Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

by Claire Adams

  "You can blow up to someone else, Brody. I'm your best friend, and we've been watching you mope around this fucking cabin for three days. At least tell me why?" He moved up closer, pressing his chest to mine.

  "There's nothing to say," I pushed him back as I deflated. "I like her, okay? I can't remember another time liking someone this much. I want to know what her favorite candy is and where she likes to read books or shop for panties or...ugh. I like her, shit."

  "That's great news. Why are you so damned depressed?" He patted my back as I leaned back over. "Hell, why is she so depressed? What did you do on Wednesday? Something got fucked up. What was it?"

  I pressed my face into my hands and growled. "I know. Fuck. I know."

  "What?" He moved up beside me and pressed his shoulder against mine. "Stop being a dick and just talk to me."

  I glanced over at him. "I need to leave it alone, Clay. I know you think I should make amends and fix this thing with her, but I'm pretty sure she's the kind of girl that could have me swearing off all others. I don't want that right now, and I'm telling you, she deserves far better than me."

  "Did you guys fuck?" He turned and glanced out toward the lake.

  "No, but she wanted to. Or I think she did." I stood up and rubbed my chest just over my heart. The dull ache inside of me wouldn't seem to go away. "Maybe I need to find some other chick and just lose myself in the carnality of sex for the afternoon."

  "I think you should fix this shit, but then again, I'm a different kind of guy than you are. I like long-term. Being with one woman feels good—right." He shrugged. "If you need a fuck-fest to get you past this depression shit, then get to it. It's almost the Fourth of July and we're going to have fun—together, which means Cora will be there. I'm not choosing between you and Emily. That's not happening, and as selfish as you've been our whole fucking lives, you own me this shit."

  "You're right." I stood up and pulled my phone from my pocket. "I'll hook up with some hot piece of ass this afternoon and get my mojo back. Cora's a great girl, but I bit off more than I could chew, Clay. She's like the catch of all catches. I'm not grown up enough for that shit yet."

  "I agree." He patted my back and went into the house, leaving me with my tarnished thoughts. I should have just taken her back to the house and made love to her all night, given her anything she wanted, but I couldn't.

  I wouldn't have been able to sneak out before the sun came up and ignore her for the rest of the summer. How she'd gone from ignoring me and talking trash to wanting to be close to me so quickly was almost stifling. Had her friends convinced her that I was a better man than I was? Fuck, had my friends helped to convince her? Someone had because her change of heart was almost overnight.

  "Help!" an attractive girl yelled from across the street, her face a mask of terror as she waved her arms at me and turned to dive into the water.

  "Shit." I jumped over the railing and ran to the water to see what she was screaming about. A kayak was sitting a little ways into the lake, but it was turned upside down. She was swimming furiously toward it, but not getting there fast. I raced down the dock and dove in, swimming hard until I reached it and forced it over with all of my strength.

  The little boy in the thing couldn't have been more than 10 years old. He took in a deep breath as I reached over and rubbed his chest.

  "It's okay, buddy. You're okay. You good?"

  He glanced over at me as he bit his lip, fighting back tears like I would have done, as well. He nodded, and I moved back as the woman reached him and half crawled into the thing, crying and patting his face.

  I pulled the kayak back to shore and made sure it was secure before walking back up. The girl called to me and I turned around, offering her a kind smile.

  "Thank you so much." She helped the little boy out and walked up to me, pressing her hands to my chest. "I'm Vanessa. I can't thank you enough."

  "Is he your son?" I looked around her and smiled at the kid, grateful as hell that he was okay.

  "No. My brother. I was supposed to be watching, but I closed my eyes for five damn minutes." She pressed her hand to her lips and shook her head. "Thank you so much."

  "No problem. I'm Brody." I moved back a little and extended my hand. Her bathing suit was tight and looked damn good on her, though it really didn't seem like the right time to hit on her.

  "Listen," she glanced around before looking back up at me, "I was going to take Charlie home in a few minutes and then hopefully catch a ride out to the island. You're not headed that way, are you?"

