The Football Player's Rebel

Teenage Hormones

Melanie's P.O.V.

"Haha! What a freaking turd!", my friend best friend, Tiffany, yells over the phone.

*Flashback*

Tiffany and I had became friends our freshman year of high school.  Even though I didn't show it, I had been going through a huge depression from losing Tuck at the time and my dad leaving.  Just like perfect timing, she moved to our school from Georgia.  She was my saving grace, and has been ever since.  I don't know where I would be if she hadn't came into my life.  After Tuck, I had no one to talk to.  Although I'm comfortable with myself, and always have been, loneliness is excruciating.  Tiffany showed up out of nowhere one day, like the hurricane that she is.  I had heard all of the gossip about the cool, rebellious new girl.  Honestly, I had gotten sick of it, it's all anyone could talk about for days.

I was sitting outside in the commons one day, eating my lunch and reading a book, when I felt the bench I was sitting on shift underneath me.  I looked up to find a cheery, petite redhead, with seafoam green eyes smiling down at me.  She was around five foot and had a pixie cut.  Her bright smile was shining in the sunlight.  She was wearing a white tee that she had cut into a crop top and ripped black skinny jeans.  She might have weighed one hundred pounds soaking wet. 

"My name is Tiffany Miller.", she said to me as she crossed her arms on the table, "You look lonely."

I just politely smiled at her. 

"I can fix that, you know..", she continued as she bit into her sandwich.

I let out a small snort and chuckled, "I doubt that."

We've been friends ever since.

*END FLASHBACK*

"I mean, who does he think he is, just trying to waltz right back into your life as if nothing happened?!", she yells hysterically over the phone.

She knows everything I went through with Tuck and my dad.  It took a lot of work for her to get me out of my depression to where I am now, so I don't blame her for being mad. 

"I did have fun with him, though, Tiff.", I tell her softly, almost apologetically, as if I shouldn't have been enjoying myself.

I hear her pause before she let's out a frustrated sigh.

"Melanie, I don't trust him.  I watch the way he is with other girls at school.  He's been through all of them almost like he's checking names off of a list.  Are you sure that he's not just taking you on as a challenge?", she asks, concern filling her voice.

Like that hasn't already crossed my mind.

"He just seemed like he was genuinely sorry.  It was such an intimate and sincere apology that it made me uncomfortable.  That's why I got so frustrated with him.", I tell her with tears in my eyes again, as I think back to the words Tuck had told me earlier that evening.

The other end is quiet for a few seconds, before Tiffany gently starts talking again on the other end, "What do you mean that's why you got so frustrated with him?"

"Like, it's almost like I've been pushing back all the sadness and trust issues I have had with him for so long, and have been waiting for an apology for so long, that when he finally did apologize, my emotions were busting at the seams and turning into rage.  I got mad because I was having a good time and out of nowhere he has to bring up the past and talk about things that I just really didn't want to bring up and talk about.  I wasn't ready to talk to him about what he had put me through, I just wanted to enjoy the day and go back to ignoring each other at school like we normally do.", I confess as I brush a tear off of my cheek.

"I mean, maybe he needs to have some rage thrown his way.  Pretty boy gets his way with everything.", she giggles out, as she tries to cheer me up, knowing I am crying on the other end of the phone.

"I think I made it pretty clear that I didn't forgive him, and if me yelling at him didn't get the point across, I'm sure me flirting with the new kid did.", I tell Tiff as I wipe the last tear off of my cheek, smiling as I think about Asher.

"Wait! What new kid?!", Tiffany squeals, wanting all the details I was holding back.

"Oh my gosh, Tiff.  This new guy is SO HOT!!! Just my type. Punk rock, skateboards, tattoos and piercings, but really sweet.  He was such a gentleman.  I was walking along the boardwalk upset and he walked up and asked why I was moping around.  All I told him was that a friend and I had gotten into an argument, and then he asked if he could help get my mind off of it, that a beautiful girl like me shouldn't be spending the day so upset.  We talked about different bands and laughed at kids that were running around on the boardwalk.  I found out he was starting at our school on Monday, and we exchanged numbers.  Then, he told me that he would TRY to do the three day rule of not texting me, but that I'm so pretty he might not be able to help himself.  I couldn't help but laugh at him, because no one has ever called me beautiful or pretty before, so I thought he was crazy.  That's when Tuck walked up and tapped me on the shoulder, telling me it was time to go.", I tell her, getting irritated again at the mention of Tuck's name. 

"Mel! This is TOO exciting! We don't have any guys like that, that go to our school! All of them are jocks or nerds.", Tiffany squeals in the phone.

We talk a little longer before we say our goodbyes, since it is already past eleven o'clock.  

After showering, I change into a crop top tank top with a smiley face on the front, and some plaid pajama pants that are so big they hang loosely on my hips.  I climb into bed and grab my book to read. Before I know it, it is 2:35 a.m.  I always lose track of time when reading a good book.  I slide my bookmark into my book and shut it, placing it on my bedside table beside me.  I stretch my arms up, trying to stretch out my back, because I had gotten stiff from sitting in the same position for so long.  I sling my comforter off of me and make my way downstairs, tiptoeing as I try not to wake my mom up.  I open the refrigerator door to find a snack, when my phone buzzes in my pajama pants pocket.

        *Come outside. Please?* -Tuck

I roll my eyes, but slide my flip flops on anyway and unlock the door, slowly closing it behind me so it wouldn't click loud and wake my mom.  I walk down the steps of my front porch porch, only to find Tuck sitting on the tailgate of his truck, sipping on a beer.

"I knew you would come.  You're so predictable.", Tuck says as he drunkenly smirks at me.

