New Girl in Town Pt. 15

"That... that was a tip from our quarterback actually." Jamie finds himself admitting. "He grabbed me just before that play and pointed out that the Newport guy has a long wind up so if I went for the ball, I had a chance to knock it loose."

"Your quarterback Patrick Greene? Smart kid. I had heard that he was committed to Carolina but then I heard he got benched so that may be up in the air now. Who knows, right? He still wants you along with him but you're still on the fence about who can best benefit from your talents?" He asks Jamie.

"I'm not sure that Carolina is a good fit for me," Jamie answers him.

"They are a fine school that's for sure but we would certainly love to have you come down for a visit and see what we can offer you at Florida State." He smiles at Jamie. "I'll email you some info and we'll see what we can set up. Maybe you take your spring break in Tallahassee this year. How's that sound to you?"

"Good. Great actually. I would really love to see what you guys have to offer!" Jamie answers enthusiastically. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me until you see the welcoming party we'll throw for you. Then you can thank me." He laughs and turns to leave.

Jamie pauses for a moment then calls out to him.

"Jake Gibson." He says to the retreating man.

"Pardon?" the recruiter stops and asks.

"That tip. It didn't come from Patrick. It was from our other quarterback, Jake Gibson." Jamie tells him.

"Gibson, huh? I've heard good things. I was hoping to see him play some this game. Care to share the reason he didn't get put in when Greene struggled in the passing game?" He asks.

"He missed a couple of practices this week. If you miss practices, you don't play." Jamie explains. "He... had a good reason but that's the rules."

"I guess that he must have but hey, you guys are still playing so maybe I'll get a chance to see him playing in the next games." The recruiter nods then shakes Jamie's hand again. "It was nice meeting you, Jamie. I look forward to seeing you as a Seminole next year."

Jamie smiles as the man walks off but Patrick, who overheard most of their conversation isn't smiling at all.

****

"So you're buddies with Jake now, huh?" Patrick asks Jamie as they take their seats in the back of the team bus.

"What are you talking about, Patrick?" Jamie asks as he shoves his bag into the overhead rack above their seats.

"I saw the two of you talking on the sidelines." He answers.

"He said like two sentences to me and it was to help out the team," Jamie tells him.

"Those must have been some great sentences then since you talked him up to that recruiter you were talking to after the game." Patrick states.

"How do you know about that?" Jamie asks.

"I overheard that shit when I was about to go into the locker room." Patrick shares. "You could have let the guy keep thinking that it was me that told you that shit, you know?"

"What difference does it make? You're already committed to Carolina and he's from Florida State. It didn't hurt you for me to tell that guy that Jake gave me advice." Jamie points out.

"We're committed to Carolina. Fuck Florida State." Patrick says.

"I haven't committed to anywhere and I'd like to see Florida State." Jamie comments. "Never been to Florida before."

"We're going to Carolina." He answers.

"You are. My options are wide open." Jamie remarks.

Patrick grumbles under his breath and turns to look out the window. The bus rumbles out of the parking lot and heads for the highway when a bout of laughter is heard near the front of it. Jamie glances towards the front of the bus where Jake and his friends are sitting around joking, laughing and having fun. He can't hear most of the conversation but it sounds like Jake is getting picked on but he's laughing right along with the others. No one dared to try and pick on Patrick when he was the big man on campus. He doesn't take jokes at his expense well. Patrick would dish it out well enough, but if anyone dared to give him a little of his own medicine they would find themselves frozen out of the popular clique. An ironic smile touches Jamie's lips as he watches Jake's group. Anyone that picks on Jake seems to become part of their group and it all seems to be in good natured fun.

"Look at them all laughing and having fun," Jamie says aloud.

"Idiots," Patrick mutters.

Jamie shakes his head then leans back to try and get some sleep on the ride home while visions of Florida State cheerleaders dance in his head.

****

"So that Wildcat of yours really does have claws huh, Jake? I tried to warn you but you didn't listen." Antoine teases Jake as the bus pulls out of the parking lot.

"Oh shit, Jake, is that what happened to your face?" Scott asks from the seat behind where Jake and Ray are seated.

"That didn't happen." Jake answers but before he can explain Ray jumps in.

"Of course it is. Why else do you think he's riding the bus back with us when he rode here with Jess?" Ray asks. "He kissed my girlfriend one too many times and... Smack!"

"Your girlfriend kisses me not the other way around," Jake argues.

"Hey, you did ride here with Jessica." Monte chimes in from across the aisle. "Are they fucking with us or what, Jake?"

"They are in fact fucking with you." Jake answers. "These two know exactly how this happened."

"My boy here got jumped by Jess's ex," Antoine explains to them. "Chicken shit little bitch punched him when he wasn't looking!"

"And he had his two pals with him, too," Ray adds. "Now Jake here busted the ex's nose before the fight got broken up so it wasn't a total loss."

"I'm riding back on the bus so Jess's family can get Sarah home and into bed at a decent hour," Jake explains. "Jess is meeting me at the school to give me a ride home."

"It's whose home she's giving you a ride to that I want to know about." Ray laughs.

"Not Staci's. Not tonight at least but soon." Jake answers.

"Soon, huh?" Ray asks with a laugh. "Couldn't get anything done while at granny's house, Jake?"

"Bed was too squeaky," Jake answers not wanting to share exactly what he got from Jess in front of the whole team. He figures that Jess will tell Staci, Staci will tell Ray and then he'll be ridiculed about it in some way, shape or form.

"I did get some notes done on the upcoming play." Jake answers.

