The Hard Way: a Sports Romance

by Katie Ashley

  From the look on her face, an epic battle was raging inside Avery’s head. “Just for once would you stop worrying about what might happen if you get caught and instead have some fun?”

  After a long sigh, she said, “All right, fine. Let’s go swimming.”

  I grinned as I clapped my hands together. “Oh, hell yeah. It’s on!”

  AVERY

  When Cade suggested going swimming, it felt like I had both a devil and an angel on my shoulders. The angel warned that nothing good could come of trespassing on Mr. Frost’s property with Cade Hall of all people, but like Cade, the devil urged me to live a little, to throw caution to the wind and have some wild and crazy fun for once. When it came down to it, I could count on one hand the times I’d had truly spontaneous fun in my life.

  So I slid my hand into Cade’s and let him help me up and over the fence onto Mr. Frost’s property. I hated the way my heart fluttered in my chest when our hands met. Jeez, I was starting to act like a middle school girl with her first crush. I did not like Cade. I could not like Cade.

  After swatting away a mosquito, Cade asked, “How far is it to the pond?”

  “It’s just around the bend. You can see it in the wintertime when the leaves fall,” I answered.

  “Good. I’m fucking roasting.”

  When the pond finally came into sight, Cade let out a whoop and broke into a run. Since I was in cowboy boots, it made it a little hard to keep up with him, but I finally caught him as he started out onto the dock.

  “This place is awesome.”

  “It is.” Considering I’d never been there before either, I was taking everything in the same as Cade. I also was keeping a watchful eye out for Mr. Frost.

  “All right. Let’s strip and get in,” Cade said as he bent over to take off his shoes.

  Oh shit. He couldn’t be serious. “Y-you want me to take off my c-clothes?”

  “Do you know any other way to swim?”

  “In a bathing suit,” I replied lamely.

  Cade swept his shirt off and tossed it onto the dock. “We’re out in the middle of nowhere, so you gotta improvise, Prescott.”

  I opened my mouth to argue with him, but then quickly snapped it shut. The world seemed to screech to a halt with a deafening shudder the moment Cade bent over and swept his shorts off his hips. I froze—not moving, not blinking, and only breathing because it was an involuntary reflex. I’d never seen a naked guy. Well, let me rephrase that: I’d never seen a naked guy in person. With the beauty of the Internet, coupled with my art appreciation classes, I’d seen plenty of bare, male buttocks and penises…peni…or whatever they’re called.

  Even so, there was something completely and totally unsettling about seeing a naked guy in person. Throw in that it was Cade Hall, and that left me pretty much gobsmacked.

  Cade threw a cocky grin at me over his shoulder. “I hope you’re done enjoying the view because I’m going in.

  I ducked my head and stared down at the dock. “You could’ve left your underwear on,” I countered.

  “Considering I always go commando that just wasn’t an option.”

  Oh. My. God. All the times we had been working on our paper together—not to mention when we were pressed up against each other in the harvester—he hadn’t been wearing underwear. I didn’t know why it got to me, but it did.

  I jerked my head up at the splashing sound of Cade jumping into the water. As I peered over the edge of the dock, I was glad his lower half was now covered. It had been shocking enough to see his backside, let alone his front.

  “Prescott, would you hurry up and get your ass in here?”

  “Maybe I’ll just sit and dangle my feet over the edge. I cooled down earlier.”

  “Why don’t you leave your underwear on? Then you could think of it like you were in a bikini.”

  Hmm, he had a good point. That also meant I wouldn’t have to feel guilty about skinny dipping because I hadn’t actually been naked. I quickly took off my tank top and dropped it onto the dock. When my fingers came to the button of my shorts, I glanced up to see Cade staring at me. “Do you mind?”

  He rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Prescott, it’s not like you’re the first girl I’ve ever seen in her underwear.”

  “Well, it’s the first time you’ve seen me.”

