Hot for Sports: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Box Set: The Sports Romance Complete Series (Books 1-5)

by Erica Hobbs

  Amanda stayed a couple of blocks from where I was, but the whole property screamed money. The house was modern – one of those that looked like building blocks had been stacked oddly to make it look abstract. The lawn was immaculate, a pool with clear blue water peaked around a corner of the house, and all kinds of expensive cars were parked across the lawn and driveway. I was glad I wouldn’t have to find a place to park.

  I rang the doorbell and Amanda herself opened the door. When she did, her smile split in two with a spectacular grin. She leaned forward and hugged me as if we were old friends. She looked chic in a red peplum dress, her long dark hair hanging over one shoulder. She had the same shoes on as I did.

  “Jinx,” she said, pointing at my heels. I grinned. Amanda was upbeat and positive and in full hostess mode. It made me feel relaxed. There was very little pressure on me, but enough distractions to forget all about my woes. I followed Amanda through the expensively decorated house and through glass sliding doors that led out to the pool area.

  A table with finger food was set up along the far side of the pool. Men and women dressed in classy summer clothes walked around with glasses of champagne or orange juice, and light background music filled the air. It was soft enough to hear each other speaking but loud enough to create a great atmosphere. The whole event felt very familiar, and it took me a moment to place what it was I was picking up on.

  When it finally hit me, my stomach turned. It reminded me of the masquerade ball I had gone to with Jake. It had been classy then, too. I marched to the table and grabbed a glass of champagne. If I was going to get through this at all, I needed to forget all about Jake and his bad habit of using people. The only way I was going to do that was by drinking. It was pathetic, but I didn’t have any other quick fix.

  “Are you nervous?” Amanda asked, appearing behind me. I looked at the glass I was holding. She’d misinterpreted it as nervousness. If I had to think about what lay before me – and not behind me – yeah, I guess I was nervous.

  “Don’t be,” she said, taking my reaction as an answer. “I’ll introduce you to some people, and when I go with the presentation, I’ll mention you. That’s literally it. Other than that, just have a good time, mingle with some people and enjoy the day for what it is.”

  She smiled at me, and I felt warm inside. Amanda had a way of making me feel like it was going to be okay like there was potential for something great hanging in the air. It was exactly what I needed. It was the reason I had agreed to do this with her in the first place, even though this wasn’t in my job description and I had charged her a lot less for the designs. I was getting so much more than money out of it, after all.

  An hour after I had arrived, Amanda tapped her glass with a spoon to make her announcement. She explained her design ideas and mentioned me as her designer. I smiled, lifting my hand in a half-wave. Some of the men and women nodded toward me.

  ***

  The presentation went well, and when it was over, Amanda walked with me to some of the guests and introduced me. I got two contacts from the afternoon. Hopefully, it would turn into something more than just contacts – I was hoping for a job that would become a career. I was sick of everything that defined my life now. I wanted change. I wanted to start over.

  Again.

  ***

  As soon as every last guest had left, and I was the only one still at Amanda’s house, we collected the empty plates and glasses and packed them on the table for Amanda’s cleaning crew to take care.

  “I’m glad we don’t have to wash all of these ourselves,” I said.

  Amanda snorted. “You’re funny.”

  I wasn’t sure how I was funny. Amanda didn’t seem like the type of person who did any of her own dirty work, though. Maybe that was it. I sighed. Everything I did reminded me of Jake. Even when there was absolutely no reason for the reminder. Now that all the guests had left, and I was alone with my thoughts again I couldn’t stop the bad feelings and thoughts from creeping in again.

  “Are you okay?” Amanda asked, noticing I wasn’t in a good mood the way I had been before.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll survive. It’s just been a rough week.”

  Amanda put down the plates she’d carried to the table. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  I didn’t really want to talk about it. Then again, Amanda didn’t know me, and she didn’t know anything about my past, my fears, or Jake. Maybe talking to her would be easier than talking to Tanya or Grace, who felt sorry for me around every turn because of what I’d been through. Maybe talking to her would be better than talking to my parents who always told me I would find the right person for me one day. Like that could fix the current heartbreak.

  “I broke up with my boyfriend today. It’s just getting me a down a bit.”

  I waited for her to ask more questions. Women were curious creatures. Instead of why’s and how’s and when’s, Amanda planted her hands on her hips.

  “Do you know what you need? A night out.”

  “What?”

  “You need a distraction. You need to show yourself you can have fun without this guy.”

  I nodded slowly. That made sense. I could have a good time without Jake. I could have fun despite what he had done to me.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Okay.” Going out with Amanda might be just the thing. “I’ll just have to shoot home to get clothes.”

  Amanda shook her head. “Nonsense. I have tons of clothes for you to choose from. It will be fun. Don’t worry about anything.”

