Three and Out

  “I’m sure she will be relieved to hear from you,” Mason cut in her thoughts, knowing her so well. “Nothing to worry about.” Mason gave her leg a gentle squeeze, which shocked her lady parts into full alert. It was a small touch, but it ignited every lost flame in her body. “I need another beer, do you want one?” he asked, as he started to get up.

  “No, I mean yes, but I’ll get them. You sit.” Piper quickly got up and grabbed their empty plates to take to the kitchen.

  “You know, I can do things,” Mason said, almost annoyed.

  Being patient, Piper said, “I know, but I would feel better if you continued to let me help. I don’t need you slipping on those damn things on my watch.” With that, she went to the kitchen, rinsed the plates, and put them in the dishwasher. Once they were cleared, she gripped the counter to gain control of her heart. Everything seemed so easy. Why was he being so nice? Why wasn’t he giving her any shit? Was he trying to play her for everything she did to him? If she were to be honest, she didn’t fully trust the man, especially not to break her heart…since she’d done exactly that to him.

  “You okay?” Mason asked from the kitchen doorway.

  Straightening up, Piper said, “Yes, sorry. I’ll just put away these boxes of food and then be right out.” She busied herself with packing everything up, but was stopped when Mason grabbed her hands and made her look at him.

  “Stop. Why are you avoiding me right now?”

  “I’m not avoiding you,” she squeaked out. He was too close, way too close. She could rub the stubble on his jaw, lick the sweet full lips that were gracing his face, nibble on his ear lobe; he was just too damn close.

  “Yes, you are. You’ll do anything to keep yourself busy so you don’t have to be near me for that long.”

  “That’s not true, it’s just…this is going to sound terrible, but why are you being so…nice to me?”

  Mason studied her face for a second, and then said, “I want to start from the beginning.”

  “Start what?”

  “Start us, from the beginning. The way we met on the airplane, instantly aggravating each other, and then the wedding…we were bound to fail from the very start, but we still had that unbelievable pull that brought us together. We never were given the chance to get to know each other, to go on dates, to learn each other’s likes and dislikes.”

  “What are you saying?” Piper asked, wanting to actually hear the words from his lips, afraid that she might be hallucinating.

  “I want to try dating, Piper.”

  He was still holding her hands, thankfully, because she felt like she was going to pass out.

  “But, I hurt you…”

  “And I hurt you too. We both hurt each other, and we are both to blame for what happened.”

  “But, if I hurt you, why do you want to date me? Shouldn’t you be tossing my ass out on the pavement right now?” She felt very uneasy. Mason was not the kind of guy to just forget the past and move forward. No, he was a stubborn ass with the vengeance to seek revenge. So to see him so easily switch gears after lashing out at her had her feeling very skeptical.

  Mason let go of her hands and ran his through his hair, making the ends stand straight up in the air. “I’m not happy, Piper. I’m here on this earth, going through the motions, but I’m not really living; I’m not experiencing anything. The only time that I really felt alive was when we were together. I might be a giant idiot to trust you, but I can’t help it; I’m drawn to you, and I just need to give this a proper chance. And, frankly, I’m just not over you. I never was and I don’t think I ever will be, no matter what I say; I will never get over you. I need to see if we were really meant to be pulled together by the universe.”

  His words sliced through her heart as she thought about what he said. She wasn’t over him either, not by a long shot, but he didn’t trust her. Well, that was a given, but she didn’t trust him either. It would be a big deciding factor in their relationship if they gave it a go…would they ever be able to trust each other?

  “I don’t know if it will work. We both have trust issues and we both said some awful things to each other.”

  “That’s the past, Piper. Let’s leave it behind and move forward. We need to give this a chance; if anything, do it for Lexi. She was so distraught that we didn’t work out.”

  A sharp laugh escaped Piper’s mouth, as she thought about her little blonde friend bumming hard that she wasn’t able to make things right with Mason.

  “Well, if it’s for Lexi, then we’ll have to give it a go, I guess.”

  Smiling, Mason said, “Perfect, but there is only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I leave for Denver on Wednesday. I have to start rehab.”

  “Oh…” She had never done a long distance relationship, and the thought of having to stay with her parents while Mason was in Denver made her sick to her stomach. “Long distance might be hard.”

  “Long distance?” Mason asked, confused. “Oh, fuck no, you’ll be coming with me.”

  “With you? I thought we were taking things slow, starting from the beginning. Moving to a different state for a guy doesn’t seem very slow to me.”

  “Do you have anything tying you down here?”

  “Well…no, but…”

  “Good, it’s settled then,” Mason said, cutting her off.

  “No, it’s not settled. You can’t just go around making demands, thinking they are going to come true.” A spark lit inside her as she spoke. “People have lives, you know.”

  “Keep talking, sweetheart, I know you have no life here. Otherwise you wouldn’t be babysitting and volunteering to come take care of the one man who could make you pull your hair out one minute and then have you praising God while I’m buried ten inches deep inside of you the next.”

  Piper blushed just from the thought of Mason being hard and inside of her. It was probably one of the best feelings she had ever experienced.

