Blitzed (The Alpha Ballers #3)

by Lucy Snow

  I turned around and looked Lily up and down as respectfully as I could. Drake, of course, noticed me, and I felt him punch me in the shoulder again. “Hud, man, you looking at my girl like that?”

  I smiled wider and looked directly at Lily. “You look lovely tonight, Lily,” I did a little bow, and I saw Lily blush as she looked to the floor.

  Then I straightened up and focused on Drake. “I’m just giving you props, Drake, and also wondering something.”

  “Oh yeah?” Lily said. “What’s that?” added Drake.

  I paused for a second to let the point linger, like I was about to say something profound. “I just wondered how lucky a guy like you had to be to get and keep a girl like this!”

  “Thank you!” Lily almost shouted, her face overcome with glee. Now it was her turn to punch Drake in the shoulder. “I keep telling him that every day, and he doesn’t seem to believe me.”

  I looked at Lily, and pointed to my shoulder. “So that’s where he gets it from!”

  Drake rubbed his shoulder. “You’re damn right that’s where I got it from.” He wrapped his arm around Lily’s waist and pulled her in. “Being with this girl is like having an extra shoulder workout every day. She really knows how to hit ‘em hard.”

  I laughed. “You seem to be able to handle it. Doesn’t seem to get in your way on the field.”

  “Oh man, I make sure it doesn’t. Imagine how much sympathy I’d get from Coach Armstrong if I couldn’t make a catch because my arm hurt on account of my girlfriend hitting me there too much.” He got quieter and leaned in. “Don’t, uh, don’t let any of the guys hear that, yeah? That’s between you and me.”

  “What’s between you two?” Lance’s voice pierced the silent moment before I could speak, and Drake and I turned to see Lance and Charlotte walking toward us, holding hands and looking like they belonged on a magazine cover.

  Lance wore a dark suit, impeccably tailored, and Charlotte glided across the room like her feet didn’t touch the floor. Her deep green dress looked amazing on her. Heads turned as the two of them stopped in front of us.

  “Will you take a look at that,” Drake whispered.

  “Fucking quarterbacks, man.” I whispered back. “It’s unbelievable.”

  “What are you two gossiping about?” Lily glared at us, reaching back.

  “N-Nothing!”

  “Did we miss anything?” Lance said to Drake and I as Charlotte and Lily gave each other quick hugs, traded kisses, and complimented each others’ outfits.

  “Nah, things haven’t really gotten started around here yet.” Just as I said it, we got to the front of the line at the bar and I ordered 5 drinks, remembering what everyone liked. The bartender got to work and I turned back to the group.

  “You guys gonna be ready for the Chiefs on Sunday?” This was a Wednesday evening, so we still had plenty of time to prepare, but it never hurt to start early. Whatever illusions I might have had about over preparation being possible had been shattered by experience long ago. We could always learn more, study more; we could always get stronger and better.

  Lance and Drake looked at each other, before turning to me. “Ganging up on me now, eh? Just like you offense guys. Can’t fight any of your battles alone.”

  “A united front is usually the best way,” Lance started.

  “Yeah. I make him look good,” Drake said, pointing at Lance. “And he makes me look good.”

  “To answer your question, though,” Lance said as I handed out drinks to everyone and we all took long sips, “yeah, we’ll be ready for the Chiefs on Sunday. Your defense gonna keep us on the field?”

  “You know it, brother, we got them figured out. Think you can score more than 10 this time?”

  Drake smiled. “I think we can make that happen. You gonna hold ‘em that low?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Why 10? Why not 3? Or 0?”

  I shrugged. “Don’t want to put everything on film for the next guys. We got 4 more games to win, guys. Gotta keep some special stuff in the holster for the future.”

  Lance stepped in, pushing his finger into my chest, suddenly a little more serious than the rest of us. “Every game is an elimination game, Hud, you know that. The playoffs are no joke. We win or we watch the rest from the couch. I don’t plan on sitting on the couch.”

  I held up my hands. “Chill, Lance, chill. Don’t forget, of the three of us, I’m the only one who’s actually played in a playoff game, remember? I know a little bit about how this works. Blowing people out isn’t the way to go now. We’ll do exactly what we need to do in order to win. Nothing more.”

  “Ahem.” The three of us turned and we realized all at once that we’d forgotten there were two other members of our little circle. Charlotte and Lily stared at us with alternating looks of wonder and dismissal.

