GRAYSON

"How do you want it this morning?"

Nessa stretched out in my bed, smiling a sleepy smile while I ran a hand up her naked side. We were up late last night, and all I wanted to do was stay in bed. But my alarm had been loud and clear. Didn't mean I was in a rush, though.

"My coffee?" she asked with a hopeful grin.

Smirking, I shook my head. "Your orgasm."

Her eyes flicked open wider, sparking with heat. Look who was suddenly wide awake.

She arched into my hand as I slid it down her body and then moaned a delicious moan as I dipped a finger into the wet heat between her legs.

"Still soaked, huh?" I muttered, more to myself than to her.

A whole-body shiver worked its way from my head to my toes. It was desire, raw and heady. Last night was incredible.

This morning would be just as good.

Nessa was already lost, her head tipped back and nipples pointing at the ceiling as she let me pump two fingers inside her slowly. Leaning down, I captured one breast in my mouth, sucking on the tender tip. She whimpered, clearly trying to swallow her sounds.

Too bad I couldn't snap my fingers and make my roommates disappear. Then we could be as loud as we wanted. She could be as loud as she wanted.

"How do you want it?" I asked again, lifting my gaze.

She just shook her head, desperate.

"I don't care, just...."

"Make it happen?" I grinned against her skin. "I will."

But then I fell onto my back beside her, and she whipped her head around, shooting over a glare that caused a laugh to ripple through me. Her body did this hot little wiggle on the bed like it was seeking my touch again. Like it missed me.

Nessa scowled. "It's not funny, you irritating man."

A little shrug. "It kind of is."

"If you're being a tease, I'm going to—"

I silenced her with a finger over her lips.

"Sit on my face, Adler."

When all she did was give me a wide-eyed, silent stare in response, I leaned in to whisper. "If you don't, I doubt I'll survive, Nessa."

That got her to move. She jumped onto her knees, her face still fixed in a scowl as she began to straddle me. My heart jumped into my throat. My hands ached to touch her skin. My mouth all but watered. She was so gorgeous and naked and mine.

"Would you shut up," she said, swatting my chest. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say shit like that? If you keep it up, I'll be the one who makes sure you don't survive."

Grabbing her hips, I jerked her up to my face because I knew she wasn't going to do it otherwise. Nessa fell forward with a gasp, bracing the headboard as I gently tipped her down into position. Wet and hot and perfectly Nessa. I could practically taste her just by being this close, and the last thing I said before diving in was, "I give you permission to suffocate me between your thighs any day, baby."

Swirling my tongue around her clit, I rendered Nessa speechless. And fuck, was that satisfying. I felt her legs weaken a little bit on either side of my head and urged her down lower.

Sit, darling. I want you to sit.

Nessa finally got the message, and then I got to spend the rest of the time between my first alarm and my second eating my girlfriend for breakfast.

"Oh, Gray." It wasn't long before Nessa's voice began to shake, and I knew what she was going to say next. "I'm gonna...."

Do it.

"Let's go, Everett!"

Julian's voice pierced through the room, followed by a loud banging. Nessa, startled, tried to dismount. But I held on tight. If I didn't get to feel her come, this day would be absolutely wasted. The rest of it was going to be shit. I needed this.

Thankfully, Nessa rallied, flying back up to find her orgasm. Her muffled moans made my skin feel too tight for my skin, like a plucked guitar string. She did that to me all the time, but feeling her come on my face amplified it. The sweetness vibrating through her body—I was drinking it in.

After slumping back over onto the bed, Nessa lifted her head, narrowing her eyes at the bedroom door.

"I knew he was going to be trouble."

I laughed, licking my lips in a way that make Nessa stare a little. "Jules?"

She nodded. "After all, his name starts with J."

****

"Dude, you're staring."

I felt Julian's eyes on me as I packed up my things in the locker room. They weren't judgmental or angry, or pitiful. They were just...intense.

That intensity, I felt it in my bones, too. All my bottled-up emotions were heightened today. I was cleaning out my locker, and he was here to practice. We'd walked here together, but suddenly we were on different playing fields.