  “Fine. I’ll turn around. Will that make you happy?”

  “Yes. Thank you.”

  Once Cade had flipped around, I slid off my shorts and hopped in the water. With the summer heat, the water felt a little cooler than bathwater. When I broke the surface, Cade had turned around and was grinning at me.

  “You know, you really do have a nice body, Prescott.”

  I couldn’t help being shocked by his words. It was hard imagining that someone like Cade would think someone like me had a good body. I managed to mumble a quick, “Thanks.”

  We swam around in silence for a few minutes, darting underwater and then back up again. When Cade would swim close to me, I couldn’t help stiffening at the thought of his penis brushing against me.

  Breaking the silence, I said, “So I really think our project is coming together.”

  “We’re going to blow Paulson away with our argument.”

  “I hope so. I’ll just be glad when it’s over. Of course, that will mean I’m just one step closer to next semester, which is really scary.”

  Cade’s brows knitted together. “But why? As a senior, you shouldn’t have too much hard shit left to take.”

  “I’m graduating early.”

  Considering the appalled look Cade gave me, I might as well have said I was thinking of transitioning to a man. “Why the fuck would you want to do that?”

  “So I can go ahead and start college, get a jump start on my future.”

  “But there’s still like a half year of senior activities. You’ll miss Senior Day and the trip to Atlanta.”

  “While it will be agonizing, I think I’ll find some way to console myself,” I teasingly replied.

  “What about prom?”

  I shrugged. “What about it?”

  “Will you at least come back for it?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s not like I have a steady boyfriend who is going to take me.”

  “You could by then. You never know.”

  “I doubt it very seriously.” I wondered why he even cared about me going to prom. With his harem of women, I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to ask me. At the same time, I couldn’t help being curious about who he might go with. “What about you?”

  “Hell no, I don’t want to graduate early. I want to put off being an adult for as long as possible.”

  “No, I meant, you seem so gung-ho about prom that I wondered who you would take.”

  “Jesus, Prescott, that’s like six months away. I barely know what I’m doing next weekend, least of all this spring.”

  “What about Elspeth?”

  “What about her?”

  “You don’t want to be prom king and queen as well as homecoming king and queen?”

  “We could be elected that shit regardless of if we went together.”

  “It just seems like you two have been awfully cozy lately.”

  “Yeah, I took her to homecoming, but that doesn’t mean I want to date her.”

  “Then what exactly is it that you’re doing?”

  “Fucking.”

  I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Ew. I so didn’t need to know that.”

  “You asked,” Cade countered.

  “You didn’t have to be so honest.”

  “I never lie about sex.” He flashed me a wicked grin. “It’s too sacred to lie about.”

  “Call me cynical, but I’m pretty sure there’s nothing sacred about what you’re doing.”

  “How do you know it’s not a truly religious experience?” Cade countered.

  “Now you’re being sacrilegious.”

  Cade swept his hand to his heart. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend yo
ur spiritual sensibilities.”

  “I’m pretty sure sex is a sacred act done through the bonds of love.”

  “I think you’re getting mixed up about sex and making love.”

  “There’s a difference?”

  He nodded. “Hell yeah, there’s a difference. What you were talking about is making love—something you do when you actually love the person you’re having sex with. Sex and fucking are pretty much interchangeable. You don’t have to be in love with a person to do those things. Hell, you don’t even have to like them. You can just fuck.”

  “Thanks for the clarification.”

  Cade swam closer to me. “What about you, Prescott? You ever let a guy between those creamy white thighs of yours?”

  I swallowed hard. “Maybe…a little.”

  He snorted. “What the hell does ‘a little’ mean?”

  “It means there’s been some male action there, just not…the entire action.”

  Cade’s blue eyes flared. “So that means you’re still a virgin?”

  “Yes. It does.”

  He slowly shook his head back and forth. “Jesus, I don’t think I’ve ever been naked with a virgin.”

