Page 10 of His Brave Girl

He shifts in closer, removing the safe little bubble I had made for myself, suffocating my nerves with the intensity that’s rolling off him. “I’m more than good, Pres. I’m incredible.” The low rumble of his voice hits me low in the stomach. I know exactly what he’s insinuating, and I don’t doubt his skills. I already had a small taste yesterday and he blew my world apart.

Those dark eyes of his are swimming with so much heat that my pussy gets caught in the undertow, dousing me with lust. That static charge is in the air again, sparking over my entire body. If I don’t put space between us, I’m liable to press him down on the weight bench and find out exactly how incredible his dick feels. I channel my strength and step over to the weight rack, grabbing two ten-pound dumbbells. “Too bad the season is over,” I say, beginning to do my bicep curls. “I won’t get to seehow incredible you play. So, what else have you been up to other than football…and girls?”

The last part slipped out, but I needed a jolt of reality to put out the flames. Judging by his low growl, I don’t think he liked me giving him the reminder about his player ways. There’s no judgement on my part. At least he’s owned it and hasn’t dragged girls’ hearts through the mud, pretending he wants more when he doesn’t. That I can actually respect. But for some irrational reason, jealousy is breathing down my neck. I return the dumbbells back to the rack, and start to reach for heavier weights to pump the aching feeling out of my system.

“Don’t punish me for my past, Pres.” I feel his chest pressed against my back, his hot words right at my ear. “It should have always been you, but you were gone. It’s clear to me now why I never wanted to waste my time on any of them. Because the real thing is so goddamn incredible, nothing would’ve ever compared.”

I’m thankful the dumbbells are still safely in place, or they would’ve slipped from my sweaty palms. He’s all in. And that…is terrifying. How am I supposed to keep things platonic when he says things like that? How am I supposed to protect my heart?

“Now, what about you and your past?” he says, taking a step back, placing me in the hot seat while he does his exercises. “How long did you date the jerk who did a damn good job of constructing that wall of yours for me?” There’s a teasing quality to his tone, but it does nothing to ease the anger boiling to the surface. Just thinking of Maddock puts me on edge. And knowing there’s some truth in Kyler’s comment has me lashing out.

“One year. But, please, don’t give Maddock too much credit. ‘The wall’ is because I’m smart. But if you really want to know about the asshole, I’d be happy to share.” There’s no stopping menow; the pain is flooding in and Kyler is going to bear the brunt of it.

“What do you want to know, Kye? That the asshole who cheated on me is now dating someone who I thought was a friend? Would you like to know how I caught him? Oh, that’s a fun story.” The disdain is dripping from every word, but Kyler doesn’t seem rattled.

“I was at a party,” I continue, slipping into the sinkhole of the shitty memory. “We’d all been drinking, so we decided to crash in our friend’s basement for the night. At some point, I woke up needing to pee, and that’s when I saw a girl I considered a good friend straddling Maddock’s waist and riding his cock.”

Kyler’s jaw clenches, and I’m pretty sure the dumbbell in his hand is being tortured under his white-knuckled grip.

“They were practically fucking each other right next to me. And do you want to know what excuse he used to get himself off the hook for that shit?” God, just thinking about it has me wanting to rage. “He told me he was asleep and thought he was dreaming, and that it was all Sophie’s fault. Then do you know what the shithead did after that?”

I swallow hard, struggling to get the next part out. The pain is almost too much to bear. The guilt weighing heavier than all the weights on that rack. “The jackass iced her out and made every day a living hell for her at school. He was the one who lured her in and convinced her to sleep with him, and then he punished her for his mistake. He bullied her so much that she begged her parents to send her away to a boarding school. And thankfully, her parents listened and set her free from Maddock’s torture.”

“Fuck! I want to kill the bastard!”

Kyler’s roar has me snapping back from the horrible tunnel of truth that was threatening to cause me to break. His shoulders are locked and loaded with tension. The pulse in his neck tickingfast. And I’m pretty sure he’s wishing the weights in his hands were Maddock’s neck.

“Yeah, well, get in line,” I say dryly, turning to start our next exercise. Honestly, I think I was more broken hearted over what happened to Sophie and less about what Maddock did to me. I just never imagined he’d be so cruel. And I never imagined I’d be the type of person to sit back and let it happen. I was so angry with Sophie over betraying me, so hurt that she’d slept with him knowing he was my boyfriend and that I was in love with him, that I never stuck up for her. I let my pain blind me, and I let the girl get bullied. And that’s the part that broke me.

“If he calls you again, baby, I want you to put me on the fucking line.”

“He won’t.” I shake my head. “I blocked him.”

“Good.” He steps into my space, taking my chin within his grip, giving me no choice but to meet his dark eyes. The softness lurking in their depths is exactly what I was trying to avoid. “Baby, you know I’d never do anything like that, right? That guy is fucking scum. He didn’t deserve you.” His thumbs rub across my cheeks, and the warmth starts to soothe the anger. “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through, Pres.” My heart thumps in my chest, trying to bury itself within the hope that Kyler could be different.

“Please don’t punish me for what that asshole did. Give me a chance, babe.”

The wall of safety I’ve erected around my heart starts crumbling away. Kyler’s always been good. One of the best people I’ve ever known. I know he’d never intentionally betray me. But the undeniable truth is—he’s only eighteen. Kyler’s got his entire life ahead of him. One that’s going to be filled with football, and fame, and lots and lots of girls that will be dying to have a taste of him. And whether he intends for it to happen or not, the temptation to want to explore things will hit. Like everyother college kid, he’ll want to have fun. To play the field. He’ll want to “sow his wild oats.” And when that day comes, I’ll be broken. My heart will never be able to recover from losing the only true friend I’ve ever had in my life. So, the answer is simple: I choose self-preservation.

“You two gonna stand around and talk all day? Or move onto your next station?”

The coach’s voice startles me. I hadn’t even noticed his approach.

“Yep, sorry, Coach. Just getting acquainted with the new girl,” Kyler says.

Coach rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I bet you were, Jacobs. Now save it for the parking lot like you usually do, and get back to work.” The teacher’s comment proves my point. Kyler is a player, and getting involved with him is a mistake.

I turn on my heel and walk straight over to our next station. Thankfully, it’s an arm hang and doesn’t require much thought, because right now I can’t focus on anything but the disappointment rushing through me. As soon as Kyler steps up to my side, I hand him the stopwatch. “Ready,” I say, jumping up and grabbing ahold of the bar before he has a chance to say anything else that will only make this harder on me.

He starts the timer and I close my eyes. There’s no way I can stare at Kyler’s reflection while I’m trying to carry the weight of my shoulders, along with everything else that’s bearing down on them right now. Eventually, my arms grow tired and I release my grip, letting myself drop to the floor. I barely find my footing before Kyler’s arm snakes around my waist and his lips press to my ear. “We aren’t done, Pres. Not by a long shot.”

He releases his hold and steps up to the bar, and now my arms are not the only part of my body that’s shaking. As soon as he jumps up, I start the stopwatch. My heart is ticking faster than the seconds on the screen. And when I see Kyler’s eyesboring into the mirror, focused right on my reflection, I have to say something. Anything to break the intensity of the moment.

“So, what else has been going on since I left, Kyler?”

“There’s not much to say…” He shifts his grip, his shoulders looking nowhere near the point of exhaustion. “We moved to a new house not long after you left. Chase filled in the gap after my best friend was gone. Football consumed me and took up all my free time. And high school was boring up until yesterday.”

The tears sting my eyes. I’m envious of how simple and stable his life has been. I would’ve given anything to be bored. Boredom is easy. What I endured was not.

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