As I grabbed a bottle of light beer out of the refrigerator, I suddenly felt a pang of regret at having been kicked off the team for something I hadn’t done. Still, I’d done a lot of wrong over the years, abusing my privileges and taking advantage of people around me.
I opened the bottle and took a long drink. If I ever made it back before I got too old to play, I would do it all differently, I vowed as I headed back into Andrea’s living room. It was so much smaller than the one I had been renting, but everything in it reminded me of her.
After sitting down on the couch and leaning back, I took another drink. On the television, another game unfolded before my eyes. The outcome would have no effect on the game I’d bet on, but I always watched the game before. It didn’t always help me win, but I didn’t want to take my chances.
The more I watched the players on the field, the more I missed playing professional sports. Beyond the money I brought in as a star player, I craved the competition between grown men at the peak of their prime years in life. As the action unfolded, I became an armchair quarterback.
“What the hell are you thinking, Jones?”
I shook my head then drained the last of the beer from the bottle. Part of me wanted to get another, but I fought the feeling. My real thrills came from betting large sums of money on single games. While waiting for the game to start, I felt the adrenaline and excitement building.
This is going to work
, I told myself.
If I thought it enough, it would come true. I was sure of it.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
With my team thirty-five points behind during the third quarter, I realized I’d made another horrible mistake. While I may have been able to pay the bookie a half-million-dollars, coming up with a cool million would be more difficult. As I watched the screen in horror, I heard a knock at the door.
“Fuck,” I muttered, standing up.
If I didn’t answer, they would hunt me down and threaten people close to me – like Andrea. How did they even find me here? I wondered as I wandered over to the door. After opening it, I saw Big John. He stood a good full foot above me and had even bigger muscles.
“Hey, big guy,” I said in a calm, friendly tone. “Come in. I was about to call Jackson.”
He stepped in and looked around.
“Nice place. You buy it instead of paying us?”
“What? No, of course not.”
“That’s right,” he said, staring me dead in the eyes. “A woman owns it. We know you’re going to pay us before you do anything else.”
“There’s not a thing as triple-or-nothing, is there?”
“No, there isn’t,” Jackson Cash said as he walked through the doorway.
He slammed the door behind him without taking his eyes off me.
“Hey, guys, no need to get rough. Or bring Andrea into this.”
“Not yet,” Jackson said, looking around. “What’s a nice woman like that doing helping a son-of-a-bitch like you?”
If Big John hadn’t been around, I would have decked him, but it didn’t go down like that. Instead, I bit my tongue, trying to control my anger. Jackson was trying to provoke me, give them a reason to beat the shit out of me. I didn’t need Andrea coming home to me lying on the floor bloody and bruised.
“She’s a friend.”
Jackson laughed.
“That’s not what I’ve heard. Anyway, it’s neither here nor there for now. You have two weeks to come up with our money.”
“I’ll get it for you,” I said, not breaking eye contact with him.
“I know you will.” He turned and opened the door then stopped and bent his waist to look at me. “Because if you don’t, Tony, we both know what will happen to you and this sweet friend of yours.”
“Leave her out of it,” I snarled like I was king of the fucking jungle.
Big John stepped in front of me, his massive arms crossed over his chest.
“Call me soon, Tony,” Jackson said as he left.
I stared into Big John’s eyes. They were devoid of emotion, which made him a dangerous man.
“Go on, get the fuck out of here,” I said.
He backed up toward the door then spun around and left. I walked up and closed it, locking both the chain and the deadbolt.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck…” I muttered.
Have I made a bad situation worse?
I went to her bedroom to lay down and think through my options. While I didn’t have many of them, I had to come up with a way to pay Jackson Cash. My safety didn’t matter, but they would go after Andrea to hurt me. There was no way in hell I would let that happen.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Tony
After cleaning the house from top to bottom, I sat on the couch and waited for Andrea to get home. She came through the door with a smile on her face already. It widened as she looked around.
“You’ve been busy,” she said.
I smiled, hoping she didn’t notice it was forced. She had too much going on to worry about my gambling debts. I stood up and walked over, putting my arms around her waist.
“Yeah, I got bored. Don’t get used to it.”
She leaned up and kissed me. I would never tire of the way her lips pressed against mine.
“I have good news,” she said, leaning her head back as I held her.
“Yeah? I could use some right about now.”
“Well, nothing is final yet, but Kenneth was able to find some proof that you didn’t start the fight with Keith. Once the story runs, they’ll probably hire you back to win the playoffs.”
My mouth dropped open as I stared at her, speechless.
“You can say thank you,” she teased then giggled.
“I’ll show you how thankful I am.”
I picked her up. She squealed in delight as I carried her into the bedroom. If I got back on the team, I’d demand a million-dollar apology bonus. That would solve all my problems.
After tossing her on the bed, I undressed slowly. She took her clothes off while wriggling around on the mattress. Before I could join her, she kneeled at the edge. I walked up and kissed her passionately. Her fingers wrapped around my cock as I slipped my tongue into her mouth.
“I want to ride you,” she said.
