by Meghan Quinn
Piper stood right next to him and pointed her finger at his chest. “Don’t tell me what to do. This was a colossal mistake, Mason. It was a one night thing and it sure as hell won’t happen again.”
Mason felt like a rusty shiv was being repeatedly stabbed through his heart as he watched her frantically put her clothes on and grab for her purse. He couldn’t let her leave like this, not after the night they had. The night full of honesty, lust, and what he wanted to think was the start of a relationship.
He went after her and stood in front of his door so she couldn’t leave. “Piper, wait. Please don’t do this. Last night was amazing, beyond amazing. You can’t tell me you didn’t feel something last night…besides my erection.” He tried to make light of the situation, but she wasn’t buying it.
“Last night was great, but Mason, I’m committed to someone else and you have to realize that.” She shoved past him and opened the door. Before she left, she took one last look at him as a tear fell from her face. “You’re amazing and I’m so sorry I can’t give myself over to you.”
With that, she left him standing in his entryway wondering where the hell he went wrong. He was still thinking about where he went wrong when he was strapping on his gear getting ready for practice, as well as in between water breaks from getting slammed left and right on the field.
Mason took his helmet off and squirted water in his mouth. Not only did he have the shittiest morning ever, but now he had to suffer through the wrath of Coach Ryan and he was out for the kill today. Maybe giving the offensive team a couple of days off wasn’t the best idea because Coach Ryan was riding Mason. Every move Mason made, Coach Ryan had something to say about it.
Mason squirted water on his face as Ryker came up next to him. Ryker patted Mason on the back as he squirted water in his mouth.
“Great catch out there, man. I swear you have go-go-gadget arms sometimes.”
Mason laughed, thankful for his friend’s reprieve. “That’s why they pay me the big bucks. You’ll get there, sonny.”
Ryker flipped him off and leaned against the water table. “So…how did last night go after you went back to the bar? Brooke was livid, by the way. I swear she was ready to kill.”
“Yeah, sorry about ditching you with her. Last night was amazing.”
Ryker comically wagged his eyebrows at Mason. “Do tell.”
“I don’t think I’ve exploded that many times in my life. I fucked her every which way you could think of and even got rough with her, which spurred her on even more. One minute, I’m trying to recover and the next she is stroking me to the point where I didn’t think my dick would ever be back to normal. It was insane.”
Ryker laughed. “Damn, I should have gone after her.” Mason gave him the death stare, which made Ryker laugh even more. “If it was so great, then why have you been sulking all morning?”
Mason blew out a frustrated breath. “This morning, she ran out on me without even a thank you for multiple orgasms. She blamed it on the boyfriend again, but I swear to you, she felt what I felt last night. When we weren’t fucking, we talked about everything. I feel like I’ve known her for years. I just don’t get it. I don’t know what else I can to do make her realize that I’m the man for her.”
Ryker was about to respond when his eyes locked on something behind Mason. “Maybe she changed her mind.”
“Why do you say that?”
Ryker nodded to something behind him. “Because she’s standing over by the bench looking around.”
Mason snapped his whole body around and saw his redheaded beauty behind him, looking gorgeous as ever in torn jean shorts, a white T-shirt and her ever-present Converse. Mason felt his heart soar at her appearance. He had no clue how she got into the practice facility, but he didn’t care; he just wanted to throw his arms around her and take her back to the locker room. He started walking toward her when he stopped and watched her spot someone in a crowd of guys. She took off running and that was when Mason’s life went completely black.
The world stopped turning and everything around him was in slow motion as he watched Piper throw herself into Coach Jax Ryan’s arms. She started kissing him all over, while the guys hooted and hollered around them. He watched her smile at the man he despised, actually hated, the man who was making his life a living hell and not just on the football field now.
Mason could not believe what was happening. Was he dreaming? Was Jax Ryan really the guy she was in love with? Was he the boyfriend that was ruining his life? No way, no fucking way.
Mason felt Ryker’s hand on his shoulder and Mason shook him off, not wanting to hear any snide remarks from his friend.
“I don’t want to fucking hear it.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything. I’m not that much of an ass.”
“I can’t fucking believe this. Please tell me this is a dream. This is a fucking dream, right man?” Piper’s laughter echoed through Mason’s ears, causing him physical pain since he wasn’t the one who made her laugh so wholeheartedly. Coach Ryan piped up so the guys could hear him.
“Hit the showers, men; you were saved by my little lady.” Mason envisioned slamming his fist through Jax’s chest after that comment, but restrained himself.
Mason just kept staring at the happy couple. Finally, Piper looked away from her boyfriend and made eye contact with Mason. She mouthed “I’m sorry” to him and then wrapped her arm around Jax’s waist and walked through the tunnel with Mason’s now worst enemy. All the men started walking off the field, but Mason stood in place. He couldn’t believe what just happened. The woman he was meant to be with just walked off with the biggest douche Mason could think of.
Piper had brought back the first happy feeling since Brooke had left him and now it completely vanished and he was left feeling bitter and alone; a lethal combination that could only get him in trouble. He grabbed his helmet and walked into the locker room, bypassing the make-out session Piper was having in Coach Jax’s office. He wanted to hate her; he wanted to hurt her, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t function, let alone worry about ways to get her back.
