Page 45 of Steeling Her
“Haley!” I grill her for her choice of words. If my mom heard her, she would be locked in an dungeon up a mountain with no human contact.
“Do you NOT see the Steels standing right in front of you, Nick! I think I’m going to faint right now . . .” She starts fanning her face, and both of Carter’s brothers start to laugh and walk over to my dramatic sister. They look like giants standing right next to her and Carter.
“Haley, these are my brothers, Austin and Chris. Guys, this is my roommate and huge fan, Haley Jackson . . . Nick’s sister,” Carter introduces her brothers to my sister with a soft voice, who I think may actually faint, come to think of it. When my name leaves her mouth, I shudder like I do every time she does. There’s something about the way she says it.
“Oh, fuck me . . . !” Haley whispers loudly, looking at the two giants occupying the kitchen space next to me. TJ chokes on a glass of water he helped himself to moments ago and starts to slap his chest. “You’re my first football player crush!” she squeals, making Carter laugh her angelic laugh. She stands off to the side, as if she doesn’t want to interrupt my sister’s excitement towards her brothers.
“I’m going to get changed, I’ll be back.” Carter slips into her room and shuts the door. Right now, I wish I could use X-ray vision. I hear a throat being cleared, and I see Chris standing next to me while Haley fangirls over Austin Steel, taking selfies with him.
“Eyes on me, pretty boy,” Chris says with a grunt. We’re watching each other, and his eyes are telling me not to mess with him. They may be a bit bigger than I am, but I’m not really scared of them. They’re looking out for their sister, the same way I’m doing for mine. They’re protective of her. I would be, too, if I was with her.
“Chris! Come here, she wants one with both of us!” He slowly turns away from me and moves over to my sister. Danielle steps out from her room to finally greet them. She wasn’t here when they first came inside the dorm. I get the feeling there is no rush on her end to meet them like my sister. I know Danielle doesn’t know much about football in the first place, so I don’t think she knew just how famous the Steel family are in the industry. Their dad is a walking legend.
“Here, I’ll take the picture while you guys just shimmy on in together,” she teases. Both of them were about to wrap their arms around my sister’s shoulder before I stand there and eye them up, silently telling them to not mess with me and keep those hands to themselves. I see they know exactly what I’m talking about and they don’t question it. They don’t want me to do that to their sister, and I don’t want them doing that to mine.
TJ has been sitting there the entire time, quiet, which is really unusual for him. He usually teases Haley about this sort of thing but now he’s just staring at them. No expression or emotion, just a blank stare. So, he cuts himself a slice of cake and takes it into the living room, walking by me and not saying a word.
What’s up with him?
“You want some cake? We made it last night. It’s my moms recipe!” Seeing both brothers nod, she cuts the slices big enough for them and slides it onto the plate. They both sit at the kitchen table. Haley hands me a slice but I join my best friend on the sofa.
“What’s up with you man?” I ask him and he forks a piece into his mouth, staring at the TV.
“Nothing,” he mumbles angrily.He’s in a good mood, I think to myself sarcastically. There’s no point in talking to him while he’s in that type of funk. I’ve got to let him calm down then I’ll get it out of him. I stand back up to take some of the fresh strawberries Danielle had cut up for us. As I walk by, Haley asks me to get Carter before the cake is gone. So I reach over to the door handle and open the door. My jaw drops at the sight of her.
Standing there in her bra and panties with her back turned to me is her, her ass creasing as she steps from side to side. The most perfect figure I’ve ever seen on the face of this earth, and it’s standing right in front of me. My brain is having a mental breakdown at her perfection. “Shit! I’m so sorry!” I snap myself out of the daydream very quickly, realizing I’ve been gawking at her for a few moments. Hearing that scream as she turns around, giving me a fully frontal view of her perfect body, I run back outside and press my head against the wooden door.
I’m fucked. So fucked.
“What the hell?” Her oldest brother comes straight over to me and clenches on my shirt. I push him off and walk back out of the dorm to try to calm myself.
“Fuck!” I pace up and down the corridor outside the room. I hear someone slamming the door open and notice Austin striding toward me.Here we go.
“What the fuck was that? What did you do?!” The six-foot-four tank storms towards me with no remorse.I’m a dead man. He knows it, I know it.
“I didn’t know she was still changing! I’m sorry! Fuck! I’m sorry! I . . . shit!” I run my hands through my hair out of embarrassment that I walked in on her practically naked before my eyes. The worst part is not only is her brother about to beat the shit out of me for doing that, but he’s about to beat me dead when he realizes I’m rock hard after the sight of her. I’m pretty much on the verge of cumming at this point because I can’t stop thinking about her.
“You ever heard of fucking knocking?! Jesus Christ! She’s probably in there crying now! I’m going to have to calm her down no—” The door opens and I see Carter walking towards us. I look away quickly, instantly feeling the heat rise on my cheeks. I couldn’t help but check her out quickly, though. “C-dog, go back inside, he was just leaving.”
She reaches us and takes Austin’s arm, pulling him away and pushing him down the corridor. She pushes him inside and shuts the door. Turning back around, she walks back to me and stands there, watching me.
I feel so embarrassed that I did that. I’m shifting awkwardly to hide my boner—a painful boner, at that.
“It’s alright, Nick. I guess we’re even?” I snap my eyes back down to her, confused by what she means by even. Her cheeks are the same color as mine, and I’m sure she can feel the heat from them. She’s embarrassed but acting like she’s not for my sake. “That time when we came over after the house party? You and TJ were in your underwear and how you looked caught me off guard. So . . . I guess that makes us even,” she explains and I smile at her reasoning. It’s not the same; guys walk around like that all the time. For girls, it’s a little more private.
“I’m sorry, Carter, I should’ve knocked. It was wrong of me, I didn’t think . . . I—” She nods her head, understanding and accepting my apology.
“It’s fine, we all learned the hard way . . .” Her choice of words are really not helping me right now. “It’s just the same as seeing me in a swimsuit, right?” I laugh at her logic. She’s not wrong, but I still don’t think it’s right that I saw her like that. “I mean, I should be the one saying sorry that you saw that!” She laughs loudly, clutching her sides. I raise an eyebrow, thinking if she’s testing me?
“You shouldn’t be sorry, I’m the one who walked in on you, Carter.” I shake my head seriously at her. I feel my teeth press together, wondering why she thinks she should be sorry. She did nothing wrong.
“We should get back inside before my brothers eat all of the cake.” Changing the topic, she points to the door and starts to walk towards it. She notices that I’m not following her. “Come on, I’ll protect you from my brothers,” she teases me, and I smile back at this girl who makes everything so simple.
I follow her inside and look around to see where TJ has gone. Instead, I meet two pairs of blue eyes that look like they’re going to Freddy Krueger me. I watch their little sister walk over to them, kiss both of their cheeks, and whisper something to each of them. Their hard looks fade into an adoring smile to her. I know I’m good. They both kiss her head out of protection and love. I get it. I would’ve reacted the same if some guy walked in on Haley like that.
Speaking of Haley, where the hell is she?
“Where’s TJ and Haley?” I ask Danielle.
