Crushing On The Enemy (Crushing on You 1)

Jake could hear the strain in her voice and it pained him.

“We'll see,” he sighed, “I'm tired so I think I'm going to call it a night. Do you want to hang out tomorrow?”

“Sure,” Alyssa said.

“I'll call you in the morning to make plans,” Jake said.

“Good Night, Jake,” Alyssa said,

“Night,” he said and ended the call.

This is what his father had been talking about. Could he really go off to another state if Alyssa didn't come with him? He was sure that he could. He was more than able, but did he want to? They had really grown close over the last few months and he didn't want to lose her. Then again if something did come of the meeting with the scouts, he didn't want to miss out on that either.

Jake put his dirty dishes into the sink and flopped down on the sofa. What the hell was he going to do? Part of him thought that he should just see what the scouts had to say before he thought too hard on it. He wondered if Alyssa was thinking about the same thing? Was she talking to Mattie about it? If she was, what would she tell her?

Jake and Alyssa went to the park the next afternoon, but a thick awkward silence hung between them as they walked the trail. Halfway through the path Alyssa stopped and kissed him. His arms wrapped around her slender waist and instinctively pulled her close.

When the kiss broke Alyssa looked more upset than ever.

“Jake, if Georgia U wants you, I want you to go,” she said, avoiding his eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“I mean it! I don't want to be the reason you're not happy ten years from now,” she said.

Jake could see that Alyssa was fighting back tears.

“You could come too,” he said as he wiped away a tear that had fallen onto her cheek.

“I can't leave everyone,” she cried, “I can't go that far away.”

“We could come back to visit,” he said.

“I know that, but..” she said.

“You don't want to go,” Jake frowned.

“Fine! I'm not going,” Jake said throwing his hands up in the air.

“Yes, you are Jake!” Alyssa snapped, “You've worked so damn hard for this!”

“I didn't do it alone,” he sighed.

“No, your coach and teammates helped you a lot,” she nodded.

“It wasn't them, Alyssa, it was you,” he said taking both of her hands in his.

“No, it wasn't. Sure, I cheered you on, but you did it, Jake!” she said.

“I couldn't have done it without you,” he said, “You've said it before, it's the spirit and the cheering that makes the team great.”

She bit her lip and Jake sighed.

“Jake, I can't do this to you, and if you can, you need to go,” she said and ran back towards where they had parked.

Jake followed her, but she was smaller and quicker than he was. She made it to her car and left before he even made it off the trail. Jake turned and kicked the nearest tree. Pain shot through his big toe and he instantly regretted it. He sat down on the ground and put his head in his hands as he waited for the pain to past.

Now he understood why Alyssa insisted on driving to the park herself instead of having him pick her up like he usually did. How long had she been planning their breakup? Were they officially broken up or just having a fight?