by R. M. Lynn
“Look, I let my temper get the best of me,” I began and swallowed as I worked to maintain eye contact with him. “It won’t happen again.”
“You’re their leader. Do you hear me?” He waited until I nodded to continue. “You’re not supposed to lose your head or your temper. Especially on one of your own. Williams is your teammate.”
“Excuse my language, sir, but Marcus is a fucking prick. I didn’t even touch him and honestly? I wish I had the chance to put my hands on him. I won’t lie.”
Coach scowled at me and shook his head as he snapped, “That’s not acceptable, Tate. You hear me? I mean, really, do you hear me? He’s a teammate. End of story. Sure, he’s a prick, but he’s your teammate. Keep it in check. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” I breathed out and glanced at my lap.
“This better not be over a girl like I’ve heard.”
“No, no girl. We just don’t get along. That’s all.”
Coach sighed and shook his head at me. “You don’t have to get along, but you need to be a leader. Be professional. Scouts look at your behavior off the field just as much as they look at you on the field.”
“Yes, sir,”
“Speaking of scouts, a couple of them have reached out to me. They’re looking to give you some offers. I gave them your information. It’s looking like Stanford, GCU, Penn, and Ohio State are vying for you. You’ll want to commit to one of those sooner rather than later. You don’t, and they’ll move on to someone just as shiny as you.”
“I hear you, Coach. Thank you.” I gave him a look, and when he nodded, I stood up with the unspoken permission. “I’ll look out for those offers, and I’ll keep you updated.”
“Please, behave, alright? No more of this shit,” he warns me lowly with a raise of his brow.
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
With that, he gave me a nod, dismissing me, and I headed out of the office. The locker room was practically cleared out by then, so I headed out to the parking lot once I grabbed my duffel bag. Dash and Colt were at my car once I got there, and I gave them a small smile as they waited in apprehension for me to tell them what happened.
“All’s good,” I assured them and unlocked the car. “I’m getting some offers soon, and he just wanted to let me know about it.”
“That’s it?” Colt asked. “Did he say who was looking? You know I got that offer from GCU last week, right?”
I gave a nod. Our goal was to go to school together, and it was looking like it’d work out. At least for them. Colt got his offer to GCU last week, and I knew Dash was in talks with them for the last couple days about his own scholarship. While Stanford wanted me, and my dad wanted me to attend, I couldn’t get myself to commit early on, even when they offered a scholarship to me last year. I wasn’t sure what I’d do, and I could only hope I wouldn’t drown in the stress of choosing.
“I’ll figure it out,” I said quietly and went to open my door. “You guys need a ride or what?”
Once I dropped them off at their places, I headed home and started up my homework. Halfway through my Calc homework, I got a text from Daisy. It was the first text she’d sent in weeks, and I couldn’t stop myself from just staring at it for at least a solid minute before responding.
Daisy: Hey, Mac, you busy?
Maddox: Not for you. What’s up?
Daisy: Calc is a bitch. You home and want to help?
Maddox: Working on it now. Come by.
I couldn’t help but grin as I tossed my phone onto my bed and got up to head downstairs. This was the first time she’d asked to hang out in forever, and sure, it was for homework help but nonetheless. She wanted to see me. Truthfully, she could’ve texted Dash. He was decent at the subject. But she texted me, and that had to mean something. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being angry with me. Especially about something like the night with Audrey.
I swung the front door open the minute I saw her blonde hair through the windows. She gave me a small smile as she rested her skateboard against the wall on the porch and adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.
“Hey,” I murmured and looked her over shamelessly in her short jean shorts and crewneck sweatshirt that read Can I Pet Your Dog?
“Hi,” she replied and brushed past me to come inside. “Your room?”
