Page 21

Kate

I wake sometime mid-Sunday morning and stretch lightly in Landon’s arms. He’s spooning me, and he pulls me in tighter, appreciatively rumbling as my ass presses into his morning erection. His lips find my neck and he lifts my thigh, sliding deep into me from behind with a primal groan, and I sigh in pleasure. It doesn’t take long for our primed bodies to come together once again, and we lie there boneless and connected, sated and happy.

Damn, last night was amazing. My heart feels so full and light. I can’t remember the last time I felt so happy. Well, before Landon and I got together that is. I sigh contentedly. It’s official, I’m in love with Landon Brooks. My very best friend. I knew I was falling, but when exactly I found myself in this deep, I’m not sure. I mean, part of me has always loved him, but that love just morphed and molded into what it is now.

? I reach over to grab my phone off the bedside table to check the time when I remember a message coming in last night before I told him to take me bare. I bite my bottom lip at that memory. That time rivals all the times. The sex just keeps getting better and now with nothing between us....whew. Another wave of desire threatens to swallow me, but I cannot stay in bed all day. I’ll likely be sore enough as it is.

I navigate to my messages and freeze when I see the sender. Landon feels me tense and leans up to look over and kisses my shoulder.

“Open it, let me see,” Landon grits while encouragingly rubbing my arm.

Trevor: You should be with me, not him.

Landon huffs and grabs my phone to reply to him, but I snag it back.

“Don’t dignify his pity party with a response. It’ll only bait him. He was just buzzed and angry. He knows it’s over. Let’s just forget it. It doesn’t matter anyways,” I rationalize. “There weren’t any other messages. He might not even remember sending it. Let’s not let it have any more of our time or attention.”

Landon grunts and throws my phone across the bed.

“Fine. For this time. But I won’t put up with it if he keeps this shit up. I warned him once. You.” Kiss . “Are.” Kiss. “Mine.” Landon growls that last word as a promise and proceeds to make me his, again.

Landon

It’s the end of October and the weather has finally turned over and pushed us into indoor training until Spring season starts back up. Mason and I are in the weight room with a couple of the other guys while the other half of the team is taking their turn on the upstairs track running laps.

? Mason adds two more plates onto my bar for the bench press and stands behind to spot me. I do a set, set the bar down, and take a breath for a minute.

? “I love her,” I grit out as I lay back down and lift the bar, steadying for my next set of reps.

? “I know. I’m sure she already suspects it too. How are you going to tell her?” Mason grabs the bar and helps me set it back in the rack after I finish my second set.

? “No idea yet. I think I wanna take her somewhere, make a special night of it. She deserves that.”

? “Sounds like a good start,” Mason agrees as I grab the bar for my last set. He spots as I lift off and push through my first four. This is a new weight, so these last four might be a smidge of a challenge for me. Mason keeps his hands close in case I decide to call it when, all of a sudden, he trips and knocks the bar, making it crash down onto the right side of my chest, tipping me sideways off the bench to the right and onto the floor. Thank fuck the bench catches the other end of the bar.

“What the fuck?!” both Mason and I holler, trying to catch our wits and see what the fuck just happened. Mason is on the floor, trying to scramble to me in case I need help, but relief floods his face when he sees that the bench kept it from landing fully on me. Gabe, Jameson, Jace, and Tommy are standing still and gauging what they just witnessed.

“Shit, my bad, guys,” Trevor smirks, standing a few machines over as he sets his weight for the lat pulldowns and starts his first set.

That motherfucker.

I crawl out from under the bar and spring to my feet, royally pissed from his “heartfelt” apology. My ribs smart, and I grab at them. Mason shakes his head and puts his hand to my chest to stop me from charging. He’s right, I’m reacting, which is exactly what Trevor wants from me.

“Watch your motherfucking feet next time, dumbass! That could’ve seriously hurt him!” Mason yells as he points my way.

“Damn shame...” Trevor grits between his teeth as he pulls down. He actually looks pissed that I’m okay. What the actual fuck?

“ The fuck you just say?” Mason struts over and gets in his face. He knows if I go over there, fists are going to fly.

“Gentlemen, that’s enough!” Coach hollers at us. “Thatcher, Brooks, hit the showers early and go home. Trevor ... in my office… now.”

Trevor and I hold glares. The tension in the weight room is palpable. Don’t try me, fucker. Mason and I will end this faster than he can blink if that’s how he wants this to go. I breathe in deep through my nose, calming my racing heart, and wait, never letting my stare waver from his. I won’t give him another chance to catch me off guard.

“Now!” Coach intercedes. “Brooks, you good?” He eyes my hand on my ribs and looks to my eyes for confirmation that I’m okay. I nod and he returns it hesitantly before striding off toward his office. Trevor tosses me a depraved smile, and my stomach drops as he follows Coach. The others in the room follow him with their eyes and look back to me, waiting to see how I will react. That motherfucker planned that. When I look to Mason, his face mirrors mine. We don’t know what to actually make of what the hell just occurred.

Mason and I silently shower and get dressed. We leave the university’s sports complex and walk toward the parking lot.

“You think he planned that?” Mason finally asks, testing my thoughts.

