SCORE (A Stepbrother Sports Romance) (2 page)

Blake swam over, his eyes on me, a hungry gleam in them. My smile slowly disappeared as he neared. Reaching up, he grabbed for my arm, and I yelled, “No!” But it was too late. His strong grip tightened around my wrist and he yanked hard, pulling me in. The water rushed up around me, cold and unforgiving. I shot up, gasping for air as I reached the surface. Maggie and Blake laughed as I pulled the wet, matted hair out of my face.

“You guys suck,” I mumbled, pouting as I stood in the water that was deeper than my waist. Annoyed, I splashed them. The playfulness turned into a full-on splash war, and we goofed around and laughed for almost twenty minutes. Finally, we got out of the pool, and Maggie and I dried ourselves off before going inside. I tossed my towel at Blake as we left because he was still dripping wet on the patio.

Maggie and I headed to the kitchen to make sandwiches. As I pulled ingredients from the fridge, Maggie said, “That was fun.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it was.” I heard the faint trace of surprise in my own words.

Maggie sat down at the table and began to make her sandwich. Without looking up, she said, “Maybe it won’t be so bad having them here.”

I smiled, thinking Maggie might be right. “Yeah, maybe.”

Blake

I headed upstairs to my new room, tense after the excursion in the pool. Alyssa looked incredible, her body irresistible in that bikini. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be living with her when she was such a forbidden temptation.

I laid down on the bed, willing myself not to think about her. Insanely, I felt drawn to her pale skin, soft brown hair, and baby-blue eyes. I wanted to know more about her, but trying was a crazy idea that would get me nowhere. She had set opinions of me, and we were much too different anyway. Alyssa was so much more real than the girls I had always dated. That was part of being a football star—keeping up appearances and protecting your reputation.

It didn’t help that my mother married her father, either. That made it ten times more wrong…and ten times more tempting. I shook my head and dressed, deciding to go out for a while before the party I had been invited to later. Some of the guys from high school were throwing an end of the year bash before we left for college.

The gym was a good place to clear my head. It had been a couple of days since I worked out, anyway, and my muscles craved the exercise. I headed downstairs and saw Alyssa and Maggie sitting at the table eating. I tried not to notice how cute she looked, smiling and chatting, relaxed with her friend like she never was with me. I left quickly without a word, desperate to get my mind off of her.

After an hour at the gym, I felt better. My muscles were sore and aching, but I felt good. I headed to the showers before I left and grabbed some fast food on the way home, planning to change and leave once I arrived. I scarfed down the greasy food and ran upstairs to my room where I dressed in a rush, throwing on a pair of jeans and a gray V-neck.

I headed downstairs, and Mom called out to me from the kitchen. “Blake?”

I popped my head in and saw she was cooking dinner. “What?” I asked her impatiently.

“Where are you going, honey?” she asked, concerned.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’m just going to hang out with some friends. I’ll see you later.” I rushed out of the kitchen. “Love you!” I called before shutting the door behind me, feeling a little guilty but reminding myself that she had a new husband to take care of her now.

The party was crowded when I got there fifteen minutes later. I saw a bunch of guys from my high school team and headed over to greet them. I grabbed a beer and hung out for a while, talking about girls and sports mostly. Then I walked through the crowded party, weaving between the people dancing and drinking.

My eyes scanned the crowd and stopped on Alyssa. I wondered what she was doing here, because she didn’t run with the same crowd I did. I drew a sharp breath as my eyes lingered on her, surprised. She wore a tight blue dress, and her hair was curled softly around her face, looking more beautiful than ever. Alyssa stood beside Maggie, chatting to a guy I didn’t know.

He stood really close to her, a drink in his hand as he bent to whisper something. When she laughed at him, I pushed away from them through the crowd because I wanted to get away. There were tons of hot girls at this party. I didn’t need to spend my time stuck on the one I couldn’t have. I was headed out to the backyard where some of my friends were when I was stopped by a petite blonde girl. I recognized her as one of the cheerleaders from high school.

The girl was obviously intoxicated. When she stopped me, she said, “Hey, Blake, how are you? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

I smiled politely down at her. “Yeah… Good, how are you, Brittney?” I wanted to get out of there, but the crowd pressed too tightly around us. The music pounded, and Brittney handed me a shot. With a shrug, I drank it, and the alcohol burned my throat.

“Want to go outside? It’s really hot in here,” she asked, hiccuping mid-sentence. I nodded, and she grabbed my hand, pulling me outside into the cool, nighttime breeze.

I sat on a bench in the backyard, drinking beers as Brittney climbed all over me, touching me and kissing my face. I pulled away from her, not in the mood, but she clung to me anyway. I waited until I was sober enough to drive and left after saving my number in Brittney’s phone, figuring she might be a good time when she was a little less drunk.

I drove home and fell into bed, annoyed by the party. I hated the restlessness, desperate to know what might be happening between Alyssa and that guy. I wouldn’t ask, and there was no point in even knowing because it made no difference. I just needed to get Alyssa out of my head. I rolled over, forced my eyes shut, and prepared for another crappy night of sleep.

Over the next two days, I saw very little of Alyssa. She was out a lot or holed up in her room, reading. I was bored out of my mind, filling my time with going to the gym and playing video games in my room. I was on the twelfth level of the game and had been playing for a few hours when there was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I called out without looking away from the television screen in front of me.

The door opened, and I flicked a quick glance at my mom as she entered the room. “Blake, honey, can we talk for a moment?”

I paused the game with an annoyed sigh and turned to look at my mother. “Sure, Mom. What’s up?”

“I want to talk to you about school, honey. You need to figure out what you’re going to do,” Mom told me, looking even more concerned that usual.

