Football Dad: (Friends to Lovers)

by Terry Towers

  “London?”

  I gave my head a shake and caught Cole staring down at me.

  “You feeling okay?”

  “Yes.” I gave a little laugh. “Of course. I just zoned out for a moment. Lots on my mind today.”

  He nodded. “Fair enough.” Pointing to the area where the water and his shirt were sitting, he added. “Why don’t you take a seat and get yourself hydrated while we practice.”

  Feeling a little embarrassed, I nodded. “That might be a good idea.” Walking the few feet to the water bottles, I plunked myself down onto the newly-manicured grass and grabbed a bottle. Flipping open the top, I took a hearty swig.

  Cole and Justin walked to centerfield meeting up with his son, who didn’t look quite as tired as his father. Despite straining, I couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. Though, I could read the facial expressions of the boys. Cole’s back was now turned towards me. Justin seemed intimidated, while Alexander look bored with a hint of annoyance.

  Despite not being religious, I gave a silent prayer that they wouldn’t go to hard on my son. Justin needed to be built up, not have the little bit of confidence that he’d built at the camp snatched from him. I shook my head. Cole was a high school football coach for Pete’s sake, he’d never tear down Alexander’s confidence. Part of being a high school coach was to build up the confidence of the boys on the team, wasn’t it?

  Several hours past before Cole finally let the boys off for the day. Both teens looked relieved as they made their way back to me.

  “Done for the day?” I called out as they neared.

  “Yup. I don’t think there’s much left in either of them at this point,” Cole answered. Giving Justin a pat on the back, he nodded. “The kid just might have what it takes. A couple more days of practice and I think he might just get through try-outs.

  “Couple more days, Dad?” Alexander groaned.

  His father looked over at his son and I could see the warning look in his eyes.

  Shit. The last thing I wanted was for his kid to have resentment towards Justin because he was forced to spend his last few days of summer vacation before football practice began dealing with my son.

  “I don’t want to put Alexander out. There’s not much time left before school starts…” I gave the boy a sympathetic smile.

  Alexander jumped in before his father could respond. “It’s not a bother at all. I’m happy to help out a potential new teammate.” I couldn’t tell either way if he was being sincere or sarcastic.

  “Yes. We can start practice in the morning and be done by early afternoon.” Cole gave his son a pat on the shoulder, smiling down at me. “That’ll work, right Alex?”

  “Sure. Like I said, I do what I can to help teammates.”

  “Good. Why don’t you boys head to the vehicles so I can have a moment with London.”

  Cole bent and grabbed his shift from the ground as the boys trotted off without protest. He gave the shirt a flick removing most of the grass that had clung to it before pulled it over his head. There was a twinge of disappointment, as his sexy physique was covered with cotton.

  “So where do you want to go to eat?” he asked as his head popped out from beneath the collar hole. “I’m famished.”

  For a moment I froze, not knowing how to respond. Should I play this aloof or reveal how delighted I was that he’d want to go out again so soon?

  “Are there any types of food you and Justin don’t like?”

  “I… Ummm.”

  “Sorry, I presumed you didn’t have plans. That was rude. Are you in a hurry to get home or do you have time for a quick bite with the boys?” Taking my hand in his, he began to lead me to the cars. “When I said with the boys, I mean we get a table at one end of the restaurant and make them sit as far away as possible from us. I want a few minutes alone with you, but I suppose we need to feed the little bastards, so it’s a compromise.”

  Laughing, I ran a hand through my hair, pushing a stray lock from my eyes. “That’s the best offer I’ve received all day.”

  “In that case, how does Popeyes Chicken sound? There’s one not too far from here.”

  I loved Popeyes Chicken, so I certainly wasn’t going to complain, but that didn’t stop me from busting his balls, just a little bit. “Shouldn’t they be on a strict professional athlete diet?”

  “Hmmm.” He rubbed his chin for a moment. “No, I’m going to disagree. All the grease from the chicken will help keep their joints well-oiled.”

