Loving Cross

19.

*Anson's POV*
It was strange practicing without Cash today.
It's Saturday, and he left right after school last night for ROTC.
Dyson and Piper are on a date, Kinsley is 'studying' with Duke, which means they're really getting food but she didn't want Cash to know, I am out on the trampoline, and god knows where Parker is.
Never mind, I know where Parker is.
Walking through my back gate.
"Oh Miss Ani!" He yelled and walked up to my trampoline.
"What's up?" I shook my head and threw a full.
"1, do that again." He laughed.
I rolled my eyes and did another.
"2. Do you want to go get something to eat?"
"What, no date tonight?" I raised my eyebrows.
"And make you spend the night by yourself? Never." He shook his head.
"So you got shut down." I nodded.
"No." He pointed at me and took his shoes off. "You were my first choice. It's been a few weeks, we haven't been arguing, and I think that calls for a little celebratory Parker and Anson dinner. We can stop down at Moose's for a frozen lemonade, and hang out." He smiled and jumped up.
"OK." I nodded. "You're on." I smiled. "Now lets see what you got."
"I can still flip you know." He jumped a few times and did a back flip. "Tada." He smiled.
I gave him a small clap, did a few jumps, did a round off, bounced in to a back flip, landed and went down in to a split, and threw my hands in the air. "Bet you can't do it like me." I laughed.
"Why." He shook his head. "Why do you always have to one up me."
"Uh hello. I'm me, you're you?"
"Shut up." He nodded and jumped down.
"And I believe it's my turn to pay." I jumped down.
"That's just not going to happen." He shook his head.
"We'll see." I held my arms out. "Bike shorts, a big tee and barefaced good enough for you?"
"Ani." He motioned up and down his body. "I'm literally wearing joggers, a cut off, and a fitted." He nodded. "I think you're good." He slid his sneakers on.
I slipped in to my flip flops and we walked inside.
"I'm leaving." I yelled as we walked in to the living room.
"Where you going honey?" My mom asked.
"We're going to get something to eat, stop at Moose's and just hang out." Parker nodded.
"Back on the road by 11." My dad pointed at us.
"Yes Daddy Hal." Parker shook his head.
"Yes dad." I rolled my eyes.
"You wanna keep them, don't roll them again." He pointed at me. "Have fun." He smiled and waved.
Parker and I walked out after I grabbed my bag.
"Am I driving or you?" I looked up at him.
"Well I just took the top and doors off." He shrugged.
"You." I nodded. "You're driving."
"Deal." He leaned down and scooped me over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" I yelled.
"Nope." He laughed. "I'm back. Get used to it." He started running down the driveway and across the road.
"Do not drop me!" I yelled.
"Ani, you're maybe 120lbs. I got it." He nodded and tossed me in to his passengers seat.
"Don't go broadcasting my weight." I shook my head as he jumped in.
"I swear to god, do not say it." He shook his head. "It is all muscle and you know it."
"Yeah yeah." I rolled my eyes.
"What do you want to eat?" He pulled out of his driveway.
"Nulls." I nodded.
"Nulls it is." He smiled.

*Parker's POV*
No, I did not get shut down tonight.
I actually shut Cadence down because I wanted to hang out with Anson tonight.
I wasn't lying when I said it had been a couple weeks. We are working on our friendship, which requires hanging out, but honestly, I want to hear about how her and Cash's date went last weekend.
She hasn't told anyone but Piper and Kinsley. She hasn't even told Dyson which is strange.
But god I want to know.
Not because I'm jealous or anything. I just want to know if it was Piper jumping up and down with him just telling her about it good. I can't imagine it being better than picnic on the beach with food from Atlanta.
Her and I went to Nulls. We also managed to get banned from Nulls for a week for starting a food fight. Evidently, throwing a crab cake at someone and them throwing shrimp back, is not acceptable for a diner on the board walk. We however, did not get banned from Moose's.
We ended up making the dad's very happy, because we were actually back home by 8.
Now, we're up in her room with a big bowl of pop corn, we made some massive root beer floats, and once we decided to have a good old fashioned movie night, we stopped and picked up tons of candy.
"So, I've been meaning to ask you." I rolled from my back to my stomach and shoved a hand full of m&m's in my mouth.
"Ask away." She rolled to face me.
"How was your date last weekend?"
She smiled. "I can't imagine anyone ever having a better first date." She shook her head.
"Uhm, excuse me." I raised my eyebrows. "That was not your first date." I shook my head.
"Yes it was Park." She laughed.
"No, it's not, I took you to the movies when I was 12." I sat up and crossed my arms.
"That's because Dyson wasn't allowed to take out Tabby Musgrave unless you and I went with them because her mom is a psycho." She shook her head.
"Well, I still paid for you." I nodded.
"That doesn't make it a date Parker." She laughed. "You paid for me tonight and it wasn't a date."
"I still think I was your first date Ani. You don't just hold hands in a dark movie theater unless it's a date." I shook my head.
"I was 11." She nodded. "I didn't even know what a date was."
"Well I did, and it was definitely a date. Now enough about our date. What about the date last weekend."
She sighed and shook her head. "It was, amazing. We went to the fair. And, we ate, and ate, and ate."
"You guys get one of the breakfast burgers?"
She nodded. "And loaded fries and nacho's. Ton's of snacks. We rode rides, and it turns out he's actually a better shooter than me. Which is where this came from." She grabbed the big blue kitty that was up on her pillow.
"It smells like cotton candy?" I gave her a look.
"It does." She smiled. "And then we rode the Ferris wheel."
"And we all know Anson loves the Ferris Wheel." I nodded.
"And then he brought me home." She nodded.
"That's it? You guys went to the fair?"
She pursed her lips and nodded.
"Why is your face turning red?"
"It's not." She shook her head.
"Yes it is." I nodded. "What else happened." I laughed.
"Nothing." She laughed. "He just, may have kissed me at the top of the Ferris Wheel." She shrugged.
I raised my eyebrows. "No he didn't."
She nodded.
Of course he did. That was probably Pipers doing. Anyone who knows Anson really well will tell you that was one of those scenarios she's always dreamed of.
The her phone started going off.
"Speaking of." She smiled. "That's him."
Of course it is.