  I nodded again. Why not? There was no reason to put everything under the microscope. There was no need to pretend everything was fine and carry on like nothing had happened. Amanda was allowing me a way out, a way to deal with all of that. I could act out with her because she didn’t know me. And I wanted to. I wanted to get all dressed up, look sexy as hell and show myself I could have anyone I wanted. I wanted to go out and have a good time.

  Amanda led me to her “cottage.” She lived in a separate part of the property from her parents, and she paid them rent. She was independent, for all it was worth.

  “Here,” she said, opening a walk-in closet that would make Carrie from ‘Sex in the City’ drop dead. “Dig there and see if you can find something you’d like to wear.”

  I stepped into the closet and breathed in the smell of new shoes and perfume. There were more outfits than some clothing stores I’d been to.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “Let’s go to Corke,” she said from somewhere in the bedroom. “I can get us on the VIP list there.”

  I’d never heard of Corke. Zig Zag and Lemon were the two places I went to all the time, and that was pretty much what I had in my repertoire.

  “What should I wear, then? Is it casual or not?”

  Amanda popped her head into the closet.

  “Not at all. Go all out.”

  I turned back to the clothes. I ended up wearing a golden dress that shimmered and caught the light when I turned. It was strapless. If it weren’t for my hourglass figure – big boobs and ass – I wasn’t sure how it would have stayed up. It made my legs look longer, and my skin look like porcelain. In Amanda’s clothes, I looked like I came from the same social class as she did. I liked it.

  If only Jake could see me now.

  I didn’t push the thought away, though. I didn’t want to show him how good I looked; I wanted him to be jealous. I wanted him to rue the day he lost me.

  “Holy shit,” Amanda said when I walked out of the closet, wearing the golden dress and black strappy shoes so high that I wasn’t sure how I would manage not to fall off through the night. “You look like a million bucks.”

  I smiled. Good. If I looked good, maybe, eventually, I would feel good, too.

  Amanda had changed her clothes, too. She wore a black dress with more mesh and lace inserts than solid pieces of material. It covered only the important bits. Amanda had the kind of body to pull it off though, and instead of looking t
rashy, she looked like a celebrity. She was the kind of woman who didn’t mind the limelight. She would look good in it any day.

  “Are you ready?” Amanda asked after we’d reapplied makeup and straightened our hair.

  “Ready,” I said. Ready for what? To go out and be someone else for the night. To go out and drink – drink so much that I would forget?

  Chapter 29

  Jake

  This was hell. I had dealt with the pain of loss before – losing your parents is no easy thing to get through. But this? This was a different kind of pain, and it was on a whole new level.

  And there was nothing I could do about it.

  I tried to distract myself. I tried to focus my attention on other things. It had only been a few hours since she’d told me it was over – surely it couldn’t be this bad this quick? I hadn’t even had time to digest it completely. But the pain was there, acute, demanding my attention. I felt like a part of me had been ripped off, and I was lying on the floor, bleeding out.

  I went to the training center. It was empty – no one trained when they didn’t need to – and I tried to run it out. I got on a treadmill and put it on the fastest setting I could deal with, without shooting off. My feet pounded on the rotating belt, echoing through the empty center. I focused on a spot on the wall and ran like my life depended on it.

  I ran until my muscles screamed at me until my body was exhausted until my lungs burned in my chest. It felt like my heart was going to tear out of my ribcage.

  When I slowed down the treadmill and climbed off, my wobbly legs were too weak to hold my body, and I collapsed onto the floor. I lay there, heaving and panting. The only reason I didn’t break down completely was because I didn’t have the energy to. I’d made sure of that at least.

  I fished my phone out of my bag and checked the call log. I prayed that Alyssa had tried to get a hold of me. There was nothing.

  She didn’t want anything to do with me. She didn’t even want to let me explain.

  I was suddenly angry. Being angry was easier than being hurt. My skin boiled. Who was she not to speak to me in the first place? Why wasn’t I allowed to justify myself? She had seen a picture on the internet and had come to her own conclusion. I hadn’t even been given a chance to defend myself.

  The picture was terrible, though. Amanda had really managed to fuck up my life this time. When we’d had the fling that started her off on her psycho trip, I’d thought it would blow over. She’d made my life hell for a moment, but after a while, it had faded, and I’d believed that would be it. I had never imagined she would go out of her way to make me miserable.

  I was under no illusion she hadn’t done this on purpose. She knew how I felt about her coming to my home and trying things when I had made it very clear I was not interested. She had to be jealous about Alyssa and the fact that I’d finally found someone I wanted to be with.

  I took a deep breath. My chest ached, the breath rasping down my raw throat. I blew it out again in a shudder. I’d just lost Alyssa. Whatever I thought of Amanda, she’d still won. I had no idea what I was going to do about it. I hadn’t had a girlfriend before, and by extension, I also hadn’t had a breakup. I didn’t know how to get her back. All I knew was how to shut myself off and run away from whoever wanted to be with me.

  I pushed myself up off the ground. My legs felt like jelly, but I managed to get to the locker room and shower. I washed off all the sweat and grime, wishing I could rinse off the pain and the heartbreak I was feeling, too.

