by L A Cotton
* * *
Am I winning you over yet?
* * *
You’re probably getting a little hungry and thirsty by now… you should probably head out to get a drink
* * *
The tears wouldn’t stop. No matter how hard I tried to swallow them down, they kept falling.
“Mya?” Felicity came into the room, wrapping me in her arms. “Oh, sweetheart, you weren’t supposed to get upset.”
“I just… God, I’ve been such a bitch.”
“No, no!” She held me at arm’s length. “You needed to know he loved you the way you love him and that’s okay. You’ve both been through so much. But it’s okay to need someone, Mya. It’s okay to give them another chance.”
I dried my eyes, clutching the bracelet charms in my hand.
“Can I see them?” Flick asked, and I uncurled my fingers. “Shall we add them to your bracelet?”
“I’d like that.” I nodded and let her do it. When she was done, I admired them. “It’s beautiful.”
“He did good. But don’t you have somewhere else to be? What does your clue say?”
“Bell’s,” I said with conviction. “He wants me to head to Bell’s.” It was the only place that made sense.
“Well, then, what are we waiting for?”
Felicity drove me to Bell’s. I think Jason was happy to stay behind given that I couldn’t stop crying. Asher hadn’t only played with my emotions, he’d completely wrecked them.
“Hey, Jerry,” she said as we entered the bar. “I think you might have something for my girl.”
“Hey girls, why don’t you hop on up to the bar and I’ll be right with you.” He disappeared out back while we got comfortable on the stools.
Felicity reached over and took my hand in hers, squeezing. “It’s going to be okay, Mya.”
I was starting to get that.
It wasn’t just about Asher’s grand gesture, it was about the way Jason and Cameron stepped up to look out for me, and the way Felicity and Hailee were always there no questions asked. Maybe I would always be the odd girl out in Rixon, but they only ever made me feel like I belonged. I’d built a family for myself here, a life, and that was something I would always be grateful for.
“Here we go,” Jerry reappeared, carrying a black drawstring bag. He dumped it on the bar and handed me a note. “I’ll leave you two girls to it.” He gave me a knowing wink before busying himself at the other end of the bar.
“Is everyone in on this?” I asked incredulously.
“Only the important people,” Felicity replied. “Well, don’t just stare at it, open it.” She motioned to the note in my hand.
* * *
I know football isn’t your sport. I know it pained you to wear my jersey at the exhibition game, to stand in the bleachers supporting me. But you did it anyway. You constantly pushed yourself out of your boundaries… for me.
You chose me.
You fought for me.
* * *
I thought I was fighting too. I thought because I almost beat the shit out of Merrick, or because I barely spoke to Vaughn in New York, or because I went against my dad’s orders by being with you, that I was fighting too.
But I realize now it wasn’t enough.
I wasn’t enough.
And I’m so fucking sorry, Mya.
* * *
So let me show you I’m ready.
Meet me at the place where young men who think they have it all figured out become Gods and Kings.
Because this King is ready to claim his Queen.
* * *
I sucked in a shaky breath, his words reverberating through me, leaving me breathless.
“Now that one, I did not see. Holy shit, I think I picked the wrong Raider.”
“Felicity!” I nudged her shoulder as we both read it again. “The place where men become Gods and Kings… what does he—”
“The football field, where else?” she said as if there was no question.
And she was right.
Of course she was right.
“Are you ready?”
“I think so,” I choked out over the huge fucking lump in my throat.
“Well before we go, you should probably look the part.” Her eyes dropped to the bag on the counter. “You’ve come all this way; you might as well go the whole nine yards.”
Asher
“She’ll be here,” Cameron said as we stood centerfield waiting for any sign of Mya and Felicity.
“And if she doesn’t show?”
“She’ll show,” he said with absolute conviction.
“How can you be so sure?” I asked him, bouncing on the balls of my feet.
My heart had been in my throat all fucking day. It had all seemed like the perfect plan when I was putting it all together, but now as I stood on the football field, surrounded by my teammates, I wasn’t so sure.
If she didn’t come... fuck, I didn’t want to fall to my knees and cry like a pussy in front of them all, but I was pretty certain that’s exactly what would happen.
Cam was on his phone when he glanced up. “Showtime.”
“They’re here.” My pulse spiked.
“They’re here.” He gave me a reassuring nod. He’d been great about this whole thing. Jason too. It hadn’t been easy aligning all the pieces, but we’d called in some favors here and there, and I may have dropped my father’s name once or twice; but this was it, make or break.
“Okay,” I said jogging into position. “See you on the other side.” It was impossible to see her, my vision blocked by the wall of bodies all facing the bleachers where I knew Hailee and Felicity had led Mya to wait. I could imagine her standing there in my jersey, wondering what the fuck was going on.
At least, I hoped she was.
“Who are we?” Jason roared.
“Raiders,” my teammates voices echoed through the air.
“I said who are we?”
“RAIDERS.”
“And what are we?”
“Family.”
