Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 40420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40420 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 202(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
But eventually we have to. We have jobs to do.
“I’ll see you after practice,” he says, nearly a whisper. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
He turns to go.
“Oh, and Cole.”
He turns back, eyebrow raised.
“Don’t let Felix practice today. He needs a day off.”
He nods. “Okay. I won’t.”
I grin at him. “Thanks, Daddy.”
He grins back, nods, and leaves the room.
I stand there alone as everyone else slowly filters back inside. I watch them pass, like a stone in a river.
All I can think about is Cole.
My whole body’s trembling. I know people are wondering what that was all about. I bet they’re already talking.
Let them fucking talk.
I don’t care anymore.
No more games. No more bullcrap.
It’s me and Cole now.
“Is everything okay?” Tessa stops next to me, looking concerned.
“Everything’s great,” I say.
“Are you sure? Everyone’s talking.”
“I know. It’s fine, though. He wanted to talk about… injury updates.”
She snorts. “So he kicks everyone out?”
“What can I say? He’s a weird guy.”
She gives me a look, shakes her head, and walks past.
I feel bad lying to Tessa. Well, a partial lie.
But that doesn’t matter.
I can still feel his kiss, lingering on my lips.
That’s what matters. His kiss, his touch.
His taste on my tongue.
I breathe a sigh and get back to work, a smile permanently on my face.
20
Cole
I can feel the wind whipping my hair as my team takes the field.
I stand on the sideline, bracing myself. It’s been a long Sunday, brutal and painful. Both defenses have played fantastic, forcing fumbles, snagging passes. The score is tied at seven, and we have the ball in the red zone with only thirty seconds on the clock.
I take a breath and look up at the clear blue sky. It’s slightly balmy out, just a bit of wind. We’re playing the Texans, one of the better teams this year. They’re currently undefeated, and everyone said they’d trounce us.
I don’t think I’ve prepared so hard for a game in my life. For the first time I feel like things are finally starting to come together.
It’s all clicking. It’s all flowing.
During the day, I work. I pour myself into the game, watch tape, make strategies, prep the guys. I do everything humanly possible to prepare.
During the evening, I throw myself into Leah.
Every night since that kiss, she’s been coming to my apartment after work. We spend all night together, fucking, talking, laughing, eating, drinking.
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the kind of bliss I feel when we’re together.
It’s hard to explain.
At first, it was a physical attraction. But that quickly turned into something more.
And now, it’s deepening. It’s becoming a part of myself, a part of my life. She feels comfortable, like a part of my body.
Every second we spend together is incredible.
We don’t keep our distance at work, not exactly. We still talk, flirt a little, but we don’t kiss, we don’t hold hands. I don’t go out of my way to see her.
But we still run into each other. We smile, say hello. All of the unspoken desires pass between us.
Then we move on. We go do our jobs.
I don’t think I’ve ever been this focused.
I was so worried about being distracted that I was getting distracted. I realize that it wasn’t Leah keeping my mind off the game, but my own stupid self. Now that I’ve embraced what we have, given myself over to it…
I feel complete.
I can concentrate again.
Things just make sense.
I take a deep breath. I look back at the field. Sean hands the ball off to Patrice and the big man barrels forward. He’s the kind of runner that likes to slam into bodies, preferring to go right up the gut.
He smashes into their line. The defense struggles, but they’re tied, and Patrice never gets tired.
He shoves, sidesteps, twists. He spins past the front line and stumbles forward six yards before a linebacker takes him to the ground.
I wave my hands. They hurry to the line. The clock’s still running and there are another four yards to go.
Sean snaps it, spikes it. The clock stops. Ten seconds left.
I take a breath, body buzzing. We could run it again, kill more time, and go for a field goal.
Or we could do something daring.
I glance over at Robby. He grins at me.
“Now or never,” he says.
I nod. I raise my play sheet. “Sean, Liberty Left. Got it?”
I can see him watching me from the field. He nods, eyes serious. For a second, it’s just the two of us in this world.
He knows what he needs to do.
They line up. The defense is snorting, pawing at the ground like animals. The crowd is screaming, losing its mind. I’ve never heard a stadium get this loud before.
It all sounds like falling rain to me. Nothing else in the world matters.
I glance over at Leah. She’s watching with stress on her face, hands clasped in front of her.