Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

by Krista Lakes

  Oh God, there he is, she thought, as her eyes focused across the room.

  Ollie stood there, with one foot up on the wooden bench. He was chatting with his teammates, but glanced toward Elsie as soon as she was in view. Her heart leaped into her throat as they locked eyes. She felt the same tingling inside of her that she had the very first time she met him. It was as though she was seeing him for the first time. She didn't know what to do. It was like her feet were suddenly stuck in a bucket of molasses.

  “Elsie, there's Oliver!” her nephew cried out.

  Oliver approached them, his smile wide and his eyes as blue as ever. He kept his gaze locked onto Elsie as he got close. Her nephews released her hand and ran straight up to him.

  “Oliver Lance! Oliver Lance!” they shouted.

  Ollie chuckled and dropped to one knee to give each of them a hug. “Hey, guys. Did you enjoy the game?”

  “It was amazing!” the oldest replied. “You killed it out there.”

  “I couldn't have done it without you two cheering me on,” Oliver told them. “Let me say hi to your Aunt really quick, then I'll show you guys around. In the mean time, my buddy Sean here has something for you.”

  Sean walked up holding two small-sized jerseys. “What do you think of these?”

  Her nephews slipped into the jerseys and gave each other a high five. Then Sean walked with the kids, and the rest of Elsie's family, to begin their tour. Meanwhile, Oliver stood up and approached Elsie, who was still weak in the knees.

  “Hi,” he said softly.

  “Hi.” The tone in her voice was hesitant.

  Oliver took her hands in his, but she pulled them away.

  “Elsie, please, let me talk to you,” he said. “I'm asking for five minutes. That's all.”

  “You want to talk here?” she asked, looking around the locker room filled with strangers.

  “No, let's go outside,” he said, holding out his hand. “Please.”

  Elsie sighed, but took his hand. She followed Oliver out into the hallway just outside of the locker room. The hall was empty, minus a reporter and her news crew who were packing up after the game. They didn't even give the two of them the time of day. Ollie was still wearing his pads and jersey. His hair was a total mess and it looked like he hadn't shaved since she last saw him. Still, though, he looked hot as hell.

  “What do you want to tell me, Ollie?” she asked softly. “I mean, I appreciate the surprise you gave my family, but that doesn't make up for what you did.”

  Oliver sighed, gazing into her eyes. “I'm going to tell you exactly what happened that night. You may or may not believe me, but I would never lie to you. I want you to know the truth.”

  “Okay,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “I went home that night after training,” he said. “I was beyond exhausted and my knee was sore, so I crawled into bed. You and I chatted on the phone for a bit and then I fell asleep right after. I woke up in the middle of the night, and Nikki was in my room.”

  Elsie watched him explain the story and it really seemed to her like he was being genuine.

  “She and I hadn't done anything at all. I had been sound asleep,” Ollie continued. “She was standing in my doorway when the light from the hallway woke me up. She'd taken that picture of us before I'd awaken. I didn't even know about it at the time.”

  “How did she get into your house?” Elsie asked, trying to break the story open.

  “She's my manager, she has a key to get in and grab gear or drop off contracts,” he explained. “I didn't know how crazy she was until that night, so I was never worried about her having access to the house. Plus, we work together. Or, well, we did work together. I fired her.”

  “I heard,” Elsie said.

  “You did?” he asked, hope rising in his voice.

  “It was on the radio.” She crossed her arms.

  “News travels fast.” Ollie shook his head. “But that's what happened. Nikki has had it out for me ever since we broke up a year ago. I never knew she'd stoop so low, but apparently I shouldn't have put it past her.”

  “What about your comments on it?” she asked, her voice nearly breaking. She could believe Nikki would post the picture, but that he would reply? That was the part that hurt so much.

  Oliver's eyes were on hers. “As my manager, she had access to my social media accounts. She did that. I don't even know my own password. It's supposed to be just for promotion stuff.”

