The Illicit Play (Nolan U Football #4)

1. Blake

BLAKE

The sun is warm on my face as I lean my head back and soak in the rays.

The worst of the winter is over, and spring is teasing us with the odd day like this.

I can’t get enough of it. I’m a summer girl and cannot wait to hit the lake in July.

I’m gonna jet-ski and sunbathe on the pontoon like I do every year. It’s going to be epic.

Is it?

My stomach twists and I snap my eyes open, irritation sizzling through me.

It is going to be epic.

But not like old times.

Not after what went down in Chicago.

You can’t hide the truth forever.

Gritting my teeth, I glare at the sidewalk, leaning back against Wily’s truck and not wanting to think about it. No one needs to know for now, and they might not even have to know this summer. I don’t have to face shit until the new school year, and that’s months away.

Crossing my arms, I dig my fingers into my leather jacket and force myself to think of something else. Anything but school.

Thoughts of Grady Newman immediately flicker through my mind. My lips twitch. I can’t help it. They do that every time the hot running back jumps into my brain. And it’s been doing that a lot since the bathroom incident.

I knew moving into Football Frat to help my brother after his knee surgery might mean I’d bump into half-naked football players. I was so okay with that.

But I never counted on the hottest human body to ever exist walking in on me shaving my legs. He was shirtless, a fine sheen of sweat glistening on his dark skin, and holy sex bomb, he was fiiiiiinnnneee!

His ripped torso was droolworthy, and it took everything in me not to stand there gaping at him, drinking in every valley and curve of his naked torso. When my eyes trailed down to that defined V disappearing into the towel wrapped around his waist, my lady-parts started dancing.

I was desperate to know if he was naked under there, because if his goodies looked as divine as the rest of him, I was in for a treat.

It took maximum effort to hide my attraction to the delicious hottie.

But I had no willpower when it came to him checking me out.

I was totally naked, my foot perched on the edge of the bathtub while I shaved my legs. I really should have scrambled for a towel to cover myself, but he’d stunned me stupid with his beautiful body, and then he was the one gaping at me .

I’m pretty sure, in most normal circumstances, he would have spun back out the door, mumbling apologies, but he just stood there, wide-eyed and drinking me in.

I could tell he thought I was something pretty, because his eyes trailed down my body, and his desire was so potent my skin started to tingle… in all the right ways.

So I let him look.

I even turned to give him better access so he could check me out.

A smirk tugs on my lips as I recall asking him if he was enjoying the view.

The look on his face. I couldn’t resist teasing him just a little more.

“I’ve shown you mine. Maybe you can show me yours.”

That got him moving. He bolted out of the bathroom mere seconds later, and I was left standing there with a weeping pussy as I tried and failed not to imagine what it would have been like if he’d dropped that towel and taken me against the bathroom wall.

Sweet mercy, that would have been the hottest moment of my life.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

About him.

Wondering. Wishing.

But the guy is flat-out stonewalling me now. It’s so frustrating. He won’t even look at me, even when I put myself right in his path.

I bet he hates that I’m living in the same house as him, but I’m not gonna move out just because he’s trying to avoid me.

I’m here for Wily .

It’s only been a week since my brother’s surgery, and he needs the support. Sienna has Zoey to look after, and Satch has classes. We can’t expect them to drop everything. My time is more flexible, and I want to be here for him.

He’s my favorite person in the world—my best friend—and moving to Nolan to help him out was a no-brainer. My mom’s kinda pissed about it, but she can go suck an egg for all I care.

As far as she’s aware, I’m keeping up with my classes online. And I will keep selling her that lie for as long as I can.

Because I am staying here for Wily. My big brother would do the same for me, so I will drive him to every freaking PT and doctor’s appointment, I will make him food, serve him drinks, and even sit there playing boring-ass Madden with him—whatever he needs to get through this heart-crushing nightmare.

I refuse to let him give up on his football dreams.

It’s the only thing the guy has ever wanted, and I won’t shut up about this injury simply delaying his plans. I won’t let him fall into some kind of depressed stupor. He’s getting back. He’s fighting for his dreams.

I won’t have it any other way.

Although…

I glance up to check the various pathways leading into the Nolan U campus, my lips stretching into a smile when I spot her.

Maybe football isn’t the only thing Wily wants anymore.

His girlfriend is walking toward me, holding her bag straps while she chats with a woman who looks about her age.

I bet they’ve just finished a class together.

They look like poster children for hardworking, well behaved college students, with Satch in her cute skirt and cardigan and the other girl sporting a pair of jeans with a loose plaid flannel shirt tucked into them.

Satch is giving her a shy smile and nodding while the woman goes on about something, laughing and talking a mile a minute.

