Tony smiled but said nothing. It was the grin of a predator who knew his prey was within his grasp.
Mr. Reynolds pulled a phone out of his pocket and made a few swipes on the screen. He turned it toward us. “What do you say to this?”
A flush crept up my neck and spread across my cheeks. The phone held a picture of Travis and me making out in the lab the day before—I recognized the dress.
Even through the gravity of the situation, I couldn’t help but notice how right we looked together. It was the first time I had the chance to see what we looked like from a third-party view, and I couldn’t look away.
“Juliette!” Dr. Kent said, looking at me, aghast. “How could you do this?”
Mr. Reynolds pulled the phone away, and I looked down at the floor, struggling for words. Tears welled up, and I fought them off.
Being an emotional wreck won’t help me now.
“It was a mistake. A slip.”
To his credit, the professor wasted no time trying to salvage his study. “Tony, you know this has had no impact on the team. Look at how Travis has played this season with Juliette around. You should thank her for being here, not getting us kicked out. And there’s no impact on the study. We’re only here to help make the sport safer for everyone involved.”
The lawyer smiled. “Dr. Kent. You and your grad student signed a contract. I ensured that you understood the details and the consequences of that type of behavior, and she violated the rules. Under the terms of the contract, the league has every right to pull out of the deal and retract the data collected, and it will do so. Your access to this facility is terminated effective immediately, and you have one week to delete every copy of the data from your computers and servers. Any evidence that you’ve violated these terms will cause a lawsuit that will destroy your school.”
The professor’s resistance collapsed in the face of the lawyer’s cheerful discussion of facts.
Mr. Reynolds continued. “You have one hour to pack up your things and remove yourselves from the premises. If you have any further questions, I believe you have my number.”
The two men turned and left.
“Juliette, you’ve ruined everything.”
I’d never seen such a look of disappointment as the one on Dr. Kent’s face.
“I’m so sorry, sir. I don’t know what to say. I thought we were being discreet, and I resisted for such a long time.”
He shook his head. “I warned you, Juliette. About this exact situation. I told you not to trust a football player, even Travis King.”
He walked away, exiting the room and leaving me to stand there by myself and let the implications of my actions sink in.
Chapter 22
~Travis~
PAST
I finished shuffling the cards and dealt out the hands, eleven cards each. Then I flipped up the top card to reveal a joker and gestured to Sexy to start her turn.
“Your go. Although you’ll need a miracle this hand to make up the gap in score.”
She stuck her tongue out at me.
“You might eat your words before too long. I’ll buy it.”
She took the joker and the next three cards at the top of the pile, placing them carefully into her hand before discarding a six of hearts face up.
The game we’d created together had grown and morphed over many rounds into a fully-fledged and well-rounded experience. I was proud of it.
I picked up a card from the top of the deck and discarded a seven.
“One more loss, and you have to lose your shirt, you know.”
She bit her lip as she looked at her hand. “I’m pretty sure it won’t come to that. As John McCain said in oh-eight, ‘I’ve got you right where I want you.’”
I laughed. Only Sexy could pull off a political joke in the middle of a game of strip cards.
“And look how that turned out for him. Still not president, last time I checked.”
“Whatever. I’ll buy.”
I watched her face as she picked up more cards. The look of careful consideration. The way her hair fell over her shoulder.
“What are you planning to do after college?”
We’d talked about general life goals, but nothing so specific.
She glanced up from her hand. “You know—find a job in my field, maybe do research. It’s pretty far away. It’ll depend on which opportunities present themselves.”
“Sure, that makes sense. Just like I have no idea who will draft me.”
We played in a comfortable silence for another few turns as I thought about how to best approach the point I was trying to make.
“Don’t you think we should exchange contact information? You know, in case we end up somewhere close to each other after college?”
The look she gave me was appraising but not angry. That was a good sign.
“What do you think the odds of that are?”
I shrugged and dropped a card on the pile. “You never know. There’s a team in just about every major market in the country. I could end up anywhere.”
“Exactly. You could go anywhere, assuming you make it pro.” She grinned. She knew the easiest way to poke my pride was suggest I might not make it big.
“Hey, now. Not fair.”
“Besides, you’ll be a pro football player, and I won’t graduate for another three years, at least. Who knows what we’ll see and do in that period of time? The people we’ll meet, maybe date, and the things we’ll accomplish. We’ll be different people by that point.” She waved at the space between us. “This might not survive that.”
How is she always the rational one when it comes to these discussions?
It should have been the woman trying to get commitment from the man, not the other way around.
“I don’t think what we have could ever fall apart.”
Her face darkened. “Never say that. We aren’t invincible. You could meet a girl next week who’s better than me in every way and lives a block away from you. How would you feel then if you shackled yourself to me now?”
I sat up and grabbed her arms, pulling her close. The cards in her hand fell to the covers.
