Pass Protection (Quarterback Sneak Book 3)

by Natalie Brock

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded or distributed via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).

  Published by The Hartwood Publishing Group, LLC,

  Hartwood Publishing, Phoenix, Arizona

  www.hartwoodpublishing.com

  Pass Protection

  Copyright © 2017 by Natalie Brock

  Digital Release: June 2017

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Pass Protection by Natalie Brock

  When a popular college cheerleader who seems like an open book takes an interest in the hot new quarterback in town, she finds him guarded and standoffish. Matthew’s not interested in a girl as bold as Brittany. Besides, he’s not looking for a girlfriend—especially after the last one broke his heart. What he doesn’t know is that Brittany has issues of her own, and protects herself with a brave face and a tough façade. But when fate throws them together in unexpected ways, he gets a peek at her vulnerable side, and little by little, develops feelings for her. Brittany and Matthew quickly learn that guarding their hearts can get in the way when embarking on a new romance. And with the world conspiring against them, it seems like they might never get past their personal pain so they can open their hearts and let love in.

  Dedication

  With love and thanks to my husband who introduced me to the wonderful world of college and professional football, leading me to imagine life on the field, and off.

  Chapter One

  The Barracudas had just won their first game of the season, and Brittany was waiting in the corridor outside the players’ locker room. Where was he, she wondered. Brittany didn’t like going to a party alone, and by now, most everyone else had already left for the homecoming celebration. She couldn’t have missed him. Could she?

  Brittany was the team’s co-head cheerleader, and today marked the first time since before high school that she didn’t participate on her team’s cheer squad. In a rare, generous moment, she pretended she was sick so her new friend Allison, who didn’t get chosen for one of the open cheer spots this year, could experience being a cheerleader just once.

  She checked her look in the mirror app on her smartphone again and pressed her fingers to her temple. Ugh. Dark circles. She actually did look sick. Those nightmares like the one she had last night were killing her beauty sleep.

  “Wake up! Brit, wake up!”

  Brittany’s eyes flashed open as she looked up at her suite mate. “What’s the matter? What time is it?” she asked, sitting up on her pillow. Her heart was beating like she’d been running a hundred-meter dash. She reached for her phone. “Dammit Jamie, it’s the middle of the night. Why did you wake me?”

  “I didn’t wake you. You woke me. You were yelling,” Jamie said defensively. She touched her friend’s arm and her attitude softened. “Another nightmare?”

  “Oh.” Brittany’s heart sank when she realized her friend was right. “Did I say anything?”

  “Just the usual.”

  Brittany knew what “the usual” meant. It meant she was yelling, “Stop. Get off me.” It didn’t make a difference in her dreams any more than it kept her from being assaulted in real life. “Damn.” She rubbed her face roughly. Brittany had been having the same nightmare on and off for years now. She had it less frequently since starting EFU more than two years ago, and there were times she thought they were gone for good. Then there were nights like tonight.

  “Sorry I woke you up, Jamie.”

  “It’s okay. So, as long as I’m up, can I get you something? Tea? A chocolate bar? A shrink?”

  Brittany gave her a disapproving look. “It’s times like these I wish I had a bottle of rum stashed away somewhere.”

  “Yeah, those darned school rules,” Jamie said sarcastically. “Seriously Brit, I wish you’d think about talking to a counselor.”

  “I don’t need to see a counselor.” Brittany’s tone revealed irritation. “I’m handling it.”

  “Except when you’re not.”

  “I hardly have nightmares anymore.”

  “Except when you do.”

  “Stop it, okay?” Brittany’s shoulders slumped. “Lookit, I know you care and worry and all that best-friend-forever kind of stuff, and I appreciate it, but back off, okay? Please?”

  Jamie nodded. “I can’t force you.” She turned to leave Brittany’s bedroom and started to flip the light switch on the wall. “On or off?”

  “Off.”

  “Good night, Brit.”

  “Night Jamie.”

  As soon as her roommate left, Brittany got out of bed and switched on the light. She was determined not to fall back to sleep and risk another nightmare—especially because it wasn’t just a nightmare. It was a memory of a horrific experience, one that changed her life forever.

  Waiting near the locker room, she continued staring at her reflection. From the outside, Brittany Riley looked like someone who lived a charmed life. She was one of the most popular and well-respected girls on her cheerleading squad. She was also beautiful, the kind of girl who stood out in a crowd, although she didn’t always consider her looks an advantage.

  Even though she was five eight, she liked wearing heels to make herself appear more statuesque and formidable, instead of small and weak, the way she often felt inside. She put up a good front by standing straight and tall. Most people would think someone with her looks and thirty-eight, twenty-four, thirty-six figure would have all the confidence in the world, but she didn’t. If people thought she was tough, it was because that’s what she wanted them to think. If they thought she had a thick skin, it was because she pretended nothing bothered her. She trained herself to appear cool in high school, and by now it was sewn into her persona like a second skin. She did what she had to do to survive. She might act tough and talk tough, but it was all a facade—one she carefully cultivated to hide her insecurities.

