Chapter Thirteen

Colter

The morning after the bar incident and the break-in at Hallyn and Ava's apartment, I drove them back to their place before I had to make it to Gridiron Stadium for our home game.

Their landlord has been there to replace their door and the locks. Reed did some research and found there aren't any security cameras on the property, aside from a few of the tenants with their own.

I had a word with him about installing some near the front entrances and ones on the light poles overlooking the front and side of the building. He said he'd look into it, but I think he only said it to appease me.

If things weren't still so new between me and Ava, I'd have her moving in with me. Even so, she knows she can stay at my place anytime she wants.

There's nowhere else I want her to be.

When Monday rolls around, Ava is pulling a late shift at the dance academy. It's after nine o'clock when she wraps things up and steps out the back door. The parking lot is shared by a couple of other businesses in downtown Braysen, but I made sure to park near the front.

Call me overprotective, but until we know who was behind the break-in, I have no problem meeting her after work to make sure she gets to her car okay.

"Well, hey there, beautiful," I drawl.

She stops when she spots me, her smile growing big.

"What the heck are you doin' here?"

"I was missing you…" I trail off, and she shakes her head, fighting off her grin.

"You couldn't wait until I got back to your place? I told you I was gonna come right over."

We made plans to head to The End Zone to grab a late dinner. She came from dance practice to work, so she only had enough time to eat a protein bar. Plus, there was an NFL game on tonight I didn't want to miss.

I pop the door and hop out in front of her.

"No, I couldn't wait." I bend down, lifting her in my arms. She wraps her arms around my neck, and I bury my face in her neck. "Not for this."

I take a deep breath, inhaling her fruity scent. It's mixed with the light smell of her sweat, and I'm ready to haul her ass back to my house.

We could order in for the night. I don't give a damn.

She doesn't stop me either, tilting her head to the side. Her subtle sigh and the way she drags her nails through my hair spur me on.

I carry her with me over to my truck, pinning her against the side.

Her palms grip the side of my face, her fingers massaging into my beard. "You mean what you said the other night?" she whispers.

I pull away and glance up to look into her eyes. She's a few inches taller than me in this position.

"I've never meant anything more in my life," I say with absolute certainty.

Tears prick the corner of her eyes. "Say it again."

"I love you, Sugar."

"My sweet, sweet man!" She laughs, and a tear escapes her eye. I press a kiss to it first, then to her lips.

She sighs again, and I vow at that moment to always make her smile and sigh like that every single day, as often as possible.

When we break our kiss, she presses her forehead against mine.

"I love you," she echoes.

I moan, loving the way those words sound on her lips. I grip her chin, forcing her eyes to lock with mine.

"Stay with me tonight," I say, and she nods.

"What the fuck—" someone shouts behind us. A diesel engine roars, followed by tires skidding to a stop.

I lower Ava to the ground and stand in front of her, turning to see who it is. Alec is hanging his hand out the window, and his eyes widen when he realizes who she's with.

"You've been dodging my calls and texts for how long now? Is this why you've been blowing me off?" Alec grunts, shifting the truck into park.

"I've been busy," she fires back.

"Give me a break, Ava. You've been blowing me off for weeks. At first, I understood, with dance and work, and I have football. Now I find out you've been hooking up with one of my teammates?"

"Former teammates," I retort, and Alec narrows his eyes on me.

"What is this to you anyway? Some way of trying to get under my skin after I bailed on the team?"

"Excuse me," I turn to face him. My blood is boiling now.

"Don't act like I don't know how you and your buddies are. I've heard the rumors about how you bring a new girl back every weekend. I've been to the parties you guys have at your place."

I clench my jaw, and my nostrils flare.

"I don't know what you think you've heard about me, but I can tell you right now that's bullshit."

"So you're telling me your roommate isn't hooking up with Hallyn?"

I glance down at Ava, not sure how to respond. It's not my place to speak on Beckham and Hallyn's relationship, and I don't know how this has turned into what they're doing.

"Listen, like I said, I don't know what you've been hearing or who is feeding you this shit, but I can assure you it's all wrong."

Ava steps between us, holding her arm out to stop both of us.

"I'm sick of you trying to interject yourself into what I do with my life. Growing up, all you and Dad did was try to control every move I made, having an opinion on every person I saw or what I did. I'm sick of it. I told myself when I came to Braysen, I wouldn't let you hold me back anymore. You want to know why I've stopped answering your calls and responding to your texts? It's this, right here. You think I give a shit, Alec, about what you think about my relationship with Colter? I don't. Not anymore. I want to make my own choices. Even if everything goes to shit and blows up in my face, at least I can learn on my own. I don't want to live your life. I would think at least you would understand."

She exhales a heavy breath and shakes her head, nodding toward my truck.

"C'mon, Colter, let's go."

Ava moves around the side of the truck, and I reach for my door handle, but I stop before I open it, turning back to Alec.

"If you don't want to ruin your relationship with your sister, I think you should listen to her. If I were you too, I'd spend more of my time checking on how my best friend is doing after his breakup than questioning Ava over what she's doing." Alec's brows narrow, and I add, "Ask him if he had anything to do with Hallyn and Ava's apartment getting broken into a few weeks ago."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

I nod. "If I find out it was him, he's gonna have a bigger problem on his hands. I can promise you that too."

Without another word, I climb into the truck. Ava slides across the seat and loops her arm around mine, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"I'm not feeling up for going out tonight. Can we pick up a pizza and watch the game at your place instead?" she whispers.

I nod. "Anything you want."

***

Reed mentioned during practice that he heard Alec had been asking around for my number. So when I head out to my truck a few days later to see him standing next to mine, I'm not even surprised.

"If you came to start shit like you did the other night, you can save it and get the hell outta here."

Alec shakes his head. "Listen, I wanted to apologize for what happened the other day—"

I hold my hand out between us. "I'm not the person you need to say sorry to. It's Ava."

"I know, and I will. I shouldn't have come in the way I did. I've been thinking about what you said. I had no idea about what happened at Ava's apartment. I'll make sure Tanner leaves them alone, all right?"

I nod, shrugging my gym bag on my shoulder. "If that's the case, then we're good."

"What's going on with you and my sister, though? I mean, are you serious about her, or is this some hookup because I—"

I raise my hand again, stopping him. "I understand you're concerned about your sister. Trust me; I get it. I have a sister myself, and I'd ask the same questions if I found out she was dating one of my teammates. This isn't what you think it is, though, all right? What you didn't hear when you drove up the other night was me telling her I love her, and it's the truth. There's nothing I wouldn't do for that girl. I'll protect her and love her for as long as she'll have me. This isn't some hookup to me, though. It never has been."

He studies me for a moment, but it must be enough to convince him because he nods. This time, when one of us lifts our hand between us, it's him holding his out to shake mine.

"I know we're supposed to be rivals now and all…" Alec chuckles.

"But before that, we were teammates. Even so, it doesn't matter. Not when it comes to real life. This is real for me."

"I hope you treat her well. I've always thought you were a good guy, Colter. You may not believe me now, not after the way I reacted before, but I mean it. If there's anyone I would pick for my sister, it would be you."

He releases my hand, and I step back and nod. "Means a lot to hear, man. You know how you could make it right? Talk to your sister, and I mean talk to her. Support her. Let her make her own decisions."

He nods, brushing his thumb over his chin, a look of remorse passing over his face.

"I hadn't realized she felt that way about things, but you have my word, I will."

"One more thing," I add.

"What's that?" He glances up to look at me.

"The next time I see you out at Whiskey Sinner's, you can buy me a beer."

He chuckles. "You got it!"