“Attack who?” I asked, utterly confused.
“Where were you two nights ago?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re going to have to come with me down to the station.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll be calling my attorney.”
“It’s certainly your right.”
“Can I get dressed, at least?”
“I’ll have to come in.”
I sighed.
“This is nuts. I’m getting ready to move out on Jocelyn because she’s been lying about a lot of things.” He stared at me, not looking convinced. “She’s probably lying about this.”
“If you gave me an alibi, it would help.”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
“Very well. We’re going to the station then.”
“Fine.”
“Exactly.”
“Perfect.”
Ha! I got the last word.
I spun around and went inside. He followed after me, waiting in the living room as I went to get out of my pajamas and into something a little more suitable for police questioning. Were they even real police? I wasn’t sure. And an attorney! I didn’t have one on speed dial.
Jocelyn was so going to pay for this.
TWENTY-NINE
Austin
I stared down at my phone. Brooke wasn’t answering my calls or texts again? Was she pissed about how I acted around Coach? Or was something wrong?
Teddy walked in the kitchen as I leaned against the counter in front of the sink.
“Hey, glad I caught you.”
“What’s up?”
“Have you heard about Brooke?”
I stood up straight.
“Did something happen?”
“All I’ve heard is that she’s in trouble for attacking some woman with Jocelyn two nights ago.”
“That makes no sense,” I said, shaking my head. “She was with me that night.”
“From what a Junior told me, she’s not saying anything to them, which is pissing the cops off even more. I think she’s protecting you, man. Didn’t you say your coach saw you two together at Marticello’s and you lied to him about her?”
“Yeah,” I said. “But how would he find out if she tells them she was with me?”
“Fucking school newspaper, man. We’ll do anything to get clicks these days, even something like who a big star like you is dating.”
“That’s messed up, bro.”
“Tell me about it. I’m seriously thinking about switching majors.”
“Yeah,” I said absentmindedly. “Thanks for watching out.”
“No problem.”
I nodded my head.
After he left the kitchen, I walked to the stadium for evening practice.
While I hoped she was okay, I couldn’t be late again or Coach would go nuts. The closer I got to graduating and going pro, the tougher he’d gotten on me. If I had problems handling what he gave me, though, I’d never make it in the pros.
As I walked across campus toward the stadium, I hoped Brooke would be okay. Would she understand my future career was at stake? Did football mean more to me than love? The questions haunted me the entire way.
*
At practice, I found it difficult to concentrate. Was Brooke okay? Should I do something to help her? I hated not being able to go until I finished with football for the day.
Coach noticed my sub-par performance and called me over as the other guys headed back to the locker room. I walked over to him, ready to just get it over with.
“What’s going on with you today?” he barked as I approached.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Are you messing around with a woman?”
“No, Coach,” I lied.
“You’re free to date a woman, but if you do, I’m not going to be able to help you make it all the way to the pros.”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Look at me!” he snarled.
I lifted my head and looked him directly in the eyes.
“If you’re not dedicating yourself one-hundred percent to football, I can’t help you.”
“I’m all in, Coach.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“Go get cleaned up. I better not hear any more stories about you getting in trouble or carrying on around campus.”
I nodded seriously then turned and ran to catch up with the others. None of them said a damn word when I walked in the locker room, not even Trey.
“Hey, fellas. Good practice out there.”
“No shit,” Thompson, a rookie, said.
“What did you say?” I asked, turning to him.
I forgot sometimes everyone below me on the totem pole wanted to climb their way to the top and replace me. My problems gave them cause to celebrate.
“Nothing,” he muttered.
“Fucking right you said nothing.”
My anger built up even more as I walked to my locker and began undressing. I did it as quickly as possible, determined to find out exactly what had happened to Brooke.
I sent her a text before jumping in the shower. When I got out, she had replied, telling me she was home and safe but not to come over. Try and stop me, I thought.
After getting dressed, I headed out of the locker room and trekked across campus on foot toward her apartment. I took the path where I’d met her that first night.
Memories of all the sexual encounters and time spent together came rushing back to me as I increased my pace, anxious to see her again. Why hadn’t she used me as an alibi?
Only she had the answer to that question, and I would get her to tell me. Why did love have to be so fucking complicated? Was it even worth all the headaches?
I thought Brooke was worth it in so many ways. If she felt the same about me, we might have a chance of a future together.
THIRTY
Austin
When I reached her apartment, I stopped on the front porch and knocked loudly. The door opened slightly, and I saw her beautiful face.
“What are you doing here?” She glanced around. “You shouldn’t be here. Come inside.”
“I heard Jocelyn is trying to get you in trouble,” I said as I walked in.
“Yeah, but I don’t want it to get out that we’re together because your coach would be mad. I’ll be okay. Don’t worry about it.”
“Don’t worry about it? How can you say that?”
