Page 37 of Brutal Days

“In your dreams, maybe.” I smirked, but my stomach was a mass of nerves. Something about Damon was so beautiful, despite his shitty attitude. And even with the guilt over our agreement, a thrill raced through me. It was bad because I was essentially lying to my best friend by touching him or allowing him to kiss me. It was to get her what she wanted so desperately that she was willing to humiliate herself—like I was one to talk—but she would see it as a betrayal if she ever found out. I had to make sure she never did.

He pulled me closer when I took him in my hand for a second time. I shivered at the contact. His hand was in my hair, and he angled my head again. That time, I paid closer attention to what I was doing. The silky-smooth feel of him contrasted with his hardness. Then he lifted me, and I instinctually straddled him. It gave me the freedom to use both of my hands while he framed my face.

I cupped his balls when he slid his tongue along the seam of my lips. When he thrust into my hand, I opened my lips for him, letting him explore my mouth. It was erotic and out of control. Both my hands grasped him, and I pumped up and down.

He devoured my mouth, making me wonder what he would be like if he ever went down on me. Then he groaned and pushed harder into my grip. Hot come spurted all over his chest and my hands.

When he broke the kiss, my mouth felt swollen and violated in the best possible way. He grabbed a shirt from the back and handed it to me. When I was done, he took it from me and cleaned himself up. The entire time, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. The angles of his face held such raw beauty, the heat of his dilated eyes as he watched me, his body’s powerful build.

But he’s not for me.I eased off him and climbed over to the passenger seat. His gaze followed me, and I sucked in a breath at the banked desire reflected within.

“Do you want me to get you off?”

His deep voice rasped over my body in a sensual caress.

“No.” I locked down how tempting that sounded, how my body softened at the thought of his hands or mouth on me. I couldn’t keep doing this. Hardening myself and my voice, I said what I had to. “Fix what you broke, then deliver my car to my house by the end of the weekend.” I wrestled with my keychain, almost breaking my nail getting the house key off it. I grabbed his wrist, turned his hand over, and slapped the car keys against his palm.

His fingers curled around them, and I released him, my skin tingling uncomfortably from that brief touch. He said nothing. I didn’t care. I needed to use my final dagger, and he’d better take it to heart.

“And then I never want to see you again.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

DAMON

#AllAbouttheThrill

Phoenix, Shane, and I were early to the field. It was always like that. Game day kept us going no matter the shit going on in our lives. In sweats, I stood in the end zone, visualizing how the game would go—the arc of the ball as it soared through the sky, my fingers plucking it out of the air to tuck it securely to my chest, then kicking in a burst of speed to the end zone.

I settled into a quad stretch. Shane and Phoenix did the same—stretching and their own visualizations. We all wore earphones and went through the routine of our separate pregame preparations.

The evening was gorgeous. The sun was still out. And when it set, the stadium lights would go on. It would be a long weekend for us since we had a fight tomorrow night, but I needed both to burn off some steam.

Time moved slowly then sped up as we filed off the field to get taped and dressed. We did more stretching with the team, followed by drills. Close to game time, Coach pulled us aside for a pep talk and last-minute instructions.

For the home game, the stands were crammed with people from our school and their parents. The opposition’s fans peppered the bleachers opposite the home side. Special teams took the field after we won the coin toss to receive. I could barely stay still on the sidelines as the ball was kicked and flew through the air. Meyers caught it at the twenty-yard line and ran it for a gain of thirty.

Adrenaline flooded me as I took the field, lining up with the rest of the offense, anticipating the snap of the ball and Phoenix sending it soaring. Phoenix lived for football. It was deep in his blood, like it was for my brother. Shane and I loved it, but football wasn’t everything to us, like it was for them. Exhilaration pumped through me, and I changed with the ball snap, becoming a machine as I ran a variation of my route. I ended up where Phoenix needed me, the ball falling into my hands at the right time and place. Then I turned up the speed and sprinted full throttle to the end zone.

The crowd was on its feet—the roar deafening. I tossed the ball to the waiting ref and got ready to do it again. We went for the two-point conversion. The ball snapped, and Phoenix faked to Brad, the tight end. Shane was open, and Phoenix fired a bullet at him.

The stadium exploded in cheers as we got off the field. Shane and I didn’t waste time on celebrations or dances when it was what we were supposed to do. Score, let the defense do their thing, then get on the field and do it again. It wasn’t the same for a few of the other players. All it took was a word from Phoenix, and that shit stopped. In place of showboating, their determination and focus snapped back into place.

I scanned the crowd after ensuring our defense held the field. I found my brother easily—then Sky. Holy fuck. She sat next to Riley in the stands. Color stained her cheeks, and she smiled wide.Stunning.When she found me on the sidelines, our gazes locked, and everything else disappeared.

She was so close and yet not close enough. I wanted to go to her. If it weren’t for Shane knocking into my shoulder and shouting to get on the field, I would have pushed through the crowd to approach her.

As I lined up, I couldn’t help but wonder if she’d come specifically to watch me. With a herculean effort, I breathed in the smell of grass, systematically recentering on what I needed to do until I saw only the opposition, my teammates, and the end zone.

I maintained enough concentration to respond to the snap, plowing through a block and running the route Phoenix needed me to. Sky was still there, blanketing my every thought. She was who I wanted to celebrate with when we secured the victory.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

SKYLAR

#GameDay

The academy’s blog has been the bane of my existence lately.Cover the home games, Sky.As I climbed the outdoor stadium bleachers at our football field, Stephanie’s nonnegotiable voice rang in my ears from our brief editorial meeting that morning. I’d gotten out of as many of them as possible, but she’d put her foot down. So, there I was, looking for a seat in the full-to-capacity home section.

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