  His eyes remained true as she watched for any sign of a lie. All she could see was a desperate pain that mirrored her own. Elsie believed him. She had to. He was clearly telling the truth.

  “So you didn't do anything with her?” Elsie asked. “No kissing, no nothing?”

  “Nothing at all,” Ollie said. “I swear on my brother Michael that I did not touch her. And I fired her immediately after I found out about the photo.”

  Oh man, so does this make me the one in the wrong for not letting him explain himself before? She asked herself.

  “Oliver, I was about to go back to Iowa,” she said, as a few tears trickled down her cheeks. “You have a reputation and I guess I let that cloud my judgment of you.”

  “Look, Elsie, I do have a reputation with women,” he said, placing his hands gently onto her shoulders. “But if there's anything to be learned about what happened with Nikki and that stupid photo, it's that most of the time a reputation doesn't mean anything. It's contrived from gossip.”

  Elsie held her breath, not wanting to miss a word of what he had to say next. The feel of his hands on her shoulders were the only thing keeping her from floating away.

  “Sure, there was a period in my career where I might have used my fame and power to meet women. I was young, though. A different man. I thought that getting drunk and meeting girls was the end that justified the means. But I was wrong, Elsie. When I met you, I learned that there's something in this world that I truly can't live without. Something that transcends the wants and needs of my previous life. It's you. It's you, Elsie. It always has been and it always will be. You're the only thing I need.”

  Elsie swallowed and the tears that streamed down her face became ones of joy. Ollie reached forward and gently wiped her cheek with his thumb.

  “Do you understand now?” he asked. “I'd do anything for you. I'd go jump off of a building to break my leg, just so that I can go back to Iowa for rehab. I'd go to the end of the world. I'd...”

  “Just stop talking,” she said, reaching forward to grab his chest pads.

  She pulled him toward her and stood up on her tip toes, bringing her lips to his. The kiss instantly washed away the torment that had been filling her for days. She pressed into him and Ollie held her close. His scent, his touch, his everything. He was all that she needed, too.

  After a moment, she slowly broke the kiss, but kept his eyes locked with his. Oliver brought his hands to her cheeks. “Elsie, I love you,” he said, and she watched as his eyes welled up with tears. “I love you so much.”

  Elsie felt the world shrink down and once again, the only people in the entire universe were the two of them. Her heart thumped behind her rib cage, reaching toward Oliver. She knew it right then, that this was the man she was meant to be with. Sure, she'd questioned it for a while. But maybe that was what it took for her to see just how much he cared and the lengths he'd go to keep her.

  “I love you, too, Oliver Lance,” she whispered.

  He leaned and kissed her again. Her heart swelled as the two embraced in the hallway outside of the locker room. It was the perfect moment. The kind of moment that made her realize that all of the trials and tribulations in her life were not in vain and in fact, had a purpose. They'd brought her there.

  Elsie felt someone grab her leg and she opened her eyes, pulling away from Ollie. She looked down to see her youngest nephew standing there in his new jersey, wearing an innocent smile.

  “Aunt Elsie, can I please borrow Oliver Lance for a minute?” he asked. “I want
him to take me out onto the field.”

  Elsie laughed, wiping away the tears of joy from her face.

  “Yeah, you may borrow him,” she said, smiling toward Oliver. “But you have to promise to bring him back.”

  “I promise,” her nephew said, as he took Oliver's hand and began dragging him away.

  Ollie beamed as he looked at Elsie.

  “You're coming with, aren't you?” he asked. “You want to see the field up close and personal? I guess you could call it a tour of my office.”

  Elsie nodded. “I'd love nothing more.”

  She followed them out to the field, where her family and some of the players were already standing around. She watched as Ollie put one of her nephews on each of his shoulders and paraded them around the grass. Those boys were in a heaven that they didn't know existed until now and it was all because of Oliver, their hero.

