Micah

T he laughter surrounding me builds, and I stick up my middle finger with my free hand while I glance at my phone. All around me, guys are shoving helmets in the visiting team lockers, or stuffing things into their duffel bags.

The laughter dies, and when I look, most of my teammates’ heads are in their phones. Reid, Cade, Tipper, all of them. The only ones who are still shaking their heads at me are Davis and Levi, and that’s because they haven’t found the one to obsess over yet.

“I would say you guys are pathetic, but I’m feeling a bit outnumbered,” Levi groans.

“I don’t know,” Davis admits. “It would be kind of nice for someone to care where I am who’s not my mom.”

Levi shrugs. “That’s what I have you assholes for.”

Cade lifts his attention from his phone briefly. “Nah, bro. We don’t care where you are.”

Reid and I chuckle, but the more I look at Raeann’s text, the more concern solidifies inside me.

Levi scoffs. “But you guys are like lost puppies. Heads in your phones all the time when you’re not with them, and even thinking about them when you are.”

“It’s called caring about someone,” Reid answers, tapping at his phone before putting it away.

“It doesn’t make sense because you’re, like, the biggest, baddest guys out on the field, but you cater to your women.”

I put my phone down for one second, mostly in hopes of unseeing what I just saw, but to also set Levi straight.

“Does catering to them mean putting them up on a pedestal and worshipping them? Then yes, I sure as fuck do. I want to make sure she’s loved, wanted, respected, and well taken care of because I’ve never had it so good and I know I never will again. ”

“But how could you know that?”

“Because it wouldn’t be her.”

Levi shakes his head, tearing his practice jersey off.

He’s just a young kid. He’s still full of every girl wanting to get with him because of who he is.

I spent the first few years in the league feeling the same as him.

I thought I had it all. Money. Respect. Pretty much any girl I could want.

I dated models like it was my side hustle.

Still, none of them come close to Raeann.

“I think I’ll take the five chicks who are begging me to come back to Nashville rather than one.”

Cade puts his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “Empty fun. It’ll get old sooner or later. Then you’ll find someone you would do anything to get, and I mean anything.”

“I just don’t get the point.”

“You will,” Reid answers with a smirk.

“Or you’ll die completely alone,” I tack on, the rush of fear the texts started heightening even more.

“Well, that was morbid. Bet you I could still get them lining up outside my room. Got to stock up on that Viagra.”

“Levi, starting his own personal STD strain in nursing homes.”

“Better than being locked down for literal decades.”

“Freeman, you okay?” Cade asks. “You look a little tense.”

“I have to fly back to Nashville.”

“What?” all four of them exclaim at nearly the exact same time.

“It’s Raeann.”

“Is she hurt?” Reid asks. “I can get Briar to go see her.”

“No, no. It’s not that. It’s something else.”

Reid tilts his head at me.

“If I leave right now, I can be back before the game tomorrow.”

“But morning session?”

“Cover for me? I’ll tell Coach I’m feeling a little under the weather. Stomach bug or something. Something that can go away so I can start the game.”

“You’ll get fined,” Levi protests.

I look at him like he’s speaking a different language.

Davis shakes his head. “Look at him, dude. He doesn’t give a shit.” To me, he says, “Keep us updated. Hope everything is okay.”

I don’t bother showering. The only thing I grab is my wallet and cell phone after texting Joey to find me a flight back to Nashville ASAP. I don’t care if I have to take a puddle jumper. Luckily, we’re just in North Carolina, so getting back to Nashville shouldn’t take that long.

Joey: Is Raeann okay?

Me: She needs me.

The text isn’t actually accurate. I need her is more like it.

While Joey searches for flights, I call a rideshare and spend most of the time offering him more tip to wait with me in the car because Joey hasn’t given us a direction to go in yet.

As soon as the address comes through, I rattle it off to the driver before sitting back and reading the texts Raeann sent again. It isn’t until the car stops that I peer up to find us on a small airstrip.

Jesus .

I wait in the car long enough for the ridiculous tip to show up on the driver’s phone before exiting and then follow the directions Joey left.

After meeting the pilot who is dressed more like my dad than a proper pilot in uniform, he gets me in a plane that barely appears airworthy. It’s a small two-seater.

Once we get up in the air, though, I can see the appeal.

It’s different than being in a bigger plane.

This one feels like you’re actually flying through the air.

You’re one with the sky. If it was any other time, I’d probably enjoy the hell out of this more, but I just keep thinking about getting back to Raeann.

As soon as we land a couple of hours later, I shake the pilot’s hand and see a black SUV waiting nearby, which I assume is my ride. I go to get in the back seat, but a voice bellows through from the front. “Really? This isn’t Driving Miss Daisy .”

“Joey?”

“Congratulations, you get me. Now get in. The front,” he clarifies.

We’re about twenty minutes outside of town, and Joey drives like I want him to without asking. He understands something is up because I’ve never left an away game early before. No one could’ve taken me away from a game. It was my only love.

Not anymore.

We’re only a couple of minutes out from Raeann’s apartment when he asks, “Should I arrange transportation back?”

“Yes. Hopefully in the morning, but I’ll let you know for sure.”

“And if not?”

“I’ll be too broken to care.”

Joey peers over at me wearily. I glance away to find the store on the next block.

Joey double-parks so I can get out amid a chorus of horns going off.

