"Drake?"

My kicker, who was always the first guy dressed and gone after games, sat reclined in front of his locker as if he was the only person in the room. Dressed in a black suit, his arms were crossed over his chest and his shiny black shoes outstretched with his legs. His head was tilted slightly back, eyes closed, and brown hair damp and matted across his forehead.

The overhead lighting highlighted his cheekbones but cast a shadow over his eye sockets that reminded me of a skeleton. I assumed he'd taken a nap by how still he sat, but his eyes flipped open and focused on me.

"Good game," I muttered quietly and stripped off my jersey overhead. The soft clicks from my pads unhooked filled the silence between us, until a low groan left my mouth from how my shoulder, back, and leg muscles ached.

London only nodded silently, the same greeting he'd given me all week since the night he saw Emily left my room. While he was normally a quieter guy, the extra silence was uncomfortable for sure.

With a loud sigh, I dropped down next to him. My back muscles complained dully as I leaned over, removed my cleats, and peeled off my sweat-soaked socks. "Listen Drake... Nothing happened with Emily. Absolutely nothing, I promise. I'm not interested in her, I... have someone."

"Right, your ghost," he mumbled quietly, then flipped his eyes open and studied mine for a few moments. "Sure the feeling's mutual there?"

I had no other response other than hoped I looked like I told the truth about Emily because I had. Given Harper's hasty post-sex exits, Drake probably assumed she wanted nothing else from me.

We sat side by side in silence until he finally sighed and turned his head towards me. His eyes studied mine like he looked for my intentions when he mumbled, "Sorry not to trust you Jake, but... You don't have the best track record."

"Even if it doesn't look like it, I don't screw every girl I see," I promised him with a laugh that definitely wasn't returned. At the sight of his frown, my laugh evaporated quicker than it formed. "Uhh, look Drake... If you like Emily then you should tell her."

Even though I'm pretty sure she knows. Whole fucking campus probably does.

"Easy for you to say," he mumbled quietly.

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" I stood up and grunted as I yanked off my pants and sweat-drenched cup. "If she doesn't like you then it's her fucking loss, bro."

"Great motivational words," he snapped back, closed his eyes, and leaned against the locker behind him.

"Drake..." I narrowed my eyes at him before I ripped off my jersey and unclipped my shoulder and chest pads. "Don't sell yourself short. We both know you're a good guy."

"That's the problem." His eyes flipped open, full of irritation. "Girls don't always want the good guy."

I pressed my mouth tightly closed and bit back 'the right one does' because honestly Drake looked like he just wanted solitude. Again, he sighed loudly and closed his eyes.

So instead of spewing unsolicited advice, I showered as fast as my tired muscles moved. Drake was gone by the time I returned to my open locker, so I just shook my head. I'd been on the side of unreturned feelings and it sucked.

Poor lovesick sap.

Under the cool night air, I met Mom and Ellie outside the player's entrance, where they'd texted me they waited. Logan had taken the team bus back to LAX but once I saw Mom was here too, I offered that I drove her and Ellie so we had another hour together before they parted their own ways.

"Jake..." Ellie's small arms squeezed me tightly, well tightly for her by the way her upper arms strained against my sides. "I'm sorry for the loss."

"It's... thanks," I muttered above her head. "Can't win 'em all but if your... boyfriend rubs it in then I can't promise he'll make it back to LAX in one piece."

A cool night breeze blew against my still-warm face. My damp hair tickled over my forehead and around my ears in a reminder I was due for a haircut. The expansive cement stadium lot was largely empty, with the darkness and disappointment in the air blurred by the yellow overhead lights.

"No..." My sister's small frame pressed against me as she inhaled slowly, then pulled away when she exhaled. Her head pulled back when the arms dropped by her sides. "Not just about the game."

"What then?" I lifted my eyebrows at her, in particular the way her eyes darkened with emotion pooled in them.

"I'm sorry for the harsh jabs at you, I forget you're a boob with your emotions sometimes..." Her lips twitched upwards into a smile. "...most of the time."

"I get it," I spat out dryly but returned her smile with one of mine. "I don't have the best track record when it comes to my feelings. But just because I don't openly spew them doesn't mean I don't have any."

"Fair point, I'm sorry. It's an understatement that you caught me off-guard but I shouldn't tease you so much." A few strands of Ellie's dark hair blew across her face and she absently flicked them aside with her fingers. "I was thinking... What would your therapist say about using open communication with someone who's... umm, stubborn?"

