Full Count (19 page)

“What? What do you mean? I just
don’t…I don’t understand.” The tears streamed down my cheeks and Dad stood up
to wrap me in a warm hug. I scrubbed at my eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop.
Cancer had already taking one parent from me, and now it was taking the other?
This had to be some kind of twisted joke.

“I’m coming home then, I can’t go
back to school. I won’t be able to focus when I know you’re here dy…” No, I
couldn’t say that word, not yet. Probably never.

“No,” my dad answered sternly, his
fist slamming onto the table, making me jump. “You’re going to continue on with
your life like you normally would. I want to see you happy and I can see that
you are. And I think I owe a lot of thanks to this young man.” Dad patted Dylan
on the back and he answered with a quiet, “Thank you.”

I went to bed soon after that,
crying myself to sleep. Crying for my mom who I had lost too soon as a young
child. Crying for the dad who had raised me into the woman I was today. Crying
for the man who I would soon lose and not have any more memories to create
with.

The rest of the trip was quiet.
Dylan seemed to handle me like glass, afraid I was going to break any second. I
tried to convince Dad that it would be better if I stayed home with him, I
didn’t want him to be alone. He finally filled me in that he was seeing
someone, MaryAnn.

Apparently, she was a nurse that
worked at a clinic he had an appointment at. Even with knowing he didn’t have
much time left, she had jumped into a relationship with my dad. I, at least,
knew he was with someone who had a big heart and that she would take care of
him when I wasn’t here.

“Ugh. That was so exhausting.” I
dropped down onto Dylan’s bed the second we walked into his room back from our
trip and he followed after me, wrapping an arm around my waist. “I’m sure it
was,” he replied, pressing his lips to my temple.

“Just go to sleep, I’ll be right
here.” His hand worked its way underneath the back of my shirt and he rubbed
light circles across my back, causing my eyes to instantly droop. I was glad
that I had Dylan to help me through this.

Dad might not want me to leave
school, but I would still have to make an effort to talk to him as much as
possible and visit when I could. I don’t think the reality of the situation had
really sunk in yet, but I knew Dylan would be there every step of the way.

Paige

I woke up Sunday morning to the
feel of warm kisses being trailed down my bare stomach. After we got back into
town late Friday night, I woke up Saturday morning to breakfast in bed and
that’s where we stayed for the rest of the day. And why I was currently laying
naked in Dylan’s bed.

“Dylan.” I tugged on his hair to
stop his train of thought and he grinned up at me, darting his tongue out at
the same time to lick my stomach. “Nu uh mister. I am so freakin’ sore after
yesterday since you denied me for like a week. Don’t even think about it.”

“How come you didn’t tell me you
were sore?” His weight shifted and he propped himself on his elbows to stare
down at me intently. “I would have taken it a little bit easier on you last
night.”

“Well I didn’t want you to take it
easy on me,” I whispered out. “I like when you’re rough.” As soon as the words
were out of my mouth, I instantly felt embarrassed. I seriously needed a filter
when I was around Dylan. He was always making me say naughty things. And I knew
he loved it, especially by that cocky grin spread across his face right now,
causing his dimples to pop out which make that made me want him again even
though I was sore as hell.

“Always worrying Sparky. I can be
gentle sometimes, baby.” He lightly pushed on my shoulders and my head plopped
back onto the pillow. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting to see what he had in
store. “You better be or I swear I will kick you in the balls. Then you can be
sore too and see how it feels.”

I heard a muffled snort before his
mouth slid over my nipple, teasing the other with his fingers. I let out a moan
at the sensations that instantly ran through my body. Even with how worn out I
was, Dylan could always turn me on with one touch of his mouth.

He let my breast go with a pop and
his nose trailed down my belly, stopping to trace his tongue around my belly
button. He pulled back slightly, giving me a sexy grin before slowly spreading
my legs open, placing one around his shoulder. “I’ll be gentle, I promise,” he
reassured me before his fingers finally touched me, spreading me open
carefully, and I bit my lip to keep a gasp from escaping.