“Because I love you, Austin, and I want the best for you.”
“Love means we work together. Always.”
I put a hand on her waist as I stared into her eyes. She frowned.
“Well, we can’t this time. Your dream of making the pros is important to me now too.”
“What about you? Your dream is important too.”
“I have time and a few different paths I can take. It’s different.”
“This isn’t right,” I said.
“It’s not, but we have to do what we have to do, you know?”
She stood on her toes and kissed me, making all my problems melt away. I loved the way she made me feel when her body was pressed against mine.
“We can have one big night of passion before breaking it off for the rest of the semester,” she said.
“I don’t want to break it off…”
Her kiss silenced me. I reached down and picked her up. Carrying her in my arms, I walked to her bedroom, opening the door with my foot.
She clung to me, nibbling at my ear as I crossed her room to the bed. I kissed her neck a moment before setting her down on the mattress.
The sight of her looking up at me stirred the beast between my legs. One more night wouldn’t be nearly enough. I was ready to give up going pro to be with her.
As I took off my clothes, she stood up and did the same. I bent and kissed one of her nipples, loving the way it hardened between my lips.
She ran her fingers through my hair as I kissed lower, getting on my k
nees in front of her. I wanted to worship every single inch of her body.
Her moans let me know she appreciated the attention as I kissed her stomach then moved lower. Grabbing that ass, I buried my face between her legs.
As I licked and kissed, she spread her legs a bit, giving me easier access. While I made love to her pussy with my mouth, I stroked my cock. Fuck! Condoms!
Should I tell her or just keep going? Surely she would notice.
My mind went over every possibility as I traced the alphabet with my tongue, making her moan even louder. I’ll get her off and then leave. Yeah, that was doable.
“Fuck me, baby,” she said, stepping back.
I stared up at her, my hard cock in my right hand.
“Let me finish,” I said, breathing heavy.
“I want you inside me.”
After a deep sigh, I said, “I forgot a condom.”
“Oh no…”
“Yeah. Let me finish.” I licked her slit from bottom to top. “You taste so good.”
“Don’t stop,” she begged.
I did not stop, but I slowed down, etching every inch of her flesh into my mind. If we had to be away from each other for even a few weeks, I wanted to remember her.
After a few licks, I stopped and laid down on my back.
“Come here,” I said, motioning with my hand. “Sit on my face.”
“I’m not sure…”
“It’s my fantasy.”
Her eyes widened.
“Okay…Sixty-nine?”
“No. This is sixty-eight, all about you.”
She smiled as she kneeled on the carpet. A moment later, she had straddled my chest. I grabbed her ass and pulled her forward.
The most amazing pussy in the world inched closer to my face. I still had her taste in my mouth, but I wanted more, so much more.
Her thighs were pressed against my face. She stared down at me, a look of anticipation on her face.
“Oh, Austin…”
I licked her tender, pink flesh again, loving the sounds she made. Moans fell from her mouth to my ears as I grabbed her ass and rocked her body forward and backward.
“I can’t do it,” she said, breathing hard and heavy.
She moved down my body. I stared up and into her eyes.
“I have to have you inside me.”
“Are you sure?”
Without another word, my dick slid into her pussy as she continued moving backward. Once it was all the way in, she began riding me, moving it in and out.
All the while, she stared into my eyes. I loved who I saw looking back at me.
My hard, throbbing cock slid in and out of her tight hole as our bodies synched up. When she came down, I thrust upward, even deeper into her warm, wet folds.
“Austin,” she moaned.
“Yes, baby…”
I slid my hands up the front of her body, squeezing her breasts as the friction of my skin sliding into hers built up to intolerable levels of immense pleasure.
“Austin…”
“Brooke…”
Neither of us needed words to understand how the other felt in that particular moment of space and time. Her mind fell into mine, melded together with it.
We were separate but together, two but one. She leaned forward, palms on my chest to hold herself up as she continued grinding relentlessly. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I found it hard to formulate any type of rational thought. Part of me understood fucking her without a condom was dangerous, but in the heat of the moment, I didn’t care.
As I got closer to coming, I sped up my thrusts. Nothing mattered but achieving an orgasm, shooting my hot, thick seed deep inside her.
The look on her face told me she was close too. We were still staring into each other’s eyes, knowing somehow we had won the ultimate prize.
Both of us flinched as someone pounded on her front door.
“Who the hell is that?” she asked, crawling off me.
“I have no idea,” I said then stood up, my still hard cock bobbing up and down. “Let’s go find out.”
We both threw on our clothes. Stuffing my hard cock into my underwear and then pants was not fun and took me a bit longer.
“Go on,” I said. “I’ll be there in a moment.”
She flung open the door of her bedroom and rushed out. I gave up wrestling my cock and shut the door before sitting on the edge of her bed to wait for her.
