TEASE
© 2016 by Caitlin Daire
All Rights Reserved
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COPYRIGHT
Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.
Chapter One
Cade
“I blew Denver State’s running back.”
My so-called girlfriend, Jenna, stared at me with wide eyes, expecting me to be surprised by her revelation.
“I know,” I replied, my face impassive.
Her eyebrows shot up. “You…you know?”
“Yep. I am very aware that you sucked his dick last weekend. And the weekend before.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything? Why did you even agree to meet me here tonight?” she asked, crossing her arms.
I yawned and gestured to my buddies from the football team, who were standing over near the Fairview Ridge Hotel bar. The bar was our usual hangout when we weren’t on campus, seeing as the team had been banned from the college tavern a while ago for various reasons; apparently we were too loud and drank too much.
“I only found out a few hours ago, and I already had plans to meet up with the guys here. Figured I could get this over with and then have a few beers,” I replied.
My friends grinned and waved over at us, and Jenna narrowed her eyes. “So what, you don’t even care that I cheated on you? It took me, like, a whole week to get the courage to tell you!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said, my voice thick with sarcasm. “I forgot this was all about you.”
“So you really don’t care? You aren’t even going to try to salvage this?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I stopped caring the second I found out that my girlfriend was fucking other guys behind my back. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing to salvage. We’re over.”
“I never fucked him.”
“Whatever. Blew him. Same thing; it’s still cheating. So we’re done,” I said. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go hang with my friends now.”
She stood up in a huff. “You’re such an asshole. I can’t believe you don’t even care that we’re…we’re over.”
She accompanied that last sentence with a sniff as crocodile tears welled in her eyes. I pointedly yawned again before waving at her, and she stormed out, the fake tears already forgotten. I gritted my teeth as I headed over to my buddies at the bar, knowing I’d done the right thing in not giving her the reaction she’d been looking for. Jenna had always been an attention seeker. I guess that’s why she’d gone after me in the first place; she’d probably only dated me because I was the quarterback for the local college team, not because she actually liked me as a person or anything, and the last thing I’d planned on doing was giving her any kind of reaction tonight when I dumped her.
Truthfully, I had been upset when I’d first heard the news that my girlfriend had been sucking some other guy’s dick; a guy from our biggest rival team, no less. But I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of knowing I gave a fuck, especially since she clearly didn’t give a fuck about me.
“You okay, man?” my friend Blake asked as I reached the bar and sat down on a stool. He was my best friend from the team, and he’d been the one who initially found out about Jenna’s unfaithful behavior and told me. There were no secrets between us boys; never had been and never would be.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“I got you a beer already.”
“Thanks,” I said, taking the drink from him and clinking my glass against his. “To being single.”
“Fuck yeah!” One of the other guys was raising his glass as well, and I grinned and took a sip of beer.
It was probably going to take me a while to trust a girl again, but that didn’t matter. I was only nineteen, anyway, and I shouldn’t have even been looking to settle down in any kind of relationship. Life for a guy my age was about playing the field and having one night stands, and that’s exactly what I was going to do from now on.
Starting with that girl over near the pool table.
I’d spotted her when I was heading over to my friends, and the sight of her had almost been enough to make me forget that I’d just broken up with Jenna only thirty seconds earlier. She was fucking gorgeous. Long, straight chestnut brown hair, banging curves, sultry green eyes and pouty lips. She actually looked kinda familiar, but I was pretty sure I didn’t know her, and in a small Colorado city like Fairview Ridge, there was no way I wouldn’t have met her before unless she was a ski-season tourist who was just vacationing here for a while.
Besides, she was so fucking hot that it was more likely that I’d seen her on TV than actually met her in person. She made Jenna look like a hag, and a small smirk spread over my lips. Nothing like some hot pussy straight after a breakup to make me forget there’d even been a breakup in the first place.
Blake spotted her and nudged me. “You checking out that girl?”
“You know it.”
“She’s pretty hot. Never seen her before, though.”
“Neither have I. She’s probably just a tourist,” I said.
“Weird. The snow hasn’t even started yet this year.”
“It will soon, though. Give it a week or so. Maybe she’s more of a hiker type, anyway. They do better when there’s no snow.”
“Thanks for the weather update, man. Now shut the fuck up and go talk to her,” Blake said, slapping me on the back.
I grinned and headed over to the girl. Up close, she was even cuter, and at six foot three, I well and truly towered over her. She glanced up at me as I approached, then went back to chalking a pool cue.
“So, where have you been all my life?” I said in a joking tone, whipping out the most pathetic old-fashioned line I could think of. I’d always found that if you used a shitty line like that on girls, they’d laugh and think it was cute.
Then again, most girls I met laughed and fawned over absolutely anything I said, because they knew who I was—Cade Blackwell, RMU quarterback and son of Keith Blackwell, one of the richest and most powerful men in the state. Most girls knew who I was before I’d even set eyes on them, and they’d say and do anything for a chance to hook up with me. Apparently that was all, though—they just wanted to hook up and not commit to anything, as evidenced by Jenna’s infidelity.