  The photos online had always been there, but I never used to care. Those girls meant nothing to me. I knew who I was so I didn’t care what they were saying about me. Now that there was someone else, someone I cared about, what she thought and how I was depicted suddenly meant everything. I should have thought about it sooner. I just believed that knowing me would be enough to show her that the internet was wrong about me.

  I had never considered it might catch up with me.

  I suddenly hated being famous. It tasted bitter at the back of my throat. I balled my hands into fists, the intensity of my hatred, my resentment for what was happening, building up in my chest until I felt like I was going to rip apart. I opened my mouth and screamed.

  It echoed off the tiles, bouncing around me, fading only a moment after I’d stopped. But I was alone in the locker room, in the entire center, and there was no one to hear my screams, my pain. This was what my life was like – lonely. I went through it all, alone.

  I got out of the shower and toweled off. I pulled on slacks and a sleeveless shirt and walked to my car, my hair still damp. A breeze picked up, and I shivered. I was being stupid, walking around with no jacket and wet hair, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered now. At the back of my mind I knew I was being ridiculous – not taking care of myself wouldn’t fix anything – but I ignored it.

  When I drove, my thighs trembled. Pushing the pedals was enough to strain after the hard training. We had a game tomorrow. I shouldn’t have pushed myself this hard. There was a reason coach didn’t want us to train the day before a game. I shook my head at myself.

  Tomorrow’s game was going to be a bitch. I wanted to take Alyssa with me to see me play. I wanted her to be there on the sidelines, cheering me on.

  But, now she wanted nothing to do with me, and I’d put my body through such a beating I could let my team down, too. The punches just kept on rolling, didn’t they?

  At home, I dumped my bag just inside the door and walked to the bedroom. I collapsed on the bed. She’d been here so recently. I could still smell her on the sheets, even though it had to be my imagination because they’d been washed after our time together.

  I rolled onto my side and ran my hand over the smooth sheets. It was hard to believe she’d been here such a short while ago. Everything had felt amazing only just a few days ago. I’d asked her to be my girlfriend. She was the first girl I’d felt I wanted to be a part of my life.

  Now my life was falling apart.

  I closed my eyes. I tried to breathe around the pain in my chest. My legs ached, my body was drained and even beaten. But the pain in my chest was emotional, not physical. I would be able to fix everything else, but this pain was here to stay.

  I willed myself to forget, to escape and sleep overtook me surprisingly quickly.

  When I woke up again, it was dark in the bedroom. I felt disorientated. I had been dreaming. I couldn’t remember what the dream was about, but Alyssa had been there. Here deep dark eyes were fresh in my mind, but her face was a twisted mask of fear, her mouth in a scream of help. I could still hear her voice.

  It felt so real. My heart hammered against my ribs, my mouth was dry. I reached for my phone with trembling fingers. It was just a dream, I told myself. I was freaking out because I’d pushed myself too hard, I hadn’t eaten right, I’d just lost Alyssa, and I didn’t know how to deal with it all. Alyssa was probably okay.

  There were no missed calls from her on my phone. Coach Clay had tried to reach me. I had a message from Rebecca, but there was nothing from Alyssa. I ignored the others. I didn’t want to speak to them now.

  I dialed Alyssa’s number. I needed to hear her voice, to know she was okay. I didn’t want to live without her, but if something happened to her and I wasn’t there to look after her, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

  The phone rang for a while. She was still ignoring me. I didn’t blame her. I wished she would just answer, though. I wanted to hear her voice, and not from the voicemail recording.

  I was just about to give up when the line opened. A barrage of sound thundered through the speakers.

  “Hello?” she shouted into the speaker. I swallowed hard.

  “Alyssa?”

  “Hello?”

  She couldn’t hear me. A loud thumping in the background stopped me from getting through to her even though she’d answered the phone.

  “I can’t hear you,” she said. Her voice was unusually high. “Call me later.”

 
The line went dead. I stared at the phone. What the hell was going on? Where was she?

  Worry overtook me and settled in my chest where the pain had been earlier. I wouldn’t know where she was. I couldn’t go out and keep an eye on her. I didn’t want to be that guy, anyway, but it was tempting.

  I buried my face in my hands. This was absolute torture. It was hell. Whoever said that men and women should be together had made a big fucking mistake not informing the human race what it felt like when it didn’t work out. I fell back onto the bed and groaned. What the hell was I going to do? I wanted to go out and get wasted, but I had a game the next day.

  Which I didn’t care about. I got up from the bed and walked to the lounge where I had a wet bar in the corner. One or two drinks wouldn’t hurt. I found a Whiskey in the cabinet, a smooth twelve year, and poured three fingers into a tumbler. I didn’t even bother with soda water or ice. I threw the amber liquid back, and it burned down my throat. A moment later, heat glowed in my stomach and spread through my body. This I liked.