27 Chapter 22

I woke the next morning relatively early, it was not yet quite seven. As I laid there for a second, last night suddenly came flashing back to me. I hoped that things wouldn't become awkward between Ashley and me, or perhaps that she might think she had made a mistake. The simple fact was, even though I hated to admit to myself, I was fairly certain I had fell in love with Ashley.

I got up, quietly went down the hall into the kitchen, and started the coffee. I was standing at the counter pouring my first cup when Ashley walked into the room. She walked right up behind me pressing her body into mine, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Good morning Brian, how did you sleep ?", she purred.

"Good and you ?", I answered.

"I slept like a baby.", she responded, squeezing me tightly.

She released me and stepped around me grabbing her mug filling it with coffee. I moved over and sat down at the table, where she quickly joined me. I looked up several times catching her eyes locked on me and smiling every time. I finished up and went back to my room to get dressed, then went to the family room to watch a little TV. It was Sunday, a day that was always relatively quiet around our small town. About an hour later Ashley joined me in the family room, she had taken a shower and dressed. I was watching the end of a movie, it had maybe fifteen minutes to go. I couldn't help but to keep glancing over at Ashley, I was so ready for a repeat of last night's fireworks. My cell phone caused me to come back to reality. I reached over and answered it on the third ring.

"Hey Brian, what ya doing ?", came the soft voice.

"Oh hey Court, not much, sitting here watching TV.", I answered.

As soon as I mentioned Courtney's name, Ashley turned to me with a strange look on her face. As we continued to talk I could definitely sense a slight irritation in Ashley's demeanor. What made it even worst was that Courtney then informed me she was only a few blocks away, would it be alright if she stopped in for a few minutes? There was no way I could tell her no, I had to agree. She told me she would see me in a few minutes, then hung up.

"Courtney will be here in a few minutes Ash.", I said quietly.

"No problem.", answered Ashley.

Maybe five minutes later there was a knock on the back kitchen door, I got up and headed that way. I opened the back for Courtney, she was all smiling. She stepped in quickly and I invited her into the family room where I had been watching TV. As I followed her into the room, I couldn't help but notice just how cold she looked. She was wearing a pair of skin-tight jeans, a tight sweater that was low cut, and a pair of high-heeled boots. Her ass looked incredible in those jeans, I had a hard time looking anywhere else. It was obvious that she had been spending a lot of time working on her appearance, it was working.

As we entered the family room, Ashley turned and looked our way. I'm sure it was the first time in quite a while that Ashley had seen Courtney, the look on her face said it all.

"Hi Miss Thompson, how are you ?", Courtney asked.

"I'm doing fine Courtney, how are you ?", Ashley replied.

"I'm good, thanks.", Courtney answered.

Courtney sat on the sofa next to me and we began a conversation, mostly about nothing in general. Just what she had been up to, her job, things like that. Ashley pretended to be watching TV but I am sure she was listening intently to every word. After a few minutes of conversation, Courtney got up saying she still had a few errands to run.

"Oh by way Brian, my Dad wanted me to invite you to dinner tonight if you're free.", she asked casually.

"I don't have anything up, I guess that will be alright.", I answered.

She told Ashley goodbye and let herself out of the back kitchen door quickly. I went back to watching TV, Ashley quickly interrupted.

"I am surprised at the change in Courtney. The new hair color, the clothes, she looks quite different.", she said.

"Yea, I was surprised too when I saw her the other day.", I answered.

"I hope you know what her Dad is up to ?", she asked.

"No, what is he up to ?", inquired.

"Oh come on Brian, he wants the two of you back together again, you know that.", she replied.

"Ashley, he has always been nice to me, since the first day I met the man. He has never asked me for a thing, I respect that.", I answered.

She let it go, I think she sensed my tone. While perhaps Courtney's Dad did want us to be together, he had never put any pressure on me to try and patch things up. In fact, on several occasions, he even sided with me against his daughter.

