The Tight End: A New Adult Sports Romance ~ Casper (The Rookies Book 2)

by Zoë Lane

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  I crawled on the floor until I reached the bar stool and then used it to support my weight standing up. Damn I was tired. Why was I so tired?

  He stared at me wide-eyed, mouth hanging open. Like I’d just lost my mind. Then he said with a laugh, “Why were you crawling?”

  Doing what I could to get away from you. “Phillip, I’m...I’m not ready to go that far, I’m sorry.”

  His face hardened, brows slanted down, nostrils wide. “What?”

  I ran from the room and into the safety of the guest room. I locked the door and collapsed face first onto the bed. I crossed my legs tight, still feeling desire spazzing.

  It would’ve been a mistake.

  He might’ve been ready to move on, but he didn’t feel the level of betrayal I did.

  It was just going to take a little bit more than hours of talking and hot sex for me to forget.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  SIOBHAN

  Five tackles. The second-to-last one was hard to watch. I expected to see Casper in my massage room that night after practice or the day after, but he was a no-show. I hadn’t seen him in the gym or the therapy training area either. How could he have a serious rotator cuff injury and still be playing? Maybe Mike’s hit hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought it was.

  If he says he’s fine, then...he’s fine.

  Except I wasn’t fine. I kept thinking about the injury and then him getting hit by Mike in practice. I was a nervous wreck watching the recap of their game against the Eagles, nearly shutting my eyes or turning away whenever another massive two-hundred-plus-pound giant came barreling his way. Casper had made a point that he was much heavier than Phillip, but those linebackers and cornerbacks had plenty of pounds on him.

  The Richmond Rhinos were doing very well. They’d eked out a win against Philly for three in a row. EPSN analysts couldn’t stop talking about the players, and how fortuitous it was for Coach Hicks to move from coaching college to pro.

  Yet, all I could think about was how, any of the players hurt themselves—and they probably would at some point—the team might lose momentum.

  Perception was everything to the organization.

  And consumers of the sport were brutal. Any mistakes on or off the field were vilified.

  That’s why I care so much. I’m a team player. I want this organization to succeed—or so I’d been telling myself all afternoon.

  I eyed my box of belongings sitting on the bottom shelf on the opposite wall in my usual massage room. I sighed. So far, I hadn’t been called down to HR to receive my final paycheck, nor had the police been in to arrest me. Maybe Casper had been too busy recovering from the game to make a phone call that would end my career.

  For that I was grateful.

  “Where’s your player boyfriend?”

  Phillip.

  I’d said I would continue to have lunch with him. Why? I’d been questioning myself a lot lately. Our decision to move in together about three months ago. Conditionally accepting his proposal. Going back and forth over having kids. There was just too much debt hanging over us to bring expensive kids into the world.

  His cheating.

  Our therapy sessions.

  Refusing sex.

  Good thing I’d held off on setting a date for the wedding. But I was still going to give this the old college try.

  “Come in.” I busied myself with folding the rest of the towels received from the laundry and placed them on the shelves situated on the wall opposite the sink.

  Phillip moved to one of the two plush, deep green chairs abutting the wall perpendicular to the room door. He placed the bag of Chinese food on the small coffee table between the chairs. “Hurry up, I’m starving.”

  I quickly sat down and rummaged through the bag for chopsticks while Phillip set the boxes of food in front of us.

  “Can I ask you something?” I scraped the chopsticks together to rid them of loose shavings.

  “Hmm?” He chewed on a mouth full of General Cho’s chicken.

  “What would you say—think of someone who kind of did something illegal?”

  He popped another piece of chicken into his mouth. “More details.”

  “Well, say this person looked at a confidential file. It’s an invasion of privacy, really.”

  Phillip shrugged. “Anybody hurt?”

  “Physically? No, no one.”

  “Any harm done?”

  “Well...maybe to the relationship that person had with the owner of the file.”

  Phillip’s nose scrunched up. “Why the hell would someone look at a confidential file and then tell that person they looked? What are they? An idiot?”

