The Player and the Bet: An Enemies-to-Lovers College Sports Romance

by Liv Reid

  We sit in silence for a few moments as the car pulls out of the campus and onto the main road. Ice water is running through my veins, and there’s a knot in my stomach that feels like it’s eating me from the inside out. Normally I’m not one to hold my tongue, but in this situation I’m not stupid enough to talk first.

  Finally, she opens her mouth.

  “The Organization is not happy with your progress.” She says it calmly, but there’s an unmistakable threat in her words. “This is taking much longer than we anticipated.”

  “It’s not that simple—” I start, but she cuts me off.

  “We cannot understand why it is taking you so long. It’s a relatively simple assignment. Maybe you’re not capable of completing the favor?”

  I understand exactly what she’s implying, and I desperately say, “I am!”

  She turns to look at me, her gray eyes narrowed, assessing me.

  “You’ve not been taking this seriously. I don’t know what could be more of an incentive than what you’ve put up for collateral… Let me make this very clear for you, Mr. Law, we always collect, one way or another. Do not test us. You may be able to get away with a lot of things—but not with us. Am I making myself clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “We are not patient.”

  “Give me more time,” I say desperately. “I know you guys are serious, and I am too. I’m trying my best. I just need more time.”

  She studies me for a long moment. She seems almost otherworldly in her beauty and cold nature. My heart is pounding against my ribs. She could decide I’m full of bullshit right now and choose to collect. Maybe they’ve already decided to, and this whole speech she’s giving me is pointless? Maybe we’re driving straight to their offices in New York right now, or to some warehouse in the middle of nowhere where a guy in a butcher’s smock will be standing with a sledgehammer waiting over a stainless steel table…

  I want to look out the window to see where we are, but I don’t dare look away from those gray eyes. My best chance at getting out of this with my legs intact is to get her to take me seriously, so I try to look confident, even though I’m falling apart inside.

  “Give me more time,” I repeat firmly.

  Her lip curls very subtly. The seconds stretch out into hours as she stares at me.

  “You don’t have a lot. Get out,” she says.

  The car pulls to an abrupt stop. I look around and realize we are back on campus, back where she picked me up.

  “Don’t have to tell me twice,” I mutter and quickly hop out.

  “Wait,” I add and turn back. “What do you want with Sadie, anyway? What did she do to piss you guys off?”

  The door slams shut in my face and the car speeds off. I watch it go as what just happens sinks in.

  I’ve been stalling. I know I have. Things have been going so well with Sadie that I didn’t want to think about the reality of our situation, but reality just came and smacked me in the face.

  I can’t imagine what she did to piss off the Org, but she must have done something because they are out to get her. And they are not going to back down. I want to protect her, but I don’t know how.

  I’ve been putting off thinking about what I’m going to do because I don’t want to go down either path. Down one path, I lose Sadie and ruin her life. Down the other, I lose my legs and any chance I have at a future in football—and I’ll lose Sadie regardless when she finds out about this whole thing.

  My legs are my collateral. When you sign an agreement with the Org, you have to give them the thing you love most in the world as collateral, so they can be assured that when they call on you to do a favor, you do it. What I loved most was football, so they agreed to take the thing I need the most to play.

  If I don’t get Sadie to permanently drop out of school, they are going to break my legs into a dozen pieces. I’ll never play football again, never run again—maybe even never walk again.

  I stand alone beneath a gray sky as snow starts falling gently around me. My quick breath fogs in the cold air.

  I’m fucked. What am I going to do?

  41

  Mace

  I spend the rest of the day in my room. I need to be alone to think.

  I realize I haven’t answered any of the guys’ texts so soon they’ll figure something is up and rush over here. I pick up my phone and send a couple of quick responses so they don’t get suspicious. I can’t deal with anything else right now. I need to figure out how I’m going to get Sadie and I out of the mess I’ve gotten us into.

  By the time early evening rolls around, I have nothing. I’m no closer to figuring out a plan that keeps both Sadie and my intact legs in my life. I’m practically going out of my mind as I pace back and forth across my room. I’m sure my feet have worn a groove in the wooden floors.

  My phone vibrates, and I hold it up. It’s her. My heart beats quicker in my chest.

  Sadie: I’m done with class. Where are you?

  I quickly text her back.

  Mace: Come to my room

  I don’t know what I’m going to say to her yet, but I need to see her. I know it’s selfish, but I don’t care.

  Fifteen minutes later, I hear a knock. I’m still pacing back and forth and make a beeline to the door. I throw it open, and when I see her, I breathe out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

  She looks so good I want to pick her up and throw her on the bed. I want to taste her and fuck her so we both don’t have to think about anything for a while except how good our bodies fit together. Sweaty skin and soft lips, that’s what I want, but the look in her eyes tells me even if I could lose myself in her right now, she wouldn’t let me.

  She’s looking at me uncomfortably. There’s suspicion deep in her eyes. I hate it and want to kiss that look away, but I know I can’t. She deserves better. She deserves better than me.

  “Who was that woman?” she asks pointedly.

