X's and O's (A SECOND CHANCE SPORTS ROMANCE)

by Nikki Wild

  “I will.”

  Sometime.

  “I’m going back inside,” he said, stepping toward the door.

  He stopped while holding it open.

  “You coming?”

  “In a minute,” I said. “I’ve got to think this through.”

  “You’ve got to call him and tell him. Now.”

  I waved him away, pacing back and forth in a tight circuit.

  What the hell am I going to do?

  After a few minutes of panicked thinking, I went back inside. My thoughts were going a million miles a minute as I made it upstairs.

  I walked over to Scott’s desk and stopped.

  “Hey, can you ask Jessica if she took my flash drive?”

  He minimized his browser window quickly then glanced up at me.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that, okay?”

  “My flash drive, Scott. It’s important.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Someone took my flash drive!”

  “Are you sure you didn’t misplace it? I mean…”

  “No,” I said, cutting him off. “I didn’t lose it. That woman took it.”

  “Why would she do that to you, someone she doesn’t know?”

  “I’m not sure, but she’s the only one who would’ve taken it. I need to get it back. There’s some important photos on it.”

  “Work photos?” He swiveled his chair around to face me. “You had them backed up, right?”

  “No, they weren’t work photos.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Then what’s the problem? Go buy yourself a new flash drive.”

  “I need the photos that were on it.”

  Why doesn’t he understand me?

  “You’re making no sense right now, and I’ve got work to do.”

  As he turned around, I went back to my desk and finished my shift. The next hour went by so slowly. Everyone else would be going out for Friday night, but I wanted to go home and hide.

  Toby called twice on my way home, but I ignored him both times, unable to break the bad news to him. My mistake might cause him his career. He would never forgive me.

  Twenty-One

  Toby

  I awoke on Saturday, alone, thinking about Haley and the big game the next day. She hadn’t answered two of my calls the night before, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

  As I went through my morning routine in the bathroom, I wondered if I should go check on my father at the restaurant. Billy hadn’t given me any updates at all, so I wanted to see if he had at least started.

  Haley needed her space, which was fine with me. I actually enjoyed the fact she wasn’t too clingy. Every day that passed I fell back in love with her even more.

  My phone rang on my way to the kitchen. I glanced down and saw Jessica’s name with no photo on the screen. While I had an overwhelming desire to ignore her, I tapped to accept the call, because I wanted to tell her to back off Haley.

  “What do you want?” I asked, continuing downstairs to the kitchen.

  “My, my, you don’t change much at all, do you?”

  “I don’t have time for your games, Jessica.”

  “Too busy fucking Haley, are you?”

  “You need to mind your own business.”

  Jessica laughed. I remembered one of the many reasons I hated her.

  “Whatever. I know you’re fucking her. I’ve hired a private investigator to look into you.”

  “Find a lot of dirt, did you?” I asked sarcastically as I reached the kitchen.

  I walked over to the coffeepot and poured myself a cup.

  “The investigator didn’t find anything, but your fuck-buddy Haley sure gave me something. It’s crazy what a little money can buy these days.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked then yawned into the phone.

  “She sold me those naked photos of you.”

  I set my mug of coffee down on the kitchen counter near the sink.

  “What?”

  “You heard me,” she said gleefully. “That slut sold me naked pictures of you. What do you think is going to happen if I publish them online or resell them to someone who will post them?”

  “Fuck Gawker, TMZ, and all those rags.”

  “No, they’re going to fuck any chance you have of continuing your career. Don’t you remember what I said when you told me you wanted a divorce?”

  “You said a lot of stupid shit over the years, Jessica.”

  “I told you I would have my revenge. Get ready for…”

  As she droned on, I ended the call.

  What the hell? She’s probably lying, trying to get me worked up.

  I picked up my favorite blue and red mug and took a sip of French Roast. Neurons began firing in my mind as the caffeine hit my system.

  The restaurant could wait. I needed to find Haley and ask her about the photos. Had she been hacked or something? Was that why she hadn’t answered the night before?

  My phone rang. I answered, putting it on speakerphone.

  “What?” I asked rudely.

  “Don’t you hang up on me!”

  “What do you want if you do have these photos?”

  “You don’t think I have them, huh? Let me send you one. Hold on. You by your computer?”

  “No, but I get my mail on my phone. Send whatever edited photos you think you have of me.”

  “Prick,” she said.

  My phone buzzed, alerting me to a new email. I swiped and tapped the phone, opening it as I talked to her. As I saw a photo of me naked in the woods, my eyes widened and my heart sank.

  She laughed.

  “Told you,” she laughed. “Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll give you twenty-four hours to come up with an offer for the photos. If it’s too low, I’ll sell them to another media outlet. Hell, maybe the newspaper will want to run them. Whoever puts them online is going to get a ton of traffic, not to mention it’ll be plastered all over WAGS. I bet they do an entire episode on this. My ratings will soar. Maybe I should thank you and your little slut?”

  “Why do you have to be such a fucking bitch?”

  “Because you would use a word like that on me.”