  Her stick-straight, long blonde hair fell to the middle of her back. She regularly had it chemically straightened at the salon where she worked part-time, and between processings, she kept it obedient with a flat iron. She had large Kewpie-doll blue eyes that gave her an innocent appearance, which contrasted with her bombshell figure. She coated her long lashes with layers of glossy black mascara to make her blue eyes look bluer and brighter, and she sculpted her face by strategically placing blush and bronzer on her cheeks and jawline. She wore bangs across her forehead to shorten up the look of her long face. It was fun using makeup application tricks like that. She got most of her makeup tips from watching beauty experts on the home shopping channels and chatting with the ladies at the salon.

  She had dated a few of the athletes when she first enrolled at EFU, but had sex with just one of them back in freshman year, and she only did that to prove to herself she could handle it. That plan basically backfired because having sex with Blaine, someone she felt no connection with, left her cold. She immediately regretted it, and whe
n he wanted to see her again, she turned him down. To save his macho pride, he told anyone who’d listen how hot she was in bed. It felt like high school all over again. She hated being the subject of gossip and wondered what it was about her that attracted creeps and predators. Despite the gossip, Brittany didn’t sleep around, and that was by choice. After what happened in high school, she swore she’d never be a victim again, and sex would be on her terms. She was now a junior at EFU, and having sex just to have sex had no appeal. She was at a point in life where she needed to know the guy well and she needed to trust him completely. In an ideal world, she’d be in love with the guy, but she was starting to lose hope that could ever happen to her. Those walls she put up to keep from getting hurt again might be just a little too high.

  Why couldn’t her life be more like Jamie’s? Jamie had been her roommate since freshman year and they had become like sisters. Jamie was Asian and petite—tiny next to Brittany in heels—and pretty as a picture with her shoulder-length black hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, and button nose. She was on the shy side, which was part of her charm, and she had no interest in the guys on campus. That was because she was engaged to a med student who was going to school in California. Her future was certain, unlike Brittany’s.

  Think happy thoughts, she told herself. Beaches. Sunsets. Puppy dogs. And that fine specimen of a quarterback, Matthew Warner, whose eyes she longed to look into, if only he’d emerge from that locker room already.

  She fished inside her cross-body purse for some concealer and patted it under her eyes with her ring finger, the way the beauty experts advised. She applied some lip gloss.

  Chapter Two

  Matthew sat alone on a bench in the now-empty locker room. It had been ninety minutes since Tony Ramos led the team to their first victory of the season, an hour since the makeshift press conference occurred, and twenty minutes since the last of the guys left the locker room. Matthew participated in all of it, the high-fives, fist and chest bumps, teeth-flashing. He’d put on his best smile for the public, but he wasn’t in the mood to celebrate with the guys, not when he hadn’t contributed a thing to the win.

  Matthew had started the season at quarterback, playing that all-important position for the first two games of the year. And he lost both of them, along with his starting slot. He’d made the move over the summer, after transferring from St. Peter’s Junior College, a Jesuit school in a suburb of Chicago. He’d transferred to Eastern Florida University near Orlando expressly because the Barracudas coaches promised him the starting position, and promises meant something to him. Their starting quarterback was irresponsible and unreliable, they’d told him. They needed someone with leadership qualities and strong ethics, and Matthew was their man.

  So Matthew arrived early—well before fall semester started—because he wanted to get in as much time with the staff as possible and to get to know the field and study the conference he’d be competing in. He gave interviews to the local press, supported his new teammates, including Ramos. He’d done everything right. For what? For nothing, as it turned out.

  He sighed and rose to his feet with a gnawing in the pit of his stomach. He was tired and frustrated and just wanted to go home, return to Illinois, reconnect with the community, read his Bible, and see if he could find a reason to have faith.

  He pushed the swinging doors open to exit the locker room and ran right into one of the cheerleaders.

  “Whoa,” she said. “You want to get a ticket for not watching where you’re going?”

  He frowned. He had no patience for random banter right now. “Sorry Brittany.” He started to walk past her when she grasped his arm.

  “Hold up, Warner. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  He scowled and turned to face her. “What for?”

  “I need an escort to the homecoming party,” she said with a shimmy of her shoulders, “and you’re the lucky guy who’s gonna take me.” She smiled and seemed to hesitate before poking her finger into his chest for emphasis.

  He stopped short of rolling his eyes. “I’m not going,” he said flatly.

  “What? Why not?”

  “Not in the mood.”

  Brittany smiled seductively. She stepped closer and walked her fingers up his chest. “Maybe we could work on that together.”

  Matthew took a step backward. “I meant I’m not in the mood for a party. This hasn’t been my best day.”

