Seeing Red: A New Adult Sports Romance (NE University Book 2) Read online

  I hear my phone ringing, and everything around me freezes in time. My body feels completely numb. I take a deep breath.

  This is it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello there. Mason King?”

  “Yes, this is he.” I feel like I might fucking faint.

  “Hey there, son. This is Coach Joe Judge. How’s it going?”

  Unsure if I’m even breathing or not, I push out the words, “I’m good, sir, thank you.”

  “Good, good. Well, I’m about to make your day even better. What do you say to being the fourth pick in the draft and the New York Giants new wide receiver?”

  “That sounds … like a damn dream come true, sir.” I shake my head. “This is … wow. Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “All right, King, I’ll be talking to you soon. You go celebrate for now. Welcome to the NFL.”

  Closing my eyes, I run my free hand over my face. “Thank you, Coach.”

  When I end the call, I realize how quiet the house is. All eyes are on me.

  In pure disbelief, I turn toward everyone. “Well, everyone … you’re looking at the newest wide receiver for the New York Giants.”

  It was always the goal—to get to this day and to get that phone call. Yet I just can’t believe I made it. I fucking made it into the NFL.

  My mom’s small arms wrap around me as she jumps up and down. “My boy, I knew you could do it! I just knew it.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Thanks for being there every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without you.” That’s no joke either. She made me who I am.

  “I think you would have done just fine. You are meant to do great things. You always have been.”

  I appreciate her words. Really, I do. Yet here I am, wondering what the hell Anna is doing right now.

  I can’t help but ask myself, Will she hear where I was drafted? Will she ever tune in to one of my games? Fuck, I hope so. I miss the hell out of that girl.

  But right now, the biggest dream I have ever had has just come true. I need to focus on that.

  And get a redheaded beauty’s face out of my damn mind.

  nineteen

  Anna

  Graduation Day

  “Cameran, you’d better call me back right away. I’m pissed. It’s our graduation day, and you’ve ditched me. Making me go to the ceremony and the after-party without you. You suck.” I hang up the phone after leaving the eighth voice mail in a two-hour span.

  She never gave me any indication that she was going to run away today. I just assumed she would be here.

  I peek back at the table to see my parents and sister awkwardly sitting there. No doubt annoyed at me for leaving the table. Again. But I didn’t have a choice. I need to make sure Cameran’s okay.

  I mean, granted, she texted me and said, I’m okay. Just having a day to myself. Please enjoy. Celebrate. Love you.

  But I can’t help but worry. I’m sure she’s sad her parents aren’t here. Then again, mine are here, and I just wish they’d go home. Thank God they are leaving after the ceremony. Luckily, they have a fundraiser to get back to tomorrow.

  I know I must sound so ungrateful. I have two healthy parents walking the earth, and all I want them to do is just leave me alone. They overwhelm me. And put me down, making me feel incompetent.

  You are incompetent, Anna. I wish that annoying voice in my head would shut the hell up and let me live my life.

  Smoothing my dress out, I take a deep breath and make my way back to the table. Plastering on my fake-as-fuck smile that I’ve mastered over the years.

  My mom gives me an unpleasant look while taking a sip of her wine. “Anna, it’s rude to leave the table during dinner. Don’t you know that? Harvard, tell her it’s rude. Maybe she’ll listen to you. Lord knows she doesn’t listen to me.”

  My dad does what he always does—nothing. Just remains stoic and uptight. When my mother starts in on him again, he just looks around the room, like he’s too uncomfortable to look me in the eyes, and says, “Anna, darling, I know you’re excited, but we traveled all this way to celebrate with you.”

  I know damn well they didn’t even want to come today. After I switched my major last year to graphic design, I practically sealed my fate of them not being proud of me on graduation day.

  Shaking it off, I nod, taking a bite of my bread. So far, my father and I are the only ones who have taken a piece. I’m fully aware of my mother watching my every bite. I know what’s going to happen next before it even happens.

