Frayed: A Small Town Sports Romance (Willow Springs Series Book 1)

by Laura Pavlov

  We lined up. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. The ball landed in my hands and I jogged back and scanned downfield. Alec had two dudes all over him and Shaw made it to the end zone wide open. I threw the ball right to his hands, and he spiked it in the end zone as loud music boomed in celebration.

  Coach nodded at me as a wide grin spread across his face. Shaw charged me and we jumped up to bump chests. “Fucking badass throw, my brother.”

  “Nah. That was all you.” The dude was fast as hell and managed to shake off the guys that were there to block the play.

  We did our traditional high five with the opposing team before heading toward the locker room. I saw Ma and Gram waving frantically at me and I jogged over.

  “Hey, thanks for coming.” I leaned over and gave them each a hug.

  “We’ll see you back at home. Are you going out to celebrate tonight?” Ma asked.

  “Yeah. I’ll see you later.”

  “Proud of you,” she said, and Gram beamed beside her.

  I saw Wren out of the corner of my eye, not far behind my mom, and he nodded at me. The dude was always around. Over the past few months, I’d found plenty of reasons to hate the man, so I just glared before turning to head back inside. Someone grabbed the back of my jersey just after I crossed the field and yanked me back, and I came eye to eye with a raging Alec Taulson.

  “That was my score, you asshole,” he seethed. “Coach said to pass it to me.”

  “Alec,” Adelaide shouted as she ran toward us in her cheer outfit and reached for his arm. “What are you doing? Stop.”

  “Not now, Addy. He fucking took that play from me.”

  “Dude. You had two guys all over you. There was zero chance of you getting that ball. Hell, you dropped it twice when you were wide open,” I said. I didn’t want to call the dude out in front of his girl, but if he was going to come at me, I was going to give it to him straight.

  His fist came at me before I could stop it and connected with my jaw. I stumbled back before plowing into him. I took him to the ground and got in two hits before a few guys on the team pulled us apart. Adelaide looked stunned as her gaze moved from her boyfriend to me. He pushed to stand and wiped the blood from his mouth before spitting at my feet. I chuckled. He was barking up the wrong damn tree. I fought guys ten times tougher than him to help Ma cover rent. Alec Taulson was fighting because things didn’t go the way he wanted. Instead of trying to figure out why he dropped the fucking ball more than once, he wanted to blame me. Typical. It’s the reason I couldn’t stand the kid. He was an entitled prick who thought he deserved the ball because his father donated to the football program. Not because he worked hard. Not because he was a kick-ass player or even a team player. He wasn’t. He was all about himself, and that shit didn’t sit well with me.

  He shook our teammates off and stormed toward the locker room. Adelaide stood there with her jaw hanging open as everyone turned to walk away.

  “Jett,” she said, using her hands to keep her cheer skirt from flying up in the breeze. Her tanned legs were hard to pull my gaze from. Hell, the girl was gorgeous.

  “What?” I scoffed, irritated that I was dealing with her boyfriend’s temper tantrums when we’d just won our first game.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what got into him.” She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “His dad is pretty tough on him.”

  I nodded. Hell, I didn’t have a father, so I had nothing to compare it to. “He needs to man up. We won. It’s a fucking team sport, it’s not a one-man show.”

  “Addy,” her best friend Coco called out as she jogged over. “Hey Jett. Great game. What the hell was that with Alec?”

  Adelaide shook her head. “He’s just upset because his dad was yelling on the sidelines.”

  Coco rolled her eyes. Coach then shouted for me to get my ass in the locker room. “Good luck with that, Ace. See ya, Coco.” I turned away.

  “He’s so fucking hot,” I heard Coco say as I jogged off.

  “I heard that,” I called out, and their laughter surrounded me even after I was several feet away.

  I met Coach in the locker room and saw Alec sitting in his office through the glass window behind him.

  “Who threw the first punch?”

  “He did,” I said honestly. “But I got in a few after.”

  I wasn’t going to deny it. You come after me, and I’m going to fight back. I’d been doing it my whole life.

