The Red Zone: An Enemies with Benefits Sports Romance (The League Book 2)

I COULDN’T FINISH.

Every time I got within a millisecond of having a mind-numbing orgasm roll through me, October’s smug face would appear in the forefront of my brain. Sending a spat of aggravation coursing through my veins instead of the sweet, sweet neurochemical cocktail I so desperately craved.

This was just great. Not only had he infiltrated my property, but now he was sabotaging my “self-love” time too. It was appalling, really. Even the saints would consider something of this stature to be downright blasphemous.

Maybe pushing him in the pool earlier was too much enjoyment for my brain to handle in one day. Surely, that was it. But then again, ruining things for me was precisely on brand for him, even if he wasn’t present to reap the benefits, so there could be darker forces at work here.

Peeling the covers off with a sigh, I slung my legs over the edge of the bed and let out a frustrated groan. I bent over to grab my shorts from the floor and shimmied them halfway on before pushing off the mattress to stand.

As I was tying the strings at my waist, my ears perked up at the sound of the front door creaking open in the distance. Followed by Lea and Scarlett’s voices echoing off the walls in a sing-songy tone, announcing their arrival. “Birthday girl! Where are you?”

“I’m walking over to the beauty room.” I shouted down the hall to them with a small laugh. Their enthusiasm made my birthday feel a teeny bit more special. With a smile, I listened as the door slammed behind them, followed by their heavy footsteps trudging up the steps.

Of course, right as I plopped down onto the chair in front of my vanity, both girls barged into the room with overstuffed make-up bags and balloons, screaming and jumping as they smothered me in their arms, wishing me countless happy birthdays.

My heart swelled three sizes bigger than normal as they tangled their arms around me. Pulling away, Lea’s brows perked up as she surveyed the scene outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the backyard. The natural light in this room was the reason it became the designated “beauty room”, after all—although, it was more like a giant closet with a make-up area than anything.

Outside the window, standing by the edge of the pool with a skimmer net in hand, a freshly showered and shirtless October was cleaning the algae out of the deep end.

A small smile tugged at my lips at the thought of him an hour ago drenched in water, clothes and all. Sure, I could’ve told the girls about it, but some things were better kept in my personal memory bank.

When October moved in, I made pool cleaning a last-minute mandatory stipulation on his rental agreement, since I was already so gracious for letting him live here. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but in my defense, there was no sense in keeping my overpriced pool maintenance company when I had a live-in pool boy readily available at my leisure.

In my eyes, having him do the job wasn’t a form of punishment. It was simply logic. Though, I’m sure he would vehemently disagree.

“It always surprises me that some of the guys on the team are still single.” Lea chimed in after an extended moment of gawking at his half naked body. A minute longer and I would’ve had to wipe up drool from her chin.

“Well, in his case, I could think of a few reasons people might go running for the hills…” I smarted off as a scornful laugh rippled past my lips. I stood side by side with Lea, observing him like a guinea pig in a pet store. But no matter which way I tilted my head; I couldn’t understand her surprise.

Why was he still single?

Oh gosh, let me think.

I mean, there’s his unpleasant demeanor. His cocky personality. Or maybe his disgustingly senseless comebacks. And those were just an appetizer of the nauseating qualities I could think of on the fly.

“Why?” I looked over at her. “Are you finally considering getting your hands dirty with one of the players?”

“At the risk of losing my job and enduring the wrath of my father?” She dipped her chin, giving me a dull look before drawing her gaze back out the window once again. “I might be horny, but I’m not an idiot.”

I peeked back at Scarlett, and we shared a glance with each other, shrugging our shoulders. Lea’s dad was head coach for the Matrix and he had one rule for his players— “don’t date my daughter”.

I’d met Coach Sterling a few times now, and he wasn’t a scary guy by any means, but for some reason, he was the only person on planet earth who had the power to disrupt Lea’s take-no-bullshit demeanor.

With a sigh, she peeled herself away from the window and took a seat in the open chair on the left of my usual spot. “I mean, surely, he has no trouble picking up women. I passed him naked in the locker room by accident once, and I can confirm he is very well endowed.”

“Lea!” Scarlett and I exclaimed in unison, sharing a look before turning to her with slack jawed faces and appalled laughs.

