by Janie Marie
“If he tries to leave with her,” David started, but Ryder cut him off.
“Tercero will be there, and I’ll keep my eye on her. If anything, I’ll leave. I don’t give a fuck if they say I have to stay on the sideline. Our girl is always first.”
David fully relaxed, surprised again that he wasn’t upset by Ryder’s use of ‘our girl’. He was liking it more and more. It was just a fearful thing to know Luc might find his way into what she wanted. Or that Jane might think all she needed was Luc.
With Ryder and even Tercero, they were the stronger force, and she’d see they were better than the ‘King of Black Hills’.
His phone vibrated again, and he stealthily peeked at it, smiling when he read the text.
My Jane: I think we should get to know each other as we are now before I say what my heart has been screaming for years.
My Jane: So, I’ll just say.
My Jane: I something you.
She’d added a kiss emoji, and he knew that was the best thing she could say to him. They were still uncertain, and he had a lot to learn about the girl she’d become and the woman she was growing into, but nothing would change for him.
David sent her a final text, knowing now that he'd have to put his phone away: I love that, baby.
My Jane: I love when you call me baby.
Fuck, one more text: You’ll always be my baby. I love you. I can’t wait to show you how much I do.
Ryder nudged him, making David realize the coach was staring at him, waiting for him to say something.
David glared at the man, but reined in his irritation. “Sorry, Coach.”
“I hope whatever’s occupying your attention is worth it, boy, because you’re standing right next to Godson’s sorry ass for the first quarter,” his coach snapped, making everyone freeze.
His rage spiked, and he felt Ryder ready to blow up next to him, but he cut his rival—former rival—a look to calm down, then he stared Coach down. “My girl is worth all my attention, and if you pull me, that’s fine. I’ll have her to go to when you’re explaining why you had your two best players sitting out, and why you didn’t tell Ryder about his grade while there was still time to raise it for this game.”
Everyone knew the new coach hated Ryder. What they didn’t know was, that morning, David had overheard him telling an assistant coach he’d been informed about Ryder’s dangerously close to failing grade—that it had been suggested he give Ryder time after school to come for tutoring, but the coach just told the teacher he’d make sure Ryder was aware.
The fucker had laughed about Ryder being finished, and he’d even counted on Jane not being able to help. Well, he counted on them fucking around rather than studying. It might be a little true, but David wasn’t going to have anyone thinking his girl was a whore.
Coach Belial turned red in the face. “You best watch what you say, Leodegrance. If you want those recruiters to be impressed, you learn your place again.”
David was about to tell him to go fuck himself, but Ryder, Archer, and Savaş pulled him back, then Archer spoke, “His place is with us, and ours is with him.”
There was total silence, and David smiled when Lance gave a nod to the coach. “David’s captain, Coach. We follow him on the field.”
Gareth Knight, a tight end David wasn’t really close with, spoke up, “You might as well sit the rest of us on the sidelines with him and Ryder, Coach.”
His brother Gawain nodded. “Ryder and David are our brothers, and you’re doing them wrong.”
The coach laughed as a few other players nodded in agreement. Honestly, David was surprised they were standing behind him, even more, behind Ryder.
Well, if they were calling David their leader, he was going to embrace it. “You’re going to let Ryder get his tutoring with Jane, and when our girl helps him get his grade up, you’re giving him his spot back as Mike. Or we walk out there and forfeit.”
Every player stood, even the ones talking shit earlier that day. He knew it was because he no longer seemed like a weak fucker, unable to admit Jane was his girl, and that he wasn’t weak for having Ryder beside him when they claimed her.
The coach shook his head at him and Ryder. “You two get your first taste of virgin pussy and—”
David and Ryder were both being held back now, but it was Arthur Knight, the Knight brother’s dad and the Defensive Coordinator for the team, who threw the punch, laying out the head coach.
David and Ryder froze, staring at Coach Knight in shock.
He turned to them. “Jane’s a good girl.”