  He nodded. “All right. You and Alec are team captains. You need to figure this shit out. Leave your grievances off the field.”

  “Got it.”

  The guys cheered when I moved toward the lockers, and we all high-fived. It was a good fucking start to the season. I’d put shit aside with Alec. Nothing was going to derail my last season playing.

  Not even an entitled prick like Alec Taulson.

  We headed over to Britney Weber’s after we’d showered. It was mostly juniors and seniors there. I bumped into Alec when I walked in the door, and he held his red Solo cup in his hand and gave me a shrug.

  “Sorry about what happened on the field. It had a lot more to do with my dad than it did with you.”

  “All right. If you’d been open, I would have passed you the ball.”

  Karina was standing behind him, and I glanced around and didn’t see his girlfriend anywhere. She rarely attended these parties. Shaw and Jax kept their eye on me, making sure shit wasn’t going down with Taulson again.

  “Okay. So, we’re cool.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. We’re cool.”

  I still didn’t like the dude. But I’d try to keep that to myself and get through the season.

  “Alec, let’s go get a drink,” Karina said, and I narrowed my gaze at both of them. Alec just tipped his cup up to me, but we both knew what he was doing.

  I saw Coco and Maura across the room, so I knew if he was up to anything, they’d be sure to let Adelaide know.

  It wasn’t my problem.

  I didn’t do high school drama.

  I was too busy surviving and paving a future for myself far away from this place.

  Shaw handed me a water bottle. “No sauce for you tonight. My cousin said the dude you’re fighting is badass. You need to be on your game.”

  I nodded. Shaw’s cousin, Clyde, ran an underground fight club. I’d started fighting for him a few months ago, and I’d been making enough cash to help my mom pay rent as the diner had been slower than usual. She didn’t ask questions. My mother raised me to hustle and do what I needed to survive.

  “Good. That means there will be a lot of money in the pot.” I nodded, tipping my head back and chugging the water.

  “And you need to protect that pretty face of yours,” Jax said with a chuckle. “If Coach gets wind of this, all of our asses are on the line.”

  He was right. I was playing with fire. But Coach hadn’t said anything when I showed up to practice with a fat lip a few weeks ago. We’d also been in preseason, so his radar wasn’t up. I’d probably need to cut back on the fights after this one. Mom was short on rent money and I’d told her I’d get it to her. Hopefully, I’d make enough tonight to take a step back until football season was over.

  I spent the next hour cruising around the party. I was deep in a make-out session with Jessica Hall when Jax gripped my shoulder. “It’s time, brother. We need to go.”

  I lifted her off my lap and moved to my feet. “See you later.”

  She pouted and I chuckled. Hell, it wasn’t our first hookup and probably wasn’t our last.

  “We need to grab Shaw. He’s over there hanging all over Coco Radcliff.” Jax rolled his eyes.

  Shaw looked up and whispered something in her ear and her face lit up. Her gaze locked with mine, and she handed him her phone. He typed something in before making his way over to us.

&nb
sp; “What the fuck are you up to?” Jax asked as the three of us headed out to Shaw’s beat-up Ford truck.

  “Coco’s a cool chick. She wants to come check out the fight.”

  Jax jumped in the back seat and I slipped into the passenger side up front. “Fuck, dude. She’s best friends with Adelaide, and her boyfriend would like nothing more than to get me kicked off the team.”

  “Dude. She doesn’t like Alec. She made that perfectly clear. She said not to worry about it.”

  I rolled my eyes. The dude acted with his dick, not his brain ninety percent of the time. I knew Coach would give me a warning before he’d cut me, but messing with this shit was risky and I knew it. But I also knew Ma was stressed, and if I could help her without getting into too much trouble, I’d do it all day long.

  We pulled up to the warehouse and found an open space near the back door. There were a ton of cars parked in the gravel lot, as the old building was out in the middle of a field far from everything in town.

  We made our way inside. The place was packed and reeked of cigarette smoke and stale beer.

