The Relationship Pact (Kings of Football, #3)

by Adriana Locke

He’s beautifully confusing. What you see isn’t all you get. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he whispers, stroking the side of my face. “Thank you for coming tonight.”

I wanted that kiss so damn bad that I could almost taste it. I was sure Hollis wanted it too. Maybe I just can’t read men anymore. Or maybe it’s that Hollis isn’t what I expected him to be. I sigh. Maybe I shouldn’t be kissing him in the first place.

“Not sure I should believe you, Judy.” “About what?” “That you say that you’re seventy-five.” “Not a day older or younger,” she says, pride ripe in her tone. “Still looking pretty good, don’t you think?” I swallow. “I was just wondering if you’d let me take you out to dinner.” She tips her head back and laughs. “Oh, child. Because that’s what you are—a child. You couldn’t handle this old woman.”

“I think he thought I was old and done. Heck, there might be snow on the roof, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a fire in the furnace if you know what I mean.”

“When is the last time you had a home-cooked meal?” she asks. I laugh. “That’s what you’re worried about?” “Well, heavens yes. Now answer the question.” “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” I tell her, already regretting saying anything. “Can I get a check?” “No, but you can answer my question.” I lean forward. “What if I don’t want to?” “Then I’ll swat your behind.” She grins. “Go ahead and don’t answer me. I might like it.”

“I’m going to be okay this time,” I say as much to myself as I do to them. “I have this one under control.” “That’s probably a lie, but I’m all for you embracing your heart’s desires,” Bellamy jokes. “And I get why your heart is desiring that.”

“Holy shit,” Bellamy whispers from behind me. Holy shit is right. “Look at him,” I whisper back. Hollis is in head-to-toe black—suit, pants, shirt, and long, skinny tie. His shoulders fill out the jacket and make him look wider and stronger than even before. His waist is wrapped in a black belt. He looks polished and sophisticated with a side of rogue thanks to his hair. It’s a sight that I wasn’t ready to behold. He looks absolutely divine.

“Give me my marching orders again,” I tell her. “I’m supposed to make your mom think I’m totally obsessed with you, right?” “Well, I mean, if you have to be obsessed, then do.” She pretends to be flattered, making me laugh. “But really, I just want her to think I’m seeing someone so she’ll stop setting me up with random guys who I have no interest or business dating. Because if you weren’t here, she would’ve set me up with someone, and she’d be naming our future children by now.”

“I’m going to warn you,” I tell her. “If she’s after cute grandkids, you’re in trouble. One look at me, and she’s going to think about how she hopes her daughter breeds some of these genes into your gene pool.” “Breeding your genes into my gene pool?” She lifts a brow. “When you say it like that, it’s such a turn-on.”

“So …” She brushes against me again. This time, there is absolutely no possibility that it was anything but intentional. “What could it hurt if we... indulged in this little charade we have going on and ended it on a high note?” She stills. Her bottom lip goes between her teeth as she gazes up at me like a little vixen that I thought she wasn't.

He kisses me like I’ve never been kissed. It’s controlled and wild and sweet and a promise of something more lascivious.

“I was six when she lost custody of Harlee and me the first time,” I say, staring at the wall ahead of me. “We left for school, and Child Protective Services picked us up around lunchtime. Apparently, our parents had a meth lab in the basement, and they got hauled off to jail as one does when things like that happen.”

He’s so much more burned, as he said, than I ever imagined. I figured he fought with his mom a lot, or she ran off the love of his life. Never in a million years did I imagine the pain she put him through.

“How did he turn out so strong?” I ask the kitchen. I can’t fathom having to deal with the things he had to deal with at this age, let alone as a child. To actually be alone in the world. Abandoned. Used.

“I need to find a guy like Hollis,” I say. “Which is weird because he’s totally my type but totally … not.” He’s totally my type. From the broad shoulders to the way he makes my name sound seductive, Hollis Hudson is the kind of guy I hope to find one day. It’s just perplexing that he also has all the qualities of the group of men who never fail to let me down.

“You’re something else, Hollis,” I say to an empty room. I pick up my cup, and I take another drink. Thank God he’s leaving, or else I might be in some trouble. But as the coffee splashes down my throat, I have to wonder—am I in trouble already?

“Eh, I don’t think I’m really struggling,” I lie. He scoffs. “You’re struggling more than all of us. Like it or not.” This is why I called River and not Crew. I needed his raw and unedited truth. But maybe I should’ve called Crew. He would’ve used lube.

