Page 70 of The Jock
“I won’t want to leave.”
“Then don’t.” Justin ran his thumbs down Wes’s cheekbones. Nibbled on his chin. “Stay tonight.”
Groaning, Wes lifted Justin into his arms and carried him to his bed. He set him down in the center and peeled his shirt off, tossing it aside. He reached for his belt and his fly. “If we have all night, I’m going to use every single minute to make love to you.”
Chapter Twenty
The locker roomwas so loud he couldn’t hear himself think.
Couldn’t line up one thought with the next. Everything was a mishmash, a jumble of color and sound. It was almost like he’d taken a helmet-to-helmet hit, but he hadn’t. The game had been easy, in fact. The number-three-ranked team in the FBS was practically a joke. They’d fallen apart early in the second quarter as Wes and Colton picked apart their defense. Devon, Quinton, and Orlando had made phenomenal plays that would end up on SportsCenter all week long.
Wes’s body buzzed with restless energy, even though he wanted to close his eyes and lean his head back. His heels bounced, and he batted his cell phone back and forth from palm to palm.
He was desperate to text Justin. It was a hunger that crawled inside him. A need swimming in his veins. Everyone else had texted their girlfriends already. They were already winding down into that postgame buzz, relaxed after their showers, bullshitting each other as they waited for the official release.
But he couldn’t. Not yet.
The reporter from ESPN was still making her rounds.
She’d started off making a beeline for Wes, but he’d demurred when she asked him how he’d won the game that day. “It wasn’t me. It’s the entire team. Colton is a phenomenal quarterback, and Orlando is one of the league’s best running backs. Devon and Quinton are the best receivers I’ve ever played with. And none of us could do anything without Art, Josh, and Patrick on the line. How about asking them how their games were today?”
She’d spun off toward Orlando, who was an absolute clown and lived for the spotlight, and he entertained her camera for a good twenty minutes before turning it over to Colton. But she was coming back to Wes soon, and he had to wait until she did.
He closed his eyes and leaned back on the stool in front of his locker, imagining Justin. His smile. The sound of his laugh. The way he looked when he danced, every one of his muscles taut and tight. How he looked when he was arching in orgasm, head tipped back, mouth open, panting Wes’s name. The look in his eyes when he took Wes’s hand, or when he told Wes he loved him.
He squeezed his cell phone, his lifeline to Justin—his lifeline to his own soul—so hard the plastic case creaked.
“So, Wes Van de Hoek.”
He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a pair of long legs wrapped in a tight suit skirt. A silk blouse neatly tucked in, encasing her voluptuous chest, and waves of blonde curls tumbling over her shoulder. She smirked when his eyes met hers, as if she’d caught him eyeing her up.
He cleared his throat and stood, taking a step back and putting space between them. This was part of the game, part of the deal. He had to talk to the media. As the team captain, as the school’s representative. He had to put on his mask and smile for the cameras, be the man who loved football, who was born to play football, who was going to shake up the NFL because he was so damn good at football.
She shoved the microphone into his face before he was ready. “It’s been an incredible year for you, Wes. You’re leading an undefeated team with a major shot at winning the national championship. At the start of the year, you were ranked the fifth-best player in the FBS, but now, everyone is saying it’s pretty clear you’re the best player in the league. Maybe the best in your generation. You’ve always been good, but this year, you seem to be on fire. What do you credit your incredible success to over the years, and what has changed this year in particular?”
Justin. I play my heart and soul out for him.“You know, I just always worked hard. Football is a job like any other, and I put in the work.”
“And this year? What’s put you over the top?”
I fell in love.He flushed. “Just hard work, ma’am. Putting in those hours at practice. Always staying focused on that end goal and keeping your eyes on what you want most.”College. Graduation. Justin. A life together.
“In two weeks, you play the only other undefeated team in the league. Any nerves heading into your Thanksgiving showdown? Anything you’re specifically focused on as you prepare for this game?”
“I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s the same hard work, ma’am. Show up, every day, for practice. Give it your all. Give everything you have to your team. That’s what got us here, and that’s what will get us the win in two weeks.”
“What makes this team so special?”
“How tight we are together. We’re more than a team. We’re brothers. I know everyone says that, but it’s different here. We’re connected, off the field and on, and that connection and love we all have for each other makes us unstoppable. I’d do anything for them”—his voice choked off—“and I like to think they’d do the same for me.”
There were noises in the background, grunts andHell yeahs from his teammates.
But was it true?
“You said you were keeping your eyes on what you want most. The NFL, I’m assuming. A professional career. Seems almost guaranteed for you at this point. Are the rumors about you possibly tossing your name into the NFL draft at the end of this season true?”
“Nothing is guaranteed in this life. And those are just rumors. I haven’t thought about the NFL draft at all this year. I’m focused on this team. These guys are my priority.”
“You seem to have it all. A promising start to a stellar career, the skills and drive to go as far as you want in the sport, fans who love and adore you. What about a girlfriend? Any special lady in your life?”
