Fall for You: Boys of Alabama

“Yeah, yeah,” he says, nudging my shoulder with his, “now, tell me about your hot new neighbor.” He cracks a huge grin as I groan and through my arms over my face.

Lex

A week has passed since that little shit show outside the weight room with Ford. Cheerleading practice is going as well as expected. Kristin was right when she said Sophie could probably run the entire thing solo. I’ve basically just been there to watch them rehearse and make sure there aren’t any cat fights. I’ve only had to break up two.

I’m also falling into a routine at school and gaining the respect of most of the students. Sure, there are a few who have trouble with authority figures. Those are the ones that will probably spend an extra summer with me trying to pass my class but to each their own.

Ford. Crawford James. I’ve seen him in passing in the halls at school but he’s made it clear he d

oesn’t want to hear my apologies. Every time I pass him in the halls and try to talk to him, he either busies himself with talking to a student or just avoids me altogether. I mean, I don’t really blame him. I did accuse him of sleeping with a seventeen year old. I already apologized to Sophie and she was very forgiving. She said it’s not the first time an adult assumed their relationship was more than teacher/babysitter. She seems much more grown than her seventeen years.

So that brings me to today. Tuesday. And the reason why I’m standing on Fords front porch, balancing two pizza boxes and a 12 pack of beer while trying to ring his doorbell. I sit the beer down and press my finger against the bell. The door swings open so quick it startles me.

“Hey wady! What ya got? Huh? What is it? Is that for me? It better not have any of those gross green things on it.” Ford's daughter is talking a mile a minute, dressed in a purple tutu, spiderweb leggings, what looks to be her brother's football jersey, and a tiara on her head. I have to smother my smile and I crouch down so I’m eye to eye with her.

“Green things? You mean green peppers?” I say and she scrunches up her little button nose and nods her head.

“Yeah. Those. Thems nasty,” she says complete with a little retching noise.

Just as I’m about to respond I hear Ford from the back of the house, and he sounds pissed. “ARIA!” he roars, and her little eyes widen.

“Uh oh, I’m not apposta open the door when someone rings da bell,” she whispers and looks over her shoulder. At the same time, Zane comes barreling down the stairs.

“Ah, crap dad, sorry, I asked her to do it.” He shouts down the hallway while narrowing his eyes at his sister. She smiles sweetly back up at him. “Tanks, Zane. You’re da best big brother I ever had,” and with that she snatches a pizza box out of my hand and skips off to the kitchen.

“Nice try, Z, but I know you’re full of shi….” he trails off as the door tucked under the stairs swings open and he walks out of it, and good gravy he is gloriously shirtless, with a pair of gray athletic shorts riding low on his hips and sweat dripping down his tight and toned six… no wait, nope. That is definitely a fucking eight pack. Crap on a cracker. I stand from my still crouched position and snatch up the beer and hold both things out in front of me.

“Peace offering?” I say and tilt my head a little. Zane is glancing between his dad and me, his eyes that are the same dark brown as his dads volleying back and forth. Ford grabs the towel that is draped over his shoulder and wipes the sweat off his forehead while keeping his eyes locked on my face.

“Bud why don’t you go help your sister set the table? I just need to talk to Miss Carter really quick.” He finishes as Zane scurries past us and down the hall to the kitchen. Ford closes the distance between us quickly, catching me off guard and backing me up into the door that I just finished shutting behind me. He tosses the towel back on his shoulder and slams his hand on the wall beside me and leans in.

“What are you doing here, Lex?” he growls just inches away from my face. I’m trying not to let him see how hot and bothered the whole situation has made me. Sweat glistening on his face, the close proximity of him in front of me. I raise the pizza box that I’ve somehow managed to hold onto during all of this and squeak out, “I just, I wanted to apologize for making assumptions at school the other day. I was way out of line.”

He glances at the pizza box and then back to my face. A grin breaks out across his face and he cocks his head to the side.

“Shit. You went to DeAngelos? How could I say no to that?” He brings the hand that’s not against the door up and tucks my hair behind my ear. I suck in a breath. Pushing off the wall and snatching the box from my hand, he turns towards the kitchen. “Grab the beer, Miss Carter, and move your fine ass to the kitchen,” he tosses back over his shoulder as he heads away. I let my head drop back against the door and take a deep breath before meeting him and the kids in the kitchen.

???

All the pizza had been devoured and we have somehow found our way out to Ford’s back patio. The kids are playing on their swing set and Ford and I are relaxing on the back steps. I’ve indulged in a few beers and I’m feeling a little loose lipped at the moment. I’m sitting with my back leaned against the railing, my body cocked just a little so that it’s facing Ford, and my left leg extended out and down the steps and my beer bottle hanging loosely in the hand draped over my bent knee. He looks nothing short of perfection. He excused himself after dinner to change out of his workout clothes. The kids and I had decided to head out back after we cleaned up and when he appeared in the doorway, wearing a pair of low slung camouflage cargo shorts and a plain black t-shirt, dangling two beers from his hand my mouth actually watered. This is where we’ve sat for the last hour, laughing and talking about absolutely nothing while the kids play in the yard.

“You look deep in thought over there,” his deep voice catches me off guard and I jump a little. He chuckles. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

I feel my cheeks flush and I shake my head a little, “you just surprised me, is all. Thanks for agreeing to my impromptu dinner tonight. I really did want to apologize for the other day, making those assumptions about you and Sophie. She’s a great kid and she’s been a huge asset to me the last week.”

His deep brown eyes are flicking back and forth between my green ones, like he can’t figure out if I’m being sincere or not. Once he realizes that I am in fact telling the truth, he relaxes a little.

“Water under the bridge,” he murmurs as he brings his beer bottle to his lips and takes a long pull of it. I try not to, and fail miserably, to watch his throat as he swallows.

“She’s really been a Godsend for me and the kids. I’m not sure I would have survived the last four years without her. Trying to balance life between the kids, teaching, coaching, and still trying to have some sort of an adult life hasn’t been smooth sailing. My mom, she’s really great, but she has a life of her own, ya know? I want her to be able to enjoy her golden years, not burden her with helping me raise my kids when she’s already raised her own.” He rolls his head towards me, pulling his eyes from the kids in the yard and focusing on me again. I hate how when he looks at me, I feel like he can see all of my secrets, secrets I’m not ready to talk about.

I shift a little, uncomfortable from the searing look in his eyes, and clear my throat. “I’m sure she loves spending time with them. And I’m sure they love being with Sophie, too. It’s a win for them any way you look at it.”

That’s the moment the kids choose to decide they’ve had enough with playing outside and are ready to head in. I stand up, brushing my shorts off. “Well, that’s my cue. I should really head home, anyways. It’s getting late and I have a few papers left to grade.”

“Kids, what do you say to Lexi for bringing over dinner?” A chorus of ‘thank yous’ rings out from the kids and I crack a smile.

“You are very welcome. Thank YOU for helping me clean up the kitchen after we were all done.” I hold my fist out for a fist bump from Zane and he happily obliges.