CHAPTER 24

JACKSON

Greg was happy to be here and glad to visit, but I knew that he was a Chattanooga boy at heart. I couldn’t wait to get out of that town and pursue pro football and I never expected Emma to be here with me.

In some ways, it was one of the hardest times in my life with the warning from Coach, but in others it was one of the best. I was finally with a woman who I cared for and felt complete.

Better than that, it was Emma. I always wanted her growing up once we were both older but now she was mine. I couldn’t tell her brother and my best friend as much as I wanted to, and I glanced at him as he fell silent.

“Is Em okay, Jackson?” Greg asked and I nodded. “She moved out. I thought she was going to stay here.”

“She’s close to Bella and wanted the college thing,” I offered and he shrugged.

“I found a bra in the bathroom, so I guess she didn’t like your single lifestyle.”

I almost choked on my beer, knowing that was Emma’s from when we took a shower the other night.

“My sweet baby sister. I hope she can handle Nashville,” Greg remarked. Emma was more woman than he’d ever realize, and I wondered if he would ever accept that.

“Sure she can,” I assured him as I looked out the window to see her walking up to the apartment. I wanted to jump up and open the door, letting her in as I kissed her and wrapped her in the hug that I’d been dreaming about all day. Instead, I waited for her to knock and watched as Greg stood and went to get the door. He hugged Emma tightly as he greeted her, and memories flooded my mind. I’d watched her grow up and become an amazing woman.

Emma turned to look at me and smiled softly, making my whole body tingle. Fuck if I didn’t want to claim this woman but as she frowned slightly and shook her head as Greg hugged her again. We made small talk before leaving for dinner. Emma drove her car since mine was at the shop getting fixed, and she asked me about what happened.

We talked about it as if she didn’t have much personal knowledge of Joe beyond working at the stadium with him. I just said that there was a player who was an asshole to me, leaving out the fight and my past with Emma. She parked and we all walked into the building as Greg remarked that it seemed more casual than he expected, leading to a joke about how nobody would get the small-town boy out of me. I laughed and agreed.

“I can’t wait to see your game tomorrow night. My parents will come out closer to the holidays. Dad had to work, and I decided this at the last minute,” Greg explained as I heard our number called and stood to get the tray.

Greg took his plate and dug into the chicken as Emma and I moved slower. He declared it some of the best chicken he’d ever had, and I grinned as he took another big bite. He even agreed that it blew Pip’s out of the water.

I thought about the first time Emma and I ate here. So much had changed in between then and now and I leaned back and counted the minutes until we were alone again. After dinner, we took him onto the main street and walked around to show him some of the sights. Greg had visited Nashville in the past, but he hadn’t had the full tour and stopped to listen to some of the music at the door of a club.

“I wish you were older, Em. We could go in and check this out,” Greg said teasingly. “Can you get her in with your name?”

Emma smiled. “Greg, make up your mind. You want me to be a little girl or an adult? You can’t have both! I’m nineteen, in college and living away from home.”

I laughed. “I’m not that well known yet. You should go inside and have a beer. We can pick you up later,” I offered.

Emma glanced at me quickly. I knew that I could probably get her into the club, but I was already in hot water and didn’t need anything else connected to my name.

“Not tonight. Let’s keep walking around.”

Greg shrugged, and I felt disappointment surge through my body. Emma turned away, and he followed her down the street as she mentioned a place that had great ice cream. We went to get dessert and sat outside as the city moved around us. Greg watched and acknowledged that he understood why Emma wanted to be here. There was a lot of life in Nashville and he smiled lovingly at her.

“It’s great here. I love the college and I want to show it to you. Maybe you could stay through Monday and go to lunch with me?” Emma asked.

Greg seemed to consider the question. “Yeah, that sounds great. I could meet your friends… feel like I know a bit more about your life.”

I took a long drink of tea at that and swallowed slowly.

“That sounds great,” Emma replied.