“Jesus Paige, you should have told
me how swollen you were. I wouldn’t have bothered you in the middle of the
night.” His warm breath blew between my legs as he spoke, causing my hips to
arch off the bed, needing his mouth on me.

“I didn’t mind,” I whispered out
breathlessly, my hands finding his hair to pull him closer to me. He finally
lowered his head with some guidance and his wet tongue flicked out, sending a
shock throughout my whole body. I felt anything but pain at the gentle care he
gave me, licking me over and over. He gave me one more swirl and flick of his
tongue, causing my body to clench when I found my release.

He slowly moved back up my body
after placing one last kiss between my legs. He laid his lips gently on mine,
before burying his face in the crook of my neck as my breathing returned to
normal. I moved my hand down between us to the hardness that was pushing up
against my stomach, but he quickly knocked it away. “That was all for you
Paige, don’t worry about me. I’ll go take a nice cold shower in the extra
bathroom while you take a bath.” He scooped me up and I wrapped my legs around
his waist while he carried me into the bathroom and then placed me on the
counter before starting the giant bathtub.

“I love you so much, Dylan.” I
clasped my hands behind his neck as he stood in between my legs, gazing down at
me with those warm brown eyes. “Thanks for being there with my dad. I don’t
know how I would have handled it without you. I just can’t imagine how it’s
going to be when he’s gone, I’ll be all alone.”

“Hey, that’s not true at all.” He
swiped at the lone tear that escaped onto my cheek. “Just like you said, I was
there and I’ll still be here, no matter what.” He brushed his lips against my
ear and whispered out, “Move in with me, Paige.”

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

“At least think about it, Paige.”
Dylan leaned out the window after dropping me off onto the front steps of my
dorm. I had thought about it, almost every second since he’s asked me. It
seemed a little soon but I would love to live with Dylan. To be able to go to
sleep with him every night and wake up in his arms the next morning.

 I knew his schedule was going to
get busy soon with baseball season starting up and that was part of his
argument of why it would be such a good idea. Really, I had no objections
except for Kitty. I really didn’t want to abandon my roommate. She had really
taken me under her wing when I first got to campus and she was the best girlfriend
I had ever had.

“Hey, your back!” Kitty wrapped her
arms around me the second I walked in. “How are you doing, sweetie pie?” She
pulled back to look at me, swiping at the hair that’s escaped my ponytail.
After my dad’s shocking news, I had instantly called Kitty. Dylan was
comforting to have around, but it was nice to have Kitty to vent to. She always
had the best advice.

“I’m doing okay, I guess.” I dropped
my bags on my bed and started emptying them so I could catch up on my laundry.
“I really don’t want to talk about it right now though. How was your break?”

“Ok, but whenever you need me you
know I’ll be here.” She plopped down onto a beanbag chair and patted the empty
spot next to her. “C’mon we need to catch up, you can do that later.” I dropped
my dirty clothes and did as I was told, knowing there must be some big scoop if
she needed my full attention.

“Well the holidays were great. Grant
really seems to be fitting in well with my family. Of course everyone missed
Dylan and you too. Mama was so excited that he was going home with you though,
but I could see how much she missed him. She sent back a bunch of extra food
that she knows he loves, I put it in the fridge down the hall.” She twirled a piece
of blonde hair around her finger and took a long pause.

“Just spit it out Kitty, the
suspense is killing me. I can tell you’re holding back something important.”

“I know, I know. I’m just a little
nervous to bring this up.” She took a deep breath and held her hands out in
front of her. “Okay, here goes. You know Shanna, my big sister?” I nod my head
in answer. I’ve met Shanna at a few of the sorority events Kitty has managed to
drag me to. Shanna was a senior and assigned as Kitty’s big sister to show her
the ropes around the sorority. It really wasn’t my scene but I go when she
needs me to.

