ROMANCE: BAD BOY ROMANCE: The Football Star’s Secret Baby (Second Chance Alpha Male Pregnancy Sports Romance)

by Ava Walsh

  Lance pulled himself out of her, several seconds after it was over. Margie stood in the same position, her leg still around his thighs. Their breathing was heavy. She wasn’t sure when she would be able to breathe normally again.

  Lance was smiling as he pulled out and then started rummaging in the dark for his clothes. Margie bit down on her lip and started looking for her own clothes. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say.

  “That was great, Margie.” It was Lance who finally said something, as he buttoned up his pants and started to tie his belt.

  Margie was zipping up her dress and she shook her hair in an attempt to make it fall back into place.

  “It was,” she said, smiling at him. She wanted to rest her head on his chest and hug him tightly, but she wasn’t sure what was appropriate, or what he expected from her now. How slowly would he want to take their relationship?

  “You’re beautiful and lovely,” he said and quickly pressed a kiss on her cheek. She was blushing again.

  “Are you going back to the party now?” she asked him, leaning back against the tree trunk again.

  “I have to, sadly. People are going to start missing me, and then they’ll start talking and gossiping behind our backs,” he said, a sudden reminder to Margie of just who was. A celebrity in college. Lance Healy needed to tread carefully.

  “Of course. No, you should go. I’m tired. I think I’ll head back.” She adjusted her dress again, already regretting her decision to not go back with him to the party.

  “Okay. I’ll see you in the library tomorrow?” he asked, beginning to walk away from her.

  “It’s a date,” she said, a huge smile spreading on her face. Lance grinned at her, turned and then started jogging away towards the frat house, which she could see in the distance.

  Margie shrugged and hugged herself, the smile on her face only widening. She began to walk back towards her dorm and wondered if she should tell Claire. Just how secretive did Lance want their relationship to be? Either way, she was just happy knowing that she would see him again, that he was her first, that she would always have this beautiful memory of him.

  Chapter Five

  Margie was in the library an hour in advance the next day. She sat with the pile of books in front of her, her arms placed neatly on the table, her legs crossed and an uncharacteristically wide smile on her face. She could barely believe what a good mood she was in, but it wasn’t that unbelievable. She had been in the arms of Lance Healy the previous night, and he had been inside her. She had a good reason to be happy.

  Mrs. Brown was throwing her looks, Margie was aware of that, but she only had a smile to give to Mrs. Brown today. Nothing could bring her down. She wondered what Lance would be wearing, what he would say to her, whether he’d kiss her on the cheek or give her a hug when he walked in. She couldn’t get that scent of him out of her mind.

  After an hour and a half of waiting, Margie glanced at her wrist watch again. He hadn’t been late last time. What was holding him up?

  She opened one of the books, thinking it was perhaps a good idea to chart out a study plan for the day.

  That took half an hour. By this time, Lance was over an hour late and Margie could feel her heart beginning to palpitate. Had he forgotten? Was he ashamed of himself? Did he not like her anymore?

  Margie glanced at her watch again. Then she stood up and walked over to the water fountain. Another fifteen minutes crept by. She ran a hand through her red curls, which she had tied in a loose, low ponytail today. She decided to give him another half an hour.

  Eventually, after she had waited for three hours by herself, Margie realized it was time to give up. She collected her books into her bag again, let out a deep breath and made her way out of the library. Where on Earth could he have been? She knew how worried he was about the upcoming test. Why would he miss a free tutorial with her?

  Without giving it much thought Margie started walking towards the frat house. She realized she didn’t know all that much about Lance, other than what everyone else knew about him. Was she just one of the crowd? Nonetheless, the frat house was going to be the best bet to find him, because she didn’t even have his number.

  Margie felt immediately self-conscious as she approached the frat house. A couple of frat guys were hanging around outside, sitting on wooden boxes and lawn chairs, drinking beers. The guy, Bryan, who had tried to feel her up the previous night was there too. He saw her walking up to them but turned his face away, leaning in towards the guy sitting next to him to whisper in his ear. Margie could feel her neck growing red.

