MasonIt was still fucking daytime, but with all the curtains closed and windows covered, the room looked dark. Not that I gave a damn what time it was outside, because I didn’t plan on leaving my home.There was a part of me that was angry for locking myself in, and feeling sorry for myself. I still wouldn’t leave the house, though.I didn’t have the courage to leave, after all. Not anymore.“Fuck, this is boring,” I grumbled, drinking the last of my beer, then crushed the can and tossed it in my trashcan. The can went in, and I smirked, but it quickly dropped with a sigh as my eyes turned back to the TV. “If they’re gonna show this kind of play to people, they at least need better players.”Like me, I thought, then cast that thought away, too. It was a dangerous thought to have for me recently, but sometimes, I couldn’t keep myself from wishing.I was watching a football game, and it was already in its last quarter. I wasn’t on either side, but the team on the losing side was a fair
I was a little intimidated by the glare Mason had aimed at me, but I wasn’t going to back down. Besides, I knew he wasn’t going to hurt me, anyway. Not just because of our past, but because he wasn’t the kind of guy that got off on beating other people up, even when they were annoying.“I came to visit you,” I said, tilting my chin up and giving him a stubborn frown. “Now move aside and let me in.”He let out a little, sardonic laugh. “Aren't you a bit forward for someone that just came to visit?” he challenged, not moving an inch. “Make me move, Sophia. It’s the only way you’re coming in here.”I frowned at him. I hadn't forgotten he was about as stubborn as I was. It was the only reason I had left him alone this long when I knew he was doing something stupid. Too soon and he would just send me away again, too long and I might be late in providing any sort of help.I might have waited too long already, I thought to myself in worry.He didn’t let me see a thing inside before he covere
Fuck.Sophia was one of the last people I wanted to see at the front of my door because I knew how stubborn she could be when she put her mind to it. I didn’t want her there for a lot of reasons. I was embarrassed at how I’d let myself go, at how quickly I’d changed in such a short time. I also wasn’t ready to face the world and people again, and I didn’t know if I would ever be ready. Hell, I hadn't spoken to my own family yet, and I didn’t see that happening any time soon.What do I do…?When I decided to lock myself away, I’d had a plan. And in this plan, once I felt I could pick myself up and give life a try again, I would reconnect with the people I was currently pushing away. If I had to be honest to myself, Sophia wasn’t only on the list, but among one of the first people I would reach out to, besides my parents and even above my best friend. Sophia was Sebastian’s sister, but if she really stopped talking to me, I knew that bastard wouldn’t help me. No matter how close we we
I slumped back against the door as I panted, trying to catch my breath. My legs felt weak, the one I had around Mason’s hip trembling. I knew I couldn’t keep the stance I had for long, but Mason wasn’t moving, either, and he was still inside me, so I couldn’t bring myself to move.“Are you going to move or what?” I huffed once I caught my breath, pushing lightly over his shoulder.Mason took a deep breath, then chuckled. “Yeah, I’m moving.”Slowly, he pulled himself back. My breath I hitched as his softening cock spilled out of me, Mason letting out a hiss.“Sensitive?” I guessed.He nodded, sighing as he reached down to tuck himself back into his pants.“Are you gonna let me go, too, or…?” he teased, arching an amused eyebrow.I moved my leg from around his hips, holding on tightly to his shoulder as I put my foot on the ground. It was a good thing I was holding onto him because when I got both feet on the ground, my legs buckled.“Shit.”How long had it been since we last fucked? Be
With a groan, I rolled to the side, so I wasn’t crushing Sophia, hissing when my soft, sensitive cock slipped out of her. I kept my arms around her, rolling her with me, holding her close to my chest.My whole body felt exhausted. My chest wanted to heave for every breath, but I controlled it, taking in slow deep breaths to get my lungs to stop screaming at me. I probably stopped breathing near the end there.Shit, I really did let myself go if I can't even do this without breathing hard. Maybe I really should be going to my physiotherapy sessions…?I sighed as my eyes slid closed, my body relaxing. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this content. I slept just fine when I was alone, in fact, I was asleep more than I was awake these past weeks, but it was often fitful. I went to sleep in a bad mood and woke up in a bad mood, making myself more and more depressed every day. Besides, having a warm body close again to me felt amazing.“Mason?”I heard Sophia call my name, but it soun
SophiaI woke up to an empty bed and pouted as I sat up, the sheets sliding off my naked body.“Bastard,” I grumbled, slipping off the bed. “You could have woken me up.”I wasn’t really annoyed with him, though. I knew he had an important game today or he wouldn’t have woken up so early without me. I went to the bathroom for a shower, then hurried to get dressed. Picking clothes was becoming harder, though. For the moment, my dresses were still fine, but I knew I would have to buy some bigger clothes soon.“You’re growing really fast in there, aren’t you,” I murmured, rubbing my rounding belly.It had been a shock, finding out I was pregnant, for Mason and me both. It wasn’t something we planned, we just got careless with me missing my contraception, but when the news came, I wasn’t as against it as I would have thought. I had always felt uneasy at the thought of a little person growing inside me. Not so much because it would be uncomfortable or because I was worried about my figure,
