The Player: Dark Enemies to Lovers Sports Romance

Chapter 26

“Julie?” My voice sounds desperate and vulnerable. I can see the last piece of her wall tumbling down, and I kiss her. The need to have her lips on mine overwhelms me. The salty taste of her tears floors me.

Before either of us can talk, her phone rings and we jerk from the intrusion. Julie fumbles to get the phone, and I laugh.

“Hello?” Her voice cracks and she swallows, trying to clear her throat. I pull her into my arms with her back against my chest.

“Hey, I’m sorry for bothering you, but you need to turn on the news.” Kaylee’s voice comes over the speaker, sounding distressed.

A frown forms on my face as Julie steps out of my embrace and turns on the tiny television set that’s on the counter.

“In other news, retired NFL player Aaron Johannsen is settling in back home to be the new varsity football coach at Summerfield High. The real question begging to be asked is…where is his long-term girlfriend, Miranda Manyard? And who is this new girl?”

Julie’s picture flashes on the screen in the clinic. “Oh, no,” she whispers.

“It seems like Johannsen has downgraded his life in more ways than one.” I flip off the television and take Julie in my arms again.

“Don’t worry about what they say,” Kaylee’s voice penetrates the silence.

“Kaylee, I’m going to take care of Julie. Don’t worry. Thanks for letting us know.” I take the phone and hang up. After setting it on the counter, I look at Julie.

“Aaron.” She shakes as I rub my hands down her arms.

“Ignore it. None of that shit the news reporter was spitting was true. Miranda and I broke it off over two years ago. Yes, she would make public appearances now and then with me when I didn’t want to go to a function alone. But we were never together. Nor would we ever be together. She’s a lesbian and I wasn’t attracted to her. I know that’s hard to believe because you can fuck someone even if you have no attraction to them, but Ju-Ju, we were just friends.”

“I know. That’s not what I’m worried about.” Her hands fidget in front of her as I run my hands down her back.

“What’s making you so upset, Sugar Plum?” I kiss her forehead, and she melts into me, letting me have her heat. I don’t think I want to ever know what it’s like to not have her near me.

“It’s Lennox. He idolizes you, and I want you to be a part of his life.” She pauses, and I get an uneasy feeling about what she’s going to say. “What if he thinks you didn’t want him? I know I should have told you, but I didn’t know it was you that night. And…”

I place a finger on her lips to silence her. “Enough, love. Like I said, I’m trying to change my thinking about things, and I want to be with you. So, everyone else can fuck off. Well, except Lennox. He’s going to get the surprise of a lifetime when we tell him I’m his dad.” The pride bounces through me, knowing Lennox is mine. I almost tell her let’s make another one, but she smiles up at me. Gracing me with a laugh as I stand here holding her, feeling good about the way things are turning out

* * *

My smile hasn’t leftmy face since last night. Not giving a shit about what others think is freeing.

As I make breakfast with Julie for Lennox, I’m excited for this day. It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about anything.

“Hey, Mom.” Lennox comes into the kitchen and hugs her, then looks at me, lunges, and I catch him.

“Can you come to show and tell tomorrow?” Julie laughs and shakes her head no. But I’m not having it. My grin is from ear to ear, and I feel like I’ve won a goddamn championship.

“You bet. But there’s something that your mom and I need to discuss with you.”

“Awesome!” He pumps a fist into the air as I let him down from our hug. “What do you…”

Julie sets down the food and clears her throat. “After school, we will go for ice cream and we can talk about it together then, alright?”

Lennox shrugs, and I look at Julie, wondering if she’s nervous. Hell, I would be too. How do we tell Lennox I’m his father?

Twenty minutes later, Kaylee picks up Lennox for school, and Julie drives me to therapy.

“You think you can follow instructions today, A-bear?” Fuck, I love when she teases me.

“I’ll try,” I grunt and act put out. I’m looking forward to her way of distracting me again.

“You better,” she says as she pulls into the medical plaza.

As I come out in my shorts and look around for Julie, I notice Bryson is in the hydro machine getting ready for a massage once Kaylee comes in.

“Hey, where’s Julie?”

Bryson laughs. “Dude you have it so bad. She’s in the office with one of the other therapists.”

“Is that normal?” It seems odd to me that she wasn’t in her office talking to anyone yesterday.

Am I being paranoid? Taking a deep breath, I look over at Bryson, and the look on his face says it all. I’m being stupid.

Still, something doesn’t set well with me and I walk toward her office. As I get to the door, I hear the conversation.

“Are you fucking the jock?”