  “Hi,” she eventually said, coming to a stop at the bottom of the steps. She was clutching the straps of the backpack on her back and tried to keep her body as still as possible, to appear confident.

  “Yes?” One of the guys asked, while some of the others sniggered. She didn’t know what they were laughing at, but it made her blush even more. These were Lance’s friends, these were the people he connected with as human beings. Margie could feel a searing pain of regret coursing up her spine. How badly had she misjudged Lance?

  “Is Lance around?” Margie asked, trying to make her voice as casual as possible. Some of them sniggered again and this time, Bryan actually laughed a little.

  “What do you want with Lance?” the same guy asked, and Margie licked her lips.

  “I was supposed to tutor him today,” Margie replied, and nearly all of them broke into a loud laugh in unison.

  “Lance has a tutor?” Bryan remarked, and some other guy slapped his knee and bent over in laughter. Margie could feel her palms growing sweaty. What was going on? She wanted to ask what was so funny.

  “So is he in?” Margie made her voice louder to be heard through the incessant laughter.

  “Wow. Lance must be really desperate,” Bryan said, and they all erupted in laughter again. Margie could feel hot tears pricking the backs of her eyelids. What had she done to deserve this?

  “Cut it out, guys! Hi, Margie.” Lance appeared through the door. The girl who had been straddling him by the pool the previous night was behind him now. Her long, dark hair reached her waist, and her short, denim hot pants made her legs look endless. The girl turned to the other guys sitting outside and exchanged smiles with them.

  “Hi,” Margie said, looking up at Lance with widened, desperate eyes. He was her hero again.

  “Shit. I completely forgot about our session today. Sorry, Margie. Did I make you wait?” Lance asked, looking genuinely sorry. He came down the steps and hurried towards her.

  Margie breathed in deeply and licked her lips. She was just glad to see him.

  “Yeah. I waited for a few hours for you in the library,” Margie whispered as he came close. She didn’t want any of the others to overhear their conversation.

  “I’m so sorry, Margie. How will I ever make it up to you?” Lance pouted, childish and said. Margie broke into a smile. He was so charming, so handsome, that she couldn’t help herself.

  “Have you been studying, at least?” she asked him, shaking her head, and Lance nodded.

  “I spent the whole morning studying the books. I’m ready for another quiz.” Lance smiled and Margie’s heart melted again. Just the sight of his plump pink lips and those sparkling green eyes made her happy. She couldn’t get the image of how he had looked the previous night out of her head.

  “Good. I also wanted to talk to you,” Margie said, still in a whisper, and Lance leaned in closer to her.

  “About umm…last night.” She was struggling with the words. She could smell him again, and she wanted to touch him. Lance reached out and touched her arm suddenly. She thought her knees were going to buckle and she’d fall. Just that had such a huge physical impact on her. She bit down on her lip and looked up at him longingly.

  “Last night was great, Margie. Yes, we should talk about it. I have a big game tomorrow. Should we meet the day after? I promise I’ll study more. Those books are really helpful. Thanks.” Lance’s hand w
as still on her arm and he was gently stroking her skin. She could feel the goosebumps on her flesh and she hung her head down to hide her blushing cheeks.

  “Best of luck for the game, Lance. Yes, let's meet the day after, then,” she said, her head still hanging low.

  “Lance?” the dark-haired girl, who was still on the porch of the house, called out to him. Margie and he both looked over.

  “Are you coming or what? We have to go now!” The girl said, flinging her long, black hair over her shoulder. Her hands were on her hips.

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” Lance called back, and the girl rolled her eyes.

  “Who is she?” Margie asked before she could stop herself.

  “Chloe? She’s one of our cheerleaders. You haven’t met her before?” Lance turned back to Chloe, casually unaware of the rage building up in Margie.