THIRTY-ONE
Brooke
When I got to my front door, I opened it with one hand while holding my robe closed with the other. A skinny man with a Mohawk wearing a pink shirt stood on the porch surrounded by two other men and two women. I didn’t recognize any of them.
“Can I help you?” I asked. “It’s late.”
“We’re friends of Jocelyn, and we’re here to get her stuff.”
“Um, I don’t know who the hell you are. What makes you think you can show up here and collect her things?”
“She told us to come get them,” he said, slipping past me.
“Hey!” I shouted, startled.
The other four walked into the living room and looked around.
“Get the hell out of here!”
“What’s going on?” Austin asked as he emerged from the hallway, fully dressed.
“There he is,” the Mohawk man said, pointing.
A tiny woman with short cropped hair wearing all black darted across the room. She stopped in front of Austin, swung her arm back, and slapped him. My eyes widened in surprise at her actions, but what he did next surprised me even more.
Nothing. He didn’t raise his hand or try to stop her. I fell even deeper in love with him at that moment. The situation slipped into hell-mode over the next few seconds. All three guys rushed toward Austin, yelling at the top of their lungs.
He punched one in the face, sending him spiraling to the floor. I put my hands over my mouth, not believing what was happening. Austin crouched into a fighting position with his fists up. The other two guys stopped and looked at each other.
“Don’t do it, fellas,” Austin said in a calm, cool tone.
“He hit a woman,” the one yelled. A complete lie.
“What the hell? You guys broke in here. He’s just defending himself. And he didn’t touch her!”
“Yeah? Wait until our social media friends hear about this. He’s going to be kicked off the team.”
I jumped into action, rushing over to Austin.
“Leave out the back door. You were never here. It’s their word against mine and yours.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go!” I yelled, pushing his arm.
He frowned, but he took off toward the kitchen.
I spun around.
“You guys better get out of here. I’m calling the police.”
“Fuck you and your dumbass boyfriend!” Mohawk said as he got to his feet.
“No, fuck you!”
I ran back to the bedroom to get my phone. By the time I got back, they had all left, but I called anyway, wanting to report the incident. They needed to know none of her stories were true.
She had a problem. And now one of them was about to be me.
*
A campus police car drove up and parked at the curb as I sat on the porch. I jumped up and walked over as a man in his late twenties got out. We met at the sidewalk in front of the house.
“You called us?” he asked, looking around. “What’s going on today?”
“My roommate’s friends showed up and tried to attack me. They burst into my house uninvited.”
“And? Where are they now?”
“They ran away.”
“Do you know their names?”
“No, I don’t, but one had a mohawk.”
“Uh-huh. That’s your description, huh? You going to tell me it was a group of men next?”
“No! I’m being serious. This really happened. Just now.”
“We’ve had way too many calls at this location.”
“I’m moving at the end of the semester.”
“Wise choice,” he said, pulling up his sagging pants. “You college chicks need to stop with this false informing bullshit,” he said.
I frowned, not wanting to fight it. As long as Austin was safe.
“Yes, officer.”
“I’m serious. We’re tired of coming out here for these bullshit reasons.”
“It really happened, but I don’t have any proof.”
He stared into my eyes.
“We’ve got our eyes on this house. You and your roommate are nothing but trouble.”
“Wait, how many times have you been here?”
“What?”
“How many times? Because I’ve never seen you here.”
“The neighbors call about your roommate all the time. You honestly didn’t know?”
“No. What do they say?”
“I can’t tell you that. But I will tell you we’ve busted people for drugs here before.”
“Real drugs? Or like weed?”
“It’s all illegal. But the harder stuff too.”
Shit. Jocelyn was way more screwed up than I realized. Is that what had changed her so dramatically? Drugs?
I lowered my head, staring at his black shoes.
“You kids today…”
He stopped mid-sentence, his voice trailing off as he turned and walked away. I went inside and shut the door. After waiting a few minutes, my heart racing, I headed to Austin’s house, hoping he was okay.
THIRTY-TWO
Brooke
When I reached his house, I walked up the steps to his porch and knocked on the door. He opened it and motioned with his head for me to come in.
“Are you okay?” he asked, shutting the door behind me. “What happened?”
“They ran away when I called the campus cops.”
“Did you file a report?”
“Yeah, but the cop was kind of a dick to me. Said they were watching my house because of all the craziness. Oh an apparently Jocelyn is on drugs.”
He put an arm around my waist. “Sadly, that makes a lot of sense. All the neediness, the attention, the partying. Her constant flip flopping of emotions.”
“You seem to know a thing or two about it,” I added.
“Yeah, a guy on the team got addicted to heroin last year. I saw him spiral, hell we all did. I should have noticed it about Jocelyn before. Always in her robe, never wears short sleeves, does she?”
Mr. Beast_An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 71