by Meghan Quinn
“I don’t know. I don’t know you at all.”
“You’re right, you don’t. This was a mistake,” Jax said, as he bent down and grabbed his shirt. He threw her door open, put his shirt on, and walked toward her front door. He wanted Brooke, but he didn’t want her like this. He didn’t want her thinking his liking her had anything to do with Mason.
“Jax, wait,” Brooke said, as she ran up behind him. “I’m sorry.” She pressed her hand against his back, letting him know that she wanted him to turn around.
Slowly, Jax turned around as he ran his hand through his hair. “No, I’m sorry Brooke. I shouldn’t have brought it up. Please excuse me for being a paranoid fuck, but I’ve been screwed over before, and it’s kind of hard for me to trust any woman right now.”
In understanding, Brooke nodded her head and pulled away. “I’m not going to lie, that sucks, and it sucks that you can’t trust me, but I understand.”
“It doesn’t mean that I can’t ever trust you. I just have to get my head straight first.”
“Okay.”
Jax ran both his hands over his face in frustration. “God dammit!” He pushed his hands down and then looked at Brooke. “Ahh, fuck it!”
Not giving Brooke a chance to think, he grabbed her little body, took her to her couch, tore her underpants down, and buried his face between her legs, surprising the hell out of her and himself. He spread her legs like a crazed man and swiped his tongue through her already slick folds. He looked up to see Brooke leaning against the back of her couch with her eyes closed and her arms gripping the back of the cushions.
“Ah, shit!” she screamed, as he stuck two fingers in her entrance. “Feels so good,” she mumbled.
Spreading her even wider and pulling her pelvis out from the couch, he continued to taste her, nibble, and lick the fuck out of her. Her body seized and he was instantly rewarded with the cry of his name and the surge of wetness from her orgasm. He rode every wave with her, not letting up until she couldn’t take it anymore.
When she finally came down from her orgasm, she slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him with sated eyes. His job here was done.
Leaning down, he placed a kiss on her lips and said, “I will call you, got it?”
She nodded her head and pulled on his neck to bring his lips back. She kissed his lips slowly and said, “Got it.”
“Good.”
Chapter Four
**Ryker**
“Where the hell are the damn beans?” Ryker said out loud, as he looked around the canned food section. “This should not be that difficult.”
He hated going to the grocery store, and not being able to find anything was one of the main reasons why; the other main reason, he hated cooking. He did bump into Hannah once while he was in the grocery store, and that was one of the best days he’d had in a while because, not only did she help him get food for dinner, but she went back to his place and helped him cook it. He could never look at tacos the same way again.
“Fucking tacos,” Ryker mumbled, as he stared at a can of kidney beans. “These are not what I’m looking for.”
Throwing a temper tantrum, Ryker grabbed his phone and started typing a text to Jesse that he was not going to bring anything to his damn party, because he couldn’t find the damn beans. As he was wrapping up his text and heading out of the aisle, he ran into a cart that crippled him to the ground. The corner of the cart hit him right in the junk, making him double over in pain.
Dropping to his knees and holding onto his crotch, he bellowed, “Ah fuck, my dick,” not even caring that there were children around.
“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry.”
Ryker’s head snapped up as he looked into a set of pale, light blue eyes.
Hannah.
“Ryker?” Hannah’s brow crinkled as she looked down at him. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
“Clearly,” Ryker grunted out, as he rolled on the floor while silently apologizing to Russell the Love Muscle.
“Well, you were looking at your phone…”
Ryker flashed her a look of death and she backed up. She reached into her cart and held out a bag of peas. “Do you want to ice…it?” A small smile spread across her face.
“I’m taking these peas,” Ryker said, as he shook the bag at her, right before icing off his balls and dick. Hannah stood above him, trying to hide her snickering. “It’s not that funny. I could punch you in the tit, and we could compare the pain.”
“You’re being a baby.”
Ryker glanced up and tried to contain the sigh that was threatening to escape him. Even after three months, seeing Hannah gutted him. She was so beautiful, so innocent.
Trying not to look at her any more than necessary, he scooted his body against the shelving and held the package of peas to his crotch. A store clerk walked by and eyed Ryker up and down.
“Sir, are you going to buy those peas?” A chuckle escaped Hannah, who turned away to hide her smirk.
“Nope!” Ryker tossed the peas down the aisle and got up…slowly. “I’m the creep who comes into stores and presses peas to his penis.” Ryker eyed the cart that almost took out Russell and flipped it off. “Fucking cart.” As he was turning around, he saw what was in Hannah’s cart, and he rejoiced. He reached down and grabbed the baked beans that were in there. “I’m taking these,” he held them up as he looked at Hannah.
She just smiled and let him limp away. Another not-so-successful trip to the grocery store. Jesse owed him big time.
As Ryker climbed into his car after checking out, he turned his car on and was about to pull out of the parking spot when his phone chimed with a text message. He looked down at his phone and saw that it was from Hannah. He banged his head against the steering wheel in defeat.
“Why?” he said as his hand opened the text message. He didn’t want to see her, to hear from her. He was trying to move on from the practically nothing they’d shared together.
