“Man, that hit was brutal,” Hammer yowled, slapping me on my back hard.

“Yo, it was straight brutality. Kendrick Lamar gonna write a song about you like this: The boy takes hits. He just don’t quit. He ran ‘fitty’ yards… for the fuck of it,” Carl said in hip-hop tempo.

“Those rhymes are dead horrible,” Hatchet laughed. “Kendrick Lamar would never say terrible lyrics like that.”

“And he ran 49 yards! Don’t give Gun more credit than he deserves!” Ox corrected him.

“I know that! But ‘fitty’ flows so much better,” Carl said, jumping his shoulders up and down in a little dance.

“Just cuz you’re from ATL doesn’t mean you’re Childish Gambino. Shit. You’re not even Donald Glover when he’s not being Childish Gambino,” Dylan mocked.

“Whatever. Whatever. But ‘dat touchdown doe’!” Carl roared.

I laughed. I let go of Laney’s hand for just a moment to give Ox a big bear hug, “I wouldn’t have been able to score if it wasn’t for this big guy blocking for me.”

Ox put a hand to heart sarcastically. “Anything for you, Jett.”

I grabbed Laney’s hand again. Her hand felt tiny and soft in mine. I was having a spectacular night. We won against the Bruins, and Laney was right by my side.

The party was up in the Berkeley Hills at a former Cal football player’s, now running back for the Cowboys, house. He let us regularly use the place for after-game parties. The place was massive with lots of rooms with impressive views of the Bay.

I took Laney up to the top floor, to a guest room that had a swanky balcony. From there, the view of Berkeley and San Francisco was stunning. The lights of the two cities sparkled while we held hands. I knew Laney was impressed. Her eyes shone as she looked out.

I squeezed her hand. She squeezed mine back. “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” she said, snuggling next to me.

“It’s beautiful up here. My dream is to have a place in the Berkeley Hills one day just like this. Then, I can wake up and look at this gorgeous view every day.” I put my arm around Laney, holding her close to me. From up on the balcony, there was a light cool breeze. It blew through Laney’s hair that she wore loose down her back. I brushed a few strands back from her face.

She was so beautiful and sweet; I had to do it. I leaned down with my fingers in her hair and kissed her. She clasped her hands behind my neck and pulled me into her. Her cool fingertips sent a thrilling shock to my bare skin. I kissed her harder, and when she didn’t protest, I gently led her back inside. Her eyes were wide and eager. Then we fell onto the bed with our mouths searching each other.

Laney had a dress on, giving me limited access. I caressed her knee while kissing her soft lips. Inching my hand up to her thigh, I found it was warm and soft there. As I pulled my lips from hers, I looked at her and could feel the heat emanating from between her legs. I inched my hand up further until my fingertips brushed the soft cotton of her panties. Laney moaned softly, pulling my face down to her, kissing me harder and with urgency.

I thumbed the top of her panties, feeling for her small excitable nub of flesh. I grew in excitement. My cock strained against the stiff material of my jeans. Miraculously, Laney reached for me. Her hand gently cuffed my swollenness. She rubbed so carefully; her light touch made me harder. My other hand kneaded tenderly at her full breasts. My delicate touch to her nipples and her clit beneath the cloth of her bra and panties made Laney moan, a low humming into my mouth.

I gently bit the bottom of her lip. I wanted to devour her. Laney’s hand fumbled for my zipper and released my cock out of my restricting jeans. Just when she began to caress my pulsing tip with her fingers, someone opened the door.

In a rush, we collected ourselves. Laney pulled down her dress. I zipped myself back up.

“Oh! Shit! I’m sorry!” A man opened the door, immediately covering his eyes. He looked away with his hand up to block his view of the room and said, “Donnie said I could crash up here.”

I recognized the man as a linebacker from the Cowboys. I helped Laney up from the bed. “For sure. We were just leaving,”

“You sure? I can find somewhere else. I’m just dead tired right now,” he said with his hand still up over his eyes.

Laney and I squeezed by him through the doorway. “No. It’s all good. Have a good night.”

On the way back downstairs, we giggled together out of shared embarrassment. I worried that Laney would be mortified and upset, but she took the mishap in stride. She held onto my hand and nestled closed to me, making me feel like we shared a private little secret of our own.

Downstairs, the party was still going on full force. I noticed a lot of girls I’d once been involved with practically swarming the place. I strode through them, Laney’s hand firmly in mine, and headed outside. Out in the backyard, we found the guys playing beer pong.

