The Football Player's Rebel

Let's Compromise

Melanie's P.O.V.

The school week drug by slowly, as usual.  Tiffany met Asher and we've all been eating lunch together. I was getting more and more stares everyday from everyone, after what happened with Sara in the hallway on Monday.  Unfortunately, it had gained me attention that I didn't want.  I was constantly being hit on by guys I didn't even know, and talked about by girls who had crushes on Tuck.  Tuck kept his distance, talking to me when he had the time but keeping his hands to himself.  Surprisingly, that was something I missed, his touch.  Today was Friday, and like usual Tiffany, Asher, and I were sitting at our table by the vending machines, consumed in one of our normal conversations.  

"So tell me again, what's Fletcher like?", Tiffany giggles, asking Asher for the fifth time this week.

I hear him let out a loud groan as he brushes his hair out of his face, "Oh my freaking gosh, Tiff!  You guys better hit it off, because I swear I'm never setting you up with anyone else, ever again!", he yells out at her playfully, before looking at me and pointing towards Tiffany, "You don't have any other annoying friends, do you?  Just this one, right?"

I laugh, knowing that he's messing with her.  I shake my head, letting him know that he's in luck, that Tiff is the only friend I have.

He smiles at me and winks, then looks back at her, "Fletch has short black hair and green eyes, plays guitar, sings, loves teeny tiny red heads...", he turns and winks at me, while I laugh out loud at the specific words he's using to describe her, "...he rides a BMX, loves punk rock music, loves going to the beach and playing volleyball, and loves to go camping and being outside."

"UGH! I'm gushing!  It's like a dream come true!", Tiffany squeals as she clenches her hands to her heart, leaning back in her seat.

I laugh at her, she's so damn dramatic sometimes.

"So, you guys ready for tomorrow night?", Asher asks, looking at me and grinning, while his dimples flash on his cheeks.

Tiffany quickly leans forward in her seat, while dramatically hitting her hands on the table, "Do you even have to ask?!"

"Yes! We're ready for tomorrow night.", I say calmly to Asher while I giggle at Tiffany.

"What's happening tomorrow night?", I hear a deep voice say from behind me.

I turn around to see Chad and Tuck sitting their lunch trays down on the table.  I furrow my brows, confused about what is happening.

"Uh...don't you guys belong over there?", I hear Tiff ask, as she points at a table on the other side of the lunch room, where all of the popular kids usually sit. 

"Thought we'd change it up a bit.", Tucker says, as he looks at me and smiles, before it quickly turns into a frown as he looks towards Asher.

"So what's happening tomorrow night?", Chad asks again.

"My friend and I are taking the girls to a My Chemical Romance concert in the city.", Asher says as he leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Chad furrows his brows at Asher, "Who's My Chemical Romance?"

"It's a punk rock band, dude.", I hear Tuck say quietly, before ducking his head down to eat his food. 

"Oh, cool! Well, if you guys get back in time, we're thinking about having a party at my house! You guys are more than welcome to come.", Chad says, before looking at Tiffany and winking at her.

She scoffs at him and rolls her eyes, "As if I would be caught dead at one of your frat boy, wannabe parties, on a Saturday night."

I giggle at her, knowing that she can't stand the fact that Chad thinks he can have any girl he wants.

"I don't know, it might be kind of fun.  I'm new here so it would be a good chance for me to meet people outside of the whole school setting, something more laid back and chill. What do you think, Melanie?  Would you want to stop by after the concert?", Asher asks me.

I look around the table and notice everyone staring at me now, waiting for my answer.

"I mean, yeah, it might be kind of fun.  Is it cool if Asher's friend, Fletcher, comes along with us?"

"The more the merrier!", Chad says, while opening his arms wide and leaning back in his chair.

I look over at Tuck, who is now smiling at me, and notice that his shoulders are more relaxed than they were before.

I hear Tiffany groan, before she leans over and starts hitting her forehead on the table, "Why are you torturing me like this, Mel?"

"Just think of it as an adventure we haven't experienced in high school yet, okay? We always promised each other we would be open to any new experience in high school. Live life to the fullest, right?",  I say as I lean over the table and flick Tiffany on the head.

She looks up at me and squints her eyes at me glaringly, "I didn't plan on sharing my experiences with THIS guy, though.", she says as she points towards Chad.

"I'm not that bad once you get to know me, baby doll.", he chuckles as he winks at her.

"Exhibit A, he just called me baby doll.", she says to me as she motions her hand at Chad, before turning towards him and glaring at him threateningly, "Look, if me and you are going to be forced to hang out, here are the rules: 1) No calling me baby doll.  In fact, only call me Tiff or Tiffany, from here on out. 2) No touchy! No touchy me at all! Okey-dokey? 3) If you offer me any type of drink at this party, it better be sealed, because I don't trust you not to roofie it. 4) If you start talking to me about football, I'm going to scream. 5) Don't try to sweet talk me, because I'm not one of these bimbos, that you're so use to fawning all over you all of the time! Cool? Cool."

