by Casey Elliot
“Hey, I need to make one more stop. Is it okay if you come with me?” Mae said.
Sarah was perplexed, as she followed Mae inside of the football stadium, wondering what in the world Mae had forgotten here that was so important. She lost Mae again and she had no choice but to wander to the audience stands. As soon as she emerged, the lights lit up and Sarah’s eyes widened, as she saw Jake and Jessie standing in the middle of the football field, gaze locked on her. Jake took a deep breath before he spoke.
“Sarah, I’m sorry Mae duped you, but I asked her to do this for me,” Jake said, and Sarah blinked, waiting for him to continue. “I know I messed up by you, and I’m really sorry, but I have never been able to get you out of my head since then and I want you to know that if I could do that night all over again,” Jake paused, making Sarah’s brows furrow, as she waited for his answer.
“I wouldn’t have left you. I would’ve stayed and asked how you were. I would’ve told you how beautiful you are, and that I really do remember what happened between us,” he said, making Sarah gasp at his admission. “But, I’m here now and I want to be able to do all of those things that I didn’t get to do, and then some. I want to be with you every single day, Sarah; you and Jessie and me. I will make up for every moment I wasn’t there and keep proving myself to you for as long as it takes because I love you, Sarah. I love you and our kid, and I’m never going to let you guys go again,” he said.
He bent one knee and pulled out the velvet box he had in his pocket before looking back up in the stands; his eyes widening as he saw Sarah was gone. He stood up and turned around slowly in his spot; trying to find her until he felt someone tackle him. He looked down in surprise, finding Sarah sobbing in his arms, as she clutched his shirt.
“I thought you’d never say that,” Sarah whispered, and Jake tilted her chin up to look at her tear-stained eyes.
“No worries, baby. I’m going to be telling you that every single day until you believe it, but only if you say so,” Jake said.
Sarah smiled; calling her daughter over to hug them, as she kissed Jake softly in his mouth.
“Okay,” Sarah murmured against his lips. Jake smiled and kissed her deeply, and once again, Sarah’s head was filled with vibrant colors that were similar to the sights whenever she played, only this time, the music that produced them came from her heart, beating erratically and in concert with his.
Finally, her feelings had reached him.
The End
Bonus – Big Hit - Sports Romance
Chapter One
Chloe’s head is hurting like hell.
She stayed up all night working on her English essay and when she finally went to bed, she started hearing noises coming from her roommate’s room – the sound akin to cats having sex on the roof. It kept her awake until a couple of hours ago when it quieted down, and her system shut down by itself. Then, her stupid alarm decided to be prompt and wake her up for her first class of the day.
She was pretty sure that Mondays were snuck in by Satan when God was making the days of the week. It was just that horrible.
She sluggishly got up from her bed, scratching her arm as she walked toward the bathroom. She knew her roommate wouldn’t be waking for a couple of hours, as was her usual routine when she came from a party, and Chloe was going to take advantage of that. Her roommate was a bathroom hog, taking so long doing God knows what that by the time she comes out, Chloe’s early for her second class.
Now, Chloe wouldn’t have been as annoyed by this if she and her roommate actually got along, but they couldn’t have been more different than night and day.
Vanessa Delavigne was considered the queen in the social hierarchy in college – the prettiest and most popular girl in school who had a bunch of credits she’s bound to list on her yearbook: Head cheerleader, Student Body President, and President of Kappa Phi Delta, a sorority made up of the daughters of the rich, the famous, and the influential.
She’s also as dumb as a post, and could only access the hidden well of knowledge buried within her body when her wicked personality comes out to play, one that would have Maleficent running for the hills. At least, that was Chloe’s opinion.
Chloe, on the other hand, had a certain reputation that did not align with Vanessa’s. Chloe was known as ‘the ghost that roamed the halls,’ because she was always alone and silent. She minded her own business and didn’t socialize; not because she didn’t want to, but because nobody wanted to hang out with a geek. She spent her days at home or at the library reading or studying so she could maintain her stellar grades and academic scholarship.
She didn’t have time to date or fool around with the men at their college either, as her parents told her they would only prove to be a distraction to becoming number one. So, even if a tiny part of her was envious of Vanessa for being able to choose from a litter of suitors gunning for her, Chloe steeled herself to focus on graduating and getting her parents off her back.
Chloe put her hand on the knob of the bathroom door, but it opened so suddenly that her eyes widened as she fell forward, two arms shooting out from inside to catch her. Shocked as she bit her lip to keep herself from screaming, Chloe slowly raised her head, her violet eyes staring right into the chocolate brown orbs of Vanessa’s counterpart, Evan Cross, star quarterback and captain of the football team. Evan Cross, who was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
Chloe blinked. Evan blinked back, equally surprised, but not making any move to let go of her.
“What are you doing here?” Chloe whispered swiftly, and Evan raised his eyebrows.
“I used your shower,” he replied.
“Don’t you have a shower in your room?”
“It’s in the other building,” he said casually.
“Which you should’ve been in!” she shrieked. Her eyes went down to the towel wrapped around his waist and her cheeks flamed red, as she realized who it belonged to.
