OffsideChanceFormat2 (2 page)

Movement
out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned quickly to find
Jude leaning against the sink, a beer in hand, looking as if he owned the
place.

“That
better not be one of mine.” Will didn’t care about the beer. It was the
principle of the thing. You just didn’t come into a man’s house and help
yourself to his beer without asking.

“What
if it is?” The man had some balls at least. Will gave him that much. Jude took
another sip and looked around the kitchen at the remains of breakfast and the
party from the night before. “Are you just going to leave the kitchen a mess
and go off joyriding?”

“I’m
going to work. Not that it’s any of your business. And the girl will clean it
up when she gets here. That’s what I pay her for….that and a couple other
things.” He winked just in case

Levi’s
gay didn’t fall far from the tree. Best put the poor boy to rights before he
could develop any feelings Will would have to hurt him over. “Just make sure
you replace that before I get back.”

“And
when will that be?” Jude crossed his arms over his chest and leveled a
poisonous stare in his direction.

“Half
past none of your goddamned business is when.” Will opened the door and slammed
it behind him. He pulled the tarp off his bike and rolled it out of Levi’s back
courtyard and into the alley
.
He had
fifteen minutes to get to practice. And he was wasting time worrying about some
geek.
Fuck that noise
.

Chapter
Two

Jude
had to admit that the idea of having a housekeeper, even if she did only come
once a week, was something he could get used to. He was rarely ever home
anymore so he really didn’t bother. He barely bothered keeping food in his
refrigerator. Hell, most of the time he ate on the road and slept in a hotel in
either Montgomery or Mobile. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d spent more
than two days in his own home.

Not
that he missed it. The house or the town for that matter. Since Levi moved into
Tracy’s little house out near his family’s farm, he rarely came around anymore.
As for the godforsaken trailer, well, they called up the local fire department
and let them use it for teaching purposes. It was actually a cathartic moment.
Levi sat on the hood of his car, his chin resting on Jude’s shoulder. “Mom
wouldn’t miss it. The old mom would hand out marshmallows and hotdogs.”

No,
the mom from their childhood hated the place. She would indeed hand out marshmallows
and maybe dance naked around it as it burned. Which was awfully fast. In ten
minutes there was nothing left but a steel frame. And they’d lived in that
thing. Criminal charges should be filed against the manufacturers.

That
was in October, right about the time the East County team made the playoffs.
Tracy with Levi backing him up was one hell of a coaching team.

A
thud on the ceiling told Jude exactly what
other
duties his new roommate paid the girl for. Multiple times now. Jesus, it was
like living in a cat house. With real cats. Her voice could peel the paint off
the walls. Jude didn’t have to be in the den on the second floor directly
underneath his old room either. He could go up to bed and turn on the radio to
drown out the sex noise. But he was restless and Levi’s room left him unsettled
in ways he wasn’t ready to deal with that night.

Around
midnight the two of them stumbled down the stairs, giggling and shushing each
other like drunken…lovers. Jude ignored the fuss and went back to his reading.
The television played soundlessly across the room. He could hear his roommate
on the street as he walked the girl to her car. And then the door closed and it
was mostly quiet. About as quiet as it was when he was finishing up law school
while Levi was still in Minnesota. In that moment, Jude remembered why he hated
living here. The street with all of its noise and traffic was just too damned
close.

The
sectional shifted when the big body collapsed onto the center cushion. The
remote in his hand, his new roommate turned the volume up. “What the hell are
you watching?” His roommate demanded but he didn’t wait for an answer before he
switched to a sports channel.

 
“You left your gun in the bathroom.” Jude
lowered his glasses over his eyes so that he could see the man taking up most
of his space. “Please keep track of it from now on.”

“Yes,
Mom. Should I put the seat down too?” The man Levi always called Slayer propped
his feet up on the coffee table and slid down in the seat until he reclined.
“She’ll do you too. Of course, she thinks you’re Levi and that she can cure
your little problem.”

“I
don’t care about the toilet. And I’m not interested in sharing anything with
you Mr….” he had to think hard to remember the man’s name— “Slater is it? I
won’t be calling you Slayer.”

“Just
stay out of my food and out of my things and you can call me anything you
want.”

Slater
flipped the channel to the NFL Channel. Football news,
oh joy of joys
, blasted from the speakers.

Jude
laid his book down and closed his laptop. “Let’s get this straight before we go
any further, Mr. Slater. Technically you are my guest so I won’t be taking
orders from you. I would appreciate that you don’t leave a mess in the kitchen.
Or the bath, since those are the two rooms we have no option but to share.
Other than that I have no interest in what you do. I will stay out of your life
and you should stay out of mine. Is that clear enough?”

“I
don’t figure how I’m your guest since we’re both guests of Levi.” Slater
drained the water bottle and flipped back to ESPN. “Oh man, no, not Denver.
Shit.”

“My
name is on the deed to this house. I brokered the property in Levi’s absence.
So technically I own this house. And I am letting you stay as a favor to my
brother. As soon as your season is over, I’m assuming you’ll find other
arrangements,” Jude said as much to get Slater’s attention as to assert his
dominance over the situation because he sure as hell didn’t want a repeat of
this afternoon. William Slater needed to understand that Jude wasn’t going to
be a doormat for him to wipe his feet on whenever he felt the need.

“You’re
a prick aren’t you? No wonder Levi never talked about you. He was ashamed to be
related to someone like you.” The words cut like a knife, which Jude was sure
was the intent. But he’d gotten Slater’s attention and that was what was
important.

“I’m
sure the feeling is pretty much mutual. He only talks to me when he wants
something.” Jude gathered up his things. Tomorrow was going to be a long day he
should get some sleep. “That’s stone cold man. I know he did a shit load for
you and that’s how you repay him.” The bigger man didn’t move his legs forcing
Jude to step over him to get to the door.