  “Why? Are you jealous of her?” Lance asked in a conspiratorial whisper and then broke into laughter. Margie smiled weakly, aware of how close Lance was to detecting the truth.

  “Chloe has a loud bark but she rarely bites.” Lance turned to Chloe to throw her a look and then turned to Margie again.

  “I was just wondering who she was,” Margie said, trying to smile again. Lance wasn’t touching her anymore and all she wanted was to throw her arms around him and hug him tightly. She knew, however, that that would be the worst mistake she could make in front of all these people.

  “Anyway, yeah, we’re heading over to the gym together. Need to get a sweat going tonight before the game. Did you want to come?” Lance asked. He had a casual grin on his face and Margie considered it. Her heart was already beating fast because he had even offered. An image of herself on a treadmill popped up, her sweaty self, her red curls soaked in sweat and the panting and the exhaustion. Chloe, on the other hand, of course would look flawless during the whole thing.

  “No, I need to head back. Got some chores to do,” Margie said, deciding immediately that she didn’t want Lance to see her that way.

  “Cool. I’ll see you day after then. At the library? I’m looking forward to our little talk,” Lance said, patting her quickly on her arm before turning on his heel immediately and rushing back towards the house.

  Margie breathed in deeply and then turned to leave. She thought she heard a loud giggle from Chloe and then Bryan laugh, but she didn’t turn to check. She didn’t care anymore. Lance was all that mattered and Lance was a gentleman, a kind and thoughtful person, the complete opposite of the general perception that people had of him.

  She took her time in walking back to the dorm. She wanted to savor the past few moments of looking into his eyes, his hands on her arms and that bright smile. She wanted to think about him by herself.

  Claire was in the room when Margie entered.

  “So…how did it go?” Claire asked, looking up from the book she was reading.

  “With Lance? Oh, he was busy so we rescheduled,” Margie said quickly, making sure that her face was hidden from Claire the whole time that she spoke.

  “Are you serious? Did you wait for him or something?” Claire put down the book with a thump on the bed and sat up straight.

  “Just for a bit.” Margie busied herself with emptying her bag. She had already given a few of the books to Lance the last time they met at the library, so she didn’t have that many left to revise for the test.

  “What does that mean? How long did you wait? And how did he reschedule it?” Claire had gotten off her bed now and was standing behind Margie with her hands on her hips. Margie didn’t answer immediately, already regretting that she’d told Claire anything.

  “He did eventually turn up at the library, about half an hour late, and said that he wanted to reschedule for the day after tomorrow.” Margie turned to look at her friend finally, crossing her arms over her chest. This was Claire’s reaction, and she didn’t even know what happened with him after the party! She didn’t even know that Margie wasn’t a virgin anymore.

  Claire sighed and continued to glare at her.

  “What is wrong with you, Claire? Why are you so upset with me?” She threw the words at Claire, believing she had the advantage now. Now that she had lied to Claire about what really happened.

  “I just don’t trust him, that’s all,” Claire said softly, calming her voice down a little.

  “You don’t know what he’s really like. He’s sweet. He’s a nice guy,” Margie carried on, with the same, offended voice. Claire was looking at her sharply.

  “And you think you know him? After you met him, what, three times?” Claire asked with a huff, and Margie rolled her eyes.

  “Whatever, Claire. I know him better than you do, so I’m in a better position to pass judgments on him. Anyway, why am I arguing about this with you?” Margie threw her hands up in the air, turned around and fell on the bed.

  “Whatever,” Claire said too, and returned to her bed to read her book.

  Margie turned to face the wall, and an immediate smile spread across her face. She could think of him in peace again.

  Chapter Six

  Margie was at the game. She hadn’t been to one before, but now was as good a time as any, especially if she wanted to get to know Lance better. It was difficult for her to follow the game exactly as it was being played, but by the sound of the cheering crowds from her college in the bleachers, it was easy to tell that their team was doing well. Lance was the star.