Greg asked some questions and I explained that I practiced more along with working out regularly with the guys. She had a separate room, and we weren’t together down on the field too much, so we didn’t end up seeing a lot of one another since she moved out.

He asked if Emma was seeing anybody and she quickly told no, she said she was too busy with school and work and hanging out with new friends. She wasn’t looking for that yet and Greg told her that she should just stay single.

I watched the exchange, realizing that Greg was overprotective of Emma. He took it too far, and I wondered how she even had a boyfriend at all in the past. He was holding her back, and he probably didn’t even realize it. It was hard to see, knowing what a vibrant woman she was now.

Emma seemed deflated as she left and offered to drop us off before she headed home for the night. The game was tomorrow night, and we’d all be going, and Emma offered to pick Greg up with Bella and arrive a bit early. We were both working but she could sit down with Greg since it was a special occasion and I got great seats for friends and family. He’d have fun even sitting alone with the treatment that he’d be getting.

Greg hugged her goodbye and she drove away. I wanted to ask her to stay here tonight. She wasn’t living with Bella, not really. Emma was sleeping on a couch there and moving back in here, but it felt like that was a lifetime away.

“Are you okay? You seem a little tense tonight,” Greg said as I unlocked my door and walked inside, feeling the pressure of hiding something so big from him. “Are you seeing someone, Jackson?”

“Nothing serious,” I replied as I walked to the kitchen for a beer. “I guess I’m just nervous about the game tomorrow,” I handed him a beer and sat down on the couch. “Don’t you think that you’re a little hard on Emma sometimes?”

“She’s only nineteen,” Greg said.

“She’s growing up. She’s at university now, she’s got a job, she’s living away from home. She’s going to go on to do great things,” I said.

“I’m always going to watch over her. She’s my little sister.” His eyes were dark, and I longed to tell him what was going on. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt her.”

“She’s growing up now. Let her live her life,” I suggested gently as he reached for the beer that I’d brought him.

“I just don’t want to see her get mixed up with the wrong guy. I know what we’re capable of,” Greg said. “I’d want to kill anyone who did anything wrong to her.”

I knew that he’d kill me if he ever caught us together.

He slept in Emma’s former room that night after we’d caught up, planning to go to the game the following day.

I got up before him the next morning, jogging to work all the emotions out of my system as I tried to focus on the game. I was going to play more for an injured player this week and I needed to be ready for that. I needed to prove myself, especially now.

When I arrived home, Greg was drinking coffee and talking on his phone. I could tell that it was Emma on the other end as I grabbed a water from my fridge, downing it before I selected another one. I had ended up running another ten miles today, and I needed to replenish what I’d sweated out. I listened as they made plans to pick him up about half an hour before the game.

“That Em?” I asked as he finished the call.

“Just planning on when to leave. I can’t wait to see you in action. We’ve been waiting our whole lives for this.” Greg shot me a warm smile and I nodded weakly. We had, but now things were much more complicated than ever before. I made a quick, calorie-dense breakfast and then left the room to shower for the game.

I was desperate to feel Emma again. We couldn’t see each other and it was killing me. I knew that he was planning to leave tomorrow to return to work and I couldn’t wait, as much as I hated thinking that.

We needed to find a way to tell people about us. I wasn’t just using her for sex. I was falling in love with Emma.

I dressed and left for the stadium early as planned, clapping Greg on the back as I told him to enjoy the game. Everyone was there and ready to practice a bit and I dressed in my uniform and joined the team on the field for our turn. I told myself that it was going to be a good game and that I’d show off my skills as I ran. I’d cement a future here.

We all headed back to the lockers as the other team went to warm up and I saw Greg with the girls at the top of the stadium. I glanced around to see that there weren’t many fans and saw Emma look down at me with a hungry gaze. I waved at her and she led Greg down the steps as I waited, longing to kiss her.

