I grip hold of Elena's hand, my teeth clenched as I watch Brett fly across the field, desperate to make another touchdown before the time runs out. My heart is beating ridiculously fast against my rib cage, a lump in my throat. This run could win the game.

Clenching my hand tighter around Elena, I watch along with the rest of the stadium as Brett dodges the opponents, his own team clearing him a route. At the last second he throws himself down across the line as the buzzer sounds.

With a scream I echo the crowd, jumping on top of Elena and wrapping my arms around her neck. I glance down as we continue to jump, watching as Brett rips off his helmet, grinning as his team mates rally around him, all of them celebrating their first win of the season.

We stay and watch as the team congratulate each other, my eyes eventually panning the stadium, smiling as I take in the cheering crowd, half the stadium already emptying out. Losers.

As I gaze at Brett I can't help but smile at the clear joy and passion on his face as he laughs with the team mates that he's only known for the last two weeks as they trained. He's been spending six evenings a week in the gym preparing for this since July and I feel the pride sweep through me at what his determination has achieved.

He's finally back on the field, and I don't think I've ever seen him so happy.

*~*~*

"I don't suppose you'd sign my shirt?" I exclaim, walking up behind Brett. He whirls around, eyes widening as he grins.

"For an adoring fan such as yourself?" He grins, "Better check my Cheerleader isn't around." He teases and I lightly shove him as he laughs. "Where were you? I was looking for you after the game."

"They kicked us all out of the stadium! I wanted to wait but Elena convinced me we'd meet you here." I explain.

"I missed you." He says, and I reach up, wrapping my arms around the back of his neck.

"You were incredible." I inform him and he smiles.

"Thanks." He grins, "And thank you for making me do this." He says seriously before lowering his lips to meet mine. It's a slow, sensual kiss, one that if we weren't in the middle of a crowded room, would not end until we were naked.

"Brett!"

"Hey Pete. James." Brett acknowledges, turning as two of the players hand him a cup of drink.

"Good game out there today!" James comments and I smile, happy that Brett's fitting in so well already. It helps that as soon as he was announced as an addition to the team they all welcomed him with open arms, Brett's high school reputation well known.

"I tried my best." Brett replies, grinning at them.

"Savannah!" A familiar squeal calls and I whirl around as Polly barrels into me, her platinum curls covering my face as she laughs.

"Polly?" I exclaim, stepping back and grinning at her tie-dye blue dress.

"Who are all these people?" She asks, eyes wide, "I've never seen them before!"

"They're the football players..." I say, in an obvious tone. She stares at me blankly.

"The wha'? Why?"

"There was a game tonight." I try again and she shakes her head.

"There was?"

"That's why there's a party?"

"Girl, there's a party every night if ya know where to look." Polly lectures, grinning. "Who knew! Congratulations to tha' team tha' won! I'm gonna get myself a shot to celebrate!" She nods before turning and disappearing back into the crowd as fast as she came. I can't help but smile after her, her lack of attention and general joyfulness always amusing me.

I slowly sidle back towards Brett, standing next to him as he chats to his new friends, laughing at the attempts the other team made to score points. It's all just words to me, none of it meaning anything.

"This is Savannah." Brett says suddenly, leaning down and wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Oh! Hey!" I smile, surprised by Brett's gesture.

"Nice to meet you." Pete grins.

"Get off of me Kyle!" My head whips around at the sound of my friend's distraught voice, immediately finding her in the sea of people, the crowds moving back from the potential drama.

"How fucking dare you say that to me!" Kyle snaps back, his face close to hers, her wrist gripped in his hand.

"Get off of me." She repeats.

"Hey man, what are you doing?" Pete asks, looking at the trapped girl, her boyfriend towering over her as he holds her against her will.

"Elena!" I exclaim, instantly worried at her annoyed, slightly frightful expression.

"This little skank is talking shit about the other jocks." Kyle sneers and I take a step closer to them, Brett mirroring my movements.

"I just said they were cute!" Elena cries out, "Ow!"

"Let go of her man!" Brett warns, stepping in front of me.

"Don't tell me what to do with my own girlfriend." Kyle scoffs, staggering slightly.

"Let go of her!"