He sat at his locker and laid his head against it, while listening to the sounds of the locker room. Towels snapping bare skin, medical tape being ripped, joking jabs being thrown at teammates, but none of it really registered because all Mason could focus on was the black hole that started to take over his heart all over again. He was losing himself and he was losing himself quickly.
***
Ryker left Mason to himself, sulking at his locker. He felt bad for his friend. He couldn’t imagine what Mason was feeling right now. To find out the girl he was falling for was in love with their worst enemy, let alone their coach…damn, Ryker was happy we wasn’t in Mason’s shoes.
Ryker tried talking to Mason, but he’d completely shut himself down, like right after Brooke broke things off with him, but maybe even worse. There was a darkness to Mason’s glare that Ryker had never seen before; it was almost disturbing. Mason refused to join Ryker at dinner and never left his locker after the moment he came in from the field. Ryker just hoped Mason wasn’t planning on staying very long because after what Ryker witnessed in Coach Ryan’s office, Mason would want to get out of the locker room as soon as possible.
Ryker got into his car just as his phone started to ring. He looked down at the caller ID and saw his agent’s name splash across the screen. Last time his agent called him, Ryker was traded to the Stallions. Since they hadn’t started the regular season yet, Ryker still could possibly be traded again. He hoped to God not because he liked his team and where he lived. Plus, he needed to stay close to Hannah. If he had a snowball’s chance in hell to win her over, he had to be living in the same city.
Ryker answered the phone. “Please, don’t tell me this is bad news.”
“It’s not at all. It’s very good news, actually,” his agent said. “I just got a call from C.C. Morris and they want you to be their cover model for their upcoming fall and winter line.
”
Shock washed over Ryker’s body. “C.C. Morris, as in the top men and women’s clothing designer in the country?”
“The one and only!”
Ryker blew out a long whistle. “What did you say? Please tell me you accepted.” Even though Football was Ryker’s passion, fashion was his second. He loved experimenting with his look and mixing and matching textures with color. He’d been best dressed in ESPN’s style issue multiple times since he started playing in the NFL. It was a top honor he earned that he prided himself on.
“Well, I scored you a deal…big money, free clothes and multiple covers and billboards. You can buy me a Land Rover as a thank you.”
Ryker laughed into the phone. “Keep dreaming pal. But wow, that is awesome. I’m so excited.”
“There’s just one thing.”
“I knew it was too good to be true,” Ryker said, while shaking his head.
“It’s not a big deal. You know the basic stuff, like taking pictures in your underwear…”
“Easy enough. Modesty is a word that’s not even in my vocabulary.”
“You will also have a partner in all the shoots. They are really trying to make C.C. Morris a little bit more edgy and want to amp up the sex appeal.”
C.C. Morris had more of a preppy style, which Ryker loved, so the fact that they wanted to pump up the sex appeal intrigued him.
“Oh? How do they plan on doing that?”
“You know Ashlin Harris?”
“Uh, Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit model? The super model for Victoria’s Secret? Yeah, I’m familiar.”
Ryker’s agent chuckled into the phone. “Well, they signed her on as well and the two of you will be modeling off their new line…together.”
“Huh, interesting. Like how close together?”
“Let’s just say they have a new lingerie and underwear line they can’t wait to try out on you two. This isn’t a problem right? I mean, you’re not with anyone and the image of you two together even makes an old man like me all hot and bothered. Stores won’t stand a chance keeping C.C. Morris’ new bedroom line in the store.”
“Is that what it’s being called? I thought we were talking fashion here, not strips of fabric.”
“You will still do their regular clothes, but they really want to emphasize the bedroom line…you know, to kick things off. This is a great opportunity Ryker…what’s the problem? Why are you so hesitant? You get to lie around with barely any clothing on with the hottest woman on the planet right now.”
Ryker couldn’t disagree there. Ashlin Harris was beyond fucking hot. He might have had a dream or two where she starred, but the thing that bothered him was the fact that, for one, he didn’t want to win the title of eye candy and two…Hannah kept popping in his mind and what she would say.
“I just don’t want to be known as the football player who poses in his briefs all day long. I want to make sure that this is the right move for my career and not going to threaten any chances I might have on the field.”
“It won’t; it will heighten your career. I’ve already talked about the deal with the Stallions PR department. They are ecstatic. They think it will bring more notice to the team from the female population. They are one hundred percent behind you and promised this won’t affect any kind of playing time on the field.”
Ha, Ryker guffawed to himself. Try telling that to Coach Ryan. The man did anything he wanted and could get away with murder, so if he didn’t like the underwear ads Ryker was in, he would take away playing time for sure.
“I don’t know man…”
“What happened? You were so excited about this. Just because you’ll be showing off some skin with another human, it has you all bound up? What happened to ‘modesty isn’t a word in my vocabulary’?” His agent mocked.
Ryker blew out a frustrated breath. “I was fine with it being clothes, or being alone, but you know what the media is going to do. They’re going to blow this out of proportion and, next thing you know, the media will have Ashlin and me with three kids and on the way down divorce road.”
