Playing to Win: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Romi Hart

  Were they friends now? That was a good thing but also really strange. I hadn’t heard a single thing from either of them, but here they were, the best of friends, and smiling at me.

  After the night of the party, a week ago, Troy and Jett had stopped talking to me completely. When I’d see them in class, they would ignore me. It hurt. Jett told me explicitly he wouldn’t bother me anymore. I half expected that this was something he had said out of disappointment and anger, but when Monday came around, he kept to his word. When I walked into a room, he averted his eyes. It was miserable to see him actively snubbing me.

  What baffled me was that Troy never said anything to me about keeping his distance. When I waved at him in the courtyard that same Monday, and he just nodded to me and kept walking, I knew that Troy was avoiding me too.

  Jett made his reasons clear, but I couldn’t figure out Troy’s reasons for shutting me out. As I walked towards them with apprehension growing in my gut, it hit me that maybe they had made a joint decision to not deal with me anymore. It honestly saddened me. Maybe things weren’t going to work out with either of us, but I still wanted them to be in my life in some capacity.

  What made things worse was that Marsha stopped talking to me too. Coming home to our dorm room was uncomfortable. After her confession about Troy, she’d grown cold to me. She wouldn’t even look at me when I walked in.

  It seemed that everyone in my life was giving me the silent treatment.

  As I got closer to them, I was surprised to see they were both eager to talk to me. “You can’t believe what just happened, Laney!” Jett said.

  “What happened?” I asked, looking at them both. Whatever it was, they were dying to tell me.

  “Marsha drugged me!” Troy exclaimed. His brown eyes were huge saucers.

  “Marsha? My roommate?” I asked in complete confusion.

  Jett nodded as he looked at me with a smile on his face. “Yep. I saw her. She sprinkled some white stuff into Troy’s food at lunch. I watched her do it.”

  “What? What was it?” I asked, shocked.

  Excitedly, Troy said, “It was Viagra or Cialis or whatever. An erectile dysfunction drug.”

  I laughed nervously. Marsha sprinkled Viagra in Troy’s food? “How did you know what it was?”

  Troy answered candidly, “I had a huge boner in Investments class. I like investments and finance, but not that much. I had to leave class; I was so uncomfortable. Marsha was waiting in the hall for me. Dressed like a real slut. She offered to help out with my problem. Then she pulled me into the men’s bathroom to have sex.”

  “I followed Troy out of class to make sure he was okay. I ran into the bathroom and stopped them mid-act,” Jett added.

  My eyes must have looked to be popping out my head. “Oh, God.” I looked at Jett. “You saw them?”

  Jett shook his head. “No, I didn’t see anything.”

  Troy agreed, “Yeah. We were in the stalls.” He looked at Jett. “Dude, she was all over me. She was on me before I knew what the hell was even happening.”

  “I was surprised it was Marsha. She looked so different dressed up like that.” Jett said. He ran his hands down his torso, gesturing a tight-fitting dress.

  “She does look pretty different when she’s all dolled up,” I agreed, thinking about how when I first met her I’d thought she was down to earth and outdoorsy. Later, I discovered she loved clubbing and wearing slinky short dresses and stiletto heels.

  “Jett and I took her to Dean Lyons. She’s getting expelled from Cal.” Troy said hurriedly.

  The two were animated when they talked, gesturing wildly with their arms. It was quite a story. I put my hand to my mouth. She definitely needed some help for her obsessive behavior with Troy. Plus, her self-esteem was superbly low. She pinned all her confidence on the opinion of one guy, Troy.

  What Marsha had done was terrible. At the same time, I felt bad for her. She wanted to be a doctor, but she risked all of it to trick Troy into having sex with her. Her dreams of being a physician were over, because of a guy. She was a beautiful, smart girl. It was sad she had gotten too hung up on Troy. A guy who just wasn’t into her.

  I confessed to Troy, “She told me the two of you went to high school together.” Troy nodded his head affirmatively. “And that she has been in love with you since then.” Another huge nod from Troy.

