Rebellious and Reckless: College Sports Romance Stand-Alone (Campus Hotshots Book 1): Campus Hotshots

by Michelle A. Valentine

  18

  Baker

  Blinding light causes me to squint, willing my eyes to come back into focus as I lie on my back. Shouts around me are muffled, and there’s a ringing sound in my ears.

  A man with dark hair and a black shirt stands over me, blocking out the light a little. He’s saying something, but I can’t make it out at first, so I focus harder. “Can you continue?!” he shouts.

  Then it hits me. I just almost got my ass knocked out. Hell, maybe I was out for a second because this shit feels a lot like the times I ended up unconscious on the field. Every muscle in my body aches as I drag myself up into a sitting position, digging down in the pit of my stomach to find the will to stand. I push to my feet and do my best to keep the wobble in my stance to a minimum even though I know I cannot continue like this much longer.

  “Can you continue?” the referee asks me again.

  I nod and flex my fingers at my side. “Yeah. I’m good.”

  The ref takes a step back and then drops his hand. “Continue!”

  A knowing grin fills Titus’s face as he moves in for the kill. He has me rocked, and he knows it.

  “Finish him!!!” Comes a scream from somewhere behind me, encouraging my opponent to take me down again.

  I blow out a slow breath, attempting to relax my muscles as we circle one another in this concrete pit, because I need to be loose to throw quick punches. Titus thrusts his fist toward my face, but I manage to jerk to the right, and he barely misses, and without missing a beat, he throws another jab. Again, I manage to make it out of the way in time. I do not want to be hit by this man again. His punches are by far the hardest I’ve ever felt, and I know if one more of them connect, it’s game over for me. He lands a swift kick to my ribs, and I grunt in pain, but I’m still standing.

  Titus narrows his dark eyes, and the frustration is evident in his face.

  He’s done toying with me.

  Titus growls as he lunges for me, swinging a heavy right hook in my direction. I take a step back, throwing Titus off balance as he steps toward me. My foot somehow gets tangled up between his as I’m fending him off, causing Titus to stumble. And as if watching a scene in slow motion, Titus’s momentum actually carries past me, unable to catch his fall. An audible crack echoes in the room as he lands face-first onto the concrete step behind me, effectively knocking himself out.

  The room is silent as the referee runs over to check on my opponent, and he quickly calls for medical assistance.

  As the medical team attends to Titus, the ref waves his hands in the air. “It’s over. Titus cannot continue.”

  My mouth drops open in pure shock. I dodged a fucking bullet, and I know it.

  Phineas approaches me, his lips taut, as he smoothes down his purple suit. “That was a horrible ending. All that dancing was horrendous. Next time, stand there and take the hit.” His eyes are hard. “If you want to fight in my pit again, it better be a fantastic show. The audience wants to see blood, and they don’t give a shit who spills it. Piss off the people who bet, and the money stops—for all of us. You understand what I’m saying to you?”

  He waits for my response, so I look him directly in the eye. “Yeah. I got it.”

  He lifts his chin and straightens his matching purple tie. “Good. See Derek, my bouncer, and he’ll pay you.”

  Phineas walks away, dismissing me like the hired help I am, and makes his way out of the pit. I glance around the room. Most everyone has already cleared out except Milo, Sky, and the people tending to Titus.

  I hold up a finger, telling my friends to give me a minute to go over and check on my opponent. When I get over there, he’s sitting on the edge of the concrete, appearing even more agitated.

  “Hey, man, sorry about that. Not sure what happened, but—”

  “Shut the fuck up.” Titus interrupts me before I can tell him the whole situation was a crazy accident. He shoves himself up to his feet and gets nearly chest to chest with me. “I took it easy on you this time because I know you’re still green, but next time, there will be no mercy.” He takes a step away from me as Milo and the referee push their way between us, separating us. “Watch your back, kid. Next time, you’re dead.”

  “Come on, Titus,” the ref says while placing a firm hand on his chest. “Break it up. Go cool off.”

  With one final sneer in my direction, Titus turns to leave the room, heading to the opposite dressing room as me.

