Playing To Win: An Elite Athlete Sport Romance Anthology Read online

  In the clinic, handshakes weren’t necessarily “allowed” right now, but I knew that the Brayshaws and their house guest had been self-isolating, so I thought to hell with it, and reached across the table, offering “girl Sam” my hand.

  “Sam Mayson,” I said, as Nikki pulled out another chair and sat.

  The other Sam, of the female variety, smiled and reached out to complete the handshake. Her grasp was strong and sure. “Samantha Piper. Nice to meet you.”

  “So, looks like we’re going to be a team this summer.”

  Samantha nodded. “Looks like. I’m sorry about your situation.” She truly looked remorseful but I supposed, if she and Nikki had been friends since grade school, Samantha knew of Jacquie too.

  “What brings you back to Montana?” I asked, changing the subject away from me. “Nikki said you’ve been in California?”

  When Samantha looked at Nikki with her brows up, I sensed that I missed something.

  “What!” Nikki held her hands in the air. “I wasn’t sure if that was sensitive information!”

  “You share goddamn everything else, but were afraid to mention your Sam was an Olympic volleyball player?” Cody chuckled from the grill, flipping a steak and shutting the lid, before moving to stand behind his wife.

  “A what?” Now my brows were up, as I looked from the Brayshaws to Samantha. “You’re kidding me.”

  Samantha scrunched her face slightly and shrugged. “Guilty as charged.”

  “Is her playing even legal?” I asked Cody directly, because I knew that he would have looked into the league by-laws. Then, realizing how rude that sounded, looked back to the blonde. “Sorry.”

  Cody nodded. “Yep. She can play in the advanced brackets.”

  “And it’s not an unfair advantage?”

  “Samuel Mayson, I swear, you’re looking for an out,” Nikki mumbled, crossing her arms. Cody squeezed her shoulders.

  “Well, no, I’m not, but...”

  Samantha smiled, and I found myself struck by her beauty.

  It came from left field, this wave of attraction that rushed over me. It had only been four weeks since I broke off my engagement; I had zero business being this attracted to another woman this soon after an abrupt ending to an eight-year, “marriage on the horizon” relationship.

  Tell that to my cock though.

  I’d never had a thing for tall women, but my first impression of Samantha wasn’t the fact she was only a couple of inches shorter than me.

  It was her smile.

  Her facial features.

  The slight slant to her golden-brown eyes that accentuated her cheekbones.

  Her blonde hair was gathered at the top of her head in a long, sleek ponytail, and I wondered how the locks would feel in my hand, wrapped in my fist.

  Even the sundress she wore, cut low enough in the back with a twisted piece of fabric that connected the neck to the base, showed off a tanned, braless body that had me thinking of that lean, toned body meshed against mine...

  And there went my cock.

  Before, it was just an “I’d like to explore that” twitch, and now I was thankful to be sitting with a table over my lap.

  “No, I get it,” Samantha said. “When Nikki asked me, I wasn’t sure if it was against the rules, either, but it’s been cleared. They just need you to say yeah, and your registration can change from she-who-shall-not-be-named, to me. And I’m not saying her name to be sensitive to you. I’m not that nice. I just really hate the bitch and her name deserves zero airtime.”

  I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of me.

  I think I could like this girl.

  “You’ll have to tell me your story someday,” I smiled back at her.

  “We win our first bracket, and I’ll spill all.”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal, Samantha Piper.”

  3

  Samantha

  “Good luck, you guys,” Nikki said, giving me a hug after we set our bags and waters down on a shaded picnic table outside of the sand volleyball courts.

  “It’s just for fun,” I laughed, hugging her back. “Good luck to you two, as well.” It had been just over one week since I was coerced into this thing, but I was excited to get back on the court. Even if it was just for fun.

  Sam and I weren’t due to play against Nikki and Cody for another two weeks, but because we were in the same overall bracket, we played at the same time.

