PERSONAL: A Stepbrother Sports Romance (3 page)

CAT

“Turn left. In two miles, the destination will be on your right,” Suri informed me, but it was too late. I was beginning to doubt her genius.

After school, I usually spent time at my mother’s salon. I’d spend an hour sweeping, mopping, and organizing; they were small chores to earn extra cash. Once those tasks were completed, I’d spend additional time catching up on the latest hair and makeup trends. If I were lucky, I’d get a manicure from Sally, who I happened to adore, or a deep oil treatment from Rhonda, who was also nice.

My mom’s salon was an elite, upscale one located in Plano, one of Dallas’ ritziest parts. Another reason for my desire to lose a few pounds. Okay, scratch that;
major
pounds. It was my entry to the world of fashion and glamour.

Thanks to my mom being a stylist, I was fashionable and knew how to rock my hair and makeup. But it was hard to find fashionable, trendy clothing in sizes I needed. Finding a bucket of ice water in hell would have been easier.

“Where are you headed? Your face is glowing,” Sally teased. I wanted to tell her – oh, did I want to tell her – I was going to Ramon Nicolas’ house.

Oh I wanted to tell everyone so bad!

Everyone knew who Ramon was; everyone and anyone who lived within a hundred mile radius from our county. He took our football team to the state championships and won.  He was a star. And now this star had invited me to his…property?

I surveyed the country roads. The sun would be setting soon, but I began to feel an eerie chill down my spine at the lack of human civilization.

I followed Suri’s instructions to the letter. The last ten miles were so desolate, I wondered if he was luring me out into the wilderness just so he could kill me like they did in horror movies.

Private Property: Warning.

“The destination is on your right.”

I parked my Audi and, sans the pounding of my heart, sat in silence. My heart beat like an African drum, and the butterflies in my stomach flapped to its rhythm. Yeah, it was
sort of
silent.

“Where’s your house, Ramon?”

My eyes scanned the miles of gate that separated me from the property. I reached for my iPhone and texted him: I’m here?

I watched the three small grey dots pop up on the screen, signaling that he was texting his response.

Ramon: Coming.

I scanned the wooded lot I finally spotted a figure in a white t-shirt making its way through the woods and coming my way. There was no mistaking Ramon’s shaggy brown hair and chocolate puppy dog eyes. Come to think of it, the way he looked emerging from the woods just then would have made him a fine actor to cast in the next werewolf and vampire hit.

I rolled down my window to greet his surprised face.

“Surprised I’m here? Or surprised I found it?”

“Surprised at your ride. It’s… damn. Are you rich? Sorry, that was stupid of me to say. But, I mean, are you?” Curiosity spilled over his expression as he checked out the Audi.

“I’m rich in many things,” I teased, completely ignoring the question, something I was good at. “Now, where are you training me? You said your property?” I looked around, still confused by my location. We were in the middle of nowhere after all.

He rested his hand on the top of my car, giving me direct facetime with his package. Seriously, it was staring me in the face. I heard the girls around school talk about that handsomely packed package – and it looked every bit as delectable as they’d described it.

Oh my god. I forced my gaze forward. Thank God for sunglasses!

“Yeah, I need you to follow me,” he explained. “You can’t drive there. You’ll have to walk.”

“And leave my car?” My voice couldn’t conceal the shock.

“It’ll be okay,” he reassured. “I promise you no one really knows about this property. You have my word.”

There was something about Ramon that made me feel like I could trust him, like I was safe with him. He had something soft and trustworthy about him that I couldn’t put my finger on, but allowed me to feel secure with him.

“Well, alright then.”

I got out of my car and locked the doors with my keychain. As I did, I caught a side stare of his eyes dancing over my curves. I couldn’t help but to smile a little. I made sure to wear my best LuLulemon workout set. This outfit was one of their outfits that had special control and gave my cleavage extra lift, making me feel ultra confident despite wanting to lose buckets of weight.

I didn’t know what I was expecting when he suggested that we train at his “property.” Being that our school resided in a suburb of Plano, I pictured some acreage, sure. But I also thought perhaps he had a big outside porch, you know, with an overhead fan, a treadmill with some free weights, or maybe a bench press machine.

After a walk, there it stood: a large gray building that one could easily pass by, thinking that it was nothing more than an industrial shop of some sort, perhaps of car repair or woodworking variety.

But an entire 2,000 building devoted to a personal gym, the type of gym that an entire football team could train in? Well, I truly was taken aback.

He flipped on the lights, instantly triggering the buzz of the overhead light as it lit up the place like magic. Floor-to-ceiling mirrored walls covered the entire length of one wall, covering the connected wall and making a reflective L.