  “You’re making that up!”

  Laughing, he gave me a wink which made my stomach do a little flutter but said no more about it.

  Chapter 9

  London

  Masturbation just wasn’t doing it tonight. It just wasn’t. I’d even switched from reading steamy novels to watching porn. Normally, I didn’t have to resort to porn since my imagination was all I needed. But not tonight.

  Tonight my mind couldn’t rid itself of the events of the day. The boys had their third and final practice together with Cole and tomorrow was the big day. They’d practiced hard for hours and we’d all gone out to eat afterwards as per the past several days after practice.

  Lunch had been fun and there was certainly chemistry between myself and Cole, but we just weren’t getting a chance to explore it except a kiss before driving off home. It was really nice for the four of us to sit together and have lunch, it gave me an idea of how our family would look like if we were to make a go of things between us. But that was a long ways down the road and right now what I really needed to see was how things could be with us on a physically more intimate level.

  Getting out of the bathtub, I quickly dried myself off and walked naked into the bedroom. I had to see him. Had to. Walking to my dresser, I pulled open a drawer and grabbed a pair of sexy, red lace panties and matching bra.

  Then I paused for a moment and looked over my shoulder at the clock mounted on the wall. It was 11pm. It would be 11:30pm before I got to his place. It was a bit late for a visit, but Alexander wouldn’t be home, from my understanding he was staying at a friend’s place tonight so it would be the perfect opportunity to really explore the sexual chemistry that I knew was there, it just needed a little nudge to fully ignite.

  But what if he was already in bed and I woke him up? I knew where he lived, he’d given me his address the other day, but had never actually been to his place. Would it be creepy if I just showed up? None of those reasons swayed me. This had to get done. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a v-neck, form-fitting light green t-shirt, I was set to go.

  It was when I was downstairs and slipping on a pair of sandals that one big, massive heart-stopping concern hit me. What if he was dating other women and she was at his place right now? What if the reason we hadn’t gotten past some kisses was the fact that he was getting laid somewhere else? It’s not like we’d discussed being exclusive. He’d be all within his rights to have another woman.

  I had to have faith that he wasn’t with someone. And perhaps if he did have another woman there, then I’d know where I stood with him. I’d know for a fact that he was a player, and could move on and possibly save myself some heartache.

  Yes. Yes, this was a good idea.

  Grabbing my keys and purse, I exited the house and entered the attached garage. There was no more hesitation once I was in the car with the ignition on. I’d never been known as being a bold person, but tonight I was going to be. I was going to do this.

  The drive to Cole’s house seemed to last for an eternity.

  I must have the wrong address, I thought, driving through a very posh suburb of Boston. According to GPS, I was only a few streets away from his place. How in the hell could he afford to live in this area on a high school football coach salary? It made no sense. The houses surrounding me were worth millions.

  Maybe he was a trust fund baby and just didn’t want to bring it up? It was a possibility. Being a trust fund brat wasn’t something most men would want to brag about. One more tur
n and I was on his street.

  Squinting, I searched out the address as I slowly made my way down the street until I came to a massive two-story home.

  Holy shit! I murmured under my breath. It even had a massive swan fountain as a centerpiece of its well-manicured front lawn. Just when I thought I had the wrong place, I spotted his Escalade parked just outside the front door. This was definitely his place.

  Suddenly this became a very, very bad idea. My former bravado was fading fast.

  There had to be an explanation. If he didn’t want me to know where he lived and had something to hide, he wouldn’t have given me his address just in case I ever wanted to stop by. It was that reasoning that gave me the courage to pull up behind his SUV, cut the engine and make my way to his front door.

  In my haste to get here I’d forgotten to grab a jacket. It was a chilly evening, each night getting just a wee bit cooler. Fall was coming quick. My hair was still damp and cold as I ran a hand through my locks after pressing the doorbell.

