Cecelia's POV:
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"Alright, you beat the Tigers Tuesday. You're going to beat the Lions today! We are at the end of overtime, and we have a fourth down. A few yards away from a touchdown. Have fun out there, but get the job done," Coach yells at us.
We disperse to get a drink, and I flop down on the bench. I'm exhausted. From school, to practice, games, and working on the house, I feel like I don't have time to think. Angelo said we would most likely have the house done in a week. The roof will be done tonight, they finished the plumbing, and they have to plaster the walls. After that, we have to put the flooring in, paint the walls, and furniture.
"I hope you aren't thinking too hard," Ashton says as he sits down and bumps his shoulder against mine.
"Hardly," I joke.
He smiles, and we both look out at the field. "You know, I was thinking."
"That's new," I interrupt.
"Alright smartass, I'm serious. How about I cook dinner tonight?" He asks with a boyish grin that makes me giggle.
"What? Is there something on my face?" He asks and frantically wipes at his face.
My giggle turns into full blown laughter at him. He stops what he's doing and playfully glares at me. "Why were you laughing at me?"
"No, no. I was laughing with you," I assure him.
"Well, I wasn't laughing. So, you were laughing at me," he points out.
"It was a fond laugh, I promise."
I smile at him in assurance. He laughs and shakes his head before continuing, "I'm serious. I will make dinner tonight. After "work" of course," he pauses and gives me a suggestive smirk. "Only if I get something in return."
I raise my eyebrows and scoff. "What would that be?"
"Let me sleepover," he isn't really asking.
"That better be a pretty damn good dinner," I warn.
"You know it will be," he say before looking around and leaning to my ear. "I kind of really want to kiss you."
"Kind of?" I question.
"I lied, a bunch."
I look at the clock before teasingly looking up at him. "Game time, sorry. Another time?"
He growls playfully before helping me up. I slide my helmet on and take a deep breath. I can feel the nervous jitters and I get excited. Coach blows his whistle and we all huddle up. I make eye contact with each player and they nod.
"We have one chance to do this. We fail and we go into double overtime. That's what they want and we aren't going to let them have it. Are we?" I ask.
"No," they yell in response.
"Good. I can tell you all a play, but we are so close that I'm not sure it would matter. I need all my wide receivers open. I need as many people open as possible. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
"Game time. Panthers on three."
"One, two, three. Panthers!"
We run out on the field and line up. I hear their team mocking ours, but they can't shake us. I put my hands out and sweep my eyes over the area one last time. I call the play, which is a last second made up name, and Nate snaps it.
It lands perfectly in my hands and I grip it. I take a few steps back, narrowly missing a guy. I scan my eyes for an opening, but I don't see one. I feel the pressure of the clock running down on us and I start to panic. I scan once more and I finally see someone.
Except they're running and I might miss. They keep glancing back, but they are not in position for me to throw. Movement to my right catches my eye and I see a guy barreling for me. I stay still and keep my breathing even. Three more seconds, two, one.
I throw the ball to him, but I don't get to see if it makes it because I'm slammed to the ground. The impact takes my breath away and I push the guy off me. I sit up and try to steady my breath. I shake my arms out and push myself up off the ground.
I walk towards our side where Coach is and sit down on the bench. I hear him asking questions, but I need a second to focus. I hear more worried voices and I want to punch the faces they belong to. Someone kneels in front of me and grabs my head, but I shake it out of their grasp.
"I just need a second. He hit hard," I dismiss and hear a few people laugh.
"Why don't you let Dinco check it out," Ashton suggests.
"I'm fine," I protest.
I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. I release it and I open my eyes. I look up at Ash and smile. "See, fine."
"I think I would prefer if you would let him check, just in case," Coach interjects.
"I'm okay, really. I didn't hit my head, I just got the breath knocked out of me," I reassure.
They look at each other, unconvinced, but let it go nonetheless. "Did we win?" I ask.
Ashton looks at me and laughs. "Yes, we won. Great pass, but next time don't stand there like an idiot when a guy is running at you. I know you saw him."
I smile sheepishly. "I had to wait until the perfect moment to pass it or I would've missed. Who caught it?"
