The Falcon Ridge Series Book 2 Not Just A Girl

(Chapter song ‘What Is Love?’ by Haddaway)

JAYSON

I don't know what I'm doing. I want Sarah, but I know it won't work. She's still a giant troublemaker and I can't have that kind of headache in my life. Not when I'm focusing on my career. To make matters worse, what I’m feeling inside, is starting to feel all too familiar and I refuse to go down that road again.

So, I cooled things off. I don't want a relationship, but when I saw her kissing Sean, something inside me wanted to rip his damn head off. Now, I'm not sure if wanting Sarah at arm's length is what I want either.

The next morning, I rub neck as I walk out to the field to join the Alpha huddle.

"Hey." I mumble with a weak wave.

Cass folds his arms. "You supervising the suicide run tonight?"

I shake my head. "No. You do it. I've got work to do."

Luke side eyes me. "You mean you have a girl to avoid."

"That, too." I breathe as I casually glance at the field to the recruits running circuits.

Wren puts her hand on my shoulder. "You can't avoid her forever."

"I know, but I can until I get over whatever this is." I stuff my hands in my pockets and toe the grass.

"Jayson, you're lying to yourself man." Deacon says. "You're just scared she might actually be good for you."

"Dea, she's a giant headache. Look at last night. Setting off more alarms. Fuck, I haven't had a proper night's sleeps in weeks. I don’t need a girlfriend, we all know how that goes." I run my hand down my face then eye them all.

Kale smirks. "She's just trying to get your attention. Don't you remember what you were like?"

I cross my arms. "Yeah. A colossal jerk that caused way more problems than I was worth. I had to grow up and fly straight. I know Sarah can, too, but..."

"Come on, Jayson." Wren says. "Not everyone is like you. Besides, she's not hurting anyone."

Luke scowls and raises two fingers to Wren. "She's hurt me… Twice!" He growls.

Wren chuckles. "Ok. She's not hurting anyone on purpose. She's just a little impulsive. And you can't tell me that kiss didn't affect you. I can see it."

"It did, Wren. That's why I have to back off. I can’t go there again. After us,…” I trail off and look to the field. “It doesn’t seem to affect her too much." I watch Sarah doing sit-ups with Sean spotting her feet. She's giggling as she steals kisses on his lips every so often when she reaches his face.

"Well, from a girl's perspective..." Wren taps my back. "Playing hot and cold with a girl, tends to not end up the way you want."

She raises her brow, nods and leaves for the field.

****

I join the practice and huddle everyone up.

"Ok guys. Drill time." I clap my hands.

Groans are heard from the crowd as the Alphas smirk at each other.

"Line up for sled runs!" I yell.

We have two weighted sleds. We set up four lines, two opposite each other with a distance between them. Two runners will pull their sleds across to their partner line. Hand the sled off and that runner pulls it back.

It's back breaking and grueling, but we're here to work.

I blow my whistle and the first two runners grab the harness of the sled and drag it across the dirt. When they reach the lines across from them, they clap the hand of the next runner waiting and join the back of the line.

It's actually going pretty well. These kids are definitely getting better.

Some are struggling against the weight, so us Alphas push them.

Cass is running beside a kid named Chris. He can't seem to get any speed up. "Come on, Chris. Pull!" He yells.

Chris is heaving. Struggling to breath against the weight. "I can't." He whines.

"Yes, you can! You're not a quitter. Fucking pull!" Cass sternly encourages.

Chris' face goes red and he bears down. He pulls at a snail's pace, but eventually meets the other side. He falls to the ground.

"Get up and get back in line!" Cass slaps his arm.

Chris groans and gets up. Rejoining the line.

Sarah is up against Ashley. They both struggle to pull the sled. Kale runs to Ash. "Come on, Ash. You're stronger than that! Pull!"

Ash bears down, digging her runners into the dirt.

I run in front of Sarah. "I know you're holding back. Come on, girl, pull it! Come on! Come get me." I stand, smirking in front her.

She squints her eyes and grits her teeth. Her legs shaking pulling the sled.