My laughter turns into a groan as I feel myself slipping. I’ve been fighting it—and doing a damn good job—but I’m a mortal. Give me a smoking-hot man who has raw edges, a kind heart, and a vulnerability that needs protected, and I’m done. I’m such a sucker.

“We better figure out what put us in such a good mood.” “Oh, I already know what it was,” I tease. He quirks a brow. “You do?” “Uh-huh. It was all the … talking.” His face falls. “I thought it was the sex.” “Close second.” “Damn.” His eyes hood as he takes me in. He stands up and hovers over me. “There is one thing you could do to make the sex be number one,” I tell him. “What’s that?” “Show me those abs, baby.”

What time are you planning on coming?” I grab jeans, shirt, and keys and head for the door. “Right now.” “Already?” “Look,” I say, opening the hotel room door and walking into the hallway, “if you’re planning on being in the shower and I’m just here by myself—” “I’ll go unlock the door.” I laugh. “That’s my girl.” And I might just mean that. Maybe.

This thing between us happened so fast—like a tornado in the summer. Could this thing actually work out between us?

We kiss more than we fuck. We touch more than we come. We laugh and tickle and take our time. I’m not sure what to call this, but it isn’t fucking. It isn’t sex. But it is the best. Because it’s with her.

She looks … proud. Of me. “Hollis won an award for Lincoln Landry’s charity,” she says, standing tall. “Isn’t that amazing?” Howard looks at me with a raised brow. “Is that right?” “It’s no big deal,” I tell him, trying to gloss over the whole thing. “I—” “The hell it isn’t,” Howard says, cutting me off. “I know those Landry boys, and they don’t do anything half-assed. If they say you’re deserving of something, then you are.

“I’m gonna tell you what—I don’t know where my daughter found you, but she needs to spend more time there, and away from those rats my ex-wife hooks her up with.” “Daddy!” Howard blows out a breath. “It’s the truth, Larissa. I love you, and I know your mother is doing what she thinks is best, but she’s out of her damn mind if she thinks you should be with a guy like Sebastian Townsend.” “Your daughter should definitely listen to her dad,” I tell him, gripping Larissa’s waist. Howard looks amused. “You’ve met him, I assume?” “I about knocked his head off yesterday.” His laugh is loud and boisterous, and now I know where Larissa gets that from.

“I like you. You’re the first one I’ve liked in a long time.” Larissa laughs. “Who else did you like?” He thinks. “You’re right. Hollis is the first.” His compliment feels good. He’s complimenting me—not my route or the way I caught a pass or my smile. I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

“Oh, my gosh,” she gushes. “You just charmed my dad!” “So?” “So? So that’s … impossible.”

“Things feel different when I’m with you,” he whispers. “It’s the craziest shit ever.” “I’m glad.” I nod, giving him a smile. I know this is hard for him to admit and I need to let him work this out on his own. Because I’ve already worked it out. He came into my life like a whirlwind and flipped every script I had. When I look into his eyes, I can see … a future. Together. The kind of life that Siggy and Rodney have.

“Do you feel it too?” “I don’t know what I feel, beautiful. I know that being around you makes me want to get up in the morning. It makes everything funnier and more enjoyable.” He strokes my cheek with his thumb. “I know I look forward to seeing you. Naked.” I laugh softly. He grins too. “I don’t know … Maybe there’s something to be said for new years and new beginnings, right? Maybe?” “Maybe.”

Hollis grabs my face in his hands and kisses me. It starts soft and sweet but gets deeper and harder as the seconds sweep by. My knees go weak from the taste of his mouth—cake mixed with beer mixed with Hollis—and the happiness at having him here. And having him happy. He pulls back, panting, and laughs. “Happy New Year, baby.” I bite my lip and try not to show him how affected I am by him. “Happy New Year, Hollis.”

“Don’t you need to go in and tell them goodbye?” He looks toward the house. “They’ll miss you.” “They can text me.” I lean across the console and press a kiss on his cheek. “Now get this car started because I’m freezing.” Relief washes across his face, and he starts the car. We head home in silence. I don’t think I’ll be seeing the light in his eyes anytime soon. Something just switched off. But what?

“I can’t imagine what it would feel like to watch Riss leave me,” I say, my voice wobbly. “I’m sure I wouldn’t survive it.”

“Every door that has closed on you wasn’t your door. The good Lord isn’t going to let you walk into a room that’s not the room for you.”

