by Julia Bright
He’d been sitting on the first row, side chair, and she’d been heading toward him, doing all those twisty things in the air. He could tell she had skill, and she’d known she was a little off course partway across the field and had made a correction. The problem was the guy beside her. He didn’t have Presley’s talent. Her adjustment put her in a position to be knocked into the folding chairs where the team sat. Roan quickly swooped in, catching her in the air. She slammed against his body, ending up wrapped completely around him as they both tumbled to the turf. Roan did manage to break her fall. She lay fully sprawled across his body, her long brown hair fanning out around them as her startled ice-blue eyes collided with his. He got the air knocked out of him, and it wasn’t even because of the fall. She was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. Her full lips parted, his dick swelled, and his arms tightened around her body to hold her there as she placed two hands on his chest and tried to rise.
“I’m sorry,” she said, panicked. The sound of an angel. Her knee rammed into his crotch. Roan had taken it as a caress.
“I’m not,” he replied honestly. Everything faded away—the pep rally, the tumbling pass, the crowd surrounding them. Only the two of them remained as his heart stuttered forcefully in his chest. Problems he hadn’t even realized he had were now resolved as his heart reached out and connected, maybe even intertwined, with hers. On instinct, he lifted his hand to the back of her head. The plan was to pull her forward to seal their fate with a kiss—seemed the perfect idea even as her alarmed gaze turned confused.
Heaven, karma, good fortune, whatever had tossed him this girl, and he’d taken it as a sign that he needed to make her his, that was until the world crashed in. Her teammates rushed toward them. A couple of trainers were there, kneeling by their side. That was where the stunning, beautiful memory turned darker.
Fucking Blaine had been the one to pull her off him. He remembered that fake look of concern he gave Presley, and just like so many other times, Blaine’s sunny good looks and innate ability to talk to women sucked her right in even while she turned a hesitant, unsure gaze Roan’s way. At the time, he knew she had to have experienced everything he had. No way he’d had such an earth-shattering moment all alone, but when Roan found his first chance to talk to her again, Blaine had already secured their first date. She’d been his girlfriend ever since.
Roan should have moved on. Decided he’d misread the signs, but he just couldn’t. They’d shared no more than a few minutes in time, and yet he’d fully lost himself to this woman, and it sucked on every level to watch her from afar while she adored a cheating jackass. He’d really grown to hate Blaine Daniels.
Since the Rusty Cow was a team hangout, just like every time Blaine walked in, the groupies at the pool tables had finally followed the guy to the bar, circling around him. It didn’t matter to any of them that he had a steady girlfriend. Roan took a big bite of his burger then lifted his beer and plate of food before scooting off his barstool. He moved to the seat on the other side of Connor to get out of the masses.
He let the girls have his space when they attempted to include him in their meaningless conversations. Cleat chasers weren’t his thing. They were clingers on, and apparently, Roan acted more like Presley’s long-time boyfriend—he’d been weirdly loyal to her since their brief encounter and gotten hell over his lack of hookups from his buddies. Everyone he knew seemed to be doing it like rabbits all the damn time. A scowl furrowed his brow. He missed random sex…
Whatever.
By proximity, Connor got sucked into the females while Roan got a few more bites down then pushed the hamburger away. He’d lost his appetite. When Blaine got off the barstool, wrapping an arm around one of the women, Roan watched in disgust as Blaine guided her toward the back room.
“Want another?” Lucky asked, pointing to his beer.
“Nah, I’m done.” He’d planned to hang out a few hours then maybe hit up a couple of end-of-term parties, but not anymore. His stomached turned as he watched Blaine’s hand disappear under the girl’s short skirt and hatred filled his heart. Presley didn’t deserve that.
He needed air. Hell, he needed to get out of this town and away from the unhealthy fixation he had on that woman. Maybe he should leave tonight, put some much-needed distance between here and there, and gain some better perspective.
“You okay?” Connor asked.
“Yeah. It’s none of my business,” he muttered absently and looked up at Lucky. “I need to cash out.”
“What’d I miss?” Connor asked. Only because Roan was done with this school and done with Blaine fucking Daniels did Roan answer.
“Blaine’s got a girlfriend. She’s a sweet thing. Doesn’t deserve that,” he said, motioning his head toward the bathroom area Blaine had disappeared to.
“Nah, not anymore. They broke up last week. It’s over,” Connor explained.
Roan’s hands were on his wallet, thumbing through the bills. The words he’d barely been listening too bounced around his head until the world stopped and his startled gaze lifted to Connor.
“I didn’t hear about that,” he said, giving Connor a critical glare, making sure this wasn’t a mean-spirited trick. He’d tried hard to keep anyone else from noticing his infatuation. Had Connor figured it out and decided to bullshit him?
“It happened,” Con confirmed.
“Really?” He could feel his hard, angry facial features easing.
“Yeah.”
Silence between them lasted several long seconds as everything disappeared but a single-minded focus that drove Roan up off his seat. He pushed away from the barstool, throwing a twenty-dollar bill on top of the bar.
“Where’s he going?” one of the girls asked as he started to walk away without saying another word.
“Roan’s not interested in one of us,” another said, scorn lacing her words.
He let that dig go. He had developed a reputation of being overly picky. Roan was halfway across the bar, heading for the front doors when Connor barked out a laugh and called out, “She’s at Slickers. She was just getting there when I left earlier.”
Roan lifted a hand over his shoulder in appreciation. Connor had just saved him a few stops before finding her. He pushed through the heavy door and went for his sports car. Not two minutes later, he peeled out of the parking lot with the sole focus of finding Presley.
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About Julia Bright
Julia Bright loves romance and novels. She enjoys the escape a good book provides. Her favorite pastime is sitting on a lounge reading while sipping a cool drink. For more information contact [email protected]
For more Information
www.juliabrightauthor.com/
[email protected]
About Rylie Roberts
Rylie Roberts is the Amazon #1 international best selling author and native Texan who loves to write and read romance. Please follow the newsletter by emailing [email protected] or following me on social media. Stay tuned, there's more on the way.
For more information
www.rylieroberts.com
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