Blake
Seeing Lia so snide and mean should make me feel bad for Mrs. Johnson, but no matter how much I try, I can't find it in me to feel sorry for her. She earned every ounce of disrespect sent her way.
Thankfully, the vile hag doesn't bother any of us for the rest of the lecture, keeping it strictly professional. She should've been like this from the beginning.
The day goes on peacefully, apart from the curious glances thrown Lia's way as we walk through the hallways. I don't bother doing anything about it, knowing people will keep staring anyway. And it's not like we're obligated to tell anyone what's going on in our life. They can stare all they want as long as they don't bother us.
When we're done with all our classes, it's time for the football practice. I am not looking forward to being interrogated by both the team and our coach, but it's unavoidable. We already told them we're going to talk to them about what was going on during the last weeks and neither Lia nor I break our promises.
"Justin?" I hear Lia ask as we walk past the bleachers. I glance at the guy she addresses, only for my eyes to widen slightly when he turns around. It's the captain of the Trojans!
"Hey Cookie. My god, what happened to you?!" He rushes to my girl, frowning worriedly as he looks her over.
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Lia sighs. "But what are you doing here?"
"I told you I'd come, you know, when you called about the drugs. – he shrugs – I already got the drugs to the cops and gave them my statement, but I thought I'd visit my Cookie. Dave told me you're coming back to classes today."
"And how did Dave know that?" Lia turns to me with an imploring look.
"I texted him and the guys yesterday. They've been asking about you." I reply casually.
"Aww, did they miss me? That's so sweet." She giggles. I only shake my head at her, having no response to that.
"Hey, knight couple! Get down here, will ya?" Coach Jones calls out, making me chuckle. 'Knight couple'?
"Yes, sir! – Lia calls back – Come on Justin, we can talk while the guys get tortured." Lia tugs at my hand and pulls me to the field. I hear Justin chuckle in amusement as he follows us, muttering something about Lia being a 'tough cookie'.
"Okay ladies, line up!" Coach orders as soon as we're all gathered, getting a curious look from Justin. Guess it's weird for the coach to call him team members 'ladies', especially with Lia here. "Since we're having a guest from the Trojans, we'll work on endurance and speed. We don't want to reveal our plays to an enemy, do we?" We all laugh at the dirty look coach throws Justin's way.
"You think I'd risk spying on the team with Cookie here? I'm not suicidal Coach Jones. – Justin chuckles – Lia is scary enough as it is and I'd rather not get on her bad side." He pats Lia's head teasingly, getting a glare from her. Few of us laugh at his admission, knowing exactly what he's talking about. Only those who know about my girl being an underground fighter know what she's capable of.
"Not the hair!" Lia complains before kicking Justin's shin.
"Ah fuck! Why did you do that?!" Justin whines, clutching onto his leg.
"Never touch my hair unless it's left loose. – my kitten warns sternly – I hate having a mess on my head. Blake, did he mess it up?" She pouts adorably, making me melt on the spot.
"A bit." I walk up to her, knowing she'd want me to fix it anyway. With expert fingers I adjust the messed up braid then tighten the tie around the ponytail.
"Thanks." Lia grins, leaning up for a kiss.
"That was the weirdest shit I've seen you do... this month." Simon laughs, staring at me wide-eyed as I get back in line.
"What? Lia can't do it herself with her arm immobilized." I shrug offhandedly.
"Don't tell me you're the one that did her hair..." James teases with a smirk.
"Who else?" I smirk back. I'm not even a bit ashamed of being able to braid my girl's hair. Some guys would frown at this and say it's not manly, but I think that a real man doesn't balk at something as simple as helping his woman do her hair.
"Alright, enough chatting. – Coach interrupts our exchange – Get back to work. Warm up!" He commands, blowing the whistle.
Oh boy, it's going to be a loooong practice.
Lia
"So, Cookie, what the hell happened to you?" Justin asks as soon as we're both sitting in the booth. Coach is on the field with the guys, so we can talk freely.
"I got caught by that asshole... - I sigh - Now that I think about it, it was partly my fault for being stupid. I was summoned to testify in Evan's case, you know, about the drugs, but it was a trap. I should've known better than to go there alone, but I didn't suspect the whole thing to be a set-up..."
"You mean... that guy?! – Justin gasps in shock – He was the one that did this to you?!"
"Partly. He had a cop working with him; that's how he got out after being arrested in Chicago and that's how he found me. That cop blames me for his son's death, but that's a completely different story and it's quite fucked up, so I won't go into that. Anyway, since he thinks it's my fault that his son died, he's decided to make me pay for it and beat me up while I was unconscious."
"Fucking hell... Hold on, you refer to that fucker in past tense, but when you talk about the cop, you use present tense..."
"That's cause that fucker is dead and the cop isn't. Yet." I quietly tell him so no one can hear me.
"How did..." Justin trails off.
"I went full vampire on him. – he frowns in confusion at this – I bit off a chunk of his neck."
"You're kidding!" He exclaims in shock, getting the team's attention. I only wave it off.
"Quiet! They don't know!" I admonish.
"Sorry. But... wow. I got to say, you're something else." He breathes out.
"Thanks, I guess." I shrug. "Now your turn. What's going on with those drugs? Did the cops tell you anything?" I question. I better not catch Evan anytime soon or I'll beat him to a pulp for getting the team and my Cakey in trouble.
"Not really, but from what I saw when I went to give them the stuff, it's not only your linebacker that was involved in that shit. I caught a few of your players also locked up. I didn't bother asking about any details, cause it's not really my business, but from what I heard, they're facing some serious charges."
"Good. They deserve all the punishment they'll get for getting everyone in trouble. I mean, the team even got suspended from the nationals because of them! Blake should be fine, cause he's just a sophomore and will have another chance to play, but what about the seniors? They won't be able to play next year. They won't get a chance to show off their skills to recruiters or anything."
"Not necessarily..." Justin wonders out loud and I frown at him questioningly.
"What do you mean?"
"Just because they're not in the championships anymore doesn't mean they can't get noticed, Cookie. I can talk to Cole and ask him to reach out to his friends from NFL and see if they could come see your guys play. I'll even ask our coach about arranging a game with your team again." I stare at Justin wide-eyed and absolutely stunned.
"You'd do that?"
"Of course. It's no problem. And we both know Cole will agree to anything the moment you're mentioned." I laugh at this. It's true. Cole always has my back.
"That'd be awesome. I'll talk to the coach and see if he's down for it. You know, with recent developments the team lost a few players, so the guys may need a bit time to adjust to their new lineup." I glance pointedly at the guys on the field.
"True. – Justin nods – No hurry, though. We have all the time we need."
"Thanks, Justin." I turn to him and wrap my good arm around his neck. He puts his arms gently around my waist, careful on my arm between us.
"Don't mention it, Cookie. You're family." He hugs me for a moment before we pull away. "I don't want your man beating me up for touching you." He chuckles when I look at him questioningly, pointing his thumb to the field where I see Blake standing with his fists clenched by his sides.
"Give me a moment, I have to go smooth his ruffled feathers." I laugh as I get up from the bench. I go straight to my Cakey, smiling at him lovingly.
"Jelly Cakey. – I put my arm around his waist and hold him close – You look like you want to kill someone."
"Why was he hugging you?" Blake complains, wrapping his arms tightly around me.
"I hugged him first because I wanted to thank him for something." I bat my lashes at him, knowing it works every time.
"Fine. – he grumbles sulkily – I'll let it go only because I trust you." He leans down and gives me a deep kiss, not minding the whole team watching us.
My cute Caveman Jelly Cakey. He's so adorable.