  I sigh. She watched me get into the car with Delilah. I can imagine what that must have looked like to her. I should have known she would watch me to see where I went after I told her to leave, but I didn’t think of it. I’ve been kind of preoccupied.

  We haven’t had the “exclusivity talk” yet because I didn’t want to jinx anything. Things have been going so well I was scared to do anything to mess it up, but it’s been an unspoken understanding between us.

  This whole thing is very new, but we are together. Plus, we’re spending all of our time with each other, so there’s no time for either of us to get with anyone else, even if we wanted to—which I have less than no desire to do. She’s more than I can handle, that’s for damn sure.

  She is looking at me with her eyebrows raised, demanding answers. I don’t know what to say, so I just tell her to come inside my room.

  She doesn’t hesitate and walks right in. I put my hand on the small of her back to guide her—and as an excuse to touch her. She jerks away, and I wince. It stings more than I thought was possible. I close the door.

  I turn to her, and she has her arms crossed defensively, pushing up her tits. Normally I wouldn’t be able to resist looking down at those luscious round hills under her sweater, but now I can’t look away from her eyes.

  “Who was she, Mason?” she asks again.

  She’s trying to keep her voice calm, but I can hear the anger. There’s something else too, though, and it makes me hurt more than anything else. Fear.

  “She’s—” I start but don’t know how to finish. “She’s no one.”

  Sadie looks at me incredulously.

  “No one? She certainly didn’t look like ‘no one’ to me. You got rid of me as quickly as you could the second she showed up and then hopped in her car like your ass was on fire.”

  I just shake my head. I don’t know what I’m going to do.

  “Here, let me take your coat,” I tell her when I realize she’s still wearing her heavy winter jacket unzipped.

  I reach out to her, but she takes a
step back.

  “No,” she says firmly.

  I can feel she’s frustrated and probably wants to yell at me, but she’s trying to keep herself calm.

  “Who. Was. She.”

  Each word shoots like an arrow into my heart.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” she demands.

  I’m so lost. I know I’m about to lose her, and I feel powerless to stop it.

  “I’ll pay you to drop out,” I suddenly blurt out.

  She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

  “What??”

  I didn’t know I was going to say that until it spilled out of my mouth. I spent all day trying to figure out a plan. I want to keep Sadie from hating me, keep my legs intact, and most importantly, I want to keep her safe, but I couldn’t figure out a way to do everything.

  “Please, I’ll pay you anything you want. I’ll give you my whole inheritance, anything I have—everything—just please drop out of school and never re-enroll.”

  I take a step towards her. I know I must sound crazy, but I’m desperate. I can’t explain anything. For her safety, I can’t tell her about Delilah, or the Org, or the favor, none of it.

  She takes another couple of steps backwards, putting more space between us.

  “Please, Sadie, just trust me.”

  “Have you lost your mind??” She shakes her head like she can’t believe what she’s hearing. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to drop out of school. I came close enough to getting kicked out with that horrible cheating thing…”

  She trails off and a terrible look comes over her. The confusion and betrayal on her face absolutely kills me.

  “Did you set me up?” she asks almost in a whisper.

  I can’t bear to tell her the truth, and I can’t bear to lie to her. Instead, a stream of words rushes out of my mouth.

  “Who cares about school? You’re insanely smart, Sadie. You could do anything you want. You don’t need a degree to be successful. You could start your own business with all the money I’m going to give you—or just enjoy your freedom. You won’t have to work another day in your life, if you don’t want to. That’s what college is for anyway, isn’t it? Getting a job? With my money, you won’t need a job!”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  Her words slice through me like a knife.

  “I hate you,” she says.

  I just stare at her. Those words hurt more than anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. Worse than when I dislocated my elbow when a pass rusher from Crowned College made it through during a play. Worse than when I broke my tailbone falling off the roof of the school as a kid. Worse than when Camden kicked me in the balls on a dare.

  She looks at me like I’m evil, and that’s exactly how I feel right now. I can see tears start to form in the corners of her eyes, and my heart completely cracks.

  She quickly looks away and rushes towards the door. I can’t stop myself from reaching out to her as she passes by, but she rips her arm away from me with a violent jerk.

  “Don’t you dare touch me.”

  She throws open the door, and it bangs against the wall. She runs from the room, taking my heart with her. And all I can do is watch her go.

  I stare at the empty doorway where she was just a moment ago. All the pain and anger and frustration bubble up inside me, and I slam my fist into the wall.

  It goes right through the plaster, leaving a big hole. The pain doesn’t hit immediately, but slowly builds as I pull my hand out.

  There’s already blood on my knuckles, and I know it’s going to hurt like hell in a few minutes. Good. Maybe this will distract me from the pain of losing her.

  But I know it won’t. Nothing could make me forget.

  42

  Sadie

  I burst out of his room and rush down the hall. I need to get out of this house. Everything is piling on top of me, and I feel like I’m drowning. I need to get outside and breathe fresh air before I suffocate.

  I barely notice where I’m going, so I end up running straight into Camden as we both round a corner. When I hit his hard body, it feels like hitting a brick wall, and I bounce backwards. My feet tangle up, and I can’t stop myself from falling.