  “Afterward, you still coming to the house?” Cody asked Sam, who was sitting on a table bench, taking off his shoes.

  “Yeah, I can for a little bit. I have an early case in the morning that I have to oversee, so I’m not making it an all-nighter or anything.”

  Cody laughed. “Man, we’re getting old. Nikki and I usually head to bed about ten anyway.”

  “Hey, speak for yourself,” Sam replied, grinning. The man had a beautiful smile. It completely transformed his face.

  I could only imagine the number of mothers who brought their kids by the office just for a look at the handsome, brown haired doctor. Like the other night, he had what appeared to be a five-o’clock shadow framing his jaw, but I was beginning to wonder if that was his beard preference.

  Hey.

  I wasn’t complaining.

  “Old is a frame of mind,” Sam continued, placing his shoes neatly on the table behind him. He stood and adjusted the band of the knee-length swim shorts he wore—with a hand-cut muscle shirt, I would like to add, that showed off large biceps and a peek of defined chest and abdominal muscles.

  He clearly subscribed to the healthy body mentality.

  The two-minute warning bell rang through the speaker system, and the man turned toward me. “You ready, Samantha?” He moved to stand beside me, and my girly side was momentarily struck speechless.

  Where I was tall and lean, he was tall and built.

  Even though he only stood a few inches taller than me, I got this silly notion that I’d feel safe in his arms.

  Those big, thick, brawny arms...

  “Samantha?” He lifted a brown brow as he looked at me, and I coughed to try and cover the embarrassment I felt rising in my blood.

  “I’m good. Let’s win this thing.”

  Our game ran a little long—the other team met us for skill, point by point. So, when we were finished, Nikki and Cody were already headed back to their place.

  Before they left, they came by our court to see where we were because they were my ride back, but Sam and I had only just finished our fourth set. We assumed our fifth, and final, set would be just as long, so Sam offered to drive me back to the Brayshaw’s house, seeing as he was going that way anyway.

  “That was a lot of fun,” I said as we made our way to his vehicle. “I mean, I have fun wherever I play, but this was just...light. A light kind of fun. You know?” I looked over at Sam, and caught his smile he gave me.

  “It was. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time. I’m the white truck over there,” he added, nodding in the direction of a rather large Ford a few spots away.

  Color me surprised; I didn’t figure him for a truck guy. “You know, I thought you’d drive a car. Maybe a Beemer or Benz.”

  He chuckled. “Cars make me claustrophobic. I prefer the room in a truck.”

  “I can understand that. I’ve been driving an SUV for the same reason.”

  When we reached the truck, Sam took my bag and opened the door for me. “Oh. Thank you,” I said, startled by the act. Still, I smiled, basking in the attention.

  “Mmhmm,” he answered through pressed lips. After I was seated, he shut the door and opened the back to deposit our things on the rear seat. By the time I was buckled, he had rounded the truck and dropped into the driver’s seat.

  “So,” he said, turning the ignition. “We won.” He looked over at me, grinning, before hooking his hand on the back of my seat, turning his head, and pulling out of the spot he’d parked in.

  “We did.” I smiled but avoided watching
him.

  I had a feeling I could watch him more than could be considered healthy or even friendly, so instead, I picked at the hem of my short spandex shorts.

  Nothing against the bikini I wore on the public stage—less places for sand to hide—but it was nice to be back in “normal” attire.

  Normal in quotes simply because I could remember the sexual leers thrown my way in high school, if ever I dared to go to the local coffee shop after practice, while wearing my volleyball shorts and jersey-shirt.

  I never minded the looks, personally, but my father sure cared. On more than one occasion, I could recall him muttering, “Fucking pigs,” under his breath if a man looked in my direction for too long.

  He never said more than that, and frankly, even that embarrassed the hell out of me, but I was a bit sheltered as a teenager.

  I’d liked the attention.

  But more so, I liked the way Ryan had become overly protective of me in those moments, too.

  “What’s got you smiling over there?”