I loved playing dirty on the field and in the bedroom. Life was too short to play by the rules, but soon enough, my bad reputation caught up with me, and no team wanted to touch me.It didn't matter how fast I ran on the field or how many times I ran for a touchdown; my past had caught up with me and it all but ruined my career. I needed a fresh start. A new team. And I'd thought I'd found it. Especially when I caught sight of the coach's daughter, Zoe, she drew me to her like a magnet. I couldn't look away, even after I'd made her mine. She'd throw me away, but like a boomerang, I kept coming back for more. Playing for the Southern Eagles and getting my reputation back in good standing should have been enough for me, especially when our parents started dating. The problem began, when I realized I was hooked, and I couldn't say no to her. But I had to start learning to play by the rules, and stop thinking with the one thing that always got me in trouble…
I stormed down the hall of the Southern Eagles training complex, feeling irritation clawing at my mind. My annoyance was held at bay, for now, only because things had gone as I’d expected. I was so preoccupied, I bumped into someone. He caught me as I stumbled, and I wanted to apologize, until I lifted my head and saw that smirking face. I froze, staring at him in surprise.“Hey, Zoe.”I gaped. “Howard! What the hell are you doing here?”Glancing around, I grabbed his arm and tugged him out of the way. My first instinct was to hide him. If he got caught here with me, he would be in some serious trouble.He just smirked. “I came to show my dedication for the sport, of course, Zoe. That, and I missed you, so I wanted to come see you.”“Did it have to be here of all places, though?” I hissed.He laughed. “Maybe I wanted to see how you look while you work.”If that was what he came here for, he was going to be sorely disappointed. I didn’t have any work today, so I’d planned to stop by so
Zoe“Are you ready, Zoe?”I looked up to see Katie and Dad standing in the doorway. Katie hurried forward when she saw me trying to stand up so she could help. When I was on my feet, I slowly turned around, then smiled at the both of them.“How do I look?”Katie pulled me into a hug with a squeal, and Dad cracked a smile. His eyes were wet with tears.“You look so beautiful, Zoe! Oh, now I wish we hadn’t been so quick to get married. Even a small ceremony would be fine, we were just in such a hurry.”I laughed at her grumbling, and Dad let out a chuckle. I was in a simple white wedding dress with cap sleeves and the veil already tucked into my hair. I was heavily pregnant, nearly nine months along, and the baby was bound to come out any day now, so I was in flats.“Kayla, you did such a good job with the makeup,” Katie said. Kayla came up behind me, her hands on my shoulders. “I practiced it so many times, I’m glad to see how it came out. You’re going to be so amazing in the pictures
Maybe Zoe was right, I shouldn’t have pushed it.I wanted to ignore the ring of my alarm. Even though I wasn’t sleeping, I was exhausted. I was probably like this due to stress, though.The same day I healed up, I just had to speak with Ben about our relationship. I didn’t want to put it off, for a number of reasons, but I really should have. Ben wasn’t exactly accepting, yet. After he’d calmed down from the big reveal, he’d sat me down in the living room while insisting that Zoe and Mom stay in the kitchen. He’d started a line of questioning that left me high strung, to the point I’d gotten a slight fever when I got back.Zoe had stayed behind at home. She’d just gotten back, and it wasn’t like we’d be apart for long, anyway, now that her dad knew and was reluctantly on board with the idea of the two of us getting together. She didn’t know I got sick again, but I still had the meds from the previous night, and I’d eaten already, so I took some meds and went to sleep.My muscles nearl
I was nervous. I had every right to be.“Are you sure you’re okay now?” I asked. “Maybe we should go to the doctor after all.”Howard just chuckled and pulled me into his arms. His body was hot against mine, but his fever had definitely gone down since last night, and he could keep food down. I didn’t think he was well enough to be facing my dad, though, but Howard disagreed.“Come on. I already called Mom and told her we’d be on our way. She’s keeping it a secret from Ben for now. We can join them for dinner.”I hadn’t seen Dad in weeks, but he hadn’t tried to call me in that time. When I got back, the first thing I did was go see how Howard was doing, only to find he was sick and he hadn’t even locked his door. I didn’t think a day was long enough for him to get better, but he seemed completely sure that the illness had run its course.“Let me carry your stuff down to the car,” he offered.I came with all my luggage to his doorstep, though I didn’t intend to spend the night. There w
