Offside (Pro-U Book 2) Page 2

  I extended my hand to the old man. "Well, I'm Aubrey Moore. My boyfriend is Lucas White over there, and I think him and Jacob are pretty good friends. Maybe we can help with finding him a good woman."

  "I'd love that, but don't tell him that I told you." The older man chuckled. "I'm Raul DeAngelo."

  "What? This is your restaurant?"

  "Sure is. You looking for a job?"

  "Not right now, but if I ever am..." I picked up the darts and glanced down at them. "Thanks for these. The blue one is magical, right?"

  "The blue one." He tapped the counter. "Pizza is on me tonight for your crowd."

  "Thanks!" I turned and walked back toward Lucas and Jacob, who were laughing hard about something.

  "All right, mister. You ready to take your defeat gracefully?" I handed him the darts. "I'll even let you go first."

  "The blue one flies a little to the right. Aim to the left." Jacob slipped his hands into his jeans and winked at me.

  "You ass!" I popped him in the chest. "That's no fair."

  "You knew?" Lucas turned to face me and shook his head. "Tsk. Tsk. That's two spankings for you."

  "Hush." I gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. "The pizza is free for us tonight. Jacob's father owns this place."

  "Oh no." Jacob walked past us. "I told him to stop doing that. He's not making any money as it is. Shit."

  I watched him go and returned my gaze back to Lucas. "We'll pay for it regardless."

  "Agreed. Come over here you black-magic witch and watch how it's done."

  "Pride before the fall baby." I popped his butt as he walked past me, and tried not to pay attention to the soft pulse between my thighs. I almost wanted to lose. Being naughty always seemed more fun when it was his idea anyway.

  "He's better than you think." Jayce moved up beside me and draped his arm over my shoulders.

  "He's good at everything."

  "Really? Fuck. Ugh." He released me as Lucas sank all three darts in the center of the bullseye in quick succession.

  "Would the real Lucas White please stand up?" one of the hockey guys yelled and the crowd went wild.

  "Unbelievable." I walked toward the board and let out a long sigh as Lucas pressed his mouth to the back of my hair, just behind me ear.

  "One more thing. When you're on your knees in a few minutes, I'm gonna need you to meow like a pussy cat for me." He squeezed my ass tightly and growled.

  Yep. Fuck it. I was totally going to throw the game.

  Any girl in her right mind would...

  Offside, Pro-U 2

  Chapter 1

  Emily

  "I really should have taken the summer off. This last semester almost killed me." I glanced over at my roommate as we hoofed it another time around the outdoor track at Providence University.

  "At least we still have a few more weeks until summer classes start." Natasha shrugged and reached up to tuck a strand of her short white-blond hair behind her ear. Why she dyed it almost platinum was beyond me, but if I had to guess? It was to piss her mother off.

  "How many classes are you taking?" I wiped the sweat from my brow and pushed harder, though my legs were sore as hell from cheer practice going an hour longer than it should have the day before.

  "Two, but it could be worse, you know."

  "Oh yeah? You could be taking three?" I gave her a cheeky grin and moved as she playfully swatted at me.

  "No, you could be pregnant."

  White-hot fear raced down my spine. "No, I couldn't be. Not only would Brody flip his shit, but I wouldn't have any way to support a kid."

  "Brody..." She rolled her eyes.

  "Why would you bring something like pregnancy up? You pregnant?" I reached out and poked at her. Anything was better than the two of us getting on the subject of my boyfriend. Tasha hated him, as most people with sense did, but he wasn't nearly as bad as some of the guys I'd dated in the past. It could have been worse.

  "I ran into Geoff last night at Mersky's." She shrugged and glanced my way. "You know he got Teri pregnant and they found out during spring break, right?"

  "What? The guy from the hockey team?"

  "Yeah, and one of the ice hookers or whatever they call them. I swear, your friend Aubrey is the only clean one in the bunch."