  “Don’t eat too much bread, Anna. Do you want the dress that I bought you for graduation to be too tight? It was already snug. Now, it really isn’t going to fit.”

  I inwardly roll my eyes. I’ll have a damn cap and gown on anyway. So, why the hell does it matter? Also, as soon as they leave, I’ll be changing out of her dress and into my own. One that I actually picked out.

  Ignoring her, I direct my attention to my sister. She’s four years older than I am and engaged to a young and upcoming politician. Luckily, he’s always on the road, campaigning, so he couldn’t join us. I say luckily because the dude’s an arrogant prick. That’s why my parents love him. My sister, Fern, has changed all of her wardrobe for this man. At the age of twenty-six, she dresses like she’s forty, and she is an uptight, boring person. I always wonder if she secretly wants to cut loose sometimes. I doubt it though. She isn’t like me. She belongs.

  “How’s the wedding planning, Fern?”

  She beams with excitement. It’s clear she’s happy with the road she’s going down. Good for her.

  “Amazing but so busy! We’re having it at his parents’ plantation. It’s beautiful, Anna. You’ll love it.”

  I smile and nod. “That sounds lovely. September, right?”

  It’s crazy to think that in four months, she’ll be someone’s wife. Not someone’s. A dickhead named Mitch.

  She looks around between all three of us and smiles sweetly. “Yes, September 12. I can’t believe it’s so close.”

  My mother cuts in, “Have you spoken with Maverick?” She turns her cold eyes to me.

  I mindlessly twist the straw around in my iced tea. “No. Why would I?”

  That ruffles her feathers. “Well, maybe because he’s a nice boy who comes from the right kind of family. You had to go and mess it up for yourself, Anna.”

  Remaining calm, I look her in the eyes. “He cheated on me, Mother. With my best friend.”

  My father remains quiet while my sister shakes her head in disapproval. Her man might be a douche, but he wouldn’t cheat. He does truly love her. So, she would never want me with someone who wasn’t faithful.

  “Yes, Anna, and why do you think he did that? You’re always flirting with other men and begging for attention. For God’s sake, you can’t even try to appear presentable. Just look at your hair.”

  I stew in my seat. Close to popping off so bad that the motherfucking roof comes off this overpriced shithole.

  She continues, “I spoke with him a few months ago. He still cares about you deeply. He’d like another shot.”

  At this, my eyes snap up. Through gritted teeth, I hiss, “I said, no, Mom. I’m all set on being with a man I got to witness firsthand my friend riding like a fair ride.”

  Her face turns as red as a tomato. She glances around to ensure no one heard my comment.

  In a hushed tone, her eyes wide, she answers, “You do not speak like that. Do you hear me? You are embarrassing our family name. Don’t you—”

  I stand up so abruptly that I knock my chair over backward. I’m making a scene now, and honestly, I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.

  “What kind of mother would want her daughter with a man who cheated on her with her best friend? You, Mom. You are that mother. This is my graduation day, and I didn’t want you here. Either of you.” I point from her to my dad.

  “Sit down, Anna,” she growls.

  My dad finally looks like I might have gotten through to his head. Good. Only took me
twenty-two years.

  Tears begin to stream down my cheeks. “You aren’t a mom. You’re a vile, narcissistic, mean monster. My whole life, I’ve worked my ass off to be enough, and I never could do it.” I cry harder. Pounding my fist against my chest, I continue, “Mothers don’t make their children diet to be thin. Or instill it in their brains from the very beginning not to eat carbs and sugar because they’d be fat and no one would want them. Mothers don’t put their daughters down constantly and make them feel unworthy. They are supposed to cheer you on when you succeed and hold you when you fail. You aren’t a mom.” I turn to my dad. Who is gazing down at his place setting. “And dads are supposed to protect their little girls from monsters. And if they don’t and they just sit by, then they’re just as guilty as the monster.” I point to my mom.

