Page 8 of Necessary Roughness

Logan

“I don’t want to hear it, bro,” I said into my phone. “I’m getting more passes because I’m the one getting open. If you want to pad your stats next Saturday, then you need to do a better job shaking your defenders.”

“You can put in a word with Coach,” the other wide receiver replied. “He listens to you.”

“Maybe. I’ll see you at practice in a few hours.”

I hung up. I was getting sick of being a veteran on this team. Everyone else kept asking me for things. Advice, favors, help. I just wanted to run my routes and catch the football. I didn’t want to be a leader. That shit was for Knox, not me.

I set my phone to Do Not Disturb, then sank back into the couch and turned my attention to the textbook. It was open to the first page of the first chapter. I’d been staring at the words for half an hour without really absorbing any of the information.

When I was younger, I liked school. I enjoyed learning about shit.

But once I got to college, it became tough to juggle my classwork and my football responsibilities.

As far as I was concerned, studying just got in the way of my athletic ambitions.

What was the point of learning about modern communication techniques when I was going to be drafted into the NFL next year?

I was sick of books. I was ready to get past this phase of my life and become a real adult who didn’t have to study. Obviously, being an adult came with approximately a billion other responsibilities. But for now, I didn’t care.

Five minutes later, I still hadn’t gotten past the first page.

It wasn’t just boredom that was derailing my focus.

I still kept thinking about the other night, and the threesome that fizzled out before it could begin.

I never thought I would want to have a Devil’s Threesome—that is, a threesome with two guys and one girl.

I wasn’t gay. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but it just wasn’t me .

I’d always imagined myself having a threeway with two super-hot chicks, not with another dude in the picture.

But in the moment? I was totally fucking into it. Knox and I were going to share a girl. We were so damn close . It was like catching a game-winning touchdown pass… but then tripping and falling on the one-yard line.

And now I was horny as hell.

I’d jacked off since that night. Several times, actually. I was a twenty-two year old with a twenty-two year old’s sex drive, after all. But I wasn’t satisfied.

I wanted the real thing.

I considered texting my ex. I hadn’t seen Kate since we broke up in April.

She’d flipped out because my Biology lab partner was a woman.

It didn’t matter that we were randomly assigned together, or that she was engaged, or that the two of us only met once a week in the library to study.

Kate totally lost her shit. It was good that we broke up, because I didn’t have any room for that kind of jealous bullshit in my life.

But she was good in bed. Very good. I wondered how she would react if I texted her and invited her over tonight. Some meaningless sex to blow off steam. I doubted it was worth the drama Kate would bring with her, but I was still tempted.

Yeah. That’s how fucking horny I was.

Love was so goddamn complicated. It always bit me in the ass, one way or another.

The front door opened, and Knox walked into our house. “I thought you had class?” I said.

But he wasn’t alone. A woman followed him inside.

And not just any woman.

It was her .

A world of emotions flooded my system as we locked eyes, and suddenly I was teleported back in time to that night.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her make out with Knox before it was my turn.

In the blink of an eye, I was bombarded with images of all the filthy things I had wanted to do with her that night.

“Look who I found,” Knox said.

I gave myself a mental shake. “You’re looking a lot healthier than the last time I saw you, Sloane.” I liked the way her name tasted on my tongue.

She reacted with a groan. “This was a mistake. I don’t want to relive that night. Thanks, but I don’t need the class notes.” She turned to leave.

“Shit! Fuck! Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be a dick,” I quickly said.

“You’re a dick without even trying,” Knox muttered. “Sorry about him.”

Sloane sighed, but didn’t leave. “Let’s get this over with so I can go home and die of embarrassment.”

“Embarrassed?” I shook my head. “We’ve all been shitfaced before. You should’ve seen me after we lost that playoff game last year. I drank so much I think I gave my future grandchildren alcohol poisoning.”

“She doesn’t want to talk about that night,” Knox insisted.

Sloane bashfully tucked her hair behind one ear, then told me, “Thanks.”

I shot Knox a victorious smile.

Sloane sat in the chair across from the couch, and Knox sank into the cushion next to me. “I’ll make this quick.”

“Too late,” Sloane muttered.

“Something you said the other night stuck with me,” Knox began.

“I thought we weren’t talking about the party?” I pointed out.

Knox ignored me. “Sloane, you said relationships were overrated. A distraction. You said you wished you could keep dick on retainer.”

She closed her eyes and groaned. “I can’t believe I said that.”

“I thought it was hilarious,” I offered.

She gave me a grateful look.

“We kind of agree with your assessment,” Knox went on. “Not about having dick on retainer, but about relationships being a distraction. Especially during the football season. I’ve made that mistake too many times before. I know Logan has, too.”

“Yup,” I said, feeling foolish that I was thinking about texting Kate a few minutes ago. Sloane gave me a curious glance, but then Knox went on.

