Three and Out

by Meghan Quinn

  “You’re sticking me with, Ryker, aren’t you?” Mason said.

  Ashlin looked at Jesse and raised her eyebrows in question, asking him silently if he was going to join her. Gathering himself, he walked over and grabbed the balls from her hand and said, “She is sticking you with Ryker, sorry dude.”

  Mason gave Jesse an approving grin as he grabbed Ryker around the neck and pushed him toward the other side. With ladder ball, each team separated so they were facing each other. Jesse stood next to Mason, and Ryker stood next to Ashlin…not ideal, but Jesse would have to put up with it.

  “What are we betting on?” Jesse asked, getting into the competitive spirit.

  “Loser strips and runs around the tent in only their underwear,” Mason said, as he grabbed a beer for all the players, except for Jesse, who didn’t drink.

  “Dude, its cold out,” Ryker complained like a little bitch.

  “You scared of shrinkage?”

  “No, dickhead. I just don’t want to freeze my nips off.”

  “God, you’re such a lady,” Mason chastised.

  “Sprint around the tent it is,” Ashlin called out, while wiggling her eyebrows.

  Ryker turned to Mason and said, “You know we should just start stripping now, right?”

  Mason ignored Ryker as he popped his beer open and took a swig.

  “Team meeting,” Ashlin called out as she ran up to Jesse, grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Mason and Ryker. Her hand was so small in his, but he liked it…a lot.

  Looking up at him, she smiled and said, “We’re going to destroy them.”

  “Yeah, you just partnered yourself up with the ladder ball king.”

  “Oh, is that right?” Ashlin asked, while putting her hands on her hips.

  “Yup,” he said simply.

  “Care to wager?”

  “You know we’re on the same team, right?”

  Laughing, she said, “Yeah, but might as well make it a little fun.”

  “Fine, what do you have in mind?”

  “Whoever scores the most points gets to decide what the other person has to do.”

  “That’s really vague, care to elaborate?” Jesse asked, as he watched her green eyes light up. She was absolutely adorable, especially when she got competitive. A girl who was gorgeous, into sports, and brought him root beer…what more could he ask for?

  “Nope. Deal or no deal?” she asked, while holding out her hand.

  Jesse eyed her suspiciously for a second before shaking her hand and saying, “Deal.” She smiled at him and pranced away.

  “Why do I feel like I just shook hands with the devil?” he called out to her.

  She just spun around while walking backwards and said, “Let’s go QB, time to light up the ladders.”

  Damn.

  **Jax**

  Three days, and he still felt paralyzed. It had been three days and he had yet to contact Brooke. After he got home from their date, Jax felt different…a different that he couldn’t figure out, which scared him. When he first met Piper, all he wanted to do was hang out with her, be next to her, and hold her, but with Brooke, he was more hesitant, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of what happened with him and Piper, or just because he didn’t know Brooke all that well. He told Brooke he would call her, and he knew his timeline was running out to make that call, but he was having one hell of a time trying to convince himself to pick up the phone.

  He was invited to Jesse’s mid-season party, but he knew Mason was going to be there, and he didn’t want to be put in an awkward situation, so he decided to stay home. His first instinct should have been to call Brooke, but instead, he sat frozen on his couch.

  Knowing he needed to do something, he sucked up the weird feelings that were running through his body and picked up his phone. Given the amount of time Jax had let pass since he said he would call Brooke, he assumed she wouldn’t pick up her phone just to teach him a lesson, but when she answered his call, his stomach flipped from nerves.

  “You have some explaining to do,” she said into the phone.

  Jax blew out a long breath of relief at the easy tone she used. “I know, I’m sorry.”

  “I’m going to assume you were working hard every night, and didn’t want to disturb the angelic way I was sleeping. I choose to believe that you weren’t avoiding me…right?”

  “Would you believe me if I said I was working late?”

  “No,” she answered honestly. “But I will forgive you for being a dick and not calling earlier.”