“Well, she called while I was back
home and asked if I wanted to move into the house. Normally freshmen don’t get
to but I guess some girl dropped out and isn’t coming back, so Shanna called to
ask me first. I didn’t give her an answer yet, since I really love living with
you. I just don’t want you to feel like I’m abandoning you or something. I mean
we’ll still hang out and be bff’s, we just won’t be living together. If you
hate the idea, just tell me the truth. I don’t want to leave you here all alone
if you’re going to be miserable.”

“Well, actually.” A grin spread across
my lips and Kitty’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Wait, do you want me to
move out? I mean I know we’re completely different, but I thought we got along
really well.”

“No Kitty, that’s not it at all. I
was just going to say how convenient it was, because Dylan asked me to move in
with him this morning.”

“O-M-G!” She let out a loud gasp
and jumped up to her knees. “Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe he
actually wants you to move in! I mean he never even let girls spend the night
before you. I never thought he would ask this. This is a really, really big
step. So did you say yes like, right away?”

“No,” I pushed down on her shoulder
so she was back into a sitting position and would hopefully calm down, a
little. “I didn’t give him an answer because I really didn’t want to leave you
all alone. I guess we’re more alike than you think.”

“I guess so. Are you going to tell
him yes then?”

“I think so, I wanted to right away
but I wanted to talk to you first.”

“Well it’s settled then.” She stood
up and grabbed her purse before tugging on my hand. “Let’s go, we have some
serious shopping to get done before you move in with Dylan Turner.”

“Um, what kind of shopping would I
possibly need to do?” I quickly followed her out the door. Apparently, she was
a woman on a mission.

“Oh please Paige,” she replied over
her shoulder. “I see what you wear to bed every night. Do you think Dylan wants
to see you in those ratty t-shirts you always have on?” She didn’t even give me
a chance to answer before continuing on. I don’t know, I kind of liked my
shirts I slept in, they were comfy and reminded me of home.

“The answer is no way in hell. We
are getting you some sexy jammies, he probably won’t ever want to leave the
house once he sees you in them. Now let’s go, some serious shopping and a bite
to eat sounds like a perfect day with my best friend, even if we aren’t going
to be roommates anymore.”

Dylan

“I think that’s everything.” I looked
at the small stack of boxes, pushed into the corner of my room, that all
belonged to Paige. I figured I would be scared as hell when it actually
happened, but I wasn’t. Paige moving in with me just felt right. And now that
baseball season was starting it would give us a little bit of extra time to
spend with each other.

“Now I just have to unpack it all.”
She huffed out a breath to blow a stray piece of hair out of her face and
leaned against the wall. “Where do you want me to put all of my clothes? I
don’t want to invade your space and all.”

“Don’t worry about it, Sparky. This
isn’t just my space anymore, it’s yours too.” I placed my hands on her hips,
pulling her body closer to mine until we were molded together, fitting
perfectly. “Move any of my shit you need. I’ll help you with whatever after I
get back from practice.”

“Ok,” she dragged out. “You sure
you have to leave right now?” Her hand moved to the waistband of my boxers and
inched down before making contact. I let out a groan and took a step back, away
from Paige’s hand that felt oh so good. “Trust me Sparky, I would love to stay
but Coach would kick my ass if I missed practice, especially since they just
started up.”

“Fine,” she pouted out before
kissing the corner of my mouth. “I have plenty to unpack anyways and have some
studying to do. I’ll see you when you get home then.”

“Home. That sounds so weird, but so
perfect. I love you.”

“Love you too,” she called out
before I shut the door behind me. “Hey,” I cracked the door open and saw her
opening all of the drawers to make room for her stuff. “Plan on coming to
practice with me tomorrow, I have a date planned for us afterwards.”

“Oh really? And let me guess you aren’t
going to share any details?” She quirked an eyebrow at me, waiting for more but
that was not happening, my lips were sealed. “See ya beautiful.”

I made the short drive over to the
stadium for practice. This was my favorite time of year, knowing that games
would be starting up soon and I would be completely in my element.

The university had a great baseball
club and was one of the best in the country, which was the main reason I
accepted a scholarship to play here. The atmosphere was definitely different
than a football game, but baseball was really a completely different sport and
we had a great fan base.