by Alex Grayson
“I can see why,” Jenna replies.
I get up from the bed. “I’m going to get some water, want any?” I ask. I need to take a quick walk so I can let out the frustration and focus on this assignment.
“Could you bring me a Coke?” she asks and I nod.
Walking out of the room, I make my way downstairs to the kitchen. I open the fridge and look at everything inside. A beer would be nice, but that’s kept downstairs in Colton and Nick’s man-cave, and while sometimes I’m daring enough to sneak in, the last thing I want is for them to embarrass me in front of Chase. Mr. Chase Boulder.
Opening the fridge, I look inside and grab a can of Coke and a sparkling water. I close the door and drop the soda cans on the floor when I come face to face with Chase.
I curse under my breath when the Coke and water rush out of the cans, wetting both of us and obviously the floor. “Sorry,” he says sheepishly, knowing he’s the reason to blame. For more reasons than one, really. I wouldn’t be here getting a drink if thoughts of him weren’t pissing me off.
“You should be,” I tell him, grabbing the cans from the floor and tossing them in the trash.
I turn around to find him drying the floor with some paper towels. I lower to the floor too and take them from his hands. “I’ve got it,” I tell him, my tone harsh.
“It’s my fault they fell, let me help,” he replies.
I shake my head. “You’ve done enough.”
Drying out the rest of the floor, I get back up and toss the paper towel in the bin. I turn around and find Chase pouring water back on the floor. “It’ll get sticky,” he explains, answering the question I was about to ask.
I grab more paper towels and bend down to clean up the new mess. “You should really let me help,” he adds and again he finds himself on the floor with me.
“Didn’t I say you’ve done enough? Just go back downstairs and hang out with your buddies.”
“Did I do something to piss you off?” he asks.
The nerve of him. “Nope. Not at all,” I reply and fix my eyes on the floor.
His hands caress my cheeks briefly. “I like you, especially when you get this look in your eyes,” he says. I stop moving. Stop drying the floor and bring my eyes back to his.
“What’d you just say?” I ask, because clearly, I heard him wrong.
“You know what I said. I’m attracted to you.”
I roll my eyes. “You like me… is what you said, but I’m not sure what that means to you, really. Do you make it a habit to pretend the people you ‘like’ or are ‘attracted to’ don’t exist?” I ask, still angry.
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” he replies. We’re both still on the floor, me on my knees and him crouched down.
“How so?” I ask, not backing down.
He looked behind me at the door to the basement. “Your brothers.”
“What about them?”
“They’re my teammates.”
“And?”
“They’ve treated me like family,” he adds. It’s only been a month and they’ve welcomed him in like they’ve known him forever. They don’t really do that. I don’t know why they did it in this case.
“Okay, your point being?”
“I don’t want to mess that up by dating their little sister,” he replies and the anger that had dissipated returns with more force this time.
I say the one thing that I can at this moment. “Well, I don’t know what makes you think their little sister,” I make sure I emphasize those words, “would ever date you. I don’t even know you,” I reply. Dropping the paper towel on the floor, I rise from the floor.
“So then, it won’t be an issue,” he replies, getting up too. He blocks the exit so I can’t run away from here.
“I guess it won’t be. We can go back to ignoring each other,” I reply, my fingers digging into his chest.
“You’re not attracted to me at all?” he asks, holding my fingers in his hand while he pulls me closer to him.
“Nope,” I reply, but my heart says the opposite.
He smiles and this time the smile just pisses me off even more. “Not even a little bit?”
I shake my head because if I speak, he’ll know I’m lying.
“Are you sure?” he asks, his lips just a breath away from mine.
Instead of answering him, I do the one thing I shouldn’t. The one thing that would forever result in us never being able to go back to pretending the other didn’t exist.
I kiss him.
About Gianna
Gianna Gabriela is originally from Rhode Island. She’s a small-town girl living in the Big Ol’ City of New York. She considers herself a writer of gorgeous alpha-males and strong heroines. She’s been reading for years and calls it her addiction. Her favorite genre is anything in the YA/NA Romance Realm.
She loves the saying that “a room without books is like a body without a soul.” Her favorite color is black, she loves most sports, and doesn’t like painting her nails because it takes a lot of work to remove the nail polish.
Visit her at www.giannagabriela.com
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Sacked
Monica DeSimone
Love was never in my game plan. But that changed the moment I ran over Ben Anderson. The second he opened his sarcastic mouth, I was a goner. Looking back, it's ironic how the quarterback wasn't the only one to be Sacked.
1
Once upon a time…
Pfft, this isn’t a fairy tale, just simply my tale. My life hasn’t worked out the way I expected it to; instead, it’s so much more. Like my mother, I never intended on marrying. Unlike my mother, however, my reasoning has nothing to do with political aspirations. You see, until the day I “bumped” into Ben Anderson, I have never felt worthy enough. Ben is the man I always needed but never thought I deserved.
Now, as I stand at the back of the church where four generations of Montgomerys before me have said their “I dos,” and four hundred plus in attendance, media swarming, and both my parents hovering for the first time in my life, you would think my nerves would be kicking me in my proverbial ass. Yeah, not so much. I’m finally marrying my Bennie. He is the safe haven I have been looking for my entire life.