  “What about your first time?”

  “She was my older sister’s friend, and I think I was number five for her.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Fifteen. Lost it in the pool house during Christmas break.” He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure I blew my load in less than a minute, but she was so drunk she didn’t seem to mind.”

  “How romantic,” I scoffed.

  He shrugged. “I didn’t care. It gave me bragging rights.”

  “So bragging rights were all you cared about?”

  “I also cared about the experience and finding out what it was like to come inside someone instead of my hand.”

  “For someone who can be so articulate sometimes, you sure are crude.”

  “Sorry. I just tell it like it is.”

  “Well try to tell it a little less like it is around me, okay?”

  Cade grinned. “Okay, I will, but first, I have one last question.”

  “Of course you do.” I sighed. “Fine, ask away, oh crude one.”

  “When do plan on cashing in your V card?”

  “I don’t know, and if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because for me, sex is something special and sacred. I don’t plan on having it just so I won’t be a virgin any more. While I don’t plan to wait for marriage, I do want to wait until I’m love.”

  “Then I do hope you fall in love sooner rather than later.”

  I laughed. “So I can get busy like everyone else?”

  Cade shook his head. “No. Because someone like you deserves to have someone love them.”

  The shrill sound of a police siren interrupted us. As I whirled around toward the forest, blue and red lights flashed in the trees. “Oh my God! They’ve caught us!” I shrieked as fear ricocheted through me.

  “I guess you weren’t joking when you said that old fart would call the cops,” Cade said with an amused lilt in his voice.

  I whipped back around to stare at him. “Do you find this funny?”

  Cade rolled his eyes. “We’re not doing anything wrong.”

  “Except trespassing.”

  “That’s not a felony, Prescott. It’s barely a misdemeanor since we haven’t caused any destruction of property.”

  “But I’m in my underwear, and you’re naked.”

  “I’m pretty sure we won’t be the first people they’ve caught without clothes out here.”

  I started to argue with him when the police car screeched to a halt on the shoreline. A middle-aged officer with a gut and a receding hairline got out of the car. After placing his cap on his head, he started to the end of the dock. “All right, you two, get out of the water. Now.”

  Cade didn’t budge. “What’s the problem, officer?”

  The officer placed his hands on the gun holster on his hip. “In case you couldn’t read the signs, you’re trespassing on private property.”

  “We were just swimming. It’s not like we’re stealing anything or causing destruction,” Cade argued.

  “Quit the wisecracks and get out of the water.”

  White-hot mortification ran from my head to my toes at the thought of the officer seeing me in my underwear, but Cade appeared unfazed by the prospect. He practically strutted out of the water while I wrapped one arm around my chest and the other across my abdomen.

  At the sight of Cade’s naked form, the cop merely shook his head.

  “Should I put my hands on my head?” Cade asked.

  “Just shut up and get your clothes on.”

  I quickly threw my shirt over my head before jumping into my shorts. I had already finished getting dressed by the time Cade was pulling his shirt on.

  Once we were finished, the officer walked over to the cruiser and opened the door. “Get in the back.”

  Cade held up his hands. “Whoa. Hold the phone. You’re arresting us?”

  “If you were under arrest, I would have read you your rights. I’m removing you from the property.”

  “But, sir, I need to get my family’s harvester back to the barn,” I argued.

  The officer shook his head. “I’ve been given an order to escort you from the property, and I will follow those instructions.”

  Cade snorted. “Seriously, dude. Lighten up.”

  The officer narrowed his eyes at Cade. “You’ll shut up if you know what’s good for you. I’ve had enough of smartass teenagers disregarding rules and thinking the whole fucking world belongs to them.”

  After glancing up at the sky, I squirmed at the sight of the dark clouds moving in. Considering the weather could go from slightly cloudy to pounding rain in a single moment, I would be in big trouble if the harvester were left out. “Please, officer, I’m not trying to be difficult. It looks like rain, and even the slightest moisture can damage the engine.”

