The End Zone: SPORTS ROMANCE (Contemporary Sport Bad Boy Alpha Male American Football Romance) (New Adult Second Chance Women’s Fiction Romance Short Stories)

by Jenna Payne

  “You two aren’t normal.” The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them.

  “Is there such a thing as normal?” Gerald asked her. “Or is there just life? No one is the same in this world. So what is normal? You? Him?” He pointed to the waiter. “Or anyone else in this restaurant?”

  “You’ll have to forgive Socrates.” Shaun jabbed an elbow at Gerald, which he deftly avoided. “He likes to think that he is a master at philosophical debate, but in reality he’s just nuts.”

  “No, he has a point. I...I never really thought of it like that, but he’s right. There is no such thing as normal. I’ve spent so many years living a routine day in and day out that I had begun to think that it was how life was supposed to be lived. I don’t want to die alone in my house as an old woman with books as my only friends. I want to live.” She looked up and blushed. “I’m sorry. That sort of just came out.”

  “Don’t be.” Gerald gave her one of his genuine smiles. “You spoke from your heart just now and one should never be sorry for what comes from their heart.”

  “There he goes again.” Shaun rolled his eyes.

  As the two men argued back and forth with each other Cynthia sat back and listened. As they ribbed each other, she found that she enjoyed listening to them do so. It was almost like watching an old-school comedy like Abbot and Costello. Once more she found herself deep in thought about the two men and why she had ever agreed to go to dinner with them. Granted, she was glad she had, but she still didn’t want to admit why she had. When she was around them, she seemed to turn into a different woman.

  “Cynthia!” Shaun reached across the table and laid a hand on top of one of hers. She jerked her head around and looked him in the eyes. “Where did you go?”

  “I was daydreaming. I guess.” She shrugged her shoulders.

  “I asked you if you were ready to go.” Gerald said.

  “Yes, I am. If you guys are.”

  Shaun paid for the meal and they left the restaurant. A few minutes later they pulled up in front of her house. She started to get out but stopped with one foot still in the truck. Shaun opened his mouth to ask her if something was wrong.

  “I was wondering if you boys would like to come inside for a bit?” A part of her wondered what she was doing, but another part of her urged her to go further.

  Shaun exchanged a glance with Gerald, who gave him a nod. “Sure. We’d love to come in for a little while.”

  Inside the house, she left them in the living room for a moment. She told them that she was going to change into something more comfortable. In her room, she stripped off and went through her closet. On a hanger near the back, she found what she wanted. A see-through negligee that she’d had for years and only wore once. She slipped it on and looked at herself in the mirror.

  “What are you doing?” She asked herself. “You barely know these men.”

  She answered herself. I’ve got a right to be happy just like everyone else and I think that having a one night stand with these two men would make me very happy. The thought of both of their hands on her body made her quiver. Very happy indeed.

  *****

  Cynthia walked back into the living room and struck a pose at the head of the hallway. Both men jumped up off the couch and for a moment she felt like a fool for wearing a see-through negligee until she saw the look on their faces. Shaun’s eyes lit up and he smiled hungrily at her. Gerald grinned a wicked grin and looked her over.

  “Follow me.” She waggled a finger in their direction.

  Shaun stepped up to her first. As Gerald stepped up beside him, she gave them her most seductive smile. She expected Shaun to make the first move, but she was wrong. Gerald grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. His lips met hers and she melted into his strong arms as they kissed one another. Hands touched her body from behind. They moved down her spine over the curve of her butt and gave it a squeeze. She pulled back from Gerald and spun around. Shaun’s mouth was ready and waiting as she turned. His tongue worked past her lips and probed her mouth. On his breath, she could taste stale tobacco smoke and whiskey.

  She pulled back from the kiss and motioned for them to follow her into the bedroom. They both complied. She swished her hips as she walked down the hallway. At her door, she gave a little yelp and a jump when one of them smacked her butt from behind. Inside the bedroom, she sat back on the bed and crossed her legs.

  “Now for a little fun if you boys are up for it.” She liked the way they looked at each other and nodded. “I want each of you to strip for me and the winner gets to have me first.”

