[Love in the End Zone 01.0] Out of Bounds

by Jillian Quinn

  I sit up and use the stack of pillows behind me for support. “I caught you in bed with another girl. Try again.”

  “It wasn’t what it looked like.” His tone is defensive, upset, even. “You never gave me the chance to explain.”

  “I saw all I needed to see,” I spit back. “Can you hand me my shirt?” This conversation is making me sick to my stomach.

  He huffs before reaching for my clothes and hands the tee to me. “I cared about you, Tori. A lot. I still do.”

  “Look, Bash, I appreciate that you are staying with me, but this cannot happen between us. We’re not good together.”

  “Why not?” He challenges. “Because I think we are perfect together.”

  “Not even close,” I counter. “You’re like a celebrity around here. And why wouldn’t you be treated that way when your dad is an actual celebrity? And I’m…me.”

  “I can’t do anything about my dad, but what’s wrong with being you? I like you the way you are, always have.”

  “You don’t get it, and I don’t expect you to understand what it’s like to be your girlfriend.” I sink further into the pillow and turn my head away from him.

  “Tori,” he breathes.

  “I need to get some sleep, Bash.” I close my eyes and roll onto my side, curling up with the pillow.

  He gets up from the bed, the mattress shifting from his weight. “I’ll be on the other side of the door. If you need me, just call. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “You’re not indebted to me, Bash. It’s not necessary for you to stay here while I sleep. Nothing exciting is going to happen this afternoon. Why don’t you go home and get a shower or do whatever it is you would do on the weekend.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” I look over at him just as he pushes his hands onto his hips, the muscles flexing in his arms. “But a shower does sound good.”

  “Go ahead.” I wave my hand toward the door, fighting off what he’s doing to my body. “You’re free to go and live your life.”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “I can have someone bring me clothes if you’re okay with me taking a shower here.”

  Thinking it over for a second, I nod. “That’s fine. I can’t have you stinking up my place. But you should stop acting like the prince you are and go get your clothes.”

  “Fine, but I won’t be gone long.” He smiles at me. “I’m serious, Tori. I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too, Bash, but that doesn’t mean a thing. You feel bad for me. That’s the only reason you’re here right now. I know you’re a good person, even if the things you did to me were shitty. But I also know that your conscience is why you are helping me out.”

  He glances down at the floor, annoyed. “Is that so? How do you figure?”

  “You should’ve caught the football that knocked me on my ass, and now you feel bad about it. If you were on your game, it never would’ve hit me, and we wouldn’t be here right now.”

  “My God, woman. You’re such a smart ass.” He grins so wide it reaches up to his eyes this time. “Clay overthrew the ball. It had nothing to do with my game. And, yes, maybe I do feel bad about what happened, but I am not the one who hit you. I’ve been through this before. You might not want me to stay, but if you have any complications or your condition worsens, you will wish you had someone to help you. Trust me. You will not care who is here with you if that time comes because it fucking sucks.”

  “Go take a shower,” I say, waving him off. “I will summon you when I’m awake.”

  “You will summon me?” He smirks, shaking his head.

  “Yeah, like a genie in a bottle. Now go.” I point at the door.

  He smiles and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Get some sleep, beautiful.”

  We share a quick moment before he walks out of my room, closing the door behind him. I can breathe now that he’s gone. How am I supposed to make it two more days with Bash killing me with kindness? There’s no way I will be able to control myself that long—not when he’s showing me this side of him. The side I have missed.

  Chapter Seven

  Bash

  With Tori fast asleep, I have no idea how much time I have before she wakes up. I want to be there when she opens her eyes, so I need to get my ass in gear. But I’m dragging just as much if not more than Tori. Drinking most of the night and then sleeping on a hard couch was rough. My back aches, and I’ve had a massive migraine since this morning.

  Tori was right about one thing. I need a shower. And a change of clothes. Power walking through campus, I zip past the SAC and the business and law schools, before making my way toward the other side of campus.

  When I’m crossing the street at the light, Finch stops me almost dead in my tracks, calling out my name. I slow my pace until he catches up to me.

  “Bash, wait up!” Finch yells behind me, his sneakers hitting the pavement with a loud thud. He cups my shoulder with his big hand, bringing me to a halt.

  I turn to face him as he blows out a puff of air. He hunches over, his palms flat on his thighs, as he attempts to catch his breath. He looks as though he just ran a marathon, beads of sweat rolling off his forehead and down his face.

  “Dude, you look like you’re about to pass out. Where are you coming from?”

  “Coach wanted me to get some running in today.”

  Finch pulls the black cutoff shirt over his head and wipes his forehead with it. “This training is killer,” he says, slinging his shirt around his neck. “Coach is riding me hard.”

  I laugh as I tap him in the stomach, and what used to be a six-pack moves with my touch. “You’re out of shape. Just do what Coach tells you, and you’ll be fine. We can’t have you getting benched this season because you were too busy doing keg stands instead of training.”

  Finch shrugs, his broad shoulders creating a wall.