I gave a nod, and she led us up to my room where she made herself comfortable on my bed and spread out all of her homework materials. I settled in next to her and tried not to let our arms brush as we got to work. If I touched her in the slightest, I was sure it’d lead to me violating her. I hadn’t touched her in so long that I was ready to just throw her down and strip us both. Every once in a while, and often at the most inconvenient of times, I’d find my mind wandering with memories of my hand down her panties or her hand wrapped around my dick.
“Hey, you listening?”
I cleared my throat and looked up at her before looking back at where her navy-blue painted nail pointed to a math problem in the book.
“Uh, yeah, sorry. What’ve you got so far on it?”
She smirked up at me. “Nothing, Mac, that’s what I just said. I don’t know how to start it.”
“Shit,” I chuckled out. “Sorry. Let’s figure it out then.”
We finished our homework an hour later. It normally only took me twenty minutes or so, but with Daisy, I always slowed it down to make sure she understood everything. When I closed the book in front of us, Daisy laid back on my bed with a heavy sigh.
“Hey, you hungry?” she asked quietly. “You have your cook coming in?”
I shook my head. “No, she usually only comes in when my dad’s around now. I don’t really need her. We can go down to the kitchen.”
“Well, in that case,” she laughed as she got down from the bed and pulled on my hand. “You must let me cook for you.”
Following her out of the room and heading for the stairs, I chuckled, “Sorry, baby, I don’t think I have Velveeta macaroni.”
She scowled at me while biting back a grin. “You’re funny, Maddox. If you were a true friend, you’d know I prefer Kraft.”
We headed into the kitchen, and I lifted myself up onto the edge of the granite countertop while she began digging around in the walk-in pantry. I bit my lip to hide a grin as I looked down at my lap, listening to her rustle around. She emerged with a grin on her face while doing a little victory dance, the box of Kraft macaroni rattling with her joy. I smirked and gave a small shake of my head.
“Did you check the expiration date on that?” I chuckled out. “Shit must be from when I was, like, six.”
Daisy let out a laugh as she dug around for a small pot. “It doesn’t expire until February. Maybe your chef bought it for you, thinking you’re hopeless in the kitchen.”
I rolled my eyes because I was anything but. She smirked as she filled the pot with water and set it up on the stove. I watched her head for the liquor cabinet and hopped down from the counter when she struggled to reach the top shelf. My front hit her back, and I tipped my head down to get a side look at her face.
“What’re you reaching for?”
“That expensive whiskey. Think your dad will miss it?”
I shrugged. “Fuck it, I don’t know. Who cares?” I reached for the bottle, her hands took it from me, and I laughed when I had to help her reach the rock glasses. “When’re you hitting your growth spurt?”
“Fuck off,” she let out with a laugh of her own. “You think you’re so funny.”
Ten minutes later, we were sipping expensive whiskey and eating from our bowls of macaroni. I normally didn’t touch shit like it, but I’d do it for Daisy. She was weirdly proud of herself that she was able to actually cook something so simple. When I finished my food in all of a few bites, I sat back into the couch seat, sipping my whiskey as I watched her eat slowly. Suddenly, she looked up at me, dropping her spoon in her bowl. I watched her take a sip of her drink and make a face in response, making me smirk.
My smile dropp
ed when she blurted out, “Why did you do it? Hook up with Audrey, I mean.” My teeth dragged over my bottom lip as I tried to form the right words to say. I apparently didn’t respond fast enough because she continued to speak over my racing thoughts. “Look, it’s really not a big deal. I just… I don’t know. We do have this agreement, and I guess, if you needed a… release, so to speak, why couldn’t you ask me?”
“It wasn’t like that, Daisy. I…” I shook my head and ran a hand through my hair. “I respect our arrangement, and I respect you. I’m not sure how to put this without sounding like a dick, but I used her. I used Audrey, and I could never use you. Okay? That’s what it came down to. That night? I was about to send you a text when you found me. I felt shitty enough about it, and for whatever reason… I felt like I did something wrong to you, not just her.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she muttered and gave the smallest of smiles. “I felt weird about it, and I shouldn’t have. You didn’t owe me anything. You don’t owe me anything. I just want to be us again.”
