Chapter 13
Preston
I usually passed out after a workout. But with tomorrow being our first home game, I was restless.
From nerves. From adrenaline, and from thoughts about my infuriatingly gorgeous new neighbor.
The clock showed just after midnight, and even though I had to be at the field at the ass crack of dawn, I was walking into my kitchen, in search of anything to put me to sleep.
My eyes veered over to my window. Not a smart move for remedying my problem, but I did it anyway.
And my body froze.
I squinted, taking a step toward the window on my bare feet. The tile was cold, but not like the way a coldness swept over my skin as I watched a dark shadow creep along the side of Trinity’s house.
What the hell?
I was out my front door before I could reconsider.
The grass felt damp beneath my feet, the asphalt gritty when I made it to the desolate road.
I quickly traveled across the sidewalk, my eyes narrowed as the figure moved farther down the side of the house.
It was probably some pervert who’d seen her at school.
Someone who was a fucking coward to sneak up on a woman in the dead of night.
The figure wore a black hoodie, slowly moving among the shadows of the trees in the yard.
I picked up my pace, breaking into a jog as I rounded the corner fully.
“Hey!” I barked just as the figure stumbled back from the house.
I didn’t think. I just dove forward, my body colliding with the black-hooded figure.
A scream pierced the air, the body beneath me not feeling as large as it should have been. We tumbled to the ground, a grunt expelling from my chest as the body below me yelped.
I blinked in confusion when a wave of vanilla filtered through my nose.
Bracing my arms in the grass, I managed to prop myself above the intruder when the sudden jar of a solid knee hit me right between the legs.
“Fuck,” I gritted out as I dropped down to my elbows.
“Get off of me!!!” a voice shouted.
A familiar voice. A feminine voice.
I rolled over, my palms cupping my balls that would most likely never get the chance to reproduce.
Spots blurred my vision as a face came into view. One with pretty green eyes and a furrowed brow.
Trinity.
“What the hell, Preston?” she shrilled. “Are you trying to kill me?”
I winced as I shifted up to my knees. “What the fuck are you doing out here at this time of night?”
My stomach rolled with nausea as I stood to my feet. Part of me felt proud that she could drop a grown man, but the other part really liked having a dick that worked and I was irrationally angry at her in this moment.
“Me? This is my house. What are you doing creeping around the neighborhood at night?” She crossed her arms with a scowl.
She wore a black hoodie, paired with what appeared to be the tiniest sleep shorts on the planet. They were black, and not even close to being long enough to keep my thoughts from drifting to a dangerous place.
“I wasn’t creeping. I was protecting you from an intruder.”
“There is no intruder,” she deadpanned.
“I’m very aware,” I mumbled as I adjusted myself. “You still didn’t answer my question.”
Her hand reached down in the grass and swiped up her glasses that must have fallen off in the scuffle.
“Well, before you tackled me like a linebacker…”
“Shit.” The memory flashed. Guilt swiftly punched me in the gut that I didn’t even think about whether I’d hurt her. “Are you okay?” I stepped to her, my hands reaching out on instinct. One hand cupped her jaw, while the other trailed down her arm. “Did I hurt you?”
She sucked in a sharp breath at the contact.
“No.” She shook her head. “If anyone got hurt, I would say it’s you.”
Relief washed through me. “You scared the shit out of me. I thought someone was trying to break in. To hurt you.”
Her eyes softened as I stared at her. My thumb involuntarily stroked her cheek, the touch tender and intimate, but the moment wasn’t lasting.
She blinked before stepping away. “I was looking for the breaker box.” Her eyes trailed across my bare chest before she met my eyes again with a swallow. “I was blow-drying my hair and I blew a fuse.”
“Did you check the garage?” I asked, already on the move.
“I didn’t get the chance. I was rudely interrupted,” she quipped.
When we entered the garage, I moved my hand along the wall, searching for the light switch. Flipping it on, I surveyed the room. “There.”
A stack of tubs blocked half of the door. I managed to flip it open, then trigger the breakers.
“All set.”
She stood behind me, hands on her hips, glasses perched on her nose. She was so beautiful. The kind of beautiful that almost hurt to look at. The kind I needed to stay away from if I wanted us both to remain in this town unscathed.
I shifted, a wince hitting my face at the now dull ache in my groin.
“Come on.” She motioned her hand, turning to head inside the house. “Since I took you down and all.”
“Whoa. Took me down?” I knew following her inside was a horrible idea, but apparently, I was a fan of self-inflicted pain.
“I saw tears,” she said as she grinned over her shoulder. “I’ve never made a football player cry.”
“There were no tears. I had a piece of grass in my eye,” I lied.
We approached her kitchen, the dim light from the stove the only one casting the room in a yellow glow. I let my eyes wander as she rifled through her freezer. I was looking for anything to give an insight into who Trinity Maxwell was. What made her so…her.
“Here.” She held out a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.
I lifted a brow.
She waved a hand toward my crotch. “For the…situation.”
Oh, we had a situation all right.
I was half crippled, half hard by this point.
“You want me to ice my dick with your vegetables?”
“Don’t worry, I have plenty.” She shrugged before leaning an elbow against the counter.
Something about that statement brought me back to how we met. How easy the conversation flowed before the big bucket of ice water doused us with the unfortunate truth.
“Coupon?” I took the package from her hand.
Her smile wobbled, but she nodded. “Too good to pass up.”
When she glanced up, flush coated her cheeks. The air seemed to change, like the start of a storm. When the humid air intertwined with the cold. The atmosphere was charged. The space too small for two people with too big of a repercussion lingering between us.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you.” I locked eyes with her. “I just reacted.”
She nodded, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “It’s okay. Thank you, though. It’s nice to know you’d do that. Tackle a stranger on my behalf.”
“I figured you’d be used to an adrenaline-fueled athlete growing up with a man like your dad.” I chuckled.
But her expression didn’t warrant the pretty smile I had hoped for.
That smile dimmed. “I really wouldn’t know.”
I frowned, the condensation from the vegetable pack dampening my skin as I studied her. “What do you mean?”
“You better get some ice on that thing.” She abruptly changed the topic. “I’m sure all the ladies would be devastated if I permanently damaged you.”
“All the ladies?” I questioned.
“I’m not na?ve, Preston. I know athletes. How you all are.”
The comment sent a spike to my chest. How you all are. Trinity Maxwell had no idea what kind of man I was. And even though I wasn’t allowed to show her, I desperately wanted to.
Two steps had me standing right in front of her. One more inch and she’d be pressed against my bare chest.
A dangerous spot to be in.
“How we all are,” I repeated.
“Birds of a feather.” She lifted a shoulder, like that analogy held all the answers.
Something deep inside me told me she had a good reason. You didn’t have such concrete assumptions without experience.
“I’d never hurt you, Trinity.”
The promise hung between us like a portal. One we knew would suck us in if we let it.
She cleared her throat. “Good luck tomorrow, Coach. Lock the door on your way out.”
Coach.
I hated the reminder. Especially since I was standing in just a pair of athletic shorts, in the middle of the night, in my boss’s daughter’s kitchen, about to ice my cock.
She left the room, and I walked back home, clutching a melted pack of vegetables, while simultaneously fighting an internal battle.
One I didn’t know if I’d ever win.