by London Casey
Roman was back on the hood of the car, sipping whiskey.
“I take it we’re spending the night?” I asked.
He threw the bottle back and smacked his lips together. “I’m pretty good at driving drunk, but not perfect at it. You’re the one who’s supposed to keep me out of trouble. Want to ask that again?”
I looked around. “This is nice out here.”
“Yeah. Don’t let looks fool you, sweetie.”
I got on the hood next to him. “Just so you know, Roman, if you ever want to talk to me… I mean, I’m not a reporter. I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
“You’re on my payroll,” he said.
“Then take me off.”
Roman looked at me. “Trust me, Willow, I’m not worth it. Do your job. I’ll stay out of trouble, for you. Okay? Let me get to training camp and then you’ll get your payday. I’ll make sure it’s worth it.”
“It is already.”
“I’ll add more.”
“No, Roman.”
“What I’m saying is that you need to forget about all of this.”
I felt my face starting to blush. “Forget… what we just did?”
“That part you’ll never forget. I’m talking about this. This town. That house. My brothers. You forget it all.”
I took a chance right there and reached for Roman’s hand. My fingers were so small compared to his. He was a huge beast and part of me still couldn’t believe that he had been inside me. Something told me I was going to feel Roman tomorrow. I was going to hurt.
“I don’t want to forget,” I said. “If all of this means something…”
Roman pulled his hand away and jumped from the hood of the car.
My hand touched the hood and felt suddenly cold. A little bit of hurt touched my heart. But what was I thinking? That this was romantic? That this had meaning? This was Roman being Roman. I was the first woman he saw and he wanted to fuck me, so he did. Not saying I didn’t want it or enjoyed it. The moonlight, the pond, all that was just part of the scenery.
Roman crouched and then stood, turning, my panties hooked over his finger. He smiled as he held out the tattered garment.
“I don’t think you’re going to wear these again,” he said.
“You can keep them.”
“Like hell,” he said.
He balled them up and threw them into the pond.
“Wow, thanks for that,” I said.
“Don’t worry, sweetie, those aren’t the first pair of panties to get thrown into the pond.”
I suddenly felt jealous. I had a vision of someone draining the pond and it looking like a fucking lingerie store. Then again, did clothing sink? Not like it mattered though.
Roman backed up to the car and grabbed for my hand. “Come on. It’s late.”
“Late? Do you even know that definition?”
“I’ll leave you here,” Roman warned. “It gets pretty scary. Bears.”
“Bears?”
“Yeah.”
I wasn’t sure whether to believe Roman or not.
I got off the hood of the car and he opened the passenger door to his car. He laid the seat completely flat.
“The backseat in these things aren’t made for campouts. But the hood is big enough for sex.”
I smirked and felt heat rush everywhere.
“I can sleep in my car,” I said. “I have room. My used, middle class affordable vehicle is just fine.”
Roman smiled. “I think I like you, Willow. But it could be my mind still picturing you naked and making all those noises.”
I couldn’t speak to that. Roman had won again. He could steal my breath with his lips, with his tongue between my legs, and worse than that, he could steal my breath with his words.
“Hey, by any chance, did you bring a blanket?”
“Actually, I did.”
“I figured.”
“What? Why?”
“You seem that type. You take a blanket with you, with a packed bag, because you need a sense of home. You’re still fighting all that old shit off, sweetie, but you’re desperate to have your own life. Your own home. But you’ll never commit because it’s hard to do.”
How the fuck could a bad boy athlete read me that easily?
I got the blanket from the backseat of my car.
Then we got into his car together. Right on the passenger seat. It was leather, cushion, and seriously comfortable. Probably more comfortable than my bed. Then again, I was also half on Roman’s beautiful body so that helped a lot. He had an arm around me, my head on his chest. He had opened the sunroof of the car and I was able to look up and out and see the stars in the sky.
I let out a sigh and then felt Roman touch my hair. His fingers stroked my hair and I started to fall asleep.
Willow, this means nothing. You’re just doing your job. Keeping him out of trouble. And you did it. You kept him safe, sound, and away from the police. And for that, you got yourself a little bit of a treat. The hottest and baddest quarterback in the league fucked you. But after that, it means nothing. Touching him, laying on him, under the stars… it’s nothing.
I took another breath and said the same thing over again.
But part of me didn’t want to accept that… I wanted to know more about Roman. I wanted to know everything.
(Willow)
“Take these and mail them,” I said to Leslie. “And if you want, spit on them. I’m done with this fucking case. They’re doing nothing but stall out, trying to get a retrial. The judge has had it with the bullshit. This is going to seal it. I doubt we’ll even have to go back to court.”
“Okay,” Leslie said. “Okay. I can take it and deliver it in person.”
“No,” I said. “I want him to have to sign for this. I want confirmation. Keep our paper trail correct.”
Leslie nodded.
She left my office and I sat down.
I looked at my cell and checked the time.
Roman would either be sleeping or be at the practice facility. All it took was a hundred dollars to the security guard to make sure he kept in touch when Roman was practicing.