  “Got any tunes?” Asked Shaun.

  She pushed play on the stereo beside her bed and a thumping rap beat issued from the speakers. Gerald stepped back and let Shaun have room to do his dance and strip first. He started with his shirt. He grabbed it at the bottom with his hands and pulled it slowly over his ripped body as he gyrated his hips. As he undid his belt, Cynthia felt like she was in a dream. In one smooth motion, he ripped his belt from his pant loops and threw it across the room. It smacked the wall hard and fell to the floor. His boots landed on top of it seconds later. Then he went to work on his pants. He pulled them off and she let out a gasp when she saw that he didn’t have on any underwear. He danced around the room for a moment as she took in the contours of his body and ended in a pose with his arms flexed in the air.

  She clapped her hands and whistled.

  “My turn.” Gerald proclaimed from the corner.

  Cynthia turned and watched as he began his dance. His shirt came first as well, but she was unprepared for how ripped he was. Shaun was huge and muscled, but Gerald was ripped like no other man she had ever seen. His abs were no mere six-pack. She counted them as he danced and ended up with ten. He fell to the floor, but caught himself in pushup position and arched his back before he leapt back to his feet. His pants came next and just like Shaun he wore no underwear. She had gasped at Shaun’s member, but Gerald’s was much bigger. Bigger than any she had seen outside of porn. He struck a pose and she clapped as she shut off the stereo.

  “I’ve deliberated and I believe that the winner is Gerald.”

  She watched as the two men once more look at each other and exchanged a nod. Shaun laid his hands out palms up in a ‘go right ahead’ gesture. Gerald smiled and moved toward the bed. Cynthia could see that he was already semi-hard as he stepped up and pushed her gently back onto the bed. He climbed on top of her and kissed her on the neck as he pulled off her negligee. She felt him grow hard as he kissed her. He pulled her legs apart and eased himself into her. She gasped as he filled her up to the point that it hurt a little bit. At first he moved slowly. She winced and moaned as he thrust himself fully into her. Shaun knelt on the bed near her head and leaned over her. He began to play with her breasts, his thumbs flicked at her nipples and made them hard as Gerald began to pick up speed. She reached up, grabbed Shaun by the backs of his thighs, and pulled him close. He grunted as she took him into her mouth and ran her tongue over the end of his member.

  Never before in her life had she ever imagined something like this. Sex had never been this good for her. Not even the first time. Her body felt like it would explode as an orgasm built in her. As she moaned for Gerald to go faster and harder, he complied and thrust into her with a speed that she didn’t know was possible. Shaun pulled back and kissed her neck as she reached her climax. Just as the orgasm hit her, he nibbled at her neck with his teeth and she felt like the top of her head would blow off. Gerald pulled out of her and moved aside. Shaun grabbed her by the hips and flipped her over. She got onto her hands and knees and he climbed onto the bed behind her. As he entered her, she pushed Gerald down onto the bed on his back in front of her and went to work on him. He gasped as she took all of him into her mouth.

  Shaun wasn’t as big as Gerald, but he knew how to work what he had and in a moment he had brought her to the brink once again. She moaned and arched her back as she reached her climax once again. Gerald g
rabbed her by the back of the head and eased her mouth down onto his member once more. As she orgasmed again, she worked furiously with her hands, lips, and tongue to give him an orgasm. He finished just as Shaun began to grunt and thrust into her without abandon. Gerald grabbed her and pulled her close as she and Shaun climaxed at the same time. She let out a cry of pleasure as Gerald nipped at her ear with his teeth and kissed her neck.

  The trio fell onto the bed, exhausted. For a moment, it was all Cynthia could do to catch her breath. As she lay there the thought of a drink brought her around. She sat up on the bed and moved to the edge. As she put on a nightgown, she spoke.

  “Would you boys care for a glass of wine or perhaps something a little stronger? I’ve got some good scotch. I believe it’s twenty-three years old.”

  “Sounds delicious.” Shaun leapt up from the table bed.