  “Goodbye, Jessica.”

  I tapped and ended the call. A text message came in.

  “Twenty-four hours.”

  After a deep breath, I finished my coffee. She obviously had at least one nude photo of me. Would it be so bad for them to end up online? More importantly, why hadn’t Haley said anything?

  If I found out she had sold the private photos of me for financial gain, I wasn’t sure what I would do. Our relationship would change forever. Of that, I was sure. But I had a really hard time thinking she would do something like that.

  Instead of calling her, I hopped in the Maserati and raced toward her house. She didn’t fuck me over, I told myself. She would never do that to me. Would she?

  Twenty-Two

  Haley

  As I curled on the couch in my living room, watching His Girl Friday, I heard a knock at the door.

  I wondered who it could be as I stood and walked over.

  “Hold on,” I called out.

  When I opened the door, I saw Toby standing on my porch dressed in tight jeans and a red polo shirt stretching across his massive chest. I suppressed a groan of desire and smiled at him.

  “Hey,” I said, as if nothing were wrong.

  “Hey, can I come in?”

  “Sure.”

  I stepped back. He came in, shutting the door behind him.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “I called last night.”

  “Yeah, I noticed, but I wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Really? You’re going to lie?”

  My eyebrows lifted in anger.

  “What am I lying about?”

  “Did you sell the nude photos you took of me?”

  The blood rushed from my face.

  “Fucking
hell,” he shouted, looking away.

  “Hold on,” I said, putting my hand on his arm.

  He shook it away.

  “Don’t start, okay. How could you sell them for money? I would have given you anything.”

  I stepped around and saw his crazy beautiful eyes, full of pain and anger.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. “I didn’t sell the photos. Someone took them. I think it was your ex-wife.”

  “It sure was. She has them, and that’s all that matters. My career is over now.”

  “Because of a photo of your impressive penis?” I asked, trying to lighten him up.

  “This isn’t a fucking joke, Haley.”

  He walked away, keeping his back to me.

  “What do you want me to say?”

  “Tell me the truth,” he said, spinning around. “Just tell me the truth, okay?”

  “I’m telling you the truth. I should have told you last night, but I was afraid you would hate me.”

  “Why would I hate you for ruining my career?” he asked in a sarcastic tone.

  “Come on, Toby. That’s not fair.”

  “Life ain’t fair,” he said. “How can I trust you now?”

  “I’m telling you the truth,” I said, waving my arms emphatically. “Are you calling me a liar?”

  “I’m not sure. Are you a liar?”

  He stared into my eyes. I looked away, pissed at him even considering I would do something like that to him. We were in love with each other. Didn’t he notice?

  “I’ve got to go,” he said, moving toward the door.

  I stepped in his way, stopping him.

  “Please don’t go. Let’s talk about this.”

  “Get out of my way, Haley. I’ve got to go talk to Coach Harris and let him know.”

  “Hold on,” I said. “They’ve not been released yet. Maybe we can get them back?”

  “How the hell are we going to do that, Haley?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but we can figure it out together.”

  “Move, please.”

  I stepped aside, sadness and anger mixing in a dangerous emotional cocktail.

  “Leave then. Maybe I should have sold them.”

  He whirled around.

  “You did sell them?

  “No! How many times do I have to tell you? I said maybe I should have sold them.”

  “You probably would do something like that to me. Maybe it’s better this way.”

  As he opened the door, I reached out and grabbed his arm.

  “Let me go, Haley.”

  I dropped my hand to my side.

  He walked outside, heading to his car.

  “Fuck you, Toby!” I yelled then slammed the door.

  As I leaned up against it, tears came rolling down my cheeks.

  Why did men need to be such assholes all the time? It’s not like I planned to leak the photos and he was treating me exactly like I’d done it on purpose.

  I watched him drive away, my heart sinking as I regretted yelling at him.

  He just needs to cool down, I thought.

  A little time and everything would be okay, right?

  Screw that, I thought as I grabbed my keys and jumped in my car.

  Twenty-Three

  Toby

  A block away, I pulled into a driveway and turned around to head back to her house. Running away would not solve any problems. If we had any chance at a future, we had to communicate.

  Before I reached her house, I saw her car coming down the road. Our heads turned to watch the other as we passed. I stopped and threw the gear into reverse, backing up.

  I saw her brake lights come on in my rear view mirror. When my window was lined up with hers, I stopped. After we rolled them down, we stared at each other.

  “I’m…” she said.

  “It’s…” I said at the same time, then stopped and added. “Go ahead.”

  “I’m sorry, Toby. I lost them, but I would never sell something like that and hurt you. Not intentionally.”

  I swallowed, staring into her eyes, not seeing lies or deception. Had I lost the ability to read women honestly after my time with Jessica, the queen of misdirection?

  “Let’s go get some dinner and talk about it,” I said.

  “I’ve got a chicken in the oven already.”

  “That sounds perfect. Meet you back at the house?”

  She nodded.

  “Dinner should be ready in another half-hour.”

