Sacking the Quarterback (3 page)

Unfortunately, he wasn’t thinking with
the head above the waist. That was his usual problem.

Taylor traveled back their way, her
tray laden with items that she dropped off here and there before
finally arriving back at their table. She lowered Rhett’s beer and
two pitchers for the guys. His mind raced with thoughts of
something suave to say, but the only thing that came out of his
mouth was a simple, “Hello, Taylor.”

She cast a glance his way. If looks
could kill, he’d be dead. What the hell had he done to
her?

“
Hello
, Rhett,” Taylor said quickly and turned to go.

“
Wait,” Rhett
called.

Taylor spun on her heel and looked at
him crossly.

“
You haven’t seen me in a
decade and can’t give me more than that?”

Taylor stepped closer, her knees
almost touching his. He wanted her closer, wanted her skin on his
in any way. “I think you’re going to have enough people in town
kissing your ass. You don’t need my lips attached to your rear,
too.”

A couple of his teammates snickered at
that.

Taylor walked away, but she wasn’t
fast enough. Rhett grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer. The
guys at the table grew quiet, and Rhett knew why. Rhett glanced at
Jennings quickly and shook his head, letting his friend know he
wasn’t hurting her. Jennings already looked like he was ready to
pounce, and Rhett called off the dog, for a moment.

“
Why are you so angry with
me?” he asked.

Taylor shrugged. “I’m not.”

“
Bullshit.”

Taylor let out a sigh. “You left here
ten years ago and never came back. Maybe I’m just jealous. Now, if
you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“
What time do you get off?”
Rhett couldn’t help himself.

Her eyes narrowed. “Why does it
matter?”

There was little difference in his
height sitting and her height standing, but he still had to look up
a little. “Maybe I want you to come have a drink with us when
you’re through. Reminisce a little.”

“
We have
nothing
to reminisce
about,” she said bluntly.

Oh, was that the problem. He knew
she’d had a crush, one he hadn’t returned the feelings for. She’d
been too young then.

But she sure wasn’t too young
now.

“
Then you can let me know
what you’ve been up to since I left,” he added.

Taylor shook her head. “Boss has a
policy about not drinking in our uniform, and I don’t have anything
to change into. Sorry.”

“
I’ve got a jersey in my
truck. I bet it would be a dress on you.” Rhett wasn’t taking no
for an answer. He’d go buy her a damned dress if that’s what it
took.

“
I’ve got studying to do in
the morning. I don’t need a foggy head.”

“
One drink, Taylor. Just
one drink,” Rhett said.

“
Come on, Taylor,” Jennings
yelled. “Just drink one with the guy so I don’t have to listen to
this crap anymore.”

“
Jennings, you stay out of
this,” Taylor spat.

Rhett pulled her a little closer so
her leg lined his. The warmth they shared made his body feel logy,
and his cock began to thicken. “Just one drink. For old time’s
sake.”

Taylor looked down at him for a moment
before a customer yelled behind her to get her attention. She cast
a glance that way and then turned back to Rhett. “You’re not going
to let go until I say yes, are you?”

Rhett flashed a winning smile her way.
“No, ma’am. I don’t like giving up.”

“
Maybe if you’d been this
obstinate in your last game, you’d be going to the Super Bowl
instead of sittin’ in this dive,” Taylor said loudly.

Several voices around
them
oooh
’
ed
at her
burn. Rhett didn’t let the remark get under his thick skin. He’d
heard a helluva lot worse over the years of playing. “If I had a
sexy woman like you rootin’ for me to win, maybe I wouldn’t have
lost.”

Taylor leaned in close. “As I recall,
woman problems were probably what made you lose in the first
place.”

Rhett smiled wider. “You do sure know
a lot about me. Why don’t you come have that drink so you can help
me balance the scales?”

Taylor yanked her hand away. Heat had
filled her face, pinkening her cheeks. She’d apparently liked the
little spat as much as he had. His cock was rock hard at this
point. There was no way he was giving up now.

“
Fine. I get off at ten.
One drink. Just one.”

Rhett smiled at her and then lifted
his wrist to look at the time. Taylor scowled at him and turned to
go back to work.

Over the next hour, he didn’t let her
out of his sight. He chatted with his old friends, and even more
came pouring into the bar, hearing he was back in town. Soon
enough, the place was packed to the rafters, the noise so loud he
could barely think, let alone talk. It made it harder to keep tabs
on Taylor, but he learned a long time ago to never let his eye off
the ball.

Chapter Three

“
Another hour, please. It’s
crazy in here. I need your help,” Ava pleaded.

Taylor was looking forward to getting
off and having that drink, even though she’d try to tell herself
not to. Suddenly she was fourteen again and the star quarterback
wanted her to climb into the back of a pick-up truck. Rhett hadn’t
looked at her with lust in his eyes the first time, but he sure had
this time around. Too smart to let his charisma and charm go to her
head, she couldn’t help enjoying the attention either. Taylor
didn’t want to hold back her date with destiny, but she also
couldn’t leave Ava in a lurch. “Fine. One more hour. I’ve got to
study in the morning.”

Ava clasped Taylor’s arm. “Thanks,
hon.”

Taylor went back from behind the bar
and continued taking orders at the array of tables littering the
place. Being a sports bar, they usually had no band, but the center
of the room was packed with couples dancing to the old jukebox
Ava’s father kept up-to-date. All that dancing was making many of
the patrons thirstier than normal.

She kept working the room, making sure
her side was filled, before she headed over to Rhett’s table. When
she got there, she found Maria Blevins sitting on Rhett’s lap,
looking like a Kodak moment from high school. The captain of the
cheerleading squad had dated the star QB for a year or so. Why
wouldn’t she find her way back into his lap the minute he got back
into town? Too bad Maria hadn’t had a great life since
graduating.

