The Hardest Play

by Teague, A. S.

  “Me too,” I told her over my shoulder. “It always makes me feel so refreshed. Like the rain is a new beginning.”

  Quinn pressed a quick kiss to my forehead and stepped inside behind his sister. “You know you’ve got a bowl full of salad on your porch?”

  I laughed as I closed the front door behind them. “That’s for Henry.”

  Quinn’s brow drew together as he held out the to-go bag of food to me. “Henry is?”

  The smell of Chinese wafted out of the paper bag, and my stomach grumbled. “My opossum.”

  “Your what?” Quinn’s sour expression made me giggle. That was the usual response I got any time I told people that there was a opossum that I fed nightly. I had no idea if it was a girl or a boy, or if it was even the same animal that came by for a snack night after night. But its face was so ugly it was cute, and I couldn’t help but become attached.

  “Opossums are so misunderstood. You, of all people, should understand how that feels,” Jamie chimed in, and Quinn shot her a look.

  “Jamie here’s been on a roll tonight. She’s spent the entire day making jabs at me.” Quinn narrowed his eyes. “She’s just mad it’s my turn to pick the movie.”

  I looped my arm through Jamie’s and led them both to the couch. “Finally, someone who gets me. And opossums. Did you know, Quinn, they aren’t rodents like so many people think?”

  “And they don’t carry rabies,” Jamie chimed in as we each settled into an end of the couch. “Well, most of them at least. Scientists think it’s because of their low body temperature.”

  “Is there a class that they give for bleeding hearts that I wasn’t aware of?” Quinn grumbled as he settled in beside me.

  “You wouldn’t qualify. You have to be pretty and smart and funny to get into the class.” Jamie poked her brother and reached for the takeout bag. “I’ve been craving this for weeks.”

  I nodded as I opened my to-go container. “I agree. This is exactly what I needed tonight.”

  Quinn’s face softened, and he gave my thigh a quick squeeze. “It has been a long week.”

  That was an understatement. I’d spent the day after Daddy’s heart attack making phone calls on his behalf, letting everyone know what was going on and fielding questions from reporters about his condition. The days after that were a blur of hospital visits, squeezing work in where I could, and getting to know Jamie.

  When Quinn had let me know that Saturdays were their weekly movie nights and asked if I’d wanted to join them, I’d jumped on the chance to take a few hours to unwind and relax before my father was released from the hospital and offered to host at my house. Of course, that was before I knew that it was Quinn’s turn to choose the movie and he’d picked The Boondock Saints.

  We were finishing up dinner when Quinn’s phone rang. “It’s Aiden. I’ll call him back.”

  “No. You should answer it,” Jamie said quickly. “I wanted a chance to talk to Georgia for a minute anyway.”

  Quinn glanced back and forth between us, but I shrugged a shoulder. I had no idea what Jamie wanted to talk to me about either. He put the phone to his ear and stood, kissing the top of my head as he passed by on his way out the front door.

  Jamie took one final bite of her lo mein and then set the container on the coffee table. After a swig of water, she turned to face me.

  “Everything okay?” I asked. Her bottom lip was pulled between her teeth, and she was twirling a strand of hair between her fingers.

  She seemed nervous.

  My stomach fell.

  What if she was going to tell me that she’d used again? Or that she was struggling with the desire to? Would I know the right words to say to her? Worse yet, what if she asked me not to tell Quinn? I couldn’t keep a secret like that from him.

  My inner turmoil must have been written all over my face because Jamie’s eyes widened, and she reached for my hand. “I’m not going to drop a bomb on you.”

  I clutched a hand to my chest. “Oh, thank God. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to say.”

  She smiled sadly. “Most people don’t. But that’s okay.”

  “It’s not. There shouldn’t be such a terrible stigma on addiction.” I meant it. Maybe it was because of Jack and the kind of person he’d been, but I’d always felt like people who faced addiction were unfairly stereotyped.