  "Because she's a dancer." I slowed my jog to a fast walk and focused on the track in front of me. I had no doubt that Tasha was giving me the death stare over my comment. We both knew what I meant. Professor McCraven was the head of the dance department, and she didn't let anything slide. I'd seen it firsthand for the last three years. She was Tasha's mother.

  "Now here I was trying to bring up a neutral subject that we could talk about and you're going to bring my mom into it. Fantastic." She moved behind me and reached up to grip my shoulders, squeezing softly.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, but while we're on the subject... have you talked to her since your last big blow up?"

  "No. Thank God for my dad putting money in my account, or I wouldn’t have a pot to piss in."

  "You can piss in my pot." I smiled and patted her hands.

  "I do piss in your pot, silly." She squeezed one more time and released me.

  "In the same vein as having to see my mother, why are you still seeing Brody? He's the biggest cockhead in this whole damn school." She pulled the back of my t-shirt and forced me to stop.

  I turned and lifted my hands to the air, stretching and enjoying the soft breeze that blew by. I didn't answer for a few seconds because the conversation was one we'd had a million times over the last year.

  Brody Jackson was quarterback of the Friars football team, and by far the best looking guy on campus, but that's where the good stuff stopped.

  "He's not as bad as you guys think." I reached up to let my hair down so I could put it back up tighter.

  "Yeah, he is." She rolled her eyes. "You're the nicest person I know, Emily. Why would you settle for dating a total dick?"

  "You know why." I kept my tone even, which wasn't too hard. Getting emotional and blowing a gasket because Tasha was speaking the truth about Brody was stupid. Where I'd once defended him, now I just tried to defend myself.

  "So get a job. Just because he has money doesn't give him the right to be an asshole to everyone around him." Her voice rose, and I knew we were headed toward another useless fight. I wasn't going to defend him, but I wasn't breaking up with him anytime soon either. He wasn't abusive and hadn't cheated on me. Dealing with him being a dick was just part of him being a guy.

  "Tasha. I'm not having this conversation again. I'm in love with Brody. Just because he has a few issues doesn't give me the right to hang up a year of my life and walk away."

  "Sure it does. You're being a doormat."

  I stopped and turned on my heel to face her. Her hazel-colored eyes were filled with far too much emotion, and I tried hard to remember that she cared about me. She was getting in my face because she cared.

  "No, I'm not. I'm trying to be the good guy here and give him a chance."

  "How many chances?"

  "How many chances did you give Lewis? Right. None. You kicked him out at the first sign of trouble." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Look, my dad didn't put up with shit either. Every time my mom even showed a hint of being real or human or made a mistake, he slapped her halfway across the kitchen. I'm not willing to give up just yet. He hasn't done anything that you don't do on a shitty day."

  "All right. I'm sorry for bringing it up." She lifted her hands and took a step back. "He just pulled up. I'm going to take a few more laps and head to the court. I'll see you later."

  "Tasha." I put my hands on my hips as she turned and jogged off. Her petite frame and sweet face had most people thinking she was docile and sweet. It was a lie at best.

  "Emily. Hey, baby. Come on." Brody's voice carried across the field, and filled me with mixed emotions. I did like him, but maybe not as much as I should for some of the shit I put up with
.

  "Coming," I mumbled and turned, walking quickly toward him.

  "Pick it up to a jog please. I want to get back to the apartment and get cleaned up so we can head out to the Omega House. Jacob Wright is throwing one of his blowouts tonight."

  I groaned and jogged toward my handsome boyfriend as sickness swam in my stomach. Going out to the Omega House meant that Brody was going to get tanked. Seeing that I didn't drink, I'd be toting his ass all over the large frat house and most likely pulling him away from making a mistake all night long.

  "I'm not going." I straightened my shoulders as I reached him and looking him square in the face. "And you're not either."

  His brown eyes searched my face as if trying to discern if I were serious. He cracked a smile and reached out, grabbing the side of my neck and pulling me flush against him.

  "You're so cute. Stop trying to be tough. It isn't you at all." He leaned down and pressed his lips firmly to mine, brushing his tongue into my mouth and pulling me closer.

