Red Zone (Fall Lake Ballers #3)

Chapter One

LIAM

F ootball was my sanctuary, my future—until I collided with my past on the sidelines.

The crunch of pads colliding and shouted plays filled the practice field.

Sweat dripped, muscles burned, but this was the grind I loved.

Add in my closest friends, Ares and Kylian, and we created magic on the field.

We’d had a stellar season. And why wouldn’t we?

This was it, my senior year and only a handful of games until the championship, which we were projected to make—possibly even win.

My vision tunneled as I stared down at the piercing blue-green eyes blinking up at me. Skye Finley. The girl who’d ghosted me. What the hell is she doing here?

“Skye?” Holy fuck—what a cruel twist of fate. My heart jumped as I gaped at the leggy brunette sprawled on the turf.

Lips downturned in a grimace, she narrowed eyes that had haunted me since freshman year—the last time we were together before she’d disappeared on me after our whirlwind two-month fling. Long-buried emotions flared to life, gnawing at me and leaving me unsettled.

Images of stolen kisses strobed through my mind, late-night study sessions that turned into staying up until dawn, losing myself in her, the laughter, and even the passionate arguments.

We had an intense connection that I’d never experienced before or after, but the most memorable was the pain of her leaving, something I’d vowed never to expose myself to again.

“Hi, Liam.”

A mix of resignation and something I couldn’t identify laced her greeting. Her hand clasped mine, sending jolts of electricity pinging up my arm and across my chest like lightning.

“Cartwright!” Coach Becket shouted, stomping down the sideline until he stood next to Skye. “Watch what you’re doing, son.” He turned to her and, with a softer voice, asked, “Are you okay?”

“Yep. I’m good, Uncle Tommy. I mean, um—” She cleared her throat, gaze darting to me then the field. “Coach.” Pink tinted Skye’s cheeks as she shoved her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ears while carefully avoiding my stunned gaze.

Coach bent and retrieved the camera that I hadn’t noticed and handed it back to his niece — what the fuck?

I stepped back, fighting the magnetic pull Skye had always had over me.

My fingers flexed against the football I’d caught.

My other hand curled into a fist as I fought against the urge to grab her hand again and pull her close.

She and I, we weren’t anything. Not anymore.

Another look at her panicked eyes with the pupils blown wide from shock, and I saw our destruction all over again.

No way would I go back for more of that—despite how much I wanted to slide my hands into her silky hair and slant my mouth over her plump, kissable lips.

No fucking way—I had a career to secure, and messing around with the coach’s niece was the kiss of death.

“Listen up, team.”

Coach’s voice broke into my inner monologue, and I felt the press of bodies as the team gathered around. He must’ve called everyone over while my greatest mistake had played through my mind, warning me what not to do.

My mantra for the past three years as a football star at Fall Lake University had been simple: no love, no complications. I hadn’t come by that motto without reason. But seeing Skye made me question everything.

I couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling lurking beneath the surface after the reality of my two closest friends, Kylian and Ares, trading in their wild ways for steady relationships.

I’d sworn to avoid that path after my parents’ brutal divorce left me jaded.

The clincher was freshman year—the only time I’d decided to let a girl in, resulting in devastating heartbreak.

While my two friends were blissfully happy, I knew my place—alone, one-night stands, no attachments. That was my fate, and I would stick to it.

Vow reaffirmed, I shifted back to put more space between myself and Skye. Kylian and Ares flanked me with the move.

Coach gestured to Skye, who’d drifted to his side.

“I would like to introduce Skye Finley, who is interning with us for the rest of the season and handling our social media. I don’t need to remind you to be on your best behavior and to treat her with the respect she deserves. ” The threat hung heavy.

Skye slipped her camera strap around her neck, pulling her long, wavy dark-brown hair from beneath it. She offered a small wave as many of the players acknowledged her.

“The next few games will make or break our season. It may seem like our spot in the playoffs is a sure thing, but complacency is where teams fall apart. That will not be us. Not only do I expect each and every one of you to do your best, fighting for a spot in the playoffs, but also remember—NFL scouts will be watching. This is your chance to shine.”

