Roughing the Passer (Quarterback Sneak Book 2)

by Natalie Brock

  »»•««

  He rifled through his desk drawer, tossing aside pieces of paper that weren’t what he was looking for. After a few minutes, it finally surfaced. “Sweet! Here it is.” Approaching Allison, he exhaled. “Whew, I thought I lost this for a second.”

  She clasped the edge of the paper. “What is it?”

  He took a step away from her and held it against his body. “Um. It’s something I’m hoping you can translate into English for me. You’re good in Spanish, right?”

  She shrugged weakly. “Not fluent or nothin’. I mean I couldn’t hold a conversation with a native speaker, but I’m okay at readin’ Spanish.” She held out her hand. “Lemme see it.”

  “Here.” Stepping closer, he handed her the sheet of paper. He scratched his temple and gulped. “It’s…uh…a poem.”

  “A poem?” She looked down at the paper. “In Spanish? Why do you have it?”

  He touched her hair and gently brushed it over her shoulder with the back of his fingers. With his hand resting on her shoulder, he smiled and said, “Could you just read it? Please?”

  Looking into his face, Allison sighed. “Well, when you look at me like that, how I can I say no?” She sat on his bed and turned her attention to the poem. “It’s handwritten. That’s weird.”

  “Allie—”

  “Sorry. Okay. It says…hmm. Looks like it’s a love poem. It’s called, ‘Someone Like Me.’ It says, I didn’t know when we met that you were going to steal my heart, but you snuck up on me in your quiet way like a…um…defensive…um—I think this is supposed to say tackle—the way a defensive tackle sneaks up on a quarter…um…quarterback and knocks him off his feet.”

  Allison looked up at Tony and giggled. “How funny. I’ve never read a football poem before. Now it’s super weird that it’s in Spanish. Do they have football in Latin America?” When Tony gave her a look, she bit her lip. “Sorry.” She returned her attention to the poem.

  Your blonde hair and blue eyes get to me like nothing ever has.

  You trip. You fall. You lose your balance.

  And I just want to lift you up in my arms and keep you from ever getting hurt.

  Allison gasped. She blinked and looked at Tony again, this time with tears in her eyes. “Tony, did you— You did, didn’t you? You wrote this… for me?”

  Tony nodded and sat next to her on the bed. “I never wrote a poem before.” Looking into her eyes, he added, “Then again, I was never inspired before.” He ran his fingers through the ends of her hair. “I know it’s not real good writing. Hell, I couldn’t get it to rhyme in Spanish, but well, it’s almost the end.” He pointed at the poem. “Read the rest.”

  She slowly turned her eyes back to the poem and continued reading, the piece of paper shaking in her hands. The words were blurry by now and if she waited any longer, she wouldn’t be able to see through her tears at all. She swiped at the tears on her cheeks and sniffled.

  I never thought I needed anyone until I met you.

  Now I can’t imagine life without you.

  I’m not surprised that someone like me could love someone like you.

  But I am floored that someone like you could care about someone like me.

  Allison put her hand over her mouth as her tears began to flow. “Oh my God, Tony. These are the most beautiful words I’ve ever read.” She looked up at him. “But there’s a mistake in here,” she said.

  “I’m not surprised. I’m sure I made a lot of mistakes.” Tony chuckled. He leaned closer to look at the paper. “Which one?”

  “Here.” She pointed to a part near the end and shook her head vigorously. “The word care is totally wrong. This shouldn’t say care. It should say ‘I am floored that someone like you could love someone like me.’” She lifted her eyes and looked at him. “Because I love you too, Tony. I am so in love with you it’s hard to breathe sometimes,” she admitted. “I’ve been in love with you for a very long time.”

  Tony’s eyes pooled with tears as he gazed into hers. In an instant, he leaned closer and captured her lips. She went limp in his arms as the force of the kiss pressed her onto the bed.

