A flare of something eerily close to jealousy burns hot in my chest at the thought of Allie on a date with Aaron fucking Henderson. No. Scratch that. I’m not jealous. I’m pissed. Who the hell does Henderson think he is?
I told him to stay away from her. Emilio made it public knowledge that she belonged to the Devils. He saw us together at Shadle Creek. He knows she’s mine. And he’s still sniffing around.
It’s like the guy has a death wish. After what happened that summer before junior year—when the asshole nearly got all four of us killed—you better believe I’m not taking his shit anymore. I can’t believe I was ever friends with that asshole.
I pull Allie closer to me, conscious of my mounting anger. My arm wraps around her narrow waist as I lead her to our usual spot. Lust stirs and my dick twitches as I take in her slim legs and narrow waist, breathe in the strawberry scent of her shampoo. She isn’t wearing a lick of makeup, exposing a faint sprinkling of freckles on the top of her nose. God, she’s so fucking beautiful.
And she was here with him. The get-up she’s in is all for him.
I grind my teeth together as we take our seats. Heather returns, takes our drink orders, and slaps a few menus down on the tabletop before retreating to the counter. She isn’t trying to flirt with Dom anymore and that’s fine by me. Every chick in this place is team Henderson. His aunt owns the place, so I’m not surprised.
For a while there we stopped coming around, but the Sun Valley Diner has the best burgers, and after sweating my ass off on the field, I decided I’d earned a little reward. It’s a good thing we came into enemy territory, too, or who knows what Aaron would have tried to pull with Allie. I don’t trust the fucker. He might seem squeaky clean now, but I’m not buying it. He’s just good at hiding his demons.
She’s quiet as the guys jump right into talking about the upcoming game. It’s the biggest one of the season and we’re all hyped for it. The Saints are the only school with a shot of ruining our record. So far we’re undefeated, and once we beat them, it’ll be smooth sailing all the way to state. Scouts will also be there, and while we all have a scholarship lined up, it’s never a bad idea to have a back-up.
My parents are even showing up for the game, which was one hell of a surprise when my mom told me. Neither of my parents support my decision to go pro. Hell, neither supports my decision to go to college. My pops wants me to go straight into the police academy following graduation. Not fucking happening. He might enjoy being a boy in blue, but I have zero plans to follow in his footsteps. Mom does the whole I just want to see you happy bit, but really, she wants me to do whatever will make my pops happy to make her own life easier. If she really cared about my happiness, she wouldn’t nod and smile and tell me how my father knows best every night at the dinner table. He does not fucking know best. Not where my life is concerned.
They humored me during my freshman and sophomore years. Even came to a few of my games. But when that pending scholarship offer came through end of junior year from Suncrest U and they realized just how serious I am about playing football, everything changed. Football isn’t a career. It’s a game. I’m almost eighteen now. I need to be a man. Show some responsibility. Blah, blah, fucking blah.
Pops is married to his badge. All the man ever does is work. And I get it. It’s how he provides for his family. But as the Sun Valley Police Chief, he’s got time for little else beyond work. Certainly not time to see his only son play ball. But he’s coming to Friday’s game—the first one he’ll be at all year— and I know once he sees me on the field, sees how good I am, he’ll finally drop the subject of me going to the academy. Friday’s game is more than just a chance to secure scholarships. It’s a chance to prove to my pops that this is what I was born to do.
Allie’s quiet as the guys talk until Emilio asks what we’ve all been secretly wondering. “So, you and Henderson a thing now?”
She stiffens beside me and swings her head toward him, frowning. She better not say what I think she’s about to because no, no fucking way is she going to date that douchebag. She’s way too good for a tool like him.
I brace myself for the admission, not that it’ll matter, because Allie Ramirez is mine. She can like Henderson all she wants, I’ll wedge myself right in the middle if I have to.
But instead of confirming their relationship, she says, “We’re just friends.” I raise a brow and she sighs, shaking her head. “Why is that so hard to believe?”