I wanted that, too, more than anything. “I do, too. So, let’s just forget about it. Please?”
She smirked and gave me a nod. I let her finish up her food before I dumped all the dishes in the sink. Grabbing the bottle of whiskey, I give a nod toward the sliding glass doors that led out to the beach. She hurried up and followed me out, and we found a spot to sit down just close enough to the water that the tide hit our bare feet.
“Tell me something,” I muttered as I looked out over the ocean and took a swig from the bottle of amber colored liquor.
“I’m worried about my dad,” she breathed out, and I glanced at her as she took the bottle from me and looked down at it in her hands. “Mom’s basically gone MIA. She takes me out to lunch a couple times a week, but she works a lot more. I’m pretty sure she’s seeing someone, too. Probably a guy at her office. I overheard Mrs. Bertinelli and Mrs. Farley talking about it at the coffee shop.” She took a swig of the whiskey and glared up at the sky. “Mom got promoted to a senior accountant position, so I suppose it looks suspect.”
“Shit, Daze, you shouldn’t listen to the rumors,” I insisted and put my hand on her thigh. I didn't mention that even my dad had mentioned the rumor in passing that Daisy’s mother was fucking her boss. According to his source, she’d been sleeping with Martin Hughes, the CEO of the largest accounting firm in the area, for months. Long before her split from her husband, that is. “Has your dad said anything?”
“No,” she muttered and shook her head. “He just sits in his office with his blueprints and works at night, goes out to sites during the day, works some more.” Her dad ran a pretty decent sized engineering company that worked closely with the city in various projects. “Anyway… Enough about that.” She looked up at me, silently pleading with me to drop it. “Tell me something.”
“Tell me you’re okay first."
“I’m okay. Things were a little rough at first, but you know, I’m feeling okay. I know this is for the best. They weren’t happy together, and I can’t pretend for a second that they’d be better if they were still married.”
I gave a small nod and squeezed her hand as she said, “Now, tell me something.
I bit my bottom lip before taking a swig from the bottle and handing it back to her. “I’m getting offers. From schools.”
“That’s awesome,” she exclaimed and shifted up onto her knees with a grin, setting the bottle down on the sand. “Where from? When’d you get them?”
I shook my head and mumbled, “I haven’t technically got them yet, but Coach says they’ve been in talks with him, so I’ll probably hear back within a week or two.” I shrugged. “Penn State, GCU, Stanford, and Ohio State. That’s what Coach said.”
She put her hands on my shoulders and gave me an excited shake as she laughed out, “Mac, that’s great! Those are great schools, and GCU and Stanford are your top two, right? I mean, this is what you wanted.” Her smile faded as she took note of my stoic expression. “Isn’t it? Why’re you not excited?”
“No, I mean… You’re right. It’s what I wanted. But, honestly, if I only got an offer from just one, it’d make shit a lot easier.” I shook my head. “If Stanford gets a hold of me, I… What am I going to tell my dad? If I do, he’ll insist I go. And if GCU also gets a hold of me? Colt and Dash have already accepted offers from them. What if… What if I don’t want to go to Stanford?”
“Maybe your dad will understand,” she whispered, but it sounds like bullshit to the both of us because she frowned, knowing it. We both knew he wouldn’t. “You go wherever you want, okay? He’ll get over it.”
“He won’t, and you and I both know it.”
“Well, I’m proud of you, Maddox.” I looked up at her as my chest grew tight with her words. She shifted closer to me and slid her hands to the sides of my neck. “And you should be proud of yourself. You don’t need your dad’s money or approval. In the end, it won’t matter. You’re going to be great. Even if it’s in football or in law. You’ll be amazing.”
