Chapter 9
Lee finished paying for their lunch and handed it off to the boys. "Hey, will you guys take the food and drinks? Your mom is right over there." Lee pointed over to Amanda. "I'm going to grab some napkins and ketchup packets. I'll be there in just a minute."
"Sure, Lee," they answered.
Lee walked over to the small table beside the concession stand that held all of the condiments. As he grabbed everything he needed, he heard someone say Amanda's name. He glanced around to see if he could see where it came from. A few seconds later, he noticed Janice and Barbra Anne standing next to a bench. He turned his head and saw Amanda a short distance away, out of earshot. He quickly decided he'd inch closer to them, so he could hear what they were saying.
"There is no way Amanda will be able to hang on to him. She couldn't even keep that weatherman happy enough for him to stick around. I heard she wouldn't even kiss him. Her I won't sleep with someone without a ring on her finger attitude does not work anymore. Lee seems like he's the kind of man that won't put up with that for very long. I give this relationship maybe two weeks if that. I bet they aren't even dating, and this is all for show." Barbra Anne laughed.
Janice added, "I would've loved to have seen Coach Harris's reaction when he saw she brought him along. I heard he was going to ask her out as soon as the season was over. She probably wouldn't have been able to keep him happy, either."
"She's such a prude. It wouldn't surprise me if she's only had sex twice. No wonder her husband left and moved out of the country."
The two women walked off laughing, not knowing they had an audience. Lee's anger was boiling. It took everything in his power not to run after the two and set things straight, but he knew he needed to control himself for Amanda. He took a couple of deep breaths and started back to Amanda and the boys. Amanda beamed at him as he walked up, but that soon disappeared when she saw his face. He sat down and handed the napkins and ketchup to everyone. Amanda leaned towards him. "Is everything okay, Lee?"
He nodded his head, "Yeah, everything's fine." He plastered on a smile and declared, "Let's eat."
The boys couldn't stop talking about the game while they ate. Lee nodded a few times to make it appear like he was listening, but he couldn't get his mind off of what he just overheard. Amanda could tell something was wrong, but she knew not to ask about it just yet. Suddenly Jamie inquired, "Mom, did you remember my camera? I wanted to go get some pictures before our next game."
Amanda reached into her bag and pulled out his camera. "Yes, I did. Just make sure you pay attention, so you don't miss your game."
"I'll go with him, Mom, and make sure he doesn't lose track of time," Philip added.
"Thank you, Philip. Here, can you guys throw our trash away before you take off?"
"Sure, Mom." The boys grabbed the trash from Amanda and took off. Amanda started to gather her other items and placed them back into her bag. When she finished, she decided now was the time to find out what was going on. Lee was leaning up against the tree, staring off into space. Amanda set her bag off to the side and leaned up against Lee's chest, happy to feel him pull her in. Well, at least he's not angry with me. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on with you? You really haven't been here ever since you brought over the napkins."
"How good of friends are Barbra Anne and Janice?"
"I don't know if I would call them friends. I know them because of the baseball team, and they are in the PTA. Why?"
"I just heard them talking, and I didn't like what they said. So, I just wanted to know if I need to pretend to like them or not."
Amanda chuckled, "Lee, if you don't like someone, I'm not going to make you like them just because I do. What did they say?"
"You don't need to worry about it. Just forget I said anything."
"That's not going to happen." She twisted her body, so she could watch him closely. "Why won't you tell me what you heard?"
Lee gazed down into her big brown eyes and knew she would get her way. "They were talking about you, and it wasn't very nice." Amanda raised her eyebrows, and he continued to explain the conversation he overheard, leaving out the part about the coach. He didn't want her to feel awkward around him.
When he concluded relaying their remarks to her, Amanda responded with, "Well, you can't make everyone happy, and they don't mean that much to me anyway. We just won't sit by them anymore this weekend."
"Amanda, how can you not be furious with what they said about you? I would think you'd want to get back at them."