"Fuck you!" Kyle snaps before letting go of Elena who falls back, Pete grabbing her, as Kyle lifts his hand back, curling it into a fist and slamming it into Brett's face.

"Brett!" I hear myself squeal as Brett throws himself at Kyle, his own hand flying into Kyle's nose. The football players are instantly there, attempting to break up the fight as I take a step closer.

"Whoa guys!" Liam exclaims, him and another grabbing onto Brett whilst another jock pulls Kyle away.

"Fucking prick!" Brett snaps. Kyle immediately attempts to let loose at Brett again before they drag him out of the room and I finally turn my attention to Brett, eyes widening at the sight.

"Brett!" I exclaim, reaching up towards his eyebrow. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine." He assures, before looking around for my friend, "You okay?" He asks Elena.

"I am." She smiles, Pete still holding onto her, keeping her steady.

"Do you want some fresh air?" Pete asks her and she nods, smiling at him thankfully. He immediately guides her away from the crowds and I make a move to go after them but Brett grabs onto my arm, shaking his head.

"He won't do anything Sav." He assures me, "He's a good one. Trust me." He mutters and I finally nod, looking back at his bruised, bleeding face.

"Let's go." I say, grabbing onto his hand. He makes no effort to fight me as we make our way out onto the street, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we begin to walk, only half a block away from his home.

We walk in silence and as I glance up at his tense face I can't help but wonder whether he's regretting his choice to fight Kyle. I mean, Kyle is his friend and he just blew that friendship up over my roommate. Not that Kyle didn't deserve it, he definitely did. And Brett beating him up was such a turn on.

"You okay?" I say timidly.

"Yeah." He replies, gently placing a kiss on my forehead as we walk.

"I don't believe you."

"I just... don't want to fight anyone in front of you."

"It was sexy."

"It was?"

"Maybe!"

"I'll do it more often then..."

"Brett!"

"I'm kidding!" He smirks and I follow him into the house before we make our way upstairs, grabbing the first aid kit from under the sink. Sitting him down on his bed I open it up, pleasantly surprised to see that under the mountain of condoms there are some actual medical supplies.

I wipe away the blood around his eyebrow, thankful that it's now stopped. He flinches a little and I roll my eyes. Can the big, protective boy not handle a little scratch?

"I'm done." I say softly, taking a step back before shrugging my jeans off, assuming that we're now going to jump into bed.

"Shower?"

"What?" I retort, glancing back up at him.

"I'm going for a shower." He smiles, "Are you joining?"

"I.. Uhh..."

"Come on." He gestures towards the door, grinning at me. I bite my lip, unsure of whether to go with him when he whips off his T-Shirt, revealing his rock hard abs. As always, I nearly drool and he smirks at my expression before turning to his closet, pulling a couple of towels out.

"You never told me about your tattoos." I observe, taking in the foreign words across his upper back, the phoenix that curves over his shoulder.

"You don't need to know." He replies, shooting me a smile.

"Tell me!" I pester, taking a step closer to him. "When did you get them?"

"About two months into college." He shrugs.

"The phoenix?"

"I survived growing up with my parents," He scoffs, "I came to university as a new slate, I could start from scratch," He explains, "It was supposed to symbolize that I wasn't under their control anymore." He takes a breath, running his hand through his hair, "Little did I know..."

"Hey!" I object, taking a step closer to him and wrapping my arms around his neck, "You're trying!" I remind him. "And so's your Mom."

"I guess."

"I think the tattoo is fitting." I exclaim, grinning. "You're no longer the immature idiot you were in high school."

"What are you talking about?" He asks, feigning outrage as he grabs me around the waist, trapping me in his arms before attempting to tickle my ribs.

"No!" I squeal, desperately trying to wrench myself out of these arms.

"How dare you..."

"Brett!" I cut him off with a shriek, fighting against his arm as I laugh.

"Who do you think you are?" He retorts, continuing his assault.

"Stop!" I eventually manage to push him away, slightly breathless as he smirks, grabbing onto his towel. "Brett!" I exclaim, and he glances at me, an eyebrow raised. "What does the other one say?"

"I need a shower." He replies, opening the door to his room, "You coming?"

"Brett!" I call out and he turns back to face me at the doorway, "Tell me!"

"No." He smirks before disappearing.

