Reading between the lines- Chapter 7

Macy peered at Caleb over the top of her sunglasses, “Did you bet on this game?”

Caleb sat back and put an arm around her back, "I don’t bet, on anything.”

She leaned into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder, “Why is that?”

He shrugged, “Ethics?”

She turned her head towards the field again, "Although I did bet on you, you were my biggest risk and my greatest reward."

She turned her head and tasted the flesh of his neck in a chaste kiss, not in a lasvicious move, but one of comfort.

The announcer was calling out specials of local restaurants and people were still trying to find their seats when she noticed the women in front of her looking behind Macy in a very distracted mannerism.

“What in the hell are they looking at,” she turned to see a tall man wearing khaki pants and a dark blue v-neck carrying a carton tray with four draft beers headed down the steps. Ocasionally winking at the distracted mom of four.

She heard Caleb chuckle, “That’s usually the effect Pierce has.”

The closer he got, the more his body revealed. The material of his shirt clinging to his sculpted chest, she could’ve sworn every muscle of his torso was twitching with every step. His upper left arm was covered in tattoos. His dark brown hair cut short and of course there were aviators hanging on the bridge of his nose.

She felt Caleb's nose in her neck before she heard him whisper, "You're staring."

“Well,” she turned towards him, “you didn't tell me he looked like that.”

Caleb watched Pierce carefully avoid the feet of other bystanders while his eyes focused on a passing gaggle of girls whose stares did nothing but add to his ego.

Pierce managed to make his way towards Caleb and Macy without dropping any of the beer.

He lifted the glasses from his nose and shook the top of Caleb's hair, "What's up, Vet?"

"Hey Novak, glad you could make it," Caleb said standing up, "This is Macy, my girlfriend."

Macy felt her face involuntary crack a smile, it's the first time Caleb had ever called her his girlfriend and no one had ever made a label sound so good.

"Hi Pierce, it's so nice to meet you," she extended her hand.

He took her hand and smiled crookedly, "Pleasure is all mine."

They all sat while Caleb stayed standing, "I'm going to use the restroom, do you need anything?"

She grinned at him, "No thanks."

He quickly leaned down to kiss her on the lips, "I'll see you in a bit."

"Vet didn't tell me you were this pretty," he said, lifting the plastic cup from the carboard tray, "Want one?"

She took the cup and watched Caleb dissapear into the crowd, "Thank you, I hadn't realized he talked about me at all."

"Are you kidding? He mentions you in every little free spot of conversation, it's a nice change."

"What do you mean by that?"

His dark brown eyes met her green ones, "When we all met, Caleb was the quiet, not the normal kind of quiet either, the eerie never speak unless he was giving orders kind of quiet. He's always been in charge and he's always been damn good at it, but one night we all went to a bar to celebrate my birthday. Turns out Caleb had a weakness for bourbon, which he takes neat, by the way, and he told our team about his engagement to this girl, uh, crap, I forgot her name."

Macy let out a breath, "Casey?"

"Yeah, there you go, how do you know?"

"Lucky guess?"

Pierce got a crease between his brows, "Well her, it's actually a romantic tragedy kind of story, Shakespeare would've had a field day with that."

She chuckled, "What happened?."

He glanced at his hands, "I think maybe you should let Vet tell you that."

At that moment Leighton walked into Macy's peripheral vision, "Oh, there is Leighton."

He swivelled his head and she could've sworn he whispered, "Wow."

"And thank you by the way," she said, slightly touching his shoulder, "It's really helpful."

Pierce had always known he had a preferrance to blondes, but he had never seen a girl with the ability to make everything in his body tighten within the span of three seconds. The only word that came to mind at that moments was striking. She was striking. Stunning, almost perfect, but something in the way she carried herself made him sense that she didn't know it. She seemed lost, almost insecure, sad.

A pretty thing in pain.

Black sunglasses her hanging on the bridge of her nose. She was wearing faded blue cutoffs and a button down white linen shirt and a small brown messenger bag across her torso. Even from this distant he knew she was tall, well taller than the women he usually pertained. She must've seen Macy because she waved and started walking towards them. He watched her legs flex with every step she took in her white low top Chuck Taylors. She was lean and long and he felt his heart race.

Leighton had noticed the man sitting next to Macy the moment she walked in, but it was a silly thought because any woman with a pulse would've noticed him. As she got closer, she started to notice things. Like the way that he seemed to large for the stadium seat, or the way his jaw met his chin in a perfect angle. She took in the broadness of his shoulders and the way her breath caught when he kept his eyes on her.

Her honey blonde hair looked streaked with rays of sunshine and her nose was pert and high on her face, slightly turned up. Her lips were full, yet long, and pale. A pretty pale pink. Her face was symmetrical and chiseled, her jaw was angular in a way that was too perfect to not be noticed.

She felt her race when he kept his eyes set on her as she got closer, her body became hot and warm and she felt her stomach quiver. Mushy, was the only word that came to mind.

Macy was the first to stand, "Hey babe, how are you?"

Leighton hugged her bestfriend, "I'm tired, exhausted really, but I couldn't miss this game. You?"

Macy smiled and Leighton saw a glimmer in her eyes, "I'm happy, really happy."

Pierce stood up and Macy introduced him, "Leighton, this is Pierce Novak, Pierce, this is Leighton Thatcher."

Pierce took her hand and watched her ice blue eyes shimmer, "It's nice to meet you, Leighton."

She smiled at him, "You too. Novak? Is that Siberian?"

Pierce caught himself stutter, "Uh, yes, how'd you know that?"

They all took their seats.

"Leighton can pull information out of oblivion, she just knows things," Macy chirpped from next to them, "Don't question, it comes in handy sometimes."

Leighton watched a gargantuan of a man appear out of nowhere next to Macy, when she realized it was Caleb. She watched him bend and kiss her forehead and sit down next to her, wrapping an arm protectively around her. She knew he loved her, it was in every gesture he made. She smiled, a warmth radiating through her. Her best friend found love and a gorgeous guy was sitting next to her.

Pierce watched Leighton's face soften and the sight of Macy and Caleb's embrace and he knew his life would never be the same.