The Rival: A Washington Rampage Sports Romance

by Megan Green

  I finally raise my eyes to hers. A single tear slides down her cheek as I slowly start to rock inside her, her breath hitching as I hit someplace deep inside. It feels amazing—better than amazing, more perfect than I ever pictured—and with that one small look, the tears that were threatening to spill over as I buried my face in her neck disappear, replaced by the all-consuming need to please her.

  “Show me how to touch you, Avery. Teach me how to make you feel good.”

  I don’t have to ask twice.

  And, ten minutes later, as Avery pants out her release beneath me, I vow to spend the rest of my life making this woman come as often as possible.

  Because Avery Grant is gorgeous.

  But Avery Grant in the throes of orgasm?

  Fucking out-of-this-world exquisite.

  Chapter 18

  Avery

  “I’ve created a monster,” I tease, laughing as Carter picks me up and tosses me into the center of his bed.

  He follows closely behind, his massive body coming over the top of mine, pinning me in place as he goes to work on my shirt.

  It’s only been a few hours since we managed to climb out of this bed—and that was only after my stomach rumbled so loudly that Carter had no choice but to acknowledge we needed to eat if he wanted to continue the sexcapades that had encompassed the last two days. We’d run out of the bread and lunchmeat in his fridge, and he didn’t have much else by way of provisions left in those cupboards. We showered—together, of course, which turned into a whole other ordeal—put on clothes for the first time in forty-eight hours, and went to dinner.

  But no sooner did we step in the door than Carter was on me, his hands tugging at my shirt as his lips latched on to my neck.

  Not that I’m complaining.

  Carter is an amazing lover, and I’ve had more orgasms in the past two days than I had in all the years I spent with Miles. Before, an orgasm was just a bonus, something that didn’t happen all that often, so it was a nice surprise when it did.

  Carter makes it his mission to ensure I get off several times before he does. It’s like he’s in competition with himself, trying to top the last number of orgasms he managed to wring out of me each and every time we make love.

  Forty-five minutes later, we each fall back against the pillows, panting with exhaustion but both fully sated.

  Carter pulls me against his chest, his fingers tracing delicate circles on the small of my back. “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow. Tell me to call in sick.”

  I chuckle. “You sound like someone complaining about their nine-to-five desk job. Not the best pitcher the Major League has seen in years.”

  “Decades,” he corrects, the smile evident in his voice even though I can’t see his face from where I’m lying.

  “Oh, excuse me. Decades. It’s a good thing you’re not letting it all go to your head,” I jab, poking him in the ribs with my finger.

  He squirms, trying to get out of my reach without dropping his hold on me. He fails, of course, and finally gives up trying.

  After I finish tickling him—the movement reminiscent of all the times I pinned him down when we were kids, tickle-torturing him until he gave me what I wanted or told me what I needed to hear—he lets out a sigh.

  It isn’t the same content sighs he’s been giving me the last two days. This one feels tense, like he’s worried about something.

  I push myself up off his chest, pulling the sheet up around my breasts as I fold myself into a sitting position next to him on the bed. “What’s wrong?”

  He exhales again, his face settling into a grim line. “I have to go back to the field tomorrow morning. We have a game tomorrow night.”

  I nod. “I know. I mean, you had to know we couldn’t stay in bed forever.” I purse my lips and lift my brows. “You did know that, right, Carter?” I add, my tone clear that I’m giving him shit.

  He chuckles. “Yes, despite how much I wish it were the contrary, I knew that, eventually, we’d have to return to the real world.”

  “Then, what’s the problem?”

  “We’re playing the Wyoming Larks.”

  Oh, fuck.

  Chapter 19

  Carter

  Three Years Ago

  “You’re not going to pout all night, are you?” Avery asked as she flopped down on the couch beside me, handing me a fresh beer in the process.

  I set the empty I’d been holding down on the end table beside me and immediately brought the new one to my lips. “Maybe,” I said after taking a long pull. “What’s it to you?”

  I knew I was being an ass, but after losing to the Wolves—our school’s biggest rival—that afternoon, I just couldn’t seem to shake my sour mood.

  “You’re killing the vibe of the whole party, for one. And, for two, you’re bumming me out. We only have a few more months until graduation. Stop taking everything so damn seriously and just enjoy this time with me and our friends. There will be plenty of time to worry about stupid things, like your career, later.”

  I scoffed. Only Avery would be weeks away from entering the real world and not be the least bit scared. Her future was already set, a full ride to the University of Wyoming waiting for her the minute she graduated.

  Me, on the other hand…

  I was still waiting to find out where I would end up after high school. It wasn’t a question that I’d end up with a scholarship somewhere. But I definitely had my preferences, and if I kept playing like I had that afternoon, I could kiss any chance I had at one of my top picks good-bye.

  I brought the beer back up to my lips, not even caring that I’d already had more than enough. This day fucking blew, and I was going to do whatever it took to make sure it ended up a distant memory.

  “Fiiiine,” Avery whined as she pushed herself up off the couch. “If you’re not going to have fun with me, I’ll just have to find someone who will.”

