Three and Out

by Meghan Quinn

  Taking a sip of his beer, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Ashlin.

  Ryker: What you up to, babe?

  Luckily, Ryker and Ashlin were done with their photo shoots for C.C. Morris and the campaign was wrapped up. Posing and modeling clothes was supposed to be fun for Ryker, but instead, it turned into this intense sexual experience where he had to let Russell the Love Muscle learn to calm himself and not misbehave. Now, he was dealing with the after-effects of posing practically nude with Ashlin. To the world, they were a couple, but to them, they were just friends.

  There was one night after a photo shoot where they got a little drunk and they might have slept together, but the next morning, when they were sober and the air in the room was awkward as hell, they both knew what they did was a huge mistake. They were meant to be friends, and that was it. Ryker wouldn’t lie though, from what he could remember, she was a good fuck, but that was it; there was no emotional connection between them.

  His phone beeped back.

  Ashlin: Sitting in my room, looking at pictures of hot men. What are you up to?

  Ryker smiled to himself as he responded.

  Ryker: Sitting at a bar as Mason takes another girl up to his lair.

  Ashlin: He is going to get a disease.

  Ryker: Tell me about it. So I’m guessing I can’t persuade you to come join me.

  Ashlin: Not tonight. My face is off and my hair is a mess.

  Ryker: Damn, I wouldn’t want to see you without a face. That would be some scary shit. Alright, well, have a good night. I’ll talk to you later.

  Ashlin: Night Ryke.

  Ryker put his phone away and thought about how damn lonely he was. He was pathetic. He knew he was the one who left Hannah to work out her shit on her own, but damn if he still didn’t want her. He wanted to hold her, listen to her sweet laugh, and suck in her alluring scent.

  Ryker’s thoughts of Hannah were disturbed as Mason pulled up next to Ryker.

  “Dude, let’s get the fuck out of here.” Mason was fidgeting with a look of panic crossing his features.

  Draining his beer, Ryker left some money on the table and followed Mason out the door.

  “What the hell is going on? Why are you acting like you just saw a ghost?”

  Mason looked behind them as they walked to grab a cab. “Those were real tits…”

  “Okay…” Ryker said, while trying to figure out what was wrong with his friend.

  “And so was the damn hair all over her body.”

  Stopping on the sidewalk, Ryker looked at Mason and said, “Hair, what are you talking about?”

  Mason turned around and said, “I’m not fucking with you when I say, Tarzan could do a couple of laps from her armpits with the damn coarse vines running down them. I’m pretty sure I threw up in my mouth.”

  Barking out in laughter, Ryker threw his head back and thought about big tits with the hairy pits.

  “Oh, fuck, that is awesome,” Ryker said, while wiping a tear.

  “That’s not even the worst of it.” Ryker raised an eyebrow in question and waved for Mason to continue. “After I blew my load all over her and saw the fucking rat’s nest in her armpits, I started getting the fuck out of there, but apparently she wasn’t done, so she took her pants off…”

  “Oh, fuck, please tell me there wasn’t a serious case of burnt Ramen noodles down there…”

  “Like she was trying to feed a fucking family of five…”

  More laughter erupted from Ryker’s belly as Mason went on to tell him about big tits’ legs. “Oh, that is just too fucking good.”

  “And the fucking nipples on this girl, damn dude, I thought aliens were going to pop out of her nipples and take me away. They were fucking saucers.”

  Ryker was practically crying as they hailed a cab. “That’s what you get for being a man whore. You have to choose wisely, man, or else you end up with big tits with hairy pits trying to abduct you with her alien nipples.”

  Mason flipped Ryker off and told the cabby where to go. Ryker couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end his night.

  **Hannah**

  Dick’s Last Chance, the bar Hannah worked at, was packed full for a Tuesday night, especially since there were no football games playing. Word must have gotten out that the Stallions’ star players, Mason Dashel and Ryker Lewis used to frequent the bar, and now it was the place to be for every belching, nacho-eating, football fanatic.

