Page 25 of Hard Count (Newhouse University #4)

NASH

The guys get set on our imaginary line of scrimmage.

Drew’s off to the side with a clipboard in her hand writing down more of her intricate notes.

Damn she’s impressive the way she notices every tiny detail.

She has the same bend in her brow that she did as a kid standing on the sideline with her dad.

Coach was only able to show me a dozen photos before Drew packed up the box of photos and called it quits.

She had no reason to be embarrassed. She was a cute kid with her braids and pigtails.

It was almost like she knew what was coming next at the bottom of the box and didn’t want me to see it. I just don’t understand why.

“Are we going to snap the ball or what? I don’t mind staring at that pretty little thing all morning if you’re okay with it,” Trey goads me from across the line of scrimmage. He’s lucky he’s an important part of our defensive line otherwise he wouldn’t be allowed to come to these practices anymore.

“Keep your eyes on the ball. Unless you’re okay with me putting you on your ass again.”

I call the play—keeping one eye on Trey who’s still smirking at me—and our center Marcus hikes the ball. I step back three paces and fake a handoff to Adrian. Our defense follows him giving me an opportunity to throw long down field.

Just as planned Lucas swings around and the ball drops into his arms. We’ve used this passing play a few times already but the fake handoff is new. Drew said the Tigers will be expecting us to run because their defense is one of the best at pass coverage.

“That was good. I want to break off in smaller groups and fine tune a few things,” Drew says.

The guys form a small circle around her and wait for her to pair everyone off.

In the short amount of time she’s been working with us, we’ve all come to respect her.

Not because she’s Coach’s daughter, but because she’s smart and knows what she’s doing. She stands on her own merit.

“How about Nash, Adrian, and Lucas versus Eli, Trey, and me?” Drew smiles wickedly at me. “Do you want to show me what you got, Pierce?” She hands her clipboard to Chris and tightens the ponytail at the top of her head.

Everyone clears the field except for the few of us she's called out. “Are you sure you can handle me?” I ask. I’m always willing to play this game with her. I’m curious to see what she has up her sleeve .

“I think I should be the one asking you that. I’m not going to take it easy on you.” She lines up in front of me.

“That’s okay. I like it rough.” I drag my eyes down her body.

“Gag me,” she says with fake annoyance. She can say what she wants but she can’t hide the flush of her skin and the way her eyes drop to my dick.

“Gladly, baby. Just tell me when and where,” I whisper in her ear. Backing away—leaving her in a haze of lust—I pass Lucas the ball. He’ll have to act as our center and wide receiver.

“What's the play?” Adrian asks. He glances over at Trey, Eli, and Drew in a huddle of their own. She draws on her palm with her finger. Trey takes a step closer to her and winks at me over her head. Gritting my teeth, I ignore him and focus.

“It needs to be something they won’t expect,” I say. Knowing my girl, she’ll be able to figure it out if it’s too easy. “Let’s do short right . I’ll block Drew. You take Eli,” I tell Lucas. “Adrian, run the route. All you have to do is beat out Trey.”

Adrian nods in agreement and we get into our positions. I count it down and Lucas hikes the ball. He moves to block Eli leaving me wide open. Before I can get the ball out of my hands, Drew is charging toward me and knocks my ass to the ground.

“Too rough for you?” she teases, straddling over me while I stare up at the clouds like a jackass. Her ponytail brushes against my face. I wrap it around my hand and pull her down to pop a kiss on her lips .

“Not even close. I’m ready for another round.” I smack her ass and she gets up, offering me a hand which I gladly take. I’ll take advantage of any reason to have my hands on her.

“Let’s run it again,” I tell Lucas and Adrian in our huddle. “They probably think we’ll try a pass. Lucas, run straight down the field. Don’t block Eli. Let him chase you. Adrian, line up on my left and I’ll pass it to you on your way around. Good?”

They both nod. We break and get into our positions. Let’s see if my clever little fox can figure out what I’m going to do next. Drew glances down at my hand then back up to me. When a smirk etches her face, I know I’ve fucked up.

She bounces on the balls of her feet in anticipation of the snap.

Once the ball is in my hand I hot potato it over to Adrian.

However, Drew is already charging me so hard our collision is imminent.

I stoop low and stabilize my legs for impact.

Instead of letting her take me down, I lift her up with a hand under her thigh.