Jealousy swamped Taylor, but she bit
her lip and tried to ignore it. She’d been silly to think he had
been actually interested in her, a nobody waitress still stuck in
Dumb Fuck, Texas. She went up to the table to ask if they needed
refills.

“
Dammit, Maria, I think
you’ve had a little too much to drink,” she heard Rhett saying as
he pushed Maria off his lap. Maria had too much to drink just about
every night, but there was no point in her bringing that up to
embarrass the woman. At fourteen, Taylor had been so ready to rat
out the woman. Now, Maria would show her own hand all too readily,
letting Taylor off the hook. She had to feel a little pity for
Maria at this point. The best years of her life appeared to be
behind her. It was a reminder of exactly why she wanted out of
Dixon.

“
Oh come on, Rhett, one
night for old time’s sake?” Maria cooed.

Rhett grimaced at her before he seemed
to notice Taylor standing there. He got up, almost dumping Maria
onto the floor. He glanced at his watch and looked down at Taylor.
“Here for that drink?”

Taylor eyed Maria, then Rhett. “It’s
too busy. I’ve got to help out a while longer.”

Rhett’s face seemed to
fall. “But you
are
coming, right?”

Maria inserted herself between them.
“No worries, baby. I can keep you company.”

Rhett gently pushed Maria away.
“That’s not a good idea, Maria.”

“
No worries,
baby
. You’re busy, and so
am I,” Taylor said as avoided Rhett’s stare and looked at the
table. “You guys need refills?”

The guys gave her their order. Rhett
stared her down as she began to walk away. She could feel the heat
of his stare on her flesh, and it raised her temperature a
degree.

Over the next hour, she worked hard to
ignore Rhett and take care of the crowd, but she couldn’t help
noticing Maria practically hovering over the man. By eleven, a lot
of the old timers had left and the crowd thinned to one Ava and the
bartenders could handle. She cashed out and headed for the back
door, deciding it wasn’t worth the drink after all. There was no
way she’d be in a three-ring circus with a drunk Maria and the man
she didn’t have a chance with. Taylor pulled on her parka and
shoved her tips in the pocket as she headed out into the cold
night.

Before she could get to her car, she
sensed someone behind her. Taylor spun around, her arms coming up
defensively. She punched Rhett right in the gut.

All she heard was an
ooaf
before he fell into
her. She took his massive weight, feeling bad she’d punched him.
Well, sorta bad. He shouldn’t have snuck up on her.

“
What was that for?” he
asked after getting his breath back and standing up
straight.

“
I thought you were a
mugger,” she answered.

“
If you hadn’t tried to dip
out of that drink, I wouldn’t have had to chase you down in the
parking lot,” he said, still rubbing his belly.

“
You were busy, and I’ve
got to study tomorrow morning.”

“
But you promised me a
drink. One drink.”

Taylor’s teeth began to chatter. She
was standing in the dark, her bare legs freezing. “I don’t feel
like going back in there now.”

“
Then take a ride with me,”
he said smoothly. “I’ve got heated seats and somewhere to show
you.”

Taylor should’ve said no. She knew
what guys expected at the ends of those rides. But her curiosity
got the better of her. He’d apparently been watching her if he saw
her leave, and he’d been interested enough to chase her down. Did
that count for anything? “A short ride.”

Rhett put up his hands in mock
surrender. “I know, studying. I promise to have you back before
long.”

“
Where’s your
truck?”

He pointed to a big silver F-450 Super
Duty, clicking a button to make the big engine turn over. The thing
roared to life like an animal possessed, the lights coming on and
spearing through the darkness. The devil himself was offering a
trip straight to hell on a fiery beast, and she was so tempted to
let him be wicked with her along the way.

A few people began heading outside in
the cold, two of them staggering pretty well. She paused a moment,
making sure the staggerers got into passenger sides and not behind
steering wheels. Why she cared so much, she didn’t know. No one
seemed to notice her, unless she was serving them a mugful of
frosty beer or a basket of wings in a tiny tank top and short
shorts. She’d lived her whole life in Jennings’ shadow, the boy
wonder who’d been on his way to stardom.

Until tonight. She looked up into
Rhett’s face and saw something that shocked her a little—longing.
Rhett wanted her, and that was something she never thought she’d
see. A shiver raced down her spine before they started walking over
to his truck, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or what
might come.

He approached the passenger side and
opened the door for her. A blast of delicious heat came her way,
and she closed her eyes and tried to draw it in. She felt hands
grip her waist, and she was lifted into the air before she could
open her eyes and tell him no. He pushed her onto the warming seat
and closed the door on her.

Taylor nestled into the seat and
sighed. She pulled on her seatbelt as Rhett got behind the
wheel.

“
You
are
okay to drive, right? I only
served you two beers, but I need to ask,” she said as the thought
suddenly hit her.

“
Only the two. Was supposed
to be three, but someone left without me,” he said, grinning at
her. He pulled on his seatbelt and threw the truck into drive. He
sped out of the parking lot and onto the old country road, heading
in a direction that would lead her toward home.

“
Where are we goin’?” she
asked.

“
You’ll see,” he said
cryptically before reaching over and snagging her hand in his big
one.

Taylor looked down at his hand,
shocked by the touch. He rubbed the back of her hand with his
thumb, sending tendrils of excitement up her spine. She didn’t even
pay attention to where they were going, her attention so focused on
his hand on hers.

“
Does that bother you?” he
asked after a moment, apparently noting her regard.