A laugh sounded by the door, and David looked up to see their old coach, Principal Prince standing there. “About fucking time you boys stopped cupping your balls and took the leap for your girl. Back in my day, we ran out buck-ass naked when our lady or our brothers were dishonored.”
“The fuck?” Archer shook his head. “Coach, I don’t want to think about your dick or your bare ass.”
Gareth gagged. “Prince’s dong out, swinging like a cat toy. I’m sure the ladies loved that.”
Their principal grinned. “They did. I have the goods.” He walked forward, patting Ryder’s shoulder, then he focused on David. “Get your team ready, Captain. You’ll want to impress Jane because she’s gonna have a king showing her off like a queen tonight.”
Ryder scowled. “The fuck, Coach? She’s my girl, too.”
David laughed, grabbing his stuff. “He knows I’m alpha.”
Coach Knight quieted the laughter, pushing through the crowd and grabbing David’s hand, inspecting it. “Damn, boy. Did you break something?”
“I can play,” David said, nodding to the rest of the defense. “I need help without my wingman.”
Ryder shoved his shoulder. “Bitch, you’re my wingman.”
Principal Prince sighed, checking David’s injury. “You play, but you tell your coaches if you need a break. Remember there are more games. But if you get doctor’s orders to not play, you’re at risk of missing the season.”
“I’ll be careful.” David glanced at Ryder. “If I start slipping, you tell me.”
Ryder smirked. “Got you covered, wingman.” He then looked across the room at the new defensive end who transferred yesterday. He’d been Mike at his old school. “Winters, feel like backing him up?”
Jason looked between them. “Does it mean I get a piece of the brunette, too?”
Savaş laughed loudly. “Not in this lifetime, boy. I think Jane’s harem is full.”
David glared at Jason. “Can I count on you?”
“Yeah, I’m good.” The new guy held his hands up in surrender. “She’s hot, but I have a thing for blondes.”
Ryder pointed at Jason. “Better keep your fucking eyes on those hoes, then.”
Principal Prince shoved Ryder toward Savaş. “Take him before I have to expel him.” Then he smacked Ryder on the back of the head. “Don’t disrespect women.”
David hissed as the trainer re-wrapped his hand.
Ryder was still mouthing off as he was led out. “Whatever. I’m gonna have fun sexting Jane from the sidelines.”
Their principal sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can’t believe you just said ‘sexting’.”
“Channeling my inner-teenage girl.” Ryder put his hand over his heart. “You’re fucking dreamy, Coach.”
Their principal glared at him. “Jane gave you personality. I don’t think I can deal with this.”
Ryder laughed, hanging onto the doorframe. “She said she really likes me.”
Coach Prince laughed. “Get out of here. You’re scaring me.”
David chuckled, watching Ryder disappear. The guy had changed almost instantly from just a few days with Jane. He didn’t know how to feel about it. They were teaming up right now, but he expected Jane to make a choice between them. There was a tightening in his chest when he thought of Jane not choosing Ryder, though. It didn’t make sense, but Ryder was different now. Jane was different. Who would
she be without Ryder now?
“If there’s one girl who can deal with that arrogant asshole, it’s Jane.” His principal grinned at him. “After all, she just got you to take your rightful place as Captain.”
“Thanks, Coach.” David smiled at him. Even if their old coach was the principal now, he’d always be ‘Coach’. David liked him, but it had been clear Ryder was the favorite. Principal Prince patted David on the shoulder. “I knew her dad.”
“Mr. Mortaime?” David hardly remembered the man who held Jane’s heart, then had asked Ryder to keep it. He was shorter than David’s and Ryder’s dads, but there was something about him that was scary as hell. Maybe it was that a girl’s dad was usually her hero, and if her hero didn’t like her prince, the prince stood no chance in her eyes either.