They dribble to a stop at an intersection in the pathways, and I tip my head to watch them, wondering what they’re talking about. Probably studying, or an upcoming assignment.

I snort and shake my head.

Boring!

Shut up, you used to be just like that.

I frown, crossing my arms again and glaring across the campus, watching students come and go after their classes, all studious and disciplined.

Fuck.

With a sigh, I pull my shoulders back and stare at Satch, willing her to see me so she can wrap up this conversation and we can get the hell out of here.

She’s waving goodbye to Little Miss Chatterbox, so I pull Wily’s keys from my pocket and am about to raise my hand and get her attention when she spots something to her left.

The skin on her round, normally rosy cheeks goes instantly pale and she stiffens, crossing her arms over her body and kind of shrinking in on herself.

I ping straight, stepping away from Wily’s truck and making a beeline toward her.

He warned me about this. Told me all about those bitchy girls and what they did to Satch at her birthday party.

That’s why I’m here to pick her up. He hates that she’s still walking around campus, alone… vulnerable. He hates that he can’t be here to protect her. He’s put us all on guard duty, and I’m about ready to unleash a little hellfire if those girls so much as look at her.

But then my pace slows and I stutter to a stop when I notice Satch pulling herself upright, like she’s just made a decision.

Lifting her chin, she glares up at the girls walking past, looking… well, shit, Satch is looking fierce right about now. A freaking warrior princess.

I grin, wishing I could pull my phone out and snap this shit, but the girls are already gliding past her, and she’s sinking back down like she’s just withstood a tsunami.

I run forward, my boots clipping on the concrete, alerting her to the fact that I’m approaching.

She glances at me, her posture relaxing when she sees who it is.

I smile a little wider, stopping beside her and asking, “Team Evil?”

“2.0.” She breathes the words more than says them, so I throw my arm around her shoulders, supporting her against me while I shout to their backs, “Have a nice day, ladies!”

Raising my middle finger, I flip them off, delighted when they turn around and take me in.

I make sure my smile is bright and unmissable, and I can’t get enough of the way their pretty little faces scrunch in annoyance .

“Whatever,” one of them mumbles before they all spin and strut away like they’re practicing for the catwalk in Milan.

Oh man, I’d do anything for one of them to stumble and knock the others down.

Now that would be epic.

If only.

Lowering my hand with a sigh, I glance down at my brother’s girlfriend and let out a soft laugh. “What?”

She’s gazing up at me like I just invented orgasms or something.

“I think I just fell in love with you,” she whispers.

I tip my head back and laugh before kissing her cheek.

“Well, I’m already in love with you, so that works out great.

Now…” I loop my arm through hers and start dragging her toward Wily’s truck.

“Let’s get you back to Football Frat so I don’t have to hear my brother whining about missing you.

He’s been going on all freaking day, and it’s doing my head in. ” I bulge my eyes at Satch.

She lets out a soft giggle, her cheeks tinging pink as she climbs into the passenger seat.

I walk around the truck, gripping the handle to help me jump up into this beast. Honestly, this truck is ridiculous.

I should have driven my Mini down from Chicago, but as soon as I heard what happened to Wily, I jumped on a plane.

I had to get here as fast as I could, and now the thought of going back up to the Windy City is…

Well, it can wait.

Not forever.

Shit.

I grit my teeth, starting the engine and gunning it toward Football Frat. I don’t want to think about my stuff, my car, and how I’m supposed to get it back. I don’t want to think about any of that shit.

I just want to focus on my brother.

“You know, if it’s too much, you don’t have to stay.” Satch worries her lip. “I don’t want this to encroach on your life. I can try to rearrange my schedule or?—”

“No way.” I shake my head. “You’re already busting your ass making sure you get to all your classes and get Wily’s work for him. You’re doing your own studying and assignments, plus tutoring him. You can’t take on any more than that.”

Satch fidgets with her fingers in her lap. I glance at them before looking back at the road, pausing at the crosswalk to let a bunch of students pass.

“At least he’ll be back in class next week, although it’s gonna be so hard for him, hobbling around on his crutches.”

“Yeah.” I sigh. “He’s gonna hate it, but he’ll be able to handle it, and I can sit in on classes with him. I don’t mind.”

“What about your work, though? You’re sacrificing so much to be here.”

I glance across at her again, giving her the brightest smile I can muster. “It’s fine. Honestly. This year has been kind of chill for me. Keeping up with my classes is not a big deal.”

“So watching videos of the classes at night isn’t bumming you out? How will you keep up with the workload if you’re going to Wily’s classes as well?”

“I’ll manage,” I assure her… just like I’m assuring everybody.

Because it’s not like I can tell them the truth.