Page 6 of 4th and Goal (Season of Change #4)

It’s been a long week. A lonely week. I haven’t seen much of Lilly and I’m starting to think she might be avoiding me, kind of like how I was avoiding her. I’m a grown fucking man. And my rounds this morning before the football game seem like the perfect chance to dispel this avoidance nonsense.

She usually comes in the morning of a game to make sure everything is set for the announcer, jumbotron operator, and the press releases and press conference after the game.

I’m always amazed by her work ethic. She’s dedicated to her job, but not for the reasons some might think.

Lilly has a big heart, and she loves this university and the students here, especially the athletes.

We’ve talked about it over the years, and she’s interested in the people behind the uniforms, what makes them tick, what brings them joy, and how their stories might inspire others.

It’s no wonder I’ve been half in love with her for years.

I shake my head when the elevator opens on her floor, my stupidity knows no bounds apparently.

She’s been right in front of me, but I thought she needed time to grow into herself, settle into her roles professionally.

And she did, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have been there to support her through it all.

“AHHHHH!” I’m running before I even register what’s happening. That was Lilly, no doubt in my mind, and she’s screaming. I throw her office door open and rush inside, my heart pounding, my hand on my taser to defend her.

Except she’s alone. And jumping up and down, spinning in a circle.

Her hands above her head waving like she just don’t care.

Her boobs are bouncing boobily, her ass jiggling every time her heeled feet touch the floor.

When she lands once again and shakes her ass back and forth, while doing the cabbage patch, I blink several times and finally register that she’s happy.

Ecstatic. Not in danger. Though she will be if she keeps shaking that ass my way.

“Lilly?” I call out hoarsely, most of my blood flow inconveniently redirecting south, my mouth dry from arousal. She’s so fucking beautiful. “Lilly!” I call out again a little more strongly when she doesn’t hear me the first time.

She stops, bringing a grin to my lips, her arms extended, back arched, ass out, mid-cabbage patch.

Her eyes widen and her cheeks pinken lightly.

“Brody!” She stands up straight, fixing her blouse and trouser pants that fit her like a second skin.

They’re dark, probably black or navy blue, but I don’t think I saw a panty line.

Jesus. She’s trying to kill me. “Hey! Sorry. I got carried away.”

“I heard you scream—”

“Sorry! Jenna’s gonna smack me so hard. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.” She shakes her head back and forth and smiles up at me. “What can I do for you?”

Yup. She wants me dead. Open-ended questions like that are dangerous for my health.

“I heard you scream, remember?” She nods, biting her bottom lip. “I was making my rounds before the game and thought I’d stop by…to say hello.”

“Hi, Brody,” she says shyly, ducking her head.

Her head snaps back up a second later, with a brilliant grin.

“You have to see these!” She waves me over enthusiastically, pointing at her laptop.

I step further into her office and slide behind her desk to stand next to her.

I glance down at her while she’s distracted by whatever is on her screen.

I inhale her perfume, feeling the warmth of her flushed skin, licking my lips hungrily as her chest heaves and her cleavage teases me from the open buttons of her shirt.

It takes me a minute to get myself together to realize she’s clicking through photos on her computer.

Daya Moul, the freshman cheerleader sensation, and Elijah Addelsbach.

It’s hard to miss the utter devotion in his expression as he stares at Daya.

When her things were stolen, I saw how much he cared for this girl.

But photographic evidence cements it. Then I start to notice the photographs themselves, the angles, the artistic blurring of the backgrounds, the use of black and white and shots of color.

“They’re really good,” I say reverently. “This Edee’s work?”

“Yeah, Ty’s girl.”

“Ty?” I look down at Lilly when she smirks up at me. “I didn’t know they were dating.”

Lilly snorts, so unladylike and real. “Neither does Edee.”

My brows slant in confusion. “What?”

Lilly waves me off and points down at the screen. “Nothing, young love is all around us.” Clearly indicating the connection between Daya and Addy.

“You’re only a few years older,” I remind her gently.

“Yeah, but I feel decades older.” Her eyes instantly lose their spark, and I hate it.

I swallow hard and force some cheer as I say, “Well, you and Conner have been together a while. Are you hearing wedding bells?” Can she hear the texture of my voice, like I’ve gargled glass?

“Absolutely not,” she states vehemently. My brows crawl up my forehead, I was not expecting that. “We…broke up.”

