Exploring the Rules: An Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance Standalone

by Mariah Dietz

  I scoff. “If you met Chloe, you wouldn’t be asking me this question. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her. She told me to come. I wasn’t going to come with you.”

  He blinks too fast, revealing his shock.

  “Chloe,” I say her name again. “Her name is Chloe. And she’s bloody brilliant and motivated and has more drive in her little finger than half of our general managers. She isn’t a threat to me or the business. She’s the promise I’m going to continue to improve and grow and work harder every day because I want to work to be the man she deserves.”

  Dad stares at me, and I wonder if he has any idea what I’m saying, if mum ever inspired him in the same ways that Chloe inspires me. If it’s possible he ever felt even a fraction of what I do for her. I don’t think so, considering I know I will go to the grave and whatever is beyond loving Chloe. It’s not the kind of love that fizzles or wanes. Instead, over the past two years, it has grown and become a force that refused to allow me to try and ignore it any longer, so great it can’t be contained solely in my heart, but in my soul and my brain, and every cell of my body. It reflects in my thoughts and decisions, and I know it will continue to guide me.

  “You realize what this job will do to a relationship, right? What it did to your mother and me? You’re going to be living out of a suitcase for long periods of the year, missing birthdays and date nights. You won’t know the names of your neighbors or be there when she has a bad day.”

  Grandad clears his throat, regret etched across his aging face. “I want to tell you he’s wrong,” he says, looking sorrowful.

  “I don’t have all the answers. Not yet, not now, but I do know that my love for her will make me a better leader.”

  “Go,” Grandad says, waving a hand. “You should go. Take these years. Try and figure it out.”

  I cut my gaze to Dad, who appears lost in memories. “Don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”

  Anger surges in my chest, barely holding on to the reminder that his approval doesn’t matter at all when it comes to Chloe.

  “I’ll keep you both apprised on San Francisco and can help you choose a new management company to replace Avery.”

  “Focus on your education,” Grandad says. “Change is scary but necessary for us to remain the leading luxury resort, and the only way for us to do that is to learn and grow.”

  “I’ll set some appointments up with you,” Dad counters.

  I nod, and without another word, I take my bags to the front door where a car awaits.

  32

  Chloe

  “Reality kind of sucks with having to wash our own laundry,” Nessie says, folding a pair of jeans from one of the two laundry baskets filled with clean clothes between us.

  I chuckle. “I thought for sure you were going to say it was the beds you missed most.”

  “That too.” She leans toward the small end table beside her and grabs the coffee we’d walked to pick up while we waited for our laundry to finish drying in the basement laundry room. Truth be told, I’m kind of glad to be downtown. After our trip that had us staying in areas where it was always so easy to access so much, it kind of feels like a continuation of that to be able to do and see so much here.

  “Where’s Coop this morning?”

  She shakes her head. “I don’t know. He said he had to go do something. I’m kind of wondering if it was to get rid of that pink bear they talked about. The one from Claire.”

  I try to hide my smile, knowing how badly jealousy can sting, regardless of how innocent it is. “Did you ask him why he kept it?”

  “He said it didn’t mean anything romantic. That he didn’t hold any angry feelings toward her, and it just made him think of happy memories.”

  “Guys are stupid sometimes. Even Cooper, but that’s not the worst reason to keep something.”

  She shakes her head. “I know. I probably have a dozen things from exes. I don’t keep them because I’m holding a torch for any of them. Some of the stuff I just like, and others…” She shrugs. “It makes me think of happy memories.”

  I think of the things I collected on our trip, the dozen pens from the hotels, the shirts, a sweatshirt of Tyler’s that had been in my bag that he’d carried in San Diego. I can’t imagine parting with any of them, regardless of what happens between us.

  “How are you doing?” Nessie asks, reaching for a shirt.

  Before I can respond, there’s a knock on our door. “I’ve got doughnuts and can’t reach my key,” Cooper calls from the other side.