  “I’m sorry, Brooke. I really am a dick.”

  He could hear her settling herself in a seat. “Sounds about right. Tell me why.”

  “I don’t know,” he said, while running his hand over his face. “I think I’m really fucked up. You make me feel different.”

  “Different good or bad?” she asked, a little hesitant.

  Wanting to be honest, he said, “I’m not sure.”

  “Okay…” she dragged out. “I don’t know how that is supposed to make me feel.” She paused for a second, and then said, “You know what, actually, I do. That makes me feel awful, Jax. If anything, I should make you feel happy.”

  Jax was speechless; he didn’t know what to say.

  “Alright, well, thanks for the pity call, Jax. For what it’s worth, I hope you can pull your shit together. I know you were hurt, but everyone gets hurt at some point. The best way to live your life is to move forward, not live in the past. Believe me, I know. Have a good one.”

  With that, she hung up the phone, making Jax feel like a total asshat. Not living in the past…that was one of the first things she said to him when they were at the car wash. Why couldn’t he just tattoo that across his forehead?

  Fuck.

  Quickly getting off the couch, throwing on a shirt and a pair of sandals, he took off for his truck and drove to Brooke’s apartment. During his drive, he tried to think about what he was going to say, but his mind went completely blank. He had no clue what he was doing; he just knew he couldn’t let Brooke hang up on him like that. He couldn’t just let Brooke go, especially with the way he just made her feel.

  Getting to her apartment in record time, he got out of his truck and was knocking on her door in seconds.

  The look on her face when she opened the door was priceless. She was wearing a pink silk robe that grazed her thighs, and her shorter brown hair was pulled to the side by a bobby pin.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, confused.

  “I don’t know.”

  She put her hand on her hip and said, “You don’t know a lot of things these days.”

  “I know I want to come in.”

  “What if I don’t want you to?”

  He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess I’ll leave then.”

  “Ugh, I hate myself right now.” She stepped aside and let him in her apartment. A small smile crept across his face.

  “Thank you,” he said, as he passed her and stroked her face with his hand.

  They walked to the living room and sat down. She sat on a single chair, giving him a clear idea of how she currently felt about him, so he parked it on her couch. An awkward silence settled between them as the television provided background noise. Jax looked up and saw that Brooke was watching Full House before he came over. Classic.

  Looking over at Brooke he asked, “Full House?”

  “What? Uncle Jesse is hot.”

  Laughing, Jax held out his hand and said, “Come here,” glad that the tension had dissipated, thanks to Uncle Jesse.

  Watching her toned legs, Jax was rewarded with a saunter from Brooke as she made herself comfortable on his lap. Placing a hand on her thigh, he looked up at her and said, “I don’t even really know you, but I do know that, right now, with you on my lap, I’m happy.”

  “You don’t need to lie to me Jax. If you just want to fuck, I can do that.”

  “I don’t want to just have sex, I’m not that guy.”


  “What kind of guy are you?” she asked, while stroking the five o’clock shadow on his jaw.

  “I’m the kind of guy who likes to have a girl in his arms after a long day on the field. I’m the kind of guy who likes to spoil the girl in his life and take care of her. I like to know that, when I’m having a bad day or when I want to just throw caution to the wind and do something crazy, I have an amazingly beautiful girl next to my side to experience that with me.”

  Brooke nodded her head as she continued to stroke his jaw. “Think you want to give this girl a chance at providing all of that for you?”

  “I think I do,” Jax said without pausing, kind of surprising himself. “I just think that what we have, the foundation that we are building off of, is tainted. What brought us together, how we met is all very negative, and there are trust issues that we’ve developed, not just with other people, but with each other. We both have motives to enter this relationship with all the wrong reasons in mind, and I don’t want to do that. I like you, Brooke, and I want to see if we can make something happen, but I don’t know if it’s possible, given the way we came together.”

  She nodded her head in understanding. “I get that.”

  “But I want to try,” Jax said, before she could continue. “I just need to know you’re in this because you like me, because you want to be with me, and not because of any other ulterior motives.”

