real laugh like the one I’ve been trying to coax from her for months. It’s sarcastic and full of menace. But fuck if it’s still not the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.

“That issooriginal,” Lexi sneers. “I mean…maybe I should resign and letyoututor the Bears since you’re obviously so much more clever than me.” She starts stalking toward the crowd that has fallen silent at her rant. “Chubby chaser…really? That’s the best you’ve got?”

She stops a few feet in front of the girl that’s slinking into Dirk’s side like he’ll protect her. “I didn’t come here to hook up with a football player. I came to watch the game and decided to stay and celebrateourteam’s win. Which is the reason these guys…” She waves her hand toward the bar where Zack is grinning and Cory is standing stupefied. “Are here, pouring drinks an hour after closing time.”

Lexi resumes her stance with her head held high and hands on her hips. “No one likes drama in a sports bar and ‘jealous bully’ isn’t a good look onanyfemale, sweetheart,” she says in a condescending tone much like the one she uses with me in our tutoring sessions. “So, take your linebacker…” She points at Dirk. “And be happy you have a hookup for tonight…even if he’s your second string.”

Dirk looks like he’s about to smart off, but wisely shuts his gaping mouth when I step behind Lexi. I glance around the bar, smiling with pride as most of my teammates cheer for Lexi and her confidence. Dirk scoffs, wrapping his arm around the blond’s shoulders and heading for the exit.

When I glance at the bar to make sure Zack isn’t pissed about the display, I notice Cory eyeing Lexi with a hunger that I’d like to fill by stuffing my fist down his throat. I’m not a violent guy, but I’ll be damned if I let anyone disrespect Lexi…or try to take her from me now that I’ve finally had a taste of what it would be like to make her mine.

But she doesn’t need me to defend her honor. She held her own and didn’t back down in a crowd full of football players and mean girls. And that makes me fall even harder for her.

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