“You don’t start talking, baby, I’m going to lock you up in my room until you do,” Cole grunts roughly.
I let out a sigh. “I just couldn’t wait to see you. I’m nervous about tonight and tomorrow. I just want it all to be over with.”
“Sorry, I don’t buy one bit of what you’re selling me,” he states as he slips from me and takes a step back.
I watch as he arranges himself inside of his jeans before he bends down to grab my panties and jeans, tossing them at me before he places his hands on his hips and waits for me to speak. I hurry and dress, not wishing to be so vulnerable right now.
“Trent’s parents are here and Jim talked to me last night,” I begin.
Cole patiently waits for me to continue, so without too much delay I do. I tell him everything that Jim said to me. Cole smiles as I explain the conversation. I can tell he knows how important Jim’s words are to me, and how they’ve put me at ease.
“Then what’s wrong, baby?” he asks, reaching out to cup my cheek.
I let out a shaky breath. “Trent wants me to sleep with other men in front of him. It’s something he claims he’s wanted for a while, and he’s made it clear that it’s going to happen tonight after the game. I’ve told him no, Cole. I’ve told him I don’t want to do that, or to be involved with him and another woman. He won’t stop.”
Tears stream down my face as I reach in my pocket for my phone, thankful that it didn’t fall out while I was hurriedly stripping out of my jeans. Unlocking the screen, I show him the text that I’d received minutes before I called him and came to the stadium.
I don’t need to see it again to know exactly what it says, verbatim.
Trent: Keith is set for 2nite. Be ready. U don’t cum 2 us, I will drag UR fucking ass out 2 me.
We should talk about this. I don’t want to do anything with anyone.
Trent: Nothing 2 talk about. UR mine. I choose who you fuck. Get used 2 it.
Cole takes my phone in both hands and I watch as he breaks it in half. Breaks. It. In. Half. Then he throws both pieces on the ground and presses his chest against mine, pushing me against the wall, and forcing my head back so that I can see in his pale green eyes. They’re darker, angrier, and his jaw is clenched as his nostrils flare.
“You’re done with him. Your deadline to end it just moved up, baby, to right fucking now,” he growls.
I open and close my mouth like a fish. “The game,” I whisper.
“I could give a goddamn about the fucking game. I care about you, Jessa. What he’s saying? That’s rape. I couldn’t handle it if you got hurt and I did nothing to prevent it from happening,” he rasps. “You go to your place, pack a bag, and you’re staying with me until further notice.”
“Cole,” I whisper.
His fingers grasp my chin, and he lowers his face slightly before his nose skims alongside mine. Then he lifts slightly and speaks in a serious, low, growly voice.
“Baby, I don’t even have you yet, and I’m damn sure not going to lose you. I’ve been waiting thirty-eight years for you. I’ve been patient, and I’ve waited until you were ready to leave him, but sweet baby, he’s going to hurt you. He gives not one single fuck if he does. That’s dangerous as shit, Jessa.”
Tears swim in my eyes at his words. Deep down, I know he’s right. “Okay,” I whisper. His head jerks slightly. “Okay?” he asks.
“Yes, okay. Trent scares me, and he’s getting worse. He’s never been like this before, Cole. I’m afraid of him, really afraid,” I murmur.
“I’ll drive you to the dorm parking lot. If you want me to go in with you, I will; but I’ll be right outside, and I’m not leaving until you’re in the passenger seat,” he states.
I lean forward, pressing my lips against his, and I taste the seam of his mouth before I slip my tongue all the way inside, not deepening it, just giving myself his familiar taste. “Ines, my roommate, is there. I’ll have her go with me to Trent’s dorm to talk to him. Having you there will just cause more problems I think,” I murmur.
“Let’s go,” he grunts. “The sooner this is over, the sooner I’ll be able to fucking relax, and you’ll be safe.”
