Shattered (Shattered #1) (16 page)

As he pummeled into me harder, I reached between us, and began rubbing
the tight ball of nerves sending myself over the edge with him. He happened to
glance down just as I was reaching the peak. “Fuck that’s sexy,” he growled as
plunged his tongue into my mouth in a deep kiss, and we groaned in unison as he
spilled himself in me.

Once he calmed down slightly, Nick rolled to the side pulling me with
him, and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I love you Leah. There’s never gonna be
anyone else. Please believe me,” he whispered.

“I do,” I nodded against his chest. “I do.”

We laid there in my bed tangled together for several hours before we
drifted off to sleep. I knew he loved me. I knew Becca was nothing to him, but
I couldn’t help the knot that seemed to be growing in my stomach. Becca was
trouble. Trouble with a capital T. I wasn’t sure how…but I was going to have to
find a way to keep her away from Nick. He didn’t see what I saw. He didn’t see
how she looked at him like he was available. If she was anything like she used
to be, she wasn’t done trying to come between us. No…Becca Taylor was bad news.

Chapter 16

Nick

As I stood in Leah’s kitchen waiting for the coffee to finish brewing,
Avery came in the backdoor. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt, probably
Logan’s, and a pair of sweats. Her hair looked like a rat’s nest, and her
makeup was smudged.

“Rough night?” I cocked a brow at her.

“Not rough enough,” Avery deadpanned. “You guys have a way of spoiling
the evening.”

“My evening was great,” I smirked as I watched her drop down into a
chair.

“Yeah well...you two always knew how to make-up,” she rolled her eyes at
me and sighed.

“Coffee?” I reached for another mug as I poured myself a cup.

“That would be great,” Avery rubbed her eyes.

“Did you sleep last night?” I scanned her face. Dark circles were under
her eyes, and she had that glazed over look.

“Not really,” she giggled. “Logan doesn’t like to sleep much when I’m
around.”

“So you and Logan huh? I never thought he’d settle down,” I chuckled as
I thought about our high school days. Logan was way worse than I ever was. His
numbers had to be in the double digits. “How long you two been going out?”

“We’re not,” she groaned. “It’s not like that.”

“Wait…so you stay at his place, and he stays here, and you don’t think
that’s going out?”

“We don’t go on dates,” she blew out a breath puffing up her bangs, and
shrugged.

“You may not, but if he’s letting you spend the night, he cares more
than he wants to admit,” I shook my head as I handed her the cup coffee I’d
poured. “I’ve got to go get Leah’s car from the stadium, and I need to go into
my office for a little while. Can you let her know that I’ll be back later?”

“Sure,” she nodded. “With the way you two were going at it, I bet she’ll
sleep late.”

“Maybe,” I chuckled. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Yeah…later,” she sighed as I turned and walked out the door.

ooooooooo

When I pulled up to the school, the parking lot was empty with the
exception of a small silver Volvo. I hadn’t expected to see anyone here today.
Leah had parked at the stadium, and no one ever worked on Saturday’s but me. I
groan as I glanced around hoping that the owner of that car was not anywhere
nearby.
What could she possibly want?

As I strode toward the gym with my keys, the owner of the car stepped
out of the gym door just as I was about to enter through it.

“Wow! Fancy meeting you here,” she chirped.

“Yeah, whatever…I work here,” I mumbled as I tried to step around her.

“Nicky what’s wrong?” she started to follow me.

“Don’t call me that!” I growled.

“Oh so only the high and mighty Leah Carmichael can use that name?” she
snarled in a bitchy tone.

“Yeah,” I snapped as I stalked down the hall toward my office. “What do
you want Becca?”

“I was here checking on some stuff before next week’s practice. I have
things to do tomorrow, so I needed to be here today,” she droned on.

“Well, you’re done now so you can leave,” I tried to close my office
door in her face, but she pushed it open, and came in anyway. When I moved
behind my desk, she stood there leaning against the end of it. She had that
gleam in her eye, one that said she was up to something, but I was too busy,
and distracted to really think about what it could be.

As I leaned over my desk, and brought my computer to life, she moved to
stand behind me. I was digging through the mail that was in a pile when I felt
her. Her hands descended onto my shoulders, and she began rubbing them. I was
so intrigued by the envelope with University of North Carolina – Wilmington on
it that it didn’t register right away that she was touching me.

“What’s that about?” she asked from right beside my ear.

As I noticed how close she was, I tensed. “What are you doing?”

“You’re too tense Nicky. You need to relax. Let me help you,” she purred
as she leaned over my shoulder, and slid her hands down my arms.

“I told you not to call me that,” I ground out as I reached up and tried
to remove her hands.

I tossed the letter I was holding to the side, and turned to face her.
“If you need something, then ask. Otherwise leave,” I pointed at the door. “I’m
not doing this with you. Not now, not ever.”

She stood up straight, and crossed her arms over her chest causing her
breasts to plump up to the low neckline she was sporting, “You’re loss. Let me
know when you change your mind.”

“I’m not going to,” I shook my head, and turned back to the desk. That
letter was haunting me now.

“We’ll see. She broke your heart once before, and we know who was there
to fix it. I’m just letting you know that when she does it again, I’ll be
here,” she sighed as she left.

ooooooooo

Once Becca had disappeared, I picked up the UNC Wilmington letter again,
and examined it. I had no idea what was inside. I didn’t remember sending them
anything, and I didn’t have a player this year that was interested in attending
their school.

I grabbed the letter opener, and sliced open the flap. As I began to
scan the contents, my mouth dropped open before curving into a massive grin.