“That is MY towel!” she shouted.
Evan looked down at his waist and shrugged, untucking the towel from his waist. Chloe felt her cheeks heat up. She could do nothing but stare as Evan removed the towel from his waist and held it out to her, totally unabashed by his apparent nakedness. Chloe could not take her eyes off of his rather enormous package, and gulped.
Evan leaned his shoulder on the side of the door, crossing his arms and smirking as he looked at how flustered she was.
“You’re in my biochemistry class, right?” he asked, tilting his head. Chloe looked up at him, her mouth agape at how he seemed to want to engage her in a normal conversation while he stood there in his birthday suit. She opened her mouth to respond when they heard someone coming toward them.
“What is going on here?” a voice grumbled.
Evan and Chloe turned to look at Vanessa who was wearing a large t-shirt that Chloe immediately figured out belonged to the guy who was still holding her upright, and put two and two together. Chloe grimaced and pushed herself away from Evan who shrugged off her disgust.
“Hey, baby,” Vanessa cooed, pushing Chloe out of her way and into the wall before wrapping her arms around Evan’s neck and giving him a sloppy kiss, the noises they emitted making Chloe want to hurl.
“Can you please continue this foreplay in your room? You’re blocking the way,” Chloe said, annoyed by this semi-pornographic show she was being forced to watch.
Vanessa unlatched her lips from Evan, raising one eyebrow at Chloe and giving her a cocky stare.
“You’re just jealous because you know you’d never be able to be me,” Vanessa said.
“Yeah, if I ever want to have chlamydia or another type of STD, I’ll let you know how that goes,” Chloe retorted. She elbowed Evan out of the way and locked the door, breathing heavily and putting her forehead against it.
She didn’t have to admit to Vanessa for her to know that her snide comment actually stung her a little. But, that didn’t give her a license to step all over her like that.
Chloe shook her head. She didn’t have time to think about Vanessa’s comment regarding her lack of a love life right now. She had a class to go to, and she could afford another day of being alone.
Chapter Two
Chloe rearranged her materials for their first lab work for what she believed was the fifteenth time that day. She couldn’t help herself; she knew that her output on this subject was going to take the brunt of her scholastic performance for the year and she could not fail. She had been praying every night that the professor wouldn’t set her up with a stupid partner, and she hoped her prayers would be answered.
The professor came in and announced, as Chloe expected, that they would be working in pairs. She did not anticipate, however, that her professor would have them work with their seatmates. She looked happily at the empty chair beside her.
If she didn’t have a seatmate, she could just tell the professor and ask for permission to work alone! She daydreamed about the prospect of working alone as she sat staring at the clock, waiting impatiently for the bell to ring and signaling the start of class.
She was jolted out of her thoughts when the door banged open and Evan strolled in a few seconds before the bell rang. His eyes searched the room for an empty seat, smirking as he saw most of the girls in the class trying to push away their seatmates to make room for him. He caught sight of the empty seat beside Chloe and made a beeline for it, his smirk turning into a full-blown grin as Chloe shook her head, her eyes wide with horror.
“Hello, Chloe,” he said, feigning politeness as the bell rang.
“Okay, class. Look toward your seatmate and say hello to your lab partner for the rest of the year,” their professor said.
“NO!” Chloe couldn’t help but yell. The room went quiet as they looked at each other strangely, Evan sporting a surprised look on his face at her outburst.
“Is there something wrong, Ms. Warren?” the professor asked, and Chloe closed her eyes and swallowed her protest.
“No, sir,” she answered, her teeth clenched.
Maybe he’s got a good head on his shoulders; being a jock doesn’t necessarily equate to being stupid, after all. I shouldn’t make any snap judgments, Chloe thought, giving herself a mental pep-talk of sorts.
“Okay, let’s start us off with a simple question,” their professor said, and Chloe sat up straight in rapt attention, much to Evan’s amusement. The professor noticed that Evan was distracted by his seatmate and called, “Mr. Cross, what is the most basic unit in a body of a living organism?”
This is easy. He should get this one right; it’s practically elementary level science, Chloe thought, anticipating Evan’s answer.
Her heart plummeted when he shrugged and said, “An organ?”
Their professor shook his head as he smiled mirthlessly. “I guess science doesn’t come as naturally to you as football does, huh?” He turned around and went right back to writing on the board.
Chloe closed her eyes and placed her head on top of her hands on the desk, groaning silently.
“I’m doomed,” she grumbled to herself.
“Are you saying something?” Evan asked, leaning closer to her. She turned her head and glared at him.
He is as dumb as a rock! He’s going to mess everything up for me! Chloe mentally cried.
She mourned over her predicament, her mind running on auto pilot and paying the barest bit of attention to the lesson until the bell rang. She gathered her stuff quickly and was about to leave when Evan called after her.
“I’m not going to ruin things for you, you know,” he said.
Chloe turned around and looked at him, not even concealing her annoyance.
“You better not,” she said, before turning around and walking away, leaving Evan staring after her.