  “I know I don’t have the best track record, being a manipulative bitch in the past and all, but I can honestly tell you, I’ve changed. Mason is nothing to me now, absolutely nothing. He is my past, and I’m looking for my future.”

  Jax nodded and leaned forward. He pressed a gentle kiss on her lips and said, “Alright, so what’s next?”

  “Do you want to watch a movie?”

  “Depends on the movie…” Jax said with a smirk.

  “Lethal Weapon?”

  “Seriously?” Jax asked, shocked.

  “Oh, what fun you’re going to have learning all about me.”

  “I guess I am.”

  Knowing he was making the right decision, he settled himself on her couch and waited for her to join him. Once the movie was in, she sat next to him, curled her legs under butt, and placed her head against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It was such a simple thing, but he could get used to this. He just hoped, in the long run, they weren’t going to screw each other over.

  **Jesse**

  There was no way he was going to beat Ashlin, she was leading him by seven points, and he only had one shot left. They were destroying Ryker and Mason and, by now, the two idiots were already starting to strip down for their lap around the tent.

  “Why are you even going to shoot? You know you won. You just want to rub it in,” Ryker whined. “You’re a giant dick.”

  Jesse laughed as he shot the balls and didn’t score any points. Ashlin fist pumped the air and smiled at him. Yup, she was fucking adorable.

  “You want to see a giant dick?” Mason asked, as he thrust his pelvis in Ryker’s direction.

  “Get out of here, donkey dick,” Ryker said, as he swatted Mason away.

  Both of his wide receivers were standing in their skivvies, giving everyone at the party a great view. He loved his boys, and couldn’t imagine having anyone else on his team. The dynamic between Mason and Ryker was hysterical to watch, and Jesse was just happy that they were the life of the party. That way, Jesse could focus on Ashlin.

  “Alright, boys, hit it,” Jesse said, as they dropped trou and prepared to take off.

  Mason and Ryker dashed out of the tent and around it. All the partygoers stopped what they were doing so they could watch the shadows of Mason and Ryker sprint around the tent as they pushed and swatted at each other. Jesse was laughing at the two idiots when Ashlin sidled up next to him.

  “So, what do you say, QB, do you want to get out of here?”

  “What?” Jesse asked, looking down at Ashlin, who was inching closer and closer every second.

  “You owe me. I won, so whatever I want, you have to do.”

  “But, it’s my party,” he said with a chuckle.

  “You won’t be gone very long, now come on.” She grabbed his hand and started exiting him out of the tent, just as Mason and Ryker entered at the same time.

  “Beat…you…dick…smack,” Ryker said, out of breath.

  “Fuck…off,” Mason breathed.

  “I won!” Ryker shouted.

  “Keep dreaming!” Mason retorted.

  “Jesse, who…won?” Ryker asked, still out of breath.

  “Jesse has more important things to attend to at the moment than babysitting you morons. Come on, Jesse.”

  Both Mason and Ryker’s eyebrows shot up to their hairlines as Ashlin guided Jesse out of the tent, making Jesse laugh.

  “They are never going to let me live this down, you know that, right?”

  “Not my problem,” she said with a smile.

  They walked out to his pool, where there were lounger chairs set up to look the stars. She sat them both on a lounger and sat right next to him.

  Jesse looked around and said, “So, you didn’t come out here to kill me or anything, did you?”

  “Please, I wouldn’t take you to the pool to kill you.”

  “Um, the way you answered that question makes me think you have another way in mind that you might kill me?”

  “Not just you, people in general. It’s common knowledge that a wood chipper is the best way to get rid of someone…” she deadpanned.

  “Uh…”

  She pinched his chin with her thumb and said, “You’re too easy. Loosen up, Jesse.”

  Not wanting to be a wet blanket, Jesse loosened his shoulders and straddled the chair, so he was facing her completely.

  “That better?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Now, what do I owe you?”