"Come back here!" I hiss, running after him.

"Whoa there!" He objects, holding an arm out in front of me, "You are not going out there like that." He declares, glancing down at my bare legs. "Liam might see you."

"I'll cover up if you tell me." I bargain, crossing my arms. "Why won't you tell me?" I whine and he rolls his eyes, wrapping one of the towels around my waist and leading us to the shower room.

"Because..."

"I'm only going to keep bugging you until you tell me." I snort, cutting him off as he locks the door behind us.

"Are you getting in the shower?" He asks and I narrow my eyes, stepping in front of the cubicle and blocking his entrance. "Sav!"

"Tell me!" I argue and he sighs, a defeated look in his face. What could he possibly not want me to know? It's just ink on his skin. It's hot.

"Fine." He relents, taking a deep breath. "It says..." He trails off.

"Yes?" I encourage him to continue as he looks down at the floor.

"Her forgiveness is all I wish for."

"Her forgiveness is all I wish for?" I repeat, wrinkling my nose. "That's silly!" I laugh, "Who's?"

"I'm getting in the shower." He mutters, gently nudging me out of the way and stepping out of his boxers as he turns the water on.

"Why would you get those words tattooed on you?" I pry.

"I was drunk." He shrugs, stepping under the stream of water, nearly making me forget my curiosity.

"But still, I don't under..." I trail off, eyes widening in realization. Oh my. "MY forgiveness?" I ask as he shuts his eyes, moving his face under the water. "Brett?" I press, "You wanted my forgiveness?"

"Yes." He admits, opening his eyes and looking over at me.

"And you got that permanently written on you?"

"I was in a bad place." He admits, looking straight into my eyes, nearly making me melt into a puddle. I mean here is a hot, naked guy in front of me and I'm questioning him about his choice of tattoo. It's his body.

"You came to college! There were thousands of new girls around you." I argue and he shakes his head, taking a step towards me and lifting my top over my head. I make no move to stop him.

"I didn't care." He smiles softly, "Liam and I got drunk at one of the parties and headed to a tattoo parlor." He shrugs, "It's what I came out with."

"Wow."

"I don't regret it." He asserts as he drags me into the shower, his eyes pinned on mine.

"You don't?"

"I got your forgiveness didn't I?" He smirks and I slap his arm, rolling my eyes. "Plus, it reminds me how much of a dick I was to you back then."

"I'm not sure that's a nice reminder to have on your skin forever."

"It's part of our story." He argues and I can't help but smile.

"True."

"Come here." He says softly, leading me under the water, our bodies touching. Turning me around he grabs hold of the soap, gently sliding it over my back in circles. I'm not sure why, for I certainly have not fallen into any mud, and I turn to look up at him, an eyebrow raised as I noticed his far-off look.

"What's wrong?"

"My Dad would kill me if he knew I got in a fight."

"It's a good thing he's not around then isn't it!" I point out, smiling as I latch an arm around his neck. I notice his eyes drift down slightly.

"I wouldn't be so sure." He retorts, "He finds a way to know everything."

"Don't worry." I assure him softly, grabbing hold of his chin and raising it to look him in the eyes, "We're going to be fine." I declare, "I'm proud of you."

"You are?"

"Seeing you out there tonight was amazing."

"You always did find football players hot." He smirks.

"Shut up!" I smack him lightly on the arm as he laughs, "I'm serious!"

"I'm proud of you too." He says softly, his arm running around my waist and pulling me to him. I feel his manliness hardening against me and swallow slightly, desperate to continue our conversation, and ignore the forever growing sexual tension between us.

"You can't let your parents run your life Brett." I manage.

"I know." He admits, burrowing his head into my neck and planting a kiss. "You want to run it instead!"

"I do not!" I object with a squeal and he laughs into my neck, one of his hands trailing up the length of my body, stopping over my breast. I intake a large gulp of breath before letting my head fall back, eyes closed as I submit to the instant pleasure that Brett subjects me to, his hand slowly sliding down and slipping between my legs.

This is going to be a long night.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

So... Those tattoos?!! What do you think of them??

Were they everything you dreamed and more?

So, Kyle is a dick. But are Brett's parents worse? He's already scared for if they found out he was in a fight...

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