Born the daughter of a senator, I was raised in a privileged household, but my life was not one of privilege, nor passion. I have not lived a life to be envied. Bearing a child was not in my parents’ well-thought-out plans. I was an oopsie, one they were unable to get rid of due to being in the political spotlight. Once I was born, I was handed over to the nanny, only to be brought out for the annual obligatory Christmas card photo and during election years.
Despite my upbringing, I survived. Hell, I even thrived. On my own terms. Not that Alish and Whitehall Montgomery expected anything less.
But I digress.
The day I met Bennie was both the best and worst day of my life. Instead of running headfirst toward my future, I ran the man over. You would think that would have sent him running for the hills. Thank the fairies, it didn’t. Almost as though he knew I needed saving, as well as someone to love, Ben pursued me. He never gave up on me, despite my desire to push him away.
Between you and me, I knew who he was, and I may have even run him over accidentally on purpose. Hey, how else was I going to garner his attention? I mean really, how could I—the dejected debutante, the unpampered princess, the unspoiled brat—have compared to the football god of Oklahoma State?
The way I tell the story, I was distracted by a hot soccer player and my foot slipped off the brake, which caused me to slam “bump” into Ben. It was sheer happenstance.
Of course, luck had nothing to do with it. I was fascinated by Ben. He wasn’t just a pretty face. His tall, well-toned and muscled body wasn’t just for decoration. I quietly stalked him for a good two weeks before our encounter. I was tickled to discover Ben was smart, like pre-law smart. He carried a 4.0 grade point average, and was VP of his fraternity. I also
discovered he was the heart of the football team.
So, when my bestie, Zoey, told me she was meeting up with Derrick, Ben’s best friend, I played my cards right and got an informal invite to tag along. I even held back from primping and changing my clothes. I couldn’t let on to Zo I was interested. Otherwise, she’d never let it go. She can be tenacious when she sets her teeth into something.
All I wanted that day was to make a good impression, I really hadn’t meant to run the guy over.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I say to the heavens, who seem to be conspiring against me. I put my Land Rover Defender into park then bang my head on the steering wheel. “Big girl panties, Suz, big girl panties,” I mumble as I shove out of my car, a bribe from my parents for graduation, and am bombarded by a mixture of voices.
“What were you fucking thinking!”
“Christ, it’s a chick.”
“Of course, it’s a chick.”
“Worse, she’s from New Jersey.”
“Please tell me he’s okay.”
“Suzie? Suz? Get out of my way, you stupid gorilla!”
I round the front end of my sporty SUV and am greeted by an angry mob of oversized men and an even angrier Zoey.
“Is he okay? Did I hurt him?” I ask the mob in general. But my voice is weak and doesn’t carry over their voices. It is lost on all the men now surrounding Ben on the ground.
A deep, smoke filled grumbling to be “left the hell alone” sends a shiver down my spine and has the hair on the back of my neck standing up.
“Suz?” Zoey grabs my arm and turns me slightly to further seize my attention. As was the first time I saw my best friend, I’m stunned by her beauty. Looking at Zoey is like looking into the sun. She is that stunning. “Suz? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I quickly respond.
“Shit, you’ve stepped in a mess this time. I mean, Christ, you know how to pick ’em. Suz, you just ran over Ben Anderson,” she provides, and I pull on my best blank expression at the mention of his name. “The quarterback.”
“And?”
“Christ, she doesn’t even know who Ben is?” Someone from behind me spouts incredulously.
“Dude! She totally sacked you. And with a freaking Range Rover!”
“Shut up, Grady.” Ben’s deep, rich baritone voice is a sudden and soothing balm to my frayed nerves. And for the second time in my life, I finally feel as though I’m home.
Our first official meeting still makes us laugh today. Hell, Ben even thanks me. Why? I have no idea. But as my father takes my arm to walk me toward my future, I’m grateful for the past five years I’ve had with Ben.
From the first time I pulled up Ben’s information on my handy laptop I was captivated. My mind spun tale after tale of the life we could have. Just seeing Ben’s picture on my screen made my heart race and dream of a future I never wanted. Yet, still, I conjured up a life I couldn’t stop myself from hoping for.
I never wanted to meet him, I didn’t think my heart could handle the disappointment of rejection. It’s tender after all, thank you, Mom and Dad.
If it weren’t for Zoey and meeting her freshman year of high school at the Trinity School, I wouldn’t be here today. Thank God for my vivacious best friend, my sister from another mister. Zoey has been my saving grace from our very first encounter in the dorms.
If ever there were two wrongs that make a right, it’s us. Ben was just the icing.
He is and will forever be the calm in the eye of my storm. Where I’m all flash and bang, my Bennie is calm, cool, and collected. Grace under pressure. Simply looking into his honey brown eyes, the chaos in my mind settles. No one else exists. Suddenly the four hundred people in the room are gone. It is simply me and Ben. Two souls finally coming home.
“What the fuck, Suz?”
