Roughing the Passer (Quarterback Sneak Book 2)

by Natalie Brock

  “Really? Isn’t going on the road with the team precisely why you tried out?”

  Sighing, Allison confessed, “I guess I was tryin’ to prove somethin’.”

  “To me?”

  Allison shook her head. “No. To me.” Allison smiled without realizing it. No one laughed at her today when she did her routine. No one told her she was clumsy. They applauded when she finished and even if she didn’t win, at least she was taken seriously. “And now that that’s out of the way, I can go on with my life and just be me, instead of someone I thought I was supposed to be.” Allison paused for a moment. “The ironic thing is, if I wasn’t followin’ your dream, I never would have met Tony.”

  “Baby, I think you need to be careful of that boy. He’s a criminal and he mistreats girls like you.”

  Allison’s whole face contorted with disgust. “Why do you always believe the gossip? Why are you so quick to judge people without knowin’ the facts? And would it kill you to encourage me instead of tearin’ me down?”

  Her mother stood up. “Allison! That is not true, baby. I’m on your side, just like always.”

  “No! It is true. I’m sick and tired of havin’ to justify myself to you and everyone else. You’re wrong. You’re just wrong,” she said tearfully. “Can’t you just be happy for me?”

  “Not if I think you’re going to end up getting hurt.”

  “Tony won’t hurt me,” she shot back. “He happens to be the best thing that ever happened to me. If you’d just open your eyes instead of rubbin’ your hands together when you hear some gossip, then maybe I’d have some respect for you.” By now, Allison was so angry, her face was hot and she was shaking. “Instead of jumpin’ to conclusions and assumin’ the worst, why don’t you ask me about him? Ask how we met, how I got to know him. Ask me why he resisted my advances instead of jumpin’ at the chance to get laid. It’s because he respects me.” Before her mother could turn that statement around and tell Allison how naive she is to believe that, Allison said, “I know what you’re thinkin’ and I don’t care.” She looked at her mother’s grim face. It was like she wasn’t even hearing Allison. “You know what? I’m done tryin’ to convince you. It’s not worth it. All that matters is I love Tony. That’s all you need to know.” Allison headed toward the door and reached for the knob.

  “Baby, wait. Don’t leave like this. Where are you going?”

  “For a walk. I need some air.” She opened the door. “There’s fruit and yogurt in the fridge. Have what you want.”

  »»•««

  Running along the paths between campus buildings, Allison was getting strange looks from fellow students. She didn’t have a chance to change out of her cheer outfit before storming out of her dorm. Right now she needed to see Tony. He was the only one who could erase her mother’s nasty insinuations from her mind. He was the one person who could make her world feel less caustic. All the emotions of the day were welling up inside and she was about to lose it.

  She rapped on his door, but there was no answer. He just has to be here, she thought to herself. She needed him so badly right now. “Dayum.” She took her phone out of her pocket and texted Tony, saying the words out loud as she typed. “Where R U?”

  She remained focused on her phone’s screen, waiting for a reply, but heard a voice instead. “Right behind you.” Allison spun around and a feeling of relief washed over her.

  His tank top was soaked in sweat and it looked like he’d just come from a workout of his own. “You okay?” he asked.

  “I am now,” she said.

  Tony cocked his head toward the door. He unlocked it and Allison walked inside. “She’s makin’ me crazy.”

  “I figured. What’d she do?” he asked as he shut the door behind them and set his key card on a table.

  “She just thinks the worst. Like always.”

  “About me, you mean.” He said it as a statement, not a question. Allison shrugged but didn’t say anything. “Can I ask a question without you getting mad?”

  “Of course.”

  He scratched his head. “I know I’m not your mom’s idea of an ideal boyfriend. Hell, I’m no mother’s ideal. But am I maybe your way of getting back at your mother?”

  Her jaw dropped. “Tony!”

  “Hey.” He held up his palms. “You said you wouldn’t get angry.”

  “I’m not angry.” Choking back tears, she explained, “I’m just disappointed you would even think that.”