"I don't know." My shoulders lifted up an inch, then dropped. "She kicked me out."

"That's..." Ellie paused and studied my face like she wanted more of a reaction. I widened my smile right when a strained feeling came over my eyes. "Good?"

"Means I'm on my own," I offered quietly, then laughed when Ellie launched herself forwards again and hugged me tightly.

"Oh, Jake," was her response, muffled into my suit coat. "You've made a lot of progress and I'm so proud of you. And your fists for not punching before you think anymore."

While Ellie's support was appreciated, she wasn't entirely right. I had one particular slip-up last year.

Even though it was rightfully deserved.

"About that..." My voice faded and I grinned at the horrified look on her face. "Relax, I haven't punched anyone since that tool last year... Emmitt someone. And promise it was just one swing."

What I refrained from sharing was how one punch was all I'd needed before the guy crumpled onto the floor while blood streamed out both his nostrils. Hitting him hadn't made me feel any better back then, or even now.

Ellie's eyes narrowed and her mouth turned downwards, but her voice sounded playful, "I take back my compliment. You're terrible, Jake."

"Shameless, I know." Vibrations rolled through my chest as I chuckled. "A slow work in progress."

"But it's still progress." The warm, teasing look faded from Ellie's eyes and was replaced by the same sternness reflected in her voice, "And speaking of progress, did you talk to Harper?"

"No, but I will. I asked," I assured her when her lips parted. "But she said she had an exam Friday. I hadn't seen her before last night."

My younger sister didn't give me much time to look around for Harper, let alone text her. Ellie's hands fisted her hips and she glared up at me. Within one sentence, her voice shifted to harsh and judgmental, "Jacob Harrison, we both know that's a bullshit excuse! If you really wanted to see her then nothing could've stopped you."

My voice faded along with any lameass excuse that my brain cooked up. "Yeah, but..." One of my hands raked through my damp hair.

So much for being sorry about busting my ass.

Lately, I felt like I walked a line between wanting to see Harper and assumed she needed her space. She hadn't sent up any sex-related emojis this week, but neither had I since I'd also had two exams this week.

Unlike Harper, I still had general education credits I needed fulfilled. Even though I assumed I never used Geology or Calculus, I still had to pass those classes with a GPA of at least 3.0 for my athletic scholarship.

Since we haven't slept together in a week, Harper's probably due a release.

I should test that theory tonight.

The warmth and interest that swelled between my legs agreed with that thought, but unfortunately Harper looked like she'd essentially vanished.

"But nothing!" Ellie's voice squeaked higher the darker her eyes turned. "Just freakin' tell her!"

Before I responded, she jabbed one of her index fingers in the same spot on my chest. Each jab accompanied a deliberately separate word, a habit of her that grated on both my patience and my nerves. "I. Am. Sorry. See how easy that is?"

"Ellie, don't pick on your brother," Mom called out weakly from the curb next to my car.

"Butt out, Mom! Tough love moment," Ellie continued with her chest poke. My lips rolled inward at her little outburst, which reminded me of one of those little yappy purse dogs. "Say it Jake!"

"I am sorry," I growled out and snapped my hand around her finger's next approaching jab. "Point taken, Ellie. Happy?"

"Not until you do the right thing." She snatched her finger back with a quiet huff.

"Ellie," I warned her with what I hoped looked like a 'drop it' look. "I get it. I will tell her on our next date."

"Date? You - you're?" The warm, hopeful look in Mom's eyes affected me a lot more than I wanted to admit at this moment. It faded just as quickly as my head shook.

"I'm leaving the rest beyond the apology up to you, Jake." Ellie's voice dropped to a near inaudible mutter like she spoke more to herself than me, but I still caught every word, "Even though you're so beyond... obvious. Both of you. Stupidity and ridiculously."

Both of us?

"All teasing aside, whatever happens..." Ellie's voice softened as she looked up at me, her eyes dark in the night sky. "You two act like it's a game but I don't want you to get hurt."

"Not gonna happen," I assured her in a voice that sounded like I was anything but convinced myself. With a quick look down at the time on my watch, I pointed where my car was still parked on the curb. "Roast my ass in the car before you miss your flights."

The normally long and tedious drive to LAX passed quicker than normal, filled with actually casual conversation. The one exception was how Mom and Ellie were both unnecessarily sensitive towards the game loss, which stung painfully like an open wound but I wasn't going to lose sleep over it tonight.