  “I wanted to…explain, I guess.” She crossed her knees in front of her and began to pick at the hem of the oversized T-shirt she was wearing. “My brother is the greatest man I’ve ever known.”

  I smiled. I couldn’t say that I disagreed with her. I’d been lucky to be surrounded by great men my entire life, and Quinn was up there with the guys I’d always kept on a pedestal.

  She sighed. “Not just because he’s spent years bailing me out when he should have just walked away. Not because he hasn’t given up on me when everyone else has. He’s a great man because he’s just good.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t even know if that makes sense, or if I’m explaining well. But Quinn’s just always had a big heart. When we were kids, there was this group of bullies that was picking on this poor dog, and he took two of them on just to save it. He knew our dad was going to whoop his butt for letting those boys ruin his only pair of good jeans, but he did it anyway.”

  My heart squeezed. It didn’t surprise me in the least that Quinn had saved that poor animal.

  Jamie continued, “He protected me from our dad’s rages.” Her lip quivered a bit, but she pressed them together and kept talking. “There was this girl in high school who everyone made fun of. By the time he was a senior, Quinn was pretty popular. He was a star on our football team, and even if it was fake, everyone fawned all over him. The girls all wanted to go out with him, although, if they’d known he didn’t even have enough money to buy them an ice cream, I think that would have changed their tune. Anyway, prom season rolled around, and Quinn wasn’t going to go, obviously. I mean, a freaking tux cost more than he made in a week with his part-time job. But this girl, somehow, she worked up the nerve to ask him to go with her.” Jamie’s eyes glittered with tears as she smiled at the memory. “Of course, he took her. Not only that, but they went to dinner first, he got her that cheesy corsage, the whole damn thing. She told him that night that she’d been planning to kill herself and thought, what the hell? And asked him out. There was no way he’d known; he’d only known that she was a nice girl who didn’t deserve the shit she was handed anymore than we did.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “Pretty sure I saw that she ended up being successful and moving away from that godforsaken town we’d grown up in.”

  “Good for her,” I whispered, my own throat thick with emotion. I reached for Jamie’s hand and squeezed it. “Quinn loves you, but not just because he has to. He loves you because he wants to.”

  Jamie’s blue eyes collided with mine, and she nodded. “I know that. That knowledge is the only thing that’s kept me going. Sometimes, I wish that I would just overdose and die. That maybe it would be easier for him if I was gone. At least then he wouldn’t always wonder and worry about me.”

  My stomach lurched at the thought, and I shook my head and gripped her hand in mine even tighter. “No, then he would spend the rest of his life wondering what he could have done differently to save you. It wouldn’t be better because at least he still has you here to tease. Even when you stumble and relapse, at least you’re still here.”

  The tears were flowing down her cheeks in earnest now, and I couldn’t stop my own as they spilled over. She pulled her hand from mine and swiped at the moisture on her face and let out a ragged laugh. “Wow. I didn’t mean for this to get so heavy. I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am that I don’t have better self-control. That I can’t get this stupid demon under control most of the time. The last thing I’m sure you’re interested in is a man with a sister who’s got the baggage I do.”

  “I’d take Quinn no matter what kind of baggage he had. Just so happens I like you.” I
smiled through the tears. “And I’m here for you. For both of you.”

  She nodded and glanced at the door that Quinn had exited through earlier. “I’ve never seen him like this before. Not once. He got drafted to play professionally, and he wasn’t as giddy as he is every time he’s with you.” She leaned over and pulled me into a hug. “Thank you for loving him.”

  “I, uh––”

  I was interrupted by a shrill scream from outside that was immediately followed by Quinn flying through the front door, his face stark white.

  “What is it?” I shouted, my heart pounding as I tried to see around him.

  “Your, your, Henry!” He panted as he bent at the waist, his hands resting on his knees. “That damn opossum just snuck up on me. One minute, I’m talking to Aiden, and the next, this fucking rat with sharp teeth is hissing at me!”