  I grin, watching the smile that consumes Nessie at the sound of his voice. She jumps to her feet, tossing the shirt back to the mound of clean laundry, and unlocks the short series of deadbolts he helped install when we moved in. She freezes, her attention shifting to me, eyes wide. “Chloe, he needs your help.”

  “My help?”

  She nods, taking a step back, opening the door even wider. She folds her lips against her teeth and waves for me to hurry up.

  “Help with what? It’s not your box of things that you forgot at all the hotels, is it? Because…” My words trail off as tears fill my eyes, my heart stuttering as Tyler steps into our apartment. I can’t talk because my throat is filled with emotion, and I can’t see him clearly because tears are spilling down my cheeks. His strong, warm hands are on either side of my jaw, kissing my cheeks and my lips as he pulls me into his arms. I’m consumed by his scent, and the strength of his chest and shoulders feels so good as I lean into him, kissing him.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask. “How?”

  “Well, football starts in two days, and Coach Harris is a real asshole when it comes to players being on time.”

  “Damn straight, he does,” Cooper says, coming inside and closing the door. He sets a box of doughnuts down in the kitchen. “We’ll give you guys a little time.”

  Nessie flashes a smile at me, and then they disappear back to her bedroom.

  I shake my head, working to understand his words without hope reading too far into the situation. “What about England? What about the hotels? Your dad?”

  His fingers weave into my hair, and he smiles. I don’t know if my memories and pictures didn’t do him justice or if somehow in eleven days, he’s gotten even sexier. “Chloe, truth or dare?”

  “Are you serious right now?”

  He laughs at my duress, waiting for me to answer him.

  “Truth?”

  “Okay, I dare you—”

  I laugh. “I said truth.”

  I feel the rumble of his laughter against my chest. “I love you, Chloe. I don’t want to live in a world where you don’t exist. We have two years to figure out how we can make this happen, and since you can understand exoplanets and astrophysics, I’m pretty sure this will be a cakewalk. So, truth: I want to be with you. Truth: I want to kiss you every fucking night. Truth: I want to see you at every one of my games with my number painted on your cheek. Truth: I want to make your coffee and be your sounding board when you’re trying to figure out other galaxies and hypothesizing about what forever and endless really mean. Because I feel like I understand those concepts, both of them, because that’s how I feel about you. I know it in my bones, this—us—we’re endless and forever.”

  There are so many questions that no one understands, some of life’s biggest questions like how or why we are here, and how our universe was created. We are a minuscule dot in space, and yet, as I stand here in Tyler’s arms, it doesn’t matter—none of it matters. Because if I have to write the book on understanding how we got here and why, he would be my answer. I was made to love him, and he was made to love me, and together this beautiful and tragic and endlessly unknown universe was made so we could be together.

  Epilogue

  Tyler

  I’m so winded, my lungs burn as I come to a stop.

  “I didn’t hear you guys. I said, are we ready?” Coach Harris places a hand at his ear.

  We bellow out, “Yes!” All of us are eager for th
is next season after our past undefeated one.

  Coach chews a wad of gum as his gaze slowly crosses each of us. He stops on The President, and then Pax, and Arlo, and then to me. My name made a short news circuit with my leaving for London and then immediately returning to Brighton, and it made its way to Coach. Thankfully, Coach isn’t big on details. He just needed my assurance I was here for the team and that he could count on me.

  Dependability. Loyalty. Two more strengths football has taught me.

  “I’ll see you guys at six tonight.” He flashes a smile that promises more conditioning.

  I roll my shoulders as we head into the locker room.

  “Dude, Coach is serving our asses on a platter,” Bobby says, slumping to a bench.

  “I thought having you date his daughter would help,” Quinton says, prodding at Arlo. “You didn’t piss her off or anything, right?”

  Paxton laughs, patting Arlo’s shoulder. “You now have an entire team of relationship counselors.”