He sighed. "I know. But if I say something, it's gonna be the wrong thing. So I'm not saying anything."

"It won't be the wrong thing," I said gruffly. I could guess everything that he was going to say. And even though I knew it would hurt just a bit, it wasn't the wrong thing. It was just the truth.

I couldn't be mad at people for speaking the truth when it was all I ever did.

"Fine," he said on a long exhale. "It fucking sucks that this is my last season, and you're not gonna be here."

When I opened my mouth to tell him that I knew exactly how much it sucked, he cut me off.

"But I'm glad I don't have to worry about your ass anymore."

Closing my eyes, I nodded.

I knew. I knew that was how he felt. I knew that was how all of my teammates felt. Reggie and Noah and Jonah and Ismael—the whole team understood. But that didn't make it suck less.

It was different this year, different than any other year. I'd grown up risking a piece of myself so I could play the game that I loved. But this season, there was more on the line. More than just a single piece.

It wasn't only my heart. It was my hand-eye coordination, that clumsiness that hadn't yet gone away. It was my blood and the anticoagulation treatment that made injuries that much more dangerous. It was the fatigue from all my medications. From all my therapy appointments. It was me, running myself into the ground week after week.

I thought I could do it. I thought it would still be worth it. And maybe it was. But fuck if I wasn't tired.

Being put in Nessa's shoes, feeling the crazy worry set into my bones at the idea of something happening to her...it had been the last straw. I didn't want to cause that. Put her through that. Not when I could barely stomach the slightest risk to her health.

The love of the game had been slipping through my fingers since I stepped foot on the field this August. And I realized that to hold onto it, I needed to let it go. For now.

"Jasper," a new voice cut in behind me. "Jasper Monroe."

A short pause, muffled voices. "Yeah, wide receiver. Just transferred."

Jasper.

Jasper Monroe.

I knew the name Jasper Monroe.

Spinning around, I found the other guys greeting a dude with a square jaw, a smug expression, and short hair just a tad lighter than mine.

"Who's that?"

I didn't know why I bothered asking Julian the question. I knew who it was. He just said who he was. Clear as day. Jasper Monroe, new wide receiver. Just transferred.

"Oh, that's Jasper," Julian said. "We just brought him on because—"

There was a pause.

"Because I'm leaving?"

My nerve endings felt like they were on fire at the idea. Someone had to be playing the world's worst joke on me, and I was going to fucking pummel their asses into the ground when I found out who.

Julian seemed flustered. His freckles popped off his face as he tried to evade my stare. "I mean, not totally. I think it was already in the works before you talked to Coach, but your exit seemed to seal the deal, yeah. He has pretty good stats for a sophomore."

My lips thinned into a straight line. "I'm a sophomore."

"Yeah, but you don't play like a sophomore," Jules said, rolling his eyes.

"Thanks," I said. But it didn't come out grateful. It came out like acid.

A heavy sighed fell between us. "Dude, it sucks that you're leaving. Trust me, I hate it. But someone has to fill in for you."

Like I didn't know that.

"I thought it would be Lukas or Dante."

"Yeah, and I'm sure they'll sometimes start, but—"

"Well, I've got a girl here," Jasper explained lazily on the other side of the locker room. He leaned against the wall answering the guys' questions about why he transferred from a higher ranking university. I had only been half-listening. Until now.

There were some smirks and nudges at that, and Jasper grinned cockily, rolling his eyes a bit at the attention. Pretending he hated it when really he loved it. I could tell.

Manipulative ass.

"I mean, she's my ex," he clarified. "But not for long."

I saw red. The color red washed over my vision like a matador waving his flag. And I was ready to charge.

"Gray," Julian hissed, and I didn't realize he was holding me back until his grip on my arm tightened. "What the fuck? You can't beat some dude up for taking your spot on the team after you voluntarily quit."

I gritted my teeth. "Let me go, Jules."

"No, man, I'm not—"

"No, I'm sure you don't know her," Jasper said, drowning out Julian, his voice carrying obnoxiously over the locker room. More and more of the guys started flooding over by him. "She's not into football."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Reggie said, nudging Jasper's arm. "Girls when they get to college...shit changes, you know?"