  “Well...”

  “That seems like a bigger issue.”

  “Really? You don’t think integrity is more important?”

  He stared at me for a long moment. “This is a trap, isn’t it? You made up some scenario to point out how little integrity I have for sleeping with—”

  “No!” I held up a hand. “No, that’s not it. I promised I wouldn’t bring...it up and I’m not.”

  He nodded a few times, pursed his lips, and then continued. “Then their integrity got them in trouble with the person, right? That’s the only harm done. What’s so important about this file, anyway?” He shoved another huge forkful into his mouth and stared at me, enraptured by the story.

  “Just information gathering.”

  “It all seems stupid.”

  That’s one word for it. I’d certainly felt stupid since it had happened, and more sorry that Casper hadn’t been back to flirt with me or even tell me again how I’d broken the law. I’d much rather face a confrontation than silence.

  “Was it you?” he asked point-blank.

  I swallowed the spicy pepper steak and coughed.

  Phillip snickered. “It was you. What the hell?”

  “I was treating Casper—”

  “Oh, here we go.” Phillip slammed the container on the table and crossed his arms. “Casper? That douchebag I met the other week?”

  My back stiffened. “He’s not a douchebag.”

  Phillip leaned forward with slitted eyes. “Why are you so interested in him?”

  “I...I was treating him.”

  “You’re not a doctor, Siobhan. I told you to go for medical school and you settled for physical therapy. And now you’re trying to act like you have a right to know people’s personal information?”

  I held up my chopsticks. “Wait a minute. A minute ago, you were all for it as long as the person didn’t get caught!”

  “But it’s you, Siobhan! Of course you’d get caught. You told him, right? Why did you do that? He could have you fired. Since you’re paying most of the bills, you can’t afford to lose your job right now. And what about the debt you owe for the practice?”

  “We owe,” I stated firmly.

  He pointed a chopstick at me. “No, you owe. I told you not to buy into that practice because I thought your partners were shady as fuck. And I was right! You’ll owe the IRS for at least another decade.”

  “We both invested—”

  “I trusted you with my money. So you owe me.” He dropped another piece of chicken in his mouth and continued talking. “I’m just not like the bank. I’m not going to charge you interest. At least, not in cash.” He winked and then chuckled.

  I sat there stupefied. My head felt like it was burning up, like every synapses was firing at once. I was still stuck on how he was expecting my salary to pay for everything. “You mean you couldn’t possibly pick up a few extra shifts if something happened?”

  “It’d be your fault, wouldn’t it? Why do I have to suffer for your stupid choices?” He tossed the carton of food down onto the table. “I mean, fuck that.” He pounded his chest with his hands, his eyes burning into mine. “I’m the one who’s trying here, Siobhan. You’re making me pay for my mistakes—alone. Now you think I need to share your burdens?”

  “
Isn’t that what being married is about!” I snapped back.

  “Well, we haven’t set a date yet, have we? And it doesn’t look like we’re any closer to figuring this out. You still haven’t slept in our bed since we started this whole thing. We should be getting closer, not getting farther apart.”

  I carefully placed my food container down on the table, my hands shaking as rage burned me from the inside out. “Get out, Phillip,” I said through a wall of teeth.

  “Uh-uh. That’s not how this works, Siobhan. We gotta talk this through. You’ve got to be able to take criticism, especially since you’re the one asking for it and doing things that could jeopardize our future!”

  “Criticism, yes, but rudeness no!”

  “You’re overreacting.”

  “Overreact—” I stood up so fast I bumped the table and knocked over my pepper steak. The food spilled right onto my white tennis shoes. Thankfully, Phillip had the decency not to laugh; it was clumsy moments like this that really made him laugh. I stepped away from the table and went to grab a small towel from my freshly washed stack. I wiped the sauce from my shoe as best I could, and then tossed the towel into a wicker basket for used towels. Then I headed for the door.

  “You’re not going to clean this up?”

