Page 3 of My Brother's Teammates

He waited until I lifted my eyes to his again and winked as he walked out of the room. I shut the door and locked it, groaning as I did. I appreciated him being nice and I knew Jason’s friends were always kind, if uninterested in me. I just didn’t have the mindspace to handle Axel’s teasing personality.

I barely had the resolve to use the hot shower Axel had boasted about but I was shaking after being wet for so long. After scalding myself and drying off with a towel I prayed was actually clean, I pulled on Axel’s clothes without thinking about it and climbed into his bed.

I’d expected to crawl into bed with Landon that night, in what would beourapartment. I was supposed to be tired from unpacking my things and figuring out which side of the bed was officially going to be mine. Landon had talked about cooking us dinner for our first night together. Instead, I was going to bed hungry in another man’s bed. At least I didn’t have to share the bed, I told myself, trying to find the positive.

I heard the party ramp up outside the bedroom door and buried my head in Axel’s pillow. His scent, something warm and outdoorsy, filled my senses. While I realized his sheets weren’t as clean as he’d claimed, the scent calmed me somehow. I found myself inhaling it deeper and drifting off to sleep despite the rager outside.

***Jenny***

Iburroweddeeperintomy blankets and tried to ignore the need to pee. I wasn’t ready to get up. The bed was so comfortable, and I was warm. I groaned at my body and pulled the blanket back just to gasp and yank my leg back under. It was freezing. I glared at nothing from under the blanket, confused about why my apartment was so freaking cold. My window unit didn’t work that well and I never would’ve changed an electric bill large enough to cover the cost of making my space feel like the North Pole!

It was early September, nowhere near time for freezing weather. Just yesterday, it’d- My stomach clenched painfully as I remembered the day before and where exactly I was. My brother’s house. Axel’s bed.

I balled my hands into fists and ground my teeth together. I wasn’t going to cry. I’d cried too much already. My head still hurt from it. I just had to get up and move on. I wasn’t ready to say I hated Landon and was over him, but I was opening myself wide for the anger to come in. Any minute, I hoped it would kick out the sadness. Any minute…

Until then, I still had to get moving. I needed to find an apartment, no matter how impossible that task seemed. I needed to get out of Jason’s house and never come back. I needed to find another job because I didn’t think my current one was going to work out anymore.

I sucked in a sharp breath and threw the covers back. I just needed to get to the shower, and I’d boil myself alive until I felt more human. My feet touched the wood floor, and I swore under my breath. How did the guys afford their electricity bill with the way they were using their air-conditioning? Someone needed to talk to them about climate change or at least switching to solar power.

I pushed open the bathroom door and rushed inside. The tiles and air were so much warmer that I instantly shut my eyes and sighed. That was so much better. It didn’t occur to me that I was feeling moisture in the air or that I was hearing running water until it was too late. It didn’t make sense to me. The bedroom door was locked. Why would there be anyone in the bathroom?

When I opened my eyes, however, I got more than an eyeful. On the other side of the glass shower door stood Axel. Naked as the day he was born, he stood tall with one thick arm braced on the tiled wall and his muscled legs spread wide. His head was tipped back, his lips parted, and his hand was working his dick with long, hard strokes.Verylong strokes, I noted unconsciously.

I was frozen. My brain shouted at my body tomove, but my body wasn’t budging. I’d never seen anything so erotic as the sight in front of me. Axel, with his hair dripping wet and his muscles tense, was art. He was deeply tanned everywhere except the exact spot his briefs would’ve been and I found myself deeply interested in the paler shade of his ass, along with the fullness of it.

The way the water ran over his thick thighs and strong calves stole my gaze. Even his bare feet were somehow erotic. The indent of his abs as he slightly arched his hips into his hand, the fullness of his shoulders, the way his tongue stroked over his lips, it all sent heat racing through my body in a way I’d never experienced. I’d seen porn before, but watching Axel was…exhilarating.

I had to leave. What I was doing was wrong. I begged my feet to move but the rough moan that filled the room from inside the shower killed all of my thoughts. I jerked my gaze up to his face, desperate to see the pleasure there, and instead found myself staring straight into Axel’s heated gaze. I gasped but Axel didn’t stop moving his hand.

My heart hammered but it was nothing compared to the throbbing between my thighs as he ran that gaze from the top of my head down to my toes. I ran my tongue over my lips, I’d swear later it was in an attempt to wet my dry mouth, and felt the force of Axel’s eyes landing on my mouth almost physically. I watched as his hand moved faster and clasped the front of my shirt, breathless.

Axel did something next that crossed even more lines than I thought possible. He growled my name in that accented, throaty voice and came on the shower wall while I watched every detail. I’d only been with one man but I was shocked by the force and amount of his come. My core gave a deep ache, and I squeezed my thighs together and sucked in a sharp breath.

And then my haze broke and I gasped as I realized what I’d just done. Without waiting to see if Axel was going to say anything, I turned and rushed back into the bedroom. I heard the water shut off but I was already jumping into my pants and grabbing my backpack. Whatever I missed I didn’t need, I figured. Still wearing Axel’s shirt and shoving my feet into my shoes, I ran out of the front door and nearly plowed over a couple of women coming up the steps with caddies of cleaning supplies.

“Sorry! So sorry!” I stumbled and went down hard just before I reached my car but the burning pain I felt on my palm was nothing compared to the burning shame I felt on my face.

Even in my harried state I pulled away from the curb safely and drove the speed limit away from their house. I wanted to burn rubber and leave a cartoon size trail of dust in my tracks but I was a rule follower. At least…I had been. First Landon and then watching Axel jerk off…

When I was closer to campus, I found my phone where I’d left it in the center console and turned it on. I stopped in the parking lot of a donut shop and tried not to cry as message after message from Landon chimed. My phone buzzed nonstop with missed calls and voicemails for almost a minute straight while I watched it with dread. I didn’t want to see anything from Landon. My entire car was filled with everything I owned in the world. That was reason enough. My strange feelings of guilt and shame over watching Axel didn’t help.

When the last message came in, I saw that it was from Jason.

I’m heading to the gym this morning with the guys. See you in class. Don’t think you’re avoiding me, kid. You’re talking to me today.

My stomach fell straight to my feet as I thought about sitting in the class he’d mentioned. The class that Landon taught and I TA’ed. The class that Jason, Hudson, and Axel all sat in the back of and tried to pretend to be awake.

I couldn’t go to that class. I tried calling Jason but his phone was off. I had to find him and explain that I was looking for apartments or I knew he’d blow a gasket about me not being in class. I blew out a deep breath and headed towards the gym, the one place on campus I’d made it a priority to never go.

***Ryder***

Islammedtheropesdown harder and harder as I held my core tight. My thighs burned from the squat I was in and I knew I’d feel the workout later, but I liked the way being exhausted helped me tune out everything else around me. It was easier to focus on my classes if I didn’t have the energy to think of anything else.

“That’s enough, Tuff! You’re done for today. Cool down and hit the showers.” Coach Murray slapped me on the back. “Grab DuPont on your way. And tell him he’ll be making up the shitty effort he gave this morning. If he can’t hold his liquor, I’ll bench his ass.”

I knew Coach wouldn’t. Hudson was a damn good player and he was part of what made our offensive line so good. He did have a shitty work ethic, though. I nodded to Coach and stretched. “I’ll tell him…”

“Whether or not he’ll listen… I get it.” Coach grinned and shook his head. “Are you doing anything besides work and football, son?”

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