  “I had to ask.”

  “No. You didn’t.” She looked into his face and he seemed so serious. She reached for his hand. “What we have has nothin’ to do with my mother, and she was definitely not on my mind while we were gettin’ to know each other. So no, you are not a prop in some stupid revenge plot against my mother.”

  He smiled and was about to hug her but stopped himself. Looking down at his tank and shorts, he wrinkled his nose. “Um. I’m pretty rank.”

  Allison laughed for the first time all day. “Between tryouts, my mother showin’ up, and the run from my dorm to yours, I’ve done my share of sweatin’ today too.”

  “Hmm.” Tony looked at her from her feet to her chin and a mischievous little smile crossed his face. Allison’s brow knit, wondering what he was thinking. He took a step closer and leaned toward her ear. She was expecting a kiss, but instead, he whispered, “I have an idea. Do you trust me?”

  “Always,” she said. “What do you have in mind?”

  “This.” He leaned closer until their lips met. Then he wrapped both arms around her and lifted her off her feet like she was weightless, carrying her into the bathroom without breaking the kiss.

  As soon as her feet touched the tiled floor, he pulled his tank up over his head, tossed it aside, and kicked off his shorts and running shoes. Following his lead, she kicked off her shoes, but before she could get to anything else, he clutched the bottom of her spandex top and rolled it upward. She lifted her arms in the air to make it easier. He pulled her sports bra off in the same motion and threw it on the floor. She wriggled out of her fitted shorts.

  The look on Tony’s face excited her. She could see in his eyes how much he wanted her, and he wanted her right now. He pulled her into the shower stall, wrapping her body in one arm and twisting the shower knob with the other. The cool tile beneath her feet and his warm body pressed against her made her tingle with anticipation.

  The water rained hot and heavy from the shower head, washing away their sweat and grime. He instantly crushed her lips with his mouth, pressing them to her face and neck, devouring her shoulder with tiny bites. His body arched away from her leaving only enough of a gap to give him access to the rest of her body. The shower stall was clearly meant for one person, forcing the exquisite proximity. Trapped in a corner, she closed her eyes and propped her hands on the walls of the small shower stall for support.

  He pressed a hard object to her body leaving behind a trail of soap lather. “Ooh.” She moaned when he rubbed the soap bar over and around her groin. He laughed with delight at her reaction. She took the bar of soap out of his hand to give his body the same attention he’d given hers. She lathered his nooks and creases and covered his shaft in suds.

  The soap dropped out of her hand when he pressed his mouth against hers. Trailing his lips down her chest, he stopped at her breast and began to tongue her nipple relentlessly and didn’t stop, even when it grew as tall and hard as it could possibly grow. Each flick of his tongue intensified her pleasure exponentially. “Oh God, Tony,” she uttered. She wrapped her hand around his length with her slick fingers, and he reacted by changing from licking to sucking her breast hard. He tormented her by wiggling her other nipple between his fingers. “Yes, yes,” she cried, her voice echoing off the tiles. She held the back of his neck, urging him to continue.

  What he was doing to her upper half lit a fire in her lower half. The juncture between her legs pulsated like the mouth of a hungry fish searching for food and, if it got too close, the food would g
et drawn in, deeper and deeper until it was swallowed. She was yearning to feel Tony inside her, dying for release, yet not wanting the pleasure to end.

  She got her wish when Tony dropped to his knees and gripped her thighs. She gasped when his tongue began giving her a new kind of pleasure, the likes of which she’d never felt before. She dug her fingernails into his shoulder and threaded her fingers through his wet hair. Every movement he made was deliberate, heated, experienced—quick licks, slow swirls, hard jabs, soft bites. Her body convulsed each time his tongue hit her most sensitive spot. “Oh God,” she cried. Her knees weakened and she gripped both his shoulders. He worked his way back up and captured her lips. He bent his knees and clutched Allison’s behind, lifting her onto his shaft. She wrapped her arms and legs around his torso, urging him to do as he pleased. He pressed her against the tiled wall behind her and plunged his length inside her again and again. He was in total control of her. He owned her body completely and she was savoring the power he had over her.