"The play? That Beauty and the Beast play?" Antoine asks then shakes his head as he laughs. "You're still a nerd, Jake."

"I never claimed not to be." Jake laughs.

"No you didn't but at least you're our nerd." Antoine laughs. "That's true." Monte comments.

"Every group has to have one." Ray states.

"And we're glad that you're ours, Jake." Scott states.

"Some of us more so than others right, Ray?" Antoine chuckles.

"I don't know. My girlfriend can't seem to keep her lips off him." Ray says shaking his head. "That's getting old."

"She can't keep them off you either can she?" Jake counters with a grin. "And why is that, Ray?"

"Because I can rock her world." Ray laughs. "And yeah, you played a small part in that, I admit it."

"Small part huh, Jake?" Monte jokes and all of them laugh while Jake shakes his head before laughing himself.

From the formally cool section of the bus, Patrick and Jamie look on with different expressions on their faces. Jamie with admiration and Patrick with contempt.

****

Jessica is waiting for Jake when the team bus pulls into the schools parking lot. Jake and the rest of the team head to the locker room to store their gear before heading to either their own waiting cars or to whoever is picking them up.

She greets Jake with a staggering kiss that the other guys see and hoot at.

"Thanks, guys," Jake comments with a chuckle.

"Take care of our boy, Wildcat!" Antoine shouts from his car.

"You know I will!" Jessica shouts back.

"Hey, we'll see you tomorrow night right, Antoine?" Staci asks as she and Ray walk over to Jessica and Jake.

Antoine closes his car door and jogs over.

"What's tomorrow?" He asks.

"Victory party for Jess's team at my place," Staci informs him. "We'll send out a mass email with details but since you're here, I thought we'd ask."

"Sounds good to me. We had a great time at your last party so I know Twanda will want to come. Count us in." Antoine states.

"Come to what?" Des asks as he walks up.

Staci explains again about the party and Des confirms that he and Marisha would be there.

"So a party, huh?" Jessica asks once Des and Antoine leave.

"Of course, Jess!" Staci states. "You guys are state champs! That calls for a party!"

"Jake and I can stay after the party, right?" Jessica asks quickly.

"You know mom's rules about that. Have your folks call

her and okay it and it's good." Staci says then giggles. "Couldn't get any at your grandma's, Jess?"

"Not enough." Jessica lets slip.

"Ooo, Jess, you naughty girl!" Staci squeals. "You and Jake sneaking around at your Grammy's house!"

"We didn't do so well at the sneaking part," Jake admits then explains the squeaky bed and the subsequent teasing from Grammy about it.

"It was a lot of squeaking." Jessica shares.

"Staci's bed is squeaky sometimes but we just adjust the position and slow down," Ray tells them.

"That wasn't a possibility." Jake laughs.

"It was our first time trying doggy and someone really liked it. This was after I blew him so neither of us were worried about the noise." Jessica shares to the astonishment of Ray and Staci.

Staci's mouth falls open and her eyes go wide. She grabs Jessica's wrist and pulls her towards her car that's parked just on the other side of Jess's. Jake shakes his head as they leave and Ray gets a smile on his face.

"Dude, that's like... wow. Congrats, I guess I should be saying." Ray laughs. "So, uh... how was it?"

"Do you even have to ask that?" Jake smiles.

"Not really." Ray laughs.

They hear shouting but it's not from Staci and Jessica. It's coming from the row over. They glance over and see Patrick and Jamie yelling at each other over the top of Patrick's Camaro.

"What's that all about?" Ray asks but Jake just shrugs his shoulders.

****

"You gave your first BJ?" Staci asks Jessica. "How did you not text me immediately?"

"I had something that I needed to get to," Jessica tells her.

"Doggy right?" Staci giggles. "So how was it? All of it, I mean. No troubles after the whole Sean thing?"

"It kind of happened because of the whole Sean thing and it was great!" Jessica enthuses. "He let me do what I wanted and God, the power you have over a guy when he's in your mouth is... Wow! I got really turned on from doing it."

"Really?" Staci asks with a grin. "You go, Jess!"

"I intend to, many, many more times which is why I need to talk to mom about tomorrow night. It was very good and I want to be able to tell him that instead of having to shout into a pillow."

"You are becoming a wild child, Jess. I love it!" Staci giggles.

"If I had known that sex could be this good, I would have waited for Jake to be my first and only," Jessica tells her.

"Well let's get you back to him. I have a feeling that Jake is going to love his goodnight kiss tonight." Staci giggles.

When they return to Ray and Jake, they too hear the argument between Jamie and Patrick.

"What's going on with that?" Staci asks.

"Don't know, don't care," Ray says. "Let's get out of here and go plan this party."

"Sounds good," Staci tells him then grins at Jake. "You have a good night now, Jake."

"What was that all about?" Jake asks Jessica as Staci and Ray head off to her car.

"I may have got a little more in-depth with Staci about our squeaky bed night," Jessica tells him as she opens her car door.

"In-depth huh?" He asks as he climbs into the passenger side.

"Just a teeny bit." Jessica giggles as she starts her Mustang.

As they buckle their seat belts they hear the tortured screech of rubber on asphalt. Patrick's red Camaro screams out of it's parking space as he peels out leaving a not so happy Jamie standing there looking dumbfounded. Jake looks at Jessica than over at Jamie before he rolls the window down.

"Hey, Jamie!" Jake calls out to him. "You need a ride?"

****

One more chapter in this series to go then a break to work on something new.

Harddaysknight I wanted to throw a special shout out to you in thanks for all of your constructive comments on this series. I promise that my next tale will the 3rd person and past tense!