  “Game time, boys,” Shaw said as his cousin Clyde waved us over.

  I nodded.

  Game time.

  Chapter Three

  Adelaide

  I’d been up in bed for an hour when Coco called. I could hear the desperation in her voice immediately, and I sat up and pressed my back against the headboard.

  “Do not say no until you hear me out,” she said, her breathing was labored.

  “Are you running? Where are you?”

  “I’m parked a few houses down from your house. I’m heading toward you on foot.”

  “What?” I pushed to my feet. “It’s eleven thirty. You’re coming here? Do you want to sleep over?” I asked. It wasn’t completely out of the ordinary. The girls and I spent the night at one another’s homes all the time.

  “No. Listen to me. Jett is about to fight, and Shaw invited us. I really want to go. And Maura had to leave the party because Kyle just drove home from school and she wanted to go see him. I can’t go alone, Addy. Pleeeeeeeease.”

  “You want me to sneak out now? My parents will kill me if they find out.”

  “Come on. We made a pact. Senior year would be filled with new adventures. Live a little. Let’s go see the guy fight, I can flirt with Shaw, and you’ll be tucked back in bed in a few hours. No one will be the wiser,” she said. “I’m outside your window.”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re killing me. Let me throw some clothes on. I’ll be right down.”

  It wasn’t the first time I’d snuck out of my room. The girls and I had snuck out to toilet paper some of the football players’ houses a few times during one of our many sleepovers. But it had been a while.

  I opened my window and climbed onto the roof. A large oak tree pressed against our house, and the branches scratched my windows any time we had wind. My dad had been threatening to chop it down for years. I held my finger to my lips to remind her to stay quiet before I pulled the window closed and reached for a sturdy branch. I found my footing there. I made my way down easily and jumped to the ground when I was low enough to do it safely. Coco grabbed my hand and we jogged down the street before we both burst out in a fit of nervous giggles.

  “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I said, trying to catch my breath.

  “I can’t believe you actually said yes.”

  She jingled her keys, and I hopped in the passenger seat.

  “So where are we going? Don’t tell Alec, he’ll have a fit that I went because I didn’t want to go out tonight.”

  “I won’t say a word. That’s part of the deal if I invite you. Shaw said Alec would turn Jett in and he could get kicked off the team if he knew he was fighting. So, let’s just leave Alec out of this.”

  I nodded. “Did you see Alec at the party tonight?”

  “Yes. Karina was hanging all over him, but he left with Ty. You should have come.”

  I rolled my eyes. Karina couldn’t stand the fact that Alec and I were back together. “He was in a mood after the game, so I figured he’d want to drink, and I just didn’t feel like dealing with it. Plus, I had a ton of AP calc homework.”

  “Who does AP calc homework on a Friday night?”

  “Me and Sherman Saxe.” I laughed. Sherman had been texting both Jett and me on a group text, but Jett had yet to respond. I answered Sherman’s questions the best I could for someone who wasn’t fully grasping the information either.

  “Well, that says it all. So, what was Alec’s deal tonight? Did you see the way he went after Jett?”

  We drove down several back streets, passing the outdoor arena where we’d always attend the country music festivals, and I bounced off the seat a bit when we went over the railroad tracks. The Texas State Railroad still ran through Willow Springs just as it had since 1896. It didn’t move cargo anymore, but it was a tourist attraction, and the girls and I loved to take a ride through the scenic piney woods of East Texas once a year. She pulled into the old motor warehouse that had been abandoned. There must have been seventy cars parked in the lot.

  “Jeez. What the hell is this?” I grumped as we got out of the car. “Oh yeah, about Alec—he was supposed to get that ball, but he had two guys on him, so Jett threw it to Shaw, which pissed Alec off. I think he was just upset about his father, honestly, and he didn’t have a great game. He doesn’t usually get that angry.”

  She nodded. “That makes sense, I guess. So, apparently there are fights out here all the time. Jett’s only been doing this since summer, according to Shaw. But he’s supposed to be really good.”