  “Holy fuck,” Milo says. “You’ve certainly pissed in his Wheaties. He’ll be out for blood next time.”

  “No shit,” I tell him.

  “Don’t tell them you’ll fight him again anytime soon. We need more time to prepare for his angry ass. We underestimated him.”

  “Agreed.” I rub the back of my neck. “Let me get changed so I can go get my money from the bouncer.”

  I turn to head to get dressed and come face-to-face with Sky. She chews on the inside corner of her lip, the worry in her expression evident. “You okay?”

  My head is still throbbing, but I don’t want to worry her. “I’m good.”

  She takes a hesitant step toward me and reaches up to gently touch my cheek. “I’m going to find some ice for that eye while you dress. We need to knock the swelling down.”

  The feel of her skin on mine is nice, and I’m tempted to lean into her hand, but I fight the urge. Sky isn’t mine and never will be.

  I pull back and step back, causing her to frown. “I’ll see you in a few.”

  Once I’m showered and changed, I come back out to find Sky sitting on the concrete step with a baggie full of ice. Milo sits next to her with a stack of cash by his side. My fingers flex around the bag I brought for my clothes.

  Milo glances up from his phone and grins, nudging Sky in my direction. “There’s the champ. We have gifts for you. Mine is way better than Sky’s if you ask me.” He picks up the stack of money and holds it out to me.

  I take it from him. “Is it all there?”

  “Yep. Sixteen grand. Counted it twice.”

  I stuff the money in my gym bag. “It’s getting late. Let’s grab a hotel room. My head is killing me, and I don’t think I’ll be able to make it back to campus tonight.”

  Sky hands me the ice. “You’ve probably got a concussion. You took some pretty hard hits.”

  “I know. Things didn’t go exactly as planned. Titus’s age didn’t hinder him at all like I anticipated.” I sigh as I hold the ice onto my aching face. “You two okay with getting a hotel room? It’s on me, of course.”

  “I’m down,” Milo says.

  Sky frowns. “I didn’t pack any clothes.”

  “I have an extra pair of shorts and a T-shirt in my bag you can wear,” I offer.

  “All right. That works. Besides, you look like you need to crash,” she says.

  “I really do,” I agree. “I’m fucking worn out.”

  “Then let’s get the hell out of here,” Milo chimes in.

  The three of us set out to find a place to stay for the night. After thirty minutes, we arrive at the closest hotel Sky could find on her phone, but the service was spotty on the website, so she couldn’t see if they had any rooms or not.

  The lights of the hotel illuminate the otherwise dark parking lot as we all walk in.

  The nightshift clerk at the desk, looks up from her computer and smiles as we approach her. “Good evening. How can I help you?”

  The girl is cute with long brown hair and green eyes, but her gaze isn’t fixated on me. Her gaze is on my buddy, Milo.

  He instantly notices she’s checking him out and leans against the counter, ready to turn on his charm, and stares down at her name tag. “What’s up, Melissa? We need a room.”

  She grimaces. “I’m sorry. All I have are two king bedrooms left for tonight. All of our double bedrooms are sold out at the moment.”

  “Then give us two rooms.” I turn my attention to Sky. “You can have your own room. I’ll bunk up with Milo.”

&nb
sp; Sky shakes her head. “I’ll stay with you. You need someone to watch over you since you may have a concussion.”

  I swallow hard as the thought of sharing a bed with her crosses my mind. I won’t have to worry about sleeping tonight. Knowing she’s next to me in bed will have me on high alert all night. It will be torture, but I know I can’t turn down the opportunity to be next to her no matter how much I should.

  “You sure?”

  “I’m sure,” she confirms.

  I turn back to the girl at the desk. “How much for both rooms?” Once she gives me the price, I reach into my pocket and lay the money on the counter before I turn to Milo, trying to be a good wingman. “Give her your ID and information. Sky and I will head up to the room if she’ll give me a key now.”

  After a few quick keys being pushed on the computer, she hands us a key card and directs us to our room. We head upstairs while we leave Milo to flirt with the girl at the front desk.