The girl at the pool table didn’t laugh at my stupid line, though. Instead, she raised an eyebrow and set the cue down beside the table. “Hiding from guys like you,” she said.
Her voice was so sweet—and yet so jarringly familiar—that I was caught off guard for a second. “Huh?”
“You asked where I’d been all your life. So I said I’d been hiding from guys like you.”
“Oh, right, duh. Very funny. Also very mean. You might have to buy me a drink to make up for it,” I said, stepping a little closer.
That finally raised a small smile from her, and heat rushed to my groin at the thought of those plump lips wrapped around my cock. If I played my cards right, that might be happening sooner rather than later.
“How about this? Instead of me buying you a drink, you play me in a game of pool. If you win, I’ll buy you a drink then,” she said, arching one eyebrow.
“And if I lose?”
“You g
o back over to your frat buddies and leave me alone,” she replied, nodding over at the bar.
Her eyes were filled with mischief, and I could tell she was just teasing, so I grinned.
“You’re on.”
Chapter Two
Charlotte
I saw him before he saw me.
He looked like the stereotypical frat bro—tall, muscular, devilishly handsome and oozing with arrogant confidence—and when I’d first seen him from across the other side of the bar, he’d been talking to some pretty blonde girl with an agitated look on her face who’d grown increasingly upset with him before storming away. It looked like Frat Guy had just dumped her, and I rolled my eyes as he sauntered over to all his friends. He might’ve been handsome, but he already seemed like a bit of a douche, and I’d never been the sort of girl to involve myself with guys like that.
Then again, I also wasn’t usually the sort of girl who hung out in bars alone. I’d come down here from my hotel room as my first small act of rebellion against my mother, who’d just uprooted my entire life and made me move here to this little place in Colorado, thousands of miles from my home city of Philadelphia.
All for a guy.
I’d never met her new partner or his kids myself—in fact, I didn’t even know their last name because Mom had barely spoken about the whole thing to me—but they’d met on some business trip three months ago, and when she’d last seen him, he’d popped the big question. Now they were engaged, and I was pissed. I had no problem with my Mom meeting a guy and being happy—she deserved it after spending the last several years alone and miserable after my Dad died—but it would’ve been nice if she’d at least let me meet the guy she was marrying for five seconds before uprooting our existences and moving us practically a billion miles away.
I couldn’t exactly stay in our home city, because Mom wanted me here with her; I guess so she could fulfil her fantasies of having a ‘proper’ family again, all living together. Besides, I couldn’t afford it. I was in college on a scholarship—we weren’t exactly rich—and it wasn’t enough to pay for me to live out of home, only enough to pay for tuition and textbooks. So that was that. I’d been forced to pack up, leave my friends and studies behind, and move here to Fairview Ridge. Luckily I’d been able to transfer my scholarship and course over to Rocky Mountain University, where I was going to continue college, so at least I still had my studies.
But tonight wasn’t about studying.
It was my first night in Fairview Ridge, and Mom and I were staying at a local hotel. We were going to meet with her new fiancé tomorrow, so I could be properly introduced to him and his two sons before we started the moving-in process, and tonight…tonight I was getting drunk.
Drink, drank, drunk.
Like I said earlier, it was the first time I’d ever done anything even remotely ‘bad’ or rebellious, and honestly, it felt kind of cool. I’d always been studious and serious, and up until now, I’d very rarely let myself have fun like a lot of other people my age did. It felt nice to dress up, go to a bar and relax, and even though I was alone, it was still good to let loose and have a few drinks while vaguely watching a hockey game on the corner TV.
I’d already had two glasses of wine before Frat Guy approached me—they didn’t seem to card anyone at this bar, or else I’d have been forced to stick to mocktails—and I was looking for someone to play a game of pool with.
I saw him heading over, and I smiled to myself and started chalking a pool cue. The guy might’ve looked like a bit of a douche, but he looked like he knew how to play pool, which was good enough for now. He drew closer, and the smile slowly slid from my face as I tried to place him. I knew him from somewhere….but where? I’d never been to Colorado before, let alone Fairview Ridge. Still, he seemed very familiar—maybe I’d met him somewhere back in Philly?
I kept studying his features as he came to a halt near me, still drawing a blank as to where I knew him from. He was tall—very tall—and in the dim light of the bar, I could see an intricate black tattoo snaking its way around his left bicep. And speaking of biceps….damn. He looked muscular enough to pick up an entire truck and throw it if he wanted to, and I was willing to bet good money that he was some sort of sports player. His dark brows were heavy, his mouth was set in a smirk, and his blue-green eyes were bright and vigorously alive. Overall, he gave off a carelessly charming vibe, and I arched an eyebrow and tried not to snicker as he delivered one of the worst pickup lines I’d ever heard.
