Chapter Four: Homecoming Game

Sammy looked at the large A on her project and smiled. It hadn’t been hard to explain the workings of the thing; the only hard part had been standing up in front of the class, with Pryce at her side. She had had to bite her lip several times, to keep from telling the teacher how little Pryce had done. Pryce behaved himself during the presentation, and Sammy let it go.

“Thanks for the A.” Pryce said as he stood behind her, looking at their project.

“I couldn’t very well let the school down.” Sammy said with a hint of annoyance.

“So, you coming to the game then?”

She shook her head.

“Suit yourself.” He said as he turned and walked away.

Sammy took a deep breath. She knows The Circle is going to want to go to the game, and the dance and they’re going to want to know why she isn’t going. What is she going to say? She can’t tell them the truth.

“Sammy!”

Sammy turned and forced a smile for Kendra. Out of all the girls, she was closest to Kendra. She’s probably the only one Sammy would miss.

“Wow, great project.” Kendra said as she stopped beside Sammy.

“Thanks.”

“Wish I had been partnered with you. We did the easiest project and got a B.”

“That’s still good.” Sammy said with a smile.

“So, I guess Pryce will be playing this Friday’s game, thanks to you. Everyone is going to praise you when we win.” Kendra said with a grin.

“Yeah, I guess.” Sammy said with a shrug.

Kendra studied Sammy; she has been acting so odd lately. “Are you okay?”

Sammy nodded. “Yeah, just have a lot on my mind.” Sammy turned to leave and smiled at Kendra. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kendra nodded as she watched Sammy leave the classroom.

“Do you have any clue what is on her mind?”

Kendra looked up at Pryce Marlow and smiled her sexiest smile. She will never understand why Sammy let him go so easily. He is a football star, sexy as hell, and so charming.

“Not sure, she has been acting strange since the first day of school, after she introduced us to the new guy in school.”

“New guy huh? She introduced him to you? How did she know him?”

Kendra shrugged her shoulders as she stared at him. “She met him over the summer I guess.” She said on a breath.

Pryce smiled down at her. “Want to come to my place after school?”

She had to catch her breath and steady her heart before she could answer him. “Yeah.”

~*~

Sammy found herself going to the homecoming game that Friday anyway. Her parents had said that it wouldn’t look good if their daughter didn’t participate in the School’s most important events. Which meant, she was going to the dance as well. Even if she was going stag.

“You made it!” Nina said when she spotted her heading towards them.

“Yeah, my parents made me come.” Sammy said with a sigh.

“Check out who joined the football team.” Tracy said as she looked out on the field, with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Sammy looked out on the field and felt her jaw drop. He hadn’t placed his helmet on yet, but she would have known that body anywhere, even with all those pads under the uniform.

“Boone.” She whispered.

It seemed he had heard her as he looked up at her in the bleachers, and their eyes met and locked. She felt something deep and dangerous, in the pit of her stomach, but she couldn’t look away.

“Look at those eyes.” Tisha said, almost swooning off the bench.

“How can you see his eyes from here?” Sarah asked as she too stared at the new boy, in his uniform.

“I can see.” Tisha said with a nod as she fanned her face with her hand.

“What are you all staring so dopey eyed at?” Kendra asked as she joined them.

“Boone.” The twins said at the same time.

Kendra followed their stares and grinned. “Well look at that.”

Sammy shook her head and looked away from Boone as Kendra looked down at her with a knowing look.

“He’s looking right at you.” Kendra whispered once she was seated beside Sammy.

“He’s not.” Sammy denied. But she knew he was, she could still feel his eyes burning into her.

“Ohmigod, he’s coming over here.” Tracy said in a panic.

“What?!” Sammy asked as she looked back out into the field.

Sure enough, Boone was headed towards their bleacher, his helmet under his arm. He moved to the side of the bleacher and looked up at her with a smile.

“Hi.” He said, his smile broadening.

“Hi.” She said as she moved to the edge, so she could be closer to him. He reached up and touched her hand on the bars and she almost fell off the bench.

“Go to the dance with me tomorrow?” He asked as he stared up at her.

She stared down at him. He hasn’t talked to her since the first day of school and he comes to her, the day before the dance? But why her? He could probably have anyone…

“Sammy?”

“Zimmer!” The coach hollered.

Boone looked at the coach then back at Sammy.

“Okay.” She said almost breathlessly.

He smiled, then leaned up and kissed her cheek, before he turned and ran back to the field.

Sammy sat through the game in a blur. She wasn’t sure who was winning, and she didn’t care. Boone had actually asked her to the dance. Boone, by far the hottest boy in school. Boone, the guy she had daydreamed about all summer. Boone, the only person she has ever truly wanted to kiss. Boone, the… She mentally slapped herself. Okay, so Boone asked her to the dance, who cares?

She cares!

She stood up with the others on their side and cheered. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want to look like an idiot, still sitting on the bench. Apparently, the game was over, and we had won.

“Did you see that?” Sarah asked as they headed down the bleachers. “Boone was so awesome. Who knew he was so fast?”

Fast? Boone is fast?

Now Sammy wished she had paid more attention to the game, how was she going to be able to honestly congratulate the team, when she has no clue what had happened?

Sammy waved to the girls as they headed out of the stadium, to their cars. She wanted to see Boone before he went home, she wanted to ask him why she hasn’t seen him and why he waited until the last day before the dance, to ask her. Was she his last resort? Had the other girls said no? No way, no one could refuse that face. Not even her.

Sammy watched everyone leave and was soon standing there alone. He hadn’t come back out to the field; he hadn’t returned to her at all. What was going on? Did he really like her or what?