“It’s bad for everyone. Relationships distract us from our classes and football. And since our schedule is so busy, we can never devote the proper amount of time to a girlfriend. But I keep thinking about your attitude that night. Wanting something easier—sex without any strings attached.”

“I know some hookers in Orlando who can solve that problem for you,” Sloane said.

“Yeah?” I pulled out my phone. “Got any names?”

“I was joking.”

“Oh yeah, me too.” I made a show of putting my phone away and looking disappointed. “Definitely joking.”

It worked—she grinned.

That was the thing about me: I would do—and say—anything to make a girl smile.

“Hypothetically,” Knox said, “a friends-with-benefits situation would be great for us. It would allow us to blow off steam without falling into the same relationship trap that has screwed us over in the past.”

I felt my jaw drop open. Was he seriously suggesting what I thought he was suggesting?

“Oh shit, you’re serious,” Sloane said. She seemed just as surprised as me.

“I’m very serious,” Knox said. “If you want the same thing.”

“What, like, right now?” She glanced at her watch. “Because I’m kind of busy today, and most of your five minutes is up.”

Knox and I laughed. This girl was a trip.

“I’m talking about going forward,” Knox explained. “If this is something you’re interested in, then we could come to some sort of arrangement.” He glanced at me. “The three of us, if Logan’s interested.”

Interested? I was abso-fucking-lutely interested in anything involving Sloane.

“You want me to be… what? Your sex toy?” she asked.

“Cards on the table?” Knox spread his palms. “Yeah. Kind of.”

Sloane blinked in surprise.

My reaction probably mirrored hers. I couldn’t believe my buddy was bluntly asking a girl if she wanted to be fuck-buddies. Girls never went for that sort of thing, even if you were the captain of the goddamn football team.

“It would be the same for you!” Knox told her. “You could use me for sex whenever you want. Same for Logan, if he’s interested. Think of us as your own private box of sex toys.”

“Hey,” I said. “I’m a lot better than a sex toy.”

Sloane’s gaze cut to me. “I don’t know about that. My vibrator and I have a very special relationship.”

I barked a laugh. This girl was fucking great. Knox was offering her something batshit fucking insane, and she was cracking jokes.

But it was insane. Right?

“I know this sounds crazy,” Knox said, reading our minds.

“But I thought I would offer it since we all seem to have priorities that align. A physical relationship. No feelings or expectations or all the baggage that comes from an actual relationship. No cuddling or going out on dates. Just meaningless sex for as long as we all enjoy it.”

Most girls would have rejected it immediately. Hell, most girls would have slapped Knox for even making the suggestion.

But I could already tell that Sloane wasn’t like most girls. She had a twinkle in her eyes as she considered Knox. She was curious.

She was considering the proposal .

“What if you want sex, but I’m not in the mood?” she asked carefully.

“Then we don’t do it.”

Sloane chewed on her lip. “What if we hook up, and discover we have zero sexual chemistry?”

“Then we stop.” Knox shrugged. “This can be whatever we want it to be. We can come up with our own ground rules and boundaries.”

She stared at him for several long moments, then slowly turned to face me. “Are you interested, too? Because it sounds like this is the first time you’re hearing about this ridiculous suggestion.”

“I am every bit as shocked as you are, yes,” I replied.

“And…?” She arched an eyebrow at me.

Fuck. I wanted this so badly, even if it was a bad idea. I wanted her so badly, to pick up where we’d left off and find out just how much fun the three of us could have together.

I forced myself to shrug casually. “It’s appealing.” Since Sloane was a blunt woman, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. “You’re hot. I’m sad nothing happened on Thursday.”

Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second. I would’ve missed it if I wasn’t already gazing into her eyes. “You two are… not unattractive,” she finally said.

“Damn,” I said. “Don’t butter me up too much.”

“He doesn’t need any compliments,” Knox said while glaring at me. “His ego is already too big for his head.”

“Guilty,” I replied with a smile.

One of the bedroom doors opened, and Roman strode past the couch and into the kitchen. Sloane’s wide eyes followed him.

“He’s not part of the deal, is he?” she asked.

I shared a look with Knox, then the two of us started chuckling.

Roman flipped us off from the kitchen without looking back. “Not interested.”

“You don’t even know what we’re discussing!” I said.

“If it involves you two,” he growled, “then I know enough. Pass.”

He took a protein shake out of the fridge, then trudged back into his room without another word.

“Roman is a linebacker,” I explained. “Which means he’s a massive buzzkill, both on and off the field.”

“Clearly,” she muttered.

“My five minutes are up.” Knox glanced at his watch. “Thanks for hearing me out. You don’t have to decide right now. Take some time to think it over, if you want. And no matter what happens, I’ll pretend you don’t exist in class so you can focus on Art History.”

It didn’t matter. Sloane was going to say no, because Knox’s suggestion was totally fucking crazy. Most girls would have been offended by the offer.

But as I already knew, and would come to learn even more, Sloane wasn’t most girls.

“I think… I think I’m interested,” she said.