“And what are we gonna do?” Jason glanced back at me, giving me a sharp nod.
“Get the girl,” they yelled in unison.
“I said what are we gonna do?”
“Get the girl!”
Adrenaline pumped through me as the guys began to close rank, jogging into two lines—offense and defense—until they were stacked in front of me in a long vertical ladder leading straight to Mya.
Grady glanced back, shooting me a shit-eating grin. “You got this, bro,” he mouthed, and I nodded.
I’d done some questionable things over the last four years. Partied too hard. Fucked too many girls. And partied some more. I’d lied to my friends and played a role in a game I never wanted any part of. I’d grown bitter and resentful and I’d dealt with it the only way I knew how—by plastering on a fake smile and making some lame ass wisecrack and raising a glass to the perfect life everyone thought I had.
But this, standing here waiting for my cue, was the first time I felt at peace. There wasn’t a single doubt that this was the right decision.
Now all I had to do was convince Mya.
The opening beat to Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons boomed over the PA system and slowly, pair by pair, the two lines separated until I could finally see her.
Mya.
My Mya wearing my number, staring at me as if I’d lost my ever-loving mind.
Maybe I had.
Maybe this was an over-the-top cheese fest of epic proportions. But she deserved it. Mya deserved to know unequivocally that I loved her and that I chose her. And what better way to show her than in the presence of my teammates. My brothers.
My Raiders family.
I jogged toward her, high-fiving my teammates on the way down. When I’d first asked them to help me out, they’d all given me a ton of shit and Grady had asked to see my newly grown vagina. But Jason, being Jason, had soon insisted they fall in line. We were a team. And if one of us needed
help, we stepped up. End of.
Slowing my pace, I came to a stop just in front of Mya.
“Hi,” she said softly.
“Hi, yourself.”
“I... I don’t even know what to—” Her eyes widened to saucers as they finally took me in. “Asher...” she croaked.
“Yes, babe?” The corner of my mouth tipped as realization slowly seeped into her expression.
“Why are you wearing that?”
“What this?” I pinched the cherry and white jersey and pulled it away from my chest. “Figured I should get used to it.”
“B- but why?”
I took a step closer. “Because come fall, I’m going to be playing for the Temple Owls.”
“You are?” The surprised expression on her face was adorable.
I nodded, fighting a grin. “It isn’t official yet, but it will be soon enough. What do you think?” Turning on the spot, I paused long enough for her to get a good look at the name printed on the back.
“Hernandez,” she whispered.
“That’s right, babe.” I faced her again, closing the distance between us. “You’re wearing my name and I’m wearing yours. Do you know what that means?”
Her lips parted but the words got stuck.
“It means,” I leaned in, hovering my lips over hers, “I’m yours and you’re mine.”
“I think I like the sound of that,” her voice quivered, but the smile on her face said it all.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she breathed. “There’s just one tiny problem.”
I reared back, my brows bunched together. “I won’t be at Temple in the fall.”
“You won’t?”
What the actual fuck?
Mya shook her head. “I won’t be there… because I accepted the place at Cleveland.”
“You what? I’m not following.”
Guilt sparkled in her eyes. “After that night at Felicity’s, I knew there was no way I could walk away from you. I just needed time to figure things out. So I accepted the place at Cleveland. I was waiting for the right time to tell you.”
Cupping the back of her neck, I drew her close to me. “Well, you’re going to need to un-accept it. I want Temple, Mya. I want Temple with you.”
“You’re sure?”
“More than anything. Where you go, I go, Hernandez.” Her body relaxed against me at my words.
“But what about your dad?”
I eased back to look at her. “Who do you think pulled some strings with the administration at Temple?”
“He did?”
“He owed me, and now,” I kissed the end of her nose, “now we’re even.”
“I don’t know about this.” Mya drummed her hand against her thigh as I pulled into a parking bay at the hospital and cut the engine.
“Hey,” I said, leaning over to take her hands in mine. “Stop overthinking it.”
“I’m not... it’s just...”
“You’re scared?”
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling. Without hesitation, I closed the distance between us and captured her mouth in a deep kiss. My other hand buried into her hair, loving how soft her spiral curls felt against my skin. “I love you, Mya. Nothing will ever change that.”
“She really wants to see me?”
Emotion clogged my throat. After I’d sat and told my mom the plan I had to win back Mya, she’d looked at me with such pride, I may have shed a tear or two. Then she’d slowly uttered that she wanted to see my girlfriend as soon as possible.
“She does,” I choked out, brushing my thumb over Mya’s neck. “But if you’re not ready—”
“I’m ready.” Conviction burned in her eyes.
“That’s my girl.”
We climbed out of my Jeep and made our way inside. A couple of people stared, glancing at our joined hands, disapproval shining in their eyes, but it only made me hold her tighter.
I was done caring what people thought.
“I hate these places, so much,” Mya murmured as we stepped into the elevator.