  “You cook too? Does it keep getting better?”

  I smiled. She glowed.

  “See you back at your house,” I said.

  The back-and-forth with her was part of the reason I found myself so attracted to her. While it had been the same way with Jessica in the beginning, she had turned out to be a sociopath.

  Haley was in an entirely different league of women, the kind I might spend the rest of my life with if we could get past the initial stages of our rekindled relationship and breakthrough unharmed.

  I parked in her driveway and got out of the Maserati, leaning against the back. She pulled in with only the hazard lights on, stopping a few feet behind my car.

  She turned the car off and got out, looking so damn cute in her grey Kent State sweatpants and sweatshirt. I almost forgot all about the naked photos.

  We went inside her house.

  “The chicken smells good,” I said.

  “Let me check on it.”

  I followed her into the kitchen, staring at her ass the whole way. The photos were a big deal, but I found it hard to stop thinking about her naked body, so close to perfection.

  As she opened the oven door and bent over to peer in, I stepped over. She closed it and straightened up, looking at me. Unable to resist, I put my arm around her waist.

  She stared back into my eyes as I lost the ability to speak sensibly.

  Our lips touched, met in a meeting of the mind, a melding of the flesh. Thoughts of dinner flew away.

  As we kissed, I felt her arms snake around me, holding tight, and her breasts pushing against my chest. I pulled back, staring into her eyes with a grin.

  “How long did you say there was until dinner?”

  “Long enough,” she said, then kissed me passionately. “But we have to be quick. Billy will be back soon.”

  “We’d better hurry,” I growled, grabbing her ass with my right hand, squeezing it as she pushed my body backward, out of the kitchen. Locked together as one, we made our way into the living room.

  She stopped and stripped off her sweatshirt, her beautiful body exposed. I kissed a nipple quickly then stood and took off my own shirt.

  Her soft flesh pressing against my hard chest, I placed my hand between her legs, my hands pressed against her pussy under the grey sweatpants.

  In one fluid motion, I got to my knees and pulled them down, exposing a pair of pink panties. She put her hands on the back of my head as I removed them too.

  She moaned, her chest rising and falling more quickly as I buried my face between her legs. Her pussy opened up as I licked, kissed and sucked all the right spots.

  While enjoying her taste and the way I made her body shake, I undid my jeans and got my quickly hardening cock out.

  My fingers wrapped around my shaft. Her fingers ran through my hair, sending shivers of electricity shooting straight to my cock. My hands gripped her perfectly shaped ass and pulled her close, my lips crashing onto hers possessively.

  “I need to lay down,” she said while backing away.

  My pants slid down as I stood up. After stepping out of them, I followed her further into the house. We reached her bedroom, so bright, modern and warm.

  She crossed the room to the bed, sitting down on the edge with her legs spread. Time lost all meaning as I knelt and worshipped her pussy like it held the meaning of life.

  Her moans filled the room as she leaned back, propped up with her arms, back arched and pussy pushing out. I stuck one finger into her. Then another. She
writhed even more.

  My digits pushed in and out as I concentrated on her clitoris, making love to the little nub with my tongue – soft then hard, slow then fast, firm then fluttering.

  “Fuck yes,” she hissed, pulling my head toward her.

  I fucked her with my fingers and mouth, only her orgasm on my mind. My cock throbbed between my legs, but I wanted to hear her cries, see her beautiful face full of agony and pleasure.

  She cried out, her pussy tightening around my fingers. I pulled them out and put them in my mouth. As I got to my feet, she squirmed on the bed beneath me.

  My cock bobbed and swayed in front of me, hard as a fucking diamond. A wicked smile spread over her face as she sat up.

  We locked eyes, her staring me up and down, as she stroked my cock, playing with it between her sumptuous and beautiful breasts.

  She scooted back on the mattress then rolled over onto her stomach. I soon found my cock in her mouth. My eyes watched, transfixed, as she sucked the first two inches furiously.

  Her lips were wrapped around the shaft so tightly, I thought I would pop in an instant. Instead, the pleasure gradually spread through my entire body, building up to a familiar crescendo.

  I pulled back then crawled on the bed beside her. She rolled over again, spreading her legs. Her quivering pussy welcomed me, succulent, and so fucking tight.

  We were the only two beings in the entire universe as I crawled forward, my body propped up with my arms. She ran her hands up and down them as I rubbed my cock over her pussy.

  “Do it,” she begged.

  One inch slipped in. Then another. Soon, all nine-and-a-half inches of my hard cock was inside her pussy. Her eyes sparkled, opening wide as I pulled out.

  The process repeated over and over again, faster and harder as our bodies began to communicate on some primal, instinctual level. She’s so fucking tight!

  A woman like her, who could make me feel so fucking free, would never do anything to hurt me. As the realization hit me, a smoke detector went off somewhere in the house.

  “Fuck,” she cried. “The chicken!”

  Unable to stop, I continued thrusting, so fucking close to popping. In the chaos, I came, my entire body shaking. I lowered myself to my forearms, almost passing out.