Chapter Three
ASTON
We won our season opener tonight. I clocked in two sacks, a forced fumble, and a handful of quarterback hurries that will look real pretty on film tomorrow.
By all accounts, I should be celebrating with my teammates with a nice steak and a few beers.
Hell, Brody was guilt-tripping me to go out with him, and I almost gave in, but I’m just not feeling it tonight.
Instead, I’m gripping my steering wheel, and I feel like I’m losing my mind.
Seeing Eva on the field tonight was a swift, brutal kick to the ribs.
For two solid months, I’d been trying to convince myself that Alie and Liam’s wedding reception was just a momentary lapse in sanity.
A fluke. A beautiful, alcohol-fueled mistake, triggered by memories and having the whole Walker University crew in the same space.
I told myself that once the season started, once the grind of the playbook and the physical toll of practice and games took over, the memory of the feel of her skin under my hands and the taste of her lips would fade.
But then she looked up from behind that camera tonight, looking completely unbothered, and casually reduced the hottest night of my entire life to a fun night. No big deal.
I’m a fucking idiot. I have absolutely no right to be annoyed that she blew me off or treated me like a casual hookup.
I was the coward who had slipped out because the sight of her naked under the sheets made me panic.
I didn’t even leave a note. I’d left her to wake up alone in a room that still smelled like sex.
She put up a flawless armored front on the field tonight, and I took it on the chin because I was the one who had practically handed her the shield in the first place.
Just as I pull into my driveway, my phone lights up, the screen flashing with a face that looks exactly like mine.
Ace.
I stare at the console for a solid three seconds, a wave of guilt rushing through me.
But Ace is my twin. My built-in best friend.
We don’t go a day without talking or texting, and if I ignore his call after a win, he’ll know something is up within ten seconds and not leave me alone until I answer him.
I turn off my truck, open the door, and step out, then answer the call. “Sup, Acer?”
“There he is!” Ace’s loud voice booms through my phone.
I can hear country music in the background and voices I don’t recognize.
“QB terror. Brother, I watched that fourth-quarter strip sack from the locker room after my game tonight. You leveled that rookie. I bet the kid is still looking for his soul out there on the field.”
I let out a genuine laugh, the familiar comfort of my brother’s voice easing some of my tension. “Thanks, man. That kid was leaning all night, anticipating the outside rush. I just waited for him to overset on the third down and took the inside track.”
I grab my bag from the back of the cab and walk to the door as I talk.
“Took the inside track?” He chuckles. “Bro, you blew past his outside shoulder like he was standing still.” I can picture Ace pacing around wherever he is, gesturing wildly.
“Saint was a killer, filling the gap on that fumble recovery too. You guys look dangerous on film. That interior push is insane.”
“Yeah, Saint’s a monster. He bulldozes the double-team almost every snap,” I say, opening the door to the house.
I don’t say anything about the film comment.
And I don’t mention Samantha’s interview, and I sure as hell don’t mention Eva, who, I have no doubt, fed Sam that question about my endurance just to mess with me.
“How was your game? I haven’t had a chance to watch highlights yet. I’m just getting home.”
“It was good. Three touchdowns against a top-five run defense isn’t a bad way to start the season. But this fuckin’ humidity down here is no joke. I feel like I’m breathing in mud, but that won’t stop me from makin’ the big plays,” he says, and I hear his signature confidence in his voice.
As a starting running back for the Florida Sharks, he’s been soaking in the sunshine and the media attention since the day he got drafted. He’s the perfect golden boy with his blond hair, blue eyes, and bravado.
“On that second touchdown, their middle linebacker tried to hit me high in the hold. Fucker. I got around him, bounced it outside, and left him on the ground. You know how we do.”
“Standard Griffith procedure,” I add, a faint smile playing on my lips.
“That’s right. Hold on for a sec,” he says, and it sounds like he tilts the phone away from his mouth because his voice is muffled.
“Okay, sorry about that. You should see what I’m looking at right now.
Soleil is wearing this white bikini that could probably pass as dental floss, and she wants all my attention.
She’s trying to get me in the pool to celebrate my touchdowns properly,” he says, laughing.
My chest tightens, a complicated knot of relief working through me. “Sounds like you’re really suffering, Acer.”
“Oh, yeah. Brutal,” he murmurs, the music in the background getting louder. “Seriously though, this girl is wild. Last night, we didn’t even make it to the bedroom. Right on the kitchen counter. I swear, my hamstrings are tighter more from her than the game. She’s a masterpiece.”
I let out a forced laugh. “All right, I don’t need details, but I’m happy for you, brother.”
“Hey, I’m just putting it out there. You need to get yourself a girl. Any girl. You’ve been living like a monk since the draft. You’re one of the biggest faces on that defense, and you’ve got the social life of an old man. It’s pretty fuckin’ sad.”
I almost choke on my laugh. If he only knew. The memory of Eva’s hands tearing at my shirt and digging her nails into my back flashes vividly in my mind.
“I’ve gotta stay focused on the game, Ace,” I counter, keeping my voice light.
“Whatever, man. I’m just sayin’, you need to get laid,” he says, and I hear splashing in the background. “Hey, Soleil is pretty much dragging me into the water now. Great game tonight. Seriously. Tell Mom I’ll call her tomorrow if you talk to her tonight.”
“Will do. Keep it wrapped, Ace.”
“Always. Love you, man.”
He doesn’t wait for me to reply, and the line goes dead.
Ace is happy. He’s running wild in Florida, dating lingerie models, living loud, and definitely not thinking about the girl who broke his heart two years ago. Hearing him talk about his girl should make my guilt disappear. It should justify the fact that I slept with Eva.