I showered and left for Courtney's about six that evening, arriving a few minutes later. Mrs. Timmons answered the door quickly, asking me to step in. She gave me a quick hug then ushered me into the family room where everyone was seated. Mr. Timmons jumped up immediately and moved toward me.

"Hey Brian, I'm so glad you could make it. How are you son ?", he asked.

"I'm fine sir, thank you.", I answered.

"Come with me, I have something to show you.", he urged, pulling me along.

We moved to the back of the house when he had built a large office years ago, allowing him to work from home if he chose to do so. I had been in it once, he was decorated with football memorabilia from one end to the other. He opened the door and motioned for me to enter, which I did. He quickly pointed to the wall above the desk, a huge smile on his face. There hung, in an awesome frame, was the National Championship jersey I had just given him. Right underneath the frame, there was a shelf on which the game-worn shoes rested inside of a glass case.

"That looks really nice Mr. Timmons.", I said.

"It will be the highlight of my collection once you go pro.", he laughed.

"Well, I hope you're right sir.", I answered.

We joined his wife back in the family room, she told us dinner was just about ready. I had not seen Courtney yet, I figured she must have been out somewhere. Just as we were entering the dining room, Courtney came down from upstairs. She looked amazing, to say the least. She was wearing a very tight pair of black dress pants, a red button-down blouse that was opened halfway down, and black high heels. Her eyes sparkled as she entered the room.

"Hey Brian, glad you made it.", she said, sitting down at her usual spot across from me.

"Thanks, Court, you look really nice.", I answered.

"Why thank you Brian, at least someone noticed.", she replied, staring at her Dad.

"Hey now.", he shot back, "I always tell you you're gorgeous princess."

We proceeded with the meal which as always was very good. Mrs. Timmons was an excellent cook, I always loved everything that she prepared. Courtney and I helped clear the table, then her Mom ran us out the kitchen saying she would finish. Courtney's dad had retired to his office to get a few reports ready for work the next day, so we were

alone in the family room. For several seconds that awkward feeling came rushing back all too quickly. Finally, Courtney broke the ice, as was customary.

"So have you made any decisions on whether or not you're going back to school next year ?", she asked.

"No not really, I am going to call a guy I met at school last week, see if I can get some idea's on what to do.", I answered.

"I can't believe you are going to be a pro football player.", she exclaimed.

"Truthfully, neither can I Court.", I responded.

We talked for about twenty more minutes before I decided it was time to head home. As I was getting ready to leave, Courtney touched my arm softly and whispered to me.

"Brian, I need to talk to you in private. How about one night this week ?", she asked.

"I guess so, what's so important ?", I asked.

"Later, not now.", she urged.

I agreed to talk to her the following week, we could get together one night. I thanked her parents for dinner and quickly left. I was home just a few minutes later. The house was dark, apparently, Ashley was already asleep. I quietly entered the house, locking up behind me, and went to my room. I got undressed, climbed into bed but couldn't fall asleep. All I could think about was Ashley and our previous night's encounter. I so wanted to hold her in my arms, kiss her lips, feel her firm body against mine. I know it took well over an hour for me to fall asleep.

The next morning I hit the gym for an early workout, made my way back home and showered. Afterward, I found the business card that Buddy Cullen had given me. I dialed the number and left a message with his secretary for him to return my call. Within an hour he had called me back and we had about an hour-long conversation. He offered to talk to a few teams high on the draft board that might need a defensive line player and see if perhaps they would have any interest in me if I decided to make myself eligible for the draft. He assured me he would call me back within a week or so to let me know.

Later that afternoon, Courtney called me and wanted to know if we could go out for dinner one night this week. We agreed on Wednesday night around seven o'clock. That night as I sat in the family room watching TV, Ashley came in and sat down in her chair across from me. Ever since our erotic encounter two nights ago, Ashley had seemed rather distant, I was wondering if perhaps she regretted what we had done. I wondered as well, should I bring it up or just let things go for a while. I decided on the latter for now but if something didn't change soon, I was going to confront the issue.