  “Can’t you boys leave that stuff in the locker room, or the field, for just one night?” Charlotte asked. She pointed down at her dress. “Look at this!” She pointed at Lily. “Look at her! Come on, you guys, we got all dressed up, how about no more football talk? For at least an hour?”

  Lance and Drake both smiled at their respective girlfriends. “Yeah,” they said in unison. “One hour,” Lance continued.

  Drake eyed Lance and I. “I think we can do that, right guys?”

  I held up my hand. “No complaint here.” I took another long sip of my drink, looking around the room again. I saw Mack off to one side still talking to that guy she was with, Steve. This time she didn’t turn around to look at me.

  We moved away as a group to find one of the free standing tables and gathered around it. None of us said anything. It was just about to start getting awkward when Charlotte broke the silence, touching me on the arm. “No date tonight, Hud?”

  “Nah, not tonight?”

  “What happened to that girl you were seeing? Ingrid?”

  “Oh, yeah, her. It wasn’t that serious.”

  Lily laughed. “It doesn’t have to be serious to bring a date to an event like this, Hud.”

  Lance poked Drake. “Hear that? You could have brought another date if you’d wanted.”

  Charlotte shot daggers at Lance. “You’re the worst.”

  “I am.” He leaned in and kissed Charlotte. Drake and I looked at each other while Lily watched them. “And you’re stuck with me.”

  “A fact I regret every single waking hour.”

  Lily broke away from the other lovebirds and focused on me. “You could have brought Ingrid with you.”

  “I just didn’t want to give her the wrong idea. It would take something serious for me to bring someone to a party like this.”

  Charlotte disengaged from her public groping with Lance long enough to join back in. “Think you’re ready for something like that?”

  I stared at my drink, then tilted it back and polished it off in one go. “I’d like to think I am, Charlotte. I’d like to think I am.” I flashed her a smile. “Got anyone in mind for me?”

  The truth was I had no idea whether I was ready for anything more serious. Yeah, I met a lot of girls, and not all of them knew I was a pro football player. Some of them just really liked to be with guys who were covered in muscles and tattoos and were more than a foot taller than them. Whatever. I didn’t try too hard to understand women.

  But I did know that all of my relationships to this point had always been short and sweet. Nothing to tie me down, which was nice, but when I looked at Lance and Charlotte and Drake and Lily, suddenly being tied down didn’t really seem like such a chore after all.

  Sure, both couples pretty much argued nonstop, especially when I was in the room, but at the same time, never even for a second did I think there was any animosity between them. Arguing like that was how they expressed their love for each other.

  It might seem strange from the outside, but as long as they were all happy, what business was it of mine to judge? I saw the love in their eyes for each other and it was hard to think about w
anting anything else.

  Lily and Charlotte looked at each other but I couldn’t tell what telepathic thoughts they were exchanging. “I do, in fact.”

  “Well, I’m all ears.” I picked up my empty glass. “I’m gonna get another drink. Please still have your clothes on when I get back.”

  They all laughed and I headed back toward the bar we’d used at the beginning. The line there was way too long, so I glanced up at the other two and picked the one with what looked like the shortest line.

  I made my way there, stopping what felt like every 5 feet to shake someone’s hand and get congratulated for the season till that point and wished good luck for the playoffs. I was as gracious as possible, but by the time I got to the bar I didn’t want to talk to anyone.

  Whenever my gaze wandered as I waited in the much shorter line, I found my eyes settling on Mackenzie. Charlotte and Lily were both beautiful women, without question, and I was thrilled for my brothers that each of them had found the right girl for them.

  Neither of them could hold a candle to Mackenzie, at least in my mind. When she was in my field of vision, my pulse quickened and my mouth got dry. I just couldn’t explain how someone I barely knew could do this to me.

  And it scared the shit out of me.

  But right now that wasn’t my problem. Mackenzie had a guy in her life, Steve, and I had more important things to think about, not the least of which was the looming playoffs. 4 games left to become part of history. 4 games left to become a champion, something they could never take away from you.

  I’d wanted to be a pro football champion since the days I was playing catch in the backyard with my father. There were very few things more important to me than chasing that dream. And after a career of almost a decade, this was the closest I had ever gotten.

  “Hey.” The voice calling out to me was just behind me, and I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and looked down. A blond guy stood in front of me, smiling, recognition in his eyes.

  “Yes?”

  “You’re Hudson Asher.”

  “That’s right. And you are?”

  “Steve Wood.” He held out his hand and I shook it. “I’m a big fan of your work.”

  “I wish I could say the same, Steve, but I don’t know any of your work.”