  “Leela, did you get that last table in the back?” Hannah asked the girl who took Piper’s place permanently after she just up and left, without even saying goodbye. Hannah hadn’t heard from Piper in three months. She even tried contacting Lexi, Piper’s best friend, but Lexi hadn’t heard from Piper either. They were all very concerned, but Lexi did say this was what Piper did; she just up and left when she wanted to. Apparently, Lexi had gone months without hearing from Piper, but she always popped back up, so Lexi wasn’t too concerned, at least not yet.

  “Yes, they would like two draft beers,” Leela called out as she dropped off a couple bowls of nuts on a couple of tables. Currently, Leela was the one friend Hannah had in Denver. Leela was still going to school and working at night, trying to earn her degree while being paid under the table. Hannah didn’t care, as long as she had someone to talk to.

  Her life took a turn for Shitville the minute Todd’s wife showed up at Dick’s Last Chance and confronted Hannah. Shortly after that, she blew up at Ryker because she was mad, so mad that she was so incredibly stupid; she needed to take it out on someone, and unfortunately, Ryker was it.

  Shortly after her blow up in the bar, she went back to her place, tossed everything of Todd’s and everything he ever gave her into boxes and put them outside for free. Todd had yet to contact her or visit, which was fine by her; she didn’t want to talk to the two-timing bastard. Instead of connecting with him, she just envisioned the irate look on his face when he found out that she put all his expensive, shoes, suits, cufflinks and colognes out on the curb for free. The image kept her moving forward with a smile on her face.

  “You have those beers ready for me?” Leela asked, as she sidled up next to the bar.

  Hannah shook her head, trying to get rid of her thoughts as she said, “Sorry, give me one second.”

  “You need to get your head out of the clouds,” Leela said with her little Italian accent. How she was still single was beyond Hannah.

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “You still thinking about that boy? What is his name? Ryker?”

  Hannah had made the mistake of telling Leela all the sordid details of her messed up life, and was now regretting it because, almost every day, Leela asked about Ryker. She picked up on the fact that Hannah had feelings for the man, and even though Todd lied to her about his…marriage, she still felt more of a loss from Ryker being out of her life.

  “Yes and no,” Hannah said shyly, as she handed Leela the two pints of beer she needed.

  “Do you want to talk about it later, while we’re closing up?”

  “No, that’s okay. There’s really nothing to talk about. Just the same old same old. You don’t need to hear me talk about nothing that is ever going to happen, or how bad I screwed everything up. Plus, you’ve seen the magazines, he’s moved on.”

  Leela tisked her finger at Hannah. “You should know better. Those magazines do not speak the truth.”

  Hannah nodded her head as Leela walked off. She knew Leela was right, but it was hard not to believe what she saw. Ryker and Ashlin looked so perfect together; how could she not believe that they were together? Plus, she hadn’t heard one word from Ryker, not that she should have; she’d royally screwed up where he was concerned.

  Sighing to herself, she walked up and down the bar as patrons placed their orders and she fell into her normal routine. This was her life, this was as far as it was going to go. She had zero prospects in her love life because she was a massive idiot, and she had no other job opportunities presenting themselve
s to her for her to get out of tending bar. At least she hadn’t taken Todd up on his offer and quit, then she would have been up a creek with no paddle.

  Chapter Three

  **Jesse**

  “Blue seventy two, blue seventy two. Hut, hut.”

  The center snapped the ball as Jesse fell into the well-formed pocket his offensive line had created for him. Turning to his right to throw off the defense, Jesse watched from the corner of his eye as Mason button hooked to the left and darted in front of the defense. Snapping the ball quickly, Jesse connected with Mason instantly and watched Mason run to the end zone for a touchdown.

  Coach Ryan came out on the field clapping his hands as Jesse undid his chin strap.