  “Nope. You do it,” I said, snatching the door open and stomping out of the room. I rounded the corner and smacked right into a solid chest of muscle.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Warm hands cradled my waist before I looked up into Casper’s eyes. They weren’t just blue. Flecks of green and grey dotted the outer edges of his irises. What a thing to notice at a time like this?

  “Siobhan?” he whispered.

  My hands had mysteriously found their way to his waist, and we stood there, in the hall, holding each other. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his. The heat from his hands radiated through me, calming my upset nerves. His minty breath reminded me that I had just eaten pepper steak. I snapped my open mouth shut.

  A throat cleared beside us. “This is getting romance-movie awkward.”

  Landyn.

  Casper’s gaze released mine as he looked at his friend. “How does Rose put up with you? Do you even take her out?”

  “Don’t even, Cas. Let’s not talk about your experience.” The wicked gleam in Landyn’s eyes and his Cheshire cat smile told me was a lot not being said. Casper’s silence confirmed it.

  Casper finally removed his hands and stepped back. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “Where are you going in such a hurry?” Casper asked.

  “Away.”

  “From? Work?”

  “My massage room.”

  “Funny,” Landyn spoke up. “We were on our way there. Cas wanted a quick shoulder massage, and I wanted to get some work done on my right ankle. I didn’t sprain it or anything,” he rushed to say. “I just like to keep it loose.”

  My eyes didn’t leave Casper’s face when Landyn mentioned him wanting a massage. “You want...me?”

  “That is such a loaded question,” Landyn said chuckling.

  Casper visibly swallowed. “Yes,” he said in a squeaky tone.

  “Ugh, this is terrible. How ’bout I wait in the room until you two can make it there?”

  Phillip! I held a hand out to stop Landyn, but he slipped my grasp. “Wait—”

  “Don’t worry,” Casper said, taking my hand. “I told him I’m going first.”

  “I...I haven’t seen you in days, and I thought...”

  Casper looked at his shoes. “Yeah, I...I didn’t know what to think.”

  “Casper, I apologize, again.”

  His gaze met mine. “Don’t—”

  “No. I know what I did was wrong. I’m... I’m probably just a bit of a helicopter therapist. The team is doing so well. I just don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”

  His hand kneaded mine. “You care about me?” He grinned.

  “The team, I said.”

  “Ah, yes, the team.”

  “Not just you,” I rushed to say.

  “But still, me. Since I’m on the team.” His smile remained.

  Casper Taylor was back.

  I yanked my hand back. “Is your shoulder bothering you?”

  “Nope. Fine. Just my usual massage.”

  “You have to be careful,” I said as I started to walk back toward my room. “A rotator cuff injury sometimes doesn’t heal all the way.”

  “I know, I get it. I took a year off in college. Thankfully, I got hurt freshman year, so...”

  Landyn leaned in the doorway, in a casual standoff with Phillip, who lounged in the chair. Both were staring at each other.

  “Another one?” Phillip asked when he saw me. His face clouded when I stepped into the room, followed by Casper.

  “What do you mean, ‘another one’?” Landyn straightened from the doorway. “She’s a physical therapist. She sees a lot us.”

  “Apparently,” Phillip muttered.

  “Who are you?” Landyn scoffed.

  “This is Phillip,” Casper answered. “He’s her fiancé.” Casper removed his shirt, his pecs bobbing. Pretty sure he did that for affect.

  “What do you do, Phillip?” Casper asked in a bored voice.

  He stood, his arms crossed. “I’m a bartender.”

  I stepped between the two men. “Phillip, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you at home for dinner. We can finish our conservation there.”

  Phillip kept his eyes on Casper before they darted to Landyn. “Both of them?”

  “Yup,” Landyn said with excitement. “She’s doing both of us. I’m gonna watch while Casper gets his first.”

  Phillip lunged for Landyn, who crossed the room to meet him, but Phillip was pulled back and flung into the seat by Casper.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Casper said in a warning tone.

