False Start: A Fake Dating Sports Romance (Red Zone Rivals)

I don’t know what I expected from Madelyn at the rehearsal dinner, but it was far from what I got.

Ever since we’d reconnected, she’d had a guard up. She’d been standoffish, quick to shut me down whenever I tried to get her to loosen up and have some fun. She’d fought me on nearly everything, it’d seemed.

But tonight, she was flowing like a river — free and beautiful, shaping the earth to curve around her and pulling everything and everyone into her current.

I watched her talk to my friends at the bar, listened to her laugh with the guys when we sat down at the table and they told her stories of our time in college.

I leaned in when she shared stories of her own, like how she’d ended up in a karaoke battle with a local radio station DJ one night when she was out drinking with her friends.

I tried to focus on the guys when she was on the dance floor with the girls, tried and failed not to watch her too long over the rim of my glass as she wound her hips and rolled her body in time with the beat.

She fit in like she’d always been a part of our group, like she’d spent the last five years with us, too.

It put a dull pain in my chest, one I couldn’t decide if I liked or not.

Maybe it was the nap she had. Maybe it was being states away from her responsibilities.

Maybe it was being around me again.

The selfish part of me hoped it was the latter that let her feel safe to cut loose, to laugh and dance and sass my friends.

That was the Madelyn I knew.

God, I’d missed her.

The thought hit me with a roil of my stomach as I drained the last of my tequila when it was time to shut things down, my eyes on where Madelyn was taking a selfie with Mary and Julep. They took a normal one first, all of them smiling. Then, they did some type of smoldering look before breaking out into a fit of laughter.

“I like her.”

I blinked, turning to find Zeke to my left. He was drinking water as usual, sober since the day I’d met him, and he set his glass on the bar before leaning against it.

“How long have you two been seeing each other?”

I folded my arms over my chest. “It’s complicated.”

“How so?”

“Let’s just say we have history.”

He chuckled. “I know all about that.”

I smirked a little. I guessed he did know about that, considering Riley hated his guts after a rough patch they’d gone through in high school.

“Whatever happened between you two, it seems you’ve put it to bed,” he assessed.

I frowned. “Not really. Can’t put it to bed if you don’t talk about it.”

“What’s stopping you?”

I swallowed past the sticky knot in my throat, my eyes still on Madelyn across the room as the last song played.

“Fear of what she’ll say,” I admitted, turning to look at my friend. “Fear of what I’ll say in return.”

Zeke nodded, clapping my shoulder. “When the time is right, you’ll work it out. For now, it seems like you two are doing alright.” His eyes were sincere as he looked at me. “She’s good for you, man. I can tell.”

“Yeah. For once, I’m not annoyed by your antics,” Holden added, sliding up on the other side of me.

“I haven’t seen you pull your phone out once all night,” Leo chimed in, and then I was surrounded by my asshole friends who couldn’t help but rib me.

But I smiled through it all, because they were right.

I hadn’t reached for my phone. I hadn’t even thought about posting in days.

And Madelyn was good for me.

My heart stammered a bit at the realization, because it was all under pretense.

I was helping her, keeping her safe from Marshall until we could find me a house, get her commission, and get her far away from Seattle.

She was just pretending to be mine, putting on a show for my friends as her part of our little deal.

But even as I thought it, something niggled in the back of my mind that maybe there was something more to it, something more to us.

I could still hear her saying my name in that bathtub, see her chest rising and falling as she chased a release she never quite found…

I smirked, eyes heating when Madelyn’s gaze slid to me from the dance floor. The music had stopped, the party over, and I didn’t miss how her cheeks reddened the longer I stared.

I can help with that, I’d promised her.

It was a tease, a way for me to confess without making it too serious.

But her breath had hitched when I’d said it.

Her skin had erupted in chills when I’d breathed the words against her neck.

And now, all I could think about was getting her back to that hotel room with one bed to see if she’d let me make good on my promise.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” Clay said, calling attention to him and Giana in the middle of the room. “We want to thank you for celebrating with us tonight, and for getting together on such short notice to celebrate our wedding.”

“We can’t wait to continue celebrating with you tomorrow,” Giana added, one hand absentmindedly cradling her small bump.