  I cut my eyes to Jamie and pressed my lips together. She, however, had no problem letting him know that she found the entire situation hilarious. “You screamed like you’d seen a ghost. You’re such a wuss.”

  Quinn straightened and narrowed his eyes at both of us. “You let one of those things try to eat you, we’ll see who’s the wuss.” With his chest still heaving, he crossed into the living room and wedged himself between us on the couch. With an arm around my shoulders, he looked back and forth between us. “What did you have to talk to Georgia about?”

  Jamie shrugged and began to pick at her nails. “Just girl stuff. You know, like how dorky you were in high school. I offered to show her some really embarrassing pictures of you the next time she’s at our place.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  She smirked. “I would. Unless…”

  “Yes?”

  “I’ll swear not to show Georgia any of the pictures of your awkward years if you let me pick tonight’s movie.”

  Quinn’s head tipped back against the couch as he let out a groan. “Fiiiiiiine. But you are not getting out of Boondock Saints. It’s just being postponed.”

  I snuggled into his side and rested my head on his shoulder, letting my eyes close as the two of them continued to playfully bicker back and forth.

  I could see why Quinn had spent so much of his life protecting his sister. Jamie was fragile, and Quinn was her rock.

  I’d been on her side before, but with Jamie’s confession and honesty, I was more than happy to take on my share of the burden too.

  26

  Quinn

  Her moan fueled the fire that was already raging within me, and my pace quickened.

  “Yes,” she hissed, her nails biting into the flesh of my arms as her hips rolled with each of my thrusts, her body matching my rhythm so perfectly it was as though we were one.

  I hadn’t had Georgia in my bed for long, but every time was like this.

  Hot.

  Needy.

  Electric.

  Our hands greedy, never able to get our fill of each other.

  My cock sliding in and out, her warmth always ready to welcome me home.

  And that’s what this felt like.

  Being with her, tasting and teasing, it was nothing short of what I’d always longed for.

  Except it was so much more.

  Georgia was so much more.

  I captured her nipple, my tongue swirling over the peaked tip as she arched, another moan slipping through her pink lips. Every sound she made pushed me closer and closer to the edge, but I refused to let myself fall without her.

  Not that she’d have ever let me take that leap without her anyway.

  With one final graze of my teeth, I released her breast and moved my lips to her ear. “I want to hear you say my name when you come.”

  “Only if you say mine too.” Her lips curled into that wicked smile that I couldn’t refuse.

  I slid out, the loss of her heat causing a groan to slip through my lips.

  “Come back,” she whined as she reached between us.

  I captured her hand before it reached its destination, and with one fluid movement flipped her over. Fuck, her ass looked incredible. My fingers bit into the flesh of her hips as I drove back into her.

  She gasped as my cock stretched her, the warmth of her surrounding me.

  “Touch yourself,” I growled as my cock filled her.

  Her back arched as she craned her neck to look at me over her shoulder, that fucking grin that would be the death of me still firmly in place. “God, you’re so fucking hot when you’re bossy.”

  Red hair tumbled down her back, the silky strands covering her face as she slid her fingertips down her belly until they reached her clit.

  “Hurry,” I whispered.

  Her fingers moved as she moaned, the tips grazing my cock as I slid in and out of her slick heat.

  “I’m there, Quinn,” she breathed, her fingers still circling her clit when her body began to quake, her sex milking my cock.

  Like a freight train without brakes, my own release shot through me, my entire body shaking with the power of my orgasm. “Fuck, Georgia. Jesus, fuck.”

  With a groan, I slid out and then gathered her to my chest, covering us both with the blanket.

  “Now, that’s how you say good morning.” Georgia tipped her head back and kissed my chin before nuzzling into my neck.