I GRAB MY bag and start to throw clothes in it. Luckily, I don’t have much, so everything fits inside without a problem, including my shoes. Then I toss my books inside of my backpack and grab another small bag for all of my toiletries.
Looking around my room one last time, I let out a heavy exhale. I know deep down inside that I’m doing the right thing. I can’t stay here, not with Trent acting the way he has been lately. I’m scared. For the first time since living with my mother, I’m downright petrified.
“What’s going on here?” Ines asks. I jump slightly, not having heard her walk through the door.
Turning to face her, I notice that she’s in workout clothes and she’s a little sweaty. Tears swim in my eyes, as I tell her what happened, and what Cole suggested—no—demanded of me. “Cole’s right. You need to be safe. Maybe I’ll stay with Thomas for a little while, until all this shit is over,” she murmurs.
“I think you should. I mean, I don’t know why Trent would do anything to you, but just to be safe.”
She nods as she reaches for her own suitcase. “Exactly.” I watch as she packs some things. Waiting for her to finish, I make an instant decision that I can’t go to Trent right now.
It would be too cruel of me to break things off before his big game. I understand what Cole wants and why, but I’ve known Trent since we were five years old, and we’ve been together since we were fourteen.
I can’t do that to him.
I can, however, end things tomorrow.
I know his parents are still in town and he wanted me to show them around, but getting all of this over with is more important than that right now. I hope that one day Margie will forgive me for not taking care of him. I know that Jim will understand, and one day Trent will understand, too. He’ll probably be glad I left so that he could be free.
Ines and I leave the dorm room, and I hurry to Cole’s big ass truck that’s waiting right where he dropped me off. To my surprise, he hops out at soon as he sees me and jogs in my direction, taking my bags and tossing them as though they weight nothing into the backseat of his pickup. Ines waves her goodbye as she hurries to her small sedan.
“You didn’t go to him,” Cole announces after he’s helped me inside of the truck and starts to drive toward his house.
My teeth sink into the tender flesh of the side of my cheek and I shake my head. “I couldn’t do it right before his big game, Cole. No matter what, at the end of the day, Trent is my oldest friend. His parents helped raise me, and just out of respect for them, if nobody else, I couldn’t do that today,” I explain.
I expect him to become angry with me. To my surprise, he reaches over and takes my hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze before he speaks. “You’re a good person, Jessa. I think I just fell for you a little harder. You made the right decision.”
“You’re not angry?” I ask in shock.
With a shake of his head, he pulls into his driveway and turns to me once he’s put his beast of a truck in park. “Not sure much of anything you say or do could really piss me off, baby. But in this case, you didn’t do what I wanted and that’s because I was wrong. You lead not only with your heart, Jessa, but with your head as well. I’m fucking proud. Even though I want you as completely mine this instant, I’m not so much of a bastard that I can’t see why you made the decision you did.”
I crawl over the seats of his truck to straddle his thighs, and I lean forward, pressing my lips to his. Cole’s hands wrap around my hips and he holds onto me with a tight grip. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, allowing me to control it, and I do. I taste his lips and nibble on them before I pull away.
“Thank you for being… you,” I whisper.
He chuckles. “And what’s that mean, baby?”
I move my hands from their place on his shoulders to curl my fingers in t
he back of his hair, tightening them slightly as he lets out a low groan. “It means you’ve been patient, kind, considerate, and shown me more tenderness than I’ve ever received before. I appreciate the way you are with me.”
“Baby, the woman you are, you deserve more. You make treating you that way fucking easy,” he murmurs before he leans forward and takes my lips in a chaste kiss. “Now, let’s get you moved into my place.”
“Cole, this is only temporary,” I warn as he opens the door. He helps lift me from his lap and sets me onto the ground.
He chuckles and shakes his head like I’m crazy before he finally speaks. “Jessa, your shit goes in my closet, your bathroom shit gets set on my counters, there’s no way in fuck I’m letting you leave. You’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future.”