His words reaffirmed where my focus had to be as the weight of my future pressed down on me. The speech was short and impactful, then we were dismissed. I put blinders on, half listening as I trailed behind Kylian and Ares to shower and change.

The locker room buzzed with post-practice noise—teammates joking, the clatter of cleats against the floor, and the sharp pop of lockers slamming shut.

I leaned against the bench, trying to focus on anything but the nagging memories clawing their way up.

The familiar knot in my chest tightened, a shadow of old fights and broken promises.

“Cartwright!” Kylian’s voice snapped me back to the present. He lobbed a water bottle across the room, and I caught it without thinking. “Tell Ares he’s full of shit. I read the defense fine—he just ran the wrong route.”

Ares rolled his eyes, his jaw set. “I wasn’t off. You didn’t see the safety creeping up.”

“Both of you are wrong.” I twisted the cap off the water bottle and took a swig. “But keep arguing, and Coach will bench your asses next game.” An empty threat, but a good one. “That should settle it.”

Kylian snorted, shaking his head. “Classic Liam, dodging conflict. You’re too good at mediating.”

Mediating. Yeah, I’d been doing that since I was a kid.

Back then, it wasn’t about football plays; it was about stopping my parents from tearing each other apart.

I could still hear their voices echoing through the walls—my mom’s sharp tone, my dad’s booming retorts, and the silence that followed when one of them finally stormed out.

Their relationship was a War of the Roses –style dumpster fire. And it had screwed me up in ways I hated admitting. It was the reason I kept women at arm’s length, why I couldn’t let anyone get too close. Letting someone in—like Skye—was a risk I wasn’t sure I could take.

After they’d finally split, Mom took off and got herself another family. My older sister and I’d never heard from her, but we weren’t parentless. Sometimes—okay, often—I thought we would have been better off if our drunk-off-his-ass dad hadn’t volunteered to stick around.

I shoved the thought aside, gripping the water bottle tighter. “Someone has to keep you idiots in check.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kylian clapped me on the back. “Don’t think I didn’t see you zoning out just now. What’s eating you?”

“Nothing,” I lied, straightening. “Just thinking about the upcoming game.”

But it wasn’t the game. It was everything else—the past, the future, and the mess in between.

“You’re sure?” Ares’s voice softened, cutting through the haze. “If something’s up, we’ve got your back.”

I forced a grin and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m good. Focus on fixing your routes instead of worrying about me.”

The words felt hollow, but I wasn’t about to unpack my baggage in the middle of the locker room. Not with pro scouts watching, playoffs on the line, and my dreams dangling just out of reach.

I showered and changed, caught up in my head as we left the locker room soon after and made the short drive to Kylian’s off-campus condo, where Ares and I also lived.

We let ourselves in. I followed Kylian, dropping my bag to the right of the door then moving aside so Ares could enter.

It was quiet inside, echoing the emptiness I’d felt after seeing Skye.

I glanced around the open floor plan from the decked-out kitchen to the living room with the oversized couches and large-screen TV.

“Where are the girls?” My stomach growled, and I glanced longingly at the kitchen. I’d hoped Kylian’s fiancée, Aurora, would be cooking something when we got home.

“Brielle is hanging out with her sister and convinced Aurora to go with. I think they’re shopping?” Ares shrugged, his backpack landing with a thump next to where I’d left mine.

“It’s too quiet without them here, isn’t it?” Kylian asked, voicing what was running through my mind.

I grunted a response. Brielle, Ares’s girlfriend, might as well have moved in.

She was here more often than not. I wasn’t complaining, or not really.

It’d been more of an adjustment when Aurora had shacked up with Kylian, invading our space last year.

But if I was being honest, I loved them filling the room with their feminine energy and laughter.

It didn’t hurt that Aurora was a goddess in the kitchen.

With her talents, that girl had a gold mine of a career, and we all reaped the benefits.

The other side of me was glad they weren’t home. The easy affection the couples had only accentuated my loneliness that I refused to broadcast.