But it doesn’t. It just makes the secret I’m keeping from my twin a little heavier. We don’t lie to each other, and I’ve never kept anything from him. Ever.
I grab a drawing pencil, my leather journal, and a beer from my fridge and make my way to my patio.
An infinity pool stretches out all the way to the tree line, and the soft light from the pool contrasts against the black of the night sky.
I sit down on the couch, set my journal and pencil next to me, and put my feet up on the table in front of me, and lean my head back against the cushion, looking up at the stars.
The sky here isn’t as big as it is back home.
Speaking of home … I lift my phone and reply to my dad’s congratulatory text, then hit my mom’s number for a call. She answers on the second ring.
“Hey, honey.”
“Hey, Mama.”
“You just getting home?” Her warm Texas drawl flows through, making me feel like I’m back on the porch at the ranch rather than miles away from home.
“Yeah, just a few minutes ago. Just sittin’ out on my back porch. The weather’s starting to get cooler at night, so I want to soak it in while it lasts.”
“Well, you had a great game tonight. Played your heart out, like always. Your dad and I were screamin’ so loud that I think we rattled the cows in the pasture.
I’m surprised I have a voice at all between your game and Ace’s.
Thank God Archie and Aiden weren’t playing tonight.
I would have for sure lost it from yellin’. ”
“Thanks, Mama,” I say, the tension in my shoulders melting. “It was a good game.”
“You looked like a giant out there,” she says, her tone shifting to a protective-mama-bear tone. “But I saw you take that hard hit in the second quarter. Are you hurt? Don’t lie to me, Aston Griffith.”
“I’m fine. I promise.” I chuckle, shaking my head. She never stops worrying about us. “Just a little bruise. I got caught between the guard and fullback, but it’s just the name of the game. I’ll spend some time with the trainers tomorrow, and they’ll check me out.”
“You’d better,” she warns. “Did you talk to Ace yet?”
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with him. Sounds like he’s celebrating tonight,” I say, keeping my voice even. “He said he had a good game, but I haven’t watched any of the clips yet.”
“Uh-huh. Celebrating. I think he enjoys himself a little too much.” She sighs, though there’s pure affection in her voice. “That boy changes girlfriends like he changes cleats. I love him to death, but I swear he gives me gray hair. He still dating that one model?”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, thinking about Ace’s kitchen activities last night. “Soleil. Yeah, he is.”
“Whatever. I can’t keep track,” she says, laughing. “You’re eating well and getting enough sleep, right? Which reminds me, I want to expand your garden next spring. You need some more variety.”
“Yes, you know I’m on a pretty strict diet, and I also need my sleep. And I’d love to expand the garden in the spring. We can plan it out when I come home after the season ends.”
“Sounds good, honey. I’m so glad you bought a place with some dirt under your feet. A boy from Texas doesn’t need a glass tower in the sky. Oh, your dad says the fence on the far-west corner needs mending, so when you and your brothers come home, you’ll have plenty of ranch work waiting for you.”
“Can’t wait,” I say, a wave of homesickness washing over me. “Tell Dad I’ll call him on my way home after film tomorrow. And tell Austin and Jesse I said hey.”
Austin and Jesse are my youngest brothers still at home.
“I will. Get some rest and call me soon. Love you to the moon.”
“Love you too, Mama.”
The call disconnects, leaving me alone in the quiet dark of my patio.
Talking to my mom always grounds me, but tonight, it also serves as a reminder that my family means everything to me.
Our bond, our unspoken rules of loyalty, is the foundation of my entire life.
I love my parents, and I love my brothers hard.
I pull my feet down and slip off my shoes, feeling the cool tiles beneath my feet. The backyard is probably my favorite thing about this house. I sit for a while, listening to the sounds of the night and the water splashing lightly against the sides of the pool.
My mind keeps drifting between my brother and the woman on the field. Ace is happy. He’s living his life in Florida, and it seems like Eva is a distant memory. Hearing him talk about his life so casually tonight shifted something in my head.
Ace has clearly moved on.
So why am I still struggling with the fact that I slept with my brother’s ex? Why am I letting my loyalty to my brother dictate what I want?
The memory of our night hits me again. The feel of her body. The desperate sound of my name on her lips when I was driving into her. She wasn’t thinking about him when she came. She was looking at me. She said she always looked at me, even when her camera was pointed at the field.
And tonight, even when she was acting like she was unaffected by me, the tension between us was there, and it was thick enough to suffocate us both.
She had definitely planted that question Sam asked me to gauge my reaction.
She was playing with me, putting up that wall because I’d given her a reason to when I walked out on her that night.
I let out a laugh and scrub a hand over my face.
The broadcasting schedule means she will be on my sidelines for at least another six games this year.
She’s going to be standing there with her media badge, headphones, and her little notebook in hand, watching me with her sharp green eyes while I try to focus on my job.
I’ll see her. A lot.
I pick up my pencil and journal and look out over the yard, starting to sketch a garden design to send to my mama, and think about how I’m going to handle this situation with Eva.
I spent three months in college staying away from her because I was a pussy. Then I spent one year wanting what my brother had. After their breakup, I put her in a box of past drama that I had no right to touch because I loved my brother too much to ever bring her up.
But as I watch the water ripple across the pool, the guilt I’ve carried changes to something entirely different. Something that feels possessive.
Ace is done mourning their relationship; he’s moved on. But Eva and me? We could be together. Because I know the connection we had in college and at Liam and Alie’s wedding is still there.
I tilt my head back again and close my eyes.
The truth is, I won’t be able to stay away from her.
Not this time.