With the store dark, there’s no need to wonder where Raeann is.

I pull open the door that leads up to the second floor and then knock on the inner door.

“That would be—” Tab whips the door open but looks at me curiously when I’m not whoever they expected. “Hey. Don’t you have a game?”

“I need to see Raeann.”

“Micah?” My name comes out like a question, and I look up to find Raeann kneeling on the couch, her arms resting on the back. “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be in North Carolina.”

“You know what? I’m going to go for a walk. You two…yeah,” Tab says.

The door closes behind her, and I walk toward Raeann. A line appears on the bridge of her nose. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know.” Pressure builds in my chest as I stare at her. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing one of my too-big-for-her Wildcats shirts and a pair of gym shorts. “I just knew I had to get to you.”

She lifts herself from the couch, and I move around it to face her. She smiles. “Is it what I said about the therapist?”

My jaw clenches. I should find out where she lives and have Athena take a dump all over her lawn. Or call Joey and have him research what kind of credentials this crack has.

Speaking of Athena, she nudges my hand, licking my fingers. I absentmindedly pet her head.

“You’re anxious?” Raeann guesses, moving her stare from me to Athena.

Damnit. The dog outed me.

Athena paws at my hand and nudges me until I sit, then places her head on my knee. Raeann looks on lovingly at the two of us, and confusion sets in.

“Micah, what is it?” she asks, laughing. “What would make you leave your team right now?”

“Listen, if I am a crazed lunatic?—”

Raeann presses her lips together.

“—then I am because of you, and I don’t think anyone who says that about us should be your therapist because she clearly doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Wouldn’t you dropping everything and coming here only solidify to her that you are a crazy obsessed lunatic?”

“Oh, so she said obsessed too?” Anger boils inside me. It’s not because I don’t know that I am, but I don’t need anyone to tell Raeann to leave me.

“I mean, you did give me your credit card after having only met me for maybe ten minutes. Maybe, and I’m being generous.”

“You told her about that?”

“And then you made me spend a hundred thousand dollars to buy you away from a cougar.”

“Well, that was a necessity. Jasmine and her husband are deplorable people.”

“Showering me with gifts like flying my grandfather in a private plane for a surprise visit.”

“You wanted to see him, and he loved the whole experience,” I counter.

She tsks. “Sounds kind of crazy to me. Abnormal, maybe.”

“Nothing of what I feel for you is normal. It’s extraordinary. It defies logic. And apparently years upon years of psychology education from a small-minded woman who’s probably never felt one ounce of what we feel can understand that.”

Raeann grimaces playfully. “I don’t know. It sounds kind of stalkerish.”

“If you think all of that was bad, watch what I do if you try to leave me.”

She breaks out into a smile. “I’m tempted to push you to see what that would entail.” Her shoulders relax. “Micah, I was just telling you what she said because I thought it was funny. You should’ve seen her pen scribbling in her notebook. I’m pretty sure she took pages of notes after I left.”

“Any chance she’s taking notes because she’s obsessed with someone and needs to get educated on how to deal with it?”

Raeann shakes her head. “No, pretty sure it was the typical therapist thing. She’s worried for my safety because you’re unhinged, overbearing, and?—”

“Keep going.” I smirk. “I like it when you talk to me like that.”

Athena gets bored and trots off to Raeann’s room. I hear her blow out a breath when she settles into her bed.

With her no longer taking up precious space on my lap, Raeann takes full advantage and straddles me. “What do you think Dr. Franks would diagnose me with if I told her I kind of liked it? Especially the fact that you showed up here tonight…freaking out.”

“I wasn’t freaking out,” I tell her, working my hands up her back. “I was just coming to lock you in a room if I had to.”

“I heard you football players do stuff like that.”

I narrow my gaze at her, and she shrugs. “Wives and girlfriends talk.”

If I had to guess, I’d bet money on Tipper. Dude’s crazy.

Raeann finds my cock jutting against my practice shorts and starts to work herself over me.

“You’re finding another therapist.”

“Right away,” she answers, voice straining from the friction.

“Maybe next time don’t talk about us.”

“Scared?”

“Fucking terrified you’ll come to your senses one day.”

“I can’t think of anything right now except your dick.”

“How long do you think Tab will be?”

“Girl’s no cockblocker. She’s not coming back in here until I text her.”

“Smart woman.”

I squeeze Raeann’s ass, pulling her into me. Everything becomes a blur after that. Kisses and touches. Clothes flying everywhere. Moans filling the room until she sits on my cock and we fuck each other like we can possess the other.

She traces her finger along the tattoo I had done for her when she gets closer, slowing the pace. Every torturous gasp that rips out of her makes my balls cinch up even more.

“Micah?”

This time when she says my name, it’s different. It’s not said in the throes of passion but of reaching out to me.

I lift my mouth from her nipple. Her movements stutter, and she grinds down with more force.

“What is it, baby?”

“I love you,” she squeaks out, then she comes so hard I put my hand over her mouth in case the walls of this place are thin. This is all for me. Her orgasm. Her words. Raeann herself is all for me.

Her words tumble over in my head until I’m pistoning into her, rhythmically, pointedly. Showing her how I feel before I grip her hips and hold her in place. “I love you,” I grunt, my cock exploding, filling her deep.

She gives a short cry. Her pussy spasms around me again, milking my length for everything it has to give.

No one is taking this from me.

No one.