Exception (Cambria University Series Book 1)

by Sadie T. Williams

  “Perfect. Thanks, Troy. How many celebrities have you tatted?”

  “Besides you? One.”

  “LOL. I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

  “Anytime, my man.”

  Chapter 25: Kiernan

  April

  I walk into our apartment and crash on the couch. We just beat Missouri and I am exhausted. Even though Missouri was unranked, they put up a helluva fight. What should have been a seven-inning game and over by 6 p.m. went twelve innings. I finally scored the game winning run in the bottom of the twelfth on a suicide squeeze bunt by Duncan.

  My mom and dad were both there with Brooks for the whole game. They’ll be driving back for the games next week. Things are good? My family adores Brooks, and thankfully, Rhett has stopped his shenanigans. Rhea has stayed in touch. She is so sweet, and Brooks has never been happier having his mom back in his life.

  Brooks declared for the draft in March and he will be headed to Nashville, Tennessee in a week. We discussed it at length over many, many long nights after spring break. He spoke to my dad several times, as well as his own agent. Since he’s the Heisman winner and a national champion, it seemed best that he ride this wave to a higher draft pick. His agent has been working very hard since he declared and it looks like he will be in the top three. The first picks belong to Miami, then Seattle and the New York Giants. There’s still talk that another team could trade up to get him, though his agent isn’t sure if the Vikings are prepared to go that high. This could mean many things for our future, but right now, Brooks needs to do what is best for his career.

  I fully support his decision and I’m so excited to watch him play in the NFL next season. I’ll miss him terribly next year, but I’m trying not to think about it. He has a hard time coming to my games now, since he’s always swarmed by fans and jersey chasers. It will only get worse once he’s a professional football player. All of these thoughts about our future are freaking me out. I’m more worried about my life with Brooks than our impending playoffs, and that drives me insane. I always said I would never let my life revolve around a man, and look at me now. The thoughts are starting to piss me right off.

  Rhett’s words about being a football wife and the lifestyle creep back into my mind occasionally. We’re not married, we’re not even engaged, and I’m worried about what will happen to us when he isn’t with me all the time.

  A knock on the door startles me from my thoughts of softball and family and losing Brooks to the NFL. Will I lose him? I open the door and Brooks is standing there, holding a bag of Chinese food and flashing me his perfect smile. We’ve been spending as much time together as possible, which isn’t much considering we both have classes and I’m mid-season. Our time is precious and fleeting. I try to not let my thoughts creep in and sour my mood.

  “Sesame chicken or beef and broccoli?” he asks with a smile.

  “Sesame chicken for me, please.” I force a smile. I wish he wouldn’t have interrupted my thoughts. I can usually talk myself out of my crazy, but not when I don’t have time to work all the way through it.

  We turn on the TV.

  “What should we watch?” he asks.

  “Well, we’ve been talking about watching Game of Thrones for months. Should we start it?”

  “That’s a big commitment,” he laughs.

  Too much of a commitment? Because he knows, like I do, that this relationship is on borrowed time?

  “True.” I frown.

  “Babe, I was kidding. I obviously want to watch it. I’ve been bugging your ass for months to start it. What’s wrong?” he asks, genuinely concerned.

  “Nothing, I’m just beat from that game,” I lie.

  “That game was insane. I’ve never been so nervous.” He exhales. “You played amazing as usual. I can’t believe the umpire called you out in the ninth. You were totally safe.”

  “I know,” I acknowledge. I got hosed on a call at first. I’d laid down a perfect bunt, but the umpire screwed up and called me out. “I wish we had instant replay too.” I shrug.

  “You don’t seem okay, KK,” he implores. I hate how well he can read me.

  “I’m good. Queue up season one. I’ll grab some plates.” I trudge off toward the kitchen. When I set the plates down on the coffee table, I say, “I need a shower. I’ll be right back.” I just need a minute to snap myself out of my funk before I ruin our night and our precious time together.

  I head to my bathroom and turn on the water. I can feel the tears filling up my eyes. Fuck this. Why am I doing this to myself again?

