Page 14 of Fight for Me
“Show-off!” Lexie shouted.
Jake stuck his tongue out in childish victory, his self-satisfied grin lighting up his face, and a whole swarm of butterflies took flight in Lexie’s belly. His teasing shouldn’t have affected her so deeply, but it did. She huffed out a breath and raked her hands through her hair before pulling a rubber tie off her wrist and securing her soft waves into a low ponytail. It was time to change strategies.
“Oh, this is getting serious!” Jake called, his voice filled with laughter. “Are you going to show me how it’s done?”
Lexie narrowed her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek, trying not to give him the satisfaction of making her laugh.
“One more time, but I’m going to take it from you,andI’m going to score,” she said as she closed the gap between them.
One of Jake’s eyebrows popped up, his expression skeptical. “Yeah, I doubt that.”
“Oh, I’m sure I can find a way. You have no idea what I’m capable of,” she said, swishing her hips and moving closer until she was all but leaning against him, her palms flat against the curve of his shoulders.
Jake went very, very still, his eyes wide, and Lexie could have sworn he stopped breathing. An unfamiliar sense of power surged through her blood as she realized she had his undivided attention—something she hardly ever got from Colt. She almost hated to misuse such an incredible gift.
Almost.
Taking full advantage, she shoved Jake hard with both hands. He stumbled backward, and she snatched the ball from between his feet. Lexie kicked it hard and ran with all her might to catch up.
“That was dirty!” he shouted, his voice thin as he raced up behind her. There was a moment of confusion when the ball got tangled between their feet, and Lexie latched onto his arm just above the elbow, trying not to fall.
“I never figured you’d cheat,” he said.
“Well, you figured wrong!” she replied, kicking the ball out of the scuffle and darting beyond him. But Jake lunged forward, and his arms closed around her from behind just before he lifted her off her feet. Lexie struggled in vain, laughing as the ball rolled out of range.
“What isthis?” she said, smacking his forearms where they remained locked around her waist.
“Payback,” he replied as he set her down.
Turning, Lexie found his face lit up with a cheeky grin, and her stomach turned over. He wasn’t extraordinarily tall, maybe five foot ten to Colt’s six foot plus. It would be so easy to—
Whoa! Where did that come from?she asked herself, alarmed by the unexpected image of Jake’s lips pressed against hers. But she couldn’t seem to push it away, not with him looking at her like that.
“. . . like you hung the moon and stars.”
Tabby’s words echoed in her mind, and it was suddenly very hard to breathe. Jake’s eyes went soft around the edges, full of a gentleness she never saw in Colt’s icy blue ones, and Lexie felt herself being pulled into them like a shell drawn out to sea. His hand brushed along the back of her arm, sending a shiver all the way to her toes and making her painfully aware of how close she was to doing something stupid.
“Jordan’s mom!” she blurted, surprising them both. Confusion spread across Jake’s face as his brows knit together, and Lexie took the opportunity to step back. “Great quotes from Jordan’s mom,” she said, struggling to find a complete thought in her scrambled brain. “She loves you. The kids! The kids, I mean.Theylove you. Thanks for your help.”
“No problem,” Jake said slowly, though he still looked bewildered. He paused for a moment, scanning her face, before turning to gather the discarded soccer balls. There were a few moments of silence as Lexie cast about for something else,anything elseto say, desperately trying to forget the way she’d started to lean into him.
After he’d packed his equipment, Jake stopped next to her, toying with the cinch strap on his equipment bag.
“I usually grab ice cream on the way home from practice. Would you like to come?” he asked, his tone casual. But he didn’t meet her eyes.
Lexie took a long, slow breath.
Jakelookedlike the kind of guy who had smooth, practiced pickup lines at the ready, who could collect girls like trading cards if he wanted. But the more time Lexie spent with him, the less she felt like that was the case. She’d seen girls flirt with him on more than one occasion, but Jake seemed to shy away from that kind of attention more often than not. He certainly didn’t soak it up like it was his birthright the way some guys did.
Well, the waymostguys did.
Now, she wasn’t completely certain how to interpret his invitation. If he was asking her out, she should say no. But if he wasn’t asking her out... she should still say no. She obviously couldn’t trust herself where he was concerned.
Colt would tell her to say no.
Suddenly, Lexie could hear the grit in Colt’s voice as he justified himself.
It’s just a guy thing. . . . Don’t be like that. . . . Pull the stick out.
