How To Play the Player (COMPLETED)

Difficulty Leve; Hard

"Okay, be honest, on a scale of one to ten how bad was that?" Jay questioned once we reached his Buick, leaning into one of the taillights with the same goofy smile that'd been plastered to his face on evening.

"I actually enjoyed myself, Jay." I responded. "So definitely a ten.'

His grin grew. "You're not messing with me? Or letting me down easy?"

"No, I thoroughly enjoyed your commentating. You're no Kurt Warner, but you'll do."

Jay's expression turned serious and he grasped my wrists. "What team did Kurt Warner play for?"

"Umm, the Rams for a little while, then the Arizona Cardinals. He was with the Cardinals when he took the hit that ended his career."

Jay reached under his eye and wiped away fake tears. "I'm so proud of you."

I laughed, reaching up to pull my hair up before I ended up eating it. The wind had picked up in the Fourth Quarter and had caused the ball to alter its trajectory multiple times. Thankfully our boys were used to our bipolar weather and had the upper hand, leading the game thirty-two to twenty-eight.

"You know, Reese," Jay said once we were in the car. "I like you a lot. It's so different being around someone who isn't so. . . so self-absorbed."

I knew it was a knock at Nicola and Shay, but I kept my mouth shut and nodded. He snuck a look in my direction as we slowed the car at a stoplight, smirking.

"You're also like my own personal textbook, babe. You seriously memorized everything I said all night, didn't you?"

"It's my superpower." I brought my index finger to my lips. "Don't tell anyone."

We were halfway back to my house when the sky decided it was fed up with our bullshit and released its pent-up aggression on the windshield. I knew, without a doubt, that the streets would be flooded by the end of the night. Jay was focused on the street ahead and by some miracle got us back to my house unscathed.

"You're going to be okay getting home?" I asked, then thought about the fact I had no idea where he lived. "I don't want something happening to you."

He reached across the console and rested a hand on my thigh. "I'll be fine. I'll probably just crash at Liam's tonight. He's about eight minutes from here. Safer than driving the twenty to get back home."

"You'll let me know when you're there safe, right?" I whispered, fear creeping into my voice. The thought of cars and any obstacle didn't sit well with me.

"Of course, babe." He leaned across the console and kissed me softly. "I'll be fine. Get inside."

I squeezed his hand and made sure he was looking at me as I spoke. "Please be careful, Jay. I mean it."

"I will. Don't worry about me." He watched with a smile as I collected my stuff from the floor and climbed out. I waved before jogging up the driveway and to the safety of my front porch. I heard him drive off as I stepped through the door, peeking in both directions to make sure my parents weren't home. I'd spent the last couple nights with the Waters after what happened Wednesday afternoon.

Once I'd changed and gotten settled in my bed, I finally checked my phone. I'd purposely avoided texting everyone back after I'd let Bryan know where I was just in case anything happened.

3;15: Bry; how's it going? Do I need to kill him?

3:30 Bry: reese, you alive?