Page 3 of Fourth Down Forever
"I don't care what Sam does," I mutter, sipping on my scotch.
"Whatever. I think you’re protesting a little too much, there. You and Sam were hot and heavy one minute, then one day it stopped. Cold turkey. What are we supposed to think?" Shane says, giving me a knowing glance.
"Sam is the one who stopped talking with me," I tell them, giving a pointed look before taking a sip of my scotch.
"Whatever, man. If it's not a big deal, then it won't matter if you are around her," Blake says matter-of-factly.
Like he's summoned the fantastic duo from the sky, Janae and Sam walk into the club with a few of their other friends. Heading straight for our table. It takes everything in me to actively ignore them. I make sure to look around the room, not allowing my gaze to fall on her. In fact, looking for an escape sounds like a great plan, but unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough. Because before I can even blink, the girl who haunts me is standing right in front of our table.
"Hey guys," Janae says as she slides into the booth next to Shane, never taking her eyes off of him with a look that I can only assume is love. But all I feel is nauseated.
Not being able to look at them any longer, I glance away. Which is a complete mistake because at that moment my gaze clashes with Sam's beautiful brown eyes. But before I can get lostin them, I watch as hers fill with disgust before she turns away from me.Fuck, she looks as if she hates me.
A pang hits my chest with the thought, but I take the moment of her looking away as a chance to take her in myself.
My tongue skates across my lips because Sam is still the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen. The moment I met her at The Felicity, a casino she works at, I knew that she would be underneath me at some point. Sam looks as if she is the goddess of femininity herself, standing with her arms crossed, pushing her beautiful full breasts up. She's dressed in a teal dress that stops right above her knee, showing off her pale thick thighs, ones that have been wrapped around my head more than once. When she turns to pretend that she's looking for someone in the room, still trying to avoid me, her long strawberry blonde hair hangs down her back, curled to perfection.
When we were hanging out, Sam always looked her best. She wouldn't even leave her apartment without feeling that she was put together. It's not like she had to be painted in make up or anything. It was always natural. Even now when she is dressed to the nines, her makeup shows off her beauty rather than masking it.
I enjoyed my time with her. She always knew how to make me laugh and she was big on living in the moment. She wasn't needy either. She allowed me to be me. In fact, we were the ones who introduced Janae and Shane. Now we are standing as best man and maid of honor at their wedding.
The problem with Sam is not the way she looks, or even how she acts. No. The problem with her is she's marriage material and I don't want marriage. All marriage does is lead you to heartbreak and that's a distraction. I can't let that happen. Football has to be my focus. Football is my one and only. That's why I had to let her go. I needed to make sure that things endedbetween us. The only thing I regret is how I did it, because I wasn't man enough to face her. I'm a coward.
And this time isn't any different because the moment I see her walk into the club, the need to escape is heavy. Leaning into the feeling, I get up and head for the dance floor, hoping to get lost between bodies and music instead of memories of something I can't have.
Chapter three
Samantha
When we first walk into the club, the energy is high. Everyone is cheering and congratulating Janae on her wedding. And though I’m happy for my friend, all I can concentrate on is that I’m about to come face to face with my ex. Following Janae to a table located in the middle of the room, I look at the crowd of people sitting there and talking, but Kade is nowhere to be seen. My brow furrows, confusion wracks my body, not knowing if I should be happy or upset that he's no where in sight, but all of that is forgotten when Blake on of Shane’s teammates, greets me as I approach the table, "Hey, Sam! How are you?"
"I'm good. Been busy with school and work. Almost done," I say giving him a smile.
He nods his head and that's when I see him. Kade pushes through the crowd, coming back to the table with a woman hanging off him. I can't help but roll my eyes at what I'm seeing because this is classic Kade. What I didn't expect was for the waymy heart begins to race the closer he gets.No. I’m not doing this. We’re over him.
When he reaches the table, he glances at each and every girl that came with Janae before he settles on me. I watch as he goes to open his mouth but then closes it again. Thankfully Janae comes to both of our rescues. "Hey, Kade. Who is your friend?"
He looks at her with confusion when she nods toward the woman next to him, bringing his attention to the girl.
Is he such a player that he didn't even notice the girl next to him?
"Oh yeah." He looks over giving her his best smile, and a pang of jealousy hits me right in the chest. But I torture myself by watching the whole exchange. "What's your name, sweetheart?"
"Daisy," she says. A little too breathy in my opinion.
"Well, Daisy, thanks for dancing with me but I'm here to celebrate my main man, Shane," he tells her.
Daisy pushes her lip out into a pout, dragging one of her fingers down the front of his chest, "I thought we could hang out more and get to know each other better."
Kade grabs her wrist taking her hand off him, dismissing her. "Maybe another time, sweetheart."
Daisy blinks her eyes as if she's stunned that a man turned her down, but to her credit, she doesn’t try to beg or anything. She just turns and leaves. I guess she realized he was a lost cause, but I could've told her that before he even opened his mouth.
Over the last few months, I've kept my distance coming up with excuses to not be in the same room as him, even throughout the wedding planning with my best friend. But that all comes to an end tonight. I knew a time would come that I would have to face him. I just thought I would be more prepared.
Once the woman is gone, Kade pushes past me and slides into the booth, giving me a chance to secretly take him in from the corner of my eye. My heart skips a beat because he lookseven more handsome than the last time I saw him. His slacks are molded to his perfectly muscular ass—this man has muscles upon muscles everywhere. He has his light brown hair styled to the side just the way I like it. Ugh. Why couldn't he have turned into a troll magically overnight? It feels as if I'm being punished for something I did in another life.
I can't even look at him full on, because if I give him a chance, he would be able to charm me once again. Kade Humphrey is a soft spot for me, and to make sure I don't get hurt again, I've wrapped that spot in barbed wire and I need to keep it that way.