I left what happened between us go for the moment. Roman really didn’t want to talk about his personal life. Being a lawyer and wanting to dig into him, it took a lot to not find out more. All I knew was that Roman’s father was sick and there were serious family issues with his brothers and his father.
My office door opened and Johnny came waddling in.
“Sure, don’t knock.”
“I’m a partner,” he said. “I own a piece of this office. I claim the door. That means I don’t have to fucking knock.”
“What do you want?”
Johnny reached into his suit jacket and took out a check. “Payday.”
“So soon?”
“You’re far from done here.”
I looked at the check. It was more than I made in a month. I almost felt guilty for sleeping with Roman. It was like getting paid for letting the hottest guy in the world have sex with me.
I folded the check and put it in my bag. No shame.
“You don’t need extra case work,” Johnny said. “We talked about that.”
“I’m not a puppet or a project,” I said. “I’ve got this under control. Okay? There are arrangements made with Roman.”
“What, are you sleeping with him? Telling him that for every day he’s a good boy you’ll be a bad girl.”
“Maybe we should call Jay and have that conversation again,” I said.
I reached for my phone and Johnny put a hand to mine. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. You’re doing just fine. Whatever your arrangement is. Keep it up. If Jay and Ted are happy, they stay the hell away from me.”
“Gives you more time to sleep at your desk, right?”
“Damn right.”
“You’re something.”
“Hey, I had a deposition the other day and heard something.”
“Oh? Gossip? Wonderful
.”
“You and Trevor…” Johnny raised an eyebrow.
Shit. Trevor.
I had called him before this Roman thing and was supposed to make plans with him. He was supposed to be my distraction so I could be Roman’s distraction. I definitely fucked that up bad, huh?
“What did he say?”
“He wanted to know what you were up to. You were supposed to call him?”
“Oh, Christ,” I said. “What a pussy. He couldn’t even call me.”
Johnny laughed. “You know how to pick them, Willow. I’ll give you that much.”
“You’re one to talk,” I said. “How many girlfriends do you have?”
“They’re all beautiful in their own way,” Johnny said.
He was a pig. A rich, filthy pig that could get away with whatever he wanted. And even if his wife found out and wanted to leave him, she probably wouldn’t. It was too lucrative to keep a blind eye to things.
And that was why I stayed away from relationships.
I thought about myself reaching for Roman’s hand that night. That was a dumb move.
“Well, here’s what I’m hearing,” Johnny said. He wiggled his wide ass into a chair. “Just to give you a heads up.”
“If this is about Trevor…”
“No. That guy’s a tool. You want to sleep with him? Enjoy it. But do me a favor and call him. I’m trying to defend a guy for vehicular homicide and here’s Trevor asking me about you.”
“I’m sorry for that.”
“Whatever,” Johnny said. “He’s on the prosecution side. I feel bad almost, you know? Delicate situation.”
“Is your client guilty?”
Johnny grinned. “That’s up to a judge and jury to decide, Willow.”
“I fucking hate you.”
“I hate myself,” Johnny said. “Now, more gossip. Rumor has it that when this Roman thing is over, you’re going to get recruited by Ted. He’s going to put you in the pipeline with Mackey, Roman’s agent, and you’re going to become a star on your own.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. If you can keep Roman under control… you can do anything. Apparently you’ve been talking about Roman’s personal life a little. I guess Ted sees something there. You might just be getting all pretty and have press releases soon.”
“No way. I’m not in that business.”
“You might be soon enough,” Johnny said. He leaned forward. “Don’t fucking let that slide through your fingers. You get in with the likes of Jay and Ted, you’re set for life. They overpay for silence. Understand?”
I nodded. “Okay. Yeah.”
“Just don’t screw anything up.” Johnny fought to get out of his chair. “Stay out of his pants. Keep him out of yours. Don’t fall in love. Don’t fuck up the future here.”
“Aw, is this you caring about me? Or are you jealous that your six pack is a keg and that you’ll never get in my pants?”
Johnny laughed. “Maybe we should call Jay and have the same conversation.”
I rose up. “I would say the same thing to him. Except Jay takes care of himself. I bet he’s built under that suit.”
“You’re vicious.”
“Are you done here?” I asked. “I don’t want to hear anymore rumors.”
My door blasted open again. This time it was Leslie.
“People! Knock!” I yelled.
“I’m sorry,” Leslie said. She looked at Johnny. Then at me. She looked afraid to talk.
“What?” I asked.
“Um… I just got a thing on my phone… there’s a breaking story.”
“Okay?” I asked. “Les, I’m in the middle…”
“Roman is in trouble. He got into a fight.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” Leslie said. “With one of his players.”
Johnny snorted. “So much for the future.”
“Fuck off,” I said.
I grabbed my stuff and started to run.
I was going to kill Roman… but I’d have to get through the press to get to him…
(Roman)
I had music blasting in the gym. It was fast, heavy, tons of guitars and drums. That’s the stuff I liked. The pounding got into my head and chased away all my thoughts. I was going through a hardcore workout. A bench press set right into a seated curl. Then I’d drop set that into a dumb bell shoulder press and some tricep curls. I wanted my upper body bigger, stronger. I had already put ten miles on the treadmill and a mile in the pool.