  "Yeah, we're going out there in about 15 minutes. We'll give you a ride." I smiled and waved at Charlie. "Be safe, kid."

  "Yeah, thanks." He nodded and turned to pull his kayak out of the water.

  "I'll be here in 15 minutes." She smiled shyly, though something told me she wasn't at all the shy type.

  I turned and jogged back to the house to find Daniel standing outside, watching the show.

  He clapped his hand and shook his head. "Bravo. That was pretty damn cool."

  "What? It was nothing." I walked up the stairs and reached for a towel that was hanging over the edge. After wiping myself off, I stripped out of my shirt and rolled my shoulders. "She's going with us to the island in a few minutes. Let's load up."

  "You just got a date over saving her son? Do you even sleep with chicks that have kids? Aren't they a little more..."

  "Needy?" I rolled my eyes and popped him with the towel. "It was her brother, but you're being quite judgmental for a doctor, aren't you?"

  "I didn't mean it like that. Never mind." He shook his head and dropped down onto the bench next to him. "Hey, guess what?"

  "What?" I stopped before going into the cabin and glanced back over my shoulder.

  "I asked Dedra out, and she said yes." He smiled widely as his cheeks colored pink.

  I stifled a chuckle. "Like out on a date or out like she's your girlfriend?"

  "Like a date. Do people really ask each other out like boyfriend-girlfriend anymore?"

  "No clue. Either way, that's cool as hell. Congrats, man. It would seem that your balls have finally dropped." I winked at him and walked into the house to the sound of him berating me. "Let's go, fuckers. I want to get out of here for a little while and go out to the island. You guys coming?"

  "Yep." Derek got up from the couch and stretched. "Are the girls going with us?"

  "Nope. It's a guy’s afternoon. We're taking a hot little number out to the island with us, but we'll drop her off and go play some volleyball or something." I rolled my shoulders and turned as Clay stopped by the opening to the kitchen.

  "What hot little number?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just fucking left you on the porch, and you already got some girl's digits?"

  "You know it. Some chick whose brother was drowning, and I saved his scrawny ass." I beat on my chest like Tarzan. "I'm a hero; she wants to pay me back. She's a good girl, obviously."

  He rolled his eyes. "I swear, dude. You're impossible to figure out."

  "Like a human-sized Rubik’s Cube." I grabbed my swim trunks from the basket by the couch and stripped out of my shorts before tugging my trunks on.

  "Come on, man. Shit." Derek covered his eyes and stopped by the couch.

  "Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Derek." I laughed and turned, walking back out to find Daniel on the phone, laughing with someone. It was cute, too cute, and left me wanted to gag toward him. It made me want to see Cora again. "Let's go."

  I jogged back down to the boat and got everything situated as the other guys walked down the pier. Vanessa walked up a few minutes later in a much more revealing bikini.

  "Damn," someone muttered behind me.

  "Right?" I reached up and smiled at her. "Hey, you. Your brother okay?"

  "Yeah. Thanks again, Brody." She reached down and slid into my arms, fitting almost too well. Guilt blasted through me, but I couldn’t find a reason to hold onto it. I was doing Cora a favor. Having come to r
espect the beautiful brunette over the course of a week or less, I was taking a step back and leaving her alone because she was too much woman for me – plain and simple. I'd never admit it in a million years, but the fact still remained.

  "Guys, this is Vanessa." I moved back, releasing her and getting into the driver's seat. The guys greeted her as I started the boat. "You just need a lift to the island?"

  "Yeah, and a date for the big Fourth of July party they’re throwing out here. I don't suppose some lucky girl already has you for the night?" She gave me a sexy smile that should have thrown my hormones in overdrive, but I felt nothing but a small thrill over the fact that my favorite holiday was coming up.

  "I'll give you my number, and we can talk about it later. I'm pretty sure I have plans, but if not, I'm all yours." I winked at her and turned back to the wheel before pulling on the gearshift and hitting the gas.