  “Perfect. Just like that. I think the fake to the right will throw the defense off, giving Dash enough time to get free of his defenders.” Coach Ryan looked over to Ryker and said, “Good screen, Ryke. Mason, good catch.” It almost pained the man to pay Mason a compliment, but at least they were cordial on the field. Few of the players knew what happened between Coach Ryan and Mason, but Jesse was one of the few; he kept it to himself, because he didn’t need his team crumbling apart because one little redhead couldn’t make up her damn mind.

  “Huddle up, men,” Coach Ryan said, as the team took their helmets off and jogged into the center of the field. “You guys are looking sharp, let’s end on a good note. Some of you need to meet me in the video room…you know who you are. As for the rest of you dickheads, get a good night’s rest. I’ll see you tomorrow morning for lifting.”

  Coach Ryan was one of the rare coaches who actually worked out with the guys in the weight room. The man did his own cardio, but he was always in the weight room with all of them.

  Jesse didn’t have to review video, because he’d done it earlier in the morning, so he was done for the day. As he was walking off the field, Ryker ran up behind him and hopped on his back.

  “Oh, Jesse, You’re my hero!”

  “Get off of me,” Jesse laughed, as he tried to wiggle Ryker off of him…who was trying to lean in and kiss him. He walked by Mason and called out, “Can you get this dick off of me?”

  “He’s your problem, dude. Not mine.”

  “Ryker, get off of your quarterback.”

  Jesse’s head snapped up from the sweet voice that called out to Ryker. Ashlin was standing on the sidelines wearing a short pair of denim shorts, a Stallions T-shirt jersey and a pair of sandals. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she looked damn fine. It was a warm fall day in Denver, which was good news for Jesse, because he got to see Ashlin in shorts. She was a knockout. Completely frozen, Jesse stood in place, as if someone had shocked him and he couldn’t move.

  Ryker flew off of Jesse’s back and ran to pick up Ashlin, who he spun around. Once he put her down, he gave her a noogy, a fucking noogy. Ashlin swatted away his hands as she tried to fix her hair.

  “You ass! Why do you always have to mess up my hair?”

  “Because it’s fun,” Ryker responded, as he started checking out Ashlin. “Why the hell are you wearing Jesse’s number on your back?”

  Jesse’s already listening ears picked up as he listened to her answer, desperately wanting to know why she was wearing his number.

  “Because he’s hot.” She looked over at Jesse and gave him a wink, making him weak in the knees. He was so beyond pathetic. “Plus, it was the only size that fit me.”

  The shirt clung to every part of her body…she thought that fit?

  “Stop shopping in the kids’ section, and maybe you’ll find something that fits you.”

  “You’re a real jokester today, aren’t’ you?”

  Jesse didn’t want to be the creeper watching them interact any more than he was, so he nodded toward Ryker and started walking toward the locker room as he called out, “See you tomorrow, bud. Good practice.”

  “Hold up, Jesse. Have you met Ashlin?”

  A smile spread across Jesse’s face as he walked over to Ryker and Ashlin. He could kiss Ryker right now, but instead, he held out his hand to Ashlin and said, “I don’t believe we’ve met. Jesse, nice to meet you.”

  Ashlin placed her small hand in his and smiled brightly up at him. “Ashlin, it’s good to finally meet a good looking Stallion.”

  “You’re really looking to get yourself into trouble today, aren’t you?” Ryker playfully scolded.

  “What are you going to do about it? You know I own you.”

  Ryker thought about it for a second and said, “Yeah, you do, but only because you have incriminating photos of me from our childhood.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” she pointed at Ryker and then looked back up at Jesse. Her eyes were gorgeous, the brightest green Jesse had ever seen; he couldn’t help but stare. “It was really nice to meet you, Jesse. Hopefully, I’ll see more of you around.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Jesse said, as he walked away.

  Finally taking a deep breath, he noticed he was sweating, not from practice, but from being so close to the girl that had been haunting his thoughts for a while.

  He shook his head at himself as he thought back to his conversation. He would hold her to it? What the fuck was he saying? Did he sound like a total corn dog back there?