"That's it! Pull it! Come on!" I jog backwards as she picks up speed.

She reaches the other side and hands off the sled. I jog beside her as she rejoins the line. "Good job. I knew you were just holding back."

She doesn't say a word. Just completely ignores me. Great. Training her is going to be so peachy now.

After, we break for dinner. Everyone is eager to get a shower and some food.

Most of the time this is when the gym fills up.

We have a full working indoor gym. I'm usually there just before bed to tire my wolf out. But I decide to go a little early.

I walk in and of course there's guys and girls lifting weights. Not too many after today, but some of the diehards are definitely here.

I set myself on a bench when I see Sarah with Ash and Georgia. They're doing back squats in one of the power racks taking turns. I watch as Sarah does her squat. She Ok but her form needs work.

I decide to give her hand.

I walk over. The girls eye me and Sarah stares at my reflection in the mirror.

"Hi....uh....I just happened to see your form and wondered if I could point out a few things." I scratch my temple and glance between the girls.

Sarah racks the barbell and turns. "You want to help me workout."

"Well, it's kind of my thing. So, yeah." I give a tiny smile.

She looks at her friends. Ash grabs Georgia. "Come on. Spot me on the bench." She pulls Georgia away to one of the benches.

I turn back to Sarah. "So, do you want my help?"

"Sure." She sighs.

I smile. "Ok. Get into position."

She positions the barbell on her shoulders and takes it off the rack, positioning her feet to do the squat.

"You want neutral hips. Don't push them out. When you do it. Keep your spine in a neutral position. Here, I'll show you."

I took my one hand on her hip and one hand on her exposed spine. She's wearing a white sport bra with white leggings. The feel of her skin always amazes me. It's so electric, I almost can't stand it.

"Ok. Go down." She starts the squat and I make sure her back is straight. She goes back up.

"That was good. I really felt that." She said.

"See. Better right? Now, go deeper on the next one." I follow her down as she takes the squat deeper.

I can't help but look at her ass. I also can't help the semi I'm starting to sport.

She stands back up. "Alright. One more.”

I place my hands on the exposed soft skin of her waist. I'm really getting heated and should walk away, but I can't.

She finishes, racks the bar, turns and grabs her towel. She’s covered in a thin sheen of sweat. "Thanks. That was helpful."

"You're welcome. If you ever need help with lifting, I'm your guy." I smile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch Sean walking over to us. He stops and narrows his eyes at me. "Ready to go, babe?" He turns to Sarah.

She grabs her stuff. "Hey. Yep. Just finished.

He grabs her hand, pulls her to him and puts a hand on her back which has my wolf clawing at my ribcage.

"Jayson was helping me with my squat form." She says as she wipes her chest.

"I'm sure he was helpful." Sean grits.

"He was." She says. "Well, see you around, Jayson." She gives a little wave as Sean wraps his arm around her neck and they walk out.

"See ya." I mutter.

I know I totally deserve this. I have to remind myself that I was the one that didn't want it, but seeing her with Sean is really starting to grate.

I guess I didn't think that her hooking up with someone else was even an option. Why not? She's hotter than fuck, funny, fun, sexy as hell. Who wouldn't want that?

I mean, besides me. So, why am I bothered by it so much? Yeah, I may have feelings, but we've only had one kiss. One fucking mind-blowing kiss.

I stand in the gym as people walk around me.

One kiss. One. One that scared the shit out of me. One that felt like I could kiss her forever. One that said I could never look back. One that could change everything in my life. Am I ready for that? Could I just drop everything I thought I knew for an impulsive 18-year-old girl? Am I actually considering setting myself up for disappointment… again?

I was rolling all of this around my brain in the shower after the gym, I place my hand on the wall. "Damn it. Yes." I shut the water off and quickly get dried and dressed. I head down the hall to her door.

I was about to knock when I hear something inside. I lean closer and I hear moaning. A girl moaning. Like getting the shit banged out of her, moaning.

I step back. She's in there fucking Sean. My courage for asking for a second chance just blew the fuck up. I walk away scrubbing a hand down my face. Any chance I had to get her back, was gone now.