  I opened up and gripped his sides as he took his time exploring my mouth. The kiss was hot and deep, leaving me to want something more, which was never a good place to be with him. He always wanted to push the line and take a little more than I wanted to offer.

  "I love the way you taste after you run." He licked at my mouth and smiled. "Come on. Back to my place for a shower and then I can show you off at the party tonight. Wear a dress for me. And no panties."

  "Hush." I pushed at his chest playfully as he tightened his grip on me and locked his jaw.

  "I'm serious. I wanna fuck in public. No one but us will have to know. Just do what I said and I'll take care of the rest."

  "No. Stop being a pig and come on." I jerked from him and walked toward the car, trying hard not to get upset over something so stupid. He was a guy. Of course he wanted to fuck in public. It didn't mean I had to go with the flow.

  "I'm not being a pig, Emily. I just want to have an experience." He moved in behind me and slid his hands onto my shoulders, pulling me to a stop.

  "I'm not fucking you in public." I glanced over my shoulder but didn't turn.

  He pressed himself against my back and slid his hands down my sides and around to cup my breasts as he ground against me.

  "You're no fun. You know that?" He kissed the side of my neck and I gripped his hands and pulled them off my chest.

  "Brody. We're in the middle of an open field."

  "And? I don't see a sign that says I can’t touch my girlfriend wherever the hell I wanna."

  "I'm that sign. Stop being rowdy."

  "I'm just needy. You left this morning before I woke up." He kissed me a few more times and slid one of his hands down my stomach. "I had to masturbate, and you know how much I hate that shit."

  I moved out of his hold and walked to the car, trying to think through how to respond to him without starting a fight and explaining that sex three times a day was too much for anyone. It had been the ongoing battle in our relationship, and where I loved rolling around in the sheets with him, he was insatiable in the worst of ways.

  "Come on. Stop messing around and let's go back to your place. Maybe there's enough time to mess around before we go to this party you're wanting to go to." I stopped beside his cherry-red mustang and glanced down at my reflection in the window.

  My dark brown hair was wet from sweating so much and my skin looked good. It was the exercise and a new diet Brody had shown me a week or two before.

  He walked around to the other side of the car and smiled wickedly at me over the hood. "You know the console shifts in the car. You could stop talking so much and put that pretty mouth of yours to far better use."

  "Remind me why I'm with you?" I opened the car door as he unlocked it and got in.

  "Because I'm pretty, rich and my cock is something you like to worship."

  I shook my head and leaned back. "I hate you sometimes."

  "No you don't, but you wish you did." He started the car and slipped his hand up my thigh and over my mound. "No panties tonight. That's the rule."

  Chapter 2

  Jacob

  "What kind of food do we need to get together for tonight?" One of the freshman frat brothers turned from the kitchen table as I walked in and peppered me with the first of many questions.

  "The list is on the clipboard in the cabinet above the sink. I already told you assholes that. Get it and stop asking stupid questions, or you'll play beer bitch for us tonight." I barked out my response and walked to the back door to check on last minute prep.

  The end of the year party at Omega was always a big fucking deal, and as the president of the frat for the last year, the success or failure of the night depended on me.

  "How's it going, boss?" Micah Sanders moved up in front of me and gave me a crooked smile. Outside of Lucas White, he was my only close guy friend. Jayce Moore was all right, but the guy was a little too goodie-goodie for my liking, not that Micah was much better.

  "It's going." I turned and pointed toward the trees where the kiddie swimming pools were being set up. "Tell them to put a cooler of beer over there for the wet bikini contest, and did we get some prizes for our winners?"

  "I thought the prize was to sleep with you." He chuckled and popped me in the gut as I started to walk away.

  "If you weren't built like a mac-truck, I'd fuck you up good." I winked and walked toward the group of frat guys trying to get the water hose to work. "Hey. There's a kink in it, genius."

  I picked it up and flipped it around, unloosing it and soaking half the idiots as they glanced up to pay attention to me instead of the hose on the ground.

