Go Deep: A Bad Boy Sports Romance (18 page)

T
he SEC Championship Game
had arrived and Slade “Slaughter” Clark was in the house, playing like a boss.

Damn, we were so close, and it felt sweet to be here, but it wasn’t as great, knowing I’d let Cassidy slip through my fingers. She didn’t so much as glance my way all afternoon. After her little tirade at practice yesterday, and after sending her a slew of text messages without getting one reply, I left well enough alone and focused on my date with destiny. I didn’t think we’d get to where emotions would get in the way. I’d managed to stay far from that girlfriend-boyfriend crap all through college. Feelings only complicated things and made people say and do stupid shit. Like right now, thinking about her when I had a game to win.

There were scouts in the audience, and all of them were watching me. They were here to make sure I was NFL-ready. Maybe Evan too, and one or two other players from the opposing team. We had all set our sights on making it big after graduation, and this game would help them decide how badly they wanted us, long before the NFL Draft come spring. It was obvious out here on the field that we were all hungry, so close we could taste success.

The game was close too. It was back and forth all afternoon. We would score. Then, they’d score. Then, we’d score again. They’d follow up with another. That didn’t mean we were playing a high scoring game. Both our defensive lines were badass today. My boy Chris ’Texas’ James was an asset as cornerback. He was shining like the Texas lone star that he was. Those boys we were fighting against were playing hard, too. Any scores up on the board were earned with sweat, pain and hard work.

I got sacked three times in the second half. It wasn’t pretty, and I sure didn’t feel pretty, getting knocked around by giants as big as I was, from the other side. Close to the end of the game on the last play, my team was down. We needed the touchdown and an extra point to win, mostly because both our teams were that good.

We had run my favorite play of the season, that good old run and gun that kept getting us out of trouble, but tonight, it wasn’t enough. We were predictable now, and our opponents would not dare give us an opening. I needed one, bad. I wasn’t a runner, and I didn’t like having to do it. Nobody liked watching the quarterback run unless absolutely necessary. But they were closing in on me and keeping my boys covered.

I wanted to be the star tonight, but if I had tried that sorry ass play we’d be done for. They were tight on Evan, but my boy could pull it off. I had to trust that he wanted this just as much as I did.

“Fuck it,” I said, and I turned to Chris to give him a fake signal so our opponents wouldn’t know what I was up to. Then I made the signal for Evan to go deep.

I threw the ball to Evan. He caught it and he was gone. He ran, ducked, weaved and even bounded over opponent shoulders. The man had eyes on the back of his head, grit in his eyes and was not going to let anyone stop him. He ran hard for the goal line, knowing this was the only chance we had to win this game. Everyone in the stadium, from the coaches and staff to the players and the cheerleaders, to the fans, scouts, and agents in the stands, they were all watching him.

And they watched him score the winning touchdown, setting us all up for the extra point and winning the SEC Championship. I couldn’t think of a better way to wrap it up, having only lost one game all season. He was good. He was damn good. Tonight Evan was the hero, but after the game a few guys in suits came up to me, handing me their cards and giving me the sign to call them. Hell I knew them all by name and could probably call their phone numbers from memory long before they’d shown up tonight.

“Good job.”

“Great season, Slaughter.”

“Give me a call. We’ll talk.”

“Looking good, son.”

There were people all around us. Cameras were flashing, reporters were asking questions, and our opponents were smacking my pads as they all went by. This was the stuff I’d remember years from now. Evan was a clown as usual. He pulled a
Rocky
and yelled out, “Yo, Adrian!” for the cameras. When they got to me, I had to tone the shit down, opting for safe and typical lines that everyone expected of us.

“Both teams played a great game tonight.”

“I couldn’t do it without the rest of my team.”

“They gave us a run for our money.”

“It’s been a great season, and we owe our success to working and playing hard as a team, and to our wonderful coaches.”

“We couldn’t do it without Louisiana.”

They ate that shit it up.

After a few minutes I took a step back and let the Coach take over. I tried to keep an eye out for Cassidy while the crowd of gawkers followed me. Soon they headed back to their tailgate parties and bars to celebrate, while I looked for the one person I wanted beside me to share in our victory. She and all the cheerleaders had already gone back to change.

I hurried into the players’ locker room. Everyone was still cheering and yelling around Evan, who came up and smacked my pads. “Nice move, man. Thanks for having faith in me this time, dude.”

“Teamwork, brother. That’s what it’s about.”

I got out of my gear and took a shower. The rest of the night was already planned for the entire team. Even the coach would be at the street party organized by the campus. I would get there eventually, but right now I had somewhere else to be. Dammit, I was going to win her back. If I could take my team through an almost undefeated season, I could win back my girl. Not having her was as pitiful as not winning.

I got dressed and tried to leave but Tre and Mo saw me, then hollered out to Chad and Evan, and pretty soon the team was around us.

“This ain’t the night to try and sneak off,” Tre said.

“We’re not having it,” Mo added. “No, sir. We won as a team and we’re gonna party like a fucking team!”

The group went crazy again, until Evan’s voice boomed. “That’s right. We just won the SEC Championship. It is time to throw down, son.”