Mr. Prince crossed his arms, nodding. “I was a quarterback in college when they moved here from Texas. My dad was the coach then, and I was visiting, so he sent me to show off for the Pop Warner team when they were having their practices. Jane’s dad brought her because she wanted to be a cheerleader, and even though the season had started, they were letting her try a practice to see how she’d fit in because she’d never cheered before.
“She stood out because instead of wearing what the other girls were, she was in a tutu. I guess her dad didn’t know what to put her in, or she just liked her costume. But she was already getting teased.
“I had been taking a break, and I sat to watch for a bit, and I’d never seen a little girl so afraid to try the little cartwheels and flips, but Jane was terrified. She couldn’t keep up with the commands that the other cheerleaders already knew. She was tearing up because she just couldn’t get anything right.
“I felt bad watching her, ‘cause I could see the cheer coach was frustrated too. She’d been talking to Jane’s dad about the ballet studio that was two towns over, and Jane overheard. She saw her dad trying to tell the coach she’d figure it all out and he’d have her in better clothing next time. But Jane held her tears in and told him she was ready to go home, that she had changed her mind.”
Again, a peaceful smile spread over Coach Prince’s face. “She was trying to be brave for her dad, but she was hurt. I got up when she yelled at her dad who was still trying to convince her to stay because she tripped and completely wiped out, getting laughed at again. Her little dress was all dirty, and it was one of the saddest things I’d seen.”
David’s heart was breaking. He’d never heard any of this. He didn’t even remember Jane being a dancer or wanting to be a cheerleader. She always said she had no interest in anything like that.
She hid it from me.
Coach Prince sighed. “I jogged over and helped her up, dusted off her tutu as the girls laughed. They all shut up when I asked her if she’d be my helper for the rest of practice, that I needed a really special girl to help me find the best players for the team.”
Now, David remembered. She had been there that day, when he, Ryder, and the others were having practice. She’d been with the college football player everyone looked up to, sitting on his shoulders or sometimes in his arms as he hollered at them. David hadn’t thought much about her being there, only that she had somehow gotten the cool player to carry her around, and he wanted to show off.
“You boys tried to impress her so much,” Mr. Prince said. “You know what she told me when I asked her who was the best out of you and Ryder?”
David shook his head.
“She pointed at you and said, ‘He’s the bestest’. I laughed and told her that Ryder actually had more potential. Her little cheeks were bright red as she watched him. She really tried to choose between you two, darting her eyes at each of you. Finally, she threw up her arms and yelled that I couldn’t make her choose.”
“What did her dad say?”
“He told her one boy has to get picked for each spot.” Mr. Prince grinned. “She said not if she had any say so, and that I was asking for what she wanted, and she wanted both. There was no changing her mind.” He gave David another pat. “Her dad told her she could have both, then. She could have however many she wanted, as long as she was happy, and the boys did their job on her team. He told her Ryder was probably the perfect player for her, but you were a leader.”
“And Jane?” David felt like he was falling in love with his girl all over again.
His principal started walking out after instructing an ambulance to be called for the coach, but he answered him. “She agreed with her dad, and she embarrassed us all because she asked if she could go slap your butt like she saw the older players do, because you had the bestest one, and she wanted you to lead her team.”
David laughed, flexing his hand as his heart was whole. Jane’s dad had approved of him, after all. And his girl had always seen him as her bestest. “Thanks, Coach.”
Eleven
Luc kept a firm hold on her hand as they walked through the gates and onto the football field. The band was there, preparing to do their march around, and the cheerleaders were prepping for when the players come out.
“Do you miss playing?” Jane asked him when she spotted Diane watching them.
“No.” Luc nodded to one of the guards who looked at him like he was a god. “It was merely something to do.”
“Well, you were terrific.”
“Hm,” was all he replied.
Jane wanted to roll her eyes, but something pettier took precedence, and she pretended to get her foot caught on something. “Hang on.”
Luc stopped, watching her fiddle with nothing on her foot, but Jane was just getting ready to make a show of the jersey she wore under Luc’s letter jacket.