I left Wednesday night to pick up Courtney at about seven o'clock, I could easily sense Ashley was not happy. As much as I tried to get her to talk, she seemed silent and distant. I pulled into Courtney's driveway fifteen minutes later and rang the doorbell. The door was opened quickly by her younger sister Gia who was a very pretty, young lady of fourteen. As was usual between sisters, Gia and Courtney teased each other relentlessly. As soon as Gia saw me, she turned and yelled back into the house.

"Courtney, your lover boy is here.", she screamed.

"You're a wicked, wicked child Gia.", I laughed at the young teen.

"Yep, I am.", she laughed back.

I followed her into the den when Mr. Timmons was watching TV. He motioned me over to sit down, barely taking his eyes off of the program. I sat down across from him with a quick wave and a hello. I guess we had been sitting there for about five minutes before Courtney made her entrance. As was customary lately, she looked awesome. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans, a very sheer white silk blouse, and black heels. She walked over to where I was sitting, touched me gently on the shoulder, and sat down beside me.

"So where you kids off to tonight ?", Mr. Timmons asked.

"Just out to eat Dad, no big deal.", Courtney replied.

"You guys have fun, see you later.", he called out as we walked out of the room.

We got into the truck and drove across town to a local restaurant that was kind of nice. In this small town, it was the nicest place to eat we had. We had to wait maybe ten minutes for a table, it was extremely crowded. Our hostess finally seated us at a small table across the room, telling us our waitress would be with us shortly. I scanned the room as we sat down, I noticed several people staring our way.

Our waitress arrived quickly and we ordered two iced teas and an appetizer. Our drinks arrived with our appetizer, we then ordered our entrée for the evening. The meal was very good, we took our time and had a very nice conversation, I felt very relaxed. Our waitress came over and asked if we wanted any dessert, which we both declined. She reached into her apron and handed me the small vinyl tablet which held the check.

"Um, excuse me, sir. Are you Brian Stevens by any chance ?", she asked.

"Yes, I am.", I answered, taking the tablet.

"Oh…um…Hi, I'm Jessica….. My Dad is a big fan of yours, he is not gonna believe you were in here tonight.", she laughed.

"Well tell him thanks for the support Jessica, I appreciate it.", I responded.

"Could you uh….maybe …sign an autograph for him ?", she asked, shyly.

"Sure, I can, no problem.", I answered.

She reached into her apron again and pulled out a blank guest check which she turned over and handed to me. She told me his name was Phil, which always meant they wanted the autographed personalized. I quickly signed the back of the ticket to her Father with my name and number, plus the inscription National Champs under my name. She quickly snatched the paper holding it tightly.

"Thanks so much, my Dad will be thrilled.", she said, graciously.

We paid the check and headed out of the door to the truck. I could see a puzzled look on Courtney's face as we got in the vehicle. I dismissed it as I pulled the truck out of the parking lot. We had not been on the road more than a minute when Courtney spoke up.

"Does that happen a lot Brian ?", she asked.

"What are you talking about ?", I answered.

"Girls coming up to you and asking for autographs ?", she replied.

"Not a lot, but it does happen from time to time. But it's not just girls, sometimes guys or children.", I said.

"Oh.", was all she said.

We made small talk for the rest of the ride home, but it seemed she was still bothered by something. It was close to eleven o'clock in the evening when I pulled into her driveway. I turned off the truck, got out, and walked around to her door, opening it. She got out and began walking to the front door, stopped then turned to me.

"You want to come in for a while ?", she asked.

"Uh, it's kinda late Court, Your parents should be asleep by now, I would think.", I answered.

"No, they are out of town, they won't be back for a few days.", she responded.

Suddenly I was caught in a very bad situation. I had not been alone with Courtney in a very long time, I had no idea how to handle this situation. While I was still extremely attracted to her, my mind was still focused on Ashley.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea Court.", I said, cautiously.

"I just thought you might like to spend a little more time together, that's it. But I understand.", she said, softly.

I could tell she was extremely disappointed as she turned to head towards the front door. Against better judgment, I made a snap decision.

"Oh alright, I guess I can stay for a while.", I said.