“Double digits…” Scarlett whispered, tipping her head with a lifted eyebrow.

“Easily… and if not, damn close.”

What in the world?

How did this conversation even get here?

“If you guys want to continue to fawn over October’s dick, go do it in front of his face. I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to have a couple of girls praise his manhood,” I grumbled, sitting back down on the pink chair in front of the center vanity.

“Oh, come on! It was an honest question for… you know, research purposes.” Scarlett shot me a teasing wink before claiming the only other open seat in the room.

Can you believe she was the one who was always telling me I was the terrible liar of the group?

“Aww, Mae girl, we’re just having some fun.” Lea wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed me into a hug so tight both of our faces scrunched together. “Are you ever going to tell me what the deal is between you guys? Why you hate each other so much?”

“Oh, I’ll tell you…” Scar piped up. “Since we were five—and October six—the two of them have had a silent competition to see who could irk the other person’s nerves the most.” Scarlett looked over at me for confirmation, to which I gave her an indifferent shrug. “Like one time when October beat her in the Pi Day contest, so Mae made it her life mission for the next year to memorize as many numbers of Pi so not only would she beat him the next year, but also so she would break the school record for most numbers recited knowing he would be going to middle school the next year and wouldn’t be able to challenge her title.”

“Okay, first off, I won that contest fair and square. Second, I am still the proud Pine Crest Elementary School Pi Day Challenge record holder. Fifteen years strong. I even have a plaque to prove it.”

“We know… it’s hanging up in your office downstairs.” Scar and Lea looked at each other and their smiles deepened into laughter. “Back to your original question,” Scarlett started again. “The real kicker in their relationship happened when Mae and I were in second grade, though. At the time it seemed subtle, but looking back, Mae was a woman scorned from that Spring forward…”

“Hmmm.” Lea raised her brows with a sarcastic smile. “Imagine that.”

“Only… to this day, Mae has never told me the reason.” Lea mock gasped at Scarlett’s over exaggerated confession. “To think, my best friend, my sister, has kept a secret like this from me for two decades. The betrayal!” Scarlett sighed dramatically while lifting the back of her hand to her forehead like she was the lead in a period drama who just found out terrible news.

“Oh, cut the dramatics. There’s hardly anything to tell.”

“So, you’re admitting there is something to tell?” Lea pried with narrowed eyes.

“If I say yes, then I would be incriminating myself, and if I say no… that would be a lie.” I turned up my nose. “And frankly, I’d rather not accuse myself any further.”

The thing about my revulsion toward October was that while it might’ve been slow and contentious to start, like Scarlett mentioned, there was a vital turning point that shifted my view of him from minor competitor to public enemy number one in a matter of minutes.

It all boiled down to the fact that Molly Goldberg was a big mouthed, two-faced bitch from hell. Always had been, and as far as I was concerned, always would be. Last I heard, she was working at a topless bar somewhere off I-95, but got into an argument with the owners and was told to never come back. Word around our hometown spread that she was unemployed and living in her parents’ basement because no one would hire her.

Can’t say I was surprised.

In case you haven’t heard, karma’s a bit of a bitch.

Back to the point…

Many, many moons ago on a planet far away, I had a teensy tiny schoolgirl crush on October Calhoun himself. Though in today’s day and age, I’d never, under any circumstances, outright admit that.

It all started the first moment we met at his parents’ Halloween party. His mom, Mrs. Tish, was one of those people who made the holiday their entire personality all year round. Granted, she might’ve been a little too obsessive, but who was I to judge?

It had been a windy night in South central Florida and the chilly air smacked our faces as the five of us—Scarlett, her mom, me, and my dads—marched down the sidewalk toward the California ranch style home which sat on the corner of Pine Street.

Eerie tunes blared from the speakers and as soon as the door opened, a tall dark-haired woman with buttons stuck on her eyes like Coraline greeted us with the most enthusiastic welcome as she waved us into her home.

There were people in costumes of all kinds—princesses, doctors, monsters—but when I locked eyes with the boy across the room wearing football pads and a Rhett Fuller jersey that was three sizes too big for his body, the biggest crush I’d had in my five-year-old life washed over me, completely consuming my being.

I was too hardheaded to let it show, but it was there buried deep down under there.