I stand, stock still, my mouth hanging open slightly and staring at him in shock as he takes my bags out of the truck and starts to walk toward the front door. “C’mon, baby. I have to get ready for this fucking game. Give me a good memory before I go,” he winks.
My feet suddenly become unplanted from their spot, and I hurry after him, wanting not only to give him what he’s asked for, but also wanting it for myself, too. If I have to sit with Margie and Jim, pretending that everything is hunky-dory, then I’ll need the release that only Cole can give me beforehand to keep from going crazy.
COLE
I LET OUT a heavy sigh, lifting my arm to run my fingers through my hair. We’re losing, fucking losing, to Fresno fucking State. Once they were a great team, but they’ve had some coaching staff turnover and they’re starting in the bottom of the league. Meaning, this game should be a goddamn cakewalk of a win for us.
“Fucking pull him, Pat,” I growl angrily, turning to Patrick.
He snorts like the arrogant prick he is. “For what? He’s doing just fine out there. Your offensive line are doing a fucking horrible job, of not protecting their quarterback long enough to give him a chance to get the goddamn ball down the field. Swear to god, they’d let a fucking horse trot right past them, and they’d part like the goddamn sea to let him through. Let the head coach do his job, you assistant fuck,” he shouts.
I ignore his analogy. For one, he’s not wrong; these men are acting like novices. For two, he won’t pull Trent for whatever reason anyway. He’s dead set on the boy playing this game, regardless of the fact that he’s not fucking ready.
Glancing at the clock, I send up a silent prayer of thanks that it’s only one minute to halftime. We’re down by twenty-one, and I have no fucking clue how we’re going to make that shit up.
I turn my body slightly, looking past the cheerleaders in their skimpy outfits as my eyes search the student section of the crowd. I know where she’s sitting, and I zero in on her row, counting over the number of seats until I finally see her golden locks.
Smiling in her direction for a beat, John slaps my arm before I turn to him. “What the fuck?” he chuckles.
It’s time I told him all about Jessa, but I don’t know how he’ll take it. He knows she’s a student, and only eighteen, but until tomorrow she’s still technically attached to another guy. I shake my head, unwilling to tell him quite yet who I was staring at. He thinks that being with her is a way to have some fun. I’m not sure he’ll understand exactly what she means to me.
“Keep your head in the game, Coach Bronson, and off of those young cheerleaders’ tight asses,” he laughs.
Ignoring his wrong observation, I turn back to the players just in time for the game clock to indicate the end of the quarter and the start to halftime. The coaching staff and myself wait for the players to line up, and then we all jog toward the lockers. I glance at the wall where I fucked Jessa just a few hours ago, where I officially claimed her as mine, and I grin.
“Something’s up with you,” John mutters.
I laugh, “You want to officially meet her? Why don’t we all go out for an early dinner tomorrow night?” I ask, knowing that Jessa has the day off, and also knowing exactly where she’ll be since she now lives with me.
It feels fucking phenomenal.
“Yeah?” he asks as we make our way into the room filled with men, sweat and body odor.
“She doesn’t work Sundays.”
“It’s that serious?” he asks as his eyebrows tug together.
Nodding, I stop before we make it too close to the players. I can’t stop the words from tumbling from my lips, “She moved in with me today, John.”
“Are you fucking serious? How long have you known her?” he asks in confusion. “Is it the waitress?”
Brittany and I dated exclusively for over a year, and I never even broached the topic of living together. I never wanted to live with her; and yet, with Jessa, it seems natural. I want her with me, always.
“We’ll talk after the game,” I chuckle as I slap his shoulder.
Patrick gives the team a pep-talk. One of his infamous speeches about kicking ass, taking names later, and making the other team bleed. His coaching style is not my own, and I would do things so differently if it were up to me.
We’re notified that halftime is over, and the players grunt and put on their helmets before they start slapping their hands on their heads. I never did that shit as a player. I didn’t have to ramp myself up. The game gave me more of a high than anything else on earth could. Sometimes, just walking out there and standing on the fifty-yard line brings a little of that feeling back.
