Roughing

“I’m not in love with Tori.”

“Yes, you are,” he challenges, rolling his eyes at me. “You don’t have to say it for everyone to know. Every time you see her, you shut down. And you’re—”

I throw out my hand once more to silence him. “Enough about Tori. I don’t want to hear it anymore.”

“Fine. All I’m saying is that you should come clean with Tori.”

“Not a chance.”

“You could get rid of Harper.”

“I’ll figure something out. Stay out of it.”

When we reach the house, I keep walking without saying a word. Finch runs up the steps to our house, slapping two of our teammates on the backs as they stand on the porch, pounding beers.

“No beer,” I tell Finch. After his workout and Coach giving him hell, I shouldn’t even have to tell him to stick with the plan. But I know I do. He’s the kind of person who needs someone to crack the whip. Otherwise, he’ll veer off track.

I raise my hand and check my phone in case Tori called. No texts and no missed calls—at least none I want to answer. I have several messages from Harper that can wait. The only girl that matters right now is Tori.

Like most Saturdays, after a long night of partying, the house looks like a scene from Animal House. I waltz through the house and stop in the living room. Beer cans, liquor bottles, and empty cups litter the floor. A few guys who live in the house are sleeping on couches. For the most part, everyone is in zombie mode after last night’s party, while some of the guys have picked up right where they left off.

I walk past the half-awake, still drunk people and into the dining room, finding a similar situation.

Why are they still here? It’s almost one o’clock in the afternoon. If it were a normal day, we’d all be at practice, but Coach had given us the day off to rest after doing so well last night. Finch and a few others are the only ones who were not exempt. They have themselves to blame.

“Wake up, assholes,” I say, cupping my hands around my mouth

Mike Kelly peels his shaggy blond head from the long dining table and looks over at me with one eye open. “What the fuck, Bash? I’m trying to sleep.”

I clap my hands together. “Time to wake up, Boss. If you sleep all day, you’ll end up paying for it tomorrow when Coach gets a hold of you.?

??

He perks up at the mention of Coach. His name alone puts the guys on their toes. Coach Davenport doesn’t fuck around. Of all the coaches I’ve had over the years, he’s the strictest. My dad says that’s what makes him a winner. The Strickland Senators have been champs sixteen out of the almost thirty years since Coach has been with the team. He breeds professional football players.

Some of the guys who live in the house file into the kitchen, and that’s when the beer begins flowing. Within the first twenty minutes, they’ve upgraded from beer to vodka. As their captain, I should give all of them hell for drinking during the season. Today is special. I have Tori to get back to and could care less what everyone else is doing.

Finch sits across from me at the bar, drinking a can of beer with a big fuck-you grin on his face.

I raise an eyebrow at him. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Oh, nothing. I just heard you have a surprise waiting for you in your bedroom.”

I let out a puff of air. “What now? It had better be a good surprise.”

“I guess it depends on how you look at it.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

He wipes his mouth with his forearm and gulps down the rest of his beer. “Go see for yourself.”

Somewhat nervous about what could be waiting for me, I get up, using the counter to stabilize myself. I nod at Finch and make my way upstairs to my room. At the end of the long hallway, I push open the door, unsure of what awaits me on the other side. If it were anyone else on any other day, this would be the best possible surprise. Except now I have another shot with Tori, and I don’t want to blow it.

And Harper no longer does it for me. In all honesty, she never did. Naked and twisted up with a dark haired girl, Harper pinches the girl’s nipple between her fingers, staring at me as she kisses her on the lips. I don’t want to be turned on. But I am. I’m a man. I can’t help it that my dick twitches at the sight of two naked women in my bed, fooling around.

Harper has never been shy when it comes to sharing me with other women. I prefer it that way. It keeps us from getting too close. This is all part of our normal games. Except I have grown tired of her bullshit, even though she does everything in her power to fulfill all my fantasies. Sometimes, sex is not enough. I want more, and now I have a chance to have it with Tori. If I don’t fuck things up again.

“Harper, what are you doing here?” My voice comes off like a growl in the quiet room, startling the girl next to Harper in the bed.