  Jett’s face broke out in disbelief. “Really?” he asked Troy. “I had no idea you two knew each other from high school.”

  “Yeah. She had a thing for me, I guess. I mean, I knew it, but damn she’s nuts, I wasn’t about to do anything with her,” Troy said, grimacing.

  “She had a bit more than just a thing for you, Troy,” I said. “She pressured me to go out with you because she said you deserved to be happy and that she would do anything in her power to make sure you got what you wanted.”

  Troy’s face fell in realization. “I’m sorry, Laney. I understand now that you only liked me as a friend.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry I came on too strong. I’d like to be friends again. If you can forgive me, that is.”

  A smile filled my face and my heart. He wanted to be friends and so did I. That’s all I ever wanted from him was friendship. The fact I didn’t want to be his girlfriend had gotten in our way of just having a good time together now and then. “Troy, I’d love to be friends. We had a lot of fun together.”

  Troy’s hands flew up to his face. “Man, this whole time I was acting like a Marsha.”

  “Troy, you were not acting like Marsha. You never drugged me.” I reminded him. “You’re not psycho. Just a bit on the aggressive side is all. I know you can reign that part of you in a bit for the next girl you find yourself attracted to.”

  “True. Still, I could have handled your rejection a little better.” He held up his thumb and forefinger, holding them close together. He smiled at me and then at Jett. “I’ll see you guys around.” Then he walked away with a sheepish look on his face. Jett and I were left, staring at each other.

  After a few moments of awkward silence, Jett shoved his hands in his jean pockets and rocked on his heels. The grin he wore told me he was feeling sorry about how he’d given me the cold shoulder too. “I miss you.”

  “I miss you, too,” I said quietly and maybe too quickly. There was so much I wanted to tell him, but I waited for him to say more first.

  To my sad surprise, Jett didn’t say anything else. He patted me on the back and walked away. Watching him go, I felt perplexed and sad. When he got on the elevator, I thought about running after him to tell him how I felt before the doors closed. Instead, I stood still, remembering my meeting with the Dean.

  I watched as the elevator doors started to close and he gave me a little wave. I gave him one back and felt as if those doors were closing on us. What we had or could’ve had.

  Was Jett truly done with me? Had he already moved on? Gloom rippled through me. My hope was that Jett would tell me he wanted to give us a chance again, but he said nothing, just that he missed me.

  I wished he would have said more. Or maybe that’s all he had to say to me. That thought crippled me. Maybe my chance to be with Jett was really over.

  18

  Jett

  I headed back to Investments class after leaving Laney in front of Dean Lyons’s office. There was so much I wanted to say to her. Not just that I missed her, but that I was dying without her in my life. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do, but I had to walk away if Laney and I were ever going to have a real chance together.

  I understood that the things the other girls said about me caused Laney not to trust me, but likewise, the way Laney waffled about her feelings about me and whether she wanted to be with me or not, made me distrustful that she actually cared for me. Not to mention, she went out on dates with both Troy and me within the same week. I often wondered if Laney was really into me, wouldn't she have said no to Troy from the very beginning? Instead, she gave us both a chance to woo her.
>
  Chasing after her, like I had been, wasn’t the answer. If we were going to be together, really together, Laney needed to come to me and tell me. Laney was headstrong and afraid to give in to her feelings for me. But, if she didn’t give in to them, what kind of relationship would we have? I’d live in constant anxiety that she’d leave as soon as her fear got the best of her again.

  The only way we were going to work is if she admitted to herself that she wanted to be with me just as much as I wanted to be with her. She was going to have to face her fears. I wondered how long that would take, and if she would ever come to that self-discovery. Maybe she wouldn’t. If she didn’t, I’d have to accept that it wasn’t meant to be.

  I walked back into Investments class as there were still a few more minutes of class. I’d explain to Professor Warner afterward why I’d been absent. I’m sure Troy would do the same. I saw him sitting at his desk, looking much more comfortable than when we were in there earlier.