  I step into the hot water, and it feels wonderful. I’m pretending it’s washing away all of my worry and guilt over my feelings of jealousy. As I start recalling all of our conversations and his reassurances of how we will make this work while he’s gone, I hear the bathroom door open.

  Brooks pulls back the shower curtain, and he’s completely naked. The butterflies in my stomach start to flutter. He’s the most beautiful man in the world. His torso, tanned from spring break, is flawless, ripped. His biceps bulge as he holds the shower curtain back. His hair is always unruly, with its “I just had sex” look. And the glacial ice blue eyes set me on fire.

  “May I?”

  I move aside and he climbs in with me. This is new. We’ve done a lot of erotic things over the last ten months, but we’ve never done this.

  His hands are immediately on me, gliding up and down arms easily since my skin is so wet. He pulls me in and his mouth finds mine. The water rushing over us is mixing with our tongues as we kiss. His hands are running up and down my back and slide down to my ass. He squeezes my butt cheeks, which forces me to press my body closer to his erection.

  Our bodies are slipping and sliding against each other and I feel the fire searing through my body. Brooks backs away and bends down in front of me. His hair is matted to his head from the water pouring over us. He takes my nipple into his mouth and begins to suck and flick it with his tongue. His hand finds my other breast and is twisting and pinching my other nipple. No matter how many times we do this, I can’t get enough.

  His free hand slides down my belly between my thighs. Before I can even moan he slides a wet finger into my pussy. “Mac,” I whisper.

  His assault on my breasts continues as his finger slides in and out of me. Soon his thumb begins circling my clit. I fall back against the wall of the shower as Brooks slides his wet body down mine. I look down and his icy blue eyes are staring up at me. He lifts one of my legs over his shoulder and his magical tongue begins lapping against my clit. His left hand is still working my nipple, two fingers on his right hand are buried inside of me, and his tongue is sweeping relentless circles over my bud.

  “I’m gonna come,” I moan.

  “Do it, baby. Come for me,” he growls as I feel my whole body clench under his touch.

  He reads my body so well. He stands and his thick, hard cock presses against my stomach as he leans down to kiss me. I immediately drop to my knees and take him into my mouth.

  “Oh, shit, baby,” he moans as he tosses his head back.

  The water is running over me, over us. I start sucking him faster while my hand is gripping the extra length with the same vigor. My tongue is twisting around the head when he pulls me to my feet.

  “If you don’t stop I will come right now,” he whispers in my ear. “And I want to fuck you in here.”

  His words send a heated shiver through me. Yes, please.

  “Turn around,” he commands.

  I oblige. He takes my hands and presses them against the wall of the shower. He grabs my hips with his hands and lifts them up until I am on my tiptoes. “Okay?” he asks. I nod.

  He slides his cock inside of me. We’ve tried many positions, but never standing like this. I flinch as he buries himself inside of me as far as he can go. His fingers are digging into my hips and he starts thrusting rhythmically.

  “I love you, KK,” he moans into my ear as he leans over top of me. His left hand is holding
my hands firm against the shower wall now and his other hand is tangled in my hair, pulling my head up so he has access to my neck. He kisses and licks me as he keeps driving in and out of me. I can feel my body start to tense around his dick. He can feel it too.

  “Hang on, baby,” he moans. He lets go of my hands and my hair and spins me around to face him. He lifts me up and lowers me down onto him. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck as my back is pressed against the shower wall. His cock is plunges inside of me again. His mouth crashes into mine. It’s not soft and delicate anymore – he’s harsh and full of lust. He longs for me as I long for him.

  He tucks one arm under my ass and with the other begins massaging my breast and playing with my nipple. His tongue and mine are dancing around with each other. His cock is hitting my g-spot over and over and it’s too much.

  “Brooks,” I whisper and close my eyes as I press my head against the shower wall. My body tenses again and the rush of my orgasm floods through my body.

  “I’m gonna come, baby,” he moans. A few more thrusts and I feel Brooks’ muscles tighten under my arms. He holds me for a few more seconds and I feel his cock twitch inside of me with his orgasm.