  He pulled out right before he came. Winded from the invigorating workout, he gently set Allison back on her feet and pulled her to his chest as they both caught their breath.

  He leaned away and looked at her without saying a word. He gave her a soft kiss, twisted the knob to turn off the water, and stepped out of the shower. He grabbed a towel off the towel bar and quickly dabbed his face with it, then rubbed his head before draping it around his neck. He lifted a terrycloth robe off the hook behind the door and spread it open for Allison to step into. She smiled and slipped her arms inside. She started to tie the sash when he swept her up in his arms and carried her out of the bathroom to his bed.

  He climbed onto the bed and laid down behind her, his hair still damp and his body wet. He spooned her body and slid his hand inside her robe, caressing her stomach. Closing her eyes, she nestled into him and smiled, spent from the emotional day, and content that no words were needed.

  »»•««

  Allison knew she should get back to her mother, that she was being rude by ignoring her, but right now she cared more about the man snoring softly behind her than she did about her mother. Lying in his arms like this was the warmest feeling in the world and she didn’t want the moment to end. She looked down as his strong dark arms locked around her, protecting her from the world. It didn’t matter what anyone else said. This was, without a doubt, where she belonged. She sighed contentedly and nuzzled into her pillow.

  “Hey.” Tony kissed the back of her neck and loosened his hold on her.

  She rolled over onto her back and grazed his cheek with her fingertips. “I didn’t want to wake you. You were sleepin’ so peacefully.”

  He clutched her hand and kissed it before holding it to his chest. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He looked over his shoulder and reached for his phone on the nightstand to check the display. “Four thirty.”

  “Ugh.” She looked up at the ceiling. “My mother’s probably wonderin’ where I disappeared to.” She turned her head toward Tony. “I should go.”

  He pulled her into a deep kiss and, in a throaty voice that was impossible to resist, he said, “You. Should. Stay,” punctuating his words with kisses in between. He leaned away and looked at her with concern.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked.

  “Don’t you—”

  “Don’t I what?” she asked.

  “Don’t you think it was kind of nice for your mother to come all this way to support you today?”

  “You’re kiddin’!”

  “I mean, my mother never did anything like that for me,” he reasoned.

  Sitting up partway, Allison shook her head no. “She was probably just bored and wanted a little Floridian vacation.”

  “Wow. You really hate her.”

  She looked down and plucked at the sheet covering the mattress. “No. I don’t hate her. We just have history.”

  “Do you think—” He scratched his forehead. “—Do you think your mother being there threw you off today?”

  She shrugged and laid down again. “I dunno. Probably, but I’m not gonna blame her for not makin’ the team. I’m not what they’re lookin’ for and it’s okay. Even if my routine was flawless, I don’t have that rah-rah spirit. Never did and never will.” Tony was about to say something, but she cut him off. “It’s true. You were right when you told me routines could be learned, but there’s more to bein’ a cheerleader than just goin’ through the motions. I couldn’t even bring myself to wear the freakin’ hair ribbon.”

  He looked at her with mild skepticism. “Are you really as okay with this as you sound?”

  “I really am.” She drew an imaginary heart over his chest with her finger. “So, Mr. Ramos, it’s time to look forward, not backward. And I’m lookin’ forward to watchin’ you play in the first game of the season next week.” Tony got quiet. “What’s the matter? Did I say somethin’ wrong?”

  ∙•∙

  “No. No, it’s nothing.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair.

  Tony never told Allison he lost his starting quarterback job. He didn’t tell her and he didn’t tell his grandmother. It was too tough to say the words out loud, too embarrassing. After all the hard knocks he survived in his youth, he finally had the world in his hands and he let it slip away.

  If he were to tell Allison he was benched for being late for practice, she’d ask a million questions. When? What? Why? How? He couldn’t lie to her so he’d end up telling her it happened the day she dropped the tray at Old Smoky’s. He stayed to help instead of rushing off to practice. No good deed goes unpunished for someone like Tony. Other guys would get credit for not leaving a damsel in distress, but between Tony’s history as a slacker and his reputation as a womanizer, he’d run out of second chances.