He looks over at me and points his thumb back towards her, while he chuckles at her, "I like this one! She's fiesty, just like you!"

I snort as I let out a loud laugh.  Watching the two of them together is like watching a comedy.

***

The last bell rings for the day and I grab my backpack and sling it over my shoulder.  Asher and I walk out of photography together and walk down the hallway towards the vending machines.  I put two quarters in and press the button for a Dr. Pepper, before we start walking towards the parking lot.  I wave goodbye to him as he climbs into his jeep, before I start walking down the sidewalk towards my house.  I get a quarter of a mile down the road, when I hear that familiar pickup truck pull up next to me and slow down.

"He didn't even have the decency to give you a ride home? Damn Wilson, that's some high standards you've got there.", Tuck says sarcastically, as he drives his truck slowly beside me.

I stop walking and turn to look at him, making him stop his truck, "I mean, it's the eyebrow piercing that really has me hooked, and that blue hair, mmm, damn!", I tease back at him, as I dramatically put my hand over my heart.

"Just get in!", Tuck says loudly as he laughs, leaning over and opening the passenger side door for me.

I climb into the truck and buckle my seatbelt.  Tuck leans up and presses the number one button on his radio settings, only for it to automatically go to 106.1.  I wonder what that's about?

I look at him and smile, "Since when did you start listening to rock music?"

"Mmm, just kind of got a taste for it lately.", he says as leans over and places his hand on my knee. 

He starts driving again, heading towards our neighborhood.  I wiggle under his touch, trying to get rid of the butterflies that automatically appear, every time he gets close to me or touches me.  After realizing they aren't going away anytime soon, I just accept it and throw my right leg onto his dashboard like I usually do.  Tuck's hand drifts upwards to my mid-thigh, but I don't even think he notices that he did it.  We drive in a comfortable silence, before I suddenly realize that we've passed the road that goes towards our neighborhood.

"Where are you taking me?", I ask him, knowing he has something up his sleeve.

"It's a surprise.", he tells me, before looking at me with a mischievous smile.

I laugh a little under my breathe and look out the window, "It always seems to be a surprise with you."

Tucker looks back at the road and starts tapping his fingers on my thigh to the beat of an ACDC song that's playing over the radio.  I'm surprised he's actually liking the music, thinking the only thing he listens to is that atrocious rap music.  Soon enough, we pull onto an abandoned road at the edge of town.

"Tuck, if you're taking me somewhere to kill me and dump my body, I am going to come back and haunt you so hard it's not even funny.", I say as I laugh.

"Have a little more faith in me than that, Melanie.  If I wanted to kill you, I'd just sneak into your bedroom window at night and smother you in your sleep.  So much easier.", he says as he laughs back at me.

After driving a half mile or so we pull up to a field that's overlooking the town.

"I just wanted some time alone with my favorite girl.  Can you blame me?", he says softly as he puts the truck in park, before looking over at me.

I lean my head back on the headrest as I stare at him, letting a gentle grin cover my face.  He turns off the truck and we both jump out.  Tuck goes to his tailgate, while I look around at the view, amazed that I had never seen this place before.

"Going to join me?", he asks from behind me as he sits on his tailgate, patting the seat next to him and pulling a cooler towards him from the bed of the truck.

I walk towards him and hop up on the tailgate, "What'cha got there?", I ask him as I point towards the cooler.

Tuck opens the cooler and pulls out some raspberry filled donuts and a thermos filled with hot chocolate.  My favorites.

"I know they're your favorite.", he says as he hands me a donut, before pouring some hot chocolate into a styro-foam cup for me.

I grab the two and tell him thank you, brushing my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear, before looking back at the view.  The wind is blowing and it's fall, meaning that the air is cold.  I shiver a little from a chill that runs down my spine.  Tucker jumps off of the tailgate and goes to the backseat of the truck and grabs a blanket.  He comes back and grabs the cooler from beside me and sets it on the ground, before jumping back onto the tailgate beside me.  He scoots closer to me to where our legs are touching and throws the blanket outwards to unfold it, then wraps it around the two of us.  We sit in a comfortable silence as we look out at the city.

"What do you really see in him, Mel?", I hear Tucker almost whisper suddenly, pulling me out of my daze.

I let out a sigh and look up at him.  His green eyes are glimmering from the sunlight as he stares at me, and I notice pain hidden in them.  He has dark circles under his eyes that I hadn't noticed before, and his hair is frizzier than usual, rather than in their perfect ringlets like they normally are, meaning he had been running his hands through his hair a lot. 

"I'm not dating him or anything, Tuck.", I say sternly.

"But you're going on a date with him tomorrow night, right?", he asks softly, his eyes falling away from me and down to the ground.

I nod my head at him, "A double date, yeah."

"So what do you see in him, then?", he asks again as he looks back at me, his facial features twisted as if he's in pain.