  The boat picked up speed fast, and I moved us easily in between the various boats around us. The wind felt good in my hair and rushing past my skin. I should have been enamored with the beautiful blonde beside me, but I couldn't seem to find any desire to do much more than press the gas harder and push my luck with the speed of the boat.

  "Hey. Slow your wild ass down, or you're going to get us a ticket. Shit." Clay patted my shoulder, reminding me that there were rules that even I had to keep to.

  "Sorry, man." I glanced up and looked over to find Veronica watching me closely. I winked at her again before pulling my glasses out of the container below the dash. I was going to force myself to pay her a bit of attention, but it wouldn't come naturally. I couldn't shake the thought of how badly I wanted it to be Cora watching me like that, fucking me 10 ways to Sunday in her mind.

  I pulled up to the dock, slowing down significantly and smiling over at Veronica. "We're here, pretty girl. You need help off?"

  "Are you not coming?" She stood and moved just beside me.

  The guys got off and left me to deal with the girl and the anchor on the boat. I stifled the need to sigh and stood up as Veronica reached out and brushed her hands over my chest.

  "I'm coming. I just wanted to let you get to your friends or whoever you're meeting over here." I reached out and gripped her narrow hips, not really having anywhere else to rest my hands.

  "Then, I'll help you and we can go together. I owe you for helping me this morning." She took a step toward me, filling the space in between us and sliding her hand up my chest to cup the back of my neck.

  "No need to pay me back." I kept a firm grip on her, not quite sure I could spend the afternoon with a girl I wasn't interested in.

  "I want to." She pulled me down and lifted to her toes, pressing her mouth to mine and brushing her tongue across my lips. I opened up and let her in, sucking on her tongue and closing my eyes so that I could imagine her to be Cora. It was horrible, and yet every cell in my body woke up at the idea of it.

  I pulled her closer and ran my hands over her ass, letting my fingers play along the side of her bathing-suit as she groaned softly into my mouth.

  "So hot," I whispered against her lips and tugged at the soft curves of her rear to press my budding erection more firmly against her tummy.

  "Let's go find somewhere to get lost in each other." She nipped at my lips as I opened my eyes.

  I had to force myself not to take a step back. Instead, I dropped down into my seat and reached for her, tugging her into my lap and clasping my hand over her thighs, the other around the back of her neck as I brought her down for another wave of kisses.

  My eyes closed, and I was right back there again, the woman in my lap none other than the intelligent, sexy, rich girl that was sure to spike my pulse from afar for the rest of the summer. Every girl could be her. I could do this. No big deal.

  "Cora," I mumbled against the girl’s mouth as I dove in deep, greedy in my need to claim her as my own.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Cora

  "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Emily pushed her shoulder against mine as we sat out on the dock, watching the boats drive by. It had been three days since my date with Brody, and where everyone else had been hanging out off and on together, I hadn't seen him, or any of them, since our date. I was still confused over what happened. Did he just want to have a quick warm up round with dinner and the movie and not sleep together?

  He wanted to sleep with every girl on the island, but I make a move and he pushes me back? What the hell? Was I not good enough?

  I guess not. I wasn't good enough for Brandon, either.

  "Cora?" Dedra nudged me from the other side. "Hey, tell us what happened. Did he force himself on you?"

  "What? No. No." I glanced over at Dedra and then Emily. "No. I don't know what happened. Dinner was great, and we skipped the movie to go walking on the beachfront, and then we danced a little, and I don't know... I guess he thought I wanted to sleep together."

  "So he asked you to spend the night, or what? You haven't said a word about this shit in three days. We're all a little worried." Emily gave me a stern look.

  "No. He basically turned me down. I think. I don't know." I ran my fingers through my hair. "I guess he really just wanted a friend to talk to, and I felt a connection that seemed like more was happening between us. He was...I don't know. I'm done talking about it. I hit on him, and he shut me down. End of story."

  I'd cried a few times over the situation simply due to the embarrassment of being the only woman on the island that wasn't capable of seducing the whore who slept with everyone. It was sickening to think that I'd tried. I'd tried, right?