  He slowly lifts me off of him. Water is dripping down his face and I brush his hair away from his forehead. He lowers his head and presses his forehead against mine.

  “I fucking love you,” he sighs.

  “I love you too, Mac,” I reply. I mean it, too. I love him with every fiber of being. I know this is coming to an end even if we won’t admit to ourselves.

  He grabs my shampoo and we both begin to wash up. I see some black ink under his left arm.

  “What is that?” I ask as I grab his arm and raise it.

  There is a new tattoo written in script on the left side of his rib cage:

  Fuair mé an ceann is breá le m'anam

  He smiles. “My new ink,” he says nonchalantly.

  “When did this happen, and what does it mean?” I ask as I study the striking script over his ribs. It’s beautiful. I run my fingers over it and his skin breaks out in goosebumps under my touch.

  “A couple of weeks ago. I wanted to surprise you. It’s for you.”

  “What?”

  “It is the Irish translation of a verse from the Song of Solomon. It translates to ‘I have found the one whom my soul loves.’ That’s you, KK. You’re my soulmate. You’re the one whom my soul loves, and I know I could never live without you. You’re my exception, to everything.” He smiles.

  “I-I don’t know what to say.” I can’t tear my eyes away from it. It’s stunning, and it’s mine. Something permanent on his body that’s mine.

  “Say you like it, because I can’t get rid of it,” he says with a nervous laugh.

  “I love it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I smile as I touch it again.

  “Thank God. I was so nervous you’d hate it or freak out that it was too much.”

  “I didn’t expect this at all, but I love it. I really do.” I’ve been killing myself stressing over his commitment level. Worrying if we’re going to last. He tattooed himself. A permanent reminder of us is now etched onto his body. I need to stop being so irrational and overthinking everything.

  After we dry off and dress, we head to the couch to eat. Brooks turns on the first episode of Game of Thrones and I’m hooked. We are snuggled up on the couch about to start episode three when Watts and Duncan stumble in around 1 a.m. They went out to Eden to celebrate our big win with some of our other teammates. Blaire is staying at Bateman’s.

  Watts plops down on top of me on the couch while Duncan walks off toward the kitchen.

  “I need eggs,” she mumbles, “and water.”

  “What arge you watch-tching?” Watts slurs from my lap.

  “Game of Thrones,” I reply.

  “Oh, you’re gonna cry when Ned dies.” She pokes at me with her finger.

  “TORI ANN WATLEY!” I exclaim.

  “Why did you just middle name me?” she asks.

  “You just ruined the show!”

  “Come on, Watts, you’re better than that,” Brooks gripes.

  “Well I don’t remember the order everyone dies, but everyone dies.” She giggles.

  “You suck, Watts,” I sneer. “I love Ned.”

  “I knew you would,” she hiccups and laughs. “I love Jessup.”

  “You what?” I practically shout and we all stare at her.

  “Yup,” she hiccups again. “It’s fucking love. I know it.”

  “Oh, Watts was all on your boy tonight. Her tongue saw the back of Rhodes’ throat several times,” Duncan shouts from the kitchen. “Anyone want eggs?”

  “Fuck you!” Watts yells at her. “And yes, scrambled.”

  “You two are insane,” Brooks chuckles. “So, Rhodes finally made his move.”

  “Yup! For being a major man-whore he sure took his sweet ass time,” she whines.

  “That’s what happens when Rhodes actually likes you,” Brooks replies.

  “Huh, well I will take that as a compliment.” Watts smiles and climbs off of my lap.

  The girls eat their scrambled eggs while we watch a little more Thrones. “I need to sleeeeeeeeeeep,” Watts slurs and heads down the hall with Duncan.

  “Night, Watts. Night, Duncan!”

  “Night love!” they shout back.

  I turn to Brooks. “What the fuck? Ned dies. Rhodes has feelings. We have shower sex. You got a new tat. What a night!”

  “Yeah, it has been. I was just replaying our shower scene in my mind,” He kisses my forehead. “And, well, I already knew Ned died, but I didn’t want to say it. We’re like 10 years behind on this show. I read it online when I was researching the show.”