  The officer closed the gap between us and glared into my eyes. “I don’t give a fuck about some alleged machinery. I’m going to say it one last time: get your ass in the cruiser before I take you in for resisting.”

  “Lighten up, buddy. Let her go, and take me in. Then you’ve still followed your orders to an extent.”

  The officer turned his wrath from me to Cade. “I thought I told you to shut the fuck up.”

  Cade shook his head. “Dude, you really need to back off.”

  “Is that so?”

  “One phone call to my dad, and you’re finished in this county.”

  The officer threw Cade a murderous look. “Get. In. The. Car.”

  Before Cade could say another word, I put my hand on his shoulder. “Let’s just do what he says.”

  Cade kept his gaze on the officer. “Whatever. Damage is already done.”

  The officer jerked open the back door of the cruiser. I slid inside first then Cade ducked in behind me. Once we were in, the door slammed shut, and a sense of panic overtook me. “If I’m arrested, I could lose my scholarships and grants. I could have my acceptance to Emory revoked.” I swallowed the rising bile in my throat. “Oh God, I think I’m going to be sick.”

  “Easy, Prescott. It’s not going to come to that,” Cade replied as his fingers flew over the keys on his phone. I couldn’t help marveling at how cool, calm, and collected he was considering we were in the back of a police cruiser.

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because my dad will get us off the hook. Trust me.”

  The officer slammed his door and cranked up the cruiser. Mr. Frost’s driveway was about a mile long. It ran from the main road and snaked along his property. We had barely made it a half a mile before a crackly voice came over the radio. “Com to Charlie 59.”

  The officer brought his chin over to his shoulder. “This is Charlie 59. Go ahead.”

  “Your 10-92s need to be let out immediately
, and under no circumstance should they be brought to the station.”

  “I’m going to need you to repeat that, Com.”

  “I think you heard what I said, Charlie 59.”

  “Yeah, I did, but I’m uncertain as to why this command is being given when I have two trespassing violators.”

  There was a pause before the dispatcher said, “This comes from the chief.”

  The officer started to argue again when another voice came across the line. “Humphrey, shut your face and put on a smile. You’ve got Thomas Hall’s son in the back of your cruiser, and your ass in a bind.”

  “Ten-four,” Officer Humphrey replied tersely.

  “Thank God,” I murmured. My body, which had been taut and tense with fear, went limp with relief. I collapsed back against the seat and exhaled in a long whoosh.

  “Where is the best place to drop you two off?” Officer Humphrey asked.

  “Back at the pond, please. It’s the quickest way back to the harvester.”

  Cade shook his head at me. “You don’t need to say please to him. He’ll do exactly what we say. Won’t you Humphrey?” When Humphrey didn’t reply, Cade smirked at the back of Officer Humphrey’s head. “If you want him to push the harvester back instead of driving it, he’ll do it, or he’ll get in even more hot water.”

  I whipped my head around to stare in disgust at Cade. Although I was grateful to him for getting us out of trouble, I hated the way he was acting. It was like a power trip on steroids. It was obvious Cade thought the officer was beneath him. I couldn’t help wondering if he thought I was beneath him.

  Humphrey threw the cruiser into reverse then swung it around and stomped his foot on the gas pedal. When he came to the pond, he screeched to a halt. Without a word, he got out of the cruiser and opened the door. I quickly scrambled out with Cade close behind me. “Thank you, Officer Humphrey. You have a very nice day. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to talk about when you get back to the station,” Cade said sarcastically.

  Officer Humphrey clenched his jaw and glared away from Cade. Wanting to put as much distance as I could between Cade and the officer, I started power walking toward my farm.

  “Hey, where’s the fire?” Cade asked when he jogged up to me.

  “Nowhere. I wasn’t lying to Officer Humphrey. I really do need to get back to the farm and get the harvester put into the barn.”