The End Zone: SPORTS ROMANCE (Contemporary Sport Bad Boy Alpha Male American Football Romance) (New Adult Second Chance Women’s Fiction Romance Short Stories) Read Online Free PDF

room.
    Michelle didn’t know how long they lay there sweating, limbs tangled. She did know that the voice inside her head was coming back with a vengeance. It was screaming at her that she had done something she couldn’t take back.
    She wasn’t the kind of girl to have a one-night stand. She wasn’t the kind of girl who gave herself to a man without it meaning anything.
    She knew what this meant. She knew she would have to talk to him.
    “So, that was new,” he spoke first, his voice still groggy.
    “It was for me too,” Michelle said. “Nice to know I’m not alone.”
    “So,” he said rolling away from her so that they could face each other on the bed. “What happens now? I mean, is that it, or . . .?”
    “Isn’t that supposed to be the girl’s line?” she asked with a smile. He chuckled as well, but the look in his eyes told her that he truly wanted an answer.
    She would have to tell him now.
    “Look, Chris,” she said, “I like you.”
    “Well, I hoped that was obvious,” he said with another slight chuckle, eyeing her naked form. She smiled but was compelled to continue all the same.
    “But, if we’re going to do this,” she said, “if we’re going to be together . . . I meant what I said about the drinking.”
    His smile disappeared and his eyes narrowed. He was clearly listening to her carefully.
    “And not just for me either,” she continued. “If we’re going to be together, you can’t go out drinking every night. You can’t get arrested again. I went through all that with my mom and I’m not doing it again with you.”
    He looked at her intently for several moments as though he was making a very difficult decision. For one horrible moment, she thought he was going to shake his head and tell her he couldn’t do that.
    She steeled herself to get out of his bed, get dressed and never look back. But, a second later, he nodded his head yes.
    “I can scale it back,” he said. “No more partying during the week. My friends might not be thrilled, but they can deal with it.”
    “Ok,” Michelle said smiling. She turned and snuggled back into him. “In that case, I guess I can stay.”
    The last thing she felt before she fell asleep that night was his strong arms folding around her and pulling her into his chest. She smiled at the thought of falling asleep in this man’s arms and tried to push away the thought that he might not be able to change his ways so easily.
    *****
    Chris woke up next to an angel. At least, that was what she looked like to him.
    Even though Michelle’s long, brown hair was impossibly tangled and there was no makeup to hide the pores and little flaws on her face; she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
    He still couldn’t quite believe that, for the past two months, he had been lucky enough to wake up to this woman in his bed at least once a week.
    Giving up all the bars and clubs had been worth it. Limiting his drinking to one or two glasses of wine on Saturday had kept this wonderful, beautiful woman in his life. And that was worth more than any party he had ever been to.
    He smiled sleepily at her and turned to look at the clock on his bed stand, seven thirty. He didn’t have his appointment with the team trainer until ten.
    Gratefully, he moved back into bed and curled around her. He knew he really should get to the stadium early. He was on thin ice with the team as it was.
    Two losing seasons combined with the DUI he had obtained in March brought rumors of a replacement. And he knew that if he was replaced, other teams were going to be reluctant to pick him up.
    Not to mention that if he moved, he would have to leave Michelle. The idea of that happening was worse than the loss of his income, his home or even the game he loved.
    He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him. It was as though he was trying to hold her there. He was trying, as best he could, to keep her as long as possible.
    He wasn’t quite sure if this was love.