"Who voted you captain? I mean, I'm a little worried you don't even know who you're throwing to. Did you at least know what team?" Emmet jokes.
"Yes, I just didn't know exactly who it was," I argue.
"I caught it," Wesley says as he passes by to the locker rooms.
"Thanks! Alright, we need to get ready. We have work to do," I announce and get up.
Emmet groans. "Do we have to?"
"Go get a shower stinky," I push him forward and he dramatically walks in the locker room.
"Meet you in ten minutes?" I ask Ashton.
"I don't know if I can be away that long," he says and clutches his heart.
"Ten minutes, Romeo," I laugh.
I head into the girls locker room and strip my gear. I hop into the shower and wash as fast as I can. I dry off and throw my hair up in the towel. I put on some shorts with a old Redwood t-shirt that has some white paint splatters on it. I throw my work boots on and brush my hair. I French braid my hair, pack my stuff up, and head out of the complex towards Ashton's truck.
I hear the door thrown open and turn around to see Ashton flying out the door towards me. His hair is dripping wet, his things are flying wildly about, and he is panting like he ran a marathon. He stops in front of, holds his finger, and doubles over to catch his breath.
I watch his back muscles flex as he takes deep breathes and I blush. It's not that I don't notice he's hot, I just don't tend to focus on it. I bit my lip to keep from smiling and I pray he doesn't look up yet. My luck sucks.
"Are you blushing?" I glance up to see him looking at me with keen interest.
I shake my head in denial, but it only deepens to prove me wrong. "You are so blushing! Why are you blushing?"
I shake my head and keep biting my lip to stop that stupid grin. His eyes glance to my lips and I swear I blush harder, not that that's possible at this point. He takes a step towards me and trails his finger down my flaming cheek.
"You're not answering me. Do I have to assume the worst here or are you going to tell me why you were blushing," he is enjoying this.
"I think a better question is why were you running out here like a maniac? Did Coach make you run laps in the locker room and you couldn't get away fast enough?" I ask.
"To answer your question, I was trying to beat you out here. Obviously it didn't work, but now we are in an interesting situation. You are not getting out of this one. Why are you still blushing?" he prods.
I glance around and sigh. "Take a few guesses."
"Dirty thoughts." I pretend to think about it for a few seconds before shaking my head. Technically that's not true.
"Embarrassment." This boy honestly sucks at guessing. Obviously you blush when you are embarrassed.
I tap my chin in thought before smirking. I lean up and put my lips close to his ear. As they say, if you can't convince them, arouse them. Or something like that. "Guess again."
I hear him gulp and I smile. "Well, that, uh. Shit." He laughs nervously.
"What was that?" I ask and tilt my head so that my lips brush him ear.
"I don't know."
"Would you like me to tell you?" I tease.
"That's kind of the point."
"Interesting," I murmur and walk away towards his truck.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps. "Hey! Wait a minute!"
I laugh and throw my stuff in the back before hopping in. I watch him toss his bag before jumping in quickly. "That's not fair."
"What's not fair?" I ask innocently.
In my defense, he was the one not being fair. He should've dropped it and I wouldn't of had to distract him. I didn't really want to embarrass myself further. It worked and the blush is gone, so I win.
"You cheated. I was trying to get some information and you totally distracted me."
"You totally fell for it," I point out.
"Not helping. Any boy would fall for that," he pauses to start the truck and drive. "Why were you blushing? Seatbelt," he warns.
I put it on and turn to him. "Truth?"
He laughs. "Maybe a little."
I roll my eyes. "You."
"What?"
"You know I was nice enough to tell you and you didn't even listen," I complain.
"Me?" he asks and I nod. "I made you blush? I didn't even do anything."
I feel the blush coming back so I turn my head and bite my lip again. "You mind letting me in on the secret here?" he asks.
I shake my head and lean it against the window. "One day we will both know."
"Are we talking in riddles now? Did I miss the memo?"
I laugh and we let comfortable silence take over. He grabs my hand, but I'm too tired to turn my head to look at him. "Any anxiety attacks lately?"
"No, I would've told you. You know that."
"Do you feel like any are around the corner?" He asks.