“Oh.” I rally hard, imbuing as much sadness as I can in my voice. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Lilly turns slightly to face me, looking up at me with an intensity that settles in my gut. Her lips stretch slowly. “No, you aren’t,” she scoffs. “He’s an ass.”

“He is,” I agree readily, not willing to lie. “But I thought you liked him.”

She considers my words, shifting to rest her hip against her desk. “I think I liked the idea more. Stupid really.”

“You aren’t stupid.” She doesn’t hear me. The words bounce right off her and I want to shake her to listen to me.

“I feel pretty stupid, but it’s no matter, it’ll pass.

” She glances up at me, shy again, her voice somber.

“If he shows up…just let me know right away. I’ll deal with him.

” Before I can ask what the fuck that means, deal with him , she points to the screen again.

“Look at these epic photos! God, I can’t wait to see it all come together!

” She changes the subject, going on and on about her ideas for the new campaign featuring Daya and Addy.

Something about the symbolism of Addy leaving and Daya just arriving.

Potential and growth. All I can focus on is Conner and what the fuck is going between them.

Someone knocks on her doorframe and we both glance up to see Brandon Beiler standing there looking like someone kicked his puppy. Lilly smiles in greeting. “Hey, shouldn’t you be prepping for the game?”

Beiler smiles back and points toward the field.

“I ain’t running up and down that field, I don’t have to prep for nothing.

” I snicker, knowing damn well that Beiler works out alongside his players and could probably outrun any of them.

He’s a few years older than me, but I can admit the man is in top physical shape. His smile drops. “Can I talk to you?”

“Yeah, sure.” Lilly answers immediately. I grip Lilly’s shoulder and squeeze as I move away from behind her desk to give them privacy.

“I’ll leave you two—”

Beiler raises his hands. “No, please stay. You should stay.” He looks between both of us, his jaw clenching. “It’s about Heacock.”

“Fuck,” I moan but drop into one of the two chairs in front of Lilly’s desk. Beiler takes the other, looking like the weight of the world is on his shoulders…hence the kicked puppy expression when he first knocked. Coach Heacock is like a cancer, and I cannot wait for him to be excised.

“You think maybe he’s constipated?” Lilly blurts out right as Beiler opens his mouth to explain the reason for his visit.

We both blink at her in silence, not sure where she’s going with this.

“His cranky old man behavior is ratcheting up at an alarming pace. You should have seen him, Brody, in the meeting about Phia becoming the water girl for her thesis. His anger level was unwarranted. And the list of acceptable personnel and players to be photographed that he gave to Edee and Destinaysia was ridiculous.”

“Just listen.” Beiler places his phone on the edge of the desk between the three of us.

We listen as Coach Heacock tries to bully Crue Pribula into going pro.

Heacock invited Andres Abbott, a former NFL player and scout for Pittsburgh, under false pretenses.

Lilly and I laugh when Abbott takes over the meeting and turns it into an interview for a business venture between his food company and Pribula’s family farm.

Then Abbott rips Coach a new one and leaves after promising to talk with Beiler about a few key players who Pittsburgh might be interested in.

He excluded Heacock from the conversation and as soon as the door shut behind Abbott, Heacock went off on a tear about disrespect and a whole bunch of other bullshit. Prib handled it well, as did Beiler.

The recording ends, and Lilly sits back in her chair, chewing on the end of a pen as she thinks. I cross my legs when my cock twitches thinking I have something else she can twirl her tongue around. Beiler coughs into his fist and rolls his eyes at me. I flip him off and wait for Lilly.

“I’ve met Andres Abbott a few times,” Lilly begins, her eyes focused over our heads as she plays out possible scenarios in her head. I love watching her work. “He’s a good guy, and he won’t let what happened in that meeting be silenced in the community.”

“I thought that too.” Beiler slouches in his seat with a heavy sigh.

“Do you have any other recordings? Audio or visual?” Beiler nods. “Send them to me, please.” Lilly looks at me, completely in business mode. “Can you have Eric run that program he designed to track Coach Heacock’s movements since…he arrived back on campus before summer training camp?”

Eric has worked for me for a couple years now.

Technically, he doesn’t have to work since he’s a programmer and has sold a few apps and code.

He wrote code for the university as a student, streamlining operations.

He also designed the security app we use, and the firewall and security measures the university uses to protect their data.

He’s a genius…who loves football and all things sports. “I can. What are you thinking?”

Lilly grins, but it isn’t sweet or sexy. It’s evil. Pure evil…and ok, it’s damn sexy. Now’s not the time though. The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “I love the smell of emergency board meetings in the morning!”