Sweet Darling

Chapter Nine

"Oh come on, Aubrey, pretty please?"

Rolling my eyes, I continued to ignore Leah as I focused my attention back on grading my students' vocabulary quiz. Most of them were doing well in their studies, surprisingly even Theo. Although, he was still a distraction on a daily basis.

"I'll owe you free drinks at the bar for a week..."

"Ugh, seriously Leah I'm not interested. I have a ton of work to catch up on."

"But you have to come! Annie Lee's mom has the flu so she can't be cheer mom tonight and your the only person in this town that I trust to do this. Oh, you just gotta come Aubs!"

I threw my pen down, throwing a pointed glare in her direction. "Leah this isn't rocket science, it's just Gatorade and a few snacks. Why can't you just get one of the other moms to do it?"

"I've tried! No one else is willing to volunteer. Bunch of big-haired, fart brained hussies."

"Gee, I wonder why..."

Leah smirked. "I haven't the faintest idea."

We stared one another down before breaking out into a fit of laughter. Hers was a loud, boisterous one that always seemed to prolong my own. I found myself growing fonder of the undercover agent day by day.

"But seriously, I need you to do this solid for me. I'll forever be in your debt..." she pleaded softly.

I sighed, picking my pen back up to resume my task.

"What kind of snacks should I bring?"

~*~

"Come on fellas! Stop letting em' beat ya round like a bunch of pussies!" Michael yelled out beside us.

The game was in full swing, and it was very apparent to me that Michael was a diehard football fan.

"Hey Mike! Shut your pie hole man, some of us are trying to enjoy the game!" a voice shouted from the bottom of the stands.

He had the nerve to look sheepish as he sat down beside a red-faced Alyssa. 

Amused, I looked back towards the field to resume watching but couldn't help but notice when HE walked over to the stands to say hello to some guys sitting at the bottom. He'd arrived a few minutes after kickoff dressed in uniform with his sheriff's hat sitting proudly atop his head and an air of no nonsense surrounding him. Women seemed to sit up proudly and pout their lips whenever he walked by, eager to gain his attention.  

It's unfair how handsome he is. 

"You know, if you keep staring at the sheriff, people will start thinking you like him or something." Alyssa teased as she leaned over to whisper in my ear. 

Before I could respond, Leah yelled my name and gestured for me to come here. I shot Alyssa a playful glare then made my way down to the bottom of the bleachers. I get a few curious glances, mostly due to my long rainbow skirt pared with a denim top. 

Who knew there was a dress code for a football game. 

"Okay, can you grab the other cooler from my trunk? We're running a little low on water."

"Leah that thing weighs a ton! How am I supposed to get that out?"

Laughing, she wrapped an arm around my shoulder and let me in the direction of her vehicle. "Calm down, I sent Xander over to help you out. Oh, and grab me my chips out of the front seat while you're there!"

Rolling my eyes, I trudged slowly over to Leah's vehicle, grumbling to myself quietly. A tall figure with curly brown hair stood at the back of her truck. As he turned toward me, I immediately recognized him as one of the men from the Jericho family barbecue. I slowed my steps until we were several feet away from each other.