All In: Playing to Win (Gambling With Love Book 5)

by Hart, Lane

  "You're not making it easy to leave," I tell her and she unfortunately pulls away to sit back down on the mattress. She’s of course still naked, my cock can’t help but notice.

  "Now look what you did," I tell her, indicating the tenting of my black nylon pants.

  "Sorry," she says, not looking the least bit remorseful, and thankfully still only a tiny bit self-conscious.

  I lean down for a quick kiss then force myself to stand up and back away from the bed.

  "Stay as long as you need this morning, and I'll see you tonight?" I ask.

  "Sure."

  "Meet me at seven-thirty."

  "Where?" she asks with a tilt of her head, her blonde hair messy and sexy from last night.

  "You better bring your camera because you're going to witness a historic, once in a lifetime event. We're going to the Rinky Dink."

  Watching her fall back on the pillows with a giggling fit is well worth the embarrassment I’m certain this decision will cost me in a few hours.

  ...

  Natalie

  The morning of the photoshoot I arrive at my friend Janet's studio early to help get everything set up. I've always loved working with her, watching her capture moments and turn them into beautiful photos.

  I smile, thinking about some of the moments I captured with my new camera last night. The hilarious ones of Zack wearing brown rental roller skates, and then a few more intimate moments later with him in his bed wearing nothing at all.

  Zack's the first Wildcats player up for the calendar today, and with a quick kiss in greeting he pulls off his shirt and applies the pink ribbon temporary tattoo over his heart. Each player today will be asked to select where to put the ribbon on their amazing bodies. I understood and appreciated the sweet significance of Zack's placement.

  A few shots later of him holding a football while wearing nothing but his jeans with the top of his white boxers showing and he's done. I'm fanning myself from the way my body heats up at seeing him. How is it possible that I'm the one that gets to be intimate with this amazing man? Just this morning we'd gone a round, and we've been spending every night with each other, but I can't seem to get enough of him.

  "You're setting the bar high," I tell him, and he smiles down at me before giving me a quick kiss.

  "I'm not real happy about you seeing a bunch of my teammates half-naked. Don't let any of them talk you into going out with them."

  "I'd be a fool," I tell him the same thing he recently told me, and then he kisses me goodbye when he has to leave to meet his trainer.

  The photoshoot goes smoothly throughout the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. If it wasn't for all the bare chested men Janet and I would've turned the air conditioning on because it was getting so hot in here.

  "How many more?" Janet asks, exasperatedly. Not that she was complaining, but the parade of sexy men didn't seem to have an end in sight.

  I glance down to the list of names at my clipboard. "Two more and we're done."

  "Awesome. Thanks again for the referral. This has been so fun, and the publicity will be great!"

  "No, thank you for helping out. I can't wait to see the final product."

  Although the men that came in after Zack were fine, they were nowhere near his ballpark of hotness. He will probably make the front cover, and he should since he's the one we have to thank for getting his team members involved in this project.

  "Hi, ladies," a tall, dark and handsome man says when he swaggers through the front door. Jake Young, the Wildcats' best wide receiver. I remember all too well his flirting from the autograph signing, too.

  "Hey, Mr. Young. Thanks for agreeing to help out," I tell him.

  His dark eyes give me an appraising look, and after a few seconds it's even uncomfortable. "Damn. Zack's lucky to have you. I got stuck with a frigid snob."

  That's not a very nice thing to say about someone, especially a significant other.

  "Give me a few minutes to switch out the memory cards and we'll be ready," Janet tells us before she disappears into the supply room of her studio.

  Jake takes a few more steps toward me, starting to invade my personal space. Then he reaches behind his head and pulls his shirt off. Alrighty then. He has a deep tan and is nicely cut but still not in the same league with Zack.

  "So, how do you want me?" he asks, the statement loaded with innuendo. I can see why he and Zack are best friends.

  My cheeks heat as I take a step back from him. "We'll start with a few standing shots as soon as Janet gets back," I tell him, gesturing to the lighted area we'd set up for the shoot.

