Double Full (Nice Guys 1)

Jace stretched on the sidelines with the rest of his teammates. Haley, his stunt partner was beside him, pulling her leg back and up to her head, loosening her muscles.

“Are you doing all right, Jace?” she asked, dropping down into the splits. Haley had been with the team for four years. She was an awesome cheerleader and his only stunt partner since the beginning. They were effortless together.

“Yeah, why?” Jace said absently, stretching out his back.

“You know why. You haven’t been yourself for weeks now.” Haley bent over, touching her toes. It’s like all the bones in her body disappeared when she began to stunt.

“I’m fine,” Jace said, lifting his arms above his head, stretching out his shoulders.

“Are you over it?” she asked, turning her head up toward him.

“Over what?” Jace bent down and touched his toes, hanging there for a second, letting his back muscles get a good stretch.

“Whoever dumped you?” Haley jumped up and down, shaking her legs and arms out before doing a standing back tuck, landing solidly with both feet on the turf.

“How did you know?” Jace didn’t evade the question. Unlike his roommates, Haley was safe, and she just rolled her eyes.

“Hello? I’m a girl. I know heartbreak. I’ve been worried about you.” Haley grabbed their bags and ran them the few feet away, sitting them against the stadium wall.

“I’m fine. We need to get started,” Jace said to her as the music began to play.

“And that was a total guy response. It just takes time, Jace. I promise it’ll get better.” Jace stayed quiet, like he’d done for six long weeks. He’d never heard from or seen Colt after the brief encounter at the bar. His heart still ached. How had those few days of spring break changed everything about Jace? He shook it off and joined the others at the front of the field. He plastered the smile on his face and began his long signature tumbling pass to the excited cheers of the crowd.

Two and a half hours later, Jace lifted Haley in a one-man stunt right as the screens abruptly changed. The actual draft was starting, not just the fanfare of the event. Years of training had him keeping Haley solidly in the air. He tossed her up, catching her easily in his arms as the draft began. All the cheerleaders ran to the stage and dropped to their knees to watch the first round pick. If Colt made it, Jace and his team were required to cheer after Colt received his new jersey.

Ten minutes later, Colt was announced as the number one, first round pick. New York Panthers, under major televised fanfare, selected Colt as their first choice. Colt, his father, and agent, along with Colt’s newest girlfriend, all walked out on stage. Colt held her hand and it was all Jace could concentrate on. Colt accepted the offer and received his jersey. The crowd went wild. They reported a multi-million dollar signing bonus came along with the offer, more than Colt had even anticipated. Well, good for him.

The town’s local hero had done well, following in even bigger footsteps than his father’s. The stadium went wild, his teammates were already up, leading chants, but Jace couldn’t find it in him to cheer. He stood frozen in place as shot after shot of Colt flashed across the oversized television screen. Pain lanced through his heart, crippling him, and he couldn’t breathe. Jace’s heart ripped from his chest.

He never imagined seeing Colt could hurt as bad as this. Colt was obviously excited. Colt’s father was extremely proud, accepting handshakes from everyone involved. The blonde on Colt’s arm leaned in, giving him a celebratory kiss. And with that Jace was done. He left the stage, headed down the field to grab his gear, not bothering to say goodbye to anyone on the way out. He left the stadium and never looked back. He had finals to study for. The need to finish this semester and close this chapter in his life was the most pressing emotion pouring through him as he walked across the empty campus to his apartment.

Chapter 12

June 2012

A slap across the face jolted Colt awake. He laid there in his booze-induced haze, a dull ache beginning to form in his head. The start of another fucking day, yippee! Colt struggled to clear the fog clouding his brain.

Fully awake now, he needed up. Colt tried to turn to his right. The body lying on top of him wouldn’t allow the movement. He struggled unsuccessfully to dislodge from the hold until something hard scrapped against his stomach when the female on top of him flopped around. Long strands of hair fell across his face.

Colt brushed away the offending strands and opened his gritty eyes, rubbing at the film covering them. Thankfully God had mercy on him. Even though the small rays of sunlight peeked in from all sides of the heavy curtain, the room was still dark.

Maryia lay across him, her arm tucked around him. A movement on his other side caught his attention. Colt turned his head, groaning when his eyes landed on Clint, his driver, who was snoring next to him. Pain shot through Colt’s head as he sat up, the dull ache now becoming a full blown headache. He glanced across Clint’s sleeping form to see another woman sleeping nude.

Fuck, had they had a four-way again last night? He couldn’t remember. Just another in a long string of nights and days that ran together in one big fucked up giant mess. He wondered if they remembered condoms this time. Probably not.

Colt lowered his head back to the pillow, staying there for several minutes, trying to regroup. His head pounded, but not so terribly he couldn’t deal with the throbbing. He’d drunk himself into oblivion last night, which wasn’t much different than he’d been doing for the last nine years. His life had become nothing more than a drug and alcohol induced blur, with moments of playing football mixed in between.