  The President laughs. “Coach just wants another undefeated season. Who doesn’t? Fuck, I’ll run the bleachers and the lines and do the box jumps. We’ve got this. This season is ours.” He points at me. “I saw you out there, Banks. You were a force. This is going to be your year, man.”

  I glance at Coop and several of my teammates. “It’s our year.”

  Cheers break out like we’ve made a toast. The energy is high, and our resolution is even higher.

  Cooper’s elbow clips me as I finish getting dressed. “It’s done.”

  I pull my chin back. “Already?”

  His eyebrows furrow like I’ve just insulted him. “Do you want to see it or not?”

  “Of course, I want to see it.”

  He passes me his phone. The screen is a picture of the fucker Ricky. Cooper knew his name and every detail we needed. His dating profile mentions the multiple classes he failed in high school and context about how he treats women. Cooper was able to hack into multiple systems and do whatever in the hell his genius computer mind needed to get Ricky’s profile on every dating site and social media site, careful to ensure there was no mention of Chloe’s or any other girl’s name and set alerts to notify him if Chloe’s name is ever mentioned.

  “Brilliant,” I say, reading his profile again. “How long did it take you?”

  “You’re not paying me for this shit. I wanted to do this. It’s for Chloe, and every girl who doesn’t know this guy is a douchebag.”

  I want to argue and remind him this was my idea that had him investing the past few weeks into this project. Plus, it’s nearly impossible for most of the guys on the team to have a job during football season because between school, practices, games, travel, and more, there’s little to no time for it, and I know Cooper could use the money. I also am beginning to understand that there are people in my life who don’t come with a price tag or wish list, and Cooper is one of them.

  “Well, I have another job for you. This one comes with a fixed payment.”

  We grab our bags and head out to the parking lot.

  “What kind of job?”

  “I’d like you to work with a woman I hired down in San Francisco. I’ve just purchased a shelter that was upside down, and I want you to create a system interface that will allow them to keep track of trends, storage, what items are low in stock, what isn’t being used, easy medical record access; all the stuff we’re going to be adding and integrating. It will need to work in conjunction with another system I want you to design that tracks everyone’s progress so people can’t fall through any gaps. Something that check to see if they need counseling, doctors, dentists, schooling…” I shake my head, trying to recall the hours of emails and conversations I’ve had with the new director.

  Cooper grins. “I can do that.”

  “I know you can. You’re going to be the next tech giant, and I want to invest in you.”

  Cooper looks as surprised as he did when I first explained who I was freshman year.

  “Are we good?” I ask. Cooper was far less forgiving about my quick departure. Chloe explained it had to do with abandonment issues and trust issues, and that it wasn’t personal. She’s probably right, but I have no doubt she’s forgetting one of the biggest reasons he was upset, which was her. He was mad at me for inflicting pain on her, and I don’t blame him. Not one bit.

  Coop holds a hand up for me, and I clasp his, our chests meeting as we hug. “Yeah. We’re good. Just the next time your dad shows up, let’s make sure it’s a group meeting, okay?”

  I laugh as we reach my Tesla, which had to be shipped here, and I toss my bag into the trunk. “That won’t do me any favors. My dad’s an arse.”

  Coop chuckles, unlocking his car across from mine. “Are you headed to see Chloe?”

  “Yeah, but not until later. She’s at work. Right now, I’m going to go eat and take a nap and then see her for a couple of hours before night practice.”

  “Night practice,” Coop groans. “These two-a-days are brutal. I’m heading to see Vanessa. I’ll see you tonight.”

  I slide into my car as my phone rings. “Hey, Uncle Kip.”

  “What’s up, kid? I went and saw your mom today, and she said you were in London. Don’t tell me your asshole father finally relented and gave you the keys to the castle?”

  “I was in London, but I left.”

  Uncle Kip whoops. “Did you tell him to shove it up his ass?”

  “We made a deal. I get to finish school at Brighton, and then I’ll head to London.”