Our waitress drops off our orders before making a hasty retreat.
Emilio pops a fry into his mouth before saying with a grin, “Because Aaron wants to bone you.” He chews, swallows, then eats another. “Can’t say I blame him. You’re hot as hell, Allie.” She blushes. “But I know who you belong to. Henderson does, too, and he’s still making his plays.” He taps his temple with his index finger. “Not smart on his part but Henderson never was the sharpest crayon in the box.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
I snort, leaning back in the booth and spreading my legs to get comfortable. “Yeah, you do.” She frowns, looking from Emilio to me. “Time to get with the program, vanilla. Admit you’re mine. It’s not nice messing with a guy’s emotions like that. Letting Henderson believe he has a chance.”
“I’m not,” she snaps.
“Yeah, you are. Admit it.”
She scoffs before hissing, “You do not own me. I do not ‘belong’ to you. I am my own person with my own autonomy.”
“Keep telling yourself that, but look where I am and look where you are. This is a thing between us and I for one do not fucking share.”
She sets her jaw, turning away from me. Gripping her chin, I force her to meet my gaze, fully aware of Dominique and Emilio’s interested stares. “You. Are. Mine. Got it?”
She jerks away. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s trapped beside me in the booth, I’m sure she’d have already stormed off. “Screw you.”
“Already have. And I’m happy to make a repeat go at it, too.”
She makes a sound of disgust in the back of her throat, but it’s all for show.
“Don’t pretend you’re anything but flattered. You don’t want Henderson. You don’t want anyone else. Just admit it already. You want me. I want you. Stop being a child and we can all move on.”
Swallowing hard, she swings her glare back to me. Her eyes narrow and her expression is considering before she bites out, “Fine.”
Woah. “Fine?”
A shrug. “Yeah, fine. I want you. You’re hot and the first time around the sex was good.” Her nose crinkles. “Not so much the second time but we all have our off days.”
“Burn.” Dominique gives a rare chuckle.
“Right to the cojones,” Emilio adds.
“That wasn’t very nice,” I bite out.
“Neither is being left without an orgasm. And just so you know, I’m all about second chances in life, but don’t expect a third.” Her smile is slow as it morphs into a warning. There’s that fire I knew was buried inside her.
A slow grin stretches across my face. “Alright. I’ll try and remember that.”
“Be sure that you do.”
I demolish my food. Coach has us running two-a-day practices to prepare for the game and within minutes Dom, Emilio, and I have all cleared our plates, but I notice Allie has barely touched hers. Maybe half a chicken strip and a few fries. She catches me staring and looks away.
“I thought you were hungry?”
She shrugs. “Yeah. It’s not really sitting right with me.”
I haven’t known Allie long but she looks thinner than she did when she first arrived at Sun Valley High, but I brush it off. If the food isn’t settling with her then it isn’t settling. I’m not her mom. She can take care of herself.
“So, Allie, you coming to watch us play this weekend?”
She perks up in her seat and when Heather returns to clear our plates, Allie passes her unfinished food to her with little concern. I frown but don’t comment. The girl needs to eat, but maybe she’ll grab a bite when she gets home?
“I wasn’t really planning on it…” she begins.
“You have to come. If you’re one of us then you gotta represent. No excuses. Game’s Friday night at seven. Plan on being there.”
She worries her bottom lips then freezes when my thumb pulls down on her abused lip, my eyes meeting hers. “Come to the game.”
“Is that an order?” she quips.
I run my tongue along my teeth. “If it is?”
She shrugs, tearing her napkin into small little squares. “I might have other plans.”
I growl and pull her against me. I don’t know why it’s suddenly important that she be there but it is. “You don’t have any other plans. You’re coming to the game. End of discussion.” She doesn’t say anything else, but I catch the small smile playing on her lips and triumph floods through me. She’ll be at the game.