  Steve laughed, a sharp and almost cruel sound that grated on my ears. “I’m in finance.” He reached up and pointed behind him. “You know Mackenzie Mayfield, in your front office?”

  I nodded, not saying anything, but I already knew where this was going.

  “She’s my date tonight.”

  “Ahh, OK. Nice to meet you, Steve.”

  “The pleasure’s all mine, big fella.” The line moved and we both stepped forward. A couple people were behind us now, which made me feel like I was boxed in with this guy. “You guys looking good for Sunday?”

  “Yeah, they’re a good team, but Coach Armstrong and the rest of the coaches have come up with a good game plan. We’ll be ready for them. It’ll be a fun game.” By now it had pretty much become a memorized answer.

  “Yeah, I’ll bet.” Steve looked at me like a shark, like he was sizing me up to see if I was worthy of continuing to talk to him. That didn’t seem very appealing to me. What did Mackenzie see in this guy? Did he treat every other guy like this?

  “What kind of finance stuff do you do, Steve?” We were stuck together in this line for at least a few minutes more, might as well make the most of it.

  “Mergers and acquisitions, mostly.” He puffed himself up. “The big stuff, maybe you’ve heard of some of the deals I’ve worked on.”

  I chuckled. “Not a lot of time to pay too much attention to the money section of the paper when you play pro football, Steve.”

  “Right. Still, though, I’ve worked on some huge deals. You might have heard of them.” Steve seemed really eager for me to acknowledge how great he was, which struck me as completely nuts for someone I didn’t know.

  Then it hit me - Steve knew me, knew who I was, and wanted to build himself up by impressing me. It wasn’t a good look on anyone, but especially didn’t work for Steve. “I’m sure I have, Steve.”

  That got him to quiet down a little. Then we got to the front of the line and I made my order. Another bartender cleared up next to him and Steve slid in and made his order too.

  We stood in silence while our drinks were mixed, Steve still looking at me, almost like he wanted to fight me. I knew if that happened I’d be alright, but I wasn’t looking to get my nice suit dirty tonight.

  Once our drinks came, Steve nodded at me and I nodded back. I leaned against the bar and sipped my drink as I watched him walk back toward Mackenzie, who looked in our direction and waved.

  I waved back, not sure if she meant me or Steve. Steve raised his hands, a drink in each one, and after a second, Mack smiled and nodded.

  Fuck. What was a girl like that doing with a guy like him?

  CHAPTER 03 - MACKENZIE

  When I waved at Hudson at the bar, I didn’t even notice Steve right in our sight line. Steve raised the glasses at me, and I tried to recover as quickly as possible, but there was no way I could let Hud know that I’d meant to wave at him.

  What was wrong with me? How come I let Hudson Asher bother me like this? He was a player on the team. What did it matter if I waved at him?

  Duh, Mackenzie, because you’re totally nuts about him, and he makes your stomach flutter like your first crush back in middle school did. That’s why, nothing so complicated. Just the rush of waving at him, though, just seeing him dressed up like that took my breath away.

  I didn’t know how to deal with all these feelings for Hud that suddenly had come out of the woodworks. More importantly, I didn’t know why they were choosing to show themselves now. It wasn’t like we’d just been introduced to each other; we’d known each other for years. Of course, we were never close, never even social with one another. Before I had come to work for the Patriots I had only met him at functions like this one, and then we’d barely talked. I just couldn’t find the words around him, I just watched him towering above me and couldn’t speak.

  There was a nagging voice in the back of my head that said maybe I had finally started to confront my just-under-the-surface feelings for Hudson Asher due to the strange romantic goings-on of our team over the last few months. Two of our players had managed to find romance this season, and both had culminated in very public displays of affection near the end of football games.

  I saw Lance Parker and Drake Rollins and their respective girlfriends around the facility - Lance Parker and I had spoken more than once, as a front office person would normally do with a team’s starting quarterback. I saw them together, and I saw how happy they were, and I couldn’t lie to myself - it made me yearn to find something like that, just a little bit.

  I couldn’t tell yet what I thought about that being a possibility for this sudden emergence of interest in Hudson Asher. What kind of woman did that make me, succumbing to ‘love is in the air’ like that?

  By the time I could breath normally again Steve had arrived with the drinks, and I gratefully accepted mine and took a long sip, eager to get something into my parched throat. Steve smiled and took a drink, and we stood there not speaking to each other for a few moments. I wasn’t exactly the kind of person who searches for silence, and this was starting to get a little awkward, so I decided to make some small talk.