The Perfect Touchdown

“Is Jake coming to pick you up? What movie are you guys going to see?” Isabelle continued to ask question after question as I prepared for my date with Jake.

“Would you like to come with us, Izzy?” I joked.

She groaned. “I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve gone out. I have to live it through someone, don’t I?”

I just rolled my eyes and laughed. I was just as excited as she was but add on a ton of nerves to that as well.

“We’re going to see some horror movie, I can’t remember the name of it, but we learned we’re both huge horror buffs, so this should be interesting.”

My phone went off with a text from Jake that said he was out front, and I rushed out the door to see his car parked in the lot.

“You look beautiful,” he said and kissed me on the cheek. “This is for you.” He pulled out a single rose.

“That is so sweet, and the first flower I’ve received.”

He placed a hand over his chest. “It is my honour to give you your first. Is it alright if we go to the movie first and then dinner?”

“Not a problem.”

~*~

My heart was still hammering in my chest even as we stood in line to buy our movie tickets. I was entirely too nervous for this date, and I was trying my best to keep it together and act casual, I just needed to make it into the theatre and there would be an excuse to not have to make small talk.

It was easy to talk with Jake since he provided most of the conversation anyway, but thankfully not in an annoying way that made me want to tear my hair out just listening to him.

“Hey, is that Rylee?” I heard a familiar voice behind me and cringed.

“Please, don’t tell me,” I muttered and turned around.

Yep, it was Carter. Followed behind him were Noah and Aiden – wait, Aiden?!

“What are you guys doing here?” I groaned.

Carter tossed his arm over my shoulders. “It’s not illegal to be here, is it? Also, what is he doing here?” He narrowed his eyes at Jake.

I swatted his arm off me and pushed him away.

“Please, don’t be jerks. Jake has never been a part of your stupid little frat fights, and he plays fair on the field, so be nice.”

Aiden scoffed. “Could hold a better defence, if you ask me.”

Jake opened his mouth to comment but I cut him off. “Nobody asked you.” I took Jake by the hand and tugged him toward the counter to pay for the tickets and act like no one was behind us. Once we had our tickets I made a beeline to the concession stand and hoped they got stuck in the line.

“I’m really sorry about that, I had no idea they would show up here or why they even would,” I said and smiled sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m used to their quipping at this point. Let’s just ignore them and enjoy the evening.” His smile was enough to melt away a bit of my irritation, but as soon as I heard the cackling laughter of the guys behind us, it was back in full rage.

Even when we took our seats in the theatre, the fiasco didn’t stop. Aiden and the guy sat right behind us and were rowdy for most of the movie. Since there was barely anyone else in there, there wasn’t anyone to stop them other than us.

Jake looked like he was doing his best to ignore them but even I could tell it was starting to bother him. It was only a matter of time before he decided to cut this date short, my very first date ever. Just great.

“I’m just going to head to the bathroom,” he whispered to me, his smile tense.

I nodded at him but hoped secretly that was really where he was going, and I wasn’t about to be ditched in a movie theatre. As soon as he was out of view, I turned to the guys behind me.

“Seriously, why are you guys ruining this for me?”

Aiden shrugged. “We’re just here to make sure nothing happens; Avery wanted us to look out for you.”

I glared further at him. “That’s ridiculous, even he wouldn’t go this far to keep an eye on me.”

“Oh, come on Rylee. We just wanted to see you on your first date, and Avery is super bummed he couldn’t make it, he needs to study more to keep his grades up,” Carter teased.

“Yeah, and pigs fly. You guys are just here to wreck my date, and it’s working.”

Jake thankfully returned before I could chew them out any further and we returned to watching the movie with the guys still acting like idiots. It was clearly awkward between the two of us after that and I was almost sure we wouldn’t be grabbing a bite to eat after.

The minute the credits started rolling, I grabbed my purse and jacket to leave, Jake followed suit close behind me. I could still hear the guys laughing as we left and it took everything in me not to turn around and cuss them out some more, but I continued out the door and into the fresh air to calm myself.

“Well, that was almost a disaster, but the movie was pretty good,” Jake said.

“You were able to focus on it? I was busy trying not to strangle them the entire time.”

He chuckled. “Well, don’t hold your breath. Here they come now.”

“Hey guys, you heading back to campus?” Carter asked.

Jake snaked his arm around my shoulders and pulled me toward him.

“Actually, we were going to grab dinner. The date isn’t over yet, but thanks for joining us this far. I’ll see you guys at the next game, keep up the practice!” Jake gave them a thumbs-up and led me away.

I looked back over my shoulder to just briefly catch the glare Aiden was sending our way before he was dragged off by Noah.

~*~

The dinner between Jake and I was even more awkward than the movies, and thankfully it was short-lived. I wanted nothing more than to get back to the dorms and bury myself under my covers when we had attempted more small talk over our food but failed to come up with anything.

We couldn’t even talk about the movie because I wasn’t able to pay attention to half of it, and neither was he. This was a complete failure of date, but I still held hope since he had stayed until the very end and still offered to drive me back to the dorms.

“Listen, I’m really sorry that tonight didn’t really work out the way either of us wanted it to,” I said as we sat in his car near the parking lot.

“I wouldn’t say it was terrible, but it is going to make this a lot harder with all this competition,” he kind of joked.

“Competition?”

“Well, I’m not sure what kind of history you two have, but it’s clear that Aiden cares for you a lot.”

‘Oh, god.’

“If you’d like to know our history, our mothers have been best friends since they were our age, and our families grew up alongside each other. We’ve always treated each other like siblings, and he can be a little over-protective sometimes. So can my biological brother, just warning.” I tried to joke and lighten the mood, and thankfully his bright smile told me it worked.

“That’s a relief to hear, I always envied that guy's looks, I thought I was going to have to really step up my game.”

I slapped his chest lightly. “Does that mean you aren’t going to try anymore?”

“Of course, not. I would give any and every effort it takes to have a single minute of your time,” he whispered and leaned closer.

I heard my breath suck into my chest as his lips touched mine lightly in a sweet and brief kiss. “I should let you go now before it becomes impossible,” he teased.

“Always the smooth talker. Thanks for the ride home, text me when you get back safe, okay?” I said and waved him off as I got out of the car. I waited until it was out of sight before I turned toward the dorm, but stopped short when I recognized the only truck in the lot.

Aiden.