Cringing throughout the rest of the game, I watch as they lose thirty-five to a measly fucking ten. Following the players once the game is through, I make my way toward the little office that’s in the locker-room.
Patrick doesn’t come inside for the coaches meeting, and we all just look at each other and grunt before dispersing. I stay behind, sitting in one of the chairs and leaning my head back, thinking about what a goddamn clusterfuck of a game this was.
The boys didn’t play like a team. Keller thought he was a fucking star, as did a couple of the others. They were making stupid errors, and they got their asses handed to them on defense. They couldn’t stay off of the goddamn ground, as if they wanted to hump it or some shit.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, my lips twitch as I look at it. Before the game tonight, I went out and replaced Jessa’s phone. I bought her a new one, since I broke hers in a rage.
Jessa: Tough game. I’ll try to make it all better tonight.
Just having you in my house makes it better, baby. See you soon.
I shove my phone back in my pocket and pull out my keys, ready to get the fuck out of here, when I open the door and freeze at the sound of Keller’s voice.
“No, dude, she’ll be cool, man. Jessa acts all shy or whatever, but it’s just a game. She’ll do whatever I tell her to, and she always likes it, man. I’m telling you, she’s down to fuck,” he laughs.
I look to the boy he’s talking to and am not surprised to see Russ and Keith standing in a circle.
“You got Rach tonight. She’s pretty fucking stoked,” Russ laughs. “She’s up for anything, no limits. I broke those for her a long fucking time ago.”
“I think we’ve all fucking broke Rachel’s limits,” Keith laughs.
My stomach twists as they talk about these women and how they use their bodies as a game.
Keller grunts before he chuckles. “Hey, man, you got any more of that shit? I want to do an injection before I fuck. It always gives me an extra boost.”
“Fuck man, you already used what I gave you? Yeah, I have some here—but brother, I’m going to need some payment,” Russ warns.
Keller clears his throat. “Yeah, no problem, how much?”
“Fifty,” Russ states.
“Here, and I won’t have to pay this once you start getting videos of Jessa, right?”
I can’t hear another word. My body jolts at the thought of him using Jessa that way. The thought of him filming her without her knowledge, and for profit. He’s disgusting, and not worthy to lick her shoes.
Then there’s the realization that Keller and the others are using performance enhancing drugs. I’m no fool. I know they’re used, but we have piss tests for a reason, and the three of them are about to get randomly selected.
JESSA
I LIED TO Margie and Jim. I feigned a migraine so that I could ditch them, and Trent, to come back to Cole’s place and wait for him. I couldn’t stomach being around Trent all evening. I couldn’t chance possibly being talked, or forced into, going to some party with him. I didn’t even want to think about him trying to force me into having sex with Rachel, Keith, or anybody else.
I hurry toward Cole’s place and slip in the back without being seen so that I can wait for him. Naked. It’s the boldest move I’ve ever made, but for him, I want to give him a surprise.
The team had such a bad loss, and I could tell by the way Cole’s eyebrows knitted together, the way his jaw clenched, and his narrowed eyes every time the camera panned over to him, that he was taking it hard.
After locking his backdoor, I rush upstairs and quickly rid myself of my clothes before jumping into the shower to wash up. Once I’m clean, I dry off with one of his black fluffy towels. Hanging the towel on the rack, I hurry toward his bed and quickly remove his comforter and pull back the top sheet before I settle in the center of the bed.
My phone vibrates, but I ignore it. I have one thought and one thought only on my mind—Cole.
I feel like I’m lying in the center of the bed, my legs spread and my center on display for an eternity. But then I hear the front door slam closed and the lock switched into place before Cole’s voice calls out for me. My entire body breaks out in goosebumps at the sound of my name on his lips.
“I’m up here,” I try to yell out, sounding as nonchalant as possible.
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