One Of The Guys

Chapter 24

******Jake POV******
Taylor and I are walking through the halls in school. She's worried that Alex told about Mike and her dad.

"If he did, then he's gonna die before he gets a chance to graduate." I say, glaring at Alex. He glares back, but I grab his arm.

"What the fuck Jake?" He yells.

"Did you tell about Mike or anything else that happened this morning?" I ask quietly.

"I don't know." He says, smirking. I twist his arm.

"Alex. Everyone is looking at us weird. Did you or did you not?" I ask, staring at him.

"No. I told them that you and Taylor were dating and have sleepovers all the time now." He says, looking down at his feet.

"Fuck you!!! You are blinded by jealousy. You can't even see past your own arrogance. Taylor has a right to be happy whether it's with you or with someone else." I yell.

"I swear to god, if you tell I will hit you where it hurts. If you ever hurt Taylor, you'll wish you never showed your face here. Got it?" I say, keeping my voice low.

"Got it." He whispers.

"C'mon." Taylor says, grabbing my hand. We walk towards the lunch room and I slip my arm around her waist. She smiles at me a little. When we walk in, the football team stands up and cheers. I bow, but Taylor turns bright red. So I kiss her gently, which causes more cheers and her face to turn more red.

"You know I love you, right?" I whisper.

"Nope. I had no idea with the way you're acting right now." She says, glaring at me a little.

"Come on. They're already used to most of this." I smile and eventually she smiles back. By this time, we're seated at the football table. Cassidy walks over.

"Oh hey. Mind if I sit here?" She asks, smirking at Taylor.

"Actually, we do." Alex says, glancing at Taylor. I look up in surprise, he glanced at me too.

"What?" She asks, her smirk disappears.

"Are you stupid? I said no, so get lost." Alex says, making a shoo motion with his hands. Cassidy turns a little red and stalks off. The guys stare at Alex. He shrugs and goes back to eating. The guys look at each other and go back to eating too.

"What was that?" Taylor whispers.

"I have no idea." I whisper back. We go back to eating, but I never let go of her hand. She acts alright, but that's just the image she gives people. She's more broken than you could ever imagine.

************

I hustle out to the field, spotting Taylor on my way out. I wave and she waves back.

"Cut this girlfriend shit. I know you're dating. But on the field, she's just one of the guys." Coach says, coming up behind me.

"I'd wave to her anyways, it's not girlfriend shit." I retort. Wrong move.

"Sorry." I quickly say.

"Get out there." He says, nodding towards the field. By the time I get out there, Taylor is already there.

"Okay. Everyone's here but Coach. And that's okay since he'll be along soon. Tonight is the big game. If we lose, no playoffs. No pressure." Taylor says, smiling at the last part.

"Okay. Let's get in the zone. We have to focus. Unfortunately, it's away. So get on the bus and think about the game the entire 2 hour ride. Just kidding. But think about it a little." She says, smiling more. We all grab our bags and go to the bus.

"Captain. What plays are we doing?" I ask, looking at her. I bump her a little.

"Play love. It's where you kiss Taylor. Ready, set, hike." Zach yells.

"Nice try." I say back. But to my surprise, Taylor stands on her toes and kisses me. I glance around, luckily Coach isn't on the bus yet. We sit in the back where we always sit.

"We've gotta win this." Taylor says.

"Yeah, it's the game that will determine if we go to playoffs or not." I say.

"This is big. Oh my God. If we lose, its all my fault." Taylor says, looking away from me. I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Never. It's never gonna be your fault. If we lose, its the team's fault. Not just yours. We win as a team, we lose as a team." I whisper in her ear.

"I love you so fucking much." She whispers.

"I love you so fucking much, too." I whisper back. Zach, who took the seat in front of us, turns around.

"You guys are so cute. No wonder Jake moved in." He says.

"Shut up. Coach can't know. And no one else can. They'll put me in a foster place or something like that because I'm not 18 yet." She says, glaring at him. He raises his hands in surrender.

"Okay. Okay." He says, shaking his head a little.

"Oh my God. I graduate in less than a year. Oh my God, I can't go to college unless I get a full ride. I need scouts to notice me. Oh my God." She screeches.

"Okay, Taylor. Calm down. I can't go either unless I get a full ride. And if some scout wants me, then 10 will want you." I say, squeezing her shoulders.

"But we have to go to the same college. And most teams won't want me because I'm a girl." She says, starting to wail. Some of the guys look our way.

"Okay. Taylor, calm the fuck down. If they saw you play, they wouldn't care. And worry about this after the game. It'll only make your game off." I say, staring at her this time.

"Okay. How to be calm. Okay. You're right. I need to stop worrying until the game is over." She says, breathing again.

"Good." I say, smiling at her. Then I lean down and kiss her softly. She rests her head on my shoulder and stays like that for a long time.