She sighed as she headed for the parking lot. As she got to her car, the hair on the back of her neck stood up. She heard a noise behind her and turned, but there was nothing there.

Shaking her head, she turned back to her car and pulled out her keys. Before she could get the key into the lock, someone came up behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist and placed their other hand over her mouth as she started to scream. She tried to struggle but the man was stronger than her. She stomped on his foot and he cursed, but didn’t let her go. She felt tears stream down her cheeks.

What is happening? She shouldn’t have stayed after everyone else had left. She remembered hearing about people getting mugged, and women getting raped. Why hadn’t she remembered that before she had stayed so late after the game? Alone.

She struggled with the man’s hand over her mouth and managed to move it enough to let out one scream before he pressed his hand back over her mouth, with a curse. She felt sick to her stomach as he dragged her backward, away from her car. She thought of the phone in her bag, but how could she get to it, with him holding her so tight?

He dragged her into a dark part of the school, that she has never seen before. When he let go of her, she screamed again. He spun her to face him and slapped her across the face. Her hand came up to her cheek as she tried to scream again. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back against the wall, knocking the back of her head into the wall. Dizzy, she stared down into the ski-masked man.

“Now shut up.” He growled as he slammed his body into hers.

Her brain screamed out in pain as he roughly fondled her. She started to get sick and swayed forward as the world began to spin. His hand slid down her pants and made her cry out. Before he could touch her intimate place, somehow the man was gone, dragged away from her and thrown across the small area.

Sammy slid to the ground and looked up at her rescuer. She couldn’t see his face, as he stood with his back to her, fuming at the masked man. But she would know that body, that hair, that butt, anywhere.

Boone had stayed after all.

Her head was throbbing. She moved her hand to the back of her head and pulled her fingers back bloody. Great. She probably had a concussion too. Her vision became even more blurry and she felt herself slip away into unconsciousness.

“Damn it all to hell.” Boone grumbled as he watched Sammy slide over unconscious.

Why hadn’t she stopped the man herself? She’s strong enough. Shaking his head, he turned back to the man who had attacked her. The man was getting to his feet. Boone didn’t wait long, he rammed himself into the man and shoved him into the other wall. The man sucked in a shocked breath as he crumpled to the ground.

Boone made sure the man was out before he returned to Sammy and lifted her into his arms.

“Maybe you’re not what I thought you were.” He grumbled as he carried her to his car. “But I can feel it.” He said as he laid her in the front seat and moved her hair off her forehead. “I know you’re there.” He whispered. “Just come out and play already.”

When nothing happened, he grunted and closed the door. He moved to the driver’s side, then called the cops to come pick up her attacker, then drove Sammy to the Emergency room.

~*~

Sammy opened her eyes slowly. Where was she?

Memories flooded her mind. She shivered, then looked around the room and found her mother sitting in a chair.

“Mom?”

“Oh good, you’re okay.”

“Where am I?” Sammy asked as she tried to sit up and sucked in a breath when a pain shot through her head.

“Hospital. Boone brought you here after he found you unconscious at the school.” Her mother said as she stood and moved over to the bed.

“Boone brought me here?” Sammy asked as she watched her mother.

Her mother nodded. “Such a sweet boy.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What’s this? I thought you had a crush on him this summer…”

Sammy grunted. She should have known her mother had caught onto that.

“What happened?” Sammy asked as she looked at her mother.

“From what Boone said, he found a guy attacking you and pulled him off you, then got you out of there as fast as he could.” She said with a smile. “Handsome and brave. Definitely a keeper.”

Sammy sighed. She agreed, but he always acted so strangely. It was like, one minute he liked her, then the next he was suspicious of her.

He asked you to the dance tomorrow, didn’t he?

‘Yes, he did, but why?’

“Sammy.”

They both turned to his voice. Sammy’s mother smiled at him as he entered the room.

“I was getting worried.” Boone said as he smiled at Sammy.

“I’m okay.” Sammy said with a nod. She sucked in a breath and lightly touched the bandage on the back of her head. She just hoped it hadn’t messed up her hair too much.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Sammy’s mother said as she stood. She kissed Boone on the cheek before she left the room.

“Your mom is still nice.” Boone said with a smile as he walked over to the bed.

She grunted. “As long as you’re not a number to crunch, she can be nice.”

He laughed. “How do you feel?”

“Like I was slammed into a wall.” She said with a frown.

He laughed softly as he shook his head. “Why didn’t you fight him?”

She stared up at him. “I tried to. He was too strong for me.”

He eyed her. He knows the guy wasn’t too strong for people like them, what game was she playing?

“Did you get him?” She asked as she watched him.

He nodded. “He’s in police custody.”

“Good. I hope he drops his soap.”

He laughed as he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

“He’ll get his.”

She smiled up at him as she reached out and touched his cheek with the tips of her fingers.

What was it about her, that pulled him to her? She was beautiful, yes. But there was something else. He’s not supposed to be attracted to someone, especially not someone like her. But he couldn’t help it. He had even tried to stay away from her. But when he’d seen her up in the bleachers, he had been drawn to her and suddenly, he had wanted to go to the dance with her.

He hadn’t wanted to go with anyone, so many girls had asked him. He had told them all he was going stag. But one look at Samantha Prescott, and all thoughts of being at the dance alone, in a corner, left his body and were replaced by images of holding her in his arms, as they slow danced the night away.

He sighed as he took her hand into his. What is it about her? He should hate her. She smiled into his eyes and he felt his heart skip a beat.

How can he hate her, when she smiled at him like that?