  I hit the floor with a thud, luckily the thick hallway rug cushions my fall—slightly. I sit up with a groan.

  “Whoa, where the hell are you rushing off to? You practicing to be a damn Olympic sprinter or something?” he says, but he’s not upset.

  He’s taller than me and made of solid muscle, so he barely moved an inch from our collision. I imagine it was like getting hit by a butterfly.

  He bends down and reaches his hand out to me. I briefly consider taking it before remembering that this is one of Mace’s best friends. Anything Mace did, Camden knows about—and maybe played a part in.

  I push him away and stand up on my own.

  “What got up your ass?” he asks, as he pulls back his unused hand.

  I glare at him. He’s wearing a T-shirt so his tattooed arms are on full display. Camden’s last name, Wilder, suits him.

  His light brown hair is short on the sides but long and spiky on top. And with his pouty lips and sharp cheekbones, he looks more wild than Mace, who, with his dark shiny hair, square jaw and broad shoulders, looks like a classic Prince Charming—if Prince Charming was a bad boy with mischievous eyes and could make you come six times in one night just by using his tong—I can’t think about him right now. It hurts too much.

  “What are you so mad about?” Camden asks.

  Understanding then washes over his face, and he nods knowingly. “Found out about the bet, huh?”

  Oh no, what bet?

  Thinking quickly, I play along just to get more information out of him.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “I don’t get why you’re so mad about it.” He shrugs. “The guy is so pussy-whipped by you he called the whole thing off before you two even slept together. First time anyone has ever called off a bet in the history of our friendship. He easily could have won and then still dated you after, so I don’t get why he called it off, but—” He shrugs again.

  Suddenly, it all clicks into place. I couldn’t imagine this day could get any worse, but then it does. They made a bet on whether Mace could sleep with Toilet Paper, the loser of Winterford University.

  I’m so pissed off I can barely speak, but somehow I manage to yell, “You pathetic, stereotypical, douchebag jocks!!”

  His eyes open wide in surprise.

  “You four are just caricatures of every evil jock in every bad movie ever made! You guys don’t care about anyone but yourselves. You don’t care who you hurt. All you care about is partying and having fun. You are all pathetic.”

  Camden’s mouth drops open in surprise. I’m sure no one has ever told him off like this before—and I’m probably the last person he expected to get his ass handed to him by.

  I’m so mad tears are pricking the backs of my eyes and threatening to spill. I don’t want him to see me cry—just like I didn’t want Mace to get the satisfaction of seeing my tears back in his room. So I push them back down and storm away from Camden.

  I make it out the door and practically run down the path to get away from that awful house full of awful guys. Fucking Players. I knew what they were, but I let my guard down and let one of them in. I’m such an idiot. I should have known better.

  This was my fault.

  I walk through the dark back to my dorm, holding in the tears threatening to spill down my face.

  43

  Sadie

  I couldn’t sleep all night. I just kept tossing and turning, thinking about what happened with Mace. I’m such an idiot. I thought he really liked me, but no one changes that much in such a short period of time. It’s not possible.

  It was all just a game to him. He was trying to win some stupid bet he made with his douchebag frat boy friends. None of it was real for him like it was for me.

  A stab of pain strikes me i
n the chest as I walk to the washroom.

  When I got home last night, my friends could tell from my face that something horrible had happened, but they left me alone when I said I couldn’t talk about it yet. Luckily, they are all in class right now, so I have the place to myself. I can’t stand to be around anyone else at the moment. I need time to digest what happened and wallow in misery for a bit before I let my friends help me pick myself back up again.

  This must be what a broken heart feels like. I’ve never had one before, but these really, really suck. It feels like someone ripped my heart out of my chest and stepped on it. I used to think people were talking figuratively when they said stuff like that, but now I know they were talking literally. It literally feels like someone ripped my heart out and now there’s just a gaping hole where it used to be.

  I should have known it was all too good to be true. Why would the quarterback of our football team, one of the most popular guys in the whole school, want me? He could get any girl he wants, and most of the girls at this school are a lot more pretty—and popular and rich—than me. There’s no way he suddenly fell so hard for the school loser that he completely changed who he was overnight. Real life doesn’t work like that.

  The whole thing was like a fairy tale, and just like fairy tales, it wasn’t true. He was just trying to play a mean trick on me. Camden said Mace called off the bet before we slept together, but that doesn’t mean much. Mace was still the one who planted that answer key in my assignment. I could tell by the look on his face when I confronted him about it.

  I finish in the washroom and head back to my room. I’m just going to spend the entire day laying in bed in my pajamas, watching reruns of my favorite shows and feeling sorry for myself. Tomorrow, I’ll pick myself up, but today, I wallow.

  I notice the screen on my phone is lit up, meaning I’ve got a text. For a brief second, the weakest part of me hopes it’s Mace, but then I angrily push that thought away. I never want to speak with him again for as long as I live. He did me so dirty, and I have to hold that hate close to my heart so the pain of losing what we had hurts less. It wasn’t real anyway.