  Brittany looked at him like he was nuts. “How can that be? We just won. It was a great game and Tony—”

  “Yeah, I know. I was there,” he barked.

  Brittany placed her hands on her hips and barked back. “What bug crawled up your butt?”

  He waved her off. “Go to the party, Brittany. Have a great time.” He turned and started to walk away.

  She marched toward Matthew and grabbed his arm again. “Do not turn your back on me!”

  He closed his eyes and sighed. “Brittany, I’m serious. I’m really beat and I’m not up for small talk.”

  “Then how about big talk? I’m more than happy to listen.” Her smile was sweet and it surprised him how seamlessly she went from flirting to anger to amiability. “Come on, Warner. What’s going on? I mean, you’re always in a good mood. You’ve got faith radiating out your pores and you’re always smiling and upbeat, like you’re a freaking evangelist. That’s why everyone loves you.”

  “Maybe there’s more to me than meets the eye.”

  “I’m sure there is. And you don’t need to hide it from me.”

  Exasperated, he shook his head from side to side. Just a few days before, Tony Ramos had revealed the fact Brittany was interested in him. Matthew already knew it. She wasn’t subtle, and this wasn’t the first time she’d come on to him. From what he heard, she was someone who came on to all the guys and he simply wasn’t interested in a girl like that, especially since he’d taken a vow of chastity nearly three years ago.

  Even without the vow, Brittany wasn’t his type. She wore too much makeup, her hair was too blonde, her interest in him was too obvious, and she was way too aggressive for his liking. In fact, she was too everything. Still, she looked so vulnerable sometimes, it made him feel sorry for her, for some reason. It made him want to tell her to cut the crap, lose the fake embellishments, and just be herself because people would like her more. But he didn’t know her well and it wasn’t his place to say. Besides, it was just his opinion. Right now, he wanted to tell her some other time, but he didn’t want to be disingenuous by encouraging her because there would never be another time. “Could you be serious for a minute?” he asked.

  “Of course I can.”

  “I’m going home,” he said, walking away slowly.

  “Home? Wait!” She followed after him like a puppy dog. “I thought you just said you wanted to have a serious talk.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way. Look, I’m going to my dorm. And you should go to the party. You’re a party girl. You love parties and I don’t. So have a good time and I’ll see you next week.”

  ∙•∙

  Brittany watched Matthew walk down the corridor. She wanted to scream, “I am not a party girl!” Feeling her lip tremble, she turned and faced the opposite direction as she fought back tears. She really liked Matthew. Despite the hurtful words, she knew he was a decent guy. She knew it from the first time she saw him, the day he was introduced to the cheer squad.

  She and some of her squad mates were walking through the tunnel leading from the sports complex to the field. Assistant Coach Ryan was talking to a player. The guy was standing against the wall, wiping his face with the hem of his jersey, revealing a very well-toned abdomen. The girls were gawking, so Coach introduced the team’s newest quarterback who’d just transferred from out of state. When the quarterback released the hem of his shirt and stood up straight, all six-foot-three of him, Brittany’s heart skipped a beat, and for a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Few guys ever had that effect on her, but this one was the most beautiful
man she’d ever seen.

  He immediately reminded her of Philip Mason, someone she had an insane crush on her first year in college. Matthew had that same winning smile and a set of perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth, just like Philip. But Matthew’s coloring was different. Instead of brown hair and brown eyes, he had beachy blond hair, big blue eyes and oh, those chiseled features. He looked like a Roman god. His hair was medium length, short enough to meet the team’s requirements—just past his ears—but long enough that she could easily imagine running her fingers through it. His demeanor was more formal than Philip’s, though. She could tell from the way the other girls reacted that she wasn’t the only one who was attracted to him.

  It didn’t take long for the other girls to write him off once they found out about his purity vow. A couple of them decided he was probably gay and just hadn’t come out yet. Brittany didn’t buy it though. Her gaydar was usually pretty accurate and she didn’t get a gay vibe from him. No, where Brittany was concerned, his vow made him even more interesting. It told her he was a good guy—not someone who would paw her and make lewd suggestions about what he’d like to do with her, the way some of the other athletes did. Matthew was just the kind of guy she needed at this point in her life.

  There was something in his eyes that drew her in, something her squad mates couldn’t see because they didn’t look hard enough. Those eyes were sad and soulful and deep. Even during that brief first meeting, she felt like Matthew was looking into her heart and reading her thoughts. She knew from the start she wanted to know him better. But so far, it had all been one-sided.

  “Damn it,” she said under her breath. Why didn’t the nice guys ever give her a second look, while all the sleaze balls put the moves on her? Why didn’t he know she had to push herself to be flirtatious? She’d even forced herself to touch Matthew, just to break down her self-imposed barriers. She was clearly doing this all wrong, but she wasn’t sure how to make it right. She had no track record, no history of successes with guys, only failures.