"Lee, people like that don't deserve my time to be angry at them. I'm happy in my life right now, and I don't want to bring any negativity into it."
"But, Amanda!" Amanda gave Lee a look that he knew he should drop it, but he just couldn't. "Well, I just came up with an idea on how to put them in their place, but if you don't want to hear about it, I'll just drop it." He paused and gawked at her. "Oh, did I mention they called you a prude?"
Amanda's face began to turn red. "What did you have in mind?"
Lee grinned triumphantly, showing his devilish dimples, and explained the plan he thought would work. Ten minutes later, they decided to head back to find their spot for the next game. As they walked, Lee got Amanda's attention and pointed with his eyes to Barbra Anne and Janice leaning up against a vast oak tree. They beamed at each other and winked. It was time to put their plan into action.
The closer Lee and Amanda got to the tree, the louder they got. They wanted to get their attention but not everyone else's. They started playfully tickling each other until they got right up to the tree. They positioned themselves on the opposite side of the tree the ladies were leaning on. Lee grabbed Amanda and pressed her up against the tree, causing her to drop the bag she was carrying, which just happened to hit Barbra Anne's leg. Barbra Anne bent down slightly to see what hit her and saw Lee and Amanda pressed up against the tree, kissing passionately. She elbowed Janice and placed her finger to her lips to make sure Janice didn't say anything. She pointed around the tree, and Janice strained to watch and smiled back at her. They couldn't help but eavesdrop on the lovers.
Lee and Amanda broke their kiss. Lee peeked to make sure their plan worked and smirked at Amanda. He breathlessly started their attack. "God, Amanda! You've been driving me crazy all day. I've wanted to do that for a very long time."
"Well, all you had to do was ask. We could've snuck away. You know I can't resist your kisses."
"Yes, I am well aware of that. You proved it to me in Paris. I still dream about the night after the ball. You remember, don't you? We made love all night long."
"Hmmm, how can I forget that night, and early the next morning, and later that day. We couldn't keep our hands off each other."
"You know I loved it all, but do you know which time was my favorite?"
"No, tell me."
"When we were on the balcony in nothing but our robes, and we just finished our brunch. You came over and straddled me. We made love right there on the balcony, and from my view, when I looked into your eyes, I could see the Eiffel Tower in the background. It was one of the most romantic moments of my life. I love it when you take charge. It drives me absolutely crazy."
"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just hope nobody else did. We weren't exactly quiet when we screamed each other's names."
"No, we weren't, were we? You know we made love five times in thirty hours. When do you want to try and beat our record?"
"Any time you want to, sweetheart. You know I'm always up for it. The question is, are you up for it?"
"Honey, with you, I'm always up for it. The things you do to me, my recovery time is absolutely not an issue. I think the only thing that could stop me is complete exhaustion. But for now, we need to go find a seat, or the boys will come searching for us."
He leaned down and kissed her, moaning a little louder than needed. He broke the kiss, picked up her bag, handed it to her, and they both sauntered away with their arms around each other.
Barbra Anne and Janice just gawked at each other in total shock. Janice was the first to speak. "Maybe we misjudged her. It sounds like she just may be able to hang on to him, after all."
Barbra Anne angrily stared at Janice, then stomped away like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum. Janice just shrugged her shoulders and followed behind her.
When Janice approached the stands, she made eye contact with Lee and Amanda. She sheepishly passed by them to take her seat. Amanda spun around and asked, "Where's Barbra Anne? She's going to miss the start of the game."
Janice fumbled with her answer, "Um, she, um, she needed to use the restroom. She'll be here soon."
Amanda turned back around and quickly glanced at Lee. She could see the smirk on his face out of the corner of her eye as she scanned around, hoping to locate Barbra Anne to gauge her reaction as well. She stealthy reached her hand over to his knee so Janice couldn't see, and they touched hands in victory.