“That’s crap. It’s just a few ads here and there. Believe me. They’ll be too busy staring at your ripped abs to even come up with some outlandish story.”
“You’ve been a little too obsessed with my body during this conversation,” Ryker laughed, “You want to tell me something?”
“Yeah, you are my money maker and I am determined to have your face plastered everywhere, so if that means I compliment you on your amazing physique, then I’m alright with it.”
“Well, I appreciate it.”
“So….”
“Fine…I’ll do it.”
“Fuck yeah! I’ll call you later on in the week with the details. You will not regret this, buddy.”
“I hope not.”
Ryker hung up the phone and found himself driving toward Hannah’s apartment. This was an amazing opportunity and the more he thought about it, the more excited he got and he had to share the news with someone. Since Mason was sulking and pretty much out of commission when it came to being a friend, Ryker went to see Hannah.
As he approached her door, his hands started to sweat uncontrollably. He didn’t know why the fair-skinned, blue-eyed beauty flipped his stomach upside down every time he saw her, but he planned on making sure he continued to see her because now that she was in his life, he wasn’t letting her go that easily. At least not without a fight.
Ryker knocked on her front door and waited impatiently for her to open the door. Never did he expect to see Hannah with a massive black eye and a bruised face staring straight back at him.
“Ryker, what are you doing here?”
Ryker grasped her head gently and made her turn so he could take a closer look at her face. “Hannah, what the hell happened to you?”
Hannah put her head down and backed away. “Nothing, don’t worry about it.”
Rage burned through his body as he took in her disheveled appearance, bloodshot eyes and poor butterfly job on the cut near her hairline.
“Did the fuckhead hit you?” Ryker couldn’t help himself from blurting out the words. He didn’t let her answer as he examined her body. There were bruises on her arms in weird places and some on her shins. “What the fuck, Hannah? Did he hit you?”
“It’s not what you think.”
The aura around him started to go black and all he could see was red. Someone had hurt his Hannah and he would bet his football career on who it was. Ryker charged in her apartment and started looking around.
“Is he here right now?” Ryker went through all the rooms in Hannah’s apartment, but didn’t find the bastard. He looked over at Hannah and saw how fragile she was; there was no way he was leaving her, especially with that monster coming back, so we went into her bedroom, grabbed a bag he saw in her closet and started packing everything up.
“What are you doing?”
“You’re coming home with me because you sure as hell aren’t coming back here where that ass fuck can treat you like his punching bag anymore. I swear to God if I ever see that man…”
Hannah placed a hand on his arm to stop him. “Ryker, stop. Todd did not do this. I fell down the stairs and banged my head against the wall at the bottom.”
Ryker watched her eyes to see if she was telling the truth; she didn’t seem to alter her eyes in any way while she told him what happened, but still, something didn’t sit right with him.
“How did you fall down the stairs?”
Her eyes flickered away and he knew her the next sentence that came out of her mouth was going to be a lie…and Hannah never lied. She was the most honest person he knew. Before she could ruin her track record of honesty, he put his hand over her mouth.
“Don’t lie to me; tell me the truth.”
Her eyes flew open in astonishment at how well he could read her. Like he told her the first night they met, they were meant to be together. They were kindred spirits or as Phoebe Buffay put it so eloquently, he was he
r lobster.
She sighed and sat on her bed, so he joined her while holding her close. “Todd and I were fighting; he was leaving and I went to grab him to stop him from going and, as he pulled away, I lost my balance and fell down the stairs. He didn’t have anything to do with it. I’m just a clumsy fool.”
Ryker gritted his teeth together, maybe the bastard didn’t push her down the stairs, but he sure as hell didn’t save her from falling.
“What were you two fighting about?”
“What else? Him leaving again.”
Ryker pulled her in tighter and placed a kiss on her head. He had no clue why Hannah put up with so much from Todd. She should have left him a long time ago, but for some reason, she kept holding on.
“I don’t see why you stick around, there’s something…”
Before Ryker could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a blond-haired man with slicked back hair standing in the doorway.
“She sticks around because she is in love with me, so I suggest you take your hands off my fiancé before I call the authorities.”
There were so many things wrong with what Todd just said. First off, how could Hannah love a weasel-type man like Todd? Second of all, Todd was too much of a pussy to face Ryker himself, so he threatened to call the police and third of all…FIANCÉ? Where the hell did that come from?
In unison, Ryker and Hannah both asked, “Fiancé?” But whereas Ryker was looking at Hannah, Hannah was looking at Todd, as if he just proposed to her.
Todd came over to the bed, snatched Hannah from Ryker’s grasp and pulled her in close to him, fiddling with something around her neck.
“Well, soon-to-be fiancé. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?”
“I, uh, I guess so…I thought we just promised ourselves to each other; I didn’t know there was anything official.”
“What do you think this necklace is for?” Todd asked, while running his fingers over, what Ryker could only assume was, white gold and very expensive.
“Todd…really? We’re engaged?”
Todd waved her off. “We can talk about the semantics later. What needs to happen now is, you need to get this low-life out of my home.”