It was also the only pickup line I’d ever heard directed at me—like I said, I’d never been the type to go out much, and none of my previous relationships had started with corny lines—but I refrained from laughing and gave him what I thought was a funny response. That was my way of weeding out the unforgivable pricks from the decent guys. See, a decent guy was capable of laughing at himself, but total douchebags weren’t…and no one wanted to hang around a total douche, right?
I waited for his reply, and his face turned blank. “Huh?” he said.
I repeated myself, and he finally laughed. “Oh, right, duh. Very funny. Also very mean. You might have to buy me a drink to make up for it...”
Thank god. He wasn’t a total idiot, although he was definitely keen on hitting on me, considering how close he was getting. It felt nice to be getting this kind of attention, and I wondered why I’d always shied away from it so much in the past.
“How about this? Instead of me buying you a drink, you play me in a game of pool. If you win, I’ll buy you a drink then,” I said, arching one eyebrow.
“And if I lose?” he asked, eyes glowing with good humor.
“You go back over to your frat buddies and leave me alone,” I replied, nodding over at the bar.
“You’re on,” he said. “And just for the record…I’m not in a frat.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Fraternities and sororities aren’t really that much of a thing at my college.”
“Well, I guess that’s what I get for judging a book by its cover,” I said, handing him a cue. “Sorry.”
He grinned. “No need to apologize. I might not be in a frat, but I do play college football, which apparently makes me ten times worse than your average frat guy.”
“I knew it. Totally had you pegged as a sports guy.”
“What gave it away? My scrawny little body?” he said with a grin, jokingly flexing his huge biceps. I laughed, and he continued. “So what brings you to Fairview Ridge, anyway? On vacation?”
“I just moved here, actually. My Mom’s getting married to a guy from here soon, and we’re staying here in the hotel for a few nights until it’s all sorted out.”
“Nice. So you’ll be living here….I guess that means I’ll be able to beat you at pool again some time.”
“Bit early to say that. We haven’t even broken yet,” I replied, nodding towards the pool balls.
“Well, go ahead,” he replied. “You break. I’m still totally going to win, though. By the way, my name’s C…”
He said his name just as I broke the triangular formation of balls, and the loud sound drowned out most of his voice. It sounded like he’d said Cole, though, so I nodded. “Nice to meet you. I’m Charlie,” I said, giving him my nickname for now. I didn’t want to tell him my real name just yet, in case he turned out to be an asshole after all. “Looks like you’re stripes, by the way,” I added, gesturing towards the striped balls on the table.
He smiled and looked at the table, trying to figure out where he should shoot from first. “Well, Charlie,” he said. “You’ve just set me up really nicely to do this.”
With that, he took a shot and managed to sink two balls in one go.
“Good job….except I’m solids, remember? You just sank my balls,” I said, watching with glee as they disappeared into the pocket.
“Shit. I thought you said I was solids. Totally missed that.”
“You also just missed a chance to make a really lame joke about sinking your balls.
”
He grinned. “Damn. I’m really off my game tonight. Lucky a smartass like you is here to call me out on it.”
“Yeah, and also here to beat you,” I said, taking a shot and sinking another one of my balls.
“Oh, come on. I made one dumb mistake. I’ve still got a chance to beat you,” he said, taking his next shot after I’d taken the extra one I got for his foul. It was another good one for him, sinking two more balls—his own balls, this time.
“Nice shot,” I said with an approving nod. “So who was that girl I saw you with earlier? She looked pretty pissed.”
He nodded. “My girlfriend. Sorry, ex-girlfriend.”
“Dumped her, huh?”
He gritted his teeth. “Well, seeing as you wanted a really lame pool joke, let’s just say another guy was sinking his balls into her pockets. I just found out. So yeah, I broke up with her.”
“Crap. I’m so sorry. And sorry for bringing it up,” I said, feeling like a total bitch. I’d pretty much taken one look at the situation earlier and assumed he was dumping her for no real reason other than that he was bored and wanted to hook up with other girls—I’d been dumped for reasons like that in the past—and in the process, I’d totally misjudged him.
I really needed to stop judging books by their covers, so to speak.
“It’s okay. You didn’t know,” he said.
“Well, I know we don’t really know each other, but I’d say you’re better off without someone like that,” I said.
“Definitely. So are you going to let me win now that you feel sorry for me?” he asked, a smile returning to his perfect face.
“Are you admitting that the only way you could win is if I let you?” I replied, raising my eyebrows.
“Damn. You don’t let up even for a second, do you?” he said. “So cruel.”
“I’m just kidding around.”
“I know,” he replied with a grin.
To tell the truth, I’d been like this for years; giving people sarcastic or snappy responses in all kinds of situations. It was one of the rare things about my personality that went against my generally quiet, studious nature, and I attributed it to all the bullying I’d experienced in my earlier years. I’d been a chubby, nerdy kid with frizzy hair back in junior school, and it was a pretty commonly-known fact that kids could be merciless.
Tease - A Stepbrother Sports Romance Page 1