  She started dancing as she stood in front of me, swinging her hips in time to the music. It wasn’t long before she spotted our friend Sammy and proceeded to dance-walk across the room to her.

  I sat and sulked in the corner some more, definitely putting out a don’t fuck with me vibe because not a single person even attempted to approach me for conversation, which was fine by me. I was more than content to sit and stew in my own contempt, pausing only occasionally to check on Avery and Sammy and make sure they were doing okay.

  Fucking Miles Johnson.

  That asshole had been the bane of my existence for as long as I could remember, always trying to outdo me in every single thing I’d tried. When we had been younger, we’d played for the same comp team, and as soon as I’d decided I wanted to go out for pitcher, Miles had decided he wanted to go up against me. It had been a nonstop cycle ever since.

  I accomplished something…and he came along right behind me and tried to do it better.

  It fucking pissed me off.

  And this day, the day when the scouts from Oregon State had been slated to come and watch me play, he’d managed to worm his way into my head and completely fuck with my game.

  I never played bad. Ever.

  Except against that asshole.

  It was like he had this weird hold over me, something that, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t seem to break. He made me nervous, made me feel inferior, made me feel…weak.

  It was utter bullshit because I could out pitch that son of a bitch any day of the week.

  Finishing off the rest of the beer, I set the bottle down next to the other, swinging my eyes back to where the girls had been a few minutes before. A group of guys from the wrestling team now stood in their spot, and Avery and Sammy were nowhere to be seen.

  I pushed up off the couch, taking a moment to right myself when the room spun as I got to my feet. Fuck me, was I drunk? It was an entirely foreign concept, only ever having had the slightest buzz before that night.

  Fucking Miles Johnson. He’s wasn’t even there, and he was still fucking with
my head.

  Once I was certain I wasn’t going to wind up face-first in the green shag carpet—seriously, Stephen’s parents desperately needed to update that shit—I took off in search of Avery.

  And Sammy.

  But mostly Avery.

  I still hadn’t told her how I felt about her, and I was running out of time. Like she constantly reminded me, we only had a few months left of school and then one more summer together before our lives took on completely separate paths. She was staying here, going to school close enough that she could still come home on the weekends to see her folks. And, if I had things my way, I’d be almost a thousand miles away, playing ball in Oregon, while she fell in love with some well-mannered cowboy and got married in that dream wedding she’d been planning since she was five.

  I had to make sure that didn’t happen. I needed to make sure she knew how much she meant to me—not just as a friend, but also as the most important person in my life. I didn’t just want to be her friend anymore. It was time for me to grow a pair and finally tell the girl I loved that I’d been in love with her for years.

  Probably since the very first day I had seen her.

  But not tonight. Even in my drunken state, I knew that telling Avery I was in love with her on the night I was pissed off and hammered wouldn’t go over well.

  And maybe not tomorrow. We both had that big test coming up in Trig, and neither of us needed to be too distracted to study for that.

  And then there were finals…

  But, the day after graduation, I was going to tell her. My mind was made up.

  I turned the corner to head into the kitchen after not finding Avery anywhere in the living room or dining area. Stephen’s house was big, which made it perfect for these after-game parties. But it sure as hell made it difficult to find someone when you were looking for them.

  I craned my neck, trying to search out her familiar face in the sea of people. But my vision blurred, forcing my eyes closed, and I had to grab hold of the counter to prevent my knees from giving way.

  I probably should’ve eaten something after the game instead of coming straight here and starting immediately on the beers.

  A melodic giggle sounded from somewhere behind me, and I knew I’d recognize that sound anywhere. My lids sprang open, a smile instantly spreading across my face as I turned to seek out the most beautiful girl I’d ever laid eyes on.

  Only to feel it fall the moment I saw her.

  No…fall was too simple of a word. In an instant, my face went from absolute happiness at the prospect of seeing Avery to complete and utter devastation.

  Because, as I turned to face her, my eyes locked on Avery’s hand—where it rested on Miles fucking Johnson’s forearm, the grin plastered on her face something I’d only ever seen reserved for one other person.

  Me.

  And, judging from the way he was looking at her and the way she was angling her body toward his, her big doe eyes gleaming up at him from below her lowered lashes, I’d guess I was the furthest thing from her mind at that moment.

  That was when it hit me.

  Miles Johnson wasn’t content with just stealing my thunder.

  No, he had to take the one thing that mattered to me even more than baseball.

  Her.

  Chapter 20

  Avery

  I squirm in my seat as the first Larks player steps out onto the field, a thousand different thoughts running through my head at the idea of seeing Miles again.

  I knew this day would come sooner or later. There was no way, considering Carter’s profession, that I’d be able to avoid seeing him forever. Not to mention the fact that, eventually, I’d have to go back to Stetson. I just always hoped it would be later rather than sooner. Much, much later.

  Nerves flutter through me when I see a large group of men step out of the dugout together, and though I can’t make him out from this distance, I know that one of them has to be Miles.

  What’s it going to feel like, seeing him again? How will I react, locking eyes with the man who was supposed to be my husband in just a few short weeks?