  “Oh, just remembering life before being a professional athlete. Question,” I asked, turning my body just enough so I could look at him better. “A high school girl walks into a coffee shop, clearly after playing volleyball. Short shorts. Shirt. Messy ponytail. What’s your reaction?”

  His mouth worked, and I knew the question wasn’t expected. “I don’t know. Ask her how her game was?”

  “Hmm. Yeah.” I nodded. “Good answer. You passed the test,” I added with a smile.

  “Test?”

  “Yeah, the creeper test.”

  “I take it that’s not always the way it goes?” He glanced over at me briefly, but put his eyes back on the road.

  “I get a different feel in Forever, but the town Nikki and I grew up in had some sex-deprived ranch hands who liked to say things about us. Then, there was this big thing in the school board about whether or not we were allowed to wear our uniforms outside of practice or games. The football team was allowed to. The cheerleaders and their short skirts, too. But the world had an issue with spandex shorts.”

  “Yeah, I think everyone who’s decided to settle in Forever are good people.”

  Forever was a newer town. Once upon a time, Forever was actually called Bishop Heights, but after many years, became a ghost town. The land was bought by a rancher and when he passed, rather than giving the ranch to his family, he chose to sell the land back to the state.

  A developer came in and saw potential for the area, and started the process of building a new town.

  And so, Forever, Montana was born.

  The town itself was small. It was designed to be a Main Street town, with the shops in a central location, and ranches, a single subdivision, and protected wildlife land making up the outside.

  “I’ve gotten that feel too. Definitely different from California.”

  “Do you like it out there?”

  I thought about the question for a moment. “I guess so. It’s a different life there, versus here. Here, it’s quiet, and peaceful, and where I’d like to someday settle and have a family. There’s just something about growing up in the country. I know you went to college with Cody, but are you from Montana?”

  He nodded. “I am. Northern. Grew up on Flathead Lake.”

  “Oh, it’s beautiful up there...”

  Sam laughed. “I mean, I like the open skies down here, but yeah, the woods and lake are beautiful, too. Spent a lot of time exploring with my sisters.”

  “Older or younger? I’m sure you made their lives a living hell.” I grinned as I spoke; I could only imagine a younger Sam taunting the girls he grew up with.

  Still smiling from his laugh, he shook his head. “Nah. I was protective of them. Both are younger. Amber is two years younger than me. She still lives up near our parents. And then there’s Bailey, who is twenty...three. She’s in the military and currently based in North Carolina, but is doing a tour.”

  “Oh my, that has to be scary.” I didn’t personally know anyone in the military and while it was easy to think that our troops were all on US soil, I knew there were still war-like situations going on.

  “It is, yeah, but I’m proud of her. She was always a bit of a tomboy, so I wasn’t surprised when she enlisted. I don’t think she wants to make a career of it, but she’s made friends all over, so who knows if she’ll ever come home.”

  “So, if most of your family is north, what made you choose to practice in Forever? I mean, assuming you practice in Forever. Do you? Or are you in Billings?”

  “No, I do live in Forever, but the clinic I’m at in just outside of Billings. Honestly, it’s where Jacquie wanted to be, and because Cody was here, it didn’t seem like a bad deal.”

  “I know I haven’t exactly been exploring the town lately, but I’m surprised I haven’t run into Jacquie anywhere,” I admitted. “I mean, I see the same five people every time I go to the store—and I’m talking patrons, and not people who work there.”

  “Jacquie left town. With my former best friend. I have no idea where they are and I don’t really care.”

  “Speaking of... I owe you a Jacquie story.”

  He shrugged, glancing at me briefly again. “You don’t have to. Honest to God, if I never hear her name again, I think I’ll be okay.”

  “She really did a number on you...”

  “We were together eight years. She followed me through medical school. Never said a word or hinted toward being unhappy with me. Now I wonder if she was sleeping around on me then, too. I just...” He shook his head. “I can’t believe I never saw it. They probably would have continued to hide it, but I’d headed home on my lunch break. Never did that. Wanted to surprise Jacquie for her birthday.”