  Laughing, Mason pointed at her face that was smirking, and said, “See, you can’t deny it. You want to be with me; you’re coming to Denver.”

  Putting her hands on her hips, knowing defeat when she saw it, she put up one last fight. “Let’s get one thing straight, I don’t take well to demands. You should know that, given the childhood I had, but if you wanted to ask me to go with you, I would consider it.”

  Giving her a delightful smirk, he grabbed her hand and held it to his heart as he said, “Piper, will you please come with me to Denver and help me with rehab while we get to know each other?”

  “Well, since you asked so nicely…”

  Rolling his eyes, he dropped her hand and crutched back out to the game as he muttered, “Stubborn woman,” under his breath.

  Inwardly smiling, Piper thought about how she couldn’t wait to get back to Denver, not just because she would be as far away from her parents as possible, but she would be able to go back to the life she loved in Denver, minus Jax, the crazy love triangle, and the annoying bitch, Brooke.

  Life was finally starting to look up.

  **Jesse**

  “Hit me baby one more time,” Ryker sang at the top of his lungs, as he whipped a towel around and danced to the song that was obviously by Britney Spears that he was listening to through his earbuds.

  Jesse took the opportunity to take what Ryker was singing literally and hit him in the shoulder to shut him the hell up. He couldn’t deal with Ryker’s obnoxious behavior right now; he was not in the mood. He was barely in the mood to take the field, and that spoke volumes about the kind of rage that was searing through him.

  “Dude!” Ryker complained, as he rubbed his shoulder. “I don’t have my pads on yet, can you lay off until then?”

  “You know the dickheads out there are going to hit you harder than that, especially when you’re carrying the ball down field, right?”

  “Nah, they’re a bunch of fart nuggets; they have nothing on me.”

  “Okay, Jamal Jackson has abo
ut fifty pounds on you. He’s normally paired up with Mason, but he’s coming after you today.”

  “No shit. You weren’t the only one at practice when Coach Ryan was announcing that. I got it covered. The fucker is weak on his left. I can do a quick spin to my left and lose the sucker, no problem,” Ryker said, as he demonstrated his spin move off of an unsuspecting teammate walking by.

  Shaking his head, Jesse said, “You’re a confident little fuck, you know that?”

  “You have to be, man, especially when you’re put up against one of the best defensive tight ends in the league.”

  Jesse nodded his head as his phone beeped with a text message. He pulled it out from his locker and saw it was a text from Ashlin. Once she pretty much blew him off, he thought about deleting her contact information, but couldn’t bring himself to do it, so instead of being Ladder Ball Queen in his phone, he just changed it to Ashlin. Ignoring Ryker’s non-stop chatter, he read the message.

  Ashlin: Good luck today. I’m sorry about the other night. I hope we can still be friends.

  Jesse shook his head as he snorted. Yeah, friends wasn’t going to happen.

  “You still all tied up about Ashlin?” Ryker asked as he leaned over, clearly trying to read Jesse’s text message.

  Jesse tossed his phone behind him in his locker and said, “No.”

  “Liar. You like her,” Ryker said, while tickling the side of Jesse’s face.

  Jesse grabbed Ryker’s wrist and said, “Unless you want to be getting surgery on your wrist today, I suggest you keep your extremities to yourself.”

  Ryker backed off, holding his hands up in defeat. “Fuck, dude. You need to calm down.”

  Jesse pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering why his locker was right next to Ryker’s.

  “Can I just fucking focus before the game without you getting in my face and my business? Damn, dude, get a fucking hobby.”

  Ryker was silent for a second, and then said, “I’m not going to take offense to that, since you’re clearly on the brink of destruction, but for what it’s worth, she’s not doing well. She likes you, but doesn’t know how to process her feelings. She’s damaged and doesn’t trust very easily, but that’s not my story to tell, it’s hers. Before you shut her out, maybe give her the chance of being her friend. Gain her trust, and then who knows, maybe it will develop into something else. All I know is that you are both miserable fucks right now, so why not be miserable together?”

  Ryker patted Jesse on the shoulder and then grabbed his pads and jersey and headed toward the sinks. The self-centered ass loved to make sure he was looking good before he headed out onto the field.

  Jesse didn’t feel like listening to Ryker, but deep down, he knew Ryker was right. Jesse could tell that there was something deep-rooted in Ashlin that was scaring her away. There was no denying the attraction or connection they had with each other. She just needed to let go of her past and move forward, but was he strong enough to let her do that? What if he decided to let her in his life, be her friend, and in the end, it was useless? What if, in the end, she still didn’t want him? He didn’t think he could take it.

  He grabbed his phone and looked at her text message again. Would he be able to say no, though, and give up an opportunity that might change his life forever? Would he always wonder, if he had given their friendship a chance, would things have been different?

  As he thought about it, he knew he would. He would easily regret it because, even though Ashlin liked to remain aloof with him, he felt like he knew her; he felt like their souls connected, and he couldn’t give up on that gut feeling. There was no way he could, even if it meant facing a broken heart in the end.

  **Jax**

  “Would you say you have anger issues?” a reporter asked Jax as he fielded questions from the media about their brutal loss.