“No one could ever compare to you. No one. Ever.”
The cards lay forgotten as she kissed me as hard as she ever had.
PRESENT
“Oh say can you see, by the dawn’s early light.”
It was a splendid sight. Tens of thousands of people, all standing and saluting as the national anthem played, gathering for a singular purpose.
To see us play. To see me play.
A year ago, in my first championship game, I’d been dazzled by the lights, by the spectacle. It was the culmination of a life of hard work and determination, and it was difficult to handle even as a professional football player. The championship game was a different animal from anything that came before, and no one could imagine the intensity until they played in one.
One year older, one year wiser. None of the pageantry distracted me now. I was here to do one thing—win a championship.
“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
The pre-game rituals blew by in a haze—the coin toss, the preparations, the anthem. Once the teams lined up for kickoff, it was just another game.
Where’s Juliette?
I wanted to watch the kickoff with her. Since we reconciled, I wanted to spend this time with her, to be able to share in this incredible experience. I hadn’t even seen her since before leaving for Las Vegas. There were too many media commitments, too many ceremonies, and too much hard work to do to prepare for the game of my life.
There was no sight of her amongst the trainers, her usual spot.
Maybe she went to the bathroom.
I couldn't believe anyone would miss the opening kickoff, but she didn’t care for the sport as much as most fans. She only cared about the study—and one of the players.
We received the opening kick, so I had to go onto the field for the first drive before I’d
tracked her down. After two missed passes, I found Jerry for a first down, and our unit clicked from then on.
It took only five more plays before we celebrated our first touchdown.
The crowd went crazy—Los Angeles had gained a lot of support from fans around the league this year with our Cinderella story. The team that only won a single game the previous season became one of the premier teams in the league and started the season with twelve straight wins. It had earned us a huge cheering section at the championship game, where the audience was fans of the sport who bought tickets long before knowing who would be in the final matchup.
Scoring the first points of the game provided a huge morale boost to the men. The atmosphere as I rejoined the sidelines was jubilant, but I couldn’t fully take part. Not until I found the woman who meant everything to me.
I walked over to the trainers as we kicked the ball to Portland.
“Hey, Doug, have you seen Juliette and Dr. Kent?” I didn’t see the older man, either. Otherwise, I would have asked him where his grad student was.
The doctor looked up from where he manipulated the ankle of a defensive lineman. “I haven’t, Travis. I’m not sure I’ve seen them all day, actually. Maybe they’re running late from the hotel—the traffic is crazy out there.”
I frowned. That was unlike either of them. There were explanations—if one of them had forgotten their pass, they would have had to return to the hotel to retrieve it. Hopefully, they didn’t forget it back in Los Angeles.
Before I could spend too much time worrying about it, our defense had forced a quick punt from Portland, setting us up for another drive.
I cherished the time on the field. Some quarterbacks were anxious during big games, worried about messing up too many passes and not carrying their team to victory. I loved it—the pressure, the expectation. This was how legends were made.
On the snap, Portland clogged up the middle of the field, taking away my primary and secondary options. They knew the scouting report on me as well as I knew theirs.
Too bad I’ve got an array of new plays they’ve never seen.
Ricky streaked up the left sideline, having snuck by his man. The pocket collapsed around me as I fired a throw so hard that my arm windmilled after release. The ball soared the length of the field as though carried on the backs of angels, an arrow shot straight at Portland’s heart.
Ricky leapt for the ball and caught it, pulling it to his chest and falling backward into the end zone.
My linemen cheered, surrounding me and slapping me on the back and shoulders.
“That was the longest throw I’ve ever seen you make,” Leroy shouted, barely audible over the roar of the crowd. “That’s gotta be some kind of record. And on the first down of the possession, too. You’re fucking great, King.”
I grinned in return.
Ricky had a long run back to his teammates to celebrate the touchdown. He pointed at me as he ran up. “You magnificent bastard. That was one hell of a throw.”
“Nice catch,” I said as we turned to jog back to the team’s sideline. I scanned the team staff once more, but couldn’t find Juliette.
“Looking for your little spring break girl?” Ricky asked.
I stared at him in shock. I hadn’t realized he’d recognized her. They hadn’t gotten along back then. A lot of Ricky’s animosity toward her and the study made more sense.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I did us all a favor and spoke with Tony. He got them kicked out so they couldn’t ruin the big game for us. Can you imagine if you took a little hit and they forced you to sit out the rest of the game? We can’t have that. Not after coming so far.”
My jaw dropped. “You didn’t. Goddammit, Ricky. You fucking stupid asshole. What have you done?”
I left him behind as I marched to Tony.
“King! Great throw. You keep playing like that, and we’ve got this game locked up.”
I waved aside his compliment, the words making me feel dirty.
