won't watch you practice anymore."
His heart picked up speed. "You can watch anytime you want. I was just surprised when I saw you and then I ran into the biggest jerk on the team."
"Do you want me to let you get cleaned up? Then I'll meet you at your car."
"I usually wait until everyone else has cleared out of the locker room before I go in there. Like I said, they treat me pretty bad since those rumors went around."
"You have to fight back, like you did on the field."
He shook his head. "They're not worth it."
"They're making you miserable. You're worth it. You want me to take them out for you?"
Tanner laughed, obviously unaware of what I was truly capable of. "No thanks. I'll fight my own battles."
I ran my fingers over a bruise on his chin. "I could always hang on you and be your groupie. Then maybe they'd leave you alone, seeing that you—what's wrong?"
He had tears in his eyes that he was trying to blink away. He cleared his throat. "Nothing. Why would you offer to do that for me? Why do you care? You're more beautiful than any other girl in the school and I'm obviously just some loser that nobody likes."
His vulnerability awoke emotions from deep inside that I wasn't even aware were there. I wanted to wrap my arms around him and protect him, take care of him. I was confused by the strange, selfless emotions. "You're nothing of the sort," I whispered, pulling him to me. The smell of his sweat combined with dirt and grass wrapped itself around me. "There's something special about you that none of those idiots can see."
He looked at me with the same confusion that I was feeling. I kissed the bruises on his face and heard his heart race. It made me want him. I craved him, but in a way that was different than anything I'd ever experienced before. I couldn't even explain it to myself.
I kissed the remaining bruises on his face. My lips made their way to his and he kissed me back, dropping his helmet and wrapping his arms around me. Just as I started to open my mouth, I heard laughter.
Tanner and I both looked in the direction from which it was coming. There were several of the football players, now in their varsity jackets, making hand gestures and calling out to Tanner. His face flushed.
"Did you pay her to pretend to like you?" called one guy.
"Yeah, cuz you know that no girl would really like you!" shouted another.
Resisting the urge to run at them so fast that their weak eyes wouldn't even be able to see me, I stomped over to them at normal human speed. "You guys are real class acts, let me tell you. Are you proud of yourselves? Tanner over there is not only far better looking than all of you combined, but he's a much better person. Just leave him alone."
"Or what? You'll beat us up?"
I stared into his eyes, watching his pupils shrink. "Leave Tanner alone."
His eyes slowly went back to normal, and then he turned away from me and looked at his friends. "Let's just get out of here."
"What?"
"Come on, dude. We have better things to do."
I turned around and saw that Tanner was walking towards me. "You didn't have to do that."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I know that guys—"
He smiled. "You didn't embarrass me. That was awesome. I haven't had anyone stick up for me in a long time, much less someone as gorgeous as you. You managed to shut them up. I mean, I probably wouldn't want you to do that every day, but thanks."
"I know you can handle yourself," I said. "I'll let you get cleaned up. Want to meet me at your car?"
"That sounds good. I won't be long. I don't want to keep you waiting."
As I walked to Tanner's car, my cell phone rang. It was the tune that I had set for Vince's number.
"You're actually calling me yourself? What happened to going through Adam?"
"Where are you? You haven't checked in or shown up."
"I decided to stay in Delphic Cove. Do I really need to travel back and forth each day?"
"Where did you stay?"
"Just in an empty hotel room. I haven't found anyone yet