I drove her to him because of how much of a coward I am. Because of how much she scares me. I drove her into Sean's arms.

I feel like shit. I feel crushed. Like actually crushed. I'm starting to think this is what Sarah felt when she caught me with Wren. It fucking hurts.

I head to my office. Sit at my desk. I try to distract myself with work and put the paperwork in front of me, pen in hand. All I do is stare at it. I put my elbows on my desk and scrub my hands in my hair.

"Damn it!" I yell bouncing my pen off the desk and it disappears somewhere on my office floor.

I lean back. Leaning on the arm of the chair with my chin on my hand. What the fuck am I doing? How the fuck am I going to fix this? I want to fix this.

I was thinking of all the ways I could possibly get Sarah back when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pull it out and answer it. "Hey, Dad. What's up?"

If I was pissed before, I'm even more pissed now.

"How long?" I ask.

I listen to my dad's concerned voice.

"Ok. So, we have time. Well, break is at the end of the week so, I'll come back then. We'll see what we have for resources... No. don't call the Unit... I know it's their problem, too, but we can handle it, Dad... Just wait for me alright? I'll see you in a few days."

I stare at my phone before throwing it down and placing my chin in my hand as I lean on the desk.

This is the last thing I need right now.

****

SARAH

Finally. We get away from this place for a while. More importantly, I get away from the constant reminder of Jayson's heartbreaking rejection.

Sean's really been great. He's a very sweet guy and we have a lot of fun. I'm not sure if I want it to get too serious with him. We've really just been hanging out for the most part. I don't really have the same urges I do with Jayson, but he cares about me. That's the main thing.

I hold Sean's hands as we stand in front of the busses to take us home for a much-needed, three-week break. I'm excited to see my parents again, but I'll miss Sean since he's from Falcon Ridge.

"I'll text you every day, ok." He's rubbing my cheek with his thumb.

"I'll miss you." I say softly.

He pulls me into him. "I'll miss you, too." He leans in and gives me a deep, soft kiss.

He separates. "Don't go falling for some Black Lake guy on me." He points his finger at me.

I giggle. "I won't. You stay away from the Falcon Ridge girls."

"Don't worry about that, baby. I know what I got." He smiles and kisses me again. "Have a safe trip, Ok. I'll call you."

We hug and as I lay my head on his chest, I look to the Alphas. They're seeing us off. Jayson is staring with a not so happy look on his face and his hands in his pockets.

I pull back and give Sean another kiss. "Bye."

"Bye, baby." He watches me climb on and he waves to me when I find my window seat.

My eyes immediately find Jayson's again and we just stare at each other until the bus starts to leave.

****

JAYSON

I tried to get out of seeing them off, but no, it wouldn't be right as Head Alpha.

So, I stood there watching Sarah kiss that stupid kid. Each moment had my wolf snarling and snapping in my head.

I stood there with my hands in my pockets. Quietly fuming.

"Aw... young love." Kale smiles.

"I'm going to fucking throat punch you if you don't shut up." I grit at him, not looking away from Sarah.

"Sorry." He mumbles.

Wren stood on the other side of me. "Are you going to Black Lake, too?"

I scratch my head. "Yeah. My dad called me back. Pack business."

Deacon stood, chin up. "An Alpha’s work is never done."

Cass chuckled. "Ain't that the truth."

Wren side eyes me. "Maybe, you can try and fix things there." She gives a little smile.

"Maybe." I mumble.

I look at Kale. "You going home?"

Kale smiles. "Georgia's staying, so I'm going to have lots of fun this break."

Wren leans around me. "You're gross."

He turned to her. "I wasn't talking about sex, Wren."

She squints her eyes. "You're a damn liar."

"Yeah, I am." He smirks.

She shakes her head.

I listen to the others talking about their plans for break as I watch Sarah leave.

I want to fix this. I have to fix this. I can't leave it like this. I have to do something. If I can find an in, that's all I need. I'll have to do it in Black Lake now that she's away from Sean.

I need some form of a plan here.