  “He’s a huge flirt, isn’t he?” Sky says as we step into the elevator to head up to the fifth floor.

  “You have no idea,” I tell her, not wanting to spill all of his dirty secrets to her.

  Once the door closes us alone inside, the fact becomes very real I’m about to sleep in the same bed with Sky tonight. This could be more dangerous than the fight I was in earlier this evening. It’s definitely going to test every ounce of my self-control, that’s for damn sure.

  19

  Sky

  The light on the hotel room door blinks green after Baker slides the key card into the slot, and I do my best to pretend I’m not losing my mind over the thought of sleeping next to Baker all night. It’s difficult to be friends with someone when you find them insanely attractive.

  Tension floats around us as Baker sets his bag down and turns to stare at the king-sized bed, taking up most of the space in the room. Images of us alone in the bed wrapped in one another’s arms flit through my brain, and I wonder if he’s imagining the same scene.

  Finally, he clears his throat. “I really don’t mind sleeping on the floor if that would make you more comfortable.”

  I wave him off. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re both adults and can sleep in a bed together and keep things completely platonic.”

  He nods stiffly. “Okay, then.” He digs through his bag and hands me a pair of folded up boxer shorts and one of his clean T-shirts. “I know you weren’t prepared to spend the night, so you can sleep in these, if you’d like.”

  I take the clothes from him. “What about you?”

  “I’m good as long as you don’t mind me sleeping in my underwear.”

  I swallow hard and images of Baker coming out of the shower in nothing but a towel at our apartment pops into my head. He’s fine, and his body is one-hundred percent lickable. I should tell him he’ll be entirely too tempting if he’s practically naked beside me, but I don’t. I can’t. I don’t want him to know he’s been taking over most of my thoughts lately.

  So instead of telling him the truth, I tell him I’m okay with that, lock myself in the bathroom and quickly change. Before catching a glimpse of myself in Baker’s clothes, I lift the shirt to my nose, hoping to catch the scent of his skin, but instead, all I smell is laundry soap.

  Thinking of lying next to Baker causes my heart to race in my chest. Last time we were physically that close, it ended with me spying on Baker while he masturbated in the shower after getting aroused when massaging my leg.

  This could be a very dangerous situation, but one I find myself unexpectedly excited to explore. Maybe Baker and Miley are right. Maybe sex is just sex, and if it happens between me and Baker, it might not be such a big deal...

  I sigh as I shake my head. Deep in my heart, I know that’s not true. Sex should be special, and I want it to mean something to the man I decide to give my virginity to.

  When I step out of the bathroom, I pause when I spot Baker lying on the bed shirtless, with just his sweatpants on. The ripples of his well-defined chest and abs are on full display while he rests peacefully with his eyes closed. One arm tucks behind his head, bringing attention to his sculpted arms and tattoos, and a stand of hair lays across his forehead. There’s a slight frown marring his beautiful face, and it concerns me, reminding me he just took a pretty hard blow to the head.

  I take a tentative step toward the bed. “You feeling okay?”

  He turns and then opens his eyes, leveling those deep brown irises on me. “Yeah. Just tired. Come on.” He pats the empty mattress space beside him. “Come hang out. You want to watch TV?”

  I shake my head. “No. And if you have a concussion, you’re supposed to limit screen time, so I think we’d better leave it off so you’re not tempted to watch it.”

  He nods. “You’re right. I do have a slight headache.”

  This time I’m the one who frowns. “Maybe you should go to the hospital and have everything checked out?”

  “No need for that, gorgeous. I’ll be fine.”

  I don’t know if I necessarily agree with him on that, but I’ll respect his wishes as he seems coherent and not in a lot of pain.

  “Why you still standing there? Don’t you trust me?”

  I shake my worry away and remind myself Baker is an adult man who is perfectly capable of deciding whether he needs to go get checked out by a doctor.

  I sweep the covers back and climb into bed beside him, and he instantly turns to face me. “Are we sleeping with the lights on?”

  I smile bashfully. “I forgot to turn them off. I can—”

  “Leave them on. I like seeing your face.”