Chloe sighed as she snuggled up to her favorite book and wiggled comfortably on the couch. This was one of the moments she treasured the most – alone inside her room and reading in peace. Vanessa was out doing whatever she did on the weekend, so Chloe had their room all to herself.
Her happiness was short-lived, however, when the door suddenly opened. Vanessa and Evan walked in, busy making out and blindly making their way to the couch. Chloe barely managed to remove her legs from the other side of the couch before the couple crashed into it, their hands still groping each other, and their lips making smacking and slurping noises so that Chloe could not help but grimace in disgust.
Chloe shook her head and stood up. Her plan to have a relaxing evening was ruined, so she might as well head over to someplace else to study. She went into her room and took her backpack with her and made her way to the door. Evan managed to pull his mouth away from Vanessa and saw Chloe about to leave.
“Hey, do you want to come with us? We’re going to one of the frat parties over at Greek Row later,” he asked. Vanessa rolled her eyes and huffed while Chloe scoffed.
“No, Evan. I’m going to do something productive with my life and go to the library instead of a party,” she said. Evan furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in confusion. “You don’t know what a library is?” Evan didn’t answer and just continued to stare at her. “The place with all the—? You’re an idiot. Google it or something,” Chloe rolled her eyes and left. Vanessa shrugged and went on to plant kisses on Evan’s neck as he continued to look troubled.
“You know, she always does that,” Evan remarked.
“Who?” Vanessa asked, not caring.
Evan sighed. “Never mind.”
Chapter Three
It was already late in the evening when Chloe got back to the dorm, which was really quiet she realized, thankfully. She had completely forgotten that it was sorority rush week, and the library was packed with rushers and students hiding out. The librarians were particularly lax in their duties during this time since they experienced very little excitement with their jobs, and this was one of the only times they saw something interesting.
Resigned that she’d never be able to get the rest and relaxation she wanted, she went and set up her math textbook and papers on the living room table and started doing her homework. She was already on her fifth problem when the door opened and Evan walked in, visibly upset.
“Have you seen Vanessa?” he asked.
Chloe shook her head. “I thought she was with you. You said something about a party earlier, remember?” she replied.
Evan groaned and sat on the couch next to her, his jaw locked and tense. Chloe didn’t say anything and just waited for him to do something – anything really – to give her a clue as to what was happening to him. She also took the time to look at Evan closely, her eyes marveling at his handsome face, angular jaw, and chocolate brown eyes that said everything he was feeling. His shoulders were broad and his arms were huge, the muscles still showing definition even when he was wearing his varsity jacket, which was bulky enough.
He really is such a handsome man, Chloe grudgingly admitted to herself. If only he wasn’t so stupid.
“Vanessa’s getting on my nerves,” Evan spoke, making Chloe look at him in surprise. “She’s so dramatic about everything, always bossing me around, wanting me to go to every single party with her and show her off to my bros. It’s like she wants me to treat her like some prize I should be grateful for winning. I mean, have you ever felt that she’s... I don’t know, annoying?” he asked, turning his head to look at her.
Chloe raised her eyebrows and pointed at herself with her pencil, looking at him like she’s saying, ‘Hello, have you met me?!’ Evan laughed, shaking his head, and Chloe bowed her head a little, a small smile forming on her lips, pleased that she got him to laugh.
“Aw man. Why couldn’t I have fallen for simple girls?” he asked, and Chloe snorted.
“Simple girls? Really? Do you even know what they are?” she asked.
“Sure I do,” he answered confidently. “Like red-headed, wears glasses, likes to read, and just cares about her studies? Doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty easy on the eyes, too,” he a
nswered, looking at her cheekily. Chloe blushed as she realized he had just described her and proceeded to hit him with her notebook, making him block her assault with his arm as he laughed.
Afterward, Evan said he was going to try and sleep a little and Chloe shrugged before continuing her homework. She was struggling over the seventh problem, and she was getting really frustrated over it. She felt something hit the side of her head and she looked down to see it was a paper plane. She glared at him and she picked up the plane angrily.
“You’ve overstayed your welcome. Now get out!” she yelled.
Evan pouted, but he stood up and did as he was told. Chloe was still glaring at the door before she unfolded the paper plane, intent on using it as a scratch paper. She frowned as she noticed something was written on it.
“What?” she asked aloud. It was the math problem she was working on. She read and reread the solution he had written, and she was stumped because he had gotten the answer right.
He had solved it for her.
The next day at lab, Chloe became antsy as she waited for Evan to arrive. She had been thinking about him all night because of what happened. She had misjudged him, thinking he was just another dumb jock, but he actually has a good head on his shoulders. She didn’t understand why he refuses to apply himself when he was capable of doing so much more than just play football. Why would he want to feign ignorance when, clearly, he could be brilliant academically?
She stopped her train of thought, realizing that she was becoming too engrossed with Evan Cross. She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. This was not and would not be a precursor to an attraction or even something deeper than that; she could not allow herself.
Evan arrived in the nick of time and took his seat beside Chloe, giving her a smile. She smiled back before she realized it. She quickly dropped it and looked at him seriously.