  The class was in a discussion on the assigned reading, ‘A Random Walk Down Wall Street,’ by Burton Malkiel. My mind wandered from stock prices to my own heart. A chartist sought to predict future movements by looking for past patterns and working on the assumption that history tended to repeat itself.

  My history with women would have never predicted I would have fallen for Laney so hard. If Laney adhered to the tenet that history repeated itself, I understood why she backed away from me.

  Perhaps, my poor treatment of all those girls wasn’t a trend of my overall character. If any of those girls had made me feel the way Laney did, I would have changed my ways. But none of them did, so I never changed.

  There was no way I could explain this to Laney without her trusting me just a little bit. I’d been horrible to those women. There was no excuse for that, but Laney made me want to change. Laney had to believe that. There was nothing else I could do to convince her. She would just have to take a leap of faith, like many have done with stocks and investments, and trust me.

  I used football practice that afternoon to get my mind off of Laney for a while. I loved football for that. Anything that was going on in my mind, I could work that anxiety down with a good workout. When practice was over, I headed home. I didn’t even bother checking my phone. I knew Laney wasn’t going to call anytime soon. Maybe never.

  Sweaty and exhausted, I walked out of the elevator on my apartment’s floor, shocked to find Laney sitting outside my door.

  She stood up. “I hope you don’t mind. Your door guy let me in.”

  Without knowing exactly why she was there, I refused to allow myself to get too excited and jump to the conclusion I wanted. I shook my head. “No. That’s fine. What are you doing here?”

  She stepped closer to me, looking up into my eyes. “Do you still want me to be your girl?”

  My heart leapt as I nodded. “I do.”

  “I want that too.” She reached up to me, so I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. She wrapped her arms around my neck bringing me closer to her.

  I pulled back, embarrassed. “I haven’t showered. I just got back from practice.” The last thing I wanted was this moment to be destroyed by my sweat.

  She smiled, pulling me back down to her lips. “I don’t mind. I like it.”

  We kissed each other with more passion. It had felt like forever since I’d kissed Laney. I ran my hands through her hair, pulling her hair tie out. Her hair fell down into beautiful cascading golden waves.

  I just looked at her for the longest time after I pulled back from that kiss. Was she really there? Was she really agreeing to be exclusive with me? We had things to talk about. I had to make sure everything was straight. She was the only girl with the power to rip my heart out. She needed to understand that. “Do you want to come in?”

  With a nod from her, I took her hand in mine. I didn’t want to pressure her into anything. I was perfectly happy to take our relationship slow. I asked again to be sure, “Do you want to come in and…”

  She pulled me down again to her lips, shutting me up. Then her lips left mine as she whispered in my ear, “Open the door. I’m dying to be with you. And only you. I want to be your girl, Jett. In every way.”

  In every way?

  I was on fire for her then. I knew she wanted me just as much as I wanted her. I unlocked the front door as Laney’s hands ran up and down my stomach underneath my shirt.

  She followed me into my bedroom without saying a word. I could hardly believe this was actually happening. I closed and locked my bedroom door. Ox wasn’t home, but I didn’t want any chance of interruptions like last time at that party.

  She swiftly peeled off her shirt and jeans. Then stood in front of me in a light pink matching bra and panties. Her bra and panties had a trim of lace outlining them. With her hair down flowing around her shoulders, she looked gorgeous, like a Victoria Secret Angel, on a runway. I just stared at her with my mouth open.

  With an eager look in her eyes, she came over to me. She lifted my shirt up over my head and pulled down my workout shorts. I’d never seen her so assertive. It was sexy. I could feel my rod growing and pushing against the cloth of my briefs. Quickly, Laney pulled those down too, freeing me.

  Looking me up and down, she more than pleased me as she took me into her hand, stroking my length softly while kissing me on the lips. I moaned at her intimate touch.

  Gently, she pushed me down on the bed. I gazed at her as she slowly took off her bra and slipped off her panties. She stood before me completely naked. Her golden hair fell down over her breasts that were full and round with pink nipples. Her waist tapered in and out elegantly. I wanted to reach out for her, but restrained myself and waited for her next move.