Just running into her at the grocery store nearly took his breath away. She was just as gorgeous as she was a couple of months ago. She was just too perfect, and even though he wanted to rebel against his feelings, he couldn’t. He couldn’t let go.
Hannah: Sorry about your…area. I hope it feels better. P.S. I paid for the penis peas. The clerk did not seem happy.
A small smile spread across Ryker’s face as he thought about Hannah texting penis. She was very much an innocent girl who never swore and barely talked about sexual things. Not even thinking about what he was doing, he texted back.
Ryker: It was the least you could do since you nearly castrated me.
Hannah: Once a drama queen, always a drama queen…
Smiling to himself, Ryker put his phone down and pulled out of his parking space. For the first time in three months, his chest felt a little lighter. He didn’t want to feel happy about seeing Hannah, but at the moment, he knew he couldn’t help himself. She was his girl, and even though she hurt him terribly, he still needed her.
Ryker pulled up to Jesse’s house, which was more like a mansion on a ranch on the outskirts of Denver. Ashlin was meeting him here, so when he saw her car was pulling up behind him, he was relieved they’d showed up at the same time. He got out of the car, grabbed his two cans of beans, and walked over to Ashlin. She got out of her car, wearing tight jeans, riding boots, and a navy blue sweater.
Placing a kiss on her cheek, Ryker said, “You look good.”
Ashlin rubbed his hair and said, “You look a little disheveled.”
That was when Ryker looked down at his clothes and realized his crotch shot from the cart had untucked his shirt. He was wearing a pair of orange pants, cuffed at the ankles, a white button up shirt and a blue bow tie.
“Damn,” he said, while handing the beans to Ashlin and tucking everything back in place. “Long story. Did you bring something?”
“Root beer.” She held up a six pack of a local brew.
“Are you trying to win our host’s
heart?”
“Just trying to be a gracious guest.”
They started walking toward the house as Ashlin said, “What’s with the smirk?”
“Smirk? I’m not smirking.”
“Yes, you are.” She pressed the side of his mouth with her finger and said, “You’re smirking. Did you just get laid or something?”
“No…”
“Then what?” Ashlin stood still and placed her hand on her hips, not moving forward until he told her.
“Ugh, God, you’re so fucking stubborn.” Ryker straightened his cuffs as he casually said, “I ran into Hannah at the grocery store. Well, more like, she ran into me.”
A girly squeal came out of Ashlin’s mouth as she clapped her hands. “Oooh, Ryker and Hannah sitting in a tree…”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ryker playfully said, as he dragged Ashlin forward by the hand. “It was just good to see her, that’s all.”
“Don’t lie to me. I can read it all over your face. You are so fucking giddy.”
“I’m not giddy!”
“Oh, okay…”
“I hate you,” Ryker said, as he knocked on the door.
Jesse opened the door with a giant smile adorning his face. The quarterback never smiled at Ryker like that, so there was only one reason why he was smiling, and he was staring right at her. Ryker put that new-found information in the back of his mind for later and shoved the beans into Jesse’s hand.
“Here are your beans, moose knuckle.”
Ryker started walking by Jesse when he said, “Dude, you were supposed to bake them.”
Ryker waved his hand in the air and said, “You’re lucky you even got beans. You have an oven, bake them yourself. I’m grabbing a beer.”
“Charming,” Ryker heard Jesse say as he closed the door.
**Ashlin**
Jesse towered over her. She noticed how tall he was when they met at Ryker’s practice, but standing in his entryway made him seem much taller.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Jesse said, as he smiled down at her. He was almost too handsome, Ashlin thought, as she looked up into his almost-black eyes. He was definitely her type. Strong, athletic, dark complexion, dark hair, and dark eyes. Tattoos were scattered over his arms like Mason, and he had a little scruff on the end of his chin. He was hot, really hot…on the field and off the field, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved Henley shirt, he was giving her a little lady wood.
“Thanks for having me over. I know this is a team thing…”
“Not at all. I just like to hold a mid-season party for everyone, a little barbeque in the fall.”
“I brought root beer,” she said lamely, as she held up the six pack.
Jesse eyed the root beer and grabbed it from her, “Yeah, I’m not sharing this with anyone.”
Laughing, Ashlin said, “Hey, I should at least get one.”
“We’ll see about that,” he said with a wink. “Follow me.”
As Ashlin followed Jesse through his house, she took in their surroundings. From the outside, his house seemed very extravagant, but on the inside, it wasn’t. It was very homey. There were pictures on the walls of people who she could only assume were his family, since they all looked alike. His colors were very neutral, and his furniture was accommodating and looked very comfortable. They walked into the kitchen and she was surprised to see that there were used dishes in the sink…like he’d actually cooked.
“You didn’t get the party catered?” she asked, as she looked at all the casserole dishes waiting to be taken outside.
“Never do. That’s why I asked Ryker to bring beans, but the idiot can’t even do that right.”
Ashlin laughed as she said, “You can only count on one thing where Ryker is concerned, he will be looking good.”
“You call that good?” Jesse teased as he pointed at Ryker, who was struggling to get his beer cap off.
