Distraction (4 page)

Another text came across.
Have something to tell you. Big news!

"You can bring him along. Now you can
'
t use this as an
excuse to get out of the disco." Alyssa placed her hands on her hips,
scowling at me.

I slapped on an agreeing smile. "Listen, I
'
ve gotta run. My
next class is across campus and I
'
m probably going to be late as it is. I
'
ll see ya after."
She waved me off, and I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door.

Chapter
2

Tristan

At the end of summer when football practice began, my new
coach said I
'
d have to prove myself. Originally I thought I
'
d be considered
starting receiver, but it didn
'
t happen. Bret McLaughlen took lead while I stood in as
back-up. I
'
d never been second choice before. A hard concept to swallow,
but I
'
d managed. Bret proved to be a decent player, but my
abilities were better qualified for the position. I had a kick-ass record for
fuck’s sake. Time would tell, though hopefully before games started.

The guys on the team were cool, apart from one guy, Robbie.
He had a cold look in his eyes that didn
'
t settle well with me. As long as
he kept his distance, we
'
d be all right.

Sprints, up-downs, and field training kicked my ass the first
couple weeks. I worked out daily, but getting accustomed to the dry heat again
made for some long-ass days. Our practices were hard core, but as the weeks
went on I got around fine.

The next thing I knew, summer session ended and fall semester
was here. My parents and Kellie were excited, especially my overbearing, dick
of a dad. He
'
d been absent for two years and now suddenly, planted himself
up my ass. Living close to home would be a challenge if he decided to keep
close tabs on me. However, at the moment I didn
'
t have time to
worry about him, I had classes to find.

All day I
'
d ran late to most of my classes. Figuring out Tech
'
s campus made
life hell. I should have paid more attention this summer. I
'
d walked in
circles for about fifteen minutes, ready to give up, when a cute blonde
graciously asked if I needed help.

"Yeah, I
'
m lost," I admitted.
The girl supplied me an innocent
smile before taking a look at my schedule. I gave her a quick once over. Her
jeans hugged her curvy body and the baggy pink T-shirt hung low enough to see
cleavage. Nice rack.

"I
'
m Bridget. We have English together. You
'
re supposed to
be in the computers lab right now. It's not too far from here." She handed
my schedule back.

"Thanks, can you point out which direction?"

"I
'
ll do better. I
'
ll walk you there."

"My lucky day." I winked, and a deep blush covered
her face.

"So, what
'
s your major?" I looked up, trying my damnedest to keep
from watching her perky chest bounce when she walked.

"
Football.
" Her eyes lit up in a look I used to enjoy. Had I been
single, I would
'
ve scored by the end of the day.

"I love the game, but love the players even more."
Yep, I knew I could've had her screaming my name. I laughed.

"Unfortunately, I
'm unavailable.
"

Her lips pulled down in a sexy pout. "Here you are. Yours
is the first room on your right."

"Thanks for your help. I
'
ll look for you
in English."

"Hey, if you find yourself single, I
'
ll be around."

"I
'
ll keep that in mind." I shook my head as I walked into
the computers lab. Class had already begun and I hurried to an empty seat next
to a cute brunette with legs for miles.

She mouthed the word, "Hi."

I smiled back before listening to the lecture. Times like
these I wondered why the hell I willingly chose to be in a relationship.

I sat back in my chair, attempting to take notes, but my mind
drifted. I
'
d texted Elle earlier, asking to meet up with her this
weekend. I still hadn
'
t confessed about being here, and I knew if she caught me she
'
d be pissed.
Honestly, not running into her before now had been a miracle. Shit, just
thinking about seeing her made my pulse take off. Usually we made sure to see
each other during breaks from school, but I hadn
'
t seen her since
last Christmas, and only for a few hours before I
'
d flown back to
Austin. To put it mildly, I missed her.

When class finished, I drove back to my townhouse. My dad and
uncle were in real estate together, so I didn
'
t have to pay
rent. Cool with me. Kellie had moved most of her stuff into her dorm, but she
'
d asked to stay
here until her dad could move her larger furniture this Sunday. I didn
'
t mind, she
'
d basically
lived with me in Austin.

She and a few friends had planned a weekend getaway. I told
her I
'
d made plans with Elle. Kellie never came out and said she
didn
'
t like my plans, but I didn
'
t think she was
completely on board with the idea either.

When I got home, I tossed my keys on the kitchen counter,
ready for a cold beer and some much-needed downtime.

"Baby, could you come in here for a second?" Kellie
'
s voice carried
down the hall to my living room.

"Yeah." I made my way down the hall to my room.
When I walked in, I stopped and stared.

"Do you think I should take this outfit with me this
weekend?" She grinned devilishly at me, cheeks dimpled and her deep brown
eyes smoldering.

Damn. The woman definitely knew how to get my attention. The
color of her pale skin stood in contrast to the red lacy bra and panties she
wore. Quickly, I shortened the distance until we were standing face to face.