She yelps in surprise and squeezes my waist with her legs.

“How’d you know?” I ask.

Her eyes glimmer in the sun making the green almost translucent. “You flexed your fist. For some reason you do it every time you hand the ball off like that.”

I flex my hand where it’s currently holding her in place on my hip. “Like this?”

Biting down on her lip, she nods. “Uh-huh.”

“Do you think the other teams have figured it out?” I ask. She drops her legs from my waist.

“It’s possible. You have a tell for almost every play. They could put two and two together if they know where to look.”

“You really are paying attention to me, aren’t you?”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I look at every player. I could give you a list of tells for every quarterback in your conference,” she says, placing her hands on her hips.

“Okay, little fox, how do I stop doing it?” I cross my arms over my chest and stare her down. Lucas, Eli, and the others walk off the field and take a much needed water break.

“What are you thinking about before the ball snaps?”

“I don’t know.” I scratch the back of my head. “I guess I walk through the play in my mind. Visualize the ball hitting my hands and what I need to do after that happens.”

“Have you always done that?” She picks the football off the field and tosses it to me. I line my fingers up between the laces and palm the ball.

“No. I didn’t worry about it before. I didn’t feel the stress and pressure in high school like I do here.

” I look over at my friends—minus Trey. Every single one of them has a dream of making it into the pros.

My actions have a direct impact on their future.

That’s how I feel anyway. I don’t want to let anyone down.

“You have to find a way to go back to how you played before. Find something else to think about when you put on the uniform. You’re overthinking instead of living in the moment. We can work on it if you want.”

“What do you have in mind? I’ll try anything.”

“I have an idea but it would be better if we go somewhere private so you can concentrate.” She rakes her teeth over her plump bottom lip. I don’t know what she has in mind but I’m 100 percent in with her being my tutor for the afternoon.

“Are we done practicing?” I ask, walking toward the sideline where I dropped my gym bag.

“We can be. They can call it early or keep running drills. Everything I had planned is listed on my schedule.” She grabs her clipboard from Chris and hands it to me.

“Good.” I slam the clipboard into Eli’s chest. “You’re in charge.

Make sure she gets that back.” I don’t wait for his response.

I strap both of our bags over my neck. “I’m ready for my private lessons now.

” Drew giggles when I throw her over my shoulder.

Spinning around, I walk backwards and say, “Group practice is over for the day. See you guys later.” I give them a quick salute.

“I didn’t know there was a one on one tutoring option. Where do I sign up for that?” Trey asks. If he keeps pushing me, he’s not going to like what happens.

“There was only one slot available and it’s mine,” I say, placing Drew on the ground.

He tilts his head eyeing Drew from head to toe. “Looks like she has a few other slots open that I can fill.”

My fists clench and the muscle in my jaw ticks as I take a step forward. Drew jumps in front of me and cups my face in her hands. “He’s not worth it. My dad won’t give you a second chance. ”

“He also wouldn’t want someone disrespecting his daughter.”

“You’re right he wouldn’t. And I don't want you solving this problem with your fists either.”

“I can’t let this go unchecked. You’re mine and I won’t let anyone talk about you like that. Don’t worry, I’m just going to have a word with him.” I kiss the top of her head and walk over to Trey. He’s standing straight with his arms crossed like the tough guy he thinks he is.

Bumping Trey’s arms with my chest, I knock him off balance.

“Her name doesn’t leave your mouth. You don’t talk about her.

You don’t think about her. If you need to ask her a question, you tell Eli and he’ll ask her if he thinks it’s necessary.

Drew is my girl and if you so much as breathe wrong in her direction I will see that you never play football again. Do you understand?”

He laughs humorlessly. “Are you going to run and tell her daddy on me?”

“No, I can handle you myself.”

“He may not, but I won’t hesitate telling Coach about you not being a team player as well as being disrespectful. Get it together or you won’t see anymore playing time this year,” Eli says.

“You might as well kiss your NFL career goodbye if that happens,” I add before walking away.

“Feel better?” Drew asks when I drop my arm over her shoulder and tuck her into my side .

“Nothing a little time with you can’t fix.” I kiss the side of her head.

I drop our bags on the floor as we enter my room. She walks around noting the photos on my dresser. “Your sister?” she asks, pointing to me and Sydney after one of my games last year.