  Moments later they sat on her couch with glasses of the scotch in their hands. A bad movie played on TV, but none of them watched it. One of the men sat on each side of her and all she could think of was making love to them again. She leaned forward and sat her glass on the table.

  She reached out and unzipped the pants of each man. Once they were free of their pants, she began to stroke them. Shaun leaned in from the left and kissed her on the neck while Gerald leaned in from the right and nibbled at her ear. This time Shaun was the first to make a move. He pulled away from her and knelt between her legs. As he entered her, she let out a gasp. Gerald moved his mouth to her breasts. His tongue played in circles around her nipples as she moaned with pleasure. Never had she had an orgasm this fast, but it rocked through her body all the same. She arched her back as Shaun thrust into her. Gerald silenced her gasps with kisses and his tongue. Cynthia could feel it as Shaun got close to his climax. She bucked her hips against him and felt him shudder as he had an orgasm. He got up from between her legs and fell to a heap on the couch, spent.

  Gerald moved in front of her. She expected him to kneel between her legs, but he surprised her when he lifted her into the air. She moaned loudly as she eased her down onto his member and began to make love to her standing up. Never had she made love in this way. She had read about it, but never dreamed it was possible. He thrust into her and bit her neck. Her body tingled with pure pleasure as she neared her climax once again. As she bounced on his member, her orgasm tore through her body. Her nails tore at Gerald’s back as she climaxed. She shuddered and let out a scream as it tore through her and she felt like she was about to explode. Gerald grunted and thrust into her once more before he moved back to the couch. He sat her down and then sat down beside her. She took a moment and caught her breath.

  “I could get used to this.” She sighed.

  “So could I.” Agreed Shaun. He looked over at her and smiled. “How would you like to see how far this can go?”

  “You mean date? How would that work out? Which of you would I be dating?”

  “Both of us.” Gerald answered. “We are the Brothers Swagger and we share everything equally. Can you handle that?”

  “Would there be more women in your lives?” She knew that was something that she couldn’t deal with.

  “Nope. Just you.” Shaun answered.

  “Then yeah. I think I could get used to this. If this were a book I believe this would be the part where I tell both of you that I love you, but since this is real life and a little bit soon I think I’ll just say that I like you two a whole lot.” She grinned and sat back on the couch. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t need to read to get to sleep.

  THE END

  Bonus Story 7 of 20

  Betsy

  It was 11:25 and Casey Larson had just over a half an hour to finish writing the news for the noon broadcast.

  It had been a crazy day, with a car crash on Route 6 that had killed a mother and her infant son and, earlier in the day, one of the state’s senators had held a press conference at the Hyannis Resort Hotel to announce the passage of a new land bank bill that would help to preserve Cape Cod’s wilderness—or what was left of it.

  Casey had been working at WCCB for the past two years, and although she loved her job, it was hard to be a single mother and a career woman who devoted her working life to breaking news. Since the major television networks and other big news outlets were located sixty miles away in Boston, WCCB was the only source of local news for Cape Cod. She and Mark Lawson were it. The two of them kept churning out the news, six days a week on the radio.

  At two minutes to twelve, Casey ran into the sound booth and turned on the mike, waiting for the news jingle to finish so she could begin her newscast.

  “Good Afternoon,” she announced into the mike in the soundproof room. “The time is twelve o’clock noon. I’m Casey Larson. Today in the news…”

  When she was finished, she walked back into the newsroom and collapsed into her chair. She put her head down on her desk, her long brown hair falling in tangles.

  “Crazy, crazy day,” Mark, her news director, said from his desk across the room. “I hate to leave you with so much going on, but I’m going to stop by the police station in Yarmouth to interview the chief about all of the break-ins there. Then I’m going home, Case. I’ve been here since 5:00 this morning.”

  Mark had the morning shift, which was a lot tougher than Casey’s afternoon shift. He left his house in Chatham at 4:00 A.M. and miraculously got the first newscast on at 5:00 A.M. every day except Sundays.

  He walked over to her and affectionately patted her head.

  “You’ll get through it,” he said. “That’s why we hired you, right? You’re Casey Larson.”