"The only place you
'
re wearing this,"
I traced my hand over the curve of her breast, my thumb circling her firm
nipple, "is in bed with me."

Her lips screamed for my attention first, and I pulled her
in, kissing her hard. She
'
d coated her lips with that cherry lip shit she liked. I
hated the medicated taste that lingered in my mouth, but the waxed flavor
played second to what I wanted, and right then, the feel of her rubbing against
me took precedence.

I grazed my teeth against her earlobe, causing a breathy moan
to escape from her opened mouth. I smiled. Finished playing around, I picked
her up and carried her to my bed.

"I
'
ll be right back." I gave Kellie a quick kiss and moved
away. I fumbled for my jeans and pulled out my wallet. When I looked up and
found her licking her lips, my concentration wavered. Damn, she was hot.

"Baby, I
'
m on the pill." She rasped, urging me to come back to
her. Though her offer more than tempted me, I sure as hell didn
'
t want the risk
of ending up with a kid. I watched her as I rolled the condom down. She gave me
a sultry smile as I walked back over to the bed.

"Come here," I said, climbing under the covers.
Instantly, she did as I asked.

* * *

Breathless, I shifted my weight, lying beside Kellie on the
bed. My heart rate slowed, and I hoped she wouldn
'
t want to talk
or cuddle. The only thing I wanted was to pass out. Coach had pushed our
practice an hour longer today and the extra time caught up to me.

A few minutes later, Kellie raised her head. Her forehead
wrinkled with worry. "Promise me we
'
ll still be together after this
weekend."

I didn
'
t know what to think at first. She was never insecure about
us, or anything.

"Of course." I still couldn't gauge what she was
thinking. "Kellie, what
'
s going on?"

"
It'
s just, you and this Elle person have known each other
forever. Sometimes I feel like–" She shifted her eyes from me, situating
herself on her back and focused on the ceiling. "When you talk about her,
I get a feeling there
'
s more than friendship between you two." She still
refused to look at me.

"
Listen, Elle'
s like one of the guys. Don
'
t worry about
it."

"You promise?" When she turned her face back to me,
I noticed the beginning of tears in her eyes.

"I promise." Wanting to ease her insecurities, I
moved closer and pressed my lips against her forehead. Kellie repositioned her
body, and rested her head on my chest, draping her arm over my stomach. So much
for not cuddling. We stayed together in silence and soon her breathing evened.

The steady hum from the fan pulled my eyes closed and behind
them, a vision of the most beautiful woman stood. Problem being, she wasn
'
t the woman I
held asleep in my arms. Her natural sun-kissed skin, silky brown hair, intense
green eyes, and a smile that could light up a darkened room haunted me. I
wanted to hold her, kiss her until her legs were too weak to stand.

I squeezed my eyes tight and forced Elle
'
s image out of
my head. With resented guilt, I moved Kellie off my chest. Kellie knew how to
make me forget, and the sex more than satisfied me. So what the hell? I needed
to fix my problems. I
'
d ignored Elle all summer and made sure I
'
d left town
before she came back home to visit.

Fuck, this would be harder than I thought.

Elle

All week I rolled over what Tristan
'
s big news could
be, which made every day seem to drag by at a snail
'
s pace.
Thankfully, the Ginger drama faded and she kept her distance. Tisha gave her a
nice what-for when she came back to the house later that night. Their heated
words made for an entertaining evening.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Alyssa bounced on her
toes.

"Yeah, just give me a second to put my shoes on. Where
are we shopping anyway?"

"Just hurry up so we can get back and ready before loser
boy gets here. You did tell him we
'
re going to the disco party tonight, right?" She fixed
me with a pointed stare.

"Yes, I told you this already. Geez." I slipped my
feet into my flats. "Okay, I
'
m ready. Let’s jet."

Alyssa and I took her car instead of mine, considering mine
always seemed to find the worst possible times to break down. Ten minutes
later, we were parked in front of a second-hand boutique. We walked into the
consignment store. The air was stale, though judging by the old-fashioned
décor, she had picked the right place. Stringed beads replaced doors, and a hat
rack used for different sized and shaped wigs, most of them resembling afros,
stood next to the fitting room.

Alyssa disagreed with every item I picked out, and took it
upon herself to shove a tiny gold dress in my hands, while using her other hand
to push me in a dressing room. Reluctantly, I tried it on.

"There is no way I
'
m wearing this in public." I
was hardly covered, and while the white platform boots weren
'
t comfortable,
they at least hid more than the damn dress.

"Let
'
s see you, then," she ordered from outside the door.

I poked my head out first. When I didn
'
t see anyone
around, I stepped out.

"Hot mamma! All you need are these gold hoops and your
outfit is complete."

I would have taken a deep, exaggerated breath, but the dress
didn
'
t allow movement. Instead, I examined Alyssa. I thought my
get up left little to the imagination, but she outdid me, of course. She oozed
sex appeal–with ease.