  As the son of Sebastian Prince, Sr.—who was not only a pro football player but also the star quarterback at Strickland University back in the eighties—I had big shoes to fill when I’d joined the team. I grew up with the mentality that practice and training come before parties and girls. My dad made sure of it. But Finch’s lack of discipline and constant partying had almost gotten him thrown off the team last year.

  With my father’s intervention, he’d managed to keep his position, but he is on thin ice. There’s only so much the Prince name can do for my friends. And Finch has to want to help himself.

  “I’m working on it,” Finch says, keeping pace with me as we walk through campus. “I have to lay off the beer for a while. Coach is making me work with our trainer until I get back into shape.”

  The extra weight doesn’t agree with him, and it shows on the field. He’s slow as fuck, getting his ass handed to him on a nightly basis. Over the past year, he has gone from fast-tracking it to the pros to barely keeping his spot on the team. Unlike me, Finch doesn’t have a dad to call him ten times a day to remind him about how much he’s screwing up his career. That’s why he needs me to tell him that he’s blowing his shot. It’s also my job as the team captain to ensure the guys are meeting their goals.

  I tap him on the back. “Laying off the beer sounds like a good start, but I’ll believe it when I see it. You should try drinking a protein shake instead of eating at the SAC every day. All that processed food is bad for you.”

  “Nah. Those shakes taste like rotten vegetables mixed with chocolate powder. I think I’ll pass.”

  “You can suck it up until the season is over.”

  He sighs. “I guess I can give it a try.”

  “Just hold your nose and open your mouth. It’s that simple. You overthink everything. The taste will grow on you after a while.”

  Finch nods in acknowledgment.

  We round the corner without uttering another word until we reach our house. Finch waves to someone across the street, but my gaze drifts elsewhere. Even in the mid-day sun, the street is almost back to full-blown rage mode. We live on a street with other Victorian’s simila
r to ours. Off-campus housing in the city means you’re only two blocks away from the main part of campus and one block over from Greek Row, which means never-ending parties.

  With his elbow, Finch taps me on the bicep to get my attention. “What happened with Tori last night? Conner told me you left with her.”

  I shove my hands in my pockets and shrug, still focused on the concrete. “Yeah, I went home with Tori, but it’s not what you think. She has a concussion from the hit she took at the game. I brought her home and stayed the night on her couch.”

  Finch sighs. “Are you trying to get back with her again?”

  My focus shifts back to the ground. “Nope, she still hates me. That hasn’t changed. But she’s letting me stay with her this weekend. I don’t want her to be alone with a concussion.”

  “Look, man, I know you like this girl, but—”

  I hold up my hand to make him stop. “Save it. I already know what you’re going to say.”

  “All I was going to say is that she will flip out if she ever finds out what you did for her. What you continue to do for her.”

  “I told you about that as my friend, not so you can throw it in my face. Tori can never know. She would leave school and ruin her chance of graduating if she had any idea that I was involved. She’s too proud to take anything from me, even though she needs my help.”

  “What about Harper? If she finds out you’re talking to Tori again, she will flip out.”

  “You were there. She already caused a scene this morning at the SAC.”

  “Harper is the one you need to worry about. As soon as you stop fucking her, she’ll tell Tori all about the deal you have with her dad.”

  “I don’t know. I hate fucking Harper. I hate looking at her. Every time I have to touch her, my skin crawls. But—”

  “You don’t have a choice,” he finishes for me.

  “Nope. I wish things were simpler. I should’ve been upfront with Tori years ago. I should’ve made her listen to me.”

  “Even if she believed you didn’t cheat on her, she never would’ve accepted a hand out from you. The things you did for her no one would do.”

  “I owed her that much after everything I put her through.”

  “Yeah, I guess. Why don’t you just tell Tori that you love her and just get it over with?”

  “I’m not in love with Tori.”

  “Yes, you are,” he challenges, rolling his eyes at me. “You don’t have to say it for everyone to know. Every time you see her, you shut down. And you’re—”

  I throw out my hand once more to silence him. “Enough about Tori. I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

  “Fine. All I’m saying is that you should come clean with Tori.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “You could get rid of Harper.”

  “I’ll figure something out. Stay out of it.”

  When we reach the house, I keep walking without saying a word. Finch runs up the steps to our house, slapping two of our teammates on the backs as they stand on the porch, pounding beers.

  “No beer,” I tell Finch. After his workout and Coach giving him hell, I shouldn’t even have to tell him to stick with the plan. But I know I do. He’s the kind of person who needs someone to crack the whip. Otherwise, he’ll veer off track.

  I raise my hand and check my phone in case Tori called. No texts and no missed calls—at least none I want to answer. I have several messages from Harper that can wait. The only girl that matters right now is Tori.

  Like most Saturdays, after a long night of partying, the house looks like a scene from Animal House. I waltz through the house and stop in the living room. Beer cans, liquor bottles, and empty cups litter the floor. A few guys who live in the house are sleeping on couches. For the most part, everyone is in zombie mode after last night’s party, while some of the guys have picked up right where they left off.

  I walk past the half-awake, still drunk people and into the dining room, finding a similar situation.

  Why are they still here? It’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon. If it were a normal day, we’d all be at practice, but Coach had given us the day off to rest after doing so well last night. Finch and a few others are the only ones who were not exempt. They have themselves to blame.