  He was flying, his jersey fluttering behind him. Even from a distance, Margie could see his biceps flex and the muscles on his thighs rip as he lunged and ran and kicked. Margie couldn’t stop herself from growing more nervous by the minute. She couldn’t wait to surprise him. If he thought that she was not going to be interested in this side of him, he was mistaken.

  The crowd cheered as their team flew to victory, and his teammates had picked Lance up on their shoulders. She could see guys scream loudly and girls swoon. The cheerleaders, including Chloe, were out on the field again. Margie couldn’t deny it, Chloe looked absolutely gorgeous in her jersey, her dark hair tied in a plait and shining, her glittery canvas shoes sparkling in the sun.

  Margie stood up to clap despite the misgivings she had at seeing Chloe and the cheerleaders run towards the team. She started making her way down the bleachers towards the front. She’d spotted a gap in the crowd that she could possibly squeeze through and wave at him when the team passed by towards the locker rooms.

  Her eyes were still on Lance, and how happy he looked. This was what he was good at, what he believed in himself for. He didn’t need anybody else’s validation to make him feel good about what he could achieve on the field. Margie was proud of him.

  She noticed the way he leaned in to whisper something in Chloe’s ear but she ignored it. They were friends, and she couldn’t be jealous of his friends, no matter how sexy and how in love with him they were.

  Margie managed to squeeze her way through and she stood behind the cordoned off area, trying to look over the shoulders of the people standing in front of her.

  It was only after a few minutes that she realized she was standing behind Bryan and some of the other guys from the fraternity. It made her uncomfortable, she didn’t want them to turn around and find her there, but she wasn’t going to move away either. This was the only opportunity she had of showing her support for Lance. It would make him happy.

  Her ears pricked when the guys in front of her started talking about Lance. They were praising him for his performance. It made Margie smile, but she lost her good humor when she heard the next bit.

  “Oh, by the way, did you see that redhead girl from yesterday? She was in the bleachers.” It was Bryan’s voice. Margie could feel her neck beginning to redden. They were talking about her, they had seen her already.

  “Oh yeah?” The guy next to him asked and laughed. “Is she stalking Lance or something?”

  Margie’s brows furrowed. She was angry and embarrassed at the same time. She wished Lance could hear this. Should she te
ll him? He’d be able to set the record straight for them.

  “Looks like it. Apparently, he can’t get rid of her,” Bryan continued, and Margie breathed in. How were they just arriving at these conclusions? Did they have nothing better to talk about?

  “She seems like the type,” the guy commented, and they both laughed. They were still clapping and cheering amid their conversation and Margie’s heart was sinking. So this was what Lance’s friends thought of her.

  “Yeah, apparently he pity fucked her the other night and she’s been following him around ever since, ” Bryan said with a laugh, and the other guy laughed even harder.

  Margie’s world came crashing down around her. She didn’t want to hear any more. How did they even know Lance had sex with her? Had Lance told them? Had he told them it was pity sex? Margie started slowly backing away until her back hit the chest of the person standing behind her, who roughly pushed her aside. She could still hear them, though, and she wanted to run away.

  “Oh, shit! Damn. Why did he do it, anyway?” The other guy’s voice came through. Margie turned around. She didn’t want to know Bryan’s answer. She didn’t want to hear what Lance had been telling his friends about her.

  “She’s tutoring him for free. She was probably expecting it,” Bryan said loudly, leaning in towards the guy as he spoke. Margie turned to look at him and for a second their eyes met. Bryan’s surprised look turned to amusement, a grin forming on his face.

  Margie was horrified. He had seen her, seen her eavesdropping on their conversation. She felt claustrophobic in the crowd, she was being pushed around by people from all directions.

  “She tried to come on to me too,” Bryan said, even more loudly this time, looking directly at her as he spoke. The other guy erupted into a volley of laughter, just as Margie managed to break from the crowd. She was running towards the exit, trying to squeeze past people who were pushing against her. She was breathing hard, she hardly had any breath left in her system. She needed to get out.