  And then I waited for what seemed to be at least ten minutes, when in actuality it would have been less than a minute. I raised my hand to press the buzzer again when the door swung opened to reveal Cole, bare-chested and in a pair of plaid flannel lounge pants his hair slightly disheveled.

  He looked down at me a moment with confusion in his expression. “London. What are you doing here?”

  Oh fuck, this was a bad, bad idea. He didn’t look happy to see me, just bewildered. I’d been so determined to go see him that I failed to rehearse what I was going to say when and if he opened the door.

  “I….ummm.” Shifting from one foot to the other, I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

  “Your hair… it’s wet. Where’s your jacket? What in the hell, woman?” Placing a hand on my shoulder he ushered me into the house. “Come in and warm up. Perhaps dry off.” Closing the door behind us, he turned to face me and placed his large hands on my arms and began rubbing the goosebumped flesh. “What are you doing here? Is Justin okay?”

  “Yeah. Yeah.”

  “Okay.” Releasing me, he turned and motioned for me to follow him. “We’ll get you a towel to dry off your hair. Do you need a brush?”

  I attempted to run my fingers through my hair and groaned inwardly. I didn’t brush my hair before leaving and it was a tangled mess. If my plan had been to seduce him tonight, then this was turning into an epic fail.

  “Yeah. I think that may be a good idea.” I was glad he had his back to me as he talked, otherwise he’d have seen the deep crimson glow that colored my cheeks, because they felt like they were on fire. “Thank you.”

  He paused at an open doorway and turned to me. “My pleasure. In here.”

  The bathroom was a full bath featuring a deep clawfoot tub and waterfall sink. It was very white and so pristine. How could he keep the bathroom so clean? Surely, he had a housekeeper. “This is beautiful.”

  He shrugged. “It’s a bathroom.” Opening a cabinet he pulled out a white towel and passed it to me.

  As I began to rub the towel into my hair, he found a brush in the drawer under the sink and passed it to me, taking the used towel in exchange.

  “So you still haven’t told me what I owe the pleasure of your visit. At…” he looked down at his watch, “nearly midnight.”

  I bought myself some time as I pulled at my damp locks, a couple of knots caused me some serious grief and I grunted as I pulled a little too hard trying to get the brush to slide through the knots.

  “Here, let me help.” Taking the brush from me, he adjusted me so that I was directly in front of him, facing the mirror.

  “Thank you.”

  Damn, looking at us in the mirror I was amazed at how much of a difference in size we were, his large frame making almost two of me. While I was short, I was hardly a tiny woman making the size difference even more incredible. A smile touched my lips as Cole tugged at a knot just a little to hard making me yelp.

  “Shit. Sorry,” he mumbled, immediately stopping.

  “Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

  He nodded and continued to run the brush through my hair being gentle with each stroke. I moaned softly, this was nice, closing my eyes. I’d never had a man brush my hair before and it felt amazing. I felt pampered, which wasn’t something I had the privilege of feeling very often.

  “What are you thinking?”

  His voice pulled me from my blissful state and my eyes sprung open to catch his gaze staring at me in the mirror. “I…well…”

  “Just tell me. What’s going on in your head?” He grinned. “And maybe somewhere along the way you can tell me why I have the pleasure of your visit.”

  “It’s nothing.” I felt foolish admitting to him what was running through my mind for fear of sounding like an idiot. But what the hell… “I was just thinking that I’ve never had someone, a man someone, brush my hair before.”

  He cocked a brow up at me and set back to work. “That so?”

  “It is. My mother used to say that I always bring home the strays.”

  “I see.”

  “It’s a lesson that I learned the hard way. Pretty much every relationship I’ve ever had has been with a man who is broken. Problem is you can’t fix a broken man, they need to fix themselves, all that being with them does is break you as well. Sometimes I feel like it’s an addiction that I can’t crack.” I felt tears well up into my eyes but forced them back. No crying tonight.

  “Do you think I’m broken?”

  I gave my head a slight shake. “No. I don’t think so.”

