Second Chance: A Military Football Romance

"What dude?" She pulled a few things from the fridge as she turned her attention back on me.

"The guy you compare everyone to." I sighed and sat my juice down. "He's a playboy, Cindy. That means he's probably a terrific lay. Not many guys care to be a great lay. So then, for the rest of my life, I'm going to be settling for the okay lay when I've had the terrific one?"

"You should hear how ridiculous you sound." She laughed and turned toward the stove. "I look at it like the opportunity to have a terrific lay. I've been with a lot of guys. Good or bad, in between, and I'm telling you, the terrific ones in the sack were worth every ounce of heartache afterward."

"I doubt that." I grabbed a banana and walked to the front door. "I'm going to sit out on the porch for a little while. Come get me if you need me."

"You still want breakfast, right?"

"Yeah, if you're cooking it, but if not, no worries, really." I opened the door and walked out to the patio. The sun was shining in the far end of the sky, and boats were already covering a large portion of the lake. A part of me wanted to get the keys to ours and disappear for a few hours. I wasn't on summer vacation to fall in love. It wasn't part of the plan. Though, there was a slight chance that it would happen, if it did, Brody was exactly the type of guy it would happen with.

He was a Brandon, and for that reason alone, I was going to fight like hell to ignore his advances.

Now, I just had to stay sober enough around him not to make any advances of my own.

Easy. Sort of.

*

"Let's go." Dedra shook my shoulder, pulling me from the sleepy state I sat in on the porch after breakfast. After eating more than I should have, I'd gone back outside to rest and think through all the reasons why liking Daniel rather than Brody would be a better option for me. The chances of anything physically happening between us were out, since he wasn't at all my time. And the best part? If Brody thought his friend was interested in me, then there was no way he was dick enough to step in Daniel's way. Right?

"Where are we going?" I shaded my eyes as I glanced up at Dedra, half expecting to find her still in her Sunday best.

"Shopping. Emily and Cindy are already in the car. Get up, missy." She readjusted her sunglasses and pulled off her hat.

"Alright. I'm coming." I sat up and let out a long yawn before walking to the house to find some sandals. My shorts and t-shirt were cute enough to keep up with my friends’ clothing choices for the day, and seeing that I was working to repel most men rather than draw them in, I was good. I'd dress up as soon as I found a good reason that wasn't Brody.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Emily reached over and squeezed my arm as I got into the driver’s seat.

"Hey." I rolled my shoulders. "How was spending the night with Clay? Were the other guys good to you?"

"Just ask." She gave me a sideways glance as Cindy chuckled in the backseat.

Dedra got in as I started in on them.

"Just ask what? I'm not interested in him. Okay?" I turned a hard gaze onto Emily, and then turned to make sure Cindy saw it, too. "Not. Interested."

"Okay. Okay. Put your teeth back in your head, Cujo." Emily lifted her hands and laughed. "They were all good to me, Brody included. He's hilarious when you get to know him a little."

"Excellent. Glad you had fun." I pulled the car out of the driveway and ignored the need to scream at her. I needed to get myself together. I wasn't at all the type of person that would attack my friends due to something internally that I was wrestling with. It wasn't their fault that the center of my wet dreams was a demanding asshole who wasn't going to let up until I gave in.

Or maybe he would?

I couldn't help but remember how quickly he'd moved from giving me attention to ignoring me on Friday night. It almost seemed worse that he would pretend that I wasn't there at all. It was part of his game, and he was damn good at it, but I could play a few games of my own.

Stop it. Shit.

"So, here's what I'm thinking," Cindy began, leaning up into the front seat a little as I drove toward town, "You need to find a cute guy that's not Brody and get laid. Your mood has gone from good to worse to sucky. We're going to throw your pretty ass in the lake if you don't stop being crabby."

I laughed, unable to help myself. Emily was usually the one to set me straight and threaten my life, but never Cindy. She was too sweet and motherly for that.

"Wow." Dedra chuckled. "That's what I'm talking about. Let's get our girl laid by a non-Brody stud and we'll be back on track."

"Alright. Thanks for the offer, but I can rein myself in. No need to pimp me out." I shook my head and pointed to a café across the street. "That looks good. You guys wanna try that one?"

"Absolutely. The quiche is fantastic there and there are ten different ones to try." Cindy's voice lightened a little as she sat back. "Drop me and D off at the door, and we'll go grab a table. It gets crazy packed. You can park just about anywhere you find a spot."

"Alright, sounds good." I glanced over at Emily, who was smirking at me over Cindy, verbally popping me no doubt. To see our friend out of her shell a little was almost worth my mini-ass chewing.