I shifted forward slightly and lifted my lips to hers in response. I’d never have the right things to say. I’d never be able to convey with simple words how much hers actually meant to me right then. My hand slid around her waist as she began to kiss me back, her tongue flicking against my bottom lip in the process. My tongue met hers as the kiss deepened, and I pulled her closer until she was straddling me. A small moan ripped through her when the spot between her legs pressed up against my hardening dick. My hands gripped her hips while hers roamed down to my chest. I still couldn’t understand how we got to where we were. One day, we were friends that were strictly platonic, and then the next, we were the type of friends that made out on the beach.
When one of my hands slid up the front of her sweatshirt, I momentarily froze, worried I’d taken it too far. Thank fucking Christ, though, she arched into me and nipped at my bottom lip in a way that told me to keep going. Shifting her bra up slightly, my thumb brushed over her nipples, and another moan slipped from her. My legs spread slightly, so her ass hit the sand between them. My other hand made quick work at undoing her jeans short and slipping my hand up them and into her panties. Her head went back when I dipped two fingers in between her folds, and I dragged my lips along her throat.
“Maddox,” she breathed out as I pulled my fingers out and circled her clit before dipping them back in. “God, yes.”
Her hands slid back up my chest, the fingers of one hand slipping up into my hair at the back of my neck while the other hand gripped my shoulder. A groan erupted from me in a low growl as she rocked against my hand, simultaneously grinding against my sweatpants covered dick. Her lips crashed to mine, and I kissed her back hungrily.
When her nails dug into my shoulder and her head tipped back with a moan, I knew she was about to fall off the edge. My thumb pressed and circled her clit continuously until her thighs began to shake and a loud moan flew into the night sky around us. My fingers pumped in and out of her slowly so she could ride out the wave. When she finally came down, she slumped against me, and I slid my hand from her panties to her waist while pressing my lips to the spot under her ear.
Her hand slipped between us to brush over the bulge in my pants, and I wrapped my fingers around her wrist to halt the movement.
“I’m alright,” I assured her with a small shake of my head.
“Let me.”
I shook my head once more and shifted her off of me. “Consider it a thank you.” She raised a brow at me and frowned, and I added lamely, “For being a good friend. What you said… It means a lot to me.”
She gave me a small smile, and I gave her a quick kiss to her jaw before standing up and adjusting my pants. I waited until she grabbed the bottle of whiskey and stood up next to me before throwing my arm over her shoulders. We headed inside, and I let her pick out a movie before we curled up on the couch to watch it.
“Mac?” Daisy suddenly whispered halfway through Pulp Fiction,
and I glanced down at her as she looked up at me with her chin at my chest.
“Daze,”
She was quiet for a moment before she finally got out, “I’m glad you’re my best friend.”
“Always, Daisy. Always.”
◆◆◆
7
“Come on, Tate! Throw the goddamn ball!” Logan screamed next to me in the stands as the Stingrays got into position.
I smacked her arm and snapped, “Lo, he’ll hear you.”
“That’s the point!” she laughed and cupped her hands around her mouth again. “What the hell are you doing out there, man?! Throw the goddamn ball!”
The stands was packed with people, but it was the usual for a night game. I bit my lip as I watched Maddox call out a play and look down the line of his guys before getting down into position behind the center, Aaron Mathieson. The game was close, with the opposing team being from Summit Bay. The team from the other side of the tracks was only a field goal away from tying the game. Maddox had been throwing the ball away all night, getting incomplete pass after incomplete pass. Summit Bay’s defense was on fire, and I could tell Maddox was feeling the pressure.
I heard him shout out, “Blue nineteen! Blue nineteen set!”
The ball was tossed back into his hands and the play began instantly. I watched in anticipation as Maddox sought out his guys as they scattered down the field. Maddox made a quick pass down to Dash. He’s ran out of bounds but makes a first down anyway. Suddenly, after the play had ended, one of the guys from Summit Bay rushed Dash, hit him low and made him fly up and smack the turf on his back. Yellow flags went up instantly and whistles were blown while medics immediately moved onto the field. All the while, the crowd was shouting in anger at the dirty play.