  “You look like you’re about to bolt,” Lexi says, breaking me from my thoughts as she places her hand on my knee.

  I didn’t even realize I’d been bouncing my legs at a frenzied clip, my toes tapping the cement beneath them so hard that the people in the row beneath me must be able to feel it.

  I drop my hands to my thighs, pressing my fingers into the denim in an attempt to still their movement. It works for about three seconds before the nerves kick back in and set them racing again.

  “You sure you want to be here?” Liv asks from my other side. “I’m sure Carter would understand if you left.”

  This snaps me out of my trance, the apprehension that was holding back my words only moments ago lifting enough that I finally feel like I can speak without puking.

  Carter and I had this same conversation before he left for the field this morning. He told me over and over again to just stay home, that he completely understood if I wasn’t ready to face Miles again just yet.

  But that is exactly why I have to do this. I have to face my demons, once and for all shutting the door on my past with Miles so that I can move forward with Carter.

  I just didn’t expect it to be this…stressful.

  “Sorry, guys. I’m sure I look like a hot mess.”

  Liv shrugs. “Maybe not a hot mess. Lukewarm at best.”

  I chuckle, grateful for her dry humor to distract me. The player introductions for the visiting team have just concluded, the Larks retreating into the dugout to prepare for their first at bat. And, thanks to Liv, I completely missed Miles’s name being announced.

  “You wanna talk about it?” Lexi asks, her arm wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me into a side hug. “I mean, we know the basics. But you’ve never really told us all the details of your breakup. It can’t be easy for you, seeing him again.”

  I blow out a breath, not really wanting to delve into the depths of my relationship with Miles with my new friends—Carter’s friends—but knowing that talking it out might help me get through this easier.

  “Promise you won’t think I’m the stupidest woman on earth after I tell you?” I ask, giving them both a wary look.

  Liv scoffs. “Yes, because Lexi and I are so perfect. I got knocked up by the biggest playboy in baseball after a one-night stand. Whatever you did can’t be any dumber than that.”

  I smile, knowing that, despite how much she likes to deride herself for that little mishap, Liv is grateful every day for it. Brandon might not have been the ideal boyfriend when they first met, but there’s no denying that he loves Liv and their baby one hundred and ten percent. The circumstances might not have been ideal, but that night was the best thing that has happened to either of them.

  “I got engaged to the man my best friend hated more than anyone. I heard all of Carter’s warnings about him, but I didn’t actually listen. I was so blinded by the idea of love that I clasped on to the first opportunity that presented itself. And I ended up being betrayed by the one person I should have been able to trust implicitly.”

  “Carter knew Miles before you started to date?”

  I nod. “I’m surprised he hasn’t told you all this. We all grew up together. And Carter and Miles have been at each other’s throats since the moment they both stepped onto the baseball diamond. That should’ve been my first hint that Miles didn’t really want me. He just wanted to take me from Carter.”

  “You hooked up with your best friend’s archrival?” Liv asks, quirking an eyebrow at me.

  I hang my head in shame. “I know. Looking back now, I can’t believe I was so stupid. Or that Carter didn’t stop talking to me for being such a moron and betraying him like that.”

  Lexi smiles at me. “You were young. And young love makes you do stupid things.”

  “Ain’t that the truth?” I say, blowing out an exasperated breath.

  The crowd around us eru
pts into cheers, pulling my attention from my conversation with the girls to the game out on the field. Carter smirks as he stands on the mound, a dejected batter walking back toward the Larks’ dugout as the next batter approaches. I take a quick look at the scoreboard and see that Carter struck the last guy out with three pitches.

  I stand up and cheer along with everyone else, the feeling of pride I always get whenever I watch Carter play only increasing tenfold because he’s playing his rival’s team. Carter has always had a sort of mental block when it comes to playing any team Miles plays for, so it makes me insanely happy to see he’s already off to such a good start.

  Lexi, Liv, and I continue watching the game for the next several minutes, the conversation we were having briefly put on hold while I watch my man flourish.

  The next batter goes down as easily as the first, and as soon as the ump calls strike three, I jump from my seat, my hands coming up to cup my mouth so that my voice will carry. “Three up, three down! You’ve got this, Car! I love you!”

  Carter’s eyes shoot over to mine, a wide smile spreading across his face when he finds me in the crowd. I blow him a kiss and then give him a little fist pump as the announcer’s voice comes over the speaker to introduce the next batter.

  “Now batting for the Wyoming Larks, number three, pitcher Miles Johnson.”

  The smile I was sending Carter’s way immediately drops, and I see the instant he sees Miles step onto the field. I briefly debate on keeping my eyes locked on Carter as Miles makes his way to the plate, but I know that’s not going to get me any closer to closing this chapter with Miles than I already am. As if reading my thoughts, both Liv and Lexi place steadying hands on my shoulders, and with their strength and support, I take a deep breath and look.

  I expect to feel anger. Hatred. At the very least, betrayal.

  But, as my eyes land on Miles’s face, the only thing I feel is…