  I grinned. Georgia, in bed with me, her warm body pressed against mine, was undoubtedly my favorite way to wake up. And for the last week, that’s exactly how it had been. We’d alternated sleeping at my place and hers, but each morning for the last seven days, it had been her hair tickling my nose and her arms wrapped around me when I’d woken up. And every morning, I’d lain there and listened to her even breathing, the scent of her shampoo filling my nostrils, and wondered what I’d have to do to keep her with me forever. Because that’s what I wanted with Georgia.

  Forever.

  I’d never let myself think about forever with a woman. I didn’t think I’d meet anyone who I’d be able to open up to about my past, about my sister. But somehow, Georgia had changed all of that and had worked her way into the very fibers of my soul in just a few short months.

  “Are you sure we have to go to lunch at your parents’ house today?” I slid my hand along her ribs and cupped her breast, my thumb grazing her nipple.

  She pushed up on an elbow and frowned down at me. “Yes, we have to go. Daddy’s coming home.”

  Coach Reed had been in the hospital for two weeks and was finally strong enough to come home, something I was sure the nurses were all thrilled about. He was a good man, but he was not a good patient, and the last few days had been especially hard for him. He was an active man, not used to lying around in a hospital bed. During yesterday’s visit, he’d almost begged me to sneak him out and to the practice facility so he could yell at someone.

  She brushed her lips across mine. “But we don’t have to be there for a couple more hours.” Her hand snaked under the comforter, her fingers wrapping around my already hard cock. “Is there something you wanted to do first?”

  I rolled and settled between her legs, nipping at her bottom lip. “There are so many things I want to do to you right now. Where to start?”

  * * *

  “You’re late!” Hampton shouted as Georgia closed the front door to her parents’ house behind her.

  I looked around and frowned. “Are Piper and Lawson even here?”

  Hampton shoved half a muffin in his mouth and shrugged.

  In the time since Walter’s heart attack, I’d gotten to know Georgia’s family pretty well. Hampton and Lawson had insisted on taking me out to dinner one night to thank me for saving their dad. I’m pretty sure that was an excuse to grill me so they could decide for themselves if I was good enough for their sister.

  I must have passed whatever test it was that I didn’t know I was taking, because by the end of the night, Hampton was drunk and singing Friends in Low Places with his arm slung around my shoulders. Lawson had been a little more reserved, but he’d even joined in on the chorus.
When our Uber ride had dropped us off, Lawson had even cracked a smile and wished me luck with his ‘annoying little sister’.

  “Guess who’s home!” Piper announced as she threw the door open.

  Hampton, Georgia, and Peg all cheered as Walter slowly ambled into the house, his face set in a deep frown. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing when Coach rumbled, “My family is the worst! All of you, quit being assholes.”

  “Daddy!” Georgia squealed as she threw her arms around her father. “You love us!”

  The annoyed look never left his face, but he did wrap his arms around his daughter and hug her back for a brief second. “Only because God says I have to.”

  “Hey, Dad. Have any hot nurses today?” Hampton shouted from his seat at the dining room table.

  “Son, you can’t even be bothered to get up from the damn table after your father almost died?” Walter continued to make his way through the house, a bit slower than before but steady on his feet until he got to the head of the table.

  “Who are you tryin’ to kid? You’re gonna outlive all of us,” Hampton said as he pushed to his feet and wrapped Walter up in a bear hug.

  Georgia’s mother bustled in from the kitchen, a platter of something steaming in her hands. “Everyone sit. Let’s have lunch.”

  “Thank God,” Walter grumbled as Hampton released his hold on him and settled back into the chair to his right.

  Everyone took their seats, and I claimed the empty chair beside Georgia. The smell of garlic and herbs wafted from the plate of food as Peg set it down in the middle of the table and then dropped a light kiss on her husband’s head. He curled an arm around her waist and brought her to his side, squeezing her tightly.

  There was a depth of love and gratitude in his eyes that I’d never seen in another man. My own father felt no love for anyone, not even himself, but the way Walter’s eyes shined at his wife, it was clear that Peg was his one and only.

  I slid my hand under the table along Georgia’s thigh until I found her open hand and laced my fingers through hers.