  Mark liked to tease her about her big dreams of working at ABC in New York. When things got crazy at WCCB, she’d playfully tease Mark about her low pay and the fact that she should really be at ABC, covering wars and state visits by presidents and kings.

  “How did I end up here?” she’d ask, smiling. “I’m supposed to be taking over for Diane Sawyer.”

  The truth was, she did have big dreams, but they were as far away now as the moon. She was the single mother of two little girls and they were more important than her old ambitions. She’d tucked those dreams away in her mental trunk where they had gathered cobwebs over the years—up there under the rafters of reality.

  “Hey, listen,” he said, handing her a book. “The guy who wrote this book is coming to town tomorrow to do press interviews. Any chance you can skim this tonight and interview him tomorrow for Cape Life? I told his press agent he could come in at 2:00.”

  Cape Life was their weekly half-hour public affairs show—a federal requirement for all broadcast stations. They interviewed writers, politicians—just about anybody they could get to fill in the time slot. They’d often tape it ahead of time and then air it on Sundays at 10:00 A.M.

  “Mark!” Casey cried. “How am I going to prepare for this interview in one day? I don’t even get home until 7:00!”

  “Are you forgetting who you are?” Mark teased. “You’re Casey Larson! There’s nothing you can’t do.”

  *****

  Casey pulled in the driveway at 7:10 and tucked the book in her shoulder bag. Her upstairs apartment was dark, although the lights in the apartment below were glowing brightly.

  Bill and Jennifer Anderson were her landlords and lived downstairs from Casey. She liked them, but Jennifer was nosey. Casey had caught her at the bottom of the stairs listening to her phone conversations more than a few times. Bill was nice enough to her, but he was a grumpy guy who spent a lot of time watching television in his old, weathered La-Z-Boy.

  This week was Robert’s week to have the kids, and the apartment was quiet when she walked in. Casey and her ex-husband had joint custody of their two daughters, April and Sarah, and although she missed the girls during her off weeks, the arrangement gave her more time to devote to her job. She’d often stay late in the newsroom, working on stories for the next day.

  She’d stopped and bought a sandwich on her way home, and
she poured herself a glass of ice tea and settled in on the porch.

  As much as she hated renting, she and the girls affectionately named the apartment they lived in “The Tree House.” It occupied the top two floors of a three-story house and they lived up in the leaves, surrounded as they were by trees. They could see Vineyard Sound from the windows off in the distance, and there was a sweet little beach nearby where they’d comb for seashells and have picnic lunches on the weekends.

  It wasn’t perfect, but it was home. It was a charming but weathered apartment, and she’d wallpapered the kitchen with a beautiful French country print and she’d used her own money to put in new kitchen flooring. The front porch was their favorite place, surrounded on three sides by three-quarter length windows where nothing but green leaves could be seen in the warmer months. It was stuffed with comfortable furniture that faced the outside. They lived there in the summer, watching boats sail by in the distant bay and camping out on summer nights to squeal at passing thunderstorms with bowls of popcorn.

  Casey took the book from her bag and looked at the cover. Her nonchalance failed to reveal the importance of that moment. That book was going to change her life, but sitting on the porch just then, no magic dust fell from the heavens and landed on the pages. She was tired and lamented having homework to do.

  The book was titled “Sea Dreams” and Casey immediately became interested when she read the jacket:

  Paul Neal tried to sail alone across the Atlantic from England to Maine in a wooden boat he and his estranged wife had lovingly restored together. As he faced the challenges of single-handed sailing, he found his wife’s old diaries stowed in a duffel bag in the cabin. He gathered insight into their failed marriage as he sailed on, coming to terms with himself as his boat began to take on water midway through the trip.

  Casey was taken aback by the book’s description, immediately recognizing that Paul was a man of uncommon depth. More than that, he seemed like the Indiana Jones of the sea—a philosopher with a life jacket. His prose was beautifully crafted and she was struck by his intensity. It was hard to believe the story was true or that a man like Paul Neal really existed. Guys like that certainly weren’t a part of her world.