  Oliver Lance, she thought, smiling. I think you might be my hero too.

  Epilogue

  Four months later...

  The Bandit's were behind by three points. With only thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter, it was starting to look like the championship trophy might end up being handed over to The Rockets instead. But after the hard fought season, Oliver wasn't about to throw in the towel. He couldn't. Not with his girl standing on the sidelines watching.

  Come on, Ollie, Elsie thought, bundled inside of her Bandits trainer down coat.

  The wind howled, adding to the noise of the crowd. It was bitter cold. The kind of January day that should have been spent indoors. If it wasn't for a game like this, that's where Elsie would have been, but no amount of cold weather or rain and thunder would have kept her from being on that sideline and rooting her boyfriend on. Besides, it was her job to be there now.

  He needed her there. He'd told her that she was his lucky charm and she was starting to believe it. The Bandit's had won every season game that she'd attended, and had lost the few that she wasn't there for. The team had even joked that they should make it a job requirement to be on the field so that they would never lose again.

  It was the Bandit's last possession of the game. Oliver huddled with his team and then they stepped up to the line.

  “Blue, forty-two!” he shouted. “Hut. Hut. Hike!”

  The ball was snapped and Ollie took a few steps back, scanning the field.

  “Come on, Oliver,” Elsie whispered. “You can do this.”

  Since it was first down, Elsie had expected him to do a running play. Something safe. But with only thirty seconds on the clock, 'safe' was no longer an option. She watched as the rookie receiver, Demitri Jameson, went long. He ran down the field almost forty yards and didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. Oliver wound up and then launched the ball toward him. It was a bomber. Elsie clenched her jaw nervously as the football soared through the air.

  It was a hard and deep throw.

  Oh God, she thought. Please, please, don't be intercepted.

  Demitri continued to run deep and then turned right as the ball dropped. Elsie winced, afraid to watch, but just as afraid to look away. Ollie's throw was accurate, just like always, and the football landed directly into his receiver's hands.

  “No freaking way,” Elsie said out loud.

  The crowd echoed her sentiment and began to scream so loud that the ground shook. A lineman for The Rockets dove at Demitri, but he spun, avoiding the tackle. He faced the end-zone and sprinted toward it. Each yard that he gained, the crowd got louder. By the time he was at the ten yard line, he couldn't be caught. He stepped into the end-zone and Elsie felt her knees practically buckle beneath her.

  “He did it,” she said, shaking her head. “Oh my God. He did it!”

  A deafening roar filled the stadium. The Bandit's had won the championship! Elsie watched as the team rushed the field, jumping and celebrating. The entire place buzzed with an energy she hadn't experienced before. It didn't feel real. She had been sure that The Bandits wouldn't have been able to come back from that. But, just like always, Oliver somehow made it happen. She couldn't hold back her emotion and within seconds, Elsie was crying with joy.

  The entire team, from water boys to the other trainers to the entire defensive line, sprinted onto the field in celebration. Oliver saw her immediately and pushed past his teammates in order to get to her. When he did, he lifted her up above his head and spun her in a circle.

  The crowd chanted in the back ground, Ollie Lance! Ollie Lance! Ollie Lance!

  But even though there were forty thousand people calling his name, Oliver didn't seem distracted. His eyes were only on Elsie. She was his focus. He set her back down on the ground and leaned in close.

  “I love you, Doc,” he said. “This all would mean nothing if you weren't here.”

  Immediately after, a group of Bandit's players surrounded Oliver and lifted him from the ground. They held him on their shoulders and paraded him around the field, while Elsie watched with a smile. The celebration went on for a while, but when it finally calmed down, it was time for Oliver to accept the trophy. Elsie pressed to the front of the news cameras that surrounded him in order to get a good view.

  The team's manager was there, holding the trophy and standing next to Oliver. The crowd went quiet as Ollie took the microphone that was handed to him.