I spun around, taking everything in. Famous jerseys were hung on the metal wall. I recognized a few of the names. Everyone who lived in Dallas, Texas knew football; it was part of the culture. Therefore, it was no surprise to see Troy Aikman’s blue and white jersey, outfitted with the trademark Cowboys’ stars, hanging on the wall, framed in black wood with protective glass shining beneath the lights. He was one of Dallas’ most famous quarterbacks.

There, in a picture frame, was also a photo of a small boy with blondish-brown hair, next to the famed quarterback himself.

“That was his last year, in 2000.”

Troy’s arm was draped over a young Ramon’s shoulder. Ramon’s face beamed like the noon sun. “You look so happy, Ramon.”

“Are you kidding me?! That was the happiest day of my life. Dad saved up like a year for those tickets.”

Next to Aikman’s jersey were Manning, Brady, Favre, Warner, and a few other names I didn’t recognize such as Warner. Sorry, Warner!

I leisurely walked down the memorabilia and stopped at the moment that changed our school history. The Panthers had won the 3A State Championship, all under the leadership and arm of sophomore Ramon Nicholas. It was quite the feat. And he was quite the star. I remember that game well. The whole town was packed in Cowboys stadium, the entire crowd shouting Ramon’s last name.

Nicholas… Nicholas… Nicholas…

Chills covered my arms as I thought about such accomplishments. He took our team to the State championships again this past year. We lost by a field goal, but it was still an incredible feat.

The hand that threw those yards and broke those records were merely feet away from me as their owner studied my curiosity. Voted most beautiful, he had the looks
and
the body.

I didn’t want to give him too much of my awe, you know, they whole, “Oh, Ramon, you’re such a star!” So, I lightly dusted my eyes over the many newspaper articles that were framed, the pages documenting his broken records and documenting the college scouts and teams interested in him.

It was clear that he was a god. A demigod. Superman. Something.

My eyes glanced his way. His hands were shoved in his pockets.

“This place is amazing, Ramon. Why… Why don’t you train here? Why are you at that gym?”

“Oh, I do. Every morning. Every evening. I need the extra cash over at Pro’s.”

“You’re so committed.”

“Football’s my life. I’m determined to make it to the big leagues one day. I want to be the best of the best. I have no other option.”

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously and tilted my chin. He looked at his sneakers, avoiding my gaze.

“Ah, it’s nothin’. Let’s just get you warmed up.”

“Wasn’t that walk up here a warm-up? That was like what, ten minutes?”

RAMON

She was cute when she whined.

“Funny!” I replied. “If you really want to take it easy, we can. But if you want to be pushed, which is key for blasting… for fast progress, then let me know.”

“Like a safe word?”

“Funny.”

“I’m funny Fat Cat, remember?”

Her comment didn’t settle well in my stomach. Sure others called her that, but no girl should call herself that.

I pushed the RPMs up just a bit. The fast walking caused her tits to bounce so high, I had to look away to avoid getting lost in her cleavage. Her boobs were really something. I was always a sucker for big tits and curves.

“I really appreciate you letting me come here. You’re a nice guy.” She was of breath already. I felt concerned that I might have already been pushing her too hard.

“Thanks.” I started to feel uncomfortable. I just knew that at any minute she would start to ask me personal questions, and I didn’t want to get personal. I wanted to stick to what we guys do best when we’re in the zone: music, weights, small talk, and focus.

I turned on my favorite playlist and turned up the music. I let the speakers blasting loudly, just as I did every day.

“Seriously, this is almost state of the art. Must have cost a fortune,” she marveled.

“It did!” I shouted over the music. “Now, let’s get you in the zone. Are you good at following instructions?”

“Yes.”

“Do you trust me enough to know that even though you may feel like dying, I know what I’m doing?”

“Yes.”

“And are you willing to be trained to train like an athlete?”

“Why do I feel like I should be saying  ‘sir yes sir’!?” She yelled out, laughing. I amped the RPMs up a bit, causing her to jog lightly. Damn, those tits bounced even more. They were massive!

I immediately pictured what they looked like naked. I’d never seen such natural, full breasts. I caught myself staring at them a little too long, so I cleared my throat and acted like I was concerned with her breathing.

“You need to pace your breathing. Come on, give me thirty seconds of this jog, C.”

“I don’t run! I can’t jog!”

“Come on!” I blasted the music louder as I watched a sense of  determination deepen in her expression.

“Can you go just a bit faster?”

“I may die!”

“But would you do it for me?”

CAT

Would I do it for you?

What girl in their right mind
wouldn’t
go the extra mile for Ramon Nicholas, with those puppy dog chocolate eyes, the shaggy hair, that mischievous smile, and that tan skin?