  "You did that shit on purpose." Darren Smith, a big freshman with more brawn than brains turned and took an aggressive step toward me. He was still pissy over not making the soccer team last fall, but that was his own damn fault. He was linebacker material and ran like a two-ton shed barreling down the field. It wasn't happening - ever. He was from Texas and liked biscuits and gravy a little too much.

  "Fuck you, Smith." I picked up the hose and handed it off to another one of the guys. "Go gather everyone up so I can lay down the rules one time today. If anyone breaks them... you're out of the house for a month."

  "And where exactly would you expect us to live?" Smith again. Always fucking Smith.

  "In your momma’s car, Smith. I don't give three shits where you stay. Listen to the rules and keep up. You fuck up, and you're out. Period." I turned as Micah sauntered up. "You remembered to invite the Ice House? You always seem to leave them out."

  He nodded. "Yeah. Those fuckers always bring drugs. That's why I leave them out."

  "It's just pot. Stop being a pussy." I walked around him and moved to the middle of the yard as the rest of the frat walked down the back stairs. "Gather up, bitches. Party starts in forty-five minutes."

  Everyone moved toward me with a gleam in their eye that lit a fire deep inside of me. I loved Omega’s end of the year party. It was one of the best nights of the year, but remembering more than the beginning of it was always a feat in itself. The beer flowed freely and the girls were nasty as shit. It was bliss.

  "Three rules. You know these if you've been in the house for more than a day, but let's repeat them for the idiots who can't remember their last name, much less the house rules. Anyone wanna tell me numero uno?" I glanced around as several hands shot up.

  "Don't bareback a pussy," one of the guys yelled from the back.

  "Exactly. I'm sure all of you have heard about the situation over at the Ice House. Our buddy Geoff decided that sleeping with one of the hookers that hang around their place was far too important and decided to dance in the rain without his rain coat. Anyone know what happened?"

  "Bitch got pregnant."

  "Exactly." I tilted my head to the side. "Anyone here wanna raise kids while trying to make it through classes and hold down a job at the local grocery store? You guys ready to provide for a bitchy wife and a snotty-nose kid?" I was overdoing it, but
it was college... why the hell not.

  "No!" they all yelled in tandem.

  "For the record, he was wearing a rubber and it tore, so how about you just not fuck anyone until you're in a long-term, committed relationship?" Micah glanced around as the crowd fell silent.

  "Moving on." I rolled my eyes and lifted two fingers in the air. "Rule number two. Who knows it?"

  "Don't toke if you're on a team."

  "Exactly. There will be weed and probably several other low-class drugs running around the crowd tonight. Be smart. You get popped for being stupid, your scholarship and your dreams of grandeur are going to go up in flames. Don't be an idiot. Drink and fuck, but leave the smoking and toking to the losers without purpose. Yes?"

  "Yeah!" they all yelled, though half of them were said losers.

  "Last rule?" I glanced around with a smile on my face.

  "You break it, you buy it, you bake it, you take it."

  "Righto again. You guys are fucking geniuses." I winked as they chuckled. "If you fuck something up in the house, we'll all bring you out here tomorrow morning when you feel like hammered shit, and we'll beat your ass until you can't walk. Then you'll pay for whatever you destroyed, because we like our stuff. In that same vein, if you bring a bitch into my house tonight and she gets sick or sluts herself out, she's still your responsibility. Clean up the mess she makes and take her ass out. No one left by nine tomorrow morning. Got it?"

  Mumbling. Everyone hated the last rule the most. Who wanted to take responsibility for a series of mistakes made in a drunken haze? Not me. Certainly not them.

  "Good. Get busy and make this place look amazing. String the rest of the lights and get everything iced down. We go live in thirty minutes." I waved my hands in the air. "Get the fuck to it. Shit."

  "I'm not sure how we ever did it without you, boss." Micah walked up beside me and patted my back. "You're just so lively."

  I rolled my eyes at his teasing. "Help me watch out for the younger guys tonight. You know how stupid everyone gets at the event."

  "Yeah, I'll just have a beer or two. I'll be the designated driver tonight for anyone too shit faced to leave."