“It wasn’t my fault. I mean, really, who crosses the road against the light? Shit, Zo, we’ve been here three months and I still don’t understand a word these hicks say. Why did we come here? For Eskimo Joe’s? A bar? Honestly, I thought I’d never say this, but I’m missing Jersey,” I say in defense, hoping I don’t go missing, my body never recovered. I am in Oklahoma, after all.
I know the truth of our why. We came to the middle of the country to escape our families. Me, from my parents, Zo from her father. We’re simply two girls trying to survive and escape our pasts.
“He was crossing in accordance to the rules of the road, Susanne. So please, just stop. Stop playing the honorable senator’s daughter and covering your ass. Alish isn’t here right now, and, girl, you are in a fucking pickle.”
“How dare you play the mom card, Zo.”
“Ladies, if you could stop bickering, I’d like to make sure Ben is okay,” Derrick interjects.
“Who?” I say.
“The guy you ran over, dumbass.”
“Derrick!”
“What the hell, Zo? She may have just screwed our fucking season.”
“Stop being dramatic.” Zoey huffs out. “Ben is on his feet and talking.”
“Woman!” Derrick spouts and stomps off.
“Boy,” is Zoey’s response.
“You like him,” I offer my best friend with a nudge.
“You, stop deflecting. You’ve stepped into it this time. I don’t even think your mother’s publicist can get you out of this one.”
“She kept me out of jail once before. I think she’s got this.” Of course, the last time I was in any sort of trouble, I was underage, and to bring my transgressions to light would mean embarrassing the FBI. What government agency wanted to publicly admit to being hacked by a teenager?
“Stop being so fucking flippant. Look at what you have fucking done, Suzie. That dude is more important than your parents. In Oklahoma he is the hope OSU has been waiting for. And you might have just fucking ruined his career.”
“It’s football, Zo, not astrophysics.”
“Girl, when are you going to realize, football is the only thing that matters here.” She waves her hands around the entire area. “Shit. Have you ignored my entire life?”
“Why are you being so over the top?”
“Girl, I—”
“He’s fine. Thank God the “Arm” is all good. That bitch can live to see another day,” one of his football buddies says.
“Grady. Shut the hell up! She did nothing wrong.”
“I am so sorry.” I turn toward Ben and offer an apology.
“Don’t worry about it. No harm. No foul.”
“I really am sorry,” I say as my mouth runs dry and my heart accelerates.
“Doll, do me a favor. Let it go,” he says as he pats some dirt off his clothes. “You’re Suzie, right? Zoey’s roommate?”
“I… I’m… Ha… Umm.” I stumble. Because the full sight of Ben is staggering, and so much more than any photo has to offer.
“God, Bennie. You haven’t met Suzie.” Zoey interjects. “Ben Anderson, meet Susanne Montgomery.” She adds.
“Nice to meet you, Tornado Suzie.”
Staring into the most gorgeous eyes, I lose myself. All the training and finishing school I’ve undertaken fly right out the window as I look into Ben’s whiskey colored eyes.
“Oh, um, yes. I’m Suzie, and I’m so sorry about running you over. I um, kinda…got distracted.” I provide at a loss for words.
Hello, MENSA…you can now revoke my membership. With one sentence, I have been resorted to a fucking schoolgirl without brains or any common sense.
“Christ, you’re beautiful. Can I take you for tacos?”
“What the fuck, man? You do not engage the enemy!” Grady shouts.
“Grady, man, if I have to tell you again, I’m going to lay you flat. Shut the fuck up.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
Standing before me, Ben is all physical perfection. With a smile no man who was just run over should have. “It’s Tuesday and I’m in the mood for some tacos. You up for some?”
Looking around me, the pl
ayers who had been surrounding my Rover have dispersed and it’s just Zoey, Derrick, Ben, and me and I want nothing more than to shout out a yes. But I also refuse to put myself back in the limelight. I have spent my entire life as a pawn in my parents’ game. I’m not about to be anyone else’s.
I look over to my best friend, wrapped in the arms of Derrick, and look back to the man who both fascinates and scares the hell out of me. “Um, no, I’m sorry. I don’t eat tacos.”
“What the fuck, Suz. You love—”
Cutting my best friend off, I continue on, “I’m sorry for all of this. For hurting you, but I’ve got to go.”
With this said, I turn and scramble back into my car and drive off.
Driving away from Ben was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m a nerd. Always have been. I’m your Harry Potter and Star Wars loving girl. I write computer code and hack into the FBI and CIA for shits and giggles. But I also know pretty and someone outside my reach. I never dated in high school, too geeky and smart for the boys in our group. However, somewhere between graduation and Oklahoma, I grew into my own. Like a three-year-old colt coming into its legs, I have finally come into my own. But, regardless, Ben Anderson supersedes any man I have ever encountered.
Zoey slamming into our dorm room doesn’t shock me in the least. She does it daily. I mean, really, the girl has no speed below seventy-five.
“What the ever-loving hell, Suz?” Her anger surprises me.
Sitting on my bed with my faithful laptop in hand, I play the innocent card. “What?”
“Don’t you do it!” She all but raises the roof.
“Do what?” I offer in all innocence.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? Right now, you better be fucking glad I love you.”