  Anger issues? No. Frustration at losing his best receiver and having to put rookies in the game because Ryker was burned out in the first half? Yes, fucking beyond frustrated. Slamming his clipboard on the ground and tossing his headset to the side after the fourth fumble from a receiver in the game might not have been the best reaction, but without going long, that left them only playing the short game, and running the ball wasn’t ideal when you needed to gain a lot of yards.

  This game was probably the most frustrating three hours of his life. There was nothing he could do but yell at his rookies to get their heads out of their asses, but the dandies were sensitive and didn’t respond well to a screaming tyrant…at least that’s what Jax found out from Jesse afterwards. Jax didn’t care, though, because they were in the NFL; they needed to grow up…it was time.

  Losing Mason was more detrimental to the team than Jax could have thought. He hated the man, absolutely despised him, so admitting that the team actually needed the asshole was twisting his balls, but damn if it wasn’t true. Mason and Jesse had a special connection on the field that was undeniable, and without that connection, the Stallions were going to struggle to make it to the playoffs, if today’s game was any indication of their season’s future.

  Clearing his throat, Jax said, “No. Next question.”

  “What would you call the way you treated your clipboard?” the nagging reporter asked.

  “I call it being frustrated with the fact that my star receiver is out with a busted knee. Unless you have any other questions that pertain to the game and not my supposed anger issues, then I’m going to leave.”

  “Will Ryker be able to carry the team with the long ball?” a different reporter asked.

  “Ryker is a stellar wide receiver, but he can’t do it alone, just like Mason couldn’t do it all by himself either. Ryker will be the leader, and hopefully his seniority will rub off on the rookies. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but hopefully we can pull it together quickly, because we’re still looking forward to the playoffs. That will be it for tonight; have a good night.”

  Jax walked off the stage and pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Brooke, letting her know he was coming over. He needed to decompress, and the only way he could do that was if he was with Brooke. She made him feel light and needed, something he hadn’t felt in a while…since his wife died.

  She happily replied with a “Can’t wait to see you.” The drive to her place wasn’t too long, but it seemed like forever to him because all he wanted was her in his arms. The team was driving him crazy. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do if his backups couldn’t get their shit together, and this was all happening when he was trying to prove to everyone that he was one hell of a coach.

  Jax parked his car and practically jogged up to Brooke’s place, because he couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms. Knocking on the door, he waited impatiently for her to answer.

  The door swung open and Jax didn’t get a chance to take in her appearance because he had her wrapped up in his arms before she could say hi. He closed the door and continued to hold onto her. He buried his head in the sweet scent of her hair and held on tight as her arms did the same.

  “Hey,” she said softly as she rubbed his back. “I’m sorry about the loss today.”

  “Mmm…” was all he said as he continued to hold her. She was a breath of fresh air, just what he needed, because ever since the final seconds of the clock had ticked down on the scoreboard, Jax felt like a giant dark cloud was hovering over him as he tried to figure out what his next move was going to be. Because he was a younger coach, he had a lot to prove, and he would do anything to make sure he kept his job.

  “Are you hungry?”

  Reluctantly pulling away, Jax cupped her face with his hands and brought his lips down to hers, pressing gently against her mouth. She was wearing cherry ChapStick, and the taste of it infused with the strokes of her tongues on his lips was exhilarating. Immediately, he wanted to take her back to her bedroom or even take her up against the wall, but he restrained himself as he pulled back away. He could use a shower first, that was for damn sure.

  Hold
ing up his gym bag, he said, “Do you mind if I take a shower?”

  She eyed the bag and said, “Not at all. I’ll cook something up for us while you’re cleaning up. I made pineapple upside down cake in hopes that you would come over after the game.”

  “Is that what the delicious smell is? I thought it was you,” Jax said with a grin.

  “So cheesy.” Brooke rolled her eyes and went off to the kitchen. “Bathroom is down the hall to the right. Towels are under the sink.”

  “Thanks darlin’,” Jax called off as he headed down toward the bathroom.

  Brooke’s place wasn’t too overly girly, but it was girlier than his place, that was for sure. Even though there was definite chick décor going on in her place, Jax felt comfortable, which threw him off for a second. He still didn’t know Brooke all that well, but he felt like he knew her better than anyone else. They’d both been hurt in previous relationships, they’d both been used, and they both just wanted to be number one in someone’s life. Jax felt like he got that from Brooke. She made a pineapple upside down cake with him in mind, for fuck’s sake; Piper never did anything like that.

  He stopped himself right there; he had to stop comparing Brooke to Piper, because that could be dangerous. He didn’t want Brooke thinking he thought about Piper at all, because he didn’t…ever. She was a distant memory. Even though the pain she caused still hung around, he was done with her.

  Jax turned on the water to the shower and let it get warm as he stripped down to nothing. He was using the guest bathroom, and he wondered why Brooke didn’t let him into her master bathroom. Was she self-conscious? Or maybe she didn’t want him looking through her things like he was right now. He had no shame; he wanted to know what he was getting himself into. The only things in her spare bathroom were an unopened toothbrush, towels, and some head cold medicine. Nothing too revealing, except for the fact that she bought store brand items.