The asshat laughed. The sound of it alone made me want to punch him. But it was nothing compared to the urge when he opened his mouth again.

"Trust me," he said with a grin. "If you knew Nessa Elez, I'd be really fucking surprise."

Silence.

The locker room went silent.

My brain, on the other hand, was screaming.

"Oh," Julian said, drawing it out beneath his breath. "Not about football, then. Got it."

Nessa's ex didn't get the picture at first. Couldn't take the hint that maybe he should shut up after the whole locker room fell quiet enough that anyone could probably hear my harsh breathing. Which was really too bad for him. For both of us. Because the words he was saying were about to get him fucked up.

"She's not into football at all, but God, is she hot." Bragging. He was bragging about my fucking girlfriend. And if that wasn't enough, he added, "Good lay, too."

Julian shook his head at that and released my arm. "Go for it, man."

I went for it, crossing the locker room in the amount of time it takes to snap a football from the center to the quarterback. Jasper barely had time to register that he was about to get flattened into the locker with his name on it, which was fine with me because it meant I got to see that bit of fear in his eyes right before I slammed a hand into his chest. The sound of vibrating metal rang in my ears as I gripped his shirt in both hands and shoved him back again, just for good measure.

When I spoke, my voice was strained. Tinted with darkness I didn't recognize but fuck if I cared.

"If I hear you talking about my girlfriend like that again, I will permanently wipe that smile off your face."

"What the hell? Girlfriend?" He tried shrugging me off, but I didn't let go. So he covered his visible nerves with a laugh, his lips curling up as he looked me up and down. "No kidding. Guess she has a type, huh?"

It took everything in me not to break his nose. Last thing I needed was this asshole having some kind of shit to hold over me. Nessa told me that happened with Bren and Quinton.

"Wrong," I growled, shoving him into his locker one last time before taking a reluctant step back. "Don't fucking flatter yourself. It took all of freshman year for her to give me a chance after the shitty way you treated her."

Jasper straightened his shirt like he was concerned about wrinkles on his newly pressed shirt. Raising a brow, he said, "The way I treated her?" A scoff. "That girl loved me."

I wrinkled his shirt again. I couldn't help it. Maybe another push back into a locker would get him to stop running that big ass mouth.

"She didn't."

Who knew if I said it too quiet or asshat just wanted to hear me repeat it, but he cocked his head and asked, "What?"

"She didn't," I repeated. Louder this time. Crisp. And clear.

Nessa thought she loved him. But she didn't. She never did. Because he was a lie. The person she loved was a lie. And I hated that he did that to her.

Jasper smirked. "We'll see about that."

I was going to do it. I was going to kick his ass. And no one was going to stop me. Because all the other guys stood back, arms crossed. They'd gone from easy smiles to stony glares. Cold intimidation filled the locker room, and there was a sick satisfaction at watching Jasper's face when he realized it.

The OSU football team loved Nessa Elez. She probably didn't even realize it, but they did.

They loved the way she gave me shit and made me smile all at once. They loved her dry sense of humor and her low-maintenance attitude. They loved how she could put away whiskey and burgers and didn't care who watched. They loved her. Not quite like I loved her, but still. The point was Jasper Monroe just introduced himself to the team in the worst possible way.

"Don't go near her," I warned. "If you know what's good for her, don't go fucking near her."

I let that threat and the knowledge that my team had my back linger in my limbs as I strode out of the locker room with all of my stuff in a duffle. All I wanted to do was turn around and continue to beat his fucking ass into the concrete floor of the athletic center, but I forced my feet to walk. One foot in front of another.

Hopefully, he wouldn't last more than a week. But on the off chance that he did, I had a decision to make.

How the hell was I supposed to tell Nessa that her ex just took my spot on the OSU football team?

💗
I really only wrote the beginning because without it the chapter seemed oddly short lol so there's a little bonus for ya.

thoughts on what's gonna go down with jasper?

anyone see this coming?

thanks for reading!
xoxo amelie