“You can ride me all night long.”
She smiled. I sat on the edge of the bed then laid back. As I stared up at the ceiling, she straddled me, stroking my cock with her hand and rubbing it against her pussy. I smiled, pushing the bad thoughts out of my mind.
I should tell her the truth.
The thought startled me, but I pushed it aside as she raised her body and slowly slid down on my dick. It pushed into her perfectly. Nothing else mattered as she leaned forward, hands on my chest.
Her breasts hung down, so natural and beautiful. I grabbed them, squeezing as she rocked forward and backward, my cock sliding in and out of that tight, wet hole. She was in control. I loved it.
I put my hands behind my head, looking into her eyes as she used my cock for her pleasure. She sat up, bouncing up and down faster, those perfect tits bouncing. I smiled at her pleasure.
I should tell her the truth.
At the return of the thought, it became harder to keep the fake smile on my face. The ecstatic pleasure of her riding me hard and fast helped, but my conscience would not leave me alone.
Is this love? True love?
When I considered the possibility, my pleasure increased tenfold. She made me want to settle down and start a family. It went far beyond just sex, something I’d not experienced with any woman before.
She slowed down, grinding against me as I filled her pussy completely. It squeezed my cock as I thrust upward each time her body came down. I grabbed her hips to help me time it for even deeper penetration.
Her moans filled the room, a song I loved to hear.
I should tell her the truth.
Why wouldn’t the thought go away? I stared up at her face, her eyes closed and head held back. She deserved to know the truth. I decided to tell her.
At that exact moment, she cried out in pleasure as her pussy tightened and her body shivered and shook. I held onto her under the arms as she flailed about.
She settled down with my cock still lodged deep inside her. We made eye contact again. A wide grin slipped on her face as she began to grind again.
As my cock slid in and out of her gushing pussy, I stopped trying to hold it back and let myself go. She rode me faster, the friction building up to a crescendo.
“Fuck!” I yelled as I came inside the condom.
She smiled down at me like it was Christmas morning and we had just opened all the presents together. My body jerked as she kept riding me.
“Too much,” I said with a laugh as I lifted her up.
The look on her face made me smile as she climbed off my body and settled down on the mattress next to me. She wrapped one leg over mine.
I breathed deep, trying to catch my breath.
“Damn if it didn’t get even better that time.”
She said nothing while running her fingers over my chest and abs.
“That’s great about Kenneth finding the truth,” I said. “How soon are you going to do a story?”
“We’re still checking a few sources, but soon.”
“Within the next two weeks?”
“I’m not sure. Why? Are you on a deadline too?”
“Maybe,” I said, frowning.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, leaning on her elbow.
I placed my hand on her hip as I stared into her eyes.
“I’ve not told you this yet because I didn’t want to worry you, but…”
“You’re pregnant?” she asked, eyes open wide.
Both of us laughed.
“No, I’m trying to be serious. You say I don’t open up enough.”
“I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. “Go on.”
“I like to gamble.”
“Like scratch-off tickets? I hear you. They’re the worst, but I can’t stop buying them.”
“No, I bet on football games.”
Anger flashed over her face.
“Why are you telling this to me?”
“Because I love you,” I said.
Her eyes opened wide.
“I do,” I said. “And you should know. I’m down quite a bit, but if they let me back on the team because I didn’t do anything, I’m going to demand a bonus big enough to cover it.”
I studied her face for any reaction as she processed the information.
She sighed and frowned, not a good sign.
“This isn’t good, Tony.”
“I know I fucked up,” I said. “I’m going to fix it.”
“And never bet again? How much money are we talking?”
It was my turn to frown.
Should I tell her? Might as well.
“A million.”
“What?” She sat up, staring down at me. “Are you kidding? Please tell me you’re kidding?”
“No, I’m not, but I’m taking care of it. I thought I had a sure-thing, but it went south. Instead of paying it, I went double-or-nothing.”
“Stupid!” she yelled, hitting me on the arm. “Christmas is coming up in a week.”
“I know,” I said, kneeling to face her on the bed.
I put my palm against her cheek as she glared at me with eyes of fire.
“We’re together. That’s all that matters, right?”
She slowly nodded her head. I bent forward and kissed her.
“I love you so much, Andrea.”
“I love you too, Tony.”
“Then trust me. It’s all going to work out if you can get me my job back.”
“I’m working on it with Kenneth, the man who made you jealous.”
“I was never jealous of him,” I lied. “This is going to be the best Christmas.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I’ve been trying not to think about it.”
“You do home to your family?”
“No, not really. What about you?”
“Me either. We should celebrate together this year.”
“If we have something to celebrate.”
“We will,” I said. “You can count on me.”
We kissed then cleaned up before bed. She fell asleep next to me. I laid awake an hour or so longer, staring up at her popcorn ceiling while hoping and praying everything worked out.
TWENTY-NINE
Andrea
The next day at work, I pushed my romance novel out of my mind and got to work on the story about Tony and how he had been framed by a jealous teammate. Even Scott couldn’t complain about the big story about the big jock returning to the team.