Page 32 of Hidden Plays (Desert Football #1)
FIFTEEN
JORDAN (JJ)
I fluttered my eyes open to murmuring and clanging sneaking through the door of my bedroom. A warm body pressed against my back, and arms and legs wrapped me from behind. Holden had spent the night, and I’d slept like a baby.
Holden stirred behind me, his morning erection pushing into my ass. “Hey, babe. You awake?”
“Yeah.” I rolled in his arms and placed a soft kiss on his mouth. “How’d you sleep?”
“Good.” He cuddled his cheek into the pillow. “You have the best sheets.” He slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying them.” Funny how much he commented on the damn sheets. The scent of bacon floated into the room, and my stomach grumbled. “Eli’s cooking breakfast. We should get out there before?—”
Pounding cut through the air. “Dudes, quit fucking and come out for breakfast,” Malik said.
“Jesus Christ.” With a chuckle, I raked my fingers through my bangs.
“Come on, let’s get up.” Throwing the covers down, I stepped from the bed, rummaged through my dresser drawers and slipped a pair of briefs and pajama bottoms up my legs.
“You want some clothes?” Would they fit him?
He was a little broader than I but not as tall. Turning, I peeked at him.
He lay in bed, eyes closed.
“Holden.” As a grin teased my lips, I crawled over the bed and straddled him. “It’s time to get up and have breakfast.” Leaning down, I kissed him again. “Come on.”
Grabbing my hips, he thrust, pressing his hard dick into my ass. “Why’d your roommate have to mention fucking?”
“Later. We’ve got some time before we have to deal with the pre-game stuff.” My waning dick stirred to life. If we didn’t get out there, they’d only knock again.
“Okay.” He pushed me off him and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. “Damn, I’m tired, but I slept.”
“Great.” I hopped out of bed and strolled to my dresser, the drawers still open. “The question is, do you want some clothes?”
His gaze swung to me. “Yeah, sure.” He climbed out of the bed and ambled over to me. “What have you got?” Tilting his head, he said, “I’ll take the pajamas, but I’ll put my old underwear back on.” He tsked. “Yours are tiny.”
“Gross.” I chuckled. “My underwear stretches, and it’s got extra room for your junk.” I pulled a baby-blue pair out and held them up.
“Nope. Don’t get me wrong, they look great on you, but I like my own. I’m sorta picky about my underwear.” He found his briefs and slid them up his legs. “They have to hold everything just right, not too snug and not too loose.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Rubbing the sleep from my eye, I snickered. I didn’t know that about him. Interesting. His underwear looked like something from Target. Hanes, maybe? Definitely nothing special. I grabbed another pair of pajama bottoms from my drawer and threw them at him. “Here.”
“Thanks.” He stepped into them and pulled them up. They hugged his ass in a mouth-watering way. “These pajamas are a little snug.”
“Good thing your junk is cradled just right in your tighty whities.” I snorted softly and walked to him, my arms outstretched. We’d confessed our feelings last night. We were in love. Warmth spread across my insides. “Come here.”
He stepped into my chest, wrapping his arms around my waist, burying his face in my neck. “God, JJ, I’m so happy we found each other again.” He kissed my neck. “I would have been lost without you last night.”
“I’m glad I could be here for you.” I hugged him tighter. “It’s what boyfriends are for, right?”
He nodded against my shoulder. In a soft voice, he said, “Love you.”
My heart almost burst. “Love you too, babe.” With another squeeze, I released him and slapped his round ass, wrapped tightly in my pajamas. “Let’s eat.”
He grabbed my hand, guiding me from the room and into the kitchen, where the guys sat around a table piled high with pancakes, bacon, plates and cutlery.
“It's about time you two came out.” Eli offered a warm grin.
Malik turned in a chair, his arm resting across the rounded back. “Damn, Holden, don’t bend over or you might split those pants.”
“Quiet, Malik.” I scoffed, rubbing Holden’s ass cheek. “He looks damn good in my clothes.”
Pinching his index finger and thumb together, Casey said, “Just a little on the tight side.”
With a huff, Holden said, “Okay, I’m going?—”
“Nope, you’re not putting your jeans back on.” I tugged on his arm and hauled him to the table. “Sit.” I pointed to one of the two free chairs. We had five guys in the house, so only had a full table when Cooper had eaten here. That was before he’d started dating Myles.
“Fine.” Exhaling a breath, Holden dropped into a chair. “Looks good. Did you cook all this, Eli?”
“I did.” Eli pushed a plate of pancakes toward Holden.
I sat on the chair next to Holden. “Eli likes to cook a big breakfast on game day.” I glanced at Eli. “And sometimes we’re lucky enough to get it on Sunday too.”