  I didn’t even think about it, I simply reached over and put my hand on Sam’s thigh in a comforting gesture.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “I know.” He shook his head and shrugged again, and when I took my hand back—the feel of that hard thigh imprinted in my memory—his hands tightened on the steering wheel.

  “Well,” I started, adjusting in the seat so I could pull a leg up under me. My hands, grasped in front of me now so I wouldn’t continue to reach out and touch the man to my left, tightened. “Jacquie stole my boyfriend from me in high school. I know, in hindsight, that Ryan stepping out was a clear sign he wasn’t for me, but I thought I loved him. We’d been together for two years, which, in our high school, was a big deal. But then one day, he came up to me and told me he wanted to take a break. I thought, sure, what’s a week? You know? But then I found out that he’d been hanging out with Jacquie, who had a rather promiscuous reputation, and I knew he wasn’t coming back. Why would he, when he had the opportunity to fuck the queen of the school. I still had this hope though, that he’d come back to me. Realize she wasn’t all that special, and really, that she was a used whore.” I grimaced at the words that came out of my mouth.

  “I’m sorry. I know you were engaged to her, but that’s truly how a lot of people saw her then.”

  “No, you’re fine.”

  He didn’t say anything more, but I was on a roll, and needed to get the words out. “Graduation was coming up, was only like...a week away. I was hoping to talk to him beforehand, try to get him to come back to me. But the Saturday before graduation, he was at Jacquie’s and they got drunk. He thought it was a good idea to drive home. He never made it home.”

  “Shit, Samantha.”

  This time, it was me shaking my head as I looked back to him. “No, it’s okay. Honestly. I was seventeen. Looking back, it was puppy dog love. I would never take back someone who stepped out on me, now. But back then I was devastated, and when he died, I was absolutely heartbroken. And pissed. I was so fucking angry at Jacquie. She didn’t come to graduation because she was in “mourning”,” I added air quotes, “but rumor had it she was already fucking around with another guy, so no one really bought it.”

  “If I hadn’t caught her and Josh, and if N
ikki hadn’t told me that my Jacquie was the same Jacquie she went to high school with, I’d probably tell you that your story didn’t sound like her at all. But I have no clue who she is, it seems.”

  “She was good at deception, I think.”

  He nodded, but stayed silent. Unfortunately, I was never good with silence.

  “Well, that was nice and heavy. Maybe our next win, we should do something crazy and spontaneous. You know. Even the playing field.”

  That earned me a single chuckle from him, but he was smiling again, which meant I was smiling again, and I would call that a win.

  4

  Sam

  I nearly excused myself from hanging out at the house after dropping Samantha off, but told myself to stop being a pussy.

  I hated talking about Jacquie.

  I hated how stupid I felt for letting the affair happen under my nose—because I knew it had been more than a one-time thing. I didn’t care to know just how long it had been going on, but I looking back, it was obvious that they’d gotten together more than once.

  And I wasn’t entirely sure about these new feelings stirring up for Samantha.

  I wasn’t ready for a relationship again, and looking at Samantha, I knew without a doubt that if I slept with her, I would want her for longer than a night. I liked how I felt around her. I liked the way she made me laugh. She was a stark contrast to the demand my career placed on me, and I could find myself wanting to bask in the comfort she’d bring.

  But it was too soon to jump into something serious.

  Besides, I was here, and Samantha was in California.

  Anything that I started with her had an expiration date, which brought me back to the thought that I, without a doubt, would want her for longer than a season.

  I told myself that if I drove away after the conversation we’d just had, I’d be running scared. I also told myself that if I wanted to be comfortable around her, I was going to have to force myself to be within friend-proximity.

  So, rather than driving away with apologies and good nights, I was once again on the Brayshaw’s back porch, sitting around the same table where I’d met Samantha.