by Eva Luxe
Brad
Present Day
I stepped off the plane at Denver International Airport and walked to the baggage claim carousel. Landing in Denver was different when I was on my way home. When I was with the team, traveling to whichever state we were going to play next, the airports were like hotels; nothing like home. This time, DIA was my last stop before Laramie. The last stop before I saw my mom.
My phone rang, and I smiled when my mom’s name flashed on the screen.
“The flight was perfectly on time, but you knew that,” I said with a grin after answering.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on the website,” my mom admitted.
I chuckled. “Baggage claim, rental car, and a two hour drive, and I’m home. Not long now. I’ll call you as soon as I leave.”
“Be safe. God knows those cars you rent are nothing but a temptation.”
I laughed. “See you soon, Mom. Love you.”
I hung up. She was right. The cars I rented were a temptation to speed and go mad. But I had the money, and I had the taste, so there was no reason not to get the best of the best. And I wanted something spectacular.
My bag was one of the first out on the carousel, and I picked it up. It was a nice change to travel without my football gear. I had a whole month off where I didn’t need to worry about anything. Football was on hold, and I could relax.
After landing a football scholarship at Nova Southeastern University in Florida, my whole life had changed. Football had always been my dream, but being a professional player for the Florida Sharks had given me a name that the world knew now.
I was Bradley Williams, tight end for the Sharks, and my future was bright. At least, that was what all the papers said about me. And I had learned a long time ago that the papers didn’t lie. They twisted the truth sometimes, they left out facts, but they didn’t lie.
So, it had to be true; I was a star.
The last six years had gone by in a blur, and I had seen so much of the country that I had never seen before. My life in Laramie before I had become “someone” was inconsequential now, nothing more than the route I had taken to get where I was now.
The only reason I went back to Laramie at all was to see my mom. She was my number one fan. She supported me no matter what, believing in me when no one else did, not even me. She had been my rock and my strength, and I was looking forward to seeing her again. She was the family I went home to at the end of the season.
I found the rental car offices. The agent that I had spoken to over the phone was star struck, blubbering over me. He was tall and reedy, and after he handed me my keys, he cleared his throat.
“Can I bother you for an autograph? I’m not even going to lie and say it’s for my kid. I’m such a fan.”
I didn’t roll my eyes or groan. I wasn’t rude. I smiled politely and nodded because to me it was a scribble, but I could make his day. He produced a photo of me where I had caught a high ball against the Jets, the first time the world had noticed me, and I wrote my name with black marker in the corner.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Williams,” the agent said when I handed the photo back to him.
“Brad is fine.”
He beamed. I knew that to fans I was a big fucking deal, but to myself, I was still Brad Williams from Laramie, Wyoming. Even though I had to admit it felt good to be a star.
I picked up my bag, and walked to the rental car. It was an Audi R8, and I whistled through my teeth. It was almost as fantastic as the latest Aston Martin I had just bought myself.
“Oh, yeah,” I said, easing into the leather seats. “This is what I’m talking about.”
This was when it was fucking great to be a star.
Chapter 4
Brad
I drove out of the rental car lot and into the city, taking I-25 toward Wyoming. It was cooling down. August was one of those months where it was not too hot and not too cold, with the summer receding and winter announcing itself and everything hanging in the balance.
The road was smooth, the air was clear, and I arrived at my mom’s place right on time. She came out, her arms wide, a smile on her face.
“I knew you would get a death trap,” she said after hugging me, her eyes taking in the car.
I laughed. “You’re always teasing me about my cars.”
She shrugged. “You’re the only boy I have. I need to keep you close.”
I hugged her again. “It’s good to be home,” I said.
I looked at the house I’d grown up in. It was exactly the same, from the two rocking chairs on the porch to the mud splatters along the bottom of the walls that happened every time it rained.
We walked into the house, and I put my bags in my old room before I joined my mom in the kitchen.
“Tell me what I’ve missed,” my mom said. She started on spaghetti bolognaise, my all time favorite if it was my mother’s. “When are you going to bring a girl home?”