I roll my eyes at him, annoyed because it was cold, and he was drunk, and I was stupid for coming out here in the first place.

"Such beautiful eyes, shouldn't be hidden in the back of your skull, from you rolling them all of the time.", he teases me as he takes another sip from his beer.

"Tuck, what do you want?", I ask him, getting irritated at his drunkenness now.

"You.", he says seriously, sitting his beer down and jumping off of his tailgate, before walking over to me.

I feel butterflies rise in my stomach at the one word he says; You.  I get more nervous the closer he gets, thinking eventually he will stop and just talk to me.  I take a couple of steps back, but he closes the distance quickly and grabs me by the waist, pulling me into him.  I can smell the smell of beer coming off of his breathe with his face being so close to mine, mixed with his Aqua Di Gio cologne he has on, meaning he was probably at a party earlier tonight.  I look down, now embarrassed by the way he is looking at me and how close we are to one another.  It is so intimate.  It feels so right.  I'm ashamed by how he is making me feel, after everything I had went through to forget him.

"Look at me, Mel.", Tuck whispers, his hot breathe hitting my face.

I slowly lift my head and look into his green eyes.  His face is soft, not as serious as it was earlier this evening when he was apologizing to me.  The way he is looking at me, it's like he doesn't care whether I forgive him or not, like he wants all of me and is going to take what he wants.

I bite my lip involuntarily, at the thought of him taking me whether I forgive him or not, at the thought of him taking charge.  He notices it, because the next thing that I know, he's roughly pulling me to him with one arm around my waist, and his other hand gripping the back of my neck, as he hungrily presses his lips against mine.  The butterflies build up in my stomach and I can't help but let out a small whimper through my mouth.  Tuck takes it as his chance to slide his tongue in, tangling his tongue with mine.  I kiss him back, wrapping my tongue around his and running my fingers through his hair, as I tangle them into his curls.  In this moment, I don't care what he had done in the past, because this felt good, and I had always wanted this from him. 

He bites my lip and tugs at it, running his hand from the small of my back down to my butt.  He squeezes it tight and pulls me closer to him, to where I can feel his hard-on through his jeans.  Then he lifts me up, making me instinctively wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to the tailgate of his truck, before sitting me down on it.  He trails kisses from my mouth to my jawline, down to my neck, where he bites and sucks on the soft spot there.  I let out another whimper at how good he is making me feel, at how he's causing my heart to race and my body to tingle under his touch.  

ARE YOU SURE THAT HE'S NOT JUST TAKING YOU ON AS A CHALLENGE?

Tiffany's words run through my mind, as Tuck nibbles on my neck, running his hands up the back of my shirt and over the bare skin of my back.

I snap out of my daze and quickly push him off of me, "We need to stop, Tuck."

He steps back, eyes dark from lust, but he nods his head in agreement with a look of defeat.  He comes closer to me, but I cross my arms over my chest protectively, letting him know not to touch me again.  He laughs as he puts a hand on each side of me against the tailgate, holding himself up as he stares at me.  I can hear him breathing heavy as he calms himself down, looking down at the pavement, before he pushes himself off the tailgate and stands up straight again. 

He grasps my cheek with the palm of his hand, and I instinctively lean into it as I close my eyes.  I was falling right back into that comfort I once had with him, so easily, it scared me.  

I hear him chuckle, so I quickly open my eyes again to look at him.  He pokes at the spot he had been kissing on my neck. 

"That's going to be hard to explain to your mom.", he tells me as he chuckles again.

I roll my eyes at him knowing that he had given me a hickey, before slapping him on the shoulder.

"Come here.", I say to him.

He gets closer to me, and I suddenly grab his tee shirt, pulling him down to me.  He smirks when our faces get only an inch apart.  I crash my lips to his again, but only for a few seconds, before trailing my mouth down to his neck to suck on it.  He moans as I nibble on his neck for a few seconds more, before I push him away from me again.

"Now we're even!", I tell him with a smirk, as I jump off of his tailgate.

His eyes widen as he suddenly realizes that I had marked him as well, before a smile slowly takes over his face.  I start to walk back to my house, but he grabs my wrist gently and turns me around to look at him again.

"Mel, are me and you good now?", he asks, his eyes glimmering with hope.

"You hurt me, Tuck.", I whisper as I look down at the ground.

I couldn't be mad anymore.  I wasn't an angry person, and it was just exhausting being mad at someone like this.  I don't see how people stay mad at other people for so long.  

"I know I did, Melanie.  I am SO sorry.  You have no idea how sorry I am.  I just...please, I need you to forgive me.  I can't..."

"...we can start by hanging out from time to time.  You aren't my friend just yet, and I don't trust you, but I am willing to give you the chance to earn that trust back.  Is that good enough for you?" I ask, interrupting him.

A smile spreads wide across his face, and he looks so beautiful in this moment.  His dimples shining, meaning that he was really, truly happy.

"I promise, I am NEVER letting you go again, Melanie Wilson!", he says as he laughs, before wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up off the ground as he spins me around.  He puts me back down and goes to kiss me again, but I stop him.  He frowns, but nods in understanding, realizing that a few moments earlier was just in the heat of the moment and teenage hormones.

I lean up on my tip toes and kiss his cheek, before telling him goodnight and walking inside. My phone suddenly buzzes in my pocket again as I walk through the living room and I open the text.

        *By far the best night of my life ;)* -Tuck

I smile and walk back upstairs to my room and crawl into my bed.  Eventually, a frown sets in on my face, as I think about the moment Tuck and I had just shared.  I feel so stupid; not for forgiving him, but for the make-out session.  I roll my eyes and groan as I throw my blanket over my face, blushing from embarrassment. 

Finally, I fall asleep.