  When he says things like that, I find my stomach doing nervous somersaults. Those words are reserved for a man to say to a woman who is not his friend, but a lover, or a potential lover. This is where the line between us gets blurry all the time.

  But I like when he says those things to me—sweet nothings I’ve longed to hear whispered to me my entire life. I wish it meant the same thing to him as it does to me. Truth be told, he’s a flirt. I know it’s true because I’ve witnessed it firsthand when he brought a girl he just met to our apartment.

  “Why do you say things like that?” I question softly.

  He licks his lips slowly as it appears he’s considering his next words carefully. “Because I mean it. I like looking at you.”

  I smile. “I like looking at you too, if I’m being honest.”

  “Don’t.” Baker closes his eyes as though it’s painful to look at me. “Don’t say something you truly don’t mean. It’s cruel.”

  My breaths come out in quick little puffs. What I say next can change everything, but there’s a hum in my bones vibrating to tell him how I feel about him. “I do mean it. I like you, Baker. More than I should, actually. More than a friend.”

  The sentence no sooner leaves my mouth than Baker inches forward and presses his lips to mine. My lips part of their own accord, and Baker’s tongue slips inside. I groan as pure pleasure washes over me. This feels so good—so right. He wraps his strong arms around me and pulls me tightly against his body. Our legs entangle, and then his large hand glides down the bare skin of my thigh, stopping when he reaches my knee so he can hike my leg around his hip. His erection pushing against me through his sweatpants tells me he wants this too.

  Oh, God. This is happening. It’s really happening.

  I want this. God, I want this, but before I can allow things to go any further, I have to know how he really feels—that he truly doesn’t believe we’re only friends.

  “Baker?” His name comes out breathy as he moves to feathering my jaw with sweet kisses. “Baker.”

  “Yeah?” he breathes against my hot flesh.

  “I want you” is all I can manage to get out as his tongue swirls around my earlobe.

  “I want you too, Sky. So damn much.”

  His admission sends a thrill through me, but I still have to know.

  “Will this mean we’re together now? You and me?” This question causes h
im to pause and his entire body to stiffen.

  He pulls back and rolls onto his back to put space between us. “I’m sorry I got carried away. Sex is a big deal for you. I know that, which is why we can’t do this.”

  “I don’t understand.” I still feel the tingle of him on my lips. “Don’t you have feelings for me?”

  He releases a ragged breath through his nose. “I care for you, but not in the way you deserve, and I never will. If we do this…all it would be is sex between us and nothing more. I refuse to open my heart up again—I refuse to allow myself to be hurt. I can’t date you, Sky, or anyone for that matter. My heart won’t allow me to trust another person enough to ever love someone again.”

  I consider his words carefully and recall all the pain his last relationship caused him. It’s no wonder he feels the way he does after the level of betrayal he suffered, but surely, he has to realize I’m not his ex-girlfriend and that I would never cheat on him.

  “Baker, I know you were hurt before—”

  He rises from his pillow to level his stare on me. “I wasn’t just hurt before…I was fucking crushed—my heart obliterated in a million fucking pieces, and no one gave a shit. Not Megan, my father, or Luke. Everyone thought I should just move on—get over it, but I can’t. It showed me the true nature of the human spirit, and it’s evil.”

  “Surely, you don’t think I’m a monster who would hurt you,” I tell him.

  His eyes fixate on mine. “Maybe not intentionally, but I know how you feel about my brother, and what happens when you see him again?”

  “Nothing will happen. If we’re together, and I commit to you, then there will never be another guy for me.”

  “I would like to believe that, but I can’t. It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.”

  “Baker…”

  “Trust me, Sky. We’re better as friends, and I’m sorry I crossed the line with you. It won’t happen again.” He pushes himself up off the bed and grabs a pillow. “I’ll sleep on the chair.”

  I sit there stunned, never feeling so rejected in all my life. Maybe I’ve been the one pushing for more to happen between us, imagining he was the right Finnegan for me when I’m supposed to be with Luke all along.