Joel didn't seem surprised to see me. He casually placed the panties and bra on top of the dress, picked them up, and carried them to me. Our eyes remained locked the entire time. A foot away, his arms came out offering me my clothes. I did the worst thing I could possibly do. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Joel looked at me for one long moment before doing the last thing I expected. He pulled me into his arms, my clothes pressed between us.That's when I lost it. I sobbed against his chest feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet."Shhh."His whisper coincided with his tightening arms."I'm sorry," I hiccupped, but didn't pull away.He stood there holding me, swaying gently. Finally, he loosened his arms just a bit. "You need to get dressed, and I'll drive you back to the hotel."I took a trembling breath and moved back slightly. "You will?""Yes." It was said so gently I almost started crying again. I stood wrapped in a sheet with Joel comforting me because his brother was an
We were on the main road now and Joel pulled into an old-fashioned small diner. I noticed his rigid jaw on the unmarred side of his face. I got out of the truck before he could walk around and lift me out. If anyone was behind me I'm sure they got a glimpse of my panties, but I just didn't care at the moment. Joel held the door open for me and we walked inside. The place was clean and quaint. The aroma of fried bacon hung in the air."Big match today. Wondered when you'd be by to fill up those engines," an older waitress said while she grabbed two menus.Joel gave her a brief hug before introducing us. "Maggs, this is Cami Avesque from a Cleveland newspaper doing some articles on The Slam."Maggs didn't look twice at my dress. With a warm smile she shook my hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm glad you brought this man in for his meal. It's good luck for him to eat our half a pig, dozen egg special before a match."I had to laugh. "I thought he was joking.""Well it's a bit of an exaggera
I sat my things on the end of my bed and headed straight for the shower. I removed my clothes vowing to never wear the dress again. The scent of sex hit me. I still smelled like Van. Could Joel smell it on me? The thought was mortifying. I held back additional tears, but couldn't stop thinking "What if?" What if I hadn't gone out with Van? What if I hadn't melted into his arms with the first kiss last night? What if I hadn't had so much to drink? What if I drown wild Cami in a vat of poison? That was the best what if I had.I scrubbed myself, even my tender lady bits that were swollen and raw. The small stubble scratches on my skin pissed me off. What the hell did he do, mark his harem so everyone could see? I was such a stupid fool. My first real assignment and I fell into bed with my contacta stupid, blowhard jock.I set my alarm on my phone and crawled naked under my covers. Again the what ifs swamped me, but I managed to shut them down. I slept until the bing bing bing on my phon
"Fans drive hundreds of miles for the match," Charlie said as he assisted Stub and me down from the bus. "We're proud to fill the stadium every time. I've never even seen weather keep people away." He put his arm around Stub. "Come on, let's go in. They should have your name at the side door and you'll be getting a field pass like me."All I could do was follow, and sure enough I had a pass waiting for me. Stupid that I hadn't asked what I needed to do to get in. The place was so empty during my previous trips to the stadium that it hadn't occurred to me. My official seat was a few seats down from Charlie and Stub. People happily switched places and gave me their adjacent seat."So you want to tackle your first locker room?" Charlie asked as he stood up."You're joking."Everyone around us laughed as heat raced to my cheeks. I followed Charlie through the crowd on the familiar path to the locker room. I heard them before I saw them. Good-natured shouts and cheers had me smiling all
I spent half the match in the stands and half the time on the sidelines. I remembered Charlie's words about the Stelson brothers leaving blood behind during matches. Many players did. I saw scraped knees, bloody noses, and scratched faces. I heard the grunts and groans and saw players jump up and continue playing when I thought they would leave on a stretcher. All up close and personal from the sidelines.Maybe too personal.My eyes strayed to Van; I couldn't help myself. He was a different man on that field. He wasn't a glory hound like I expected. He passed the ball, assisted other players in tries, along with scoring two tries himself. Yes, tries, rugby's term for scoring points when you ground the ball on the try line. It was a foreign language that I was finally getting the knack for.I also saw the respect Joel had explained to me. Rugby was nothing like what little I knew of football. The plays didn't stop unless there was a penalty called. There were no separate defensive or
The fans were rowdy and the beer overflowing at the tavern. Charlie and Stub kept me close, and I had no chance to slip away before the team arrived. Charlie handed me a beer and I downed it quickly. It felt good to drown my sorrows. Going back on my word to never drink again was like thinking I could cast away my self-doubt because of the thrill over a ball game.The shouts suddenly grew louder and people began cheering. The team had arrived. Fans passed beer hand to hand over heads until the players were guzzling their first glass. This went for both teams. Everyone just seemed- happy. Everyone but me. I downed the second half of my third beer like it was a shot of whiskey.Charlie and Stub started a serious conversation with Ron and I saw my chance to get away. I turned and ran straight into Joel's chest. God, he smelled goodclean with no dirt anywhere in sight.He leaned in, his breath hot across my ear, "You okay?"How could I answer that honestly? I couldn't speak, just shook
While I was trying not to check out his body, he didn't have the same problem. He gazed at my breasts a few seconds longer than he'd ever done before. I had my babies tucked in tight with no cleavage showing, so I wasn't sure why he stared so long."Do friends stare like that?" I couldn't help asking because heat was traveling to my cheeks."This friend does. You look nice." He gave me a crooked grin.Nice. That was good, right? So why stare at my boobs? I didn't get it. His eyes were now on mine and I appreciated his baby blues again."Do you need to grab your bag?""Yes, I never go anywhere without it." I walked over to collect it off the dresser. "Do you mind if I ask where you're taking me.""The lake."Um, no. "As in swimming?""If you like, but it's not exactly what I had planned." He continued with the same grin and his eyes twinkled just a bit."I didn't pack a swimsuit and I'd rather not buy one. It tends to be a major ordeal finding something that fits." I was kinda
"Come on, sleepyhead. We're here." Joel stroked my cheek.I opened my eyes and we were inches apart. It was so unfair. I wanted nothing more than to kiss him and forget his brother. Stupid me. "Where's here?"He leaned back a bit, allowing me to breathe comfortably. "We've been driving for over an hour. You'll enjoy the food; it's locally grown vegetables with locally raised meat and fish. They also have a good draft beer.""No beer for me. I'm swearing off alcohol."Snarly Joel came back. "You know I owe my brother a black eye for that, right? He knew damn good and well what he was doing when he gave you too much alcohol. Hell, I might punch out a few of his teeth." His hands held the steering wheel in a death grip, causing his forearm muscles to bulge.I placed my fingers on one of Joel's fists. "I'm a big girl. The last thing I want is the two of you fighting. Absolutely no black eyes or missing teeth. You will no longer be my friend if you do either. You got me?"He didn't sm