  “Two years of freedom, huh?”

  “I’m pretty sure I would have had plenty of freedom there, honestly. Grandad was heading to Dubai, and Dad was heading to the States. But I have friends here, and football, and—”

  “A chick,” he interrupts me. “I heard you’ve got a girl.”

  I grin as he spews profanities.

  “Don’t turn your back on me. Think of everything I taught you.”

  Laughter hits my lips. “Thankfully, you taught me a lot about football.”

  He groans. “If you’d have taken me up on just one trip into the pool house with the girls I brought home, I’m telling you, you’d be a different man right now.”

  He’s likely not wrong, which is sobering.

  “Is she cool?”

  My smile returns. “Ridiculously cool.”

  Uncle Kip sighs. “You deserve to be happy, kid. I’m glad you found her.”

  “I am too.”

  “Don’t be like me. Don’t fuck it up. You lose that person, and it’s like the rest of your life you spend trying to find her again in everyone, and as you know from watching me, you can’t find them again.”

  “You will,” I tell him.

  He sighs again. “I better see you on the news soon, since that’s the only way I see your ugly mug.”

  I laugh, joining in his attempts to lift the mood. “Oh, believe me, I plan to be in every reel once we get started.”

  “I’ve got to go, kid. I just wanted to touch base and make sure I didn’t need to back you up.” My Uncle Kip is a lot of things, but like Coop, I’ve never had to question if he’s got my back. “Love you, kid.”

  “I love you too, Uncle Kip.”

  I pull into my driveway and kill the engine. It’s quiet out here where trees are my neighbors, and the only uninvited guests I get are deer and the occasional raccoon. I forget about eating as I make my way to the master bedroom, where I hit the mattress and fall asleep to the scent of Chloe on my pillow.

  I reach out, sensing her before I even see her.

  Chloe’s gentle laughter greets me as my hand closes around her breast. “Even in your sleep, you cop a feel,” she says from where she’s leaned back against the headboard, her neck craned at an unnatural angle that makes my muscles cringe.

  I grin, lowering my hand because I hadn’t meant to aim for her breast; it was just a happy surprise. I link my arm around her waist and tug her to lie flat beside me, curling my body arou
nd her. “I thought I was meeting you?”

  “I was trying to give Nessie and Cooper some time alone. For their best interest and my sanity.”

  I press my nose into the back of her neck, breathing her in as I chuckle.

  “Plus, Coop said you guys were worked over pretty hard.”

  “Coach is all about making sure we’re committed.” I lace my fingers with hers. “How was work?”

  “I have a new love/hate relationship with the place,” she says, rolling to face me. “I really like the astronomer I’ve been assisting at the observatory, and I keep debating if I want to remain with extragalactic astronomy or consider switching or doubling.” Her green eyes dance between mine.

  I lean forward, kissing her. “Take some time and consider it. There’s no rush.”

  “It could add years to my education.”

  I grin. “So?”

  She scoffs.

  “We make the rules,” I remind her. “There’s no timetable. Follow your passions, and I’ll be here with you every step.”

  Her eyes flash. The look I mistook for redemption, I’ve realized is affection, desire, love, and it’s mine.

  “Come on. I have something to show you.” I jackknife off the bed, realizing my shoes are still on. I reach to take Chloe’s hand.

  We pass through the house and head upstairs, stopping at the end of the hall, where I open the door to a currently empty room like all of my guest rooms. Chloe follows me inside, her gaze darting across the bare walls and floors. “What’s this?”

  “It’s going to be our new room.”

  Her eyebrows jump, making me laugh. “I have someone drawing up some plans, but they said they could open this wall and put in more windows, so you can put a telescope in here and see everything because it aims west, away from the city and lights. We’ll put the bed on this wall and cover all the walls and ceilings with mirrors so that when I’m inside of you, I can see every side of you.”

  The shock on her face breaks with laughter. She shakes her head. “No way.”