Hearts Penalty

by A. M. Williams

  It was surreal and not at all what I thought would happen at this party. But I wouldn’t complain, that was for sure. We hadn’t even had sex, but I felt more fulfillment from that encounter than I had with any of the guys that I’d slept with before.

  I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

  I didn’t wake with a smile though.

  The bed shook slightly, waking me up.

  I laid there in the semi-darkness, trying to figure out what woke me up.

  I heard a wet noise and went rigid as I remembered where I ended up the night before.

  I was in Dax’s room and we’d done some things before falling asleep. Did he wake up to jerk off?

  “Prudence…” Dax moaned, making my eyes widen. Was he thinking of me?

  I was now fully awake and my heart was beating quickly in my chest. What should I do? Lay there like I had no idea or grow a pair and roll over to help?

  I heard the wet noise again right before Dax moaned again.

  I’d roll over and offer to help.

  I sat up, and all movement stopped.

  “Prudence?” Dax asked.

  I couldn’t see him, though I knew he was on the bed. “Yeah?”

  The light on his side of the bed clicked on and my eyes widened in horror.

  Dax had not been masturbating; he’d been receiving a blowjob from the girl between his legs.

  My eyes widened in horror as they met the blue eyes of the girl kneeling between Dax’s thighs.

  “What the fuck?” I asked before scrambling from the bed.

  I didn’t care that I was naked at that point, but it was imperative that I get dressed as quickly as possible. I wasn’t sticking around to see what happened with this situation.

  It was obvious that Dax lured me upstairs and took advantage of me before having someone else come to finish the job. What type of asshole does that?

  “Prudence, wait! Get the fuck off me!”

  I could hear Dax struggling to get out of bed behind me, but I didn’t care. Once I was fully dressed and made sure I had everything, I opened his door and sprinted from the room.

  The party was still going on, so we couldn’t have been out for long.

  Thankfully, the crowd wasn’t as bad as earlier and I could quickly make my way to the front door of the house and out to the front walk.

  The fresh air felt good to my overheated face, and I sucked in a few shuttering breaths.

  I vaguely heard my name and turned to the right to walk toward my apartment. It wasn’t that far from the Greek houses and I just wanted to be somewhere familiar that didn’t have Dax there.

  I wouldn’t ever be able to look at him again, that was for sure. I’d never talk to him again after that humiliation.

  And that crush? It was shattered now.

  I forced my mind from the memory. It was still painful eight years later because I took what happened as the ultimate rejection. One girl early in the evening—most likely pity—then another one to come in and finish the job.

  It disgusted me just thinking about it.

  I couldn’t believe that I’d agreed to go out with him either. What was I thinking?

  I wasn’t, that was the problem. I was just as attracted to him now as I was in college.

  I still felt that frisson of desire when he was near, and I shouldn’t because of what he’d done.

  My head dropped back against my chair.

  I was fucked when it came to Dax.

  6

  I paced my tiny living room the next night.

  Dax would be here at any minute to pick me up, and I was a ball of nerves. I shouldn’t have agreed to go out with him tonight, that was for sure.

  But it was too late to back out now. I had to go through with it.

  A knock sounded at my door and I turned to face it, staring at it with wide eyes.

  This was it, this was the moment.

  I’d dressed casually since he said we’d go somewhere low key, so I was comfortable at least.

  I walked over to the door and opened it to reveal Dax standing there with his hand raised, about to knock again.

  “Wow,” he said, his gaze raking over me.

  I smoothed a hand over the burgundy top I was wearing before running a hand over my long brown hair, which I’d left down for the date.

  “You look amazing,” he said, bringing his gaze back up to mine.

  I couldn’t help but blush at his words. I cleared my throat. “Let me grab my purse and keys.”

  I turned and snagged both off my entryway table before stepping outside. I quickly locked my door and looked at Dax. “Ready.”

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets and we silently made our way out to his car, which wasn’t the sporty number I was expecting. It was still a high dollar car, but it didn’t look at all like I thought it would. It was a four-door car that looked more like a family car than a car for a single guy.

  He opened the passenger door, and I slipped inside onto the supple leather seat. I couldn’t help but run my hands over the leather, marveling at how soft it was.

  Dax opened the driver’s door, and I forced myself to stop caressing the leather. I didn’t want him thinking I was odd. Well, more odd than he probably already thought I was.

  “So…where are we going tonight?” I asked once we were on the freeway. I was staring at him, I couldn’t help it. It was like we were magnets drawn together.

  “I have a friend that owns a great seafood restaurant not far from here. I’m taking you there.”

  He cut his eyes over to me, and I snapped my head back to the front. “Is this a popular restaurant?”

  He shrugged. “Kinda.”

  My heart fell. Was he taking me to some fancy restaurant to show me off or prove something? Then I glanced down at my jeans. There was no way I was going to a fancy restaurant wearing what I was. My right hand clenched into a fist at the thought of him trying to parade me around.

  If that was the case, I wouldn’t be staying for the date or dinner or whatever this was.