  “Wake up, assholes,” I say, cupping my hands around my mouth

  Mike Kelly peels his shaggy blond head from the long dining table and looks over at me with one eye open. “What the fuck, Bash? I’m trying to sleep.”

  I clap my hands together. “Time to wake up, Boss. If you sleep all day, you’ll end up paying for it tomorrow when Coach gets a hold of you.”

  He perks up at the mention of Coach. His name alone puts the guys on their toes. Coach Davenport doesn’t fuck around. Of all the coaches I’ve had over the years, he’s the strictest. My dad says that’s what makes him a winner. The Strickland Senators have been champs sixteen out of the almost thirty years since Coach has been with the team. He breeds professional football players.

  Some of the guys who live in the house file into the kitchen, and that’s when the beer begins flowing. Within the first twenty minutes, they’ve upgraded from beer to vodka. As their captain, I should give all of them hell for drinking during the season. Today is special. I have Tori to get back to and could care less what everyone else is doing.

  Finch sits across from me at the bar, drinking a can of beer with a big fuck-you grin on his face.

  I raise an eyebrow at him. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

  “Oh, nothing. I just heard you have a surprise waiting for you in your bedroom.”

  I let out a puff of air. “What now? It had better be a good surprise.”

  “I guess it depends on how you look at it.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  He wipes his mouth with his forearm and gulps down the rest of his beer. “Go see for yourself.”

  Somewhat nervous about what could be waiting for me, I get up, using the counter to stabilize myself. I nod at Finch and make my way upstairs to my room. At the end of the long hallway, I push open the door, unsure of what awaits me on the other side. I have another shot with Tori, and I don’t want to blow it.

  Harper no longer does it for me. In all honesty, she never did. Naked and twisted up with a dark haired girl, Harper pinches the girl’s nipple between her fingers, staring at me as she kisses her on the lips. Harper has never been shy when it comes to sharing me with other women. I preferred it that way. It kept us from getting too close. This is all part of our normal games. Except I have grown tired of her bullshit.

  “Harper, what are you doing here?” My voice comes off like a growl in the quiet room, startling the girl next to Harper in the bed.

  Harper spreads her legs to give me a nice view of her pussy. The two of them had already started before I got here. She’s a cold, manipulative bitch who blackmails me into having sex with her.

  “We want to take turns sucking your cock, Bash. Then, I want you to fuck my friend and let me watch before you fuck me.”

  Tori has a concussion and needs me. She’s the one I want to spend my weekend with—not Harper or her friend.

  Harper gets up from the bed, her tits shaking as she stalks toward me. Trying not to think about how good she looks naked, I turn away from her as she runs her fingers up my arm. I suck in a deep breath, focusing on Tori. She’s the one that matters now. Too bad Harper is part of the equation. If I don’t fuck her, she’ll get mad and do something stupid. But at the same time, I don’t want to do anything that could affect what I have going with Tori.

  Harper flicks her tongue over her lips, attempting to unbutton my jeans. I clamp my hand over hers to stop her.

  “What’s wrong, Bash?” She speaks so low her voice is almost a whisper. “Don’t be like this. We want to play with you.”

  A game. That’s all this ever was to Harper. To me, our arrangement was and still is my fucking life. She never seemed to understand that.

/>   “I’m not in the mood, Harper.”

  She smiles up at me. “Liar. Stop denying you want me.”

  Peeling her hands from my body, I take a step back and walk away. Everything about her is dangerous. I wish I could avoid her. But she would make my life a living hell. She would also ruin Tori’s life. And I can’t have that happen. Tori deserves better.

  “You were amazing last night,” the mystery girl on my bed says, as I turn my back to open the top drawer of my dresser. “It was such a good game.”

  “Thanks,” I mutter, grabbing a handful of socks and boxers.

  After I pick through the drawers and grab the essential items I need for the weekend, I stuff the clothes and toiletries into a small duffel bag and sling it over my shoulder.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Harper curls her fingers around my bicep as I step into the bathroom I share with Clay.

  “I have things to do.”

  “Yeah, you have Ella and me to do. Don’t even think about leaving before you fuck us. You bailed on me last night for your charity case. I am losing my patience with you, Bash.”

  “Tori is not my charity case,” I spit back. “You’re losing your patience with me? You have been driving me fucking crazy for months. Maybe if you weren’t conning me into having sex with you, I’d enjoy it more.”

  She chuckles, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “That’s not what you said a few days ago when you were licking my pussy.” Dragging her nails down my arms, she whines. “Just give me what I want, and then you can go. I’m wet and horny. We’ve been waiting here for you for at least an hour.”

  Cupping her shoulders with both hands, I force her to look up at me. “Not now, Harper. Will you just listen to me for once? I have to leave.”

  How long can I hold her off without this coming back to bite me in the ass? Everything with Harper has strings attached. When she had discovered my secret, Harper presented the offer of sex. I was pissed at first, but once I warmed up to the idea of having guaranteed pussy whenever I wanted it, I didn’t think it was such a bad deal. Until I found out it wasn’t just sex on occasion.