  She climbed on top of me. Her smooth skin slid softly against mine. Her nipples brushed against my chest. Her kisses on my neck, chin, and mouth were delicate while her hand on my dick gripped me hard and purposefully.

  I pushed a finger into her pussy. She was wet and slick. Moaning into my mouth, she kissed me passionately. Rubbing my finger around and around her clit, she moaned even more.

  Laney released me from her grasp and laid down next to me. Rubbing her hand up and down my inner thigh, she whispered, “I want you to make love to me.” My heart sang when she said those words.

  I climbed on top of her, looking into her eyes. As I pushed into her, I kissed her softly but intensely. She let out a small tiny gasp. “Are you okay?” I asked, terrified I had hurt her.

  Her hands gripped my ass cheeks while she wrapped her legs around my waist. She nodded. “I’m okay. You’re just really big, Jett. Keep going.”

  I pushed in and out of her, enjoying her warm wetness and her soft moans. Laney was so beautiful I forced myself not to come too fast. She was tight as hell. Her body was pulling me while squeezing me. It was hard not to let go, but I want it to be special for her. For our first time, I had to make sure she found her release too.

  I thrust into her deeper, straining not to lose my load. To my delight, her moans grew in intensity. I continued steadily pushing deeper, feeling her body tense. Her hands on my ass gripped me tighter until she let out a long lingering moan. Her body shuddered underneath me. Feeling intense happiness and relief, I let myself go too, coming forcefully and heaving a loud groan.

  Afterwards, I held Laney close to me. Her head was on my chest. I wrapped a strand of her hair around my finger absentmindedly. Looking down at Laney, I thought she looked incredibly beautiful in my arms and smiled at her. She looked up at me, smiling back. As I gave her a little squeeze with my arm, it warmed my heart to know Laney was my girl.

  We’d finally made love for the first time. It was the longest a girl had ever made me wait, and the wait was worth it. If I had anything to do with it, it would be the first of many times.

  I kissed her sweet lips then whispered, “My girl.”

  She ran her hand over my cheek as she gazed at me. “My man.”

  We both finally had what we wanted. And we wer
e both happier than we'd ever been. With her in my arms, in my bed, snuggled up to me, I knew what love felt like, for the very first time. "I love you, Laney."

  One tear slipped out of her pretty eye as her lips quirked to one side. “I love you too, Jett.”

  It was official with those three little words. We were in love. And that’s all either of us needed. Happiness had found us, and I knew we’d hold onto it for a very long time.

  Laney

  One year later:

  “Jett, are you serious?” I bent over to pick up his t-shirt that was laying just outside of the laundry basket and held it up, holding the sweaty thing he’d worn to practice between my thumb and forefinger. “You can throw a football hundreds of yards and make it right into another man’s hands, but your laundry never seems to make it into the freaking laundry basket. What gives?”

  The sheepish grin that moved over his handsome face made me smile even though I was trying to give him a stern expression. We’d lived together for a year and still this was an issue. “Aww. I didn’t even notice that I did that.” He jogged over to me, taking the filthy thing out of my hand while kissing my cheek. “Sorry, baby. I’ll try to pay more attention to this.”

  As he’d just gotten out of the shower, he smelled so clean and fresh. The fact he only had on a pair of tight boxer briefs did a lot to cool my agitated mood too. And when he dropped the stinky shirt into the laundry basket before taking me into his strong arms, well all my aggression slipped away with ease.

  His mouth took mine in a warm kiss that made my head go light. Even after a year, I still swooned for the man.

  His hands moved down, cupping my bottom, tempting me to pick my feet up and wrap my legs around him. But we had an agenda. A thing he and I both kept forgetting about the whole morning for some odd reason.

  Maybe it was the idea of moving that had us being so forgetful. Maybe the idea of Jett being recruited to play for an NFL team so soon — before our last year of college was even over — was what had our heads in the clouds all morning long.