Page 10 of One Bet

“See? You feel better already, don’t you?” I liked his smile, loved his laugh, actually, sat in the bar picturing myself curling up against him.

“I do. Thank you.” He laid his hand over mine and stroked my fingers with his thumb. “You have that magical effect.”

I wanted him to keep touching me, but for the life of me, I couldn’t think of how to make that happen. “Me and football.”

“Well, I guess it’s just you now.” His life hadn’t been all peaches and ice cream before college. His mom suffered from some sort of mental illness, his dad was a workaholic and his brother died in Afghanistan. Football was Keaton’s escape. “It is what it is.” But it wasn’t. The hurt and fear in his eyes spoke louder than his lie.

I’d watched every game he played, even paid extra for the sports pack so I wouldn’t miss a single interview, although he sounded better in person than through my television. More than anything in my life that I’d ever wanted, I wanted to wipe that frown off his face. “I still remember you trying to teach me to throw a football. I was so bad at it.”

Finally, he looked up and the smile was back. “Not so bad.”

What I remembered most was the way his body pressed into mine as he stood behind me, the way his arms came around me, and his hand laid over the top of mine as he lined my fingers with the laces. That was the moment things changed for me.

One Decade Ago

I didn’t walk past the Alpha house very often. It wasn’t on my way home or way to class, but today, I wanted to see if they’d managed to paint over Susie’s handiwork yet. She’d gotten creative last night and she and her crew had drawn various sized penises on the brick. And this time, she’d expanded her portfolio to include the side of the house. She’d said it was too easy for them to just keep covering her insults and she’d wanted a bigger canvas.

As expected, they had their pledges outside, paintbrushes locked and loaded, adult cloth diapers on, while Keaton threw a football back and forth with Finn Makenzie, another Alpha. Finn threw high, Keaton jumped, and I caught the ball, dropping my bag of books and papers. I held the ball as Keaton jogged toward me.

“You know, for being such a hotshot football player, you kind of suck.”

He grinned and picked up my bag. “I’m a quarterback, not a receiver.” We exchanged the ball for the bag, and he hugged it like a teenage girl that wasn’t me would hug her favorite teddy bear. For a second, just the one, I stared at the way he cradled the ball, and a little ball of jealousy hardened in my stomach. I wanted to be that football. “You want to play?”

“I don’t think so. I’m more of a baseball kind of girl.” I hadn’t walked by to end up embarrassing myself. These guys were gonna be pros someday, and my skills hadn’t been tested since I’d forced the county to let me play peewee football in grade school.

“Come on.” He relieved me of my bag again, then handed me the ball. “Go on. I’ll help you throw it to Finn and you’ll see how easy it is.”

Part of the reason I dressed the way I did was to discourage my inclusion in group activities, like playing catch with a football in the front yard of a fraternity house. Besides, if Ryder saw me being a pathetic non-athlete, what would he think?

That thought lasted all of one second, right up to the moment Keaton moved behind me and slid his hands from my shoulders to my wrists. He lowered one to my side then used it to angle our hips, so we were no longer facing Finn head-on. “You hold the ball like this.” His voice was thick and low as he moved my fingers with his to rest between the laces on the ball. His touch sent electricity zinging along my cells and his voice made my panties start to melt.

Every other thing about him made my entire body go hot. And how had I not noticed how good Keaton smelled? Woodsy with a hint of spice, I shivered but stayed put. I couldn’t have moved if a sudden hurricane ate the shoreline away and barreled toward me. My palms grew damp, my heart kicked up a few paces, my stomach clenched and I liked all of it.

He stepped back. “All right. Now cock your arm back.” He demonstrated without touching me, and the muscle in his biceps contracted into a ball of pure sexy. “When you bring it forward, release when you get to right here.” He used his arm to demonstrate. “Ready?”

I aimed for Finn with my mind more than my hand and my arm. Before I could pull it forward, Keaton stepped in again and this time, his breath warmed my ear as his arm wrapped around my waist so his free hand could rest on my belly. Damn.

“Not so far. And don’t concentrate so hard. You’re just playing a game of catch.”

He might as well have whispered something decadent and naughty for all the focus I had on throwing the damned ball. All I could think about was Keaton whispering something decadent and naughty as his thumb rubbed small lines on my belly. His chest pressed against my back, his mouth curled next to my skin.

“Hey! Are you two gonna make out or throw the ball?” Finn stood across the yard, hands on his hips.

I did the only thing I could think to do. I took a step out of Keaton’s grasp and let fly with a spiral. I might’ve already known how to throw a football that hit him square in the numbers. He caught the ball with sure hands and laughed. “She might be trying out for your job next year, Shaw.”

Keaton moved behind me again. “I think you hustled me.”

“I never said I couldn’t throw a ball.” My voice cracked and my skin felt alive like it had its own wattage and it was because of him. Shit, this wasn’t supposed to be happening. I wasn’t supposed to be attracted to Keaton, it was supposed to be Ryder that made my heart pitter-patter and my panties get wet. Ryder Kennedy not Keaton Shaw, but damn, Keaton felt nice. I chuckled through my confusion. “Fair warning. Just don’t ever bet on pool with me.”

I turned, and we were chest to chest. “You’ll go home broke and sad.”

And if his chest felt nice against my back, it was pure heaven against my chest. Holy shit, I wanted Keaton. Now. On the lawn, in the car, anywhere I could get him.

“I never get sad over money.”

“That’s because you have a lot of it.” I didn’t mean to say it. The last thing I wanted right then was to point out the differences between us, especially when I could see all the shades of blue in his eyes, but once again, my mouth let me down. And now I wanted to get out of there before I said something else stupid, but I also wanted to stay right there, with his arms around me and those big blue eyes pointed at mine. “I should go.”

“Okay.” He stepped back and cleared his throat. I looked across the yard as the football came sailing at Keaton again. This time, I blocked the blow and the ball sailed left.