“Yeah, I really do.” I run my fingers through my hair nervously. Shit. Just shit!

“ That could’ve been bad, man. Are you okay?” Genuine concern floods his eyes when he asks. I wince a little as I touch my right ribs. They’re gonna bruise.

“They might be pretty come tomorrow, but I’m breathing okay and can move alright. I don’t think anything’s broken.” I sigh, thankful for my ally. Had he not been there, that whole situation could have been so much worse. “Thanks for having my back.” I nudge his shoulder.

“Always man. I got you. How we playing this?” Another question that I have no idea how to answer. I shake my head. “I can’t believe he’s still trying to get back at you over Kate. Anyone who takes a good look at you two can see it was meant to be this way. You’d think he’d just move on. I’m sure Kristy would be happy enough to get on her knees and try to make him forget her.”

“I’m starting to think it’s just not going to be that simple. Hell, she’s kinda unforgettable, man,” I rationalize.

“Oh, I didn’t mean it that way, Land. I know she’s special. But to him, they never got to that level, right?” He eyes me and I shake my head in confirmation. “So… I don’t get it.” He shakes his head in disbelief.

“Anyways, I got something to show you.” Mason reaches into his car’s glove box and pulls out a little black box and tosses it to me.

“Shit, is this what I think it is? The answer is yes, man!!! I thought you’d never ask,” I joke and grin at him.

“Shut the fuck up. And, yes, it is. I picked it out the other day. What’dya think?” he asks nervously.

I open the black box and whistle at the white gold band glittering with a shit ton of bling.

“You think she’ll like it? Say yes?” He bites his thumbnail.

“Mason, you two have been together for years. She’s gonna love it, man. I’m so happy for you.” I clap him on the back and pull him in for a manly hug.

He tucks it safely in his pocket and thanks me with a sheepish smile before stepping up into his truck and waving goodbye. I throw my crap into the truck’s bed and climb up into mine as the sound of his engine fades in the distance. My phone buzzes with a new text.

Coach: Let me know if you think you need those ribs looked at. I looked back at the footage of the incident, and it looks like the bar got you pretty good. Trevor’s been warned, and I won’t stand for anyone purposely causing bodily harm to another player. I want to know if he keeps this crap up. Take the rest of the week off to rest that side. He’s got extra conditioning added for that stunt.

Me: I think the ribs will be okay, but if that changes, I’ll let you know. Thanks for checking in, Coach. I’ll keep you posted.

I plug my phone in to charge and quickly change my mind, snagging it back up. I hop out and start back toward campus. I need a cup of coffee and a smile from my girl. She’s still got a couple hours of her shift left.

Twenty minutes later, I’m strolling through the heart of campus with two cups of coffee in tow. To be exact, one coffee for me and a caramel cappuccino for Kate. They’re sweet as hell, but it’s her favorite. I walk through the door and spot her and Melissa right away in the center workstation loading a huge stack of books onto a cart to be put away.

She tucks a strand of her silky dark hair behind her ear and loads another set of books when Melissa nudges her arm to tell her I’m here. She looks up and smiles, but that smile isn’t quite reaching her eyes. I see worry behind it. I bring the cappuccino up to her and kiss her cheek in hello.

“Gabe texted Melissa a vague message saying the coach sent you, Mason, and Trevor home early today. That you got hurt while lifting. Are you okay? What happened? He didn’t get to tell her everything,” Kate spits out worriedly, her eyes roaming my body, looking for injuries.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay. Umm, I don’t really know how to word it other than Trevor tripped Mason while he was spotting me at the bench and the bar got knocked. It landed on my right side and knocked us both on our asses,” I rush out, eyeing her close to see if she automatically comes to the same conclusion Mason and I did. Both Melissa and Kate’s faces lose their color, and Melissa cups her mouth with both hands.

“Hold up, like, he purposely tripped Mason so that you would likely get hurt with the weights? Couldn’t that have, like, crushed your ribs?!” Melissa questions and exclaims in only the way Melissa can do. Kate’s fingertips are on her lips, and I see them tremble. I grab her hand and pull her closer for a quick hug.

“Landon, that could’ve been really bad,” she says breathily as if she just can’t believe Trevor would do something like that. She only lightly forms to my chest, worried that she’ll hurt me more. “Come with me. I need to look at them.” She reaches to tug on my shirt with urgency like she doesn’t believe I’m okay. I grab her hand and squeeze reassuringly. I set down my coffee so I can give her my full attention. I don’t like when she looks scared.

? “Hun, I am okay. They’ll probably bruise by tomorrow, but there’s not much to see right now. I’m just a bit sore.” I run my thumb across her cheek and notice the mist covering her eyes, and shit if that doesn’t make me want to sucker punch that fucker for making her worry.

? “You don’t think?...” she trails off and her eyes flicker to mine. I see her wheels turning, thinking this is somehow her fault. “This is still because I turned him down?”

? “We don’t know that. He’s also just a dick in general. Anyways, enough about him. It’s done and over with. I just wanted to bring you a pick-me-up and see your smile before I head home.” I see Melissa chewing on her cheek and frowning like she has more to say while she looks out the front of the library window. I give Kate another peck before leaving and tell the girls to drive home safe after their shift.