“I
thought you said he never spoke of me. Guess he did. Complaining the whole time
no doubt.” Jude resisted the urge to leave a well-placed bruise on the man’s
shin as he passed.

“Don’t
you have a curfew or something? It’s game night.”

“Fuck
you. I’m home. I’m not drinking. And what do you care? You probably wouldn’t
know a football from a Frisbee.” Jude ignored the parting shot and climbed the
stairs to Levi’s room. The television grew louder the farther away he went.

“Neanderthal.”
He closed the door to Levi’s bedroom and leaned against it. The bedroom was the
largest room, if he couldn’t have the room he’d chosen as his all those years
ago, at least he had room to move around. There were three bedrooms when Jude
found the place but Levi tore out one wall and combined the two smallest to
make this his haven. The walls were exposed brick with bits of painted plaster
here and there. A fireplace dominated one wall. Levi had an antique mirror over
the mantel and pictures in antique frames. A couple pictures were of Jude and
their mom. His mom’s jewelry box sat in the middle of the frames. Jude
remembered when she’d thrown it away. He never knew what became of it. He never
understood why she couldn’t stand to have nice things. He never understood why
she hoarded garbage. She wasn’t like that when they were kids.

He
walked across the scarred and knotted hardwood floor to the dresser he’d emptied
out for his things and set his computer and books down. The white canopy bed
with the pink primrose flowered sheets scared the shit out of him. He regarded
the matching wardrobe with that last thought. The one with Levi’s other
personality hidden behind the door. Feather boas and leather chaps…pink leather
chaps. Obviously his brother didn’t trust him if he was keeping all of this
from him. Jude sighed, he didn’t understand Levi’s crazy any more than he did
his mother’s.

Avoiding
the wardrobe he opened Levi’s entertainment armoire and found the remote to the
stereo. He switched the radio to the classical station he’d listened to back in
school and turned it up loud enough to drown out the sports nonsense—and the
sounds of lonely. With the lights turned down low he opened his laptop to catch
up his correspondence, the same as he did every night. Tonight he’d need to
update his day planner with new addresses and…he’d left his pen downstairs.
Tomorrow morning. He’d do that tomorrow morning. Jude switched off the computer
and paced the room before falling face first into the soft bed. He’d think
about everything tomorrow.

*
* * * *

Fucker
had some nerve, acting like this was his house. Will turned the volume up to
watch the news of the day. Who won? Who they’d possibly face next weekend if
they made it through tomorrow? Hell, it should be
when
, not
if
. They were
fucking lucky to get a wildcard spot this year. If only Levi hadn’t fucked up
his arm, they would have gone into the post-season on top of the division. They
would have had a bye week this weekend. They would have had a guaranteed shot
at a third ring. Bocephus was at the top of his game this year. And the new
wide out had made all the difference. The rookie quarterback was getting the
job done, but he wasn’t Levi. There was no unity on the field. There was no
feeling of…he didn’t know, something was missing now with Levi gone.

With
Levi gone and the team getting younger with each passing season Will wondered
if it wasn’t time to think about retiring. Thirty-three was old for this shit.
His body hurt more than it didn’t. He was taking longer to come back from an
injury. His contract was up soon. He needed to start thinking about what he was
going to do when the team chose not to option him for another couple of years.
After what happened to Urlacher up in Chicago he sure as hell didn’t want to
think about free agency and not getting picked up by another program.

Hell,
Urlacher was only thirty-five when he retired.
Thirty-fucking-five
. And Will was just two years off that. And with
Levi gone…why the hell did he want to stay around anyway?

He
muted the television after the
Game Day
report was over. The sounds of classical music echoed down the stairs in the
silence. Fuck that shit. How in the hell was Levi even related to that asshole
anyway?

He
flipped over to pay-per-view and found the porn channel he’d subscribed to.
Pussy filled the screen, show already in progress. He could go a couple more
rounds, but Becky had had to be home before her old man got pissed. He’d barely
gotten the blue pill worked out of his system when she finished up. Whatever,
at least she went home happy. And nobody knew number seventy-four couldn’t get
it up without help anymore.

He
was deep in thought, hand down his shorts, rubbing his hard dick. The girl was
getting it from both ends with two dicks deep in her pussy. Fucking yeah. He
loved watching some chick get double dicked. Made him hot. He wanted to be in
on that action. The one giving it to her from behind. The one making her
scream. He leaned back, letting his hand slide up and down his dick.

Yeah,
that would be something for after the Super Bowl when it was all over, he’d go
out with a blaze of glory. Get that hot redhead cheerleader and a friend. Dark
hair and amber eyes came to mind. His fantasy had him and Levi tearing up some
place, like the days before they were famous. Except, Levi wouldn’t want to be
anywhere near that…his balls pulled up tight, he pushed his shorts down to free
his erection and rubbed the head furiously.

“I
forgot my…pen.” Will looked up into the startled face of his best friend and
shot over his hand, cum hitting his chest. “I, uh, don’t need it that bad.”
Jude Brody turned on his heel and fled up the stairs.

Will
lay against the cushion trying to catch his breath. His dick went limp in his
hand, and he finally felt as if the drug had done its job. But damn, the little
shit couldn’t keep his ass in his room for another two minutes. He had to walk
down and interrupt the best damned—Will groaned and tugged his shirt over his
head to clean up the mess as best he could with it. He turned the television
off and just sat there staring at the dark screen. He’d actually thought about
Levi just before he nutted.

Or
was it Levi’s damn clone of a brother?
Jesus
.

Chapter
Three