  He slowed and turned into a brightly lit parking lot. My eyes widened as I took in the wooden structure before me. It honestly looked like it would collapse at any given moment and that it was just barely hanging on. The parking lot was full though, so it had to be good.

  “This is Fish Fry, my friend Beau’s place.”

  I arched a brow. “Fish Fry? Beau?”

  Dax shot me a smile. “He’s from South Carolina. Said there was no need for something fancy when he pretty much just fried fish all the time.”

  I snorted. Seemed like an understatement considering the shape the building was in. “Okay.”

  Dax got out and walked over to my side, helping me from the car. Once he shut the door and locked the car, he took my hand again.

  I couldn’t help that my heart stuttered at the contact or that I now had a blush across my cheeks. It was a natural reaction to someone this famous standing close to me. It had absolutely nothing to do with Dax himself. I was not acting like a teenager holding her crush’s hand.

  He opened the door to the restaurant and let me walk in first.

  My eyes widened and my mouth opened in shock. While the outside looked like it might crumble at any moment, I could only assume it was some artful construction because the inside was amazing.

  Gleaming wood greeted me wherever I looked. It was decorated with fishing nets and lifesaver rings. It was a little kitschy, but it worked the more I looked at it.

  “Right this way,” the hostess said, pulling my attention back to Dax.

  Apparently, he’d already talked to the hostess while I gaped at the restaurant.

  Once we were seated, I leaned forward and said, “When I saw the outside, I didn’t know what to expect.”

  Dax smiled. “That’s on purpose. He didn’t want this becoming one of those places you find in the bigger cities. So he purposefully makes it look rundown. But the real people know this is where you get the best seafood in this
area.”

  I made a low noise in my throat as I sat back in my chair and opened the menu. It took me a few moments to realize that everything on the menu was fried except for the salads, some sides, and some appetizers.

  “I see what you mean about the name,” I said, glancing at Dax.

  Dax laughed. “Yeah, I probably should have made sure you were okay with fried food, but it’s good enough that I didn’t think you’d mind.”

  “I don’t.”

  I perused the menu, trying to figure out what I wanted to get, but it all sounded so good. I eventually decided on a fried platter with fried shrimp, flounder, and clam strips.

  “Hey, y’all,” a waitress said with a southern accent, stopping at our table.

  She placed a steaming basket of hush puppies in front of us along with a bowl of individual butters.

  “I’m Casey and I’ll be takin’ care of ya tonight. What can I get y’all to drink?”

  “Whatever beer you have on tap,” Dax said.

  Casey nodded as she scribbled it down before looking at me. “And you, ma’am?”

  I was still stuck on the accent and didn’t realize initially that I needed to give my drink order.

  “Oh, I’ll have a Coke.”

  “Is Pepsi okay?” Casey asked, already writing my drink order.

  “Sure.”

  Casey wandered off, and I looked at the pile of food in the middle of the table. I glanced at Dax and saw that he was already opening one of the butter tubs and had grabbed a hush puppy. He dipped it in the butter and bit into it.

  “You eat it with butter?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Best way there is. Give it a shot.”

  I looked at him dubiously. I’d had hush puppies before at some barbecue restaurants I’d visited while traveling, but had never been given butter to eat with them. I was willing to give it a shot, though.

  I pulled a whipped butter container from the pile and opened it before grabbing a hush puppy. I blew on it to cool it down a little before dipping it into the butter and biting into it.

  My eyes widened. The sweetness of the butter was the first thing I noticed, followed by the savory taste of the hush puppy. I quickly chewed and swallowed. “This is amazing!”

  “Yep. I don’t think you’ll find better hush puppies around here.” Dax popped the last of his hush puppy into his mouth before grabbing another.

  I nodded. I agreed for sure. I’d never had ones this good.

  Casey came back and dropped off our drinks before taking our food orders and leaving us alone once again.

  I sipped my drink. It felt like the mood changed once we were alone and I had a feeling that I knew what Dax wanted to talk about. That night.

  He sighed. “I know you don’t want to talk about it… but I want to talk to you about that night.”

  A chill went through my body. “I’d really rather we didn’t.”

  He nodded. “I understand, but I think you need to hear what happened.”

  I scoffed. “You got some chick to come take care of you or whatever after I went to sleep. What else is there to know?”

  Dax sighed and I would swear that he was frustrated with me. Good. He didn’t deserve a second chance after doing that to me.

  “Pru, I didn’t ask her to come see me after you fell asleep.”

  I rolled her eyes. “Please. You probably didn’t have to ask. She was probably just waiting for the signal because she offered herself to you earlier.”

  “That’s not the case either. Will you just let me explain?” He was definitely frustrated, and I watched him tug on the ends of his hair.

  I shrugged. “Not sure what there is to explain, but go ahead.”

  “She snuck into my room. I forgot to lock the door once we were inside.”

  I arched a brow. “You expect me to believe that she snuck into your room?”