“When I find one, Mom,” I said. “But dating isn’t my priority.”
My mom sighed. “Yeah, you always say that. But I don’t believe that you don’t have a string of girls following you around. You’re handsome, just like your dad. And you’re not going to be young forever, you know?”
I groaned. We had this conversation every time I visited.
“Mom, I’m only twenty-five, and I’m at the peak of my career. I can’t play ball forever. Once I retire, I can start thinking about a family.”
“But I want grandchildren,” my mom said.
We laughed together. I couldn’t even think of something like that now. My football career had an expiration date; love didn’t. Seeing that I hadn’t found it yet, anyway.
Not since Carly.
The thought of her brought a pang of longing and guilt that I shoved away. I was here to enjoy myself, not to visit ghosts from the past. I hadn’t seen her since that day, and odds were that she’d moved on long ago. She was the kind of woman any guy would be happy to have, so I was sure she’d found someone else by now.
“I know this is important to you,” my mom said, pulling me back to the present. “But you know I’m not going to stop nagging.”
“I know, Mom,” I said.
I knew she meant well and just wanted me to be happy. What she didn’t understand was that playing ball made me happy. Nothing since Carly had made me so happy so I didn’t see the need to chase tail or date women when I could never get my mind off the one I lost my virginity to and had hoped to do a lot more than that with.
I had always figured that when the time was right, I would be able to put Carly in my rearview mirror and move on. It just so far turned out that time took a lot longer to be right than I had anticipated.
We spoke about a bunch of things on our drive. Mom told me about her life here, gossiping about her friends and the people she saw every day, telling me about a world I wasn’t a part of anymore. I settled into that comfort that comes with being back at home, listening to the sound of my mom’s voice, the sound that had lulled me to sleep when I was a kid.
We ate dinner together, and I helped her clean up. When we were done, the sun was sinking below the horizon.
“Let’s sit outside,” my mom said, and we made coffee and sat in the rockers on the porch. The sky was colored in streaks of orange and purple, the last frantic attempt of a drowning sun to survive. It was beautiful, and I took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the fall breeze that hung in the air.
The neighbor’s front door banged open, and a man stomped out that wasn’t Jeremy Brandt, the man who had lived next door all my life. This man had a full head of gray hair and an uptight attitude, despite his age. And he looked achingly familiar.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
My mom was silent. I glanced at her. She looked at her hands, picking at a nail. I watched the old man as he walked to the garden shed. His walk and his stance and his attitude nagged at my subconscious. A moment later, it hit me.
“Is that Mr. Donovan?” I asked, looking at my
mom.
She looked at me, her lips pursed together, and nodded.
“He lives next door now?” I asked.
As she nodded again, I shook my head. Fuckin’ A, man. The coincidence was ridiculous. That Carly’s tyrannical dad would end up right next door to my mom’s house seemed like a cruel joke.
Yet there he was, taunting me with his very presence, just like he had haunted my past for so long.
To continue reading Brad and Carly’s story Click Here!
I’m back in town and I want back in her.
I get what I want. Money, fame, status.
Except for the one thing I had to give up: Carly.
We were each other’s first kiss, first f*ck, first love.
Until her strict dad found out and told me not to come around anymore.
But I could never forget her curvy body and feisty attitude.
She claims to have moved on, but I think she’s just putting up a good front.
Now I’m back in our hometown-right next door to her.
If she thought always having to see me on TV was bad,
I can tell that seeing me through the backyard fence is driving her crazy.
From the way her eyes light up when she looks at me,
I know her panties are soaking wet for me.
I just have to get back in them.
She says I stole her innocence and she won’t let me steal her heart.
F*ck that. I take what I want and I want my first love back.
Don’t Come Around Here is a full length standalone romance featuring a dominant, alpha male athlete and the curvy, feisty woman he falls for. It has no cheating and no cliffhangers, but a very happy ever after and plenty of steam.
To continue reading Brad and Carly’s story Click Here!
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