  “It's been a long road,” he said, his voice booming over the loud speakers. “This was a huge win for The Bandits and I certainly can't take all of the credit. I couldn't have done this without my amazing teammates, my managers, my fans and of course, my beautiful girlfriend.”

  He looked toward Elsie and the crowd went wild once again.

  “Come on up here, Doc,” he said, motioning her toward him.

  “No, no.” Elsie blushed, as she looked at the ground.

  “Seriously, Doc,” he said. “Someone help her through the crowd.”

  The news people stepped aside and Elsie walked through the aisle they had created. She went up to Oliver, her face burning from embarrassment.

  “This girl right here,” he said, causing the stadium to go quiet again. “She's the reason I'm standing here today. Without her, I would be nobody.”

  Oliver took the trophy from his manager's hands and then held it in the air.

  “Without her, this trophy would not be in possession of The Bandit's,” he shouted, and the stadium roared again.

  Oliver passed the trophy back to his manager and then brought his attention to Elsie.

  “She's the best thing in the world,” he said into the microphone. “And I can't ever let her go. That's why there's something I need to ask her.”

  Ollie dropped to one knee and took Elsie's hand in his. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. There, in front of tens of thousands of people, Oliver asked her the question she'd always wanted to hear.

  “Elsie, will you marry me?”

  She brought her hand over her mouth. The stadium went silent. They were just as curious about her answer as Oliver was. She was so overwhelmed with happiness that she could hardly speak, so she just nodded as tears burst out of her eyes.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked, sounding nervous for the first time in his life.

  “Yes,” she managed to say. “Yes, of course, Ollie. Of course I'll marry you.”

  As soon as she said the words, Oliver stood back up and pulled her in for a kiss. The stadium roared to life once again, but this time, it wasn't in celebration of the big win. It was because they had just gotten to witness one of the most beautiful things in the world. They'd just seen true love.

  Thank you!

  Thank you for reading “Hard & Deep”! Please enjoy one of my other books, “His Every Desire”!

  His Every Desire

  “I'd do anything to please you...”

  Paul Hayes is known as the most powerful billionaire in the board room. He's also known as the most powerful man in the bedroom as well. The tabloids have no lack of descriptions of his forceful and controlling behavior with women.
r />   No woman spends more than one night with him. No woman knows how to keep him.

  Tracy Collins is a down-on-her-luck waitress with big dreams. Dreams only a billionaire could make true, if only she knew what he wanted.

  When a freak accident leaves Tracy with the power to enter a man's dreams, she finds out Mr. Hayes' secret.

  He doesn't have a desire to control...

  He desires to be controlled...

  Tracy had looked up a lot of different knots this week, and she knew the best one to keep him completely fastened to the bed without cutting off circulation to his hands. When she finished, she smiled.

  She slipped her shoes off and turned around. She slowly walked away from him, unbuttoning the dress shirt to her waitress outfit. Underneath it was the black lingerie she had carefully put on underneath. She checked herself one last time, wanting to make sure it looked completely perfect before she turned around for him to see it. It looked good, so she took the shirt off, turning around.

  His eyes dilated as he saw the corset top, and he smiled as she began to undo her pants. She slowly worked them down, showing her black thong, garter belt, and stockings hiding underneath. This set of underwear had maxed out her last credit card with any money left on it, but by this point she was sure she had made the right choice. Her body filled out the lingerie in all the right ways, and she was sure she looked better in it than that skinny blonde bimbo at the restaurant would have.

  She smiled, and did a little turn. "Do you like what you see?" she asked.

  "Yeah! Come on over here and I'll show you," he said. All sounds of apprehension had left, and he was back to being the confident billionaire.

  She smiled, and she knew it'd be her last smile for a few minutes. Again, she took a deep breath, then let it out, knowing there was no going back after this. "Really? Because I don't like what I see."

  He frowned. "Oh, come on, you look great! I hate it when hot girls demean themselves. Now, come on over here."