It was like that famous Ryan Gosling meme. The one where he’s like, “Hey girl, good luck with your work out, I believe in you.” Or the other one of him, my favorite, that says, “Hey girl, since you started squatting, your pants aren’t the only ones that fit a little tighter.”

I’d go the extra mile for him. A part of me had an instant secret fantasy that by working out the hardest I could in this moment, that I’d be the lucky girl to be on his arm at the Prom.

With that instant motivation, I killed it. I ran as fast as I could, like a black bear was chasing me and running was my only way to survive.

“There you go!” He encouraged. “Ten more seconds.”

Somewhere deep inside, the muster came out and I surged like a rocket. I cried out in pain, I sighed, I struggled – but I kept going.

“Three…two…one…” He lowered the RPMs down to until I was back to a fast walk.

“Atta girl!” His strong hands touched my shoulder, and I suddenly realized I had a major problem. Every part of my body froze up at the touch of his hand on my bare shoulder.

Dear God, help me.

I shook my head, shaking up my thoughts.

“Thanks. But I can do it again. Let’s do another round.”

Determined to shake off my lust and my crush, I disappeared into my workout, surprising myself how much I liked the adrenaline, the rush, and the thrill of training.

Forty-five minutes later, after a full body circuit, I was on the stretching out on the mats.

“You sure you don’t need my help at all? You may be pretty sore considering you’ve never lifted weights before,” Ramon inquired.

“They were like five pounds.” I protested, guzzling water.

“Yeah, but we fatigued you by doing many sets.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.” I said, still in my zone. Something inside me shifted. I suddenly had tunnel vision, possibly because I realized working out wasn’t hard and tedious. I actually liked it!

My eyes glanced up at the wall clock. It was 7 pm and my stomach growled. I reached for my phone to check on dinner plans with mom.

Mom’s text read:
Baby, plans have changed tonight. I wont be home for dinner. Sorry, love. But there are a few leftovers inside you can eat. Love you.

I sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh nothing. Mom just canceled dinner plans on me tonight for something that came up.”

“Oh yeah?” He scratched the back of his neck and checked his own phone, texting and making a few swipes with his fingers. He was probably scrolling through massive texts from all his latest flavors of the week.

He really did have pretty hands. Like, model hands.

“Yeah, so what are you going to eat then? After this workout, your body needs some pretty good protein.”

“I don’t know.” I responded quietly. “I’ll figure something out.”

He turned off the gym lights and locked the door. It was dark now, and a few spotlights lit the path back to the dirt trail. Without warning, a four-legged golden beauty nearly knocked me down.

“Sorry! Down girl! She’s excited. Sorry, I don’t want her paws to get you dirty.”

I crouched down to give some love to the happy dog. Her wet sloppy tongue hung out and her eyes danced as I pet her. We didn’t have time for pets at home, although I always wanted one.

“What’s her name?”

“Thena.”

“Hm.”

“After Athena. My dad named her.” Ramon’s normal tone was reduced to a mumble for some reason. He was happy to see his dog but he looked worried, afraid of something, and I wasn’t sure what it was.

“Well,” he said, “You did great, I think if you keep training like this…”

He had stopped speaking because I’d stopped paying attention. I couldn’t help myself; I loved dogs. She had her ball in her mouth and dropped it, an invitation to play. I picked it up, threw it as far as I could, and then ran after her with my phone’s flashlight on. She chased it with the tenacity of a CIA agent on a one-track mission.

“Thena! Where’s your ball? Where’s your ball?” And then I stopped at the edge of a piece of agriculture land I failed to see on the other side of the property.

What.On.Earth.

My flashlight surveyed the green plants with the pointed leaves. There were rows and rows of them. The Texan wind picked up and carried the fragrance, a signature scent only certain plants could yield; certain illegal plants. Marijuana.

I’d never tried it, but I knew enough of what it looked like to know what it was.

… And I didn’t mean to see them, I swear.

But I did, and now I couldn’t help but hear Bob Marley play in the back of my mind.

I spun around to see his worried face in the moonlight.

“Shit.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

“Ummm…Ramon?”

“Look, ummm…come on. I shouldn’t have brought you here. I fucked up man.”

“Uh, yeah you shouldn’t have! You guys are pot growers?”

“I’m not. I have nothing to do with it.” His voice was flat.

“Like… isn’t growing pot illegal? I know it’s been legalized in a few states, but we all know like Texas will be the last state to allow it.”

He ran his hands through his hair again looking obviously upset. “Look, Cat.
Please
. Don’t tell anyone. Anyone. No one knows about this. I could get in some serious trouble, okay?”

“You?”

“Well, even though it’s not mine, I still live here.”