Pathfinder

Part 1 - 14

FOURTEEN – BRODY

"So are you fucking her to gain her help so you pass a class or something?"

I blinked. How had Tyson and I remained friends this long? Oh right, at times, I'd been just as big of an asshole. I sighed, "No, I'm not fucking her for a grade. We haven't even had sex yet, not that it's any of your business. I like her. She's different. She's...refreshing."

"So if I was to make a pass at Amber?"

I chuckled, "Amber is all yours man."

Tyson nodded, grinning, "Cool."

On the court, a few minutes later, I glanced up into the bleachers. A few other girlfriends were there to watch our basketball practice, which coach allowed as long as the girls didn't prove to be too much of a distraction. Lexi sat up there now, but she sat apart from the other girls and had her nose in a book. I grinned. My girl was a total nerd. She might not care about sports, but at least she was nice enough to sit around, waiting for me to practice, and then we'd drive home together.

We had spent most of the evening, the night before, talking. She'd told me what she had recently learned about the death of her mother and how Lance blamed himself. The truth coming out is what led him toward the path of rehab. That kind of quilt had to be tough to live with for so long. I was envious how close Lexi was to her brothers. Cammy and I used to be that close, but then she married that douche-nozzle, Ron.

"Vincent! Get your head out of the clouds! You're leading drills." Coach Drake announced and I fell in line accordingly. For the next hour and a half, we ran drills, we scrimmaged, and we ran sprints. By the time practice was over, I was drenched from sweat. On my way to the locker room, I pulled my shirt off, over my head and couldn't resist looking at Lexi again. Her eyes were no longer glued to her book. When I caught her looking at me, she blushed and I realized she had been checking me out. I gave her a cocky grin and entered the locker room walking backward.

I hurriedly took a shower and got dressed, before telling Tyson I'd see him tomorrow and headed out to Lexi. A couple of the other girlfriends had stopped to talk to her and, as I approached, I heard them say, "Since we have no school Thursday and Friday, this week, there is a party at Tucker Lowenstein's house Wednesday night. You and Brody should totally swing by."

"Uh, yea, ok...maybe." Lexi muttered, clearly uncomfortable about something. The other girls waved and then left.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Lexi shook her head and smiled, but it was clearly forced. I took her hand and we went out to the car. She was quiet on the way home, so when she parked and turned off the engine, I asked again, "Lexi, I know something is wrong. Tell me. Please."

She sighed, "You saw Whitney and Jessica talking to me, as you came out of the locker room. Well, all you heard was them playing nice, by inviting me to that party. What you didn't hear was what they said before they caught a glimpse of you heading our way."

I clenched my jaw, "What did they say?"

"It's nothing I hadn't expected. They just wanted to know why you and I are together. They don't get it and well, I still don't get it sometimes. You can literally have any girl you want and probably have had most of them, so I still don't understand why me. They said it's not like I'm even pretty."

"That's bullshit!" I practically shout, before lowering my voice, "Lex, you better not have believed one word out of their mouths. You're your own brand of gorgeous and if anybody says otherwise, then they're just jealous. I like you, Lexi. That's why I'm with you. End of story. I have no ulterior motives. I'm not using you for sex, because like you said, I could get anyone and I'm not bragging when I say that. When I'm with you, I feel more happiness than I've felt in years and when I'm away from you, I miss you like crazy. That's why I'm dating you. That's why you're my girlfriend and I don't give a damn if anybody has a problem with it."

"Did you want to go to Tucker's party on Wednesday?" She asked, nervous and clearly not wanting to go.

"No, not this time. I think you and I should go on a real date, instead."

"Really?" She beamed at me and I knew I'd made the right decision.

When Wednesday rolled around, I took her out to dinner and a movie, before we stopped off for ice cream. We went for a drive, afterward, not wanting the night to end. In the past, my goal was to see how fast I could get a girl's panties off. Tonight, Lexi and I hadn't done more than a few chaste kisses and we held hands, which was more than enough. I just liked spending time with her. It was amazing how quickly she'd changed me. My new goal had become to see how fast I could make Lexi Green smile.

I knew my life was a mess, at the moment. I mean, my own parents kicked me out. I still couldn't believe they'd actually done that. My sister had been nice enough to sneak into my room and bring me a duffle bag full of my clothes. She'd given me shit about the box of condoms she found in my dresser, as well as the nudey magazines she'd found in my closet. Whatever. Again, a horny eighteen year old boy here. Thankfully, Lexi didn't seem put off by my horny self. In fact, each time we made out, I could sense her opening up to me more and more. I knew it wouldn't take much to convince Lexi to go all the way with me, but I wasn't going to rush her. When she was ready, she'd let me know and I'd try to make the experience special for her when that time did come.