  I’m about to let them have it again when I feel a set of strong hands on my shoulders. Slowly, they spin me around, facing them. Looking up to see who it is, I find Mason’s beautiful eyes and sexy features stare back at me.

  His eyes never break contact with mine. “Red, let me get you out of here. Okay?”

  I nod as the tears continue to fall. Unable to say any words.

  No one says a thing as I leave. Which is perfect because I can’t handle anything else.

  We walk out of the swanky restaurant, and Mason stops me.

  Turning me around to face him, he pulls me into his chest. “Want to say fuck the graduation ceremony?”

  I wipe my eyes and look up at him. He watches me intently. As if his next breath depends on my answer. I instantly feel more at ease with him this close. My body wants to melt into a puddle into him, but I can’t do that.

  “Don’t you want to go, so your mom can watch?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “Her sister was in a car accident last night. She’ll be all right, but my mom has to help with her kids. She couldn’t make it anyway.”

  “And your dad?” I dare to ask. Knowing they have a strained relationship.

  He shrugs, running a hand through his dark brown hair. “He hasn’t been around much my whole life, so I don’t give a fuck if he watches me graduate.”

  I nod. “Okay, let’s do it. Let’s skip.” I think for a minute. “But where are we going?”

  He smiles. “Back to where it all began. Do you trust me?”

  I have no idea what he’s talking about. Or where what began. But I know one thing. One very scary thing. I do trust him.

  twenty

  Mason

  I saw Red having a meltdown as I was leaving the restaurant after having lunch with my father. I don’t know what it was, but I couldn’t not save her. She looked so broken and defeated. The way she hit herself in the chest and how her shoulders shook as she cried, it was pure hell to watch. Though I think it needed to get out. She’d obviously had a fucked up childhood, and she finally allowed herself to feel it. The entire time I’ve known her, she’s never cracked. She’s never allowed herself to. Something about the hurricane that was ripping through her, it was raw and beautiful. She was beautiful.

  There is so much fire inside of her. Enough to put the whole state of Massachusetts up in flames. Taking me down in its wake, I’m sure.

  I wanted to take her somewhere that connected us together. Even if it also connects her to Maverick. My dad’s beach house in the Hamptons. I called him on the way out here, letting him know I wouldn’t be attending graduation and asking to use the beach house. And he allowed it. I had known he would. The thing with my dad is, he might have walked out on us, but he’s been walking on eggshells around me ever since. Somewhere deep down inside of me, I know that he cares more than I give him credit for.

  As we pull in, she looks at me. Big green eyes full of questions. “What made you choose here?”

  I shrug, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel while looking at her. “This is the first time I really saw you. I mean, really saw you.”

  She laughs. “You mean, my naked body?”

  “Well, yeah. I saw that, and it was fucking incredible. But no, not just that, just seeing you in their environment, how you didn’t fit in with them,” I say, referring to my dad’s family. “Even though you could blend in with the best of them, I knew that wasn’t the real you. I couldn’t get you out of my head. You intrigued me like no one ever had.”

  “Well, color me flattered,” she drawls.

  It’s nice to see her joking around again. The ride out here, she was so quiet.

  “Crap!” she yells as she climbs out of my truck.

  I shut my truck door and walk over to her side. “What?”

  “I forgot a swimsuit! Last time I was here, no one even used the badass pool. Probably too afraid it would mess up their hair or something.”

  I give her a devilish grin. “Well, darling, I forgot mine, too, but you can bet your perfect ass that I’m going swimming.”

  We walk along the beach for a while. This is the first time I have ever just walked on a beach with a chick. It’s actually kind of nice.

  We pick a spot and sit down. The water is still cold as fuck with it being only May. Who am I kidding? Ocean water is always cold as fuck.

  “Tell me something, Red. What made you agree to leave the restaurant with me today?”

  Picking up rocks and attempting to skip them—I say attempting because she sucks at it—she exhales. “I don’t know. I mean, come on. There’s the obvious—my family was close to making me go to a nuthouse.” She looks off in the distance. “They sort of have that effect on me though.”