  “Why did you research the show?”

  “Just wanted to make sure it would be worth it.”

  “You always make sure your commitments are going to be worth it?” I implore. I’m no longer referencing Game of Thrones and he knows it.

  “I never make rash decisions, KK. I’m always one hundred-percent sure before I dive in.” He smiles at me.

  “Do you ever miss going out with your boys? Miss the old lifestyle?” I ask. I don’t know if I want to know the answer, but I have to ask.

  “Sometimes I miss chilling with my boys and drinking beer and playing Madden, but I don’t miss the lifestyle. I don’t miss the parties and the women, if that’s really what you’re asking.”

  Damn it, he knows me too well. “If you did, would you tell me?”

  “I’m always honest with you, KK.” He kisses my forehead again and presses play to resume the show. Thankfully, Ned doesn’t die in episode three.

  Chapter 25: Brooks

  Kiernan has been acting really weird for the last few weeks. She finally saw my new tattoo. It wasn’t easy hiding it when we are naked a third of the time we are together. Other than proposing, I’m not sure how much more I can do to prove to her that I’m committed.

  After I declared for the draft last month, our relationship changed. I can see her internal struggle with the idea of leaving me now or riding this thing out together. I’m hoping for the latter.

  We must have fallen asleep sometime during episode four because as Blaire and Bateman crash through the apartment door, both Kiernan and I are startled awake on the couch. My arms are wrapped around Kiernan, my front to her back. I don’t even know what time it is.

  “What’s happening?” Kiernan groans. “What time is it?”

  “Get up! It’s like 9 a.m.,” Blaire shouts as she rushes into the living room, grabs the remote and flips on the TV. The tone in her voice immediately puts me on edge, and Kiernan sits up. She noticed her tone too.

  “What?” she asks again. I give Bateman a look and he looks downright pale.

  “Bro, what is it?”

  “Look,” he replies and gestures toward the TV.

  Blaire has flipped on ESPN and Mike Simon is hosting his morning s
how. Across the screen is a bright red box that reads “BREAKING NEWS” with the message “McCarthy father and son implicated in paternity suits.”

  “WHAT THE FUCK?” I jump to my feet, almost knocking Kiernan off the couch in the process.

  “It’s bad, dude. It’s all over the news,” Bateman says in a low voice.

  I look over to Kiernan. She’s frozen in place. I grab my phone. I have nine missed calls from Matt Cameron, my agent at Elite Sports Management. I have several other missed calls from unknown or restricted numbers. Clearly, those are from news outlets. I also have several texts from Bateman, Rhodes and Blake. I put my phone on silent last night when we started GoT and I’m regretting the decision now.

  “How long has this been out?” I ask.

  “I don’t know exactly. We saw it when we woke up this morning. You weren’t answering, so we came over to wake you. You need to call Cameron ASAP,” Bateman says. He looks worried for me. He keeps glancing from me to Kiernan and back again.

  Blaire is now sitting with Kiernan. She has her in a sideways hug and Kiernan is leaning into her chest. Blaire is stroking her hair. Kiernan looks ghostly white, like she’s going to throw up. I know the thoughts of Rhett’s confession are playing in her mind. I need to get my head around this. I know it isn’t true. It can’t be. I have hadn’t sex with anyone except Kiernan for months, and I’ve never had sex with anyone else without a condom. I’m so fucking confused. I run my hands through my hair again as I pace in front of the TV.

  Mike Simon opens his show with the words, “Well folks, we have some big breaking news here.” No shit.

  “Fake news, you fucking douchebag!” I scream at the TV. “KK, this is not true. I swear it.”

  She nods, but remains crumpled in Blaire’s arms, watching the show. I continue pacing as I listen intently.

  “With me I have Bailey Newman and Candace Crawford. Welcome, ladies,” Simon goes on. I can’t figure out how I know Bailey. I think I’ve seen her before, but I don’t remember sleeping with her. Both women have protruding baby bumps. Candace’s is much larger than Bailey’s, but you can certainly tell Bailey is expecting a child.