  I rushed to Phillip and put two hands on his shoulders to keep him from getting up. Truthfully, he was strong for his build and could probably shove me away without trying. My foot felt squishy. I looked down. The pepper steak was still on the floor.

  “I could get you two fired for assault!”

  “You started it,” Landyn said in a bored tone. “You think they’re going to fire the quarterback over you? An uninjured bartender who wouldn’t leave a room when asked by an employee of the organization?”

  “Please, Phillip,” I whispered urgently. “I need to work, remember? I’m paying most of the bills.”

  His hot gaze met mine. His top lip curled and he snarled; I knew I’d hit a nerve. He didn’t like it when I pinched his ego by using the same words meant to guilt-trip me.

  “You pay for—”

  “Casper,” I said in a warning tone. His commentary on how I was basically the breadwinner in my relationship would only add fuel to the fire. But I admit it: I wanted to hear what he had to say. Sometimes I felt alone in my opinion. My girlfriends thought I was making too big a deal out of it; I had a man who wanted to marry me.

  I, on the other hand, wanted an equal partner.

  I backed away from Phillip but remained between him and Casper. Phillip stood slowly and passed Casper, his gaze on a grinning Landyn. When he exited the room, Landyn slammed the door behind him.

  “Your fiancé is a piece of sh—”

  “Thank you, Landyn,” I interrupted.

  “Told you,” Casper said to Landyn, who moved to sit in the chair vacated by Phillip.

  “You were right,” he replied.

  “You’re talking about us?” I put my hands on my hips and stared Casper down. I hoped he felt at least a little guilty.

  “You think Casper talks about anyone else?” Landyn asked with laugher. “You gonna finish this pepper steak?” He used the chopsticks to stir the food.

  I snatched the carton out of his hands. “Yes. That’s my lunch.”

  Landyn pointed down. “Well, most of it’s on the floor.”

  “Finish your lunch,” Casper said, his exp
ression apologetic. “I’ll sit here and wait.”

  “No, I’ll eat it later.” I placed the carton on the sink counter and washed my hands. I then grabbed my favorite oil and went to the massage table, where Casper had already reclined. “How’s the shoulder?”

  “Fine.”

  I glanced cautiously at Landyn. He stared cautiously back. “I saw you get hit pretty hard a couple of times.”

  Casper adjusted his head to look me in the eyes. He smiled. “You watch the games? You watch me?”

  Landyn snorted.

  I cleared my throat. “You already know the answer to that. I have to treat you guys, so, yes, I watch to see who’ll likely need extra treatment during the week. Plus, I enjoy football.”

  Casper’s grin remained until I increased my pressure around his shoulder blade and back over his shoulder to the supraspinatus tissue. His shoulder stiffened under my hands. I stopped.

  “Keep going. I like the pressure.”

  I stepped back from the table. “No, you don’t,” I challenged. “I want you to see the doctor again. You’ve probably aggravated the injury. If it’s not treated properly, you could cause further damage.”

  He slowly rose from the table, his eyes narrowed, expression dark. “I think I know what’s happening to my own body better than you. I had a rotator cuff injury, and it healed.”

  “You’re trying to fool the entire team, but you can’t fool me, nor a medical test. Casper, I’m not the enemy here.”

  “No? You’re the pillar of integrity?” Instantly, his face became downcast. He held up a hand and looked away. “Sorry. That was below the belt. You’ve apologized and I should let it go.”

  I didn’t know which was worse: the disappointment that he couldn’t forgive me, or the embarrassment of my mistake now being broadcast to another person. Landyn probably already knew; he and Casper were reportedly best friends.

  Ego smarting, I said, “No, you can hang on to it all you want, but so will I. And all the partying that you and Landyn and the others do? You get into another accident and you could ruin your shoulder. Is that what you want? Your short-lived NFL career to go down the drain because of your mistakes?”

  Casper bolted from the room. I stood there, staring at the door, trying to be as still as possible while my insides quaked.