I exhale heavily through my nose, trying not to get annoyed with him, "He makes me laugh, and he's genuine and honest from what I've seen.  Despite his rough looks, he's actually pretty sweet and a gentleman.  We're into the same bands, the same hobbies..."

"...but does he make you feel the way I make you feel?", Tucker interrupts me, as he stares at me with hope in his eyes.

I stay quiet for a moment, trying to decide what to say, "No one has ever made me feel the way you MADE me feel, not yet anyway.  You owe it to me, though, to let me figure that out on my own, to let me experience someone besides you.  I loved you so much, you have no idea how much I loved you.  Tuck, we're starting over, though.  I know things are so comfortable between us that it feels like it should be so easy to pickup where we left off, but I can't allow myself to be that vulnerable with you.  Not yet, anyway.  I hope you understand that.", I tell him as a tear falls down my cheek.

Tuck reaches up and wipes the tear away with his thumb, before brushing his thumb over my jawline, "No need to cry, beautiful.  You don't have to explain anymore, I understand.  I hurt you, but I promise you, I will never hurt you again.  I want you to have the experiences you deserve and desire.  However, I hope you understand, that I'm not going to stop fighting for you.  I'm not going to give up easily, because I want you to one day be mine again.  So, how about we make a compromise?"

"Oh yeah? What would this compromise consist of?", I ask, now giggling at him.

A grin takes over his face when I giggle at him, before turns serious again, "Every time you go on a date with Asher, you have to go on a date with me as well, just to even out the playing field."

I roll my eyes at him, "That's hardly even fair, Tucker.  You have nine years on him, so you kind of have an advantage."

"Ah! I thought you'd say that.  Really, though, if you think about it, he's at an advantage.  You're starting off new and fresh with him.  With me, though, there's a lot of baggage that I'm going to have to overcome to win you back.", Tuck says as he smiles down at me, eyes twinkling with playfulness now.

"I'll offer you a different deal.  For every three dates I have with Asher, or whatever other guy might come along, you get one date and you also get to drive me home from school every day.", I say as I bargain back with him.

"Here's the problem with that, I have football practice every evening after school during the fall, and then we start back up again in late spring.", Tuck says as a frown takes over his face.

"Okay, how about this? Three days a week I walk home like normal, and the other two days I'll wait in the bleachers for you and do my homework while you practice? How does that sound?"

"So the punk rebel girl is going to come to two football practices a week, and gush over me like all of the cheerleaders do?", Tuck says, laughing loudly.

"THERE WILL BE NO GUSHING! YOU'RE JUST MY RIDE HOME!", I warn him as I shove his arm a little.

"Sure, sure...whatever you say.  I'll have you gushing over me in no time.", Tuck teases at me.

I squint my eyes at Tuck, "You know, I'm sure Asher would be happy to just give me a ride home, if he knew I was being tortured by having to watch the jocks sweat all over each other after school."

Tucker stops laughing suddenly and his face falls, "Okay, okay. There won't be any gushing.  I won't even remotely try to make you gush over me. No winking, no waving, or anything.  I'll just ignore you until it's time to go. Just let me be the one that drives you home, promise?"

"Promise.", I say smiling, "Speaking of football, don't you have a game tonight?", I ask a little concerned now.

"Yeah, but we always have an hour and a half to go grab some food, before we have to be in the locker room.", Tuck says as he checks the time on his phone, "Which is about right now, so we need to get going if I'm going to take you home."

I smile at him as I pat my hand on his shoulder, "How about I just come to the game? It'll be easier on you, and you know, new experiences and all that s**t that me and Tiffany like to talk about."

Tucker smiles so wide that I feel like his face is going to c***k open, but I just ignore him and jump off of the tailgate.  I walk to the passenger door and go to open it, but I hear Tucker walk up behind me, "Melanie, I forgot something."

I turn around to face him, "What did you for..."

Tuck's lips crash into mine, his hands cupping behind my head, fingers going into my hair.  He pulls away for a second to see if there is any hesitation in my eyes, only for me to grab him by his shirt and pull him back into me. He walks me backwards a couple of steps until my back is pressed against the door of his truck, our lips move together perfectly, as he moves his hands down to my waist while I wrap my arms around his neck.  He lifts me up with ease and I wrap my legs around his waist, before he presses against me, pushing me firmly against the truck.  I let out a breathy moan when his groin presses against mine, feeling his hard-on rub against me. Tuck's tongue enters my mouth and tangles with mine.  The kiss is aggressive at first, like our lives depended on how roughly we kissed one another.  I run my hands through Tucker's hair and tug at it, earning a low and throaty growl from him.  Soon, our kissing starts to slow down, becoming more passionate and sensual.  Tucker bites at my lower lip and gently tugs at it, before letting it go. He gives me a few sweet pecks as his breathe fans against my lips, before he hesitantly pulls away.  He stares at me for a few seconds, his eyes dark and filled with lust, "I forgot my good luck kiss."