Dating each other was out of the question. Didn’t mean we enjoyed seeing the other romantically linked to another. The thought of going off to college next year and not seeing her face every day squeezed my heart like a grape. I’d return home every weekend if I had to, just to see her beautiful face.
**P**
Lakelyn and I separated from our friends at my going away party. We sat on the balcony off my bedroom and laughed and joked about the people hanging around the pool.
I felt like a jerk talking to my best friend’s sister behind his back, especially, after he made me promise to never make a move on her.
“You know how I feel about you right?” I stole a glimpse of her lying on the gray lounge chair at my side. Thoughts of ripping that tiny dress off of her body crept through my brain.
“I know you dislike the company of guys I keep.”
“You’ve sent the chicks on my arm unnerving glares, too.”
She arched a brow. “None of it matters. Our interactions only showed how sexually attracted we are to each other. What do our feelings for one another change?” She shook her head.
I opened my mouth.
“You don’t have to answer. I’ll tell you. Nothing.”
She strutted into my bedroom. Two strides behind her and I turned the little woman to face me.
“Go live your life, Wyatt. Soon you’ll play for an NFL team.”
“I’ll do everything in my power to play in Atlanta.”
She eased up on her tippy toes and pressed her finger against my lips. “Wyatt, we’ve shared kisses in the past and now we can add this one night to our special memories and move on with our lives.” Her big brown eyes were full of desire.
“My brother doesn’t have to know. We’ll never speak of it again.”
My heart raced in my chest. I knew I wanted more.
Her hands dropped at her sides. I gripped her oval face, yanking her tiny frame against mine. My brows lowered as are gazes held firm. “Is this all you want between us, sex?”
Her breasts rose and fell. “We won’t betray my brother after tonight. This is it.” Lakelyn’s hands brushed my abs under my gray T-shirt. I tugged it over my head and threw it on a nearby chair.
Lakelyn’s eyes were glued to my muscled chest. She wasted no time licking my pecs. Something told me she wanted to do that for a long time. My large hands swept under her cute short coral dress. I snatched her lace panties off and let them fall to the floor, then I scooped her up into my arms. Stalking toward my bed, I sucked on her gorgeous lips. I planned to make love to her all night.
If I would’ve told her I’d forgo my friendship with her brother, we could’ve started a relationship.
Lakelyn was right. She’d enter college next year, and I’d go pro.
One thing was for certain, that special night between us wasn’t enough.
Problem.
I’ve tasted the forbidden fruit. Now I craved what was off limits.
CHAPTER TWO
WYATT
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get Lakelyn off my mind. I partied on a weekly basis during freshman and sophomore year. The women flocked to me. Mainly because they salivated over my body and game, on and off the Notre Dame football field. I fucked so many chicks in college that I grew bored. The only woman I desired I couldn’t have. It weighed on my thoughts and tugged at my withering heart strings.
Lakelyn and I had a similar pattern. We slept with as many people as we could, trying to fuck the other out of our systems. That shit didn’t work.
Bet you’re wondering how I knew what Lakelyn was up to in college.
I found a nerdy kid who attended school with her. For a small incentive, Gill followed her around the GSU campus. Figured using the Atlanta Hawks skybox as incentive was a smart play. He’d appear cool to all his nerdy friends. He delivered the best intel.
I had a problem with one particular guy. He pushed up on Lakelyn, hard. Trying to come back for second and third fucks. Gill said Cornell was known around campus as a cool guy who could have any woman he wanted. Who do you think he wanted to be his number one bed buddy? Lakelyn. I put an end to that shit.
I flew home from school just to take care of Mr. Popularity. Gill said Cornell worked out at the strength and conditioning facility a few nights a week. He usually left late around ten on Wednesdays.
Baseball cap pulled down low, I trudged across the campus behind the bulky son of a bitch at a distance. Gill forgot to mention dude basically lived at the gym. I found a picture online of Cornell kneeling in his football uniform. I thought maybe the pads made him appear bigger. Clearly my girl had a type, tall and ripped. I wanted to kill the bastard. He had no idea he walked into a shit storm.
A gust of wind swept through my body, chilling me to the bone. Felt like I wasn’t wearing an expensive down jacket. The Atlanta winter weather reminded me of a blistering cold day in Indiana. My fingers curled tighter around the knife in my pocket as I scanned the campus to see if anyone noticed me. Students huddled together under the tall lamps, talking and laughing. Frosty clouds of smoke left their shivering lips. Why weren’t they inside? Back to the task at hand. Cornell stepped past a street lamp into a cloak of darkness right before he reached his dormitory.
“Hey man, are you ready for the game Sunday?” I asked, stepping beside him.
He flashed a cocky grin, showing all of his white teeth.
“Absolutely. You a player or a fan?”
I wrapped my arm around his neck and dragged his big ass beside a large tree. “Both.”
“What the fuck, man?” he elbowed me in the gut.
I winced. “Settle down, bitch.”
Gripping the knife firm against his neck, I leaned into his ear. “If you like your pretty face, I’d advise you to stay still and take heed to this message.”
“What?” he growled. Dude wiggled in my arm.
“Don’t fucking test me.” I pressed the knife against his neck. Blood trickled down his brown skin.
“Lakelyn Hurns is off limits to you. Don’t fucking touch her again. I have eyes all around this campus. If I find out you went near her again, you’ll wake up in the hospital. Do I make myself clear?” I gritted out, squeezing my arm tighter.
His eyes fluttered. “Hey wake up.”
I loosened my grip on his neck, still holding the knife firm.
“Lakelyn’s off limits. I got the message,” he muttered.
“Good.” I dropped his ass like a sack of potatoes and darted toward the dark Suburban double parked in the parking lot nearby. I hopped in the back seat.
“Fosco drive.” He barreled through the streets of Atlanta, headed toward the airport. I never had to visit Cornell again.
Guess you could say I took cock blocking to new heights.
**P**
My skills on the football field earned me a seat at the table amongst my family at the NFL Draft in Dallas, Texas.
A phone sat on every table. Each player waited for that call that would determine the start of their football career.
I fiddled with the red tie as my knee bobbed under the table.
Mom grabbed my hand and squeezed it over her heart. “Wyatt honey, relax,” she whispered in my ear.
Dapper in their gray three-piece suits, Dad and uncle Bo huddled together discussing football stats while we waited for the call.