“Almost time, Jackson. This is what you worked so hard for,” Greg said as he reached me, and I nodded. It was, but now I wanted Emma to be a part of everything. We chatted for a few minutes, then Emma asked Bella to show Greg the seats since she needed to get ready. Bella smiled and nodded and the two headed back up the stairs as I shared a long look with Emma. We made our way down to the hallway and I kissed her before we were completely inside but out of sight of any players or staff. We hadn’t seen each other like this in a while and the kiss grew hungry quickly as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I knew that we were taking a risk doing this, but I couldn’t help it as our tongues danced together.

“What the fuck is this?” I heard the voice, but it didn’t register who it was until I pulled away from Emma and turned around.

Greg. He looked angry and stepped up to me. Bella was standing behind him with a worried look on her face.

“You weren’t supposed to do this, Jackson. You were supposed to protect her.”

Greg walked up and stood right in front of me. Emma jumped between us.

“Leave him alone, Greg.”

“Shut up, Emma. You’re too young to know any better.”

“You need to let me live my life. I’m not a little girl anymore and if anyone will take care of me, it’s Jackson. I’ve loved him for years. Just let me have this,” Emma said.

Greg’s shoulders slumped for a fleeting moment.

“I’m getting the fuck out of here,” he mumbled before turning and rushing up the stairs to the exit. We all watched him in silence before Bella began to apologize to us for not being able to stop him from coming back down when he had a question for me.

“It’s fine. That was bound to happen sometime. I just hope that it all works out,” I heard someone call my name and stared at Emma for a long moment. “I have to go.”

She looked like she was going to cry. I squeezed her hand before walking away. I knew the girls had to get ready soon as well and I walked into the locker room to see Coach waiting for me.

“Nice of you to join us,” he said as I slipped beside Nick to listen. Nothing mattered right now, knowing that Emma was upset and that my best friend hated me.

We went out to the field as I tried to remember what Coach said inside. I looked up to the stands to see the fans cheering and my eyes moved to the empty box seats. He really did leave. The girls were gathered in a group in their usual spot, and Emma looked at me with a solemn expression. Her make-up was barely done tonight, and her emotions played across her face as the announcer began to speak. She joined the others in running out to shoot the merchandise into the stands to the excited crowd and I just watched her, knowing that I loved her.

We headed out to the field to cheers, and I longed to feel my usual adrenaline rush as I waved to everyone. I needed to make this work.

I fucked up nearly every play, and it if wasn’t for Joe, we might have lost the game. He got us ahead and kept the score there but not without a lot of dark looks in my direction. Coach held back during halftime but the glare that he was sending me said everything that he wasn’t saying.

My career was going to be over. I was going to lose everything as well as Emma.

“Think you can go back out there and actually accomplish something?” Those were his last words, and I nodded slowly, trying to find the motivation inside me to do so.

We did win thanks to the skills of the surrounding guys, but I was yanked early in the second half and sat down on the bench as I took a deep breath. I watched idly as they kept playing, feeling like I was a million miles away, worried about what was going to happen next.

As expected, Coach gave me an ass chewing in his office while the other guys got ready to leave. “What the fuck was happening out there, Jackson? I gave you the chance that you’ve been begging me for and you blew it. Give me a good reason to keep you here after the fight and this game. Make me see why I chose you.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t feeling great,” I managed to say from the seat across from him.

“That won’t cut it. I need you to be the best after everything lately. I should get rid of you for going after Joe to begin with, but I know that he can be an asshole. He’s just a very talented asshole and I can’t have any more of those on this team. Find your spark and bring it back to the field.”

I looked into his face, seeing how serious he was as he spoke. I saw the warning in his eyes as well as the hope that I could bring it all back.

“Yes, sir,” I replied as I waited for him to dismiss me. When I walked out, Joe was dressed and watching me closely. “What the hell do you want?”

“Is he finally getting rid of you?” Joe sneered.

I stepped up to him with a dark look on my face. I didn’t say anything, telling myself to let this go, and Joe chuckled.

I started to move closer to him but instead, I pushed away from the wall and went to change. I had bigger things to deal with tonight.