  »»•««

  He was blown away. The girl of his dreams just told him she loved him. He’d been so focused on getting the poem right and telling her he loved her, that he never thought about anything else. This was far more than he could have hoped for—kind of like completing an onside kick. You hope it happens, but you really don’t expect it.

  As the kiss continued, he gripped her outer thighs and pulled her legs fully onto the bed. She scraped the sides of his torso with her nails. He broke the kiss and a smile ghosted his lips as he watched her tug his shirt out of his slacks. When she unzipped his pants, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. “Let me show you how much I love you,” she murmured.

  Her boldness set his groin on fire and his erection strained against his slacks. He climbed off the bed and quickly peeled off his pants and boxers, kicking them aside. He climbed back on top of her and she laughed at the wanton look in his eyes. She crossed her arms and reached for the hem of her blouse, inching it upward. He pulled her blouse the rest of the way over her head and rested a palm on each side of her body.

  The small silver barracuda dangled from a chain around his neck and rested in her cleavage. He leaned over her and kissed her breast bone, letting his lips skate over her skin toward her shoulder. He clamped her bra strap between his teeth and lowered it until her right breast was exposed. She laughed lightly at his dramatic move. Her laugh turned to an “Ooh” when he brushed her breast with his cheek, then slid his hand between his face and her nipple and rolled the tip between his fingers. Watching her body react, he licked the very tip. She moaned and gripped a tuft of his hair when he wrapped his lips fully around her breast. He used his other hand to lower her bra on the other side and leisurely stroked her left breast with his fingertips. He lifted his head to look at her, her breath quickening, her long lashes covering her eyes, a small smile evident on her full pink lips. Her fair complexion was tinged in pink, as she blushed with building desire.

  He leaned over and kissed her mouth, thrusting his tongue inside. She reached up and stroked his face with both hands before sliding them over his back and pulling him closer.

  His hands roamed freely over her body stopping at the waistband to unzip her skirt and inch it down. He climbed off the bed long enough to pull it off, followed by her underpants and shoes. Before he returned to her, he retrieved a condom from the nightstand drawer.

  As he climbed back onto the bed, she snatched the condom from his fingers. He laughed. “What are you doing?”

  Tearing the package with her teeth, she tossed the wrapper. Then she gripped his erection and rolled the condom over it. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the pressure of her fingertips as she toyed with his shaft. She lifted herself up on her elbows and raised her knees, clamping Tony’s hips between them. She reached for his hand and brought it between her legs. He swallowed hard when his fingers touched her wetness. Locking eyes with her, he could see her desire as she whispered, “Now we’re both ready.”

  »»•««

  After making love, Allison rested her chin on Tony’s bare chest and drew imaginary figure eights on his stomach with her finger while he played with her hair. “Tony? Why’d you write that poem in Spanish?”

  “Because I remember when you assumed I speak Spanish.”

  “But you don’t.”

  “I went to the library and used their translation program. And before you say anything, yes I know where the school library is.”

  She playfully smacked his stomach and leaned back to prop her chin on her palm. “I hate when you put yourself down. I know you automatically expect people to think the worst, but I’m not one of them, remember? I love you. And I know you’re smart.” Her voice grew softer as she pressed her ear to his chest again. His warm hand gently stroked her bare back, making her wish she was a cat, so it would be socially acceptable to p
urr. “The poem means the world to me,” she said softly, “’Specially now that I know the trouble you took to write it in Spanish. I can’t believe you’d do that for me.”

  “I love you, Allie,” he said as he placed a kiss on her head. “I’d do just about anything for you.”

  “I’d do anything for you too.” She smiled and kissed his stomach. He’d already done so much for her. She wanted to do something for him too, especially since her pleas to Coach Fairchild seemed to fall on deaf ears. “Tony? Do you want me to maybe try and help you find your father?” Tony stiffened, but didn’t respond. “Because if you want to, I could maybe help.”

  “How?” Squinting, he asked, “You a detective?”

  “No, but I’m pretty good at research. I found a lot of my own family members on one of those ‘find your ancestors’ websites.”

  “Who were you looking for? Your dad?”