*Cash's POV*
Today was brutal.
Target practice, hand to hand, 10 miles with all of our stuff.
When we got back to the barracks, all I wanted to do was shower, and call Anson because I literally haven't talked to her all day.
That's exactly what I did.
I went and showered, hooked up my laptop because my phone is currently dead, and I started a face time as Andy, Bobby, and Jacob came walking in.
"Awe, calling the girlfriend." Jacob pouted.
"Not my girlfriend yet." I shook my head.
"Oh yeah, I kiss girls on top of the Ferris Wheel all the time just because I can. Dude, she's ya girlfriend." He nodded.
"Hi." Anson answered and smiled.
"Hi Belle. How was practice." I smiled.
"It was, strange." She shook her head. "Just felt weird you not being there."
"Awe do you miss me?" I pouted.
"Oh but she's not his girlfriend." Andy whispered and plopped down on his bed.
"The only thing I miss is whooping your ass on the track." She nodded.
"Mhm, I believe I won the race two weeks ago." I nodded.
"Yeah, because I got roosted by Dumbass Dalton." She rolled her eyes.
"You whooped his ass off a track though. Is the arm any better?"
She sat up and rolled her sleeve up. "Its been two weeks and I'm still pulling rocks out."
"Wait, what happened?" Bobby shook his head.
"We had a race two weeks ago, and when the gate dropped someone on a brothering team decided to cut her off, throw rocks with his back tire so bad that she had to lift her arms to block them and she came off her bike." I nodded.
"You didn't whoop his ass?" He raised his eyebrows.
"I did!" Anson yelled.
"She literally threw her helmet at him, grabbed him by his hair and just started teeing off. My dad, her dad, and our other owner had to pull her off." I shrugged.
"OK, so we have a hott gymnast who races and fixes bikes and throws hands like an inmate?" Andy raised his eyebrows.
"Pretty much." I nodded. "And what are you doing Belle?"
"Oh, just hanging out with Parker." She nodded. "We went and got food and now we're having a movie night."
"Parker's there?" I raised my eyebrows.
"Yeah, see." She turned her phone.
He smiled and waved. "What's up?"
"Just got done showering." I nodded. "You gonna be there when I get there tomorrow?"
"All three of us will." Anson nodded. "We decided we're gonna practice later when you have ROTC so we can still practice as a team."
"Awe you guys really like me." I pouted. "But hey, I'll just text you so you guys can watch your movie." I smiled.
"OK." She blew me a kiss. "See you tomorrow." She smiled and hung up.
"Dude." Jacob shook his head. "What the fuck."
"What?" I gave him a look.
"How are you so calm right now." He raised his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" I shook my head.
His eyes got wide. "Mickey are you kidding me right now?" He pursed his lips. "There is another dude, in your girls bed right now, and you're blowing it off like it's nothing?"
"They're friends? They've been friends literally their whole lives." I nodded.
"Did you two see it?" He looked at Bobby and Andy.
They both nodded.
"See what?" I shook my head.
"Mickey, the dude literally smirked at you, and wiggled his fingers." Bobby nodded. "That was a 'yeah, i'm with your girl' whats up. Not a 'what're you doing' what's up."
"No it wasn't. Parker and I are friends too." I nodded.
"Isn't that the kid she was hanging out with the last time you were here?" Andy raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah, something happened and they're trying to work on their friendship."
"What happened?" Jacob crossed his arms.
"Parker moved with his mom. He told Anson he liked her 3 days before, and he didn't say goodbye. She was the last to know he was moving. It ruined their friendship." I shrugged.
"So you're cool with the girl you're seeing hanging out with an ex fling?" He nodded.
"They're not ex flings. It was a crush, 4 years ago." I rolled my eyes.
"Do they hang out like that when you're home?" Bobby pursed his lips.
"Well, no." I shook my head.
"So they only hang out alone when you're not in town." He nodded. "Got it."
"Don't do that." I sighed. "That is not what's happening."
"Look Mick, all we're saying is that if our girls were hanging out in their beds with dude's who look like that, who used to have feelings for her, when we're not in town, and he looked at us like that, we would be throwing hands. Because even if she's not in to him, he's definitely in to her." Andy nodded.
"No, he's not. He's got like, 5 side pieces and a main squeeze." I shook my head.
"OK, so let me ask you this." He sat up. "Does he throw his arm around her when you guys are together?"
"Sometimes." I nodded. "They're friends."
"Does he get over-protective? Like around other guys?"
I pursed my lips. "Yes."
"Does he get super close to her, do things normal friends wouldn't do?"
I sighed. "Like plop down on a bed beside her when I'm standing right there?"
He nodded.
"Or try to avoid other girls when she's around?" He crossed his arms.
Fuck.
I took a deep breath. "Yeah. He does." I nodded.
"In to her." All three of them nodded.
"Look Mickey, just, if you really like her, keep an eye on the kid." Jacob nodded. "Because it seems to me like another dude is after your sweet little southern belle, and she doesn't seem like the kind of girl you want to lose."

Why are they fucking right?