october 2020 - hollywood
The bassof the club rattled the walls behind Nico and his teammates.
A beautiful woman cradled herself in Nico’s lap with an arm wrapped around the back of his neck. She was dressed in a tight-fitting cocktail dress with long, slick bleach-blonde hair. Her name was Angela or Amber, maybe even Ambrosia. He couldn’t exactly hear her over the loud music and it wasn’t like it mattered anyway. It was the night before a game and he should have been back at the hotel resting, but Matteo and Razer convinced him to go out for one drink.
The leather couch surrounded a long table filled with bottles of liquor, mixers, and empty shot glasses. For the rest of the team, one drink turned to two, and two turned into losing count.
For Nico, he nursed on a glass of ice water with a cherry on top. One beer was enough and after that he switched toa mocktail. It was a big game the next day and he needed to be in the right headspace. Coach Callahan would murder him if he fucked this up after all the practice they’d put in the last two weeks.
Two weeks of all work, absolutely no play, and absofuckinglutely no talking about what happened between the two of them. Nico’s cock twitched in his trousers just thinking about that Sunday in his apartment with Callahan. Angela—he’d settled on that being her name—cocked an ornery grin and pawed at his erection.
He throbbed under her touch and widened his stance, providing more room for her to work her magic.
His eyes searched the immediate surroundings, but the boys were too locked in on women of their own to notice the depravity right beside them. It’s not like they would care. They’d probably cheer it on. Boys will be boys.
Nico would be Nico, but Nico was anything but Nico.
Angela dropped her head low against Nico’s shoulder and shouted over the music. “Want to take this somewhere more private?”
In his mind, he followed her to the VIP bathroom. It’d be private enough and more often than not, there was even a lock on the door. He’d slip her panties down her legs, drop his pants to the floor, and fuck her on the sink in the dark bathroom. He could see the entire scene playing out in his head, but the ending suddenly changed.
The point he reached climax, screaming ‘Touchdown’,it wasn’t Angela sitting bare-assed on the sink anymore. It was Cooper fucking Callahan, legs spread on the counter like some club whore.
For the past two weeks, anytime he even thought aboutsex, Cooper was always right there on the edge just as he’d come. He didn’t need Copper in his mind to come, but it certainly made coming much more intense.
Cooper Callahan had fucking broken him or something.
Back in the real world, the one where Angela waited desperately for an answer to her inquiry, Nico felt trapped. Sweat dripped down the side of his face, but the club was hot with enough mouth-breathers to suck all the oxygen out of the massive space. His heart raced faster than his cock.
He leaned forward on the couch and gently eased Angela off of his lap. It was time to get the fuck out of there. He turned back to her, planted his hands together in prayer formation and apologized. “I’m so sorry. I have to go.”
He didn’t wait for a response before squeezing through the thin space that separated the table from the couch, slipped past his friends without saying a word, and made his way into the thick of the crowd.
“Fallon,” Razer screamed from behind and latched a strong hand onto his shoulder. “What the fuck are you doing?”
Nico turned back to his fellow rookie and scratched at the top of his forehead. “I have a headache.”
“What?” Razer screamed back, clearly unable to hear him over the music.
Nico leaned forward and stood on his tippy toes—the rookie running back was that fucking tall—and screamed into his ear. “I have a headache and screaming right now isn’t making it any better.”
“Don’t be a bitch, “Razer coughed into a fit of laughter as he landed a playful punch against Nico’s shoulder. “They don’t have women like this back in Columbus.”
Nico shook his head and saw Angela crossing her legs on the couch, alone and clearly bored now. He smiled at his friend and pointed to the woman. “See that girl?”
Razer glanced over his shoulder quickly and then looked back to Nico with a raised brow.
“She could use someone to talk to.” Nico patted his friend on the chest. “Have fun!”
Nico didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until he exited the front doors of the club. Standing on the street, he waited for a ride, unsure if he was going to go to bed or if he was in the mood for a little trouble.
The only thing he was certain of was the only headache he had was the one in his cock.
Cooper wiped the fog from the bathroom mirror as steam billowed from the shower behind him. He exhaled softly, his breath fogging up the mirror again. Wiped the mirror again. Rinse and repeat. In his own eyes, he could see the weight of the last few years. They weren’t as bright as they used to be, and shadows lingered underneath.
He flipped the light switch off on his way out of the humid bathroom and stepped into the relatively cool space of the suite that had a kitchenette and a king-sized bed. Out the windows was an endless sea of lit-up skyscrapers, nothing like the view back home in Ohio.
As he approached the floor-to-ceiling windows, wearingonly a towel branded with the Cobras logo, he was met by his own reflection again and it was a much different person staring back at him than the first time he stayed at the same hotel. Stassi, Luke, and him had traveled to the city of angels for draft day five years prior. Cooper was the number one prospect and was poised to be taken first pick overall, but somehow ended up being picked third. Instead of ending up where he was destined—with the Hollywood Knights—somehow he ended up stuck back in the same place he’d always called home. The only comfort was that somehow Luke ended up right there with him.