  “Hmmm…there are so many things I want. A new car would be nice, maybe some clothes, this house…” she said, while looking around.

  “Easy…”

  “Fine, all I want is a kiss.”

  “A kiss?”

  “Yeah, you know, when two sets of lips come together and start making smacking noises. Like this,” she demonstrated with her hands as she made noises.

  “Wow, that was so hot,” Jesse teased.

  “Like you can do better?”

  “I can,” Jesse admitted. He brought his hands together and made them make out, while making a moaning sound. Ashlin laughed out loud and pushed his hands down.

  “Stop, God that was disturbing.”

  “My hands were more turned on than your hands, don’t get jelly.”

  “It’s because you’re a guy; you all are disgusting. And don’t say jelly!”

  He laughed and said, “That’s true, we are a disgusting gender.”

  Jesse was impressed with his ability to banter with Ashlin. He hadn’t talked to a girl like this in a while, and he was really enjoying it, plus, he was bantering with Ashlin…Ashlin! The girl that he could see sharing a life with.

  “So, I’m waiting,” she said, while leaning forward.

  “Well, if I have to…”

  “You do. I won fair and square, and none of this cheek kissing crap. I want it on my lips, and if there’s a little tongue, then so be it.”

  Jesse laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer.

  “I can’t kiss you when you’re all the way over there.” He ran his hand up her neck and cupped her jaw as his other hand put her hair behind her ear. He looked her in the eyes and said, “You’re beautiful, Ashlin, absolutely beautiful.”

  Before she could respond, he brought her lips closer, and right before he kissed her, he took in a deep breath, sucking in her essence, and then brought his lips down on hers. The moment their lips connected, Jesse knew he was done; this was it for him, she was it. She was made for him; it was so easy for him to see. The feel of her was right, just perfect.

>   Pulling her in closer, Jesse wrapped his arm around her waist and held on tightly. A light moan escaped her mouth as her tongue swept against his, causing heat to spread through his body.

  Reluctantly, he pulled away, because he knew if he didn’t, he was going to be laying her out on the lounge chair in no time. Looking down at her, he kissed her nose and smiled at her.

  “Is my debt paid off?”

  Her eyes were lazy with lust as she said, “No, you owe me a date.”

  “Is that right? I thought it was just a kiss.”

  “You didn’t read the fine print, a date was included with the kiss.”

  “Ah, I see. Well, I guess since I didn’t read the fine print, I owe you a date and probably another kiss.”

  “I think you might be right with that.”

  Jesse pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Ashlin. “Put your number in there so I can set up a date with you. Don’t want there to be any miscommunication.”

  “Definitely not.”

  She grabbed his phone, typed her number in, and handed it over to him. He looked down, and his brow creased at what she had entered as her name.

  “LBQ?”

  “Ladder Ball Queen, duh Jesse.” She patted his cheek and got off the lounge chair.

  “Not for long. I challenge you to another game.”

  “I would, but I don’t want to embarrass you, plus, don’t you have a game tomorrow? You better save that arm of yours.”

  “True, are you going to watch?”

  “The game?”

  “Yes,” he replied, hoping that she would say yes. Knowing that she was going to watch him play tomorrow would give him that extra boost that he was looking for, to have someone cheering for him who meant something to him.

  “I always do. Don’t forget, your name is the one I wear on my back every time the Stallions play.”

  She winked at him and walked back to the tent, leaving Jesse speechless.

  Chapter Five

  **Ryker**

  He was whipped, beyond tired. He spent the rest of his time at Jesse’s party debating with Mason as to who was faster in their little run around the tent relay. It came down to the fact that they had to race again…in their underwear. They raced in a straight line, and had Jesse hold his hands out, so whoever tagged his hand first, won. Surprisingly, they tied. Ryker believed that he hit Jesse’s hand first, but the fucker would never admit it, so Ryker had to settle with being tied with Mason. Apparently, it didn’t matter that he had a donkey dick propelling him forward; Ryker was just as fast.