  I glanced down at my outfit, suddenly feeling very underdressed as my cowboy booties skittered against the dirt and gravel beneath my feet. How does one dress for a fight? Coco wore a black bodysuit, ripped skinny jeans, and booties. I was wearing jeans, a white tank, and my favorite pink cardigan.

  “Am I dressed okay?”

  “I mean, I doubt anyone here will be sporting a pink cashmere cardi, but somehow that shit works for you.”

  I laughed. “Thanks.”

  We entered the warehouse, and Coco shot a text to Shaw to let him know we were here. I pulled my cardigan closed as a few men looked us up and down.

  “Well, we’re not in Kansas anymore, kid.”

  “You can say that again. It smells like pee,” I whispered.

  “Really? It just smells like sexy man to me.”

  We both laughed as Shaw walked toward us. “Hey. Glad you came. He’s up next. Uh, Addy, if you could not mention this to Alec it would be appreciated. Jett’s a little pissed at me for inviting you guys.”

  I nodded. Why the hell were we even here? If Jett could get kicked off the team for being here, could we get in trouble as well?

  “No problem. I won’t say a word.”

  A man bumped into me, and Coco grabbed my arm to steady me. The crowd was getting rowdy and I suddenly felt an urgency to get out of here.

  “Follow me. We can go up front. Jax is saving us a spot.” Shaw led the way, and he kept turning back to make sure we were following. Coco held his hand with one of hers and I linked our fingers with the other.

  People started chanting the word, “Kong” over and over as we moved to stand beside Jax.

  “Hey. Things are about to get crazy if our boy can take this dude down,” Jax said, sipping his beer as Shaw had me and Coco slip in between them.

  “Who is he fighting?” Coco asked. As if it mattered. We didn’t know any of the fighters here.

  “Kong. He’s supposed to be a badass and he’s undefeated. But so is our boy.” Shaw searched behind him as if he were looking for someone. “Here they come.”

  “So, Jett is undefeated too?” I asked Jax and he chuckled.

  “Yep. But he’s only fought four times. Kong has fought over
a hundred times, so he’s got experience on him.”

  Jett and Kong both jogged out and stepped inside the ring or the cage or whatever the hell this contraption was. It wasn’t boxing. No one wore gloves, nor did they wear fancy boxing shorts. They were dressed in gym shorts, and the crowd was on their feet.

  Jett looked over and for a moment his gaze locked with mine, and my stomach dipped. It was hard to believe that this was the same boy I’d met at five years old and known most of my life. He was all man. Chocolate brown hair. Dark eyes that almost looked black as I took him in. His muscles rippled and his skin was tan. His abs and chest were chiseled, and I found it difficult to look away. There was a tattoo on his right arm, but I couldn’t make it out. His jaw ticced before he jerked his head away.

  The fight started and deafening cheers surrounded us. We were close enough to see what was going on and I quickly noted that Jett was faster on his feet, but his opponent looked like he had about fifty pounds on Jett. Kong attempted to take him down a few times, but Jett was able to move away quick enough to avoid it. He was the more precise fighter. I could see the concentration. The first round ended and both men walked to their corner.

  “How many rounds are there? Is this like UFC fighting?” I asked, and both of the guys laughed.

  “Yeah. Kind of. A little MMA and a little street fighting mixed in. There aren’t a ton of rules. May the strongest man survive, basically. And they go three rounds,” Shaw said, and he winked at Coco. I could tell my best friend was taken with him, because normally any act of endearment would annoy her, but instead she beamed up at him.

  They started the second round and my stomach twisted as I watched them each become more aggressive. Kong kicked Jett in the stomach and Jett gave his opponent several shots to the face. They were down on the ground, but I had no idea how that had happened or who took who down. I hadn’t watched anything but Rocky movies before, and this was very different. My chest squeezed as they continued to scrap on the ground. Jett was on top of Kong and had his arm wrapped around the man’s neck. Before I knew what was happening, a bell rang, and the crowd went crazy.