The main one was Chance. How he faired with his dad and would he be okay? Had he given up on me? Or would he if I let this guy kiss me?
It fucking sucked. I didn’t want to make that call and surely didn’t want to say what I had to. But I forced myself to do it.
“Yeah, tell Coach I’m sorry. But I didn’t get things settled with my dad until now. There is no way I’ll make it in time to ride with you guys to the game.”
Our game was in Houston, and I couldn’t go.
“You’re not going to miss the game,” Kelley said.
“How’d you figure?” A knock came at my front door. “Hold a minute,” I told him.
On the other side stood Kelley, holding up his phone before hitting the end button.
“Don’t just stand there. We’ve got to get a move on.”
There was no shame when I tackle-hugged the guy. “Fuck, man. You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?” He clapped me on the back as emotions rocketed through my body.
Hell, tears shined in my eyes. I’d felt so damn alone, making decisions that I shouldn’t have had to make.
“And Coach is okay with this?”
We weren’t allowed to travel to and from games independently. Something about rules and liability or some shit.
“He had to or we weren’t playing.”
We, had he meant the both of us?
“What about your scholarship?”
If I missed a game, I would be excused because of my dad. Kelley was the quarterback, and he had no reason not to travel with the team.
Kelley pulled back. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve handled Coach. We’re brothers and we’re in this together. You know I understand more than anyone what you’re going through. Well, my dad was a mean drunk.”
“Mine, a stupid one,” I managed to say.
What Kelley had done was huge. If he got thrown off the team, he wouldn’t be able to continue school.
“I can’t let you get in trouble because of me.”
“I won’t. This is my decision, and I’ve talked to Coach. He wasn’t happy, but he needs me to play.”
What had he said to Coach? I felt strangled by all the emotions of his being there meant.
“How did he take it?” Kelley asked, switching the subject to my dad.
Social services was able to get Dad a bed in a state-run rehab facility. But he only got a temporary one, nothing long-term. He wasn’t their worst case, but the seizures and by doctor recommendation, he would be put up through his detox. The case worker said he would have maybe a week there before he was released. Dad agreed, so there was at least that.
“He’s good,” I said.
“Then let’s go. We’re going to stop in Dallas and see Lenny’s parents first.”
For all Kelley’s smiles and good cheer, worry clouded his expression. As far as I knew, it would be the first time Kelley had been back to Texas, and the conversation with Lenny’s parents probably wouldn’t be a good one.
“I don’t have anything packed.”
“Good thing I did it for you,” he said. “I just packed for me using your shit. So come on.”
Past his shoulder, I frowned. “That’s not a minivan, is it?”
He patted my cheek like I was a child. “That, my son, is a minivan. And your mother,” he joked, while pointing at Sawyer, “insisted on renting it. With all the extra bodies, he thought we’d be more comfortable.”
I could have cried. “Coach is going to kick your ass and then mine if we don’t make it to that game.” As the quarterback for the team, Kelley was essential to our game.
Since I had my phone, all I had to do was lock up the house. What I didn’t anticipate was to find the front passenger seat empty.
“You ride shotgun,” Kelley said, sliding in the middle section with Lenny, in the seat across from her.
All my friends were there, including Mason and Brie, and she was the wildcard. Why had she come? Maybe to keep Lenora company? I glanced over at Sawyer.
“What the fuck, man? We’re on a time crunch here,” he said.
Hopping in, I offered Sawyer candy from my pocket I’d pilfered from the house. Dad had been using it as a deterrent from drinking. I wanted to ask him how that was working considering where he was.
The first several hours were subdued. Kelley and Lenny talked softly between themselves. Everyone in the back row slept, until I noticed Brie’s eyes open. She stared out the window with a lost expression. I longed to know what was going on in that pretty head of hers, but I didn’t ask.
At Lenora’s house, Sawyer, Brie, Ashton, and I stayed put while a conversation long overdue happened inside. One shocker was Lenny was leaving Mason with them for the weekend. Ash looked a little disappointed. He out of all of us had become big brother to Mason. They’d become quite the pair.
“What do you think is going on in there?” Sawyer asked, swiveling to face the group.
Brie was the first to chime in. “A shit storm.”
No one contradicted her. I took opportunity of the silence.
“I just want to thank you guys for coming to my rescue.”
Sawyer clapped me on my shoulder. “No prob. We’d do anything for a brother. Wouldn’t we, Ash?”
Ashton glared in Sawyer’s direction, but nodded at me.
“What’s your problem, man? You got something to say?” Sawyer taunted.
I felt a headache brewing and glanced at Brie, wondering what we would do to stop this.
“Everything’s already been said,” Ashton practically whispered.
Sawyer faced forward and punched the steering wheel. The tension was so thick I rolled my window down to breathe.
Thankfully, it wasn’t much longer before Kelley and Lenny emerged. They didn’t appear happy-go-lucky either. Our merry band was going to be so much fun on our road trip.
“How’d it go?” I asked Kelley.
He shrugged. “They weren’t thrilled with what we had to say, but if they want to fix things, they have to deal.”