  If Allison knew what really happened, there were three possible outcomes and none of them were good. One, she’d feel guilty about it, same way he felt guilty for months about messing up her tryouts last May. Two, she’d be disappointed in him for failing. Or three, she’d pity him. He didn’t like any of those options.

  She’d find out soon enough. It will be pretty obvious when the offense takes the field and he’s not among them.

  “You know, you don’t have to come to Opening Day.” He didn’t even have a ticket to give her. He traded a pair of sunglasses, a six-pack of beer, and a tray of his grandmother’s baked ziti for the four tickets he gave Bob. One teammate actually wanted nothing in return—Matt Warner, the guy who took over his starting quarterback job. Funny, he used to think Matt was his mortal enemy, yet he’s the one who handed Tony one of his tickets, no questions asked.

  “What? Are you kiddin’, sugar?” Allison asked incredulously. “Of course I’m comin’.”

  “I just don’t want you to feel you have to come to every home game or anything. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of not bein’ there for you.”

  Time to change the subject, he decided. “Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we all have dinner?”

  Allison gently pushed Tony away. “All who?”

  “The three of us. You, me, and your mom.”

  She gulped. “Why?”

  Half-laughing, he said, “So she can see for herself that I’m not a stereotype. I’m just a guy who’s crazy about her daughter.”

  Her expression softened for a moment as she brushed his hair back with her fingernails. “You are so sweet, but I don’t know.”

  “Come on, babe.” He opened her robe and pressed his lips to her bare chest. Looking up at her face, he said, “This way I can pay you back for sitting through dinner with my grandmother.”

  “Yeah, but your grandmother is a good person.”

  “So let’s give your mother the chance to prove she’s a nice person too.”

  “Ha! You’ll probably turn old and gray by the time that happens.”

  “I’ll take that chance. For you.” He leaned closer and kissed her lips.

 
Playing with his earlobe, she relented. “Well, when you put it that way…how ’bout lunch instead?”

  “Why lunch?”

  “It’s faster than dinner.”

  He laughed and was about to kiss her when he remembered something he’d been meaning to ask her. “Hey, Coach Fairchild takes the team out the night after our first regular season game every year. You know Rusty’s? It’s a pretty nice restaurant on the lake, kinda woodsy.”

  “Sounds manly,” she laughed.

  “It is, but I think you’ll like it anyway. It’s Sunday night and the guys are allowed to bring dates. I never had anybody I wanted to bring before, but if you can get the night off from work, I’d really like you to come. People will think better of me with you on my arm.”

  Allison’s brow knit. “What are you talkin’ about? Your team loves you.”

  He shook his head. Allison had a much higher opinion of him than most people. In her mind, he was well-liked. “Not the coaches. The only guy they like less than me is our kicker. He makes maybe thirty percent of his attempts,” he said with a forced chuckle.

  “Well, I’d love to come with you, sugar. I’ll see if I can switch with someone and take the earlier shift that day.”

  A buzzing sound caused Tony to turn around and reach for his phone on the nightstand. He looked at the blank display. “I didn’t think that sounded like any of my ringtones.” He set his phone down and pick up Allison’s. “It’s yours.”

  He handed her the phone and she looked at the display. “Ugh. My mother.”

  Clutching the phone in her hand, she rolled on top of Tony on her way off the bed.

  He caught her in his arms before she rolled off. “Do you really have to go?”

  Gazing into his eyes, she sighed. “I don’t wanna, but I should. I need to get ready for my shift anyway.”

  Her breasts dangled above his chest and he fondled them before she pulled away. “Any way I can persuade you to stay?”

  She closed her eyes. “Mmm. You have the most persuasive ways.” She opened her eyes and saw the desire in his eyes. “Okay.” She slipped the robe off her shoulders. “But this has got to be fast,” she teased.