  "Hey, maybe you should just talk to him. Daniel said he's not doing so great himself. Maybe it's just an odd misunderstanding." Dedra reached over and ran her hand down the back of my hair.

  "I'm not worried about how he's doing, Dee. He denied me and left me feeling like a two-bit whore. Whatever was starting between us was in my head and it's over now. No biggie."

  "It is a biggie," Emily barked. "I want to spend my summer with you and Clay, but that's not possible."

  "Well, excuse the fuck outta me for messing up your love story." I pulled my legs up and stood as she started to back track.

  "Cora. That's not-”

  "Save it. I'm not interested. I've been cool about all this bullshit where you guys want to hang out with the same fucking friend group of guys every day and night. Cool. Have fun with it, but I'm not fitting into the mold of hooking up with the forth member of their group. He doesn't want me. I'm sorry that, once again, I'm not enough." My voice broke as tears filled my eyes. I turned and jogged back toward the house, not wanting them or anyone else to see me upset.

  I busted through the door to find Cindy and Derek on the couch dry humping.

  Cindy jumped up. "I'm sorry. We should...oh hell. What's wrong?"

  I lifted my hand and let out a soft sob as I shook my head. "I should have knocked."

  She reached for me, but I moved to the side of her and walked to the bedroom.

  "Cora! What's wrong?" She followed after me. "Hey, talk to me."

  "I'm good. Just tired." I stopped at my door and wiped at my nose and eyes. "I'm good. Really. Don't keep Derek waiting. I just need sleep."

  "You sure?" She pressed her hand against my door as I walked into the dark.

  "Yeah, I'll be out later," I mumbled and pushed the door closed, locking it and leaving the light off as I dropped down into my bed.

  How in the hell some dude I'd met a week ago had me wallowing in self-pity like I had with Brandon was beyond me. It was a clear indicator of two things. One, I'd yet to truly heal from Brandon cheating on me, and two, I didn't need a summer fling. They always ended before they began.

  Much like this one.

  *

  The phone ringing just beside my head brought me from my nap. I reached over in the darkness and patted the bed beside me, grumbling at the idea of talking to anyone.

  "Hello?" I turned onto my back and cleared my throat.
<
br />   "Hi, Cora. It's Mom." Her voice was warm and friendly.

  I jerked up. Wherever my mother was, my father was close behind her. She was his puppet, which meant that if she was calling... he wanted something.

  "Hey, Mom. How's it going?" I wiped my eyes and stifled the need to yawn as I moved to the edge of the bed.

  "It's good. Your father and I were talking about some upcoming casework we have that's really unprecedented. It would be a great opportunity for you to see some of these things, but of course, they're happening during your summer vacation that you have planned."

  "Right." I got up and walked to the door to flip on the light switch. "Can't I study the cases after they're completed? It would be the same, right?"

  "Not really." She wasn't going to force me to come back early, but that's the way my lawyer parents did things. They slowly twisted your arm until you made the conscious decision to do what they wanted, making it your call and leaving their hands clean of the repercussions of your disappointment or anger.

  "When are the trials, Mom?" I let out a short sigh, wishing that I could hold myself back from letting her know that their request was a pain in my ass.

  "They're mid-July, baby. I understand if you don't want to come back early, we just thought this would be a great opportunity. You know your father is always watching out for what's best for your future. You're going to make lots of money once you're a full-fledged lawyer, and then you can take loads of trips to the lake all the time. Right?" She chuckled as if something she said was humorous.

  "How many trips have you and Dad taken?" I dropped down on the edge of the bed and tried to clear the haze sitting over me. I wasn't going to get out of going back early, but giving up any of my time with my best friends before starting to work for my parents was painful.

  "We like what we do, Cora. You know that. We don't really need vacations. Do you want to talk to your dad for a minute?"

  "No. I was headed out the door. I'll call you guys later tonight, and we can pick back up on this conversation then. Is that okay?" I ran my fingers through my hair as my stomach soured a little.