  She never gives me much. Always making me work for any information I receive. Most chicks are an open book of never-ending chatter. Not Anna though. Getting anything below surface-level deep with her is like pulling teeth.

  “Fuck ’em then. Right?” I question. Eyes watching her intently.

  The smallest smile crosses her lips as she nods. “Yeah. Fuck ’em.” Turning to me, she slightly tilts her head to the side. The sun hits her face and makes her look like the sexiest angel I’ve ever seen. “What about you? Why did you rescue me, lover boy?”

  I chuckle and pull her against me, threading my fingers with hers. “I don’t know. Guess I just wanted to. Lord knows, I know you don’t need it.”

  “Don’t need what?” she asks softly.

  “To be rescued. You can handle yourself—that much I do know. But I wanted to do it. The way you looked … damn it, Red. I’d never seen you like that. It did something to me.”

  Her cheeks turn crimson. She’s embarrassed, but she shouldn’t be.

  “I just couldn’t take it anymore, Mase. The picking and nagging—it got to be too much. It’s like the room got so loud, and everything was spinning. I swear, for a minute there, I couldn’t even breathe. That’s what they do to me though. Every damn time I see them. I know I should be grateful. Cameran couldn’t even have her parents here today because they aren’t alive. How bad of a friend am I because I have mine and I ran away?”

  “I don’t think it makes you bad,” I answer honestly. “I think you finally allowed yourself to have a voice. I think it was a step in the right direction.”

  I don’t know the history of her family and her. But I’m sure they can get back from this. She deserves a loving family.

  Feeling like this conversation is going to shift to me at any time, I change the subject. “By the way, you suck at skipping rocks. Let me show you how it’s done.”

  twenty-one

  Mason

  After trying to teach Anna how to skip rocks, I realized that was a lost cause. She just plain and simple sucks at it. Good thing she looked so damn adorable trying though.

  We’re back at the house, and I just looked out the window. She’s swimming gracefully through the pool—naked. Instant hard-ons are what I get when I’m around this girl.

  I go down the stairs and head outside. As I walk out onto the pool area, she notices me. One thing about this girl that drives me fucking mad is, she doesn’t cover up. She doesn’t tr
y to hide herself. Instead, she just swims up to the edge of the pool and rests her chin on her arms. I can see her ass under the water, and I know it’s obvious what I’m thinking by the bulge in my shorts.

  She playfully splashes me. “You coming in or what?” she asks.

  I nod and stare at her as I pull my shirt over my head, followed by stepping out of my basketball shorts and boxers.

  Her eyes are on me as that painfully hard bulge springs free. I can tell by the way she’s looking that she is aching for me as much as I am her. I jump in next to her and circle around her.

  All I can pay attention to is her tits under the water, begging for me to touch them. As I get closer, I grab her hips, digging my fingernails in as I do, and pull her onto me. Positioning myself right against her leg. She leans against me, pressing her face into the crook of my neck.

  Starting at her asscheeks, I slowly drag my fingers up her back and to her nape. Taking one hand, I gently grab a fistful of hair and softly guide her head back, so she’s looking at me.

  Hovering my mouth only a few inches from her, I ask, “Why’d you ghost me back in October, Red?”

  Her chest rises and falls quicker. Her nipples harden against me. She’s so fucking turned on right now, and I love it. It’s been a long time coming for us.

  She shrugs softly. “I just figured it was the right thing to do. We both had a lot going on.”

  Her answer is bullshit. She did it because she was starting to get jealous. I fucking get it. I can’t even stand the thought of another man’s eyes looking at her.

  “I don’t believe you, darlin’. I think you’re lying. I think you saw me hitting on another girl, and it pissed you off.” I take my free hand and rub it up her thigh. Almost to her most sensitive spot. Not yet though.

  She looks embarrassed and then slightly pissed. “You’re the one who almost punched that poor guy out and then basically told me I was embarrassing myself. Besides, why would your hook-ups have anything to do with me?”