“Well, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
Jesse nodded and put the beans on the counter. “You guys are close, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, he’s my best friend.”
Jesse nodded his head and then pointed to the tented-off back yard. “Help yourself to food, games, and drinks. Let me know if you need anything.”
The mention of Ryker’s name had kind of blown the mood, as Jesse excused himself to tend to the beans that Ryker had handed him.
“Do you need any help?”
“I’m good. Go have fun.”
Ashlin nodded and walked out to the back yard. There were heaters placed strategically around the tent, since it was autumn in Denver, and there were chairs with tables scattered around, as well as bar-height tables that some players were already leaning over and having conversations. Games like ladder ball, washers, and corn toss were also placed around the tent. Ashlin smiled to herself as she thought about the man who put this altogether. It was like the Stallions’ own personal tailgate party.
Spotting Ryker and Mason, Ashlin walked over to them.
“Is he telling you all about seeing Hannah?” Ashlin teased, as she poked Ryker in the side.
Mason stood up straight and said, “You saw Hannah?”
“Thanks, big mouth,” Ryker said as he rolled his eyes.
“Hey, it’s the least I could do, since you’re spreading around Mason’s encounter with big tits, hairy pits.”
“Fucking hell!” Mason said, as he punched Ryker in the arm, who immediately started rubbing it. “I can’t tell you anything. Did you tell all the opposing teams too?”
“Not on the east coast, but I’ll get there.”
“You’re a dick, you know that?”
“Yeah, but that’s why you love me.”
“Try again…pal,” Mason said, as he turned to Ashlin. “So, he ran into Hannah?”
“Yeah, and he was smiling like a buffoon.”
Mason nodded his head and took a sip of his beer as he said, “Sounds about right.”
“I was not smiling like a buffoon. Way to over-exaggerate everything!” Ryker said, as he threw his hands up in the air.
“Yeah, I’m the one over-exaggerating,” Ashlin countered, as she smiled a devilish smile at Ryker.
“Why did I bring you here again?”
“Because Jesse invited her,” Mason said absentmindedly.
“He did?” Ashlin asked, as Mason froze with his beer halfway to his mouth.
“Uh, yeah. He invites everyone.”
“What are you not telling me, Dashel?” Ashlin threatened.
Mason straightened up and cleared his throat. “Settle down, Harris. There’s nothing to look into. He casually invites everyone.” Mason shrugged his shoulders, but Ashlin wasn’t buying it. She saw the slight panic in Mason’s eyes when he let the fact that Jesse invited her slip out of his mouth.
She looked back at Jesse, who was putting out a couple more dishes and laughing with some of his team mates. Did he really invite her? He looked up and made eye contact with her. Giving her a shy side smile, he turned around and went back in the kitchen. The very popular, Goliath of a man on the football field was a shy man on the inside…very unusual for a professional football player.
**Jesse**
Gripping the kitchen counter, Jesse took a deep breath before grabbing the last casserole to take out to the buffet. Having Ashlin so close, in his house, was making him nervous. He was a damn six-foot-three professional quarterback, and a model was making him nervous. A gorgeous model, but a model, nonetheless.
Mason walked into the kitchen and patted Jesse on the back. “What are you doing in here, man? Shouldn’t you be out…talking to people?”
Jesse looked out and watched Ryker and Ashlin laughing together. They were so close, almost too close. They couldn’t be just friends, could they?
“Just making sure everything is put together.”
“Dude, stop being a pussy and go talk to her. I got her here, so go make your move.”
“She just got here. I’m letting her settle in. I
don’t want to attack her. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you? Because I can’t even recall the last time I saw you with a woman.”
“Drop it,” Jesse said sternly, as he walked out of the kitchen, leaving Mason behind. He didn’t need the dickhead on his back right now when he was already a damn wreck. It was so easy for guys like Ryker and Mason who were overly confident when it came to the opposite sex. Jesse had never had to worry about having to date, because he always had Katie, but then when they split, he was at a loss.
Jesse floated around for a while, talking to his other team mates, their wives and girlfriends, as well as some of his buddies from high school, who he always invited. Lucky shits. His friends dreamed of his mid-season party every year, because it granted them the opportunity to mingle with the Stallions, which was any football fan’s dream…to casually drink a beer with one of their favorite players.
After a couple of root beers, some amazing barbeque, and some good laughs, Jesse finally allowed himself to look around for Ashlin. He had been avoiding her for the past hour, because he didn’t want to look too desperate, and because he didn’t know what the hell to say to her.
There was a bunch of ruckus over at the ladder ball “court,” so Jesse headed over there and saw Ashlin teasing Ryker.
“I don’t want you on my team. You’re awful at ladder ball. You’ll just bring me down.”
“But there’s no way I can beat Mason without you.”
“No, we almost lost the last couple of games because you can’t simply toss the balls.”
“I don’t toss balls, sweetheart, women toss them for me.”
Ashlin rolled her eyes as she spotted Jesse in the crowd. She waved her finger at him and said, “QB, you’re on my team. Get that fine ass over here.”
The boys around him cheered him on and slapped his back. Thank God for his darker complexion, because he could have sworn he was blushing like an idiot.