I moved behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and dropping my chin to her shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll be glad when she’s finally home.” But I knew it could be a while. Mom was showing progress, but the doctors were concerned about the extent of the damage caused to her brain.
“I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself,” Mya whispered.
“Hey, don’t do that. We promised, remember? Jermaine did this, not you. If I hadn’t gone for him—”
“He would have shot you or me.”
Silence enveloped us as we waited for the doors to ping open.
“When we walk out of here, we do it together, okay? And we leave the past where it belongs.”
Mya turned in my arms, gazing up at me with so much love it knocked the air from my lungs. “Together.” She leaned up to kiss me, but all too soon the doors pinged open and the noise of the busy hospital floor cut through our intimate moment.
We walked hand-in-hand to Mom’s room. Dad had made a substantial donation to the hospital to give her the best room available. It had a couch and a foldaway bed that Dad slept on most nights. He’d even gone as far as to notify all his clients he was taking an extended leave of absence to care for Mom.
It was more than I ever expected but no less than she deserved.
It shouldn’t have taken almost losing Mom for him to step up to the plate, but I was just relieved he’d come through when she needed him most.
She stirred the second we entered the room. “Hey, Mom,” I said, letting go of Mya to move next to the bed. “I brought someone to see you.”
Mom’s eyes tracked Mya as she approached us. My heart jack-hammered in my chest, my palms growing slick. I knew Mom didn’t want me to bring Mya here for any other reason than she wanted my girlfriend to know she didn’t blame her. But there was still a seed of doubt. A tiny part of me that expected the rug to be pulled from under me at any second. Mom didn’t blame Mya. Dad has conceded and helped me with Temple University, albeit begrudgingly.
It all felt too good to be true.
But when Mom lifted a shaky hand toward Mya and my girl fell at the side of her bed, clasping her hand with tears rolling down her cheeks, I knew we were going to be okay.
The past had hurt us all, but it hadn’t destroyed us.
I watched as the two most important women in the world to me shared an intimate moment. Mom had pulled Mya close, barely saying a word, but she didn’t need to. Her eyes said everything she couldn’t yet say.
“A- Ash...”
I went to Mya, covering their joined hands with my own. “I love you both, so much. And I know we’ll get through this, okay? Because we’re going to need you healthy and happy one day, Mom.”
Her eyes widened and I chuckled. “Don’t worry we’re not making you a grandma... yet.” I winked at her, but Mya’s elbow caught me in the ribs.
“I am so sorry Mrs.... Julia. You know how he gets when he’s excited about something. But you don’t need to worry. We plan on going to college before any of that happens.”
“We’ll see,” I grumbled, wrapping myself around her and kissing her neck. I knew people would think we were too young, too irresponsible to know what we wanted in life. But I’d been looking out for myself, craving love and attention, for as long as I could remember.
And now I’d found it?
I didn’t plan on ever letting it go.
“Now there’s a sight for sore eyes,” I said gruffly at the sight of Mya standing there in nothing but my Raiders jersey and her black lace panties.
After spending the afternoon with my mom, I’d persuaded her to come home with me. We’d ordered in and gone down to the home theater room to watch a movie. It was nice. Normal.
It was a slice of heaven in the living hell we’d been through the last few weeks.
Now we were upstairs, ready to sleep. But I hadn’t expected her to come out of the bathroom wearing my jersey.
“I thought you’d like it.” She toyed with the hem of the material, flashing me her smooth caramel thighs.
I pushed up on one elbow, letting my eyes rake over her. She was so beautiful, and every inch of her was mine.
Would be for a very long time if I had anything to say about it.
“I thought we were going to sleep?” I said, tracking her movements as she approached the bed.
“We are.” Mya smiled coyly, longing glittering in her eyes.
I swung my leg over the bed and curved my hand around her waist, drawing her closer, letting her settle between my legs. “Thank you for today. I know it wasn’t easy.”
She gazed down at me. “I’m glad I went. I think, in a way, I needed to see her. I needed to know she didn’t blame me.”
“No one blames you, Mya. Not even my old man.” Her brow rose at that. “He’ll come around.” And if he didn’t, it didn’t matter. He’d cut me loose from my Bennet empire obligations and stepped up to take care of Mom.
If I never spoke to him again, we were even, and I could live with that.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I don’t need his approval.”
“That’s my girl.” I curled a hand into the hem of the jersey and pushed it up her body so I could kiss her navel.
“Ash...” she breathed, letting her fingers play with my hair.
“I don’t think I want to sleep anymore.” It was late and we had school tomorrow but all I could think about now was being buried deep inside her.
“We really should—”
“Ssh.” I kissed her stomach again, swirling my tongue around her belly button. “I can be quick.”
“Not too quick I hope.” She pulled my hair, demanding my eyes.
I smirked at her sass. “Don’t ever change, Mya. Not for me. Not for anyone.” My hands slid down her back to palm her ass, guiding her down into me. Mya kneeled either side of me, lowering herself down slowly. I imagined her naked, taking my rock-hard dick inside her.