  He raises his chin in a sort of a nod. "It's Natalie, right?"

  "Yep."

  "I can't believe Zack's kept you all to himself for this long." He licks his bottom lip while his eyes rake over me from head to toe yet again. "I've been trying to convince him to share you."

  I'm sure my eyebrows touch the sky. "S-share me?"

  "Yeah, you know, we get off on watching each other fuck the other's girl. But when it's a really fine piece of ass we hit it at the same time."

  Wow. That was TMI and...shocking.

  I have to clear my throat. "Really?" I ask, looking toward the back for Janet.

  "Yeah." He lets out a deep chuckle, sticking his thumbs down the front of his low riding pants. The move hitches them down even lower until the treasure trail hits the whole forest. “But Zack probably told you all about that when you agreed to help him, since that's how we got into this whole mess in the first place."

  I nod, having no idea what he's talking about.

  "Zack doesn’t want to share but he sure as hell couldn't wait to fuck my fake girlfriend when he came over the other night. He had her on her back in less than five minutes. She's hot, but she's such a bitch," he says, shaking his head. "At least it'll be all over in a few weeks."

  "Who's...who's your fake girlfriend?" I ask with a shaky voice. Zack slept with her? Recently? He told me I was the only woman he's been with.

  "Addison James. Fucking Jerry and Satan. Satan's the nickname of our attorney that's watching us like a hawk. But hell, you do what you've got to do to keep your job," he says with a shrug. "I still can't believe how many times Zack's gotten you two in the press. I bet Jerry shit himself after all the good publicity from Sunday's halftime. Did Zack know about the whole breast cancer survivor thing before then? Is that why he asked you to do this for him?"

  I just shake my head since I'm too sick to respond. He can't be implying what I think he is. But then I remember Zack telling me that on the day we met he and Jake had been in hot water with the team’s owner and almost lost their contracts. And then he’d asked me out a few hours later.

  Oh God. I’m Zack’s fake girlfriend to make the paparazzi believe he’s settled down. He hasn’t been seen going out with other women because he can’t!

  "Well, I have to say, you two look genuine, and I don't think anyone has figured it out. How much did he pay you? Maybe I'm being too stingy with Addy. I thought a hundred grand for four or five weeks was generous, but the bitch still won't fuck me. Zack barely looked at her and she started sucking his cock."

  "Let me go check with Janet and see if she's ready," I say, walking away before the tears fall down my cheeks.

  …

  Zack

  I try calling Natalie again with no answer. I haven't talked to her since yesterday morning at the photoshoot. Before last night we'd spent the last four nights with each other. I missed waking up with her this morning. My pillow still smelled like cupcakes, which made me think of her all night long. Several times I started to get up and just go to her place, but I figured she'd be asleep. I thought she might be staying away from my place to finally get some rest since she hasn’t been getting much around me.

  Now, twenty-four hours since I last saw her or heard from her I’m getting worried. I'm swinging by her place and checking on her since she didn’t show up to work today either. It's Friday, and her Carolina blue car
is parked in the apartment lot, so I know she's home. Still doesn't explain why she wouldn't answer the phone or text me back. The girls in her office didn't know why she was out of work, either. They said she'd just sent them all an email saying she was taking the day off. They assumed she was spending the day with me.

  Oh no, what if she's sick and didn't want us all to worry. The thought instantly makes me panic, thinking the worst.

  I knock on her door, and stagger back a step when she opens it. Her eyes are red-rimmed and narrowed, her lips pursed into a tight line. I'm relieved that she doesn't look sick, but she is seriously pissed off and I have no idea why.

  "What the fuck do you want?" she asks, and I blink at her use of the f-word. I've hardly ever heard it leave her lips.

  "What's wrong? I've been calling you-"

  "I don’t see any cameras," she interrupts and sticks her head out the door to glance around. "So why are you here?"

  "What? Because I want to see you. I missed you last night. Why haven't you answered your phone?"

  "I know, Zack, so you can stop pretending now."