Dear Mr. Sutter,

We here at UNC
Wilmington would like to formally invite you to take over as Head Coach for our
2014 fall semester. We have been observing your style and success for the past
several years at Pittsford High, and are pleased with your success rate. We
have a relocation package that we are willing to discuss with you immediately.
We also would like you to come and visit our campus, and facilities. Please let
us know as soon as possible if you are interested.

                                                                                   
Sincerely,
Greg Hutchins

                                                                                   
UNC
Wilmington Athletic Dept.

As I sat there, I reread the letter a dozen times before it all began to
sink in. Me, a college level coach? Did they really know who they were talking
to? I knew things like this happened in real life, I just didn’t think that
they’d happen to someone like me. Leah was the star in our town, she was the
one that was supposed to go places, not me. I was just a townie from the wrong
side of the tracks. People didn’t give me opportunities like this. The last
time I’d had anything like this happen to me was when I got my scholarship to
UNC. I’d turned it down thinking that I was making the right choice, and boy
was I wrong. Leah had up and left as soon as she had the chance. I’d foolishly
thought that she would stay for me that she loved me enough to choose me. Now
here I was with another chance, another chance to make something big out of my
life.

As I gripped the letter tighter, I knew what I needed to do, I needed to
tell them yes. I needed to take this job, and hope that Leah would come with
me. I only hoped that she would.

ooooooooo

After calling Mr. Hutchins, and setting up a meeting for the following
week, I called Logan. I needed to get Leah’s car back to her house, and I
needed someone to drive my truck. My mind was churning through all the ways to
spring this new job news on her. She’d gone through so much lately that I
wasn’t sure how she would cope with the idea of leaving again. With her dad on
his own now, she was spending an awful lot of time at the pizza shop. She had
seemed worried that he wouldn’t cope well without her mom.

When Logan arrived, I filled him in on my predicament.

“Dude,” Logan grinned. “That’s awesome!”

“Yeah…I’m still not sure I believe it. I mean…things like this don’t
happen to me,” I shrugged.

“Yeah they do, you just don’t normally take advantage of them,” he
sighed as we walked toward the stadium where Leah’s car was parked. “If you
don’t tell them yes, I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“I told them yes,” I mumbled and tossed my head back defeated.

“Why the glum face then,” he elbowed me in the ribs. “You should be
celebrating,” he grinned.

“I gotta tell Leah. I have a feeling it’s not going to go well,” I
groaned.

“If she loves you, she’ll understand and want what’s best for you,” he
leaned against the car, and reached for the keys.

“Yeah well, we’ve been a bit rocky lately. I’m not sure if our
relationship can take a hit like this,” I rubbed my forehead, and tossed him
Leah’s keys.

“Yeah Dude, I saw you two last night…remember?” he smirked.

“Speaking of last night…what’s up with you and Avery?” I gave him a sly
smile. “You like her don’t you?”

“What? No…it’s not like that…we’re friends,” he shook his head as if he
were trying harder to convince himself.

“Yeah, right…friends. I’m your best friend, don’t lie to me. You like
her like her.”

He groaned, “What is this…middle school?”

“Dude you let her stay the night. You like her…just admit it,” I placed
my hand on his shoulder, and shook him slightly. “It’s ok you know…to like
her.”

“Fine! I like her. Are you happy now?” he tossed his arms in the air,
and frowned at me. “You can be such a girl sometimes, Sutter.”

“I can’t believe that Logan Masters finally met his match,” I bellowed.
“Have you told her that you like her?”

He shook his head, “It isn’t like that. When we started whatever this
is,” he waved his arms, “we agreed that it would never be more.”

“You need to tell her how you feel. After what I saw this morning…I
think you could turn it into more. She wants to be with you. She gets that look
on her face when she talks about you.”

“Ok…enough. I’m not talking about Avery with you, Dr. Phil.”

“Fine…but I’m telling you, you need to pursue this. Talk to her,” I
stepped away from the car, and moved over to where my truck was parked.

“I’ll think about it,” Logan shouted. “But you need to take this job,
and tell Leah about it as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, I know,” I mumbled as I climbed in a started the engine.

I knew I needed to tell her. I knew that I was about to put her in the
same position that she put me in all those years ago. This was a once in a
lifetime chance for me. It would get us both out of Pittsford, which is what I
think she wants, but it was awful timing on my part.

As I drove back to Leah’s with Logan following me, I decided that I’d go
to Wilmington next week, talk to the athletic department about the job, and
then tell Leah all the details. I wanted to know everything about this offer
before I sprung it on her. I needed all my ducks in a row, so to speak. Then I
would lay it all out there for her. I only hoped she’d choose me this time.
That the bond we were slowly strengthening these last few months would
withstand the hit it was getting ready to take.

Chapter 17

Leah

As I slowly began to wake, I could hear the rumble of Nick’s truck as it
started in the driveway. I groaned, and stretched as I fought off the last bit
of sleepiness in my foggy brain. It had been a long night last night, and I had
the sore muscles to prove it.

A small grin slowly slid into place as I thought about how the night
ended. Nick and I were so mad at each other, but it had only fueled our desire.
My ripped panties that were tossed on the floor not too far from me, were the
proof. I shook my head, he was an animal last night…and I loved it.

After tossing on a t-shirt, and a loose pair of shorts, I wrapped myself
in my bathrobe, and made my way to the kitchen. The sun was bright, signaling
that it was late morning. The coffee had been brewed already, and there were
muffins sitting on the stove.

“What’s all this?” I ask Avery as I poured myself a cup.