I couldn’t argue. It was a pretty good reason to keep the team together, so I went along with it, knowing full well that once I had my opening I’d make a move.

About a mile of our main street to the frat house was blocked off by police. We couldn’t get our cars to our place. We had to walk the rest of the way. The place was lit up and people were everywhere. It wasn’t just a college after party. I was witnessing a convergence of thousands of fans from all across the city, maybe parts of the state too, all wanting to celebrate our victory with us.

“Guys,” Evan said from the back seat of Tre’s Dodge Avenger as we looked for a place to park. “Let’s take a moment to remember this image.”

We all got out of the car and looked around, watching as the red and blue lights on the police cars lit up the trees around the house, flashing on wraparound porches and across outdoor swing sets.

I patted him on the back. “That’s for us, son,” I said.

“Damn straight,” he said with reverence.

We walked up the street to the party like we owned the world. There weren’t any agents or scouts at the house. The coaches had all gone off to their own thing. They would turn up for the official parade sometime after Christmas. Tonight was about the fans and the team.

I grabbed a beer, and before it was half finished I found one of the neighboring frat house boys around my height. This was convenient. He was already wearing a football jersey with my number and someone’s helmet, bouncing through the crowd like he’d started the drinking early and had planned to be the entertainment for the evening. I was sure that once the beers started flowing, a few people would see him and think it was me. That could help, because my intention was to hang around just long enough for everyone to know I was at the party. I took that as my cue, and hurried out the back of the house, ducked through a few backyards, and past some more police at the corner.

I was over at the dorms a few minutes later, determined for Cassidy to talk to me tonight—or at least listen. I slipped inside, got up to her floor and stood at her door.

Taking a breath, I raised my hand to knock, ready.

I
showered
and dressed and even put on a bit of makeup, ready to get to the street party. Miranda and Shawn had shed new light on things with Slade, and now that his team had the SECs behind them and were victorious, I had to see him.

I’d found a cute little black dress to wear. It was a knee-length, asymmetrical pattern with one off-the-shoulder sleeve, something I’d bought but never found the place to wear it because I made a habit of spending all my time in class and cheerleading practice, mostly. Tonight, it would do. I put on my shoes, a pair of silver and black high-heeled strappy sandals, and grabbed the matching clutch purse. Then I remembered the necklace and peacock pendant. I hadn’t worn it over Thanksgiving, but tonight felt like the right time to celebrate having them together again.

Miranda sent me a text just as I found my keys, telling me to take the back walkways because of the crowd. Replying to her message is what distracted me when I pulled open my dorm room door to leave. I walked right into Slade’s chest as he stood there with his hand raised, about to knock.

I stood there, stunned and frozen, barely able to blink. My heart started pounding yet I couldn’t breathe. My mouth opened but I couldn’t say a word. I was not expecting to see him here after winning that game. His hand ran up into his messy, blonde hair. I don’t remember the last time I’d noticed his eyes, which looked more emerald than hazel under this light. Before either of us could talk, we had forgiven each other. I just felt it. I’d seen that expression he got on his face when he’d softened up to an idea before.

All of a sudden the energy between us was heavy and thick with need. It seemed like I blinked, and the next second later he had smashed his mouth to mine and parted my lips, fingers anchored in my hair and palms pressed to the side of my face for a kiss I wasn’t ever going to forget even when I was old and grey and grumpy. I closed my eyes and thought of how much we’d been through, and how even now as he kissed me, I had missed him all those times we’d had disagreements.

It felt like making up for lost time, right there at the front door, without words. My hands were tugging his shirt out of his pants and my leg had stretched up one of his legs, not caring that we were about to have at it in the doorway. No one was around anyway, but even if they were, I doubt I’d care. A second later he lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his hips as we kissed, letting the hem of my dress ride all the way up past my hips. My hands were now up under his shirt, pressed against his back, wanting to be that much closer to him.

Slade groaned into our kiss and stepped inside, kicking the door closed behind him, then turning around to lean my back against it. I scrambled to undo his belt and freed his hardness. I couldn’t wait any longer. Neither could Slade, because his hand slipped into his pocket and almost instantly was biting into the side of a condom wrapper. I took the condom and reached between us to slip it over him, then lifted my hips, shoving my thong underwear aside to lower myself on him. My hands went into his hair now, gripping the back of his head for leverage while my hips rocked and writhed and met every one of his thrusts with no hesitation.

We were feeding off each other, climbing to frenzied heights, taking and giving and building until I couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“I love you, Slade,” I cried out through my climax, sure that tears of ecstasy and emotional overload would follow. I didn’t even care that I’d said it first.

Slade kissed my neck and gripped my hips, pressing me down onto his hardness until he growled out when he came. Spent, he carried me over to my bed and cradled my back to lower me onto it. Before he let me go, he looked at the pendant and smiled. “I’ve loved you long before I knew what that meant.”

There wasn’t more to say after that, so we relaxed in my bed, listening to the roar of the revelers and music outside, certain that whatever celebrations were in store for us from tonight on, we were going to share them together.