“Sweetie, it’s okay to be scared. Especially if people have given you little reason to have hope in humanity. But those aren’t your people. God had to push them away so you could make it down here to your grandma Judy and Miss Larissa. Let us love you through this. Don’t push us all away.”

“I hate to say this,” I tell my best friend. “So don’t let this go to your head, but you’re a genius.” “It’s been said.” “And you’re so humble,” I say. “That’s … never been said.” We laugh together.

“What do you want from me? To just be like, ‘Oh, okay, he might be back in June’?” He holds his hands out to his sides. “What else do you want?” “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe for you to be the man I know and love.”

“No, Larissa. Come on. You don’t love me.” I don’t know where that word choice came from. It’s not one I use loosely. But I said it, and now, on the other side, I don’t regret it. I mean it.

He’s taught me that it’s okay to be me. He’s made me feel confident and gorgeous. I’ve witnessed loyalty and know what it’s like to have a guy around whose eyes don’t troll on a room for other beautiful women. While in my presence. Not even beautiful Bellamy.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve wanted some man to love me madly,” I say, my tone softening. “I wanted a safe place to create a little world where I could garden and make dinners and raise kids.” Images of Bellamy’s grandparents filter through my mind. They made love look so easy. They fought. They forgave. They loved. They showed me that love can sustain a relationship.

“I wanted someone to look at me like I was the most important thing in the world to him. That would tell the whole universe that I was his girl,” I say, wiping my cheeks. “That’s all. I didn’t want money or cars or fame. I just wanted to find my best friend and to create a beautiful corner of the world just for us.”

“And I found you,” I say, the words so muffled that I don’t know if he can hear me. “And you don’t want me.” “That’s not it,” he says quickly. “I swear that’s not it.”

I cover my face with my hands and cry. I cry for me, for him, for a life we could’ve figured out. Together. I’m sure of it. I’m sure we could’ve made something work. It’s too good between us to have failed. Only it did.

“Eventually, you’ll realize there are people in the world who love you,” I whisper. “And you pushed them all away. Just remember that I was one of them.”

That man is filled with so much goodness, strength of character, loyalty, and … well, love. I’m so afraid he’ll always be alone because he refuses to see all that. He won’t accept it. It’s not right. It’s so terrible. But there is absolutely nothing I can do.

Do I have to pay the price for trying to do the right thing? Of course. And I will. I will pay the price because I love her. My body stills against the unyielding spring. My breathing stops. I mull that word in my mind. I sit with it. I feel the vibrations of it from head to toe. “Do I?” I ask aloud, as if the fucking spring will back off and squeak out an answer.

“I’m never having kids for sure now.” “Oh, it’s not like you have to do the work.” “But, like, I’ll be the cause of that. Why doesn’t anyone tell kids that in high school? You wanna ruin that pus—never mind.” She snorts. “I’m old but not dead, Hollis. I know what you were going to say.” “Good. Then I don’t have to say it.” “If women lived by your motto, we’d never give birth. Humanity would be wiped out. But we don’t. Do you want to know why?” she asks. “Because you like to have sex?” “Because, smart-ass, we know that you have to go through some pain to enjoy the pleasure.”

“Every day, I think about him. I miss him so much that I think I’ll lose my mind someday over it. I work at this age because, if I don’t stay busy, I sit at home and cry.” “Judy,” I say, my heart breaking. “But I wouldn’t trade it. Not a single day of it. I’d live for another hundred years and miss him like this if I had to give up the years we had together.” She smiles sadly at me. “We weren’t put on this earth to be alone, sweet boy.”

Judy gets to her feet with my assistance. She motions for me to bend down. When I do, she kisses my cheek again, squeezing the other side of my face in the process. “Don’t be scared,” she whispers. “Grandma is with you.”

Omg!!! I love, love, love Grandma Judy!!!

I would never want Larissa to think I wasn’t there for her. But … you’re not, Hudson. She’s in pain right now—pain that you caused by being a total jerk—and she’s alone. And you made her alone. You pushed her away.

I don’t want to be here. I need to find her. I have to fix this. I can’t walk away from her. Judy is right. Larissa is everything. I want her to be mine. She is mine.

I realize I can’t not see my phone screen. I’ll be distracted the whole time and wondering if she has texted me back. So, I put it on the podium next to the scratch paper that Judy left in the goodie box for me. I read again the words she wrote along the top of the paper. To my chosen and newest grandson, You are always welcome at my table. Love, Grandma Judy