The Perfect Touchdown

Over the next week after that fateful night, Aiden and I did our best to keep our relationship a secret, but in the early stages of a relationship, it was impossible to stay away from each other. When we weren’t hanging out at the frat house or secretly hooking up in my dorm room, we were texting each other constantly.

We had even gone as far as to share a few photos when one couldn’t handle not seeing the other. This was something I had never done before but the thrill of it was exciting, and I trusted Aiden enough to feel comfortable with the idea. Besides, having hot as fuck photos like that to look back on was mouthwatering and a great mood booster.

That didn’t take away the anxiety of knowing someone could get a hold of them, or I could accidentally send one to my brother instead of Aiden, the terrible possibilities are endless. But the responses I got in return were more than worth it. Never had I felt more attractive and wanted before, and it wasn’t just physical. Aiden had a way of looking at me that made me feel like he was looking through me and seeing me for all that I am, not just what was on the outside.

He made me feel like I was on top of the world in bed, but that was a whole other thing I wouldn’t go into. Needless to say, I was the happiest I had ever been, and I prayed every day that nothing ruined this bliss.

This weekend was another frat party, the first one Aiden and I went to as a secret couple, and I was almost afraid to go. The only thing that pushed me was when Kendra mentioned that Leah was still pining after Aiden and was most likely going to show up at the frat party again. We never found out who told her about the bowling alley last time, but they swore up and down that it wasn’t them.

It couldn’t have been one of the guys, so that left me to think it really was Aiden. But why would he have called her, just to go home with me? It didn’t make any sense and every time I had the chance to ask him about it, I chickened out, afraid that it would start a fight or worse, he would admit that he did invite her.

Aiden was picking me up so I made sure to dress my best and thanked the stars that Isabelle was out at a school rehearsal and wouldn’t be back until much later, which also meant she wouldn’t make the party and I could stay the night with Aiden once again.

The only problem there was making sure my brother didn’t catch on or throw another fit about us sharing a room. Even though Aiden said he would sleep on the couch last time, as soon as Avery had disappeared into his room and his snores filled the house, he snuck back into bed with me, and we had one more round of fun before I woke up with the most painful ache in my entire body.

But the ache was proof that everything was real. I achieved what I only ever dreamed would happen, and I was so close to completely giving up on those feelings and dreams. I was convinced that Aiden would never see me as more than a little sister, when in fact he had always seen me as something more, I was just too naïve to notice. Isn’t that how it always goes? One is too ignorant, and the other is too eager.

Speaking of eager, I was not eager for the frat party that night. I wasn’t sure how Aiden and I were going to act around each other now that we had been secretly hooking up and attacking each other like animals the last time we were both drunk. There was the option of pacing myself, but Kendra and Kinsley were going to be there, and they had the tendency of peer pressure.

I got the text from Aiden that he was waiting outside, and my heart soared. I thought I was happy when I saw Jacob, but I was merely giddy over going on a date with him. I felt like I was about to burst at the seams with joy just from the thought of seeing Aiden.

“Wow, you look amazing, as always,” he said as he opened the truck door for me. Before I could climb in, he hugged me against his chest and planted a sloppy kiss on my lips.

“Ew, gross,” I cried and pushed him away. “What was that for?” I wiped at my lips and left a wet mark on my shirt sleeve.

“I just missed you so much.” He chuckled with a cocky grin.

I rolled my eyes. “You saw me yesterday, you freak.”

I yelped when he slapped my ass as I climbed into the truck, not used to this much affection from anyone, let alone the guy I had been crushing on for years. I still couldn’t believe in moments like this that I really did it, I was actually dating Aiden Reed.

The party was in full swing when we got to the frat house and as usual, there was already a case of twisted tea in the fridge for me when I got inside. Aiden cracked a can for me and then reached for a beer, then held it up to cheer with me.

“Make sure to say under the radar tonight,” I said and narrowed my eyes. “That means don’t get wasted and forget our secret, or fists will most likely be flying tonight.”

He held a hand over his chest. “Cross my heart, I promise to be on my best behaviour tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes but giggled, already getting the feeling this was going to be a lot harder than I thought.

~*~

An hour or so into the party everything was going relatively well. As much as I wanted nothing more than to fling myself all over Aiden in my drunken misbehaviour, I managed to be a good girl and kept my hands to myself. It was mostly thanks to the video games I was engrossed in with Carter and Noah, I never knew how fun drunk Mario Kart could be.

The object of the game was to finish your beer before you reached the finish line and come in first place. Even if you had come in first place, if the drink wasn’t empty, then you weren’t the winner. The best strategy was to finish your drink as quickly as possible before you started, and then race like hell to the end.

This was also the best and worst way to get drunk as quickly as possible.

“Oh, man. How long have we been playing for?” Carter said after what felt like the hundredth race, my mind was reeling from the alcohol, and I knew I had to slow down before I got alcohol poisoning.

“Yeah, I need some fresh air. You coming?” Noah asked and pointed to the back door.

I nodded. I could do with getting out of the stuffy house for a little bit and following them both outside. Carter lit up a smoke and wandered down toward the pool to sit on the edge and put his feet in the water.

“So, how have you liked life at San Marco so far?” Noah asked.

I shrugged. “It hasn’t been exactly like I thought Uni life would be like, but it’s not terrible either. It’s a lot more mild than I thought, but coming here every weekend does help to remind me of the wild side of living on campus, at least.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, we can really turn up the heat here. We always wanted a place we could all escape to and be ourselves, feel like our own bosses and party whenever we wanted because we feel we deserve it.”

“Do you not feel like that?”

“We’re just a bunch of football guys who don’t even know what we’re going to do if none of us get scouted after next year. We all only got one more year here, and so far we aren’t any closer to whatever goals we have than we were when we got here. So, what exactly do we deserve?”

I was so used to seeing these guys happy and excited about everything, I almost forgot that they were probably struggling with a lot just like the rest of us were, and I didn’t realize how deep those fears and concerns really went.

It made me wonder if Avery felt the same and also made me realize that we had barely talked since I arrived at San Marco. We partied together but never actually sat down and talked like we used to as brother and sister, I had no idea what was going through his head and if he was truly happy.

“You guys are doing the best that you can, I see the first-hand on the field. The reason we cheer so loud and so hard for you guys isn’t just because that’s part of the job. We’re able to put in that energy and enthusiasm because we genuinely believe our team is the best, and that they’re going to come out on top no matter what happens.”

Noah beamed down at me. “Thanks, Rylee. That makes me feel a lot better, you’re really good at that.”

“It’s not that hard, I’m just being honest, and it worked out.” I shrugged. I looked over at Carter and saw that he was not there anymore. “Should we head back inside?”

I turned around to walk toward the back door.

“Rylee, wait.” Noah grabbed my wrist and spun me back around. I saw the look in his eyes the moment he leaned down toward me. It gave me just a sliver of time to put my hand between our lips and stop him from kissing me.

I shoved him back. “What are you doing? You don’t just kiss a girl out of nowhere like that!”

I heard the back door slam open, and the deck started to shake. A fist was flying by my face before I could register what was going on.

I watched in horror as Aiden smashed his fist into Noah’s face.