My energy felt unlimited. I could eat, drink, and workout for twenty hours a day. The other four hours I spent showering, driving, and catching a little bit of sleep.
The missing element?
Fucking.
I hadn’t fucked anyone since Willow.
That following morning we had to split. I took Willow to the main road and gave her my word I’d stay out of trouble. I went back to the old man’s house and Caine and Slade were there. They were trying to fix up an old dirt bike they found in the shed. It was my dirt bike. I had escaped the house two times when the old man was trying to kill me. And one time, he chased me down in his truck and hit me. It fucked up the back wheel on the dirt bike and that’s why it was in the shed, unused.
I said goodbye to my brothers and told them I’d handle my end of things as needed. The latest update was that the old man was undergoing another scan and then a possible surgery. There was the faintest glimmer of hope to keep him alive longer.
Personally, I wished the doctors and surgeons would save their energy for someone who deserved to live.
I kept my distance and I kept my promise, staying out of trouble. But not seeing Willow everyday wore on me. I had everything I needed and wanted, but it suddenly wasn’t good enough. The pills made me feel numb but they didn’t kill me. That was the only way I’d stop thinking about her. I drank. I smoked. I went out with my security and eyed every woman possible. My cock got hard when I needed it to, but it wasn’t worth my effort.
Goddamn me, I almost started to get the feeling that I was somehow saving myself for her again.
I had to figure this out.
But before that… I had a meeting with Mackey about the commissioner and Shawn sent me a text that he was back in the States and wanted to talk. He was then going up to Alaska with some of his boys for a fishing trip.
I put up my weights and gritted my teeth as I pumped the bar up and down. My chest was on fire. My shoulders burned. Everything hurt. But I couldn’t be stopped. I slammed the bar back and sat up. I reached down and grabbed the fifties and started to curl. I growled as I did single sets, staring at myself in the mirror. My arms were fucking huge, veins throbbing that I didn’t know were there. A ten set and I dropped the fifties for a set of forties. I put them up over my head and went to town.
Three lifts in and the music cut out.
What the fuck?
Then some thumping ass music started to blare. A heavy beat that would work if I had a drink in my hand and some chick rubbing against my dick.
I dropped the weights and stood up, turning to see Shawn slowly approaching.
He clapped his hands together, smiling. His dark skin looked even darker, that last light shade darkened by the island sun. His teeth were painfully white, big diamond earrings in his ears, a fresh haircut, and crazy expensive clothes.
“Welcome back,” I said.
“I see you never left,” he said.
I sensed instant tension between us. There was a superstar complex between him and I. I hated the limelight and he loved it. He did anything to get his picture taken, as long as it was for good reason. He was the guy who caught the ball, got the touchdown, and then walked up to a sound guy, demanded a pen, signed it, and then jumped into the crowd to give it away. Everything about Shawn was an advertisement for some seven figure endorsement deal.
But I had the monster contract. I made twice as much as he did in the regular season. All eyes were on me because I was the one throwing the ball. And f
rankly, I was the one most likely to cause trouble. Shawn would go to the children’s hospital to brag about his new clothing line and take pictures with sick kids wearing his clothes. I would go to a bar, drink too much, and pick a fight.
We shook hands and did a quick hug.
“Man, what the fuck you doing in here?” Shawn asked. “You’re missing your off season.”
“There is no off season, Shawn.”
“Still thinking ‘bout that pass?”
“Yeah.”
“Man, you know the O-line was fucked. Smitty had a bad ankle. Ricky ain’t got what he used to. Shit, this is all admin and coaching bullshit.”
“I threw the fucking ball, Shawn.”
“And I turned and jumped,” he said. “After that, whatever.”
“So, you’re heading up to Alaska?”
“Yeah. You coming?”
“No.”
“Man, you ever bang an Alaskan chick?”
I laughed. “I’m not going there, man. You heading up there to let your skin cool off from all that sun? How dark you looking to go?”
Shawn laughed. “Don’t hate on me.”
“Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to my workout.” I walked back to the bench. “And turn this shit off. Put my music back on.”
I got on the bench and gripped the bar. I had almost three hundred pounds to lift. A set of ten and then my other sets. If Mackey or any of the coaches were around, they’d flip out on me. We weren’t supposed to lift without a spotter. If I lose my edge and dropped the weight, I was fucked.
I put the bar up and started to bench it.
One… two… fucking Willow… three… those crazy moves and tits and her tight slit… four…
Shawn appeared over me.
I put the bar down and growled. He had his fucking dick too close to my face.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled.
He put a football down on my chest and smiled. “Let’s go, Knight. I want you to make that throw to me.”
I sat up, holding the football. I watched in the reflection as Shawn grabbed a gym bag off the floor.
I gripped the ball tight.
He was fucking with me. Testing me. Wanting to get into my head.
We weren’t supposed to be alone together either.