"It's fine, it happens," I assured them at one point and wrenched the steering wheel in my hands. "We played our game almost perfectly, just wasn't our night."

"We're not ESPN reporters, Jake," Ellie chirped back without a look up from her phone. By the smile that pulled across her lips, I knew she texted with Logan. "It's okay to open up every now and then, Mister Insensitivity."

"You've already turned Hightower into total mush, leave my dignity alone," I warned her reflection in my rearview mirror, but smiled when Mom reached over from the front passenger's seat and smacked my right arm.

"Absolutely nothing wrong with a man who expresses their feelings openly," she chided me. "You should try it some time, might surprise yourself."

"Oh please." My eyes shifted sideways for a quick look because as much as people said those words, the stereotype still existed. As my gaze snapped back to the highway ahead, I reminded Mom of the obvious, "Dad was the worst at expressing himself."

"Actually he was too good at that. He was a shitty listener." Ellie mumbled from the backseat. Her quiet admission sucked all the lightness out of the car space and filled it with a thick, uncomfortable silence. My hands again clenched around my steering wheel, tighter this time, and I stared ahead at nothing but blurred lines on the road.

"I feel like I should apologize here..." Mom muttered out finally. A quick side glance showed she rubbed her forehead with both hands, a movement that flashed the gold wedding band she still wore on her left ring finger. "When you marry someone though, you accept all of them. Even their faults. Your Dad loved both of you, even if he wasn't good at expressing himself."

"Stealing words from a passive aggressive playbook there, Mom," Ellie shot back in a cold, detached tone of voice. With my eyes fixed on the road as I moved over for the rightmost lane, I felt the heat from her eyes like they burned two holes into the back of my head. "Doesn't make it right to pacify what he did."

At the loud, breathy sigh that Mom pushed out, I knew those two were far from having their own communication issues worked out. Thankfully, LAX's exit ramp appeared, which I veered off into. The only sound in the car became the vibrated rumbles from the airport entrance ramp's strips.

In the painfully slow queue of cars that always looked like people had forgotten all sense of awareness around them, I followed the slow traffic. My head shook from all the people who swerved in and out of different carrier's drop-off points until I saw the SouthWest signs and pulled under the white overhead structure.

After I got both their suitcases from my trunk and set them on the curb, I hugged Mom first. "Thanks for coming."

"Anytime, Jake." Her hands patted into my back. Even though I stood more than a foot taller than Mom, her embrace always warmed and comforted me. "And thank Harper for my plane tickets."

"I'll do more than that," I teased with a wink at Ellie, who only rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, gross." Once I released Mom, Ellie's arms reached out and hugged me. "Spare the details, Jake. When in doubt, just... spare the details unless you want them about me and Logan."

Fair point.

My suddenly damp eyes closed when she whispered, "I love you though, Mister Insensitive."

"Love you too." I squeezed her tightly, then waved as they walked into the airport entrance. A weighted emptiness filled my chest at my family's disappearance.

They're right. I need to see Harper.

Once I sat behind my wheel again, I pulled out my phone and shot Harper a quick text. In previous seasons, I buried my post-loss frustrations between some random's warm legs, kicked her out, slept off the disappointment, and redirected my energy towards the next game's approach. Ellie's voice echoed in my head pointed out that wasn't the most sensitive approach but selfishly it'd worked for me the past two years.

me: I know what you did, firecracker.

The gravity of why I'd texted Harper hit me hit me as my own words stared up from my screen. Thanking her for Mom's game attendance had nothing to do with making myself feel better after tonight's loss, which couldn't have been further from my mind.

That's a first.

My phone buzzed me away from that thought.

HER: Don't judge what I do in my personal alone happy time. A girl's got needs, honey badger. 🌭🤪

Her words, not that damn hotdog emoji, pulled a grin across my face.

me: I wasn't thinking about that. But I am now. 😏

me: Come over, I need to fuck you speechless.

HER: Tempting but how can I insult you if I'm speechless?

A loud honk behind me drew my attention to the car queue behind me, so I dropped my phone onto the passenger's seat. With the car turned on and my seatbelt clicked in place, I exited the drop-off area to the middle finger salute of the impatient G-wagon who zipped into my spot.

Since my phone sat silent while I exited the airport, I shifted my attention to the drive home. "Guess that's all I get," I grumbled to myself and flipped on the radio.