“What have you done? Ricky said you got Juliette and Dr. Kent kicked out. Why would you do that?”
Tony’s face cleared only for a moment before he took a deep breath and stuck a finger up. “She broke her contract, King. That’s what matters. If she'll interfere with my offense, then she must pay the consequences. I’ll rot in hell before I let this championship slip out of my grasp.”
Spittle flew from Tony’s lips as he yelled.
“You fucking idiot! Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve destroyed her career and ruined any chance of her finishing her PhD. She did nothing to deserve this, and you know it. I should have been taken out of that game, sensors or no sensors. She was the only one with the balls to say so!”
Tony stepped closer. I was taller by him than a foot, but it didn’t faze him.
“You don’t call me a fucking idiot on my own sideline. Now get back onto the field, King, and run your offense.”
Our defense, unaware of the drama unfolding on the sidelines, had done their job a second time, stopping Portland cold on their drive and giving us the ball back with a chance to take a three possession lead.
I didn’t want to leave the confrontation with Tony. There were too many things I hadn’t screamed at him yet, but if I took too long, then we would get a penalty. I had no choice.
Or do I?
Tony had enraged me more than I’d ever felt. I couldn't think of anything except how I could hurt him enough to make him see what he’d done. The problem was that he wanted what I wanted—a championship.
That’s it.
When the ball passed into my hands, I threw it sideways into the ground, the ball rolling away.
For once, the crowd in the dome went silent. The fans who wanted us to win didn’t know what just happened, and neither did the fans who wanted us to lose. The refs whistled an incomplete pass into the silence.
“Travis?” Leroy asked.
The men on both sides of the line of scrimmage stood awkwardly, looking at me.
My men had fought hard for me all season. As badly as I wanted to screw Tony over, I couldn’t fail them. I just needed to make a point.
I shook my head. “Trust me. Please.”
The men lined up in preparation for the next play. Once more, I threw the ball aside after the snap.
Whispers from tens of thousands of mouths created an unsettling wind.
The third down repeated itself the same as the first two. By this point, men on both teams stood up and stared, not even attempting to reset into their proper ready positions.
As soon as the ball hit the ground the third time, I strode back to the sideline to where Tony stood. The punting team walked onto the field, accompanied by eerie silence as everyone’s eyes and attention were on me.
“King, I will fucking pull you from this game if you pull that shit again.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Don’t call me on that, boy. If you think I’ll let you throw away this championship to spite me, you’ve got another thing coming.”
I didn’t budge.
He looked around, as though only just noticing the amount of attention and the cameras surrounding us.
“King, we can discuss this after the game.”
I shook my head. “I want your commitment, right now, and in front of these cameras, that you’ll work to put things right for Juliette. She didn’t deserve what you and the league did to her.”
“That’s not in my control any longer. Even if I wanted to, there’s nothing I could do.”
I frowned. “That’s the wrong answer, Tony.”
Small cheers came from the crowd—the game had continued on, but most of the focus was still on the altercation. There was nothing the league loved more than spectacle, and if the biggest source was off the field instead of on—well, they’d roll with it.
A quick glimpse showed the punting team for Portland coming back on the field—it was almost time for our offense to go to wo
rk. Unless Tony remained obstinate, then I would continue spiking balls into the ground.
Large beads of sweat had broken out on Tony’s forehead. He looked at the cameras with their red lights glaring.
“Fine, King, I’ll talk with the league. I’ll do whatever I can. Can you please just go out there and win this damn game first?”
He might go back on his word, but there was no way to tell. At least I’d gotten him to say it on national television. My teammates deserved the best I could give them.
“Fine. Let’s play.”
With the business surrounding Juliette wrapped up the best I could manage for the moment, I took a deep breath to focus my attentions back on the game as I took to the field with my offense.
Two touchdowns was a good start to the game, but Portland had enough skill to turn the score around in next to no time. We needed more of a cushion before I would feel safe.
The next play unfolded exactly according to plan. After faking a hand off, I paused for a few seconds and selected my target.
Here we go.
The ball left my hand in a perfect spiral that arced down the field, a thing of beauty.
As I watched it go, a massive crash shocked my body and flung me sideways to the grass. Pain rushed down my limbs for a moment until my head struck the ground, then everything faded away.
Not again…
Chapter 23
~Juliette~
PAST
His eyes were a deep, endless blue.
Neither of us dared blink as he slid inside me, the movement as natural as breathing by this point.
I lay underneath him, pinned under his body. The carefully restrained power of his athletic form covered me, protected me. Entered me.
“You feel incredible,” I whispered, needing to share the emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
We’d had sex and slept together. We’d fucked, banged, and ridden.
On this, our last night together, we made love.
I lay my hands on his shoulders, feeling the strain of his muscles as he moved ever so slowly within me, every part of him tense and hard with his need.
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