Page 6 of Playing Rucking Hard

Chapter 2

What the F

Dylan

The crowd roars as Cooper finishes his speech, his grin wide as if he didn’t just steal the hearts and minds of all the sponsors. Fuck him. Not that I’m bitter—Coop’s the captain, the face of the Mavericks, the redeemed bad boy of rugby league turned golden boy. What’s not to love? Me? I’m the wildcard. I’m the guy everyone bets on to either make the play of the season or blow it with a suspension.

The emcee’s voice booms through the speakers. “And now, wearing the number one jersey…”

It’s my cue. Jogging up the stairs, my agent’s voice is ringing in my head—make it look easy, loose, and casual. Be the guy all the ladies want, and the sponsors will follow. The crowd shows their love as I pretend to inspect my jersey, fingers resting on each letter until I turn and wave my arms, teasing them to cheer my name.

“Fleski … Fleski … Fleski.” The chant is music to my ears, and I hope the Mavericks management are listening and watching. They want a show, and I’ve given them one since joining this team. Like a conductor, when I drop my arms, the crowd goes silent. I throw a few pointed, lazy smirks the way of some of the ladies in the crowd. Not the gorgeous cheerleaders, but to women who don’t usually feel seen. I work the room, playing it cocky, keeping it fun.

Roll up, roll up, if you’ve got the cash, I’ll make your brand trend. That’s what they’ll get from Dylan Fleski.

But I’m still a man. I’ve done my good deed for the night in working the crowd, now it’s time to exit the stage where the hot-as-fuck girls are about to shake their pom poms at me in the best guard of honor in the history of the world.

No.Just … no. All women fade into a blur, except forher.

My smirk falters, just for a second. Is it—?No way.But it has to be.

Her dark, wavy hair is sleek and glossy, her sharp cheekbones give her face an angel’s glow, and then there are her eyes. Pounds of stage makeup can’t hide those eyes, or the way they are fixed on mine.It’s her.

The girl from last night.

The woman who ghosted me.

My chest tightens as an unexpected rush of ego-driven anger and disbelief floods my veins.

She left while I was sleeping.She left me.Women don’t leave me.

Since I made my first rep squad for rugby league in the under sixteens, women have lined up for a chance to ride my cock. I take what they have to give, and when it’s done, I show them the door. It’s such a repeatable pattern, I don’t even have to think about how to get rid of them without fuss—muscle memory just takes over.

AllowingMiss Next Exto stay the night was unprecedented. I’m not saying I was about to get a spare key cut, but I expected to wake up together, fuck before I had to leave for training, and maybe have her wait around so we could grab a quickie before our time ran out. You know, empty my balls before this event. Okay, she intrigued me. I wanted to know more about her, including her name, relationship status, and whether she would consider coming to watch me play this weekend.

One night wasn’t enough, and I don’t like leaving a meal unfinished.

For fuck’s sake, I liked her, and I don’t like anyone other than my teammates. Even then, they’re only brothers while we wear the same logo. I likedher. More than I should have for just one night. She was funny, sassy, beautiful in a way that made it impossible to look away. And when we … well, let’s just say it was more than fucking. The only people I’ve used the word love with are my mother and brother. So,Miss Next Exand I didn’t make love, but whatever we did, it was more than a random fuck.

My head was only half in the game at training today because I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I wanted time … I wanted more time to …what?Get to know her as a real person? Allow her to know me as a person and not as a player? Bullshit. By the time I finished training, I’d decided her leaving me instead of prolonging the inevitable had been for the best.

I don’t need a woman distracting me this season. I want the Australian rep jersey. I want the end-of-year trophy. LittleMiss Next Exhad an expiration date, and it’s good she pulled the pin first.

But now she’s here, in full cheer gear, smiling that professional cheerleader smile. Like she’s not the reason I woke up alone, cursing at the ceiling and myself.

It’s like a slap and a punch all at once.

Is she pretending she doesn’t know me? Or does she think I won’t notice her? “You?” I mouth as her eyes refuse to look away, taunting me behind that smile I know is as fake as most of the tits in the room.Not hers. Everything about Miss Next Ex is real and perfect, except for the smile she’s wearing right now.“My Next Ex?” I mouth again, “You?”

“Fleski, keep it moving!” Coop’s voice pulls me back, and I realize I’m supposed to head to the side of the stage and through the honor guard before weaving through the sponsor tables and then back to the team.

I jog off stage, run the gauntlet of fucking hot cheerleaders, throw out a few, “looking hot as fuck, ladies,” and giveMiss Next Exa full second’s glare to see if she reacts.Nothing.She gives me fucking nothing. I’m a professional rugby league player for the team she works for, and she doesn’t even give me a wink? She keeps her professional smile in place as I brush past the sea of pom poms. Fuck her for looking through me as if I’m just a piece of scrap meat left on the plate after the best fucking meal of her life. Not a blink or acknowledgment of me or last night—not that I expect a whole, “It’s you! The best sex of my life and it’s you.”

As I run through the gauntlet of back slaps from PR teams, sponsors wanting to shake hands, and more than one, “get your agent to call us,” I want her to be impressed. She fucked a wanted man. I could have chosen any woman to bed last night, andI chose her. Does she get it? By the time I get back to myteam, two other players are introduced, and emotions are all over the place.

I don’t know if I’m more pissed or intrigued.

I do know. I’m both. But I can’t decide what’s worse: that she left me, or that she’s the first woman I’ve wanted to wake next to.

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