  "Pretending? Natalie, what's going on?"

  It can't be about…

  "You deserve an Oscar for your performance because even I fell for it. I really did," she says, wiping a tear from under her eye. I actually hear the crack of my heart when it breaks right down the center. "But I'm done being your fake girlfriend."

  Oh no. "Natalie, let me explain-"

  "I've heard enough of your bullshit to last a lifetime."

  "Please, Natalie. What we had was real. Is real. Yes, us being together helped me keep my contract, but I've wanted you since sophomore year! If I had to be with someone I wanted it to be you and only you!"

  She slams the door in my face without another word and I hear the deadbolt turn.

  I stand there staring at her wooden door trying to find the answer of how everything got so screwed up. How? How did she find out? She hasn't talked to my manager or agent. The two of them and my coach were the only ones that knew. Oh and Jake's people.

  Fuck!

  I jog down the steps and to my car with purpose. That son of a bitch! Jake would've seen Natalie at the photoshoot, and he must’ve ran his fucking mouth.

  I sped to his house and am out of the car, banging on his front door a few minutes later, growing angrier by the second.

  "Yo, Zack-"

  "What the fuck did you say to her?" I ask him when I grab his shirt with both fists and slam his back against the foyer wall.

  "What's your fucking problem?" he asks, trying to shove me backwards, but I'm bigger and so damn furious that I don't budge an inch.

  "What did you say to Natalie?" I snarl, and recognition lights his eyes before he smirks.

  "She tell you about me asking to fuck her? Is that why you're pissed? You deserve it you asshole!"

  "I can't believe you! Why would you do that?"

  "Why did you fuck Addison?" he snaps.

  "I didn't! What does it matter about her anyway? I thought you hated each other."

  "So you didn't fuck her that night you ate her out?" he asks with a furrowed brow.

  "No. I couldn't. I was too fucked up over Natalie," I admit.

  "Hold up. You actually care about her or some shit? Well damn, why didn't you just say so?" he asks, like this is all my fault. Well, hell, I guess it is.

  "What else did you say to her?" I ask.

  "You fucking Addison may have come up. The whole fake girlfriend thing, too. She does know all about that, right?"

  "Goddamn it!" I yell and let him go before I choke him to death with my bare hands. This isn't his fault. I should've told her. God knows I've had plenty of opportunities.

  "Apparently not," he mutters, straightening his shirt

  "No, she didn't know. I care about her. Fuck, I love her and now she's never going to forgive me for what I've done to her."

  Every second I've spent with her she'll see as a lie, an act.

  "Why didn't you tell her? How'd you get her to agree to it this long?" he asks.

  "I asked her out, or more like bribed her to go out with me, in exchange for the calendar. I didn’t know I was going to end up falling for her."

  "I don't know what to tell you, bro. Sounds like you're shit out of luck

  Jake’s worthless with this sort of thing. I needed a woman to help me figure out how to undo this mess. Not a gold-digging whore but a decent, regular woman.

  I didn't deserve her help but that doesn't stop me from pulling up to her townhouse a few hours later. I knock on the door, fully expecting Lacy to tell me to get lost, but I was desperate enough to try.

  Her new man opens the door, which doesn't surprise me. I knew they lived together. It should bother me that we were together for an entire year and she wouldn't move in with me, but it doesn't.

  Her new guy looks the same, brown hair, green eyes covered with glasses. Small. His eyebrows shoot up when he realizes it's me.

  "Hey, is Lacy here? Sorry to just drop by."

  "Lacy?" he calls out while still facing me.

  "Yeah?" she answers from within the house.

  "There's an NFL quarterback here to see you." The guy doesn't seem all that upset to see me. His expression is more amused than anything else.

  "Zack?" Lacy calls out a second before she appears. Her blonde hair is up in a messy bun, navy blue eyes wide in surprise, wearing a yellow cotton tee over her small baby bump and shorts. She looks beautiful as always, but she's never made my heart race or my gut clench like another blonde.