Since the usual 405 traffic was packed but moved, I ignored my phone for the drive home. By the time I got there, my screen was lit up with the usual post-game responses, this time messages of condolences. With a sigh, I shoved my phone in my pocket, greeted the sullen guys who lingered around the living room and licked their post-game wounds with their girlfriends. Emily strangely sat by herself in the living room, lost in thought but waved when her eyes met mine. I couldn't read the expression in her eyes but she wasn't the girl I wanted to see tonight. I offered all I had, a slight hand lift, and headed upstairs so I called Harper in private.

My feet nearly tripped over each other with how quickly I stopped in my bedroom door. The bag on my shoulder dropped just as fast as my jaw while I took in the sight of the blonde I wanted in my bed. She sat right in the middle, reclined back with her upper body weight braced in her hands, those long, bare legs extended over the edge and crossed at her ankles.

Best of all, my eyes drank up the white number seven Trojan jersey she wore. It creased in a valley between her breasts and, by the way her nipples tented tiny peaks beneath the white fabric, my jersey was all she wore.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," I growled out, locked the door behind me, and adjusted the interest that rose up between my legs. Within two seconds, my cock strained the zipper of my dress pants.

As I stepped closer, one of my hands loosened my tie and I tossed it onto the floor with my dress shoes and coat. Harper sat perfectly still. Only her eyes tracked my movements like somehow she was the predator and I prey. Her lips pursed around a hard object in her mouth that I assumed was a piece of hard candy but my cock swelled with warmth like a volunteer that she wrapped her lips around it instead.

The familiar faint scent of vanilla hit my nose as I hovered over her, leaned over, and planted my palms flat on the bed outside hers. Her blue eyes looked electric as her head tipped back and she offered in a husky voice that shot straight into my balls, "I thought we'd try something different tonight."

She sat upright and held up a black blindfold, along with two red bungee cords. I must've blinked twenty times to make sure that's what she held.

"You... want me to tie you down?" My hand rubbed over my jaw and my voice became uncertain because that fell under the kinky shit Evan got off on and overshared. "I don't think -"

"Not me." Her eyes flashed aquamarine, then looked down at my bed like she directed me there.

Right when "No fucking chance," hung on the tip of my tongue, she leaned forwards and swept her lips over mine. They were unusually cold, ice-cold actually, and slightly damp. A week starved from kissing this girl, my lips chased hers when she pulled away too quickly, but she held up one of her hands wrapped around a pair of red nylon bungee cords.

Her voice shifted lower, fuller, and laced with a challenge, "If you can't handle -"

My head tipped back and a loud laugh barked out. "Firecracker, there's nothing you can dish out that I can't handle."

"Bold words, Jake." Her blonde eyebrows lifted at me but her lips pulled up at the corners.

My ego worked against me and I leaned my weight over her so she laid down. Her blonde hair spilled around her head and shoulders before I latched my lips onto the side of her neck. My right hand's fingers trailed up the warm, smooth skin of her inner thigh and quickly threaded up under her jersey for a check of what I hoped was under there.

A low groan left my mouth from how hard my gut clenched when my fingers brushed over her warm, barrier-free folds.

Fuck yes.

"Are you sure?" I murmured and threaded the tip of my index finger into her warm, wet entrance. "Been a week and you seem ready for a quick, hard fuck. Almost like you thought about me pounding into you hard and deep while you waited for me here, looking sexy as fuck wearing nothing but my jersey."

"Oh no." Harper swatted my hand away and closed her legs. The look her eyes gave me was a 'not this time' warning but her lips curled up into a sinister smirk. "You teased me enough last time. My turn, unless you're not -"

"Fuck it," I grumbled as my ego worked against me. "Fine."

As soon as the consent word left my mouth, she palmed my shoulders, shoved me hard, and flipped us over. The warm friction of her bare pussy rubbed right over the painfully tight hard-on in my dress pants, but she just pulled back and smirked down at me.

Harper's fingers flew over each of my wrists, where they nimbly undid my shirt's cuff buttons. Her hands made quick work of my dress shirt, then shoved me flat onto the bed with my undershirt still on.

"Wouldn't want you to get cold," she murmured more to herself but her words snapped my eyes to hers. She only offered a small smile but fuck, she knew she had me just with the brightness that radiated from her eyes.

After I let her raise my hands overhead, she tightened her cords around each of my wrists. My heart pounded painfully in my chest, so loudly that my ears barely heard her words anymore. The strain of my cock in my pants bordered on painful but one tiny alarm sounded off in the back of my brain at the wicked smirk that pulled across her lips.

Cold? Fuck, what did I just agree to?