I look out of the car window as Noah drives us to his mom’s house. I was only in the hospital one night, but I was beginning to climb the walls.

“I really don’t need looking after you know, I have a perfectly good apartment,” I say with mild irritation in my voice.

“Dude, you pretty much hopped out of the hospital doors, you can only walk on those crutches, and you aren’t going to be back up to speed for a while. You know how it makes my mom happy to look after people. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth I’d say,”

I look back out of the passenger window as the buildings whizz by. He’s right, she does like to look after people, and I know I should be grateful. Since my mom passed away, Noah’s family have pretty much treated me like one of their own. It probably helped that Noah and I were pretty much inseparable anyway, so even before dad left and mom died I was always at the Lees’ house every day of the week.

“Yeah I know, but I’m not completely helpless. I don’t want pity or charity,” I protest.

“Who the hell’s pitying you? I sure as shit am not!”

“Thanks, bro, but you know what I mean, your mom fussing around me and stuff. I don’t need it, I’m sure I can cope,”

Noah shakes his head. “Look, it’s just for a few days…give it a week just until you get used to walking on those things. And anyway, you know it makes mom happy to fuss over you,”

The truth is, it's not only his mom I’m thinking about, but It’s also Mandy too. Ever since she came to see me in the hospital that night, I can’t stop thinking about her, and I don’t know why. Her killer curves, her skimpy outfit, or maybe it’s the fact that I know I can’t have her. Noah would kill me, he doesn’t like any guy she ever goes out with as it is. Then again, nor do I.

Noah and I have this kind of double act when we meet whatever guy it is that she’s dating at the time. We play good cop, bad cop with him and see if he lives up to the honor of dating Noahs’ kid sister. If we scare him off quickly, then he wasn’t worthy of her. The difference is, I play along because I don’t want her dating any guy. The idea that another guy can put his hands on her kills me, but Noah, fortunately, hasn’t caught on to my ulterior motives yet.

“Look, I know you are in a lot of pain right now, but things will get better I’m sure. We’ll have you back onto the field before you know it. Once you are off those crutches, we’ll do some light training together to get your strength back up together. It’s nothing to worry about,” Noah says, but even I can tell that even he’s struggling to put a positive spin on this mess.

He means well, I know he does, but it doesn’t help at all. The news about my injury possibly being the end of my career hasn’t quite sunk in yet, and I’ve told no one, not even Noah. We’ve always been close enough to tell each other everything, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. I’m not ready for the pity even if Noah insists he wouldn’t, or for putting him through the awkwardness of dealing with this piece of information. I know he’s going to feel guilty about being able to carry on playing with me only being able to watch from the sidelines.

I don’t want to do that to him, and until I’m ready to tell anyone, it’s a secret that’s going to stay firmly with me.

The thing is though, I don’t even know what I’ll do with my life if I can’t play football, it’s all I’ve ever known. Straight out of playing college football and into a pro-football team and no experience at anything else. I never thought I’d need anything else, I just sort of figured that I could play as long as I was young and fit enough to do it and then figure out the rest afterward. Maybe I was naïve, but I just thought I’d have more time and not have the time of my retirement dictated to me so abruptly.

We pull up into the driveway of the Lees’ house, and I open the car door and somehow manage to shuffle myself out and up using my crutches to hoist myself up. I hate this, I hate feeling like I can’t move, or not being able to drive. The pain aches around my knee with shooting pains darting all over, and I’m not feeling in the best of moods.

Still, I’m going to try and act grateful when Noah’s mom greets us at the door. I don’t want to come across as a complete asshole to her given everything she’s ever done for me.

As we approach the front door it opens, but to my surprise, I’m not greeted by Mrs. Lee, but instead by Mandy. Holy hell, because this time she’s dressed in a pair of daisy dukes that when she turns her back on us draw my eyes downwards to her pert and perfect ass. Her short low cut tight top reveals breasts that I can’t help thinking would be better in my mouth.

Fuck. I’m going to have to try really hard to stop thinking about Mandy's beautiful and perfectly round backside or even the idea of her breasts in my mouth because my dick is reacting and there’s no hiding it in these track pants if it gets out of hand. The more I think about trying to not think about them, the worse it seems to make it.

“What are you doing here, where’s mom?” Noah says finally, giving me something else to concentrate on.

“She had a big tv interview come through last minute, she left me in charge of making sure Lucas is ok,”

“She left you in charge? Are you kidding me right now? You are the least responsible person I know,” Noah teases Mandy, and I feel bad for her when I see her reaction. She never gets away from being the baby of the family, and I see that with his flippant remark, Noah has upset her.

“Whatever, loser,” she replies to Noah.

I love Mandy’s comebacks, it’s partly why I love to tease her. She just doesn’t ever let up. Most girls just fawn over me because I’m a football player and it seems to attract shallow groupies. But not Mandy, she couldn’t care less who I am or what team I play for, and that really shouldn’t be such a turn on, but it really is.

Even still, I feel slightly humiliated at this whole situation. Mrs. Lee wanting to look after me was one thing, but leaving my best friends little sister in charge of babysitting me is another. But I just to keep the peace between Noah and Mandy’s bickering, so I interject anyway.

“Mandy, I’ll try and keep out of your way. I don’t really need much looking after, but thanks,”

She glares at me like I’m the object of her entire annoyance and I instantly want the ground to open up and swallow me. I don’t know if it really is me, or her brother having annoyed her so much, but either way, you could cut the air of awkwardness right now with a knife.

“I’m sorry, I have to go back to practice now,” Noah says. “You know how much coach hates anyone being late,” as he makes for the front door. I can see the guilt troubling him as he’s no doubt feeling terrible that he gets to go and play football and I can’t.

“It’s fine, and I’ll be ok. Honestly, we’re all good, tell the guys I said hi and that I hope they can manage to cope without me,” I joke. I try to make light of the situation in a vain attempt to make everyone in the room feel better. “And anyway, if Mandy does try to kill me I’ll dial 911,” I joke. But given the glare I get in response, I’m not so sure that Mandy found that as funny as Noah or I did.

Once he’s gone, we are left alone, just the two of us. It’s dangerous, and I can’t tell if we want to rip each other's clothes off or just rip each other apart.

“Mom put you in the spare room, there are towels and stuff already in there if you need them,”

“Thanks, Mandy, Look, I know this is really awkward, but I do appreciate it you know, just the fact that you are taking time out to be here. Don’t you have a shift at the bar today?” I reply.

“Would it matter if I did?” She fires back at me, before grabbing her bag angrily and storming out of the house and slamming the front door shut behind her.

I stand here alone wondering what the hell just happened. That was me trying to be kind to her for once, and she reacts like that. The problem is, now she just seems like more of a challenge and that gets my blood pumping. I grab my rucksack and crutches and hobble slowly up the stairs where I’ll be glad of some alone time to deal with this problem in my pants.