What the hell? I try the door and slam it open. “Who the hell do you think you are?” My girl demands, and I have the urge to grin. I don’t. No, this is fucking serious. Looking at the guy who is standing in front of Julie, I growl.

Julie’s eyes are slits and her hands are fisted by her side. She looks up and a blush creeps on her cheeks.

“What’s going on here?” I ask, trying to keep my demeanor calm.

The prick turns toward me and crosses his arms over his chest. “Just wondering why my girlfriend is messing around with you.”

Before I can say a word, Julie laughs. “I am not your girlfriend. I’ve never even agreed to go on a date with you. Josh, you are insane. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get started with the day.”

Josh grabs her and I lose it. There’s no hesitation in me as I grab him by the throat and slam him into the wall. “You touch her again and you are dead.”

As his eyes close and he gasps for air, I squeeze harder. How dare he touch my woman.

“Aaron, let go,” Julie says as she rubs a hand over my back. “It’s just a misunderstanding, and it won’t happen again.”

Goddamn right, it won’t. Looks like I got something to do tonight.

* * *

“Thankyou for standing up for me today,” my Sugar Plum whispers and looks at me as she pulls into the school parking lot. A knot forms in my throat at how vulnerable she sounds.

“Don’t even mention it, Ju-Ju.” Pulling her into me, I kiss her deeply, wanting to take away all the shit going on in my mind right now.

“Mm, Aaron,” she whimpers for me as we dance our tongues together. She pulls back, and that plump lip look I love so much on her stares back at me.

“Do you want me to come get you after you meet with the team?”

“Well, I kind of need you to come get me, Sugar Plum. I can’t walk back to your place.” I smirk at her, knowing full well I could make the damn mile back to her.

Laughing, Julie pushes me, and I open the door. “See you in a few hours. You got this!”

Once Julie has left, I make my way over to the stands. It’s not hard to see I have some very talented players. It’s also obvious they need some work. There are a few that need major work, but all in all, I’m enjoying watching my talented players.

One thing rings out in my brain, they aren’t bad, but they lack discipline. It took the assistant coach fifteen minutes to get the players’ attention away from their phones. Yeah, that shit won’t fly with me.

Getting up, I take off my baseball cap and sunglasses. Walking onto the football field, I blow the whistle in my hand. Laughing as everyone freezes, I step up to the assistant coach, and his eyes get wide.

“Holy hell, you’re here.” He wipes his sweaty brow and smiles so big at me that it’s almost blinding.

“Yup, I’m here, and we have some work to do, don’t we?”

“Yes, yes, we do. Boys, come on in. Come meet your new coach.”

As the boys come running toward me, I think about how Julie used to run to me after a game and how much I miss it. Fuck, I was a dumbass. Thank God I have a chance to fix things and make her mine.

Mine.The word is on repeat in my mind as I think about how much I want her. Damn, my cock is ready to burst again.

Calming myself down by counting to twenty, I focus on the boys. For the next two hours, I run drills with them. By the time practice is over, I’m sweating and ready to see my girl.

Julie

I’m ten minutes away.

Me

Thank you, Sugar Plum. Wrapping it up now.

I feel like a damn kid on Christmas morning, getting all the presents under the tree.

“Coach!”

“Coach!”

All the boys want my attention. It’s crazy how they are looking at me. Hell, I remember looking at my coach during practices and wanting to hear words of encouragement too. These guys are impressionable, and anything I say could hurt them. Still, I need to be truthful with them.

“Boys, we have a lot of work to do. You are good, but you can be exceptional. Tomorrow starts our two-a-day practices.” A few of the boys groan, but some of them look excited.

“I noticed we don’t have a lot of play on defense, and that’s something we are going to need to work on.” I keep my words as nonjudgmental as possible, even though I want to call some players out. That’s not my style. I hated it when all the coaches would do that.

“Now, hit the showers, get home and rest. As of right now, there are no parties, no girls, and absolutely nothing illegal. If you have a job, come talk to me, and we will work around it. If there are other school activities you are looking at joining, let me know. Football is a way of life for some, but it shouldn’t be your only life.”

The assistant coach blows the whistle, and I shake his hand. “See you tomorrow. For the next three weeks, we are running two-a-days starting at 10:00 a.m. and then 4:00 p.m. Once school starts, practice will be after school. Expect to stay late and work hard.”

With that, I leave the field, placing my sunglasses and cap back on, feeling good about the plan I have for the boys. Now, I have to find a way to get out of the house tonight to take care of Julie’s problem. As her SUV pulls up, I smile, letting all thoughts leave me.