Now she's lost me. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
She rolls her eyes, clearly frustrated that I have no idea what she's talking about.
“I want you to take control of the ball and let him know you're willing to run with him.”
Again, nothing she says makes any sense, so I just stare at her blankly.
“Fuck, girl, learn some football terms. Fight for him. You need to show him that you're willing to sacrifice to be with him. Like he's doing. Because I can tell you right now, that boy is suffering in silence.”
I take my phone from my lap and open the messages, reading them off one by one. Suddenly, I feel the tears start to fall silently down my cheeks.
I miss you.
I never meant to drag you into this mess.
This distance thing is driving me crazy. I miss you, Ash.
Please tell me we can work this out, I need to know that we can.
There are more just like that, and the feelings in my chest take my breath every time I re-read the words:
I miss you.
Because it gives me hope that maybe I can fix this.
Regardless, I know I need to try.
Chapter 12
Brooks
I turn off the TV after seeing yet another show asking what happened to “Plane Girl.” They don't even have the courtesy to call her by her name, and it makes me twitch with rage. They speculate why we haven't been seen together in a few weeks, and what that means for our relationship. I have the overwhelming urge to call them up and tell each and every one of them to shut the fuck up. Them talking about Ashley causes my anxiety to rise with each passing minute. The notion of the press talking about me is not anything new, but I know what it's likely doing to Ashley, and if it continues, I don’t know if she’ll ever come back.
Dave seems to think she just needs some time, but it's been over a week, and I still haven’t heard anything from her. I sent way too many text messages. I know they probably make me look desperate, but right now…I am. I just want to make sure that she's okay.
As I get up to get myself another beer, the doorbell rings, making me groan loudly. As I make my way to the front door, knowing it's probably Dave trying to get me out of the house, I wonder if I should answer it at all.
“I’m not in the mood, Dave,” I grunt while opening the door. Suddenly, I realize that it's not Dave standing in front of me. It’s Ashley—in disguise.
“Ash?” I question, not believing my eyes. She looks gorgeous, even though she's used every tactic in the book to disguise herself. Her sweatpants, sweatshirt, sunglasses, and baseball hat are a sight to see, but the minute she takes those glasses off her face, a weight lifts from my shoulders and chest. Although the heartbreak and loneliness I see on her face are likely mirrored in my eyes, the need to rush to her, pull her into my arms, and never let her go nearly overwhelms me.
“Sorry to just drop by like this. Can I come in?” she asks as her eyes dart behind her, obviously making sure no one followed her. Her voice is shy, a small smile tilting the corners of her lips. I nod my head, gesturing for her to come inside.
“I know I should have called, but I had to see you.” I wonder for a second if she can hear my heartbeat. It’s so loud to me, it becomes nearly all I can focus on. I shut the door behind her, then take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I turn to face her.
“Can I get you anything?” The awkwardness between us is palpable. It's clear I'm delaying the conversation as much as possible, afraid of the end result.
“No, I'm okay. Can we sit?” she asks.
I lead her into the living room where she sits on the couch and fidgets with her fingers, her hands resting on her lap. She's nervous. I can relate. Hell, I feel like my stomach is roiling, and my heart is going to beat out of my chest.
“Are you doing okay?” I ask, genuinely hoping she is. She just shrugs, her eyes downcast. In a moment of weakness, I sit next to her, her body heat radiating into mine, testing my resolve to keep from touching her.
“I've been better,” she admits, a small smile gracing her face again. A sigh of relief leaves my chest.
“But after talking to my best friend, and thinking and thinking and thinking some more, I realized the person I should have been talking to about this the whole time is you.”
“How did you find out where I live?” I know I never told her, and we never made it this way, even though I had plans to bring her here.
“The driver’s license picture that you sent to me for our first date. Thought that was better than going to the press.”
“Probably the best option.” I wink, and from the shuddering breath that Ash takes as her eyes meet mine, I regain some hope.
“Sometimes, I forget you're a big deal,” she says jokingly. I find I can no longer smile. This is the reason we are here in the first place, after all.
“Ash, I know the press is hard to handle, but I don’t want to choose between you and my career.” My eyes plead with her to understand. Because as much as I love football, I don't think I can give her up. Honestly, it’s a decision I would rather not make.
She gets up off the couch and starts pacing in front of me. “I don't want you to give up your dream. That would be selfish. But I do need to know that you understand how horrible this has been for me. It was so jarring, and being bombarded with questions about one of the best nights of my life before I even knew how exactly I felt about it left me feeling raw and exposed in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying…” She faces me and looks me straight in the eyes. “I’m saying that I can't seem to function without you. I tried. For days, I tried to go about my daily routine, but I couldn't. And not just because I was sequestered in my house because the reporters were camped out.”
I growl because no matter how this conversation ends, I will be talking to the press about how they went about this.