“Okay.” Jane straightened, letting the number twelve show for all the cheerleaders. “I’m ready.”
Luc knew exactly what she was doing, and he didn’t like it. He tugged the jacket around her, giving her a glare. “Do you like testing me, Jane?”
She grinned up at him. “It’s not my fault you picked a queen who had herself a prince. Not to mention she was already shagging the king’s younger brothers. Well, one of them. I didn’t work up that far with Tercero. Yet.”
His jaw clenched. “You are not a whore, so do not act like one.”
Jane fought really hard to not flinch, but she did anyway. She had felt like a whore, but the way her boys were acting now, they’d made her feel like a goddess. “I’m theirs right now, and that’s all I care about.”
“No, right now you are mine.” He stared at her, then continued along the track toward centerfield. “Behave yourself, or you won’t like what happens to them.”
“Is that a threat?” Jane knew Luc was going to be upset about her with Tercero right after he’d dropped her off. She knew he wasn’t going to like that she’d been giddy about David and Ryder getting along for her—for David asking for a chance—but she hadn’t thought Luc would do anything to hurt them.
“Yes,” he said simply. “Anger me and learn my threats are to be taken seriously.”
She darted her eyes around, her nerves returning because she had a feeling Luc wasn’t joking.
“I don’t want you to be afraid of me, Jane.” He came to a stop on the home team sidelines, near the fifty-yard line.
There weren’t a lot of people on the track or field, besides the visiting team doing warm-ups. Somehow, though, it felt like the spotlight was on them, and Jane was regretting agreeing to Luc’s help that morning.
“Well, you’re freaking me out by threatening my—”
He cut her off, his tone as sharp as his look. “While you’re with me, you don’t celebrate your relationships with them.”
She darted her gaze to the band as the drums started and they prepared to circle the track before taking their spot in the bleachers. “You want me to act like you and I are together?”
Luc caressed her cheek before holding her chin, forcing her to look only at him. “There is no need to act. You want me, and you’re curious to find out how I compare to the boys you’ve play
ed with so far.”
Jane frowned, noticing the displeased look he gave when she did. It was like he really wanted to see her smile at him. As thrilling as that was, she wasn’t going to let his ego crush her. “Ryder had me horny, and I’m emotional. Of course, I enjoy you touching me, but that doesn’t mean you and I are together. Even they know I’m not sure what I want to do yet. But I’ll figure it out . . . with them.”
The band began their march, the announcer introducing them, as the crowd cheered.
Cold fingers trailed down her neck as silver eyes held hers. “Do you really think your stepfather is going to rejoice when you tell him your intentions with his son? Do you think your mom is going to accept you two leaving to go on dates together? That they will allow you to sleep mere feet from each other?”
She swallowed, knowing the exact opposite would happen.
Luc smiled, but it was cruel. “And if that isn’t enough, do you really not expect either of them to take action when you openly reveal your relationships with my two brothers?”
“I’m almost eighteen,” she said softly, not sure he could even hear her with the crowd clapping.
Apparently, he did. “That doesn’t matter to Kingston Leodegrance. You are in the home he is master of, Jane. Regardless of it being the one your father picked out, Kingston Leodegrance is its master now, and he will be ruthless if his son and daughter are fucking under his very nose.”
“We haven’t fucked,” she said, her confidence in being out in the open wavering. “And he wasn’t happy with me kissing you either. He saw, and I’m sure he thinks you’re an older guy just trying to get in my pants.”
“I will get you out of your pants.” He smirked at her glare. “Don’t worry—you’ll ask for it, and you’ll enjoy it far more than the virgin fumbling’s of my brother.”
Jane’s jaw dropped. Ryder was a virgin? Her confident, bad boy neighbor who’d blown her mind and made her walk bowlegged for the afternoon because he’d fucked her that good, was a virgin?
“Did he not tell you?” He chuckled, leaning down closer. “Well, I’ll inform you this; I am not.”