  Dax nodded. “Yeah, I do. Why the fuck would I ask some chick to come into my room when I had you in there? Not only is it extremely disrespectful, but I’m just not that guy. I liked you back then. I liked you a lot. I wouldn’t have had some other girl come in to ‘service’ me or whatever you want to call it because I had you.”

  I just looked at him. I still didn’t believe him. Dax sighed and continued. “She woke me up. I had fallen asleep too. I thought it was you.”

  Something niggled in the back of my mind and I narrowed my eyes as I concentrated on it. What was it that was bothering me?

  His words “I thought it was you” echoed in my mind and I remembered. He’d said my name twice after I’d woken up.

  My name.

  Unless there was another Prudence at the college, which I doubted, he’d called my name out.

  I froze. Was he telling the truth?

  “You called my name,” I said, looking at him.

  His face was red again, and he looked down. “Yeah, I did.”

  “She woke you up?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. It was dark because I’d turned the light off, so I couldn’t see who it was that was touching me. If I could have, I would have pushed her off immediately. I thought it was you that was touching me.”

  I blinked at him, trying to reconcile what I’d just been told with what I’d witnessed. All this time I thought he was an asshole. An attractive one, but still an asshole.

  “I…” I paused. “I don’t know how to put into words what I’m thinking.”

  I paused again and tried to organize my thoughts. “I’m sorry doesn’t quite cut it, but—”

  Dax cut me off. “You don’t have to apologize. I should. I tried to find you after that day, but I wasn’t sure where you lived and your teammates could be scary when they wanted to be. So, eventually I stopped trying to find you.”

  I cringed. I’d confided what happened to some of my teammates and it had changed the entire rest of the year with the boys’ team. They’d stopped hanging out with them and would only say something if forced.

  It was all because of me and this misunderstanding.

  “That’s because I told some of them what happened. They were trying to protect me.”

  Dax nodded and smiled. “I’m glad you had friends like that. I wanted to kick my own ass then.”

  Casey walked up with our food and set it carefully in front of us.

  Dax and I started eating, silence stretching between us. I was still trying to make sense of what Dax had told me. I was embarrassed just thinking about it.

  Nothing was like I thought it was. I’d gotten over my anger years ago, but I’d always harbored the hurt that night had caused inside. It had wounded my ego to think that Dax, a guy I’d shared something with, had moved on with me still in the bed.

  Now that I knew that wasn’t the case, I had to reevaluate everything.

  “Why’d you tell me this?” I finally asked.

  I glanced at Dax and watched as he popped a French fry into his mouth before answering. “I wanted to apologize, mainly. But I also wanted to see if I could get a second chance.”

  “Second chance?” I asked.

  Dax nodded. “Yeah. I’d planned to ask you out that night, but I got a little carried away with you and then everything that happened after…I’d like to be able to take you out now.”

  I looked at him. “Why do you want to take me out now?”

  My heart was beating a rapid rhythm in my chest as I waited to hear what he would say.

  “I thought I’d gotten over my feelings for you, but it turns out I’d just buried them. Seeing you again brought them all to the surface. Watching you coach and be this fierce woman has made my feelings grow. So, I want to take you out, date you, do everything.” His gaze held mine as he talked, and I couldn’t look away.

  I didn’t know what to say. I looked back at my food and popped a fried shrimp in my mouth, concentrating on the flavor as I tried to figure out what to say.

  My college self was cheering in my head, telling me to go for it and not look back. But my adult self was more ca
utious and worried about what this would mean for us working together.

  “I’ve checked the contract and everything,” Dax said, pulling my attention back to him. “There isn’t anything that says we can’t date since we work together. But it might not be a bad idea to talk to the owner to make sure there isn’t a conflict of interest.”

  I nodded. That sounded like a good plan. If I said yes.

  We lapsed back into silence and my mind was consumed with what Dax told me. I’d spent so long being mad at him and now that I wasn’t anymore, I didn’t know what to do.

  I knew what I wanted to do, and that was to say yes to Dax and everything he was offering.

  But I couldn’t help but remember the pain I’d gone through as a young twenty-something when Dax had bruised my heart.

  However, I was older and wiser now. There was no reason history would repeat itself.

  “Okay, let’s do this,” I said, looking at Dax.

  He looked at me in surprise. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Really. I want to see what you’ve got. But before we do anything else, we’re meeting with the owner to make sure we won’t run into issues. If it doesn’t work out…” I trailed off, not sure how to finish that thought.

  “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll quit and find another team to work with.”

  I blinked at him in surprise. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Really. You’re a great coach and the players need you more than they need me.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I remained silent and concentrated on my food instead.

  Tonight was shaping up to being one for the books and I had a feeling it would only go up from there.

  7

  “Wait. Back up.” Robin held a hand up and sucked in a deep breath. “I need you to go back to the part where you said you went to dinner with Dax Stephens. Dax Stephens!”

  I said nothing because I didn’t think I needed to. And I was right too, because a few moments later, Robin continued talking. “Dax Stephens, the soccer star, recently retired, and now coaching for this team, Dax Stephens.”

  “I’m aware of who he is,” I said dryly.