“I couldn't seem to get you out of my head.”
“You have no idea how hard it was not to burst through your front door and show you how amazing we are together. Because we are good together. No matter what anyone might say.”
“I know that now. And that's why I'm here. I needed you to know that I want this. I want you. But I also need you to realize that I will likely freak out again. I don't know how long it will take for me to get used to the press. Maybe I won’t. But I need to see where this goes because I miss you and—”
I stand, cutting her off as I take both sides of her face in my hands and kiss her.
My whole body shudders with relief as our lips meet in a blissful kiss that turns from sweet and innocent to passionate in the blink of an eye. Before I know it, I have my hands wrapped around her legs, pulling her up and slamming her back against the wall.
I spent days wondering what this moment would be like. I always pictured this sweet moment filled with tender touches. But this? This is the passion and lust I can't stop.
Ashley moans, her fingers digging into my shoulders as my lips trail down the side of her neck, sucking on her skin. She tastes even better than I remember, and when her fingers thread through my hair, tugging my head back to meet her eyes, I see the same passion mirrored in her gaze.
“This isn't going to be sweet, Ash. I thought I lost you, and now I can't control myself.” I growl as her eyes become hooded, and her fingers tighten against my scalp.
“I don't want sweet. I want to feel you lose control. I want to know what that feels like.” Fuck, those words coming out of her mouth have my cock going rock-hard in an instant as I grind my hardness against her covered pussy.
“Put me down,” she orders. For a split second, I worry that I took it too far. But the moment her feet touch the floor, she strips off everything but her bra and panties. At the same time, I undo my jeans, toss my shirt aside, and release my aching cock.
Before she can say a word, I lift her off the floor once again and pin her to the wall ju
st as my fingers trace her pussy through the thin fabric of her panties.
“Fuck, Brooks…” She moans, her head falling back as I pull the fabric to the side and take a look at the star of so many of my fantasies.
“Hold on,” I grunt, her arms wrapping around my neck as I take my cock and place it at her entrance, slamming into her without warning.
Ashley screams into the empty room, her pussy grabbing hold of my cock and sucking me so far inside her heat that my legs get weak. I move one arm to her ass, and the other goes to the wall behind her head. I begin thrusting in and out as if I only have a few minutes before the mirage disappears.
“Brooks...please,” she begs as my lips take hers once more, my cock driving deeper and deeper.
“You getting close, baby?” I ask, knowing the answer by the way her pussy squeezes the hell out of my cock.
I know at this moment, with the feel of her wrapped around me, her fingers digging into my skin, and the way her breath catches every time I thrust into her that she's it. She's the one I want all of these moments with.
“Shit!” she screams, her head falling back once more as I continue thrusting. And just before I can beg her to come on my cock so I can feel her warmth surrounding me, she screams, her orgasm overtaking her body as mine locks, her pussy wringing the orgasm from my cock.
“Damn…” I mumble after a few minutes of heavy breathing, loving the way she feels wrapped around me. Ash releases her legs from around my waist, and when I see my bare cock dripping with the evidence of what we just did, panic sets in.
“Oh, shit. I forgot the damn condom. Fuck, Ash, I’m sorry.” My stomach drops as her eyes follow mine to the clear evidence that we just fucked bare. I expect her to freak out. Maybe yell. What I don't expect is for her to trace a finger down the edge of my cock, bring the juices up to her lips, and lick. I swear a second orgasm goes through me at the sight.
“I’m on the pill, big guy. Calm down and take me to your bedroom.”
I arch an eyebrow at her suggestion, feeling the sense of panic release from between my shoulders.
“And why would I do that?” I ask, teasingly.
“Because I think you're gonna want to see what I have planned for you.” She winks, strutting away in those black panties.
I smile because it's official: I would follow this girl anywhere.
Epilogue
Ashley
“You shouldn't be awake,” I say, stroking Brooks’ hair as his eyes flutter open. “My champion needs his rest.”
He gives me that smile that always sends shivers through my body as I lean in, kissing him lightly. Before I have a chance to pull away, his hand wraps around my neck, and he brings me in for an even longer, more intense kiss that leaves me breathless.
“Well, this champion would rather look at you than sleep.” My look says I know a line when I hear one. After all, he's spent the better part of the last two years using them to get his way with me.
I never expected to fall in love with someone like Brooks, but I am eternally grateful to whoever sent him my way. The last two years have been blissful. We started off trying to keep everything away from the media, and for a while, it worked. We got a good two months of blissful days and nights alone. But when the news broke that we were together for real, all hell broke loose. It wasn't long after that that Brooks decided it was safer for me to move in with him. We moved to a gated house that allows for as much privacy as money could buy. It didn’t get rid of the reporters camping out at the end of the driveway. It does allow me to sit by the pool without having to worry about bikini pics floating around the tabloids the next day, though.