  Wanting to shove his head through a wall for acting like an idiot, well at least in his mind he thought he was acting like an idiot, he grabbed his towel and went to the showers. Quickly cleaning himself, toweling off and putting some clothes on, he bent down to put on his shoes when Mason came up next to him and sat down.

  Mason got in his face and said, “So, you like Ashlin.”

  Jesse’s head snapped up and looked at the shit-eating grin Mason was sporting. Dickhead.

  “What? I don’t know what you’re…”

  “Cut the crap,” Mason interrupted. “I saw you staring at her and Ryker. You were a total creeper, practically drooling.”

  “I was not drooling,” Jesse fought back. He looked down at his feet and quietly said, “Was it that obvious?”

  “Uh, yeah buddy. I think you need to learn to be more subtle.”

  “Fuck,” Jesse ran his hand down his face. “Is Ryker going to kill me?”

  Mason raised his eyebrow in question, “Why would Ryker kill you?”

  “Because I was staring at his girl.” Jesse wanted to smack Mason in the head and say “duh,” but he held back.

  Mason looked at Jesse for a second and then threw his head back in laughter, making Jesse want to shove his foot in the wide receiver’s ass.

  “There are so many things wrong with that sentence. First of all, Ryker, kill you? Please, I’m surprised the boy can even play football. That dude is a total dweeb; he wears pink shirts with boat shoes, for fuck’s sake. Secondly, Ryker is so hung up on this girl, Hannah, that he would never be in a relationship with Ashlin; they’re just friends, Jess. That’s it.”

  Perking his head up, Jesse said, “Seriously? They seem like they’re more than friends.”

  “They’re close, I’ll give them that, but there’s nothing there. I believe they fucked once, but that was it.”

  “Great.” Jesse threw his hands up and stood up to grab his keys and phone.

  Mason stopped Jesse and said, “Listen, if you like her, go for it. There should be nothing holding you back. It would be nice to finally see you do something about the single life you lead.”

  “Oh, this advice coming from the biggest man whore in the world, who apparently likes to fuck girls with hairy armpits.”

  Mason clenched his fists and said, “Fucking Ryker,” as he shook his head.

  “You know, I’ve never been with a hairy Mary, tell me…was it good?”

  “Fuck off,” Mason said while walking away. “I’m in for your party on Saturday. I’ll be sure to make sure Ashlin is there, and that’s because I love you, man,” Mason said, playfully holding his heart.

  “You’re just bribing me so I pass to you more.”

  “I don�
�t have to bribe you, man. You don’t have any other choices if you want the pass complete.”

  “What faith you have in your teammates,” Jesse smiled.

  “Can’t pass up the mother fucking best, Jesse.”

  Cocky son of a bitch.

  **Brooke**

  “What the hell am I doing?” Brooke said to herself as she looked in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of dark colored jeans, brown boots and a yellow sweater with a matching scarf.

  She was going out with Jax to a casual burger joint for dinner, and she could not be more nervous. She hadn’t been out on a date in quite some time, not since she and Mason were actually dating, and that was a while ago. Jax was a nice guy, and he was hot as hell, but then again, he was connected to Mason, and Brooke really wanted to cut all ties with the man, especially after all the crap they had gone through.

  Regret from agreeing to go out with Jax started to settle in as she finished up her mascara.

  “This was a bad idea,” she said to no one.

  She was about to take out her phone and cancel her date, when there was a knock on her door. He was here. She quickly put her mascara away and told herself she would just fake a stomachache and ask to reschedule. There was no way she could go out with the man.

  Answering the door and getting ready to fake sick, she made eye contact with Jax, and all the tension and nerves she was feeling instantly vanished when she took the man in. He was wearing jeans with white Nikes and a white polo shirt that stretched across his muscular chest and clung to his biceps. What really caught her eye was the big smile that was spread across his face. He was truly happy to see her, and hell if she could let the man down, plus…he was so damn handsome. Maybe she could do this.