Jordan's p.o.v.

When the coach blows his whistle for the end of practice, I exhale a relieved breath. The day may be chilly and cloudy, but running around in my football gear is enough to make me work up a sweat. I glance towards the bleachers for JoAnna, and smile when she waves to me. I wave back and gesture for her to come down; she throws me an understanding thumbs-up.

I meet her at the gate just before I go into the locker room to change. I pull my helmet off and lean down to kiss her cheek, and mutter, "Do you care if I shower at your place? I just need to change and then we can get out of here."

JoAnna nods in agreement and says, "Yeah, what ever works for you, babe."

I smile. "Alright, I'll meet you at the truck."

JoAnna nods, and then she leaves to go start her truck. When I walk into the locker room it's hot and smells like sweat, and the old air conditioner is just spurting out puffs of dust and the occasional gust of cold air. Even despite outside making the transition into the winter months, the building is never a happy medium; it's either scorching hot or freezing cold. I heave a heavy breath and weave my way to my locker in the back, and take my stuff off as quickly as my sore limbs allow me, before discarding them into the laundry basket for the water boy to wash.

I'm pulling on my T-shirt for the day when one of my teammates, Jacob, pokes his head around the corner. I glance at him questioningly, and he nods at me before saying, "So Kevin is throwing a party tomorrow night after the game for Halloween at his house. Can you make it?"

I close my locker and spin the dial, as I reply, "I already have plans to hang out with my friends."

"You can invite them . . ." Jacob says, hopefully.

I sigh. "I don't know, Jacob. I'm trying to take a step back from partying . . ."

Jacob blinks at me in surprise, and I have to resist the urge to roll my eyes. "Oh well, if you change your mind everyone would love for you to be there...."

Yeah, I'm sure they would . . . I think.

I force a tight-lipped smile and lie, "I can always make it up to them next time."

Jacob grins and exclaims, "Yeah man, that would be great!" I just nod, and then Jacob leaves and soon after gossip fills the room.

They're talking about me, I think with an eye roll. Of course they are, I've never declined a party. In all my four years of high school —- and even in middle school —- I became known as the go-to guy at parties for all things like beer, weed, and drugs. But I want to be different and better, and cutting out the tainted parts of my life is getting me one step closer to the man I dream of becoming.

I leave the locker room without acknowledging the gossip behind me, and shake off the eyes I feel following me as I jog out to JoAnna's truck. She smiles at me when I get in, and I faintly smile back as I lean across the seat to kiss her. I find myself lingering, my emotions are everywhere and JoAnna's mouth against mine is so soft and blurs away my worries. I slide my fingers into her hair as I deepen the kiss, and JoAnna scoots closer before climbing over the console and slinging her leg over mine.

She plants herself in my lap, and kisses me along my jaw before quietly muttering, "What's on your mind? You seem agitated . . ."

I sigh, "It's nothing."

JoAnna arches an eyebrow, and looks at me doubtfully before saying, "You can't lie to me, Jordan. I know something's been bugging you all day, and it started long before your asshole of a father decided to pick a fight."

I sigh. Sometimes I really hate how observant she can be . . .

"It's nothing really, I just want to go home with you. So please, can we leave?" I ask.

JoAnna sighs, and I know she's deciding to let it go for now when she climbs off my lap and scoots back over to her side —- and I'm relieved. I'm not in the mood to answer any questions, I just need to take a relaxing shower and crawl into bed.

JoAnna's house is everything I've dreamed of having as a child growing up. Her house is a beautiful two story brick home, with a perfectly manicured yawn and blooming flowers lining the walkway and front of the house. I grew up in my shabby childhood home with a roof that leaks in the summer months, and no beauty to be seen.

When JoAnna first brought me home to meet her family, I never felt like I fit into their perfect life —- and I know that's how JoAnna feels on a daily basis. On the outside, her life looks so perfect, it's only when you go inside that you see all the lies and blatant rejection.

