Oh my God! What the hell was that?Emotion churns through me as Mia shoves the key into the lock and twists the handle before dragging my bags inside our brand-new apartment. The confrontation with Colton has left me feeling shaken and out of sorts. Was I really under the delusion that it was possible to ease back into life at Wesley? I could take my time, adjust a bit, and find my bearings before having to come face-to-face with. I glance at my phone, noting that I haven't been back on American soil for a full hour before we had a run-in.Ugh.That encounter couldn't have gone any worse.After a couple of months in London, I'd all but convinced myself that I was over him. That I'd detoxed the guy from my heart.Only now do I realize that it was wishful thinking on my part. If I had, I wouldn't have gone off the rails like a complete psycho. I wince, remembering the avid faces watching from the sidelines. A few spectators had been on the verge of grabbing a bowl of popcorn and
"Montgomery, get your ass off the field!" Coach barks when I fumble yet another pass. "Kwiatkowski, take his place!"F*ck.F*ck.F*ck.I need to get my shit together before I get permanently pulled. Instead of making eye contact with Beck, I stare at the turf and jog off the field. I already know what I'll find in his eyes and that's a-what the hell is going on with you look. I can't blame him for it either. The last couple of practices have turned out to be a complete shitshow. Passes I should be catching with ease are getting dropped, missed, or slipping through my fingers. On one of the last plays, I actually tripped over my own damned feet. If you didn't know better, you'd think I'd never even seen a football before. It's embarrassing as fuck.Ever since I first stepped foot on the field, my game has been consistent. I don't have high-highs or low-lows. I'm a solid player. Dependable. Coaches know this. My teammates know it. Beck knows it, as well. I'm always in pos
By the time I'm walking off the field, I'm berating myself for yet another shit practice. For stupid mistakes that not even the most incompetent incoming freshman would make. For not having my head in the game where it belongs.I do my best not to think about the reason this is happening. My hope is that if I ignore it long enough, it'll fix itself. That's what I've done all my life-ignored the bad shit and kept it moving and I've been just fine. So why isn't it working now? Why are the wheels falling off when I need them to stay put? This can't be how I go out.It just can't be.I need to get it figured out and fast before it becomes any more of a problem. Beck shrugs, downplaying my plunging spiral. "Wasn't going to mention it."I almost snort.Yeah, right."Good," I say with a grunt. Unable to help myself, I shoot an anxious glance toward Coach's office. My voice drops before I reluctantly admit, "For once in his life, Baker is right. I'd better grab some lube. Coach is
"Welcome home, bitch," Mia shouts, attempting to be heard over the pulsing beat of techno as we clink our shots of Fireball and toss them back. The smooth liquor slides down my throat, warming me from the inside out."Holy shit, that's terrible!" my bestie sputters, coughing as tears gather in her dark eyes. "No more shots. I'm tapping out."Undeterred by the pronouncement, I laugh and order another round. I'm nowhere near done. Everywhere I look, there are friends who have shown up to help celebrate my return to Wesley. I'll admit that while packing up my bags and preparing to leave London, part of me considered extending my student visa for another year, but in the end, I decided the best thing I could do was come home, finish out my degree, and graduate on time. Maybe, if I still feel the same way in the spring, I'll return.And then there's Jack. Even though I'd taken everything at a glacial pace where he was concerned, it had just started to heat up between us. I'm not su
It takes effort to jolt myself out of those insidious thoughts. For as long as I can remember, Colton has had this kind of effect on me. I lose all conscious thought when he's near. I'd hoped my year spent in London would help me to forget about him-or, at the very least, get over him-but that doesn't seem to be the case.When it comes to Colton Montgomery, my heart and body have a mind of their own. With punishing force, I crush the fragile emotions attempting to take root inside me.Never again.I will never willingly give my heart to another man who is unable to hold it carefully in his hands.You know that saying-when someone shows you who they are, believe them?Yeah...I need to take that more seriously.Fool me once, shame on you.Fool me twice and I deserve everything I get for being a dumb ass.I'll be damned if I allow Colton to ruin this night for me. He no longer has a place in my life. He made sure of that when he dumped my ass and walked away."You don't get to tell
That went the way I expected it to.Right down the tubes.Although, she didn't lose her shit like the other day, so I guess that's progress.If I had any brains at all, I'd chalk this endeavor up as a lost cause and cut my losses before I can make matters worse. Hell, had I been thinking clearly, I wouldn't have shown up in the first place. I'd leave the past where it belongs and allow Alyssa to move on with her life which is what she keeps insisting she wants to do.But I can't. Not when I sense that buried beneath all the hurt and anger are emotions fighting to break free. Until I make sure that there's nothing I can do to rectify the situation, I can't move on. Decision made, I hang out at the bar. Shane keeps me well stocked with water. As tempting as it is to guzzle down half a dozen beers, or a few shots, I've become enough of a shitshow without inviting more problems.Two hours later, Alyssa is still on the dance floor, shaking her ass for all it's worth. I'm barely a
Why is it that when he lays hands on me, all rational thought falls to the wayside? Colton Montgomery has been my Kryptonite for as long as I can remember. It's disheartening to realize that nothing has changed in that regard. No matter how strong I think I am, this is all it takes for me to crumble. His hands coasting over me, singeing my flesh. His mouth...A shiver works its way through me.I've kissed a handful of boys since our breakup and none had the capacity to make me feel like this. Not one of them made me forget myself. Not a single person made me feel as if I would shrivel up and die if they didn't take my mouth with theirs.But that's exactly the way it is with Colton.It's disheartening to realize that a year and a half of separation did nothing to lessen the attraction that churns within me. I want him now as much as I ever did. And I have no idea how to change that. How to kill the feelings still simmering beneath the surface."Tell me to stop," he growls aga
Just because I can be assertive and know what I want, doesn't mean that I don't enjoy submitting and made to feel as if I've been rendered powerless. To have my senses eclipsed by physical strength wielded in a manner that isn't an attack but one that makes me feel emboldened by my own sexuality. It's nothing more than an illusion. A trick of the imagination. It requires a man to walk a fine line and Colton knows exactly how to do it.And that, like everything else he does, is a turn-on.As much as I hate to admit it, there were too many nights since our breakup when I laid awake in my bed, unable to find sleep, as thoughts of him swirled unbidden through my head. The way he touched me. Stroking my flesh to life. Sliding deep inside my heat until there was no choice but to shudder with orgasm. Inevitably, my fingers would slip beneath the elastic band of my panties before stroking my lower lips and circling my clit until I was gasping out his name.Every time I caved to the tem