  “Oh, um no.” Her stomach clenched at the mention of her father and she leaned away a little. “My mom’s side, actually. She once told me she was a descendent of the Mayflower settlers.”

  His eyes widened. “For real?”

  “For real she told me? Yes. For real she’s a descendent? No.”

  He chuckled slightly. “Then why’d she tell you she was?”

  “Who knows? With her, it’s all about boosting her own ego.”

  His stomach rose and fell under her cheek. “To answer your question, no, I don’t really wanna find my dad. Maybe I did when I was a kid, but not anymore.”

  For some reason, that saddened her. “Okay, I won’t push.”

  “It really don’t matter anyway. For the first time in my life, I have something that feels like it’s gonna last. I feel like you’re still gonna be here when I wake up tomorrow.”

  She lifted her head and scowled at him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

  He shrugged. “People run out on me. I think that’s why I never had a real girlfriend before. I always figured they’d leave, so I made sure not to get attached.”

  “Run out,” she repeated. “You mean the way your mom did. Oh, um. Sorry,” she added immediately. “I didn’t mean to psychoanalyze.”

  He pulled himself up and leaned against the wall. “S’okay. I think you got that right. I mean it’s hard to feel normal knowing your parents didn’t care about you. It leaves a scar, you know?” He took her hand and closed his fingers around it. “I couldn’t take it if you ran out on me.”

  “I won’t run out on you, Tony,” she said quickly. “I couldn’t if I tried. I love you too much.” She craned her neck to kiss his lips. “Look, okay, this is gonna sound like total pop psychology, but please, hear me out. I know you think you did somethin’ wrong to make your mom flake out on you, but you didn’t. You didn’t do anythin’ wrong. She didn’t leave you, Tony. She ran away from her responsibilities and that says so much more about her than it does about you.” Tony stared straight ahead without looking at her. “Did you ever think maybe your mother is the one who missed out by not gettin’ to know her son? That’s what I think ’cause I know how amazin’ her son is. All these years you felt like you were abandoned by your parents, maybe you were actually better off.”

  He scowled at her. “How do you figure that?”

  “I mean, maybe things worked out better for you than they would have if a couple of young irresponsible kids raised you when they weren’t ready to be parents.” She squeezed his hand. “Look. I can’t imagine how it would feel to know your mom ran out on you. But I do know what it’s like to have a mom who constantly makes you feel inferior, whether she means to or not. So just because you have a mom doesn’t automatically mean life is rainbows and unicorns. From everythin’ you’ve told me, your grandmother is awesome. So maybe you actually got lucky.”

  Tony was quiet. With very little light in the room, she couldn’t tell if he was angry or sleepy or just thinking. Finally, he said quietly, “Maybe you’re right. I never thought of it that way before.” Relieved that he wasn’t upset with her, she exhaled. “What about your dad?” he asked. “You never talk about him.”

  She looked at Tony and tears filled her eyes. She immediately felt like crying, the way she always did whenever the topic of her father came up. “I will. Just not yet.”

  “Hey.” He draped his arm around her and squeezed her closer. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me unless you want to.”

  Allison rolled away from Tony. Tony gripped her arm from behind and gently shook her. “Hey, what happened, Allie? Did he hurt you or something?” She shook her head no and he said, “Then why does it upset you so much to talk about him?” He ran his hand up and down her arm. “Okay. It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

  Allison slowly rolled onto her back. “He’s in California…I think.”

  “What’s he doing there?”

  “He’s a colonel in the army or something.”

  “Wow. That’s really cool.”

  Shooting him a look, she said, “No, it’s not.”

  “Okaaay.”

  “Okay. Here’s the short version of the story.” She pulled herself into a sitting position. “My parents met in college. Dad was in the Reserves when they got married. Then he joined the army full time and kept getting promotions. They moved from Massachusetts to North Carolina—that’s where my sister was born. Then they moved to Georgia.”

  “That’s where you were born, right?”