  Actually, the two women look a lot alike, except...Lacy's eyes are blue and Natalie's are jade. Is that why I was attracted to Natalie after Lacy ended things? No. Natalie came before Lacy. Only briefly, but subconsciously maybe the similarities are why I'd wanted Lacy.

  "What are you doing here?" Lacy asks, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

  "I've fucked up and I don’t know what to do. I need your help, even though I don't deserve it for all the shit I've done."

  Her arms drop back to her sides and she looks at her new guy. He shrugs as if answering her unspoken question.

  "Come on in, but Will's staying. Whatever you say you'll have to say it in front of him."

  I nod my agreement and follow her through the foyer to the living room.

  "How's everything?" I ask. "You know, um, with the baby and all?"

  "Good. The baby is healthy. I'm right around twenty-two weeks now. We've decided not to find out the gender, but to ah, let it be a surprise."

  Yeah, like the paternity. I really hope we don't all end up on Maury Povich.

  "So what's up?" Lacy asks, taking a seat on the cream sofa with Will sitting down beside her. I lower myself into the leather chair across from them. Right where I'd been sitting the day I found out I might be a father. Shit, one problem at a time.

  "I…God I'm an asshole." I scrub my hands over my face trying to figure out where to begin.

  "Tell me something I don't know," Lacy responds dryly. Fair enough.

  "All right, I guess I should start at the beginning. You know I got into some trouble a few months ago because of my…extracurricular activities…" "

  "Fucking every female you meet, and in particular the sluts on the plane?"

  "They've since made a porno about you with that exact title," her boyfriend intercedes excitedly. "One of the lines they actually use is, 'I have had it with these motherfucking sluts on this motherfucking plane!'"

  "I'm not going to even ask how you know that." Lacy smiles and rolls her eyes at her significant other. "Continue," she instructs me.

  "Well, yeah, pretty much all the sluts in the press landed me in hot water. And then I got into a big mess with a gold-digging whore. The team agreed to bail me out and keep it buried, but the owner was pissed and ready to can me. He threatened to share my dirty laundry with the league if I got out of line again, to make sure no other team would even try to pick me up. He said that if I want
ed to stay on his team I had to find a girlfriend. A real woman who was good and decent, not slutty like the women I'd been seen out in public with. I had less than a week to get her in front of the media, and the deadline was that Sunday's game."

  I shake my head and take a deep breath before going on. "I met Natalie just a few hours later. She's…amazing. She works for the breast cancer foundation and was at the stadium getting merchandise signed for their fundraiser auction. I asked her out and she turned me down."

  "I like her already," Lacy teases with a smile.

  "Yeah, well, I was persistent. I offered her a calendar of half-naked football players to raise money for her organization if she'd go out with me a few times. So she agreed of course to help out her cause. After spending some time with her I realized she was a cheerleader at Carolina while I was there. We even kissed at the end of one of the games after I knocked her down. But I was an idiot and never asked her out. I couldn't believe my luck. Suddenly there she was, back in my life, and I fell for her. Hard. I didn't know when we started dating that she'd survived breast cancer a few years ago. When I found out it scared the shit out of me."

  "You actually care about her," Lacy stats the obvious.

  "Yeah, I do."

  "And you didn't tell her the truth? About the owner's requirement and that you were using her to keep your job?" Lacy asks.

  I shake my head. "She found out from Jake, who's in the same boat. He was trying to get back at me for screwing around with his girl. Natalie's never going to forgive me."

  "Well, not only did you use her, but you used her life threatening illness to spin some good PR for yourself," she correctly observes.

  "I know that's how it looks to her, and sounds when I explain it to you, but that's not what I was doing. I didn't even know about what she'd been through. But the damage is done and I don't know how to fix it."

  Lacy sighs and lean back against the couch with a hand resting naturally on the top of her baby bump. "Do you love her?"

  "Yes."

  "More than football?" she asks skeptically with a raised eyebrow.

  "What the hell? Of course I love her more than a fucking sport. Do you love your job more than him?" I ask incredulously, waving a hand at the man beside her.