“If we win. I cook again if we win. It’s sort of an incentive.” Eli’s gaze travelled across the table. “Right, guys?”
“Right.” Tex stuffed pancakes into his mouth.
“How was the Yucca Tap Room last night? Did you guys stay to hear the band at all?” Casey ate a bite of bacon.
I poured orange juice into Holden’s glass from a bottle on the table. “I, uh, met Holden’s brother last night.”
With his eyes growing wide, Casey said, “Shit, so he showed up?”
Holden winced. “Yeah, he did.” He piled some pancakes onto his plate. “I don’t know how much JJ told you about him, but he’s a drunk and abuses substances.” His lips tensed.
“I didn’t say much, just that he has a habit of being a no show.” This was Holden’s story to tell, not mine. I set pancakes and bacon on my plate and poured syrup over them.
“So, was he drunk?” Knitting his brows, Eli held a forkful of pancakes to his mouth.
With a nod, Holden cut into his pancakes with his fork and said, “Yeah. He reeked of booze when he got there and in what, an hour? He’d downed two shots of whiskey and two beers.”
“He was working on his third round when we left.” I gave each of the guys a knowing look. Had any of them dealt with an addicted family member? Surely someone had. It was so common.
“Shit, that sucks, Holden.” Malik shifted in his chair. “I have a cousin like that. The dude always ends up stumbling and slurring at family gatherings.”
“Yeah?” Holden ate some bacon. “But he shows up.”
“Sometimes he doesn’t. If he doesn’t, we know he’s on a bender.” Malik, sitting next to Holden, patted his shoulder. “My family has been talking about a rehab intervention for years now, but I think they’re scared. ”
“Of what?” Holden set his fork on his plate and picked up his juice.
“Of his saying no. With an intervention, the addict must agree to it or risk losing all contact with his family.” Malik dipped his head. “They’re scared if they let him go, he’ll die.”
“He still might die, especially if they keep enabling him.” Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Eli focused on Holden. “An addict needs to hit bottom before they get help, and a lot of times, that means losing everyone close to them.”
Holden hung his head. “I know. I’ve Googled some of this. Knowing what to do is just so damn hard.”
Wrapping an arm around Holden’s shoulders, I kissed his cheek. “Has your family ever talked about an intervention for him?” This conversation was dragging him down again.
“No.” He huffed. “Dad is the enabler in this situation. He has to stop giving him money.” Holden scanned the table. “The worst part about last night? My brother was cool with me and JJ, but said my dad might cut me off financially if he found out about us.”
The entire table stopped eating and stared at Holden.
“But this was your brother saying it.” Malik knitted his brows. “Was he drunk, and does he have a reason to lie about it?”
“His brother kept calling him Golden Boy.” Was Noel jealous of Holden? I sipped my juice and eyed our coffee maker. I needed some caffeine and maybe a diversion from this topic before it ruined Holden’s day.
Eli set his fork on his plate and tented his fingers. “It seems like when people drink, they tell the truth, but who knows? Maybe he said it to hurt you for whatever reason?”
With a flinch, Holden said, “Yeah, maybe.” He dug into his pancakes.
Eli tapped Holden’s forearm. “You were going to talk to your mother first. I think you can count on her a lot more than your brother. Addicts lie to get what they want from you. Who knows what he was after?”
Chewing, Holden swallowed and said, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll talk to my mom at some point and see what she thinks.”
“Hey, you want some coffee?” I rose from the table. This was a good time to end the conversation.
“Yes, that would be great.” Holden squeezed my forearm. “Thanks, babe.”
“Oh, babe, huh?” Casey’s eyes lit and he smirked. “Are we in love yet?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, Carter, but yes, we are.” Bending over, I planted a hard kiss on Holden’s mouth.
His eyes widened and closed before I broke the kiss.
“So, what’s the plan for Stanford tonight?” Patting Holden’s shoulder, I sauntered into the kitchen and made some coffee. If I could keep them talking football, maybe Holden could get his mind off his family.
We’d spent the day together, relaxing and reviewing game footage with the guys.
Holden’s spirits had improved throughout the day.
After our pre-game routines with the coaching staff, we’d taken to the field.
Stanford was the hardest team we’d played all year, and the scoreboard showed it.
With two touchdowns down and five minutes left, I was yet to score.
If nothing else, I needed to keep my stats up for the combine.
I paced to Carter after he’d talked to Coach during a timeout. “What’s up? Are we throwing a pass?”
“Yeah, I’ll need you to get as close to the end zone as possible.” He eyed me through his helmet’s facemask.