  Allison nodded. “Then he got transferred to Germany and my mother didn’t want to go. She’d had enough. Apparently she didn’t like being a military wife. She wanted roots. So she tells him, ‘me and the girls are stayin’ put.’ Long story short, my parents got divorced and me, Mom, and my sister stayed in Georgia.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Seven. I remember it so clearly. My dad was like this larger-than-life hero. And I was Daddy’s little girl. He made me feel like I was the most important person in the world,” she recalled with a sigh. “My life would have been completely different if he raised me. I know it sounds weird but I always thought my mom was a little jealous of the way he doted on me.”

  Tony brushed a tear from her face. “Didn’t you… did you see him much after your parents got divorced?”

  “A few times.”

  “And did you visit him in Germany?”

  She shook her head from side to side. “Never.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because he got remarried ten years ago and has another family and my mother didn’t want us associating with them. Last I heard, he was stationed in California.”

  “Seriously? You’re still his daughter!” He touched her chin and turned her toward him. “You’re nineteen, right? You get to make your own decisions now.”

  “I guess.” She shrugged. “I haven’t thought about that in years. Visitin’ my father, I mean.”

  “If you find out where he’s based now, maybe next summer we can go together.”

  “How? I mean we don’t have that kind of money.”

  “Summer’s a long way off. We’ll figure something out.” He tucked her hair behind her ear and gazed into her eyes. “One thing I know for sure is that we’ll still be together when next summer comes.”

  Allison practically swooned when Tony talked about being together for the foreseeable future. “Si.” Touching his face, she whispered, “Te adoro, Anthony.”

  »»•««

  In the campus cafe the next morning, Tony and Allison sat adjacent to each other at a table for four. She had class in an hour and he had a date with the weight room.

  His tray was piled high with fruit and cereal and whole grain rolls, while she just had a six-ounce yogurt in front of her. She stared into her yogurt, mindlessly swirling a spoon back and forth in the creamy container, but none of it found its way to her mouth.

  “I’m so hungry,” Tony said, stuffing half a roll in his mouth. He chased it with a glass a milk. He was full of energy this morning and had been talkat
ive from the minute he woke up. He felt like a different man today knowing that Allison loved him. Someone actually chose to love him.

  Allison was just the opposite though. Buttering his roll, he kept glancing over at her, wondering why she was so quiet. “When do you wanna go on that picnic?” he asked, hoping to get a reaction. “I didn’t forget what you said about your dream date.” When she didn’t respond, he set the butter knife on his plate and gently tugged her ponytail. “Banana?” he asked, offering her a fruit.

  Allison took the banana from Tony and put it down without peeling it. Folding his arms on the table, Tony cocked his head. “Okay. Time’s up, Allie. Wanna tell me what’s going on?” She looked at him with tears in her eyes and shook her head no. His heart clenched. Did she change her mind about her feelings toward him already? Did talking about her father get her depressed? “Come on, babe. Talk to me.”

  Her lip quivered as she said, “It’s stupid.”

  “Hey, sweetheart. What’s going on?”

  Allison covered her face. “You’re leavin’.” The words came out muffled through her hands.

  He pulled her hands away so he could look at her. “I am? Where’m I going?”

  “Away.” He waited for her to explain. “You know. An away game.”

  “Oh. Right.” He released her hands. “We’re going to South Carolina. What’s the big deal?”

  “I’ll miss you.” She looked into his eyes. “Told you it was stupid.”

  He blew some air out. “You had me worried for a minute.” He smiled and said, “It’s not stupid. It’s sweet. Nobody ever missed me before.”

  “Well, I will. Psych lingo alert. It’s stupid how codependent I am on you.”

  He rested his arm on the back of her chair and edged his own chair closer. “I’ll only be gone overnight.”

  “Right. Overnight on alternating weekends, sometimes more than one weekend in a row.”

  “Well, yeah. That’s the schedule. I’ll call you whenever I can, okay?” He rolled his fingertips back and forth over her arm. “And I’ll text you all the time, except when I’m on the field.”