Chapter 1: Sebastian

"Guys, I'm not in the mood to party!"

I sounded like my mom: always whining and com-plaining, but the guys weren't listening. I wasn't in a par-ty mood for real. I hadn't played ten games in the last season and the way I was feeling, I didn't know if I would play again.

I was going to be one of those quarterbacks that re-tired early. Shit, I was only twenty-eight, yet I felt like an old man. Too scared to run, pass, or do anything in case something else snapped. The guys were acting nice about it. Telling me to get a grip and that it was all about the game, but I was so fucking scared of doing anything, including sex!

"You need to get back out there. What happened to Casanova Sebastian?" Mason said as he passed me another beer.

He fucking died when I spent more time watching the game than actually being part of the action.

I took a swig of the beer, I had kept telling him I didn't want and would end up drinking all the same. As they say, actions speak louder than words, and I may have been saying no but that didn't stop me from drink-ing it. He sat down on the deck next to me while the rest of the guys: Paul, Kent, Lucy, and Mia were partying in my pool.

The music was way too loud, they were drinking too much, and it was still early. It wasn't even dark yet. I was sure that by the time night fell, one of my neighbors would be banging on the door complaining about the noise and shit.

"Yeah man I would if I could. Watch out Kent, you nearly slipped!" I pointed out as he ran by the side of the pool. That was all I needed: one of them to be in-jured and out of the season. Coach Thomas had already warned them like he did every year to take it easy out of season. Last year, just at the start of the season they were hardly any fullbacks, running backs or quarterbacks. We were all injured one way or another as soon as we fin-ished the first game.

The guys were on a high. They had nearly made it to the Super Bowl, and I wasn't part of it. They were happy to have gotten so far in the game, but I just ended up sitting watching them like a frigging chump. There's nothing worse than being part of a team and never get-ting to play. Since 2013, I've had one injury after anoth-er. I know that it won't be long until that's it, I'll have to go into early retirement. The game's got a lot more com-petitive. Guys are bumping and thumping us as if we're boxing bags, just to get a win.

"You can't give up man; I won't let you," Kent screamed over as he grabbed his cheerleading girlfriend, Mia. He had a lot to be happy about. Not only was Mia hot, but she was like the Auntie of the cheers. Mia kept them all in line and always had time for everyone, espe-cially her leading man, Kent. They knew each other from high school. Most guys cheated on their girlfriends or got bored as soon as they hit the big time, but not Kent. He had stayed true to her and even though I didn't under-stand the whole relationship thing, I found it kind of neat.

"Yeah, yeah," I sighed as I sipped on the cool beer, thinking that I needed something stronger just to match their energy levels. It was the end of the season and they were taking a break. Mine had started months ago, after I'd had surgery on my back. As soon as I started physio-therapy I felt as if the problem with my transverse had come back to haunt me, as my knee was giving way when I headed back to the gym. I hadn't told a soul; I just made out that my back hadn't completely healed. Maybe Mason was right, and it was all in my mind. So far the doc hadn't found anything wrong, but I just didn't feel the same.

"Take a swig of this," Kent said as he handed me his flask. Shit, he only had his trunks on, but he'd man-aged to grab a flask out of nowhere.

"Errh, where the fuck had you been keeping that?"

He ignored me and headed back into the pool. It had been a while since I'd touched gin, because my cabi-net was like a fucking pharmacy. I had so many damn painkillers and meds in there with the warning, "Not to be taken with alcohol," that I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a drink. Even when I came off them, I steered clear of drinking just in case I had a relapse and I had to restart my meds.

I started to think positive thoughts as the burning sensation of the gin passed and happiness took over. Be-fore I knew it, I was jumping in the pool waiting for my other surprise. Mason had said that tonight would entail a few friends and a surprise.

Mason, if anything, was predictable. I knew that by surprise he meant a stripper!

I took a few laps and splashed around joining in the party. The other girls must have had a little too much to drink, because they lost their bikini top as the night progressed. Someone entered from the back of the house.

I saw her in heels walking toward the pool as if she owned the fucking place. She had a Giants baseball cap and a tight black dress with buttons right down the cen-ter, that made me just want to pop them open and reveal what was underneath. I could tell her body was hot. That dress was so fucking tight.

Shit, she had curves that all the cheers couldn't compete with.

Hips like J-Lo.

Breasts like Beyonce.

And fucking lips that made me want her on her knees sucking my cock until next season.

I couldn't see her eyes, just a few strands of hair that were loosely hanging from the cap.

She made everyone pay attention as soon as she shouted my name.

Mason didn't just get me a surprise; he gave me a fucking treat of the century. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Girl just get over here and get naked!"