Then Lenny and Kelley’s conversation turned private and I faced forward, not wanting to intrude. Sawyer turned on the radio and sang softly to himself. That was new. I hadn’t heard him before. He was pretty decent carrying a tune. Things didn’t get really interesting until we showed up hours later at our hotel after several pit stops and food runs.
“This place is nice,” I said casually. “This isn’t where the team’s staying?”
“No, my friend. This is where we’re staying, though,” Sawyer announced.
No way would I ask how much it cost a night to stay in the joint. The marble floors and polished surfaces were something I’d only seen in movies. We were greeted like kings and queens as our bags were taken from us. Sawyer talked to a man eager to please at the counter as I did a three-sixty from the high ceilings with crystal chandeliers to the expensive decorations and other wealthy people in the lobby.
“I don’t want to touch anything,” I muttered to no one.
I glanced at Kelley when he responded, “You and me both.”
Sawyer waved us along. He, Ashton, and Brie all appeared very comfortable being there. It only reminded me that Brie and I were so very different. Lenny didn’t come from as humble backgrounds as Kelley and me, but she too had wide eyes as we made our way to the elevators.
“I got us a suite,” Sawyer was saying when we caught up.
The mirrored doors in the elevator made it easy to see Sawyer trying to look anywhere but at Ashton and him glaring back. It also let Brie catch me staring at her. When the bell dinged we were on our floor, it was like a stampede getting out. There were only two doors on the hall, one on the left, and the other on the right.
Sawyer inserted the key into the door on the right and opened it.
“Shit,” I said, as Kelley cursed behind me. The room we entered was vast with floor-to-ceiling windows that ran the length of the room.
Everything was decorated in white and black.
“Room service is on me,” Sawyer declared.
“I can afford to pay for myself,” Ashton muttered. “I don’t need you to do anything for me.”
He dropped his bag on the black leather sofa that looked very geometrical. There were no rounded edges. Just several squares for the base cushions and matching rectangles for the back rest area. In fact, everything had a modern feel.
“I can chip in, too,” Brie said.
Kelley, Lenny, and I glanced at each other. I had some money, but what I could offer probably wouldn’t make a dent in the bill.
“I can catch an Uber to the team hotel. I’m sure someone can spare a bed,” I said.
Sawyer glared at Ashton and Brie. “If you show up, Coach will know for sure the rest of us made it. And we’ll all be fucked. So we are all fucking staying here together and I’m paying.” He exhaled a breath. “And now that’s settled, if you don’t want me to order one of each thing on the menu, I suggest you make your own order.” He pierced each one of us with his glare, daring us to say something else. “And there are three bedrooms. It’s the biggest suite they offer. Brie, you can room with Chance or me. Your choice. And know I’ll make it worth your while to stay with me.”
He winked at her.
The room grew silent. I wasn’t pissed. Sawyer said it to break the tension in the room.
Lenny jumped in. “Brie, you and I can share.”
Kelley nixed that idea. “Oh, no, Lenny. Sorry, Brie, but I hardly ever get alone time with my girl.”
“It’s okay,” she said, waving everyone off. “I’ll room with Chance. Sorry, Sawyer. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“It’s settled then. I’m tired as fuck. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”
At random, he opened one of the doors and slid inside behind it.
Kelley faked a yawn. “I’m tired, too. Come on, Lenny.” He grabbed her around the waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder as she mouthed Sorry to Brie.
Ashton moved his bag to the floor and positioned himself lengthwise on the sofa.
“We should get some rest, too. You have a big game in the morning,” Brie said.
“Do you want to order some food?”
“Not really.” Then she followed it up with a smile.
Part of me thought I should go talk to Ashton and try to fix things between him and Sawyer. They’d been friends forever, and it felt wrong the divide between them. I wasn’t even sure when it all began.
Brie caught my distress and shook her head. She took my arm and led me to the only other door on that side of the suite that hadn’t been entered.
“I would have taken the sofa,” I began.
“Shut up,” Brie said and lifted on her toes to press her mouth to mine.
Instantly, I was off the floor. I coiled my legs around Chance and continued to kiss him like there was no tomorrow.
He tasted like Jolly Ranchers, and I sucked the shit out of his tongue. He turned us and air greeted my back. I waited to hit the bed, but we hit the floor instead. Air left my lungs in a rush. As soon as we could breathe, we were laughing. Chance rolled off of me and covered his face with his hands, still cracking up.
Voices rose from either side of our room. I could hear muffled questions about our state of well-being.
Not much later, our door sprang open and the faces of our friends crowded in the doorway to check on us.
“We’re fine.” But I couldn’t stop cracking up.
“I thought you were killing each other,” Sawyer chimed in.
“We missed the bed,” I said, while Chance just continued to bark out laugher.
“Epic fail,” he managed to say.
Our friends gave us more eyebrows raised between them before shutting the door to leave us be.
“Talk about mood killer,” he said soberly.
I rolled over and stopped to press a hand to my back. “Ouch.” Giggling, I shook my head and draped myself on his side. “We can try again.”
His face had grown concerned. “Are you okay? Do you need to see a doctor? I did fall on you.”