“Our time is up here, but… the night isn’t over yet,” Clay added, and then he nodded his head at Braden, who appeared with a box full of glow sticks in one hand and a flashing volleyball in the other.

Madelyn joined me at the bar just as I laughed and said, “Oh, shit,” under my breath.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

I smirked, arching a brow at her, but it was Clay who answered as the rest of us erupted in a mixture of cheers and groans, depending.

“It’s Ravey Ball time, bitches!”

Half an hour later, we were at a sand volleyball court on the outskirts of the city.

It was dark, save for the lights from the surrounding buildings and a lone streetlamp overhead. But in no time, we were all wearing glow stick necklaces and bracelets, and the volleyball flashed every color of the rainbow as Braden and Clay volleyed back and forth while we waited for the last of the crew to show up.

Giana had picked up a couple of twelve-packs of hard seltzers and beer on the way over, and I sipped from one as I watched Madelyn with an amused smile.

She was next to me, one foot on the bench as she stretched. She hadn’t picked up a beer when everyone else did. Instead, she’d been doing jumping jacks and high knees — in a dress, mind you — and now she was stretching and swinging her arms, a determined look glossing over her eyes.

Those eyes flicked to me the longer I stared. “What?”

“Nothing.”

She narrowed her gaze even more.

“Just love to see you’re still as competitive as you were when you were in high school,” I said, holding a hand up in surrender.

“I’m not competitive,” she said, cracking her neck.

“Uh-huh,” I mused. Then, I finished my beer and leaned in close enough for my next words to sweep across the back of her neck. “And I’m not still thinking about you in that bathtub.”

She froze, and even in the darkness, I could tell she was blushing.

But she swatted me across the chest after only a split second, and I barked out a laugh, jogging over to where everyone was gathering by the net. Madelyn followed, standing next to me with her arms crossed.

“Alright, a quick rule refresher,” Clay said, tossing the ball up and catching it. “There will be two captains. We’ll alternate picking people until we’re in two teams of five. Giana is sitting out, for obvious reasons.”

“Go team!” she yelled from the sideline, doing a fake cheerleader kick.

Clay smirked and shook his head before his attention was back on us. “She’ll be in charge of blasting the music and will be line judge, should we need one. Winning team needs fifteen points and to win by at least two. Otherwise, regular rules of volleyball apply.”

Madelyn nodded, bouncing on her toes as I tried and failed to stifle a laugh.

She elbowed me in the ribs.

“Braden, Madelyn — you’re captains.”

Braden frowned. “Why us?”

“Because you’re the only single one here and Madelyn is our guest of honor.”

She didn’t even hesitate. Madelyn strode up to stand next to Braden, pointing at Riley. “My first pick.”

She and Riley high-fived each other as I gaped at her with my jaw on the court, and the guys bent over laughing at my expression.

“That’s just cold,” I said.

“Oh, don’t be a baby. I’ll get you next time,” Madelyn said.

“What if Braden picks me?”

“Holden,” Braden said, and I turned my look of betrayal on him. He just shrugged. “Sorry, man.”

I shook my head, tonguing the inside of my cheek as I crossed my arms over my chest. I pretended to be offended, but really, I couldn’t help but smile as Madelyn stepped fully into her element. And when she called me to be on her team next, I walked slowly over to join her, dropping my voice low enough so no one else could hear.

“Enjoy being the one to call the shots now because that’ll be my role when we get back to the room.”

She stilled, swallowing.

And when she called out Clay’s name, I smiled at how it came out in a squeak.

When the teams were set, we split up on the court, Giana blared EDM music so loud we couldn’t hear each other even if we wanted to — and the game began.

The first few volleys were a mess. Ravey Ball meant you couldn’t hear your teammates calling out if they were going for the ball, which meant we were running into each other and slamming down into the sand more than we were successfully hitting anything. Add in the fact that it was dark other than the flashing ball, and you couldn’t tell you were about to hit someone until it was already too late.

I didn’t mind the few times I ran into Madelyn, our bodies tangling as we rolled down into the sand.

I also found it amusing how pissed Madelyn was getting, especially when we fell behind by two. She painted on her game face, and when Riley served the ball, I knew my girl meant business.