  “Well thank you. I think. Perhaps you’ve finally broken your addiction?” The twinkle in his eyes and the smile on his lips was contagious and I smiled back at him.

  “I hope that’s true. I really, really want that to be true.”

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  Cole

  She looked so sad and scared right now. All I wanted to do was pull her into my arms and hold her until she no longer hurt over what those bastards in her past had done to her. She was a good woman. She was a damned-good woman and unfortunately there were way too many men out there who used women like her for whatever they could get from her and then move on.

  I would never be one of those men to her. Never.

  But you’re lying to her, that damned voice chimed in.

  In due time, I reassured the voice. When the time is right. Right now the priority was making sure she felt like she was a priority to me, and that I wasn’t like all the others.

  “Well, if it gives you any comfort, I have my life together. My divorce wasn’t easy, but it was necessary and I’m happy in my life. Now I just need to find the right woman to share my life with. I don’t need a woman to fix me, I want a woman to complete my life.”

  “Maybe I’m that woman.” Her eyes grew wide and her hands flew up to her mouth covering her lips as if to try and reel the spoken words back in. But they couldn’t be retracted, they were out there now.

  Chapter 10

  Cole

  There were a couple ways I could have responded to that comment. I could either joke it off and release the stress that she was feeling for blurting out what she did, or I could roll with it and see just where her head was.

  As I thought about how to reply, I gave the brush one final tug, the teeth of the brush slipping through her strands of hair easily. The knots were out, leaving her dark hair silky and satiny smooth.

  “You really think you could be the one, huh?” I gave her a cocky smile as I reached over her to set the brush on the bathroom counter. As I leaned over her, I inhaled deeply. Her hair smelled like apples tonight.

  “That umm…”

  “Wasn’t meant to be said,” I finished for her, looking up to meet her gaze in the mirror again. The darkness of her eyes was truly captivating.

  “No.” Her cheeks grew rosy.

  “But do you mean it?” I hadn’t wanted to push things with her. I’d been taking my time sexually to ensure she kne
w I was with her because I enjoyed who she was as a person. Sex was hardly a priority. She hadn’t told me much about her previous relationships, but the look she’d get in her eyes when previous relationships were mentioned made me assume that she hadn’t had many good ones in her past. I wanted to be one of the good ones.

  But goddamn! She was before me, leaning back against my front. The smell of her hair and whatever oils she’d used for her bath before she arrived drifted up and filled my nostrils. And looking into her dark brown eyes, they were filled with so much emotion that it shook me to my very core.

  I couldn’t hold back, not anymore. I was only human and the sight and feel of her before me would have tempted a saint, and God knew I was no saint. It would have been as impossible as going without my next breath. Leaning into her, I brushed my lips along the side of her neck. She moaned and fell back fully against me, exposing the delicate ivory flesh of her neck to me. I could feel her weight pressing against my front, her bottom rubbing against my rapidly expanding cock.

  The brushing of my lips began gentle nibbles from just below her ear all the way down until I reached her shoulder. As I began working my way back up, I slipped my arms around her waist and pulled her bottom tighter against my groin, my now-rock-solid dick pressing against her ass.

  The desire within me was growing stronger with each passing second. I quickly lost my ability to think, the need within me taking over all sense. Dear help me, I needed to slow things down. Though as I thought about slowing things down, my left hand slipped under the hem of her t-shirt and slowly worked its way up her warm torso to her breasts.

  ~*~ TT ~*~

  London

  Ohmygod! His dick felt amazing against me. By the feel of it, he easily had the biggest cock of any man I’d ever been with. I was both excited at the possibility of experiencing it and intimidated that maybe I wouldn’t be prepared to handle a man like him.

  Though my worries went up in a puff of smoke when his hand cupped my breast and gave it a squeeze. My B-cup breast fit perfectly in his hand as he massaged, his fingers playing with the top of the cup a moment before pulling it down and grasping my bare breast in his hand. As one hand teased my breast sending jolts of pleasure through me, his other hand slipped down and cupped my mound outside of my jeans.