However, Two Valentine’s Day’s, a humiliating moment, and a gut-wrenching sentence from Molly Goldberg later, the crush I’d had on October was dead on impact with no chance of revival.

The night was young and there was a pleasant breeze rolling off the water, which was a refreshing change from the late August heat. Scarlett and Lea had their arms looped between mine as they guided me down a dock toward the luxurious black and white yacht with the words “Dirty Beach“ painted on the side in a decadent royal blue.

It took everything in me not to burst out laughing at the outrageous name.

I’d never admit it, but the white blindfold they gave me was a hundred percent sheer and I could see everything around us with crystal clear vision. To make my act seem more believable, I’d purposely tripped while getting out of the car, and as far as I could tell, they totally bought it.

At this rate, I’d be able to add “seasoned improv actress” to my resume by sunrise.

Scarlett’s voice grew louder with each step as she babbled on about the latest celebrity gossip, likely trying to mask the sound of friendly chatter from party goers resounding through the air as we approached the boat.

Our heels clattered against the wooden planks a few more feet before Lea and Scarlett tugged my elbows to signal for me to stop walking.

“Okay, we’re here,” Scar buzzed next to me. I could hear the smile on her lips as she spoke.

Slipping off the blindfold, my eyes grew wide and my expression brightened as I took in my surroundings. Best of all was seeing the pleased look on Scarlett’s face from thinking she pulled one over on me.

God, I love her.

“Oh my god, you guys! I can’t believe this,” I exclaimed, trying to conceal my high-pitched tone as I pulled them both into a group hug. “You’re telling me this isn’t a cruise ship?”

“Ahhh, it’s so great, isn’t it?” Scar was practically jumping out of her skin as she whisked past us and led the way up the ramp to the entrance. The girl loved a good party, especially if it meant she got to help make the food.

“You’re a horrible liar.” Lea whispered in my ear as we took our sweet time strolling behind her.

“Do you think she noticed?”

I really thought I’d gotten away with my act, damn it. Then again, there wasn’t much that went past Lea unnoticed.

“Doubtful. She’s too excited about everyone trying her mini donuts to care. It’s all she’s talked about all week.”

I couldn’t help but let out a burst of laughter.

Sounded just like Scarlett.

“You won’t tell her?”

“Never.” She shot me a sly wink before locking her elbow with mine as we picked up our pace to catch up.

As we crossed over the threshold of the entrance and onto the gargantuan boat, a sea of people shouted, “Surprise!” in unison. A slow smile spread across my lips as people swarmed me with hugs and countless happy birthdays.

Before I could blink, I was sucked into conversation after conversation with people I hadn’t seen in years. How Scarlett had tracked down all of these people was beyond me. Then again, I’m sure most people weren’t foolish enough to turn down a yacht party with an open bar.

After nearly an hour, I managed to break free from one prolonged catch-up after another long enough to capture my breath. Leisurely working my way through the crowd toward the dessert bar where Scarlett and Lea were piling their tiny plastic plates with every flavor mini donut in sight.

My stomach rumbled in retaliation. I hadn’t even had a bite to eat all night.

Almost as if the universe heard my inner thoughts, the corner of a silver tray slammed into the side of my shoulder as a server circulating hors d’oeuvres crashed into me. Quiche and caviar flew every which way, splattering across the maritime floorboards.

In a last-ditch effort to keep myself upright, I winded my arms back, twisting myself uncomfortably until a sharp, searing pain spread out from my ankle.

Shit.

With no time left to make a move, I accepted my defeat, which unfortunately meant falling backward into someone’s lap. Thankfully, a firm hand caught my back, helping me stay vertical. This person’s hand was the only thing that saved me from falling over their knee and cracking my head open on floorboard.

What a story that would’ve been.

As far as the eye could see, everyone had their gaze locked on me with widened eyes and a palm slapped over their mouth.

Dear God, this was mortifying.

Which was saying a lot coming from someone who’d spent the better half of the last decade being stared at by bystanders for a living.

The muscular hand from earlier dropped lower, wrapping around my hip to keep me from sliding forward and face planting onto the ground, thus embarrassing myself further.

“I’m so sorry—” I twisted my neck, flickering my gaze up only to find my knight in shining armor was none other than my worst fucking nightmare. “Who the hell invited you here?”