Laney squeezed my hand and said, “I’ve got to go the Ladies Room.” I was apprehensive to let her go with all my past escapades everywhere in the house.

I held onto her hand and said, “Let me walk you.”

She smiled and kissed me on the cheek. “Jett, you’re so sweet, but I’m okay. I can find it.”

I laughed nervously. I wasn’t intentionally trying to be sweet. I wanted to make sure no bitter ex-girlfriend got to her. She let go of my hand, and I anxiously watched her walk back into the house.

When I turned back around, Hammer threw a football to me. I reached up and caught it then motioned with my hand for Hammer to back up. He ran back to the other side of the yard. I aimed and threw the football to him. As it soared into the air towards Hammer’s outstretched hands, Hatchet jumped up and snatched the ball.

“Interception!” Dylan howled.

“Dude! That’s messed up. You came out of nowhere,” I called out to Hatchet.

“That’s how I work. You don’t see me and then,” he clapped his hands loudly, “Bam! I’m right there!”

“No way. Let’s do that again,” I said, picking up the football and backpedaling a few feet.

“There are no do-overs in real life, Gun,” Dylan said teasingly.

“Come on! Carl! Hammer! Go long!” Carl and Hammer sprinted away from me. Dylan took off for Carl and Hammer while Hatchet barreled towards me. I ran to the right to evade him and then threw the football to Carl. Carl snagged the ball as it flew to him while Hatchet pushed me to the ground.

“Victory!” I screamed from the ground.

Hatchet extended his hand and helped me up. “We’re even,” he said. “Let’s go again!”

I suddenly remembered Laney. She hadn’t come back from the bathroom yet. Without saying a word, I ran back toward the house.

Hatchet called after me, “Hey! Where are you going?”

“Bathroom.”

Inside, I found Laney surrounded by a group of girls in the front room. My chest tightened. I recognized the girls: Jane, Samantha, Sadie, and Teresa. All girls I’d gone out with but just didn’t gel with in the way I did with Laney. This was not good.

“Jett is nothing but a player. You seem really sweet,” Jane said, shaking her head with a tense look on her face.

Samantha added, “You’ll get hurt sooner or later. It’s inevitable. So what’s the point?”

Sadie said with her arms crossed tightly across her chest, “Break it off now. Save yourself the heartache.”

Teresa twirled her hair with a finger. “He will definitely leave you. No doubt about that.”

Before they could say any more, I charged in between them. I was pissed. “Okay. Stop it! You all don’t have any idea of what Laney and I have.”

“That sounds familiar,” Samantha laughed.

“So you’re giving her the you’re so special script? That’s sad, Jett.” Sadie twisted her mouth angrily.

They were taking my history out of context. It wasn’t my fault that I never developed deeper feelings for any of them.

I took a deep breath to stop myself from saying anything hurtful to them. Instead, I went with the truth. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out with us. All of you are incredible girls, but the truth is, there wasn’t a spark between any of us.”

The girls’ eyes were on me, including Laney’s. Teresa’s eyes looked to be brimming with tears. I hated that I’d hurt them, but the truth was the truth. My feelings weren’t as strong for them as they were for Laney. I continued, “I’m sorry I hurt all of you. I’m a different guy now because of Laney. All I can hope for is that each one of you will move on from our disappointing experiences together and find someone that you will share a spark with too.”

Sadie’s eyes were on the floor, not raising them to look at me. Samantha, likewise, stared at the wall. Jane looked right at me; her face was blank and indecipherable. I remembered Jane had been hard to get to know.

I looked at Laney. She seemed shocked by what I’d said. “Laney, you make me a better man. I hope that you will be my girl and no one else’s. And I promise you; you will be my one and only too.”

I stepped closer to her, wanting to put my arms around her and kiss her in front of everyone. I wanted to prove to her how much I cared for her. Before I knew what was happening, Laney ran out of the room.

Her actions shocked me. I stood there frozen for a moment. Then I knew I had to go after her. Stop her. I went after her, trying to sidestep all the partygoers as quickly as possible, but the party had tripled in size. People were streaming in. When I finally got outside, Laney was gone.

I stood out in the driveway, looking out at the view Laney and I had been enjoying together earlier that night. University Avenue was lit up brightly with cars’ lights driving towards and away from campus. I was confused. More than that, I was terrified. Maybe I had lost Laney for good.