Is our life perfect? No. With Brooks’ travel schedule, Marcy finally retiring and promoting me to run the hotel in her absence, and the stories in the tabloids every other day about our breakup, his cheating ways, or whether I'm pregnant, it’s hard. But none of that deters me from loving him with all my heart.
I can admit now that I fell in love with him the moment he walked away from me the day I asked for space. I knew then that any man who did exactly what I asked him to do, even though it went against everything he felt at the time, was a man I needed to keep.
And I have.
“What was that kiss for?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“Can’t a man kiss the woman he loves?” I kiss him one more time before he gets up and heads into the bathroom.
“What time do you have to leave today?” I ask, knowing he’ll be doing press releases for the next few days. I mean, winning the Super Bowl does have its downfalls.
“I don't,” he says with a mouth full of toothpaste. I give him a confused look when he just smiles, spits out the toothpaste, and leans against the doorframe.
“I don't have a press conference until tomorrow. I’m all yours today.” He winks as he moves into the closet for a split second and then comes back and lays next to me on the bed.
“What did you want to do today?” I ask, not really wanting to leave the house. Knowing he'll be busy soon makes me want to spend as much alone time together as possible.
“Well,” he says, lying down, one hand behind his back, “I was hoping we could celebrate.”
I roll my eyes and laugh because, of course, he would think of nothing but sex.
“Hey, get your mind out of the gutter, young lady!” he says with a massive smile on his face. “That's not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“Well, I was hoping we could celebrate the fact that you're going to be my wife,” he says quietly as he pulls a ring from behind his back and holds it between two fingers. Before I can control it, tears start to fall down my cheeks as my eyes meet his.
“Ashley Elizabeth Wilson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? My life doesn't work without you in it. Marry me, baby.”
It's not a question and so very Brooks. All I can do is nod as he takes my left hand, places the ring on my finger, and touches his lips to mine in a sweet and tender kiss.
“You really want to marry me?” I ask, not actually believing that this is real.
“Yes. You are the only person who can put up with me other than Dave, and I really don't want to marry him. I also think Amy would have an issue with that.”
I burst out laughing as the tears continue to fall.
“I love you so much,” I whisper against his lips as I kiss him harder and longer than before.
“I love you, too, Ash. Forever.”
THE END
The Quick Snap Novella Collection
To learn more about The Quick Snap Novella Collection, click here: https://www.ladybosspress.com/quick-snap
Note From the Author
Thank you so much for reading Pick Six, I loved this story so much and it was actually inspired by a real-life football player that tweeted out in search of his mystery girl. I hope you loved Brooks and Ashley’s story as much as I loved writing it. Please think about leaving a review of this book on the site which it was purchased. Hearing your thoughts and opinions on my stories is the best gift, and seeing all your reviews is always the highlight of my day.
Thank you so much for the support.
Love always,
S.A. Clayton
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband, who has stood by me throughout this journey. I know I can be hard to handle when deadlines hit, but your love and support will always mean the world to me.
Thank you to my family for supporting me no matter what I chose to do. They have always known that writing is my passion and seeing their support for that passion means everything to me.
Thank you to my BETA and ARC teams for reading my very rough drafts and telling me straight up what I need to change and how to create a better story. Thank you for sharing, loving and promoting my work. Without you, there would be no books to read and for that I am eternally grateful.
To Chelle Olson. You are a wizard and anyone that says differently is delusional. You
elevate every aspect of my craft and I am so thankful that I found you when I did. Without you, my work would not be at the level is it today. I hope we work together for years to come because I have no idea what I would do without you.
To my readers. When I started this journey, I didn’t know what to expect, and the level of love and support I’ve garnered over the last year has been something I never expected. You are the reason I do this job. You are the reason I write the stories I do, because you devour them and love them as much as I do. I hope that never changes.
To the Lady Boss Press ladies. When I started, I didn’t have any author friends to turn to. I was new and shy, afraid to ask for advice and you ladies pulled me in and gave me that community I had been craving. I will be forever grateful for the guidance and kindness you have shown me this past year.
To Kristen Proby. Thank you for taking a chance on me. Thank you for bringing me into the Lady Boss Press family and trusting me to write in your world. I can’t tell you what that confidence means to me and I hope to spend a lot of time bringing your worlds to life.
Also by S.A. Clayton
By Chance Series
Wrapped in Red
Dipped in Gold
Sweet Valentine
By Chance Collection: Vol. 1
About the Author
S.A. Clayton lives in a small town outside of Toronto, Canada with her husband and her scary large collection of books that seem to take over every room.
She has worked on both sides of the publishing industry, both in a bookstore and for actual publishing companies. Although she loved both for different reasons, she found that writing was her true passion and has spent the last few years breaking into the industry as best she can.
Pick Six: A Quick Snap Novella Page 7
