"Not a good idea," he whispers.No, it isn't. "Tomorrow night my dad and friends will be gone. I'll do a sleep over at your place." I say this while running my fingers through his shower dampened, clean hair.He stands up straight and leans in so I can hear his softly spoken words. "Congratulations on the win today. Some night we need to sneak down here so I can fuck you on the thirty-six yard line, where you made that kick from."My belly tightens and my inner thighs actually quiver. I smooth my fingers across the waistband of his shorts and slip my fingers beneath the material. His hand takes mine and stops my roaming."You're not helping."I run my cheek across his stubbled one and whisper back, "You know how good my fingers will feel around you and my" I bite his earlobe. "My lips."I'm sure his growl can be heard past the door. "Check and see if I can leave without being seen," he orders sharply."You're no fun," I pout but slide away from him and peek out the door. "You're
THE WEEKS ROLL by and the wear and tear on my body makes me down ibuprofen in order to function. Two losses followed our win against the Scorpions. I had two interceptions in the last game, was sacked twice, and Jordan missed a field goal. I've been here before and it's a shitty feeling. Our team should be better than this.Jordan practically lives at my place and I'm getting tired of sneaking her in and out. I'm sick of the whole thing as far as hiding our relationship. The only time we see each other is late at night when we're both tired. Rick Dove has Jordan making special appearances and signing autographs around the city. He's riding high representing football's first female kicker even if we've lost two straight.Tomorrow is Saturday and we fly out in the morning for a game in Pittsburgh on Sunday. I'm resting on the couch with ice on my wrist, which was tweaked during one of the two sacks I suffered last week. Jordan walks in. She finally picked out a car to buy and had it de
IN THE FIRST quarter, we don't look like the team who beat the Super Bowl champions three weeks ago. Aiden can't get a break and his offensive line is practically falling down on the job. Aiden is sacked on his second possession of the game. I'm angry and fed up with the line's BS. Aiden can't carry the team alone.All I'm able to do is glare from the sideline and watch Pittsburgh put points on the board. Terrible towels twirl through the air and cheers go up when they score again, making it seventeen zero. Aiden jogs out slowly after the kickoff and I know something is injured, maybe his knee. The second quarter begins and we finally have the ball in enemy territory.Aiden goes back to pass and a Pittsburgh player manages to grab the back of Aiden's jersey. Aiden spins and breaks the hold but he has no one open to pass the ball. He breaks right, spins left, and takes off for the end zone. He's taken down by two players on the one yard line. He stays down after the tackle and I'm abo
THE ONLY REASON I'm standing upright is adrenaline. Everything will hurt when it drops, but right now I'm riding the winning high that hasn't stopped since the final game whistle blew. The mood on our midnight flight out of Pittsburgh is much different than our arrival.Winning cures all evil.We're on a private chartered plane. I've decided if the entire team knows Jordan and I are a couple there's no reason to hide it any longer. I grab her hand and pull her to the back with me."What are you doing?" she hisses."Having you sit by me. Come on." I sit down and move over, tugging her down beside me. I don't stop there and once she's seated, I pull her into my arms and kiss her sweet pouty lips."Aiden," she whispers into my mouth."They don't care," he says and deepens the kiss."Hey, lovebirds," Lane hollers so everyone hears. "Apparently your romantic spin on the sideline is a trending topic on social media. Twitter and Facebook are going crazy."Aiden laughs. "Next thing you
HAPPILY EVER AFTER depends on many factors in the lives of professional football players. A winning season is one of those factors. I wish I could report the Pronghorns won the Super Bowl but I can't. We did make it to the first round of the playoffs, where we lost to Killian's team. The Scorpions took out their revenge on the season-opening loss to us. They stomped us. It wasn't a nice way to end the season but after the mental defeat wore off, we accepted our winning record for the year determined to make the following year even better. When you're winning, the fans love you and for the first time we took our team to the playoffs, so we rode high on public support.Coaches, players, and fans took my relationship with Aiden like champs. Poor Lane, no matter how many times we denied it, he remained the jilted other man. He didn't mind and he told me it did wonders for him with the ladies.I moved in with Aiden and we navigated the waters of living together. Between public appearances
I'LL STAY IN Aiden's apartment for the foreseeable future. It's sad that I really don't want to. He talks about a long distance relationship like it won't change anything. I know it will. His life and dreams will intertwine with the Scorpions in no time. They'll become his everything. Football is no place for love. I'm learning that the hard way.Dreams.I think of them a lot during the two days we have before Aiden's move is set in stone. We make love, talk, I cry, and Aiden holds me. I'm doing everything I can to be strong and make this easier on him. It's anything but easy.He loves me. More than anyone, I understand what it means to have your dreams within your grasp. I left my father behind for my dreams. Aiden will leave me.I drive him to the airport on Monday morning."This will work out," he tells me before walking away.I drive back to the apartment holding back tears. I cleared everything from my schedule so I could rest in bed for the day and cry my eyes out with no o
PART THREEThe dirty, cracked vinyl on the bus seat rubbed uncomfortably against the back of my bare thighs. My short shorts offered little protection for my ass, but the irritation kept my mind off the next two hours.I refused to dwell on what made me desperate enough to continue on my premeditated unlawful activity, because I'd spent the past three days talking myself into it.The city bus finally made its last stop of the night, the squeaky brakes adding to my tension. I walked down the steps without looking at the driver. I was sure he'd seen it all and my plans to commit a felony wouldn't cause him to blink an eye but I still didn't want him seeing my face. I pulled my dark hoodie lower over my face, bunched the ends of my sleeves in my fists, and began the second leg of my journey. The early spring night was chilly, but my legs warmed up quickly as I walked.Several miles later, the uneven sidewalks gave way to wide paths and the small, sporadic bushes changed to large swoop
I didn't like his tone, but had little time to contemplate what it meant because a phone started ringing somewhere in his house. He pulled me up by my hair and forced me out of the room, down a hall, and into his kitchen.He picked up the phone and his facial expressions showed he somehow managed to flip an internal mental switch. His voice sounded calm and reasonable, but I could see the artery in his neck pulsing and knew I was still in trouble."Everything's fine. Yes, lights out."What the hell was lights out?I could tell when he slammed his mental switch in the other direction because the phone hit the cradle with a crash as he jerked me farther into the room. Stupidly, I reached toward a large butcher-block knife set picturing the largest one in my hand and sliding effortlessly between his ribs. He roughly jerked me away. Truthfully, I doubt I could have stabbed him, but this was all about the bluster. He opened a drawer and reached inside with one hand, keeping his other at