"No, I think dad leaving kind of triggered them, but talking to you gave them a reason to go away."
I turn to look at him and I can see the goofy grin on his face. "Watch your ego," I jokingly warn.
"It's just fine, thank you."
He looks like he wants to say something, but decides against it. "Are you up for getting on the roof tonight?"
"Yeah, I will be fine. I just can't wait to go to bed."
"Why? Because ill be in it?" he teases.
I look at him as seriously as possible. "Yes."
He looks at me with wide eyes and I lose it. He lets go of my hand and pouts. "I'm sorry. It was your face."
I break out into laughter again and he continues ignoring me. He pulls up behind another truck at the site and turns off the engine. I grab his face and force him to look at me. "I'm very tired and I want to sleep, which is half the reason why I can't wait to go to bed, but you're definitely the other half."
"Aren't you just a sweet talker," he says.
I kiss his nose. "Yes."
We hop out to meet Angelo and the guys. Roman hands me a tool belt and I put it on. Roman's not a bad guy, he's actually pretty nice. He can be a little flirty, but he knows when I need quiet too. I follow Roman up the ladder and over to the unfinished part of the roof. Adriano and Nate follow behind us and I assume we are the only ones working today because no one else comes up.
We work pretty fast and in silence. I find my eyes getting heavy and Nate is in the same state. I catch his eye and he nods in understanding. Only a little longer.
"Why so quiet?" Adriano asks.
"Leave me alone."
"Snippy today, are we? Is someone-"
"Finish that sentence and I will punch you," Nate warns.
"In fact your all a little snippy. Maybe-"
I put a nail in with more force than necessary. Roman notices and scoots away. "Listen asshole, we just came from a game. We also had school. So, yeah, I think we are allowed to be a little tired and snippy."
"Awe, I'm sorry. Did you lose that bad?"
Nail. "No." Nail. "We." Nail. "Won."
Adriano looks genuinely surprised and I want to smash his face in. We finish the rest of the roof in silence and without incident. The drive home is silent and comfortable. Ashton pulls into my driveway and opens my door for me. I drag my bag out of the back and to the door.
I feel like absolute shit. I don't think I have ever been this tired. Probably, but I'm allowed to be dramatic. I open the door and throw my bag into the hallway. "Why don't you go get something comfortable on." Ashton says. "Bring me something while you're at it."
I grab our bags and get ready to drag them downstairs, but he stops me and kisses me on the forehead. "Don't fall asleep," he warns and I smile.
I drag the bags down the stairs and slide them across the floor to the back of the couch. I head into my room and change into sweatpants and a t-shirt. I grab a pair of sweatpants for Ashton. I look at the bed for a second before shaking my head.
I jog back upstairs to find Ashton at the grill. "You work fast."
I walk over to him and grab the end of his t-shirt, trying to pull it up. "Apparently, so do you."
"Shut up, arms up."
He obeys and I slide the shirt off. I hand him the clothes and push him towards the door. Before he enters, he turns to me. "Anytime you want to undress me, you're welcome to." he winks and runs inside before I can find anything to throw at him.
I flip the burgers and suspiciously eye the tin foil, which I do not touch. He comes back and wrap his arms around me. I lean back and flip the burgers again. "Are you going to make me do all the work?" I ask.
"Of course not. I got this."
He grabs the spatula and flips it while standing behind me. We stay like that until he runs inside for two plates. When he comes back out I head in to get our drinks ready. We both finish at the same time and we sit at the bar.
"What is in the tin foil?" I ask and poke it with my fork.
"It's just potatoes, not an alien." He laughs at me and I stick my tongue out at him.
We eat with little words and by the time I finish my eyes won't stay open. I lazily watch him put our dishes in the dishwasher. He walks over to me and scoops me up in his arms.
"Time for bed," he says and carries me down the stairs.
"Homework," I mumble against his chest.
"Your dog ate it."
"I don't have a dog Ashton," I argue.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
I feel him lay me down before the best dips and I roll into a chest. "I really don't have a dog."
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Authors Note:
Hey guys!
All I want to say is, you are awesome! All of you!
Love you lovelies!