JoAnna's nothing like her parents or older brother, who all see the world in black and white. They have never been accepting to JoAnna's decision to dye her hair and throw away the life they forced upon her. She managed to break free and ditch the pom-poms and pigtails, and now her once blonde hair is a beautiful raven color and all they see is a stranger. Her parents like to hide the fact that their daughter defected from the cookie cut life style they built by showcasing her old school photos, that immortalize their once perfectly blonde daughter. They've never been able to accept the changes and who JoAnna really is at heart, so they surround themselves in a lie.

Despite their unwillingness to accept their daughter, she's like them in ways they don't allow themselves to notice. She's smart and beautiful, talented and kind, and most importantly accepting of everyone. And when she met me, she fell instantly in love because I wasn't afraid. I never let the world rule me, much less my parents, and JoAnna was immediately attracted to my bravery. She had spent years trying to escape her life, and when she meet me, I later learned that I was her reason for finally taking the dive. But to me, she was already beautiful and brave before she met me, and now she's absolutely radiant as her true self.

JoAnna's parents are wealthy, and both of them have their own business. JoAnna's father has a small law firm, and being the only lawyer in Greystone has its advantages. JoAnna's mother is a psychiatrist. Her brother, Cameron, is currently away at college practicing medicine —- conforming to his parent's ideals. JoAnna doesn't know what her future holds for her, and being that she is in her last year of high school the idea of no direction absolutely terrifies her parents. But JoAnna sees it as an adventure, and she doesn't fear the unknown.

+  +  +

JoAnna cuts the engine on her truck and glances over at me, she has a mischievous glint in her eyes and I know she's on the verge of getting us in trouble. She slides across the seat towards me and snakes her hand up around my neck, her naturally red lips pucker against the side of my neck. I feel my pulse jump and she smiles against my skin, and seductively trails her lips up my neck to my ear.

"We'll have to be quiet," she whispers. "My mother's home with one of her famous migraines." JoAnna rolls her eyes, and I smile sympathetically. I know exactly what she means, my own mom gets migraines too.

We both climb out of the truck and enter the house quietly before hurrying upstairs to JoAnna's room. Her bedroom isn't her own, it still painted in the purple color of her past, and her parents refuse to allow her to change a single thing. She closes her door behind us, and I fall backwards onto her bed that's decorated in dark blue sheets —- the one thing her parents allowed her to change. I glance around her room with a smile, and notice the subtle changes her parents would miss; like the frilly purple and pink pillows that use to dominate her bed, and the photos from her youth that have been replaced with her friends and I.

I sigh and grab one of her fluffy purple pillows, and hug it to my chest as JoAnna plants herself in front of me. She sinks down onto my lap and winds her arms around my neck. Her eyes dart back and forth between my eyes and lips, as she asks, "Do you want to take that shower now?"

A slow smile curves my lips, and I toss the pillow away as I reach out to grab her under thighs and tug her closer. She giggles when my fingers tickle the back of her knees, and I lean in to skim my nose along her jaw. "Will you be joining me?" I softly ask.

She seeks out my gaze, and looks me squarely in the eyes as she softly replies, "That's the plan."

I grin and slide my hands over her butt as I stand up, and she wraps her legs around my waist as I take us to her adjoining bathroom. We undress before sliding underneath the cool shower together, washing our bodies and kissing through the water that runs down our faces and over our bare skin. And as it usually goes, we have sex in the shower before taking it to her bed —- our fire never burning out during the hours we spend intertwined in her sheets.

I'm delicate with her, my every stroke and movement filled with tenderness. She always loves it more when I take my time to explore her warmth, and relishes in the feeling when I permit myself to lose a little bit of control. In the end, we spend the rest of the night sneaking food from the fridge and watching late night sitcoms, like we use to do when everything was easy and new as I allow myself this night; I'll be facing the repercussions later.

Word count: 1,734

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A/N: Hello, lovelies! How is everyone liking the story so far? I hope it's not too much switching between characters, but its necessary and nice to see another side. I hope everyone is rooting for Jordan!

Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave comments and votes! Have a wonderful day/night.

Love from,
BunnyBaekkiee ❤️