“I don't know, Mom. I really don't know what I want to do.” I smiled to soften the annoyance in my tone. I was mad at myself more than at her. The constant disappointment and anxiety I felt when I thought of school bubbled to the surface after I had deliberately neglected the thoughts all summer. I felt guilty for dismissing the subject of my future, but it was terrifying to think about.

“I still think you should go to the school that offered you a position on their football team—the one Alyssa goes to. It’s close, and you would get to be on the team.” I saw the hope in her eyes as she handed me the envelope I had opened at the beginning of the summer and never touched again.

I was unsure about how Alyssa would feel about me going there. The thought of getting to see her every day made me smile, and as much as I wanted—or was it needed?—to keep the distance and contact between us to a minimum, my pulse raced and my stomach dropped at the thought of seeing her regularly. Between Alyssa and football, the choice was just too tempting, especially considering that my mother wouldn’t let me get away with saying no.

I smiled and said, “Sure. I'll look into going there. It sounds like a good idea.”

She returned my smile, obviously pleased, and I tried to feel more optimistic about my future, having finally made a small commitment to something. I had always struggled with schoolwork despite my athletic abilities. College was a whole new world, and I was secretly terrified I wouldn’t be able to make it off the field.

The next couple days went by quickly as I got my paperwork together for school and worked out in prep for football. Before I knew, it was the day before classes began.

Mom was so excited about me going to college that she offered to drive Alyssa and me to the school. I was nervous and excited at the same time. My stomach twisted in small waves of nausea, and I sat rigidly in my seat, fighting to maintain a cold, careless attitude. Alyssa was quiet as we drove, giving off a cold vibe as well. I wondered if she was angry at me for choosing the same college as her. I looked at her from the passenger seat, studying her in the rearview mirror. She flashed me an icy stare before looking away, demonstrating her obvious anger.

 I got out of the car, saying a quick goodbye to my mom. “Love you,” I called out to her before walking off. Alyssa scowled at me, clearly not pleased by the fact that I was attending the same school. “What’s the matter, blue eyes?” I asked, flashing her a charming smile.

Her jaw clenched in irritation. “Did you really have to follow me here?”

“Look, kid, it’s nothing personal. I got a football scholarship, and a decent one at that.” I fell into step beside her and looked around the large campus. My words were prideful, and telling Alyssa something positive about my future felt good, especially considering how much she valued school.

“Whatever,” she mumbled, clearly unimpressed. She clutched her notebooks tightly to her chest.
She’s nervous,
I realized, smiling to myself. The great and mighty Alyssa was nervous for her first day of school. How cute.

Making my voice kinder, I said, “Good luck, kid.” I patted her on the back before we parted ways.

The first day was rough. Classes were long, and football practice was intense. I was relieved when it was finally over and I joined Alyssa, who waited on the front steps of a building. I was still damp from the shower, and my wet hair dripped in my face. My muscles were sore and tired, not used to the rigorous practice. I watched Alyssa as she flipped through her notebook, looking at different papers and mumbling to herself.

“Hey, dork,” I greeted her with a lopsided grin.

Alyssa rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. I sat next to her, and as we waited for our ride, she looked at me and said, “I’m going to drive to campus tomorrow in my car. Do you want to ride with me?”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised at the offer. “Sure,” I said with a shrug, “Sure as hell beats driving.”

Mom pulled up, and we hopped in the back. She asked us how school was and other things on the ride back, but I mostly focused on Alyssa—the way she scrunched her face at her papers, the kind smiles she offered my mom, the tinkling sounds her voice made when she laughed. She was completely intoxicating, and the harder I tried to pull away, the more I wanted to get closer.

Alyssa

School had started three weeks ago, and I was adjusting well to my classes. They were difficult, but I welcomed the challenge, pleased whenever I got an A on a paper or aced a test. Maggie and I had both been crazy busy with schoolwork, so we were going out for lunch, relieved to catch a break.

After ordering our food, I took a big gulp of my iced tea and asked, “So how close are you to being done with that ten-page paper for bio?”

Maggie huffed. “I haven’t even started it.”

“Maggie!” I spoiled the protest with a giggle.

She shrugged. “It’s not my fault. I have so much other work to do. Let me guess, you’re almost done?”

I smiled and said, “Kind of. I still have to edit it and stuff.”

Maggie laughed and stared at me knowingly. I had always been the more dedicated student. Maggie would rather cram everything in the day before and get a B than work like I did. I went a little overboard at times, but my education was important to me.

Maggie interrupted my thoughts. “So how is everything with Blake?”

“It’s fine, I guess. I mean, he gets on my nerves, but whatever.” I did my best to sound dismissive because I didn’t want to talk about Blake, even though he was rapidly becoming all I thought about.

Maggie often gushed about how hot he was, but I always pretended indifference, which was not true at all. Every time I spoke of Blake, an onslaught of conflicting feelings hit me. I held a lot of resentment towards Blake from high school. He had been a part of a group that often bullied not only me but a lot of other students. Blake had always been egotistical and walked around with an air of superiority. Now, these old emotions were mixed with a stronger attraction and a newfound liking for his indulgent humor.

***

After lunch, Maggie and I drove back to campus and headed to class. I heard my name called and turned to see Blake walking towards us. Maggie walked away, calling over her shoulder, “Catch you later.”

“What?” I asked as he approached me looking incredibly handsome in his green shirt that perfectly matched his eyes.

“I have a late practice tonight, and my mom can’t get me. Will you stay late and take me home?” Blake asked.

I bit my lip, indecisive. I needed to get home and do homework, but I didn’t want to leave him in a lurch. “Okay,” I finally agreed because it wasn’t important where I studied. I could do the homework while I waited.