Gliding my hand over his chest, I slid it lower over the cobbled plains of his abdomen. “I’m fine.”
His hand caught mine before I could go lower. I stuck out my lower lip, not liking that he was putting the kibosh on my fun. His face no longer held mirth.
“You made it clear that you didn’t want to kiss me. And you can’t blame me for it because you started it.”
“I know,” I said.
“And as much as I want you, firefly, I won’t play second to some other guy.”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed my palm before setting my hand on my hip and off of him.
“You aren’t second. You never were.”
I raised my head a little to see his expression. He’d covered half his face with his arm, but the other half was wide-open in a comical expression.
“What are you saying, Brie?”
Time to put it all on the line. If he hurt me again, I wouldn’t recover.
“I had a date with Davenport the other night. I wanted—no, I needed to see if any other guy could make me feel like you do.”
“And?” he encouraged.
“I was prepared to go all in to be sure.” My hand had drifted back to cover his heart, and I felt him stiffen. “But when he went to kiss me, I couldn’t. I couldn’t kiss him. It felt like I was cheating on you.”
His hand covered mine, and our fingers interlocked. He didn’t speak, knowing me well enough that there was more to the story.
“Davenport wasn’t happy, as you can imagine. But you were so right. He actually called me a tease when I told him my heart belonged to someone else. He said he wasted his time.” The bitter pill tasted bad on my tongue as I remembered just how ugly things had gotten. “My apology wasn’t enough. He went red-faced and asked me how he was supposed to finish his thesis.”
Chance’s arm moved, uncovering his eyes, and they’d turned dangerously dark. That didn’t help my courage to continue. The next part was the most embarrassing. It was because of the trust I had in him that I could give him the ugly truth.
“Basically, he was writing his thesis on how to bed a virgin. He ranted how he and his girlfriend had fights over it because she thought he was actually becoming interested in me. They broke up, and he’s pissed that I walked away, leaving him with nothing.”
He squeezed my hand a little.
“Chance,” I said in warning because any more pressure and I would feel pain.
“Sorry.” He relaxed.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
He blew out a breath. “I’m thinking of all the ways I can kill him without getting caught.”
Murder should have scared me, but it made me smile. The calm way he’d said it like he truly meant it was weirdly romantic.
“Killing him would be too easy. Letting him start his thesis over without enough months left for him to finish with the possibility of not graduating is satisfaction enough.”
“Are you sure? I know a guy who has a true to size replica of the rack.”
“The rack?”
“It’s a table in which the arms are tied above the head and the feet are secured at the end. And then a wheel is turned that pulls the limbs, stretching the body.”
The thought made me squirm. “Medieval forms of torture?”
He shrugged. “It worked. Arms and legs dislocate before the criminal passes out from pain.”
“Okay, you are really scary.”
He shifted to his side and put his hand on my back to bring me closer. “Do you really think I’m scary?”
As my body vibrated with excitement, I risked my heart and said, “Absolutely not.”
Pressing my lips to his, I silenced any further comment. I looped my leg over him, and his hand slid from my back to my ass, thrusting me tight against him. His hardness touched my most sensitive spot and I wiggled, creating the pressure I needed. He groaned in my mout
h, and I could swear I was superwoman.
“You’re going to have to stop,” he said, pulling back.
“What if I don’t want to?”
I was beyond ready and knew despite it all, he was the one to do the deed. When he moved flat on his back, I didn’t give up. I countered and shifted to be on top of him. He didn’t stop me from kissing him and grinding my lower half to create delicious sensations.
He gripped my hips, and I thought I’d won until he gently rolled me off. He sat up, folding his knees to his chest, making it impossible to get that close to him again.
“We can’t,” he said.
Getting on my knees and scooting over to him, I whispered into his ear, “But we can.”
“Brie, Jesus, you’re making this hard.”
Sliding my hand down his chest, aiming for the grand prize, I said, “That’s what I’m hoping for.”
But he once again stopped me and clasped our hands together.
“Brie, I’m serious. If I let this happen, I wouldn’t be any better than Dave the Fucker.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the moniker. “Not true. You’re better than him.”
“So let’s wait.”
But I didn’t want to. Girl power and all that, I hooked fingers under the hem of my shirt and took it off.
“Brie,” Chance warned.
It only spurred me on. Reaching behind my back, I unclasped my bra. It wasn’t quite dark yet. The setting sun provided some leftover light. My body wasn’t perfect. I had curves on my curves. He still looked at me as though he had rose-colored eyes that popped out of his head.
I stood, curling my finger toward him as I went to work on my jeans. Popping the first button, nerves started to get to me as my hands shook.
He moved like a ghost because I hadn’t heard him. His hands stilled my own.
“We don’t have to do this,” he said.
Meeting his eyes, I found in his more than heated passion. There was also a softness that made my heart patter like the sounds of running steps. He hadn’t said the words, but the feeling was there.
Letting my zipper free, I began to shrug out of the jeans. He bent on one knee to assist me as my heart kicked into high gear. It galloped along like a wild horse, free from captivity for the first time.
Catching Fireflies Page 11