We scored five unanswered points before the serve switched to Braden’s team.

Giana cheered from the sideline, though we couldn’t hear her over the music. Back and forth, we battled it out, playing volleyball in the dark in the same clothes we wore to the party.

The girls didn’t give a fuck they were in dresses. Mary tied her long one up by her hip to stay out of her way while Julep pinned hers together between her legs with a safety pin, creating makeshift shorts.

The guys had all stripped out of their shirts, me included, and half of us had our slacks rolled up to just under our knees. Leo had tied his tie around his head, looking like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

When it was 12-14, us, Madelyn huddled us in the middle.

“Alright, this is it,” she screamed over the music. “Watch each other. Be smart. Wave if the ball is yours, and don’t call ones you can’t get. This is our set.”

Riley and Clay nodded in determination. I watched Madelyn with that ache in my chest re-emerging, and when I looked at Mary, she was smirking at me like she knew something I didn’t.

We threw our hands into the middle, launching them into the air on a win! before we all took our places.

It was Clay’s serve, and he launched it perfectly to Leo.

Leo volleyed it to Mary, who hit the ball straight up, right in line for me to spike it. I hit it hard over the net and straight down, but Zeke caught it in time, sending it up into the air again. Their team volleyed it twice, and then it was sent up in front of Holden.

Who was jumping, and ready to spike.

It happened so fast I couldn’t register it, couldn’t block it, and the ball zoomed past me toward the open space of court.

I cursed.

But then there was a blur of movement, and the ball soared high into the air.

Madelyn was sprawled out in the sand for only a second before she popped up again, getting out of the way, and Riley jumped to hit the ball to me next.

I hit it as hard as I could, and this time, it landed in the sand on the other side of the net with Braden unable to stop it.

We erupted, Mary and Clay high-fiving each other as Riley wrapped Madelyn in a fierce hug. When she pulled back, I swept Madelyn into my arms and up onto my shoulders.

“You fucking dove for it!” I screamed over the noise.

“And you’re surprised?” she asked, arching a brow down at me before she held her hands up in victory.

Giana turned the music down enough for us to gloat properly, me running around the court with Madelyn straddling my neck as the rest of our team did a synchronized dance in the middle.

After a few laps, I grabbed Madelyn’s hips in my hands, carefully helping her down.

Every inch of her body dragged against mine as I did, and when she was standing again, we were both breathing heavily, my hands on her waist, hers braced against my bare chest.

Around us, my friends teased each other and laughed and called for another round.

But we were still, her eyes dancing between mine as I swallowed and fought the urge to pull her closer.

All the noise had faded to the background, Madelyn’s skin hot where I held her.

She wet her lips, pressing up on her toes and sliding her arms around my neck.

“Don’t I get a kiss for that game-winning point?”

My chest sparked with possession, and I gave in, fisting my hands in her dress and pulling her flush against me.

“I think it was me who scored the winning point,” I combatted, nose flaring as I stared at her lips.

Those lips curled into a soft smile before they were touching mine, and I tasted her next words.

“Technicalities,” she whispered.

And I kissed her.

I sucked in a long, deep breath when I did, and Madelyn melted into my embrace, a whimper escaping her throat when I deepened the kiss. I slid my hands up and over her arms until I cradled her face, and then I tested that rule she’d made about not using any tongue.

I slicked mine against her lips, seeking access.

And she opened.

The moment my tongue swept across hers, she trembled, and I felt a shock of electricity shoot straight down to my cock. Her hands twisted in the hair at the back of my neck, holding me to her, her body arching against me as I wrapped her fully in my arms.

“Alright, alright, get a room, you two,” Braden joked as he jogged past us, and Madelyn broke the kiss, burying her face in my chest.

Braden caught my eye as he passed, arching his brow with a cocky grin, but my attention was pulled back to Madelyn as she backed away.

I snatched her hand in mine before she could go too far, and I held onto it until we slid into the back of one of the cars waiting to take us all back downtown.

My hand moved to her knee then, fingers wrapping around to the inside of her thigh as goosebumps raced from that point of contact all the way up under the hem of her dress.

I didn’t know what the fuck we were doing anymore.

But I knew there was nothing fake about what I had planned for when we got back to that hotel.