I’d fallen asleep on the couch again. I woke up with a groan, arching my body and stretching out a few kinks in my neck. I felt uncomfortable, but instead of moving, I just remained curled on the couch after my stretch.How many days had it been since I last stepped out of my apartment? I wasn’t sure, but my mind was groggy, and my body felt heavy. I somehow managed to get a cold, though it might be something a little more serious than that. I’d told Grady so the guys knew not to expect me for a while. Hopefully, it bought enough time for me to talk to Zoe about things before I completely refused the contract. I hated being sick, though, especially being sick by myself, which was how it usually happened.A harsh cough wracked my body, and I winced as I wrapped a hand around my throat. Damn, that hurts.I was usually a healthy person. Aside from my brush with drugs, booze, and women, I ate healthy meals and exercised plenty. Something as simple as a cold, I maybe caught it a few times
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could tell I was dreaming. Something about the blurry edges of the scenery just didn’t seem real, I was probably close to waking, too, since I could tell I was dreaming.In this dream, I found myself in the middle of a party. This wasn’t anything strange, because I’d been to lots of parties. It was someone’s house, though I had no idea who. The lighting was dim, but someone had set out some strobe lights. There were a lot of people around. I didn’t recognize any of them, though more importantly, I couldn’t even see their faces. Everything was blurry, but I could smell alcohol and sweat in the air, the sensory memory feeling so real. This was pretty much what my life used to be, before. Before I fell from grace and decided on changing myself. I would never go back to that. There were women everywhere, surrounding me, grabbing into me, too many. Back then, it was a situation I would have liked, but it could have been a nightmare right then. The hand
Nearly two weeks. It had been two weeks since Zoe seemed to have disappeared, and I was starting to get really worried. Even when she shut me out when she wasn’t in the best mood, it was only for a few days, and she wouldn’t completely ignore me. The longest we went without even texting was when she first found out I had to avoid her, but back then, I still got to see her. This time, I wasn’t getting through to her.Could something have happened to her?I thought about asking Ben, but I was reluctant. He didn’t seem worried when I saw him yesterday that Zoe had failed to show up again. The first few times, he’d at least asked after her. Did he know where she was? Was I the only one she wasn’t talking to?Fuck, did I do something wrong without realizing? Or… was she pulling away because I told her I loved her?I knew I should have talked to her properly first!If she was running scared because I said I loved her, then what did that mean? She’d said she felt the same way, but that could
When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room. It took a minute before I remembered where I was, and stretched out, then sat up. I slipped out of bed and went to my luggage for a change of clothes before I headed for the bathroom.I was in Montana, in my grandma’s house. It had been a while since I’d been here, but nothing had changed, and unlike my stifling house, this was comforting. After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs and found Grandma up and in the living room, watching TV.“Good morning, Grandma.”“Morning, Zoe,” she said, looking up with a smile. “Though you’re a little late getting up, it’ll be time for lunch in under a couple hours. Are you hungry? I had some cereal for breakfast, but I can make you something to eat.”“No, it’s fine. I’ll just have some cereal, too. Sorry for sleeping in.”She waved a hand at me. “No need to apologize, it’s not like either of us have anywhere we need to go.”I could have cooked myself, but I didn’t feel like it. Grandma was good at t
“Dude, what are you doing? You’re going the wrong way!”“Get your head in the game!”I groaned. I’d heard that several times already today, and we were barely half an hour into practice. I was laying under a pile of heavy football players, and the weight on my chest was making it a little hard to breath. I was grateful when they pulled away quickly, and someone, Ted, held a hand to me to help me up.“Thanks,” I said, taking his offered hand.I winced when I stood up, and it got me a pat on the back.“Are you okay? That looked a bit rough, but I think you might have tripped before anyone even landed on you.”“I’m fine.” I stretched the muscles in my body, and there didn’t seem to be anything wrong, just a bit of ache in my back from the fall. “I’m good, the guys were just heavy.”“If you say so. Try to keep focused, though, okay? No one wants you to get injured in the middle of practice before we even get to our first game.”I huffed out a humorless laugh. “Believe me, it’s the last th
I left home early in the morning, long before Dad and Katie woke up, because it would be too awkward to see them. The two of them didn’t need me around for anything, and they both seemed happy with the current situation, which just made it worse for me. They were very much in love and had no problem showing it even with me in the room, and there was no way I was going to be comfortable with that.I really need to move out. Should I look into other teams to apply to?This was something I needed to put more thought into. I was sure I could get used to it, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Still, it wasn’t like I was needed in the house anymore.Money was a problem, but not that big a problem. When Mom passed away, she’d left some money in my name, and I’d never touched it. It wasn’t enough to live on, but I could get an apartment and settle in for a few months, but no more. Still, I could have made the decision to leave the house and look for work ages ago, but the real reason I didn’t mov