Cgc

Finals are inching, meaning I'm becoming a walking grump. I'm waking up, going to practice, studying, taking a break with my girl, studying again, going to sleep, and repeat. Those have been my days for the past week. We just played Fresno State and won, 32-6. The Orange Bowl is pretty much set for us to play in come the end of December. We only have one more game to win to get there and that's against an 11-1 — same record as us — LSU team. It's fun returning to Louisiana and kicking the ass of a team that offered me a full ride. I was never going to stay in Louisiana come the end of high school.

Don't get me wrong, Louisiana is my home. New Orleans to be specific. I fucking love that city with my whole heart. My parents are the reason I moved. I couldn't spend another four years completely under their control. I could've stayed in New Orleans too but none of the schools there had good football programs. Not like Oak Hill's. I was sold after one visit with Coach and the college. I never regret moving here but I wish I could move back to my home and it feel like an actual home. New Orleans will always have a special place in my heart, but Oak Hill is home. There's no going back now.

Not until next week of course. And surprise, surprise, Mom and Dad are going to be there. They already warned me of their presence at my last regular game of the season. I didn't expect it after the shit show in Berkeley. Or after everything, they've been putting me through. I guess they enjoy making me miserable but I'm downright done with it. After talking with Rhys a couple of days ago, I decided to stay home this winter break. I'm not going to Paris with my parents which will make this the first trip I don't go on with them. I'm done. They're not going to have this hold on me anymore.

I'm finally pulling a fucking Maddy and dropping my parents. Okay, maybe not completely, but just enough that I don't feel like the shit on their Jimmy Choos. If that means my dads going to drop me from his company, then so fucking be it. I rather start from the ground up and build my own than have to be under his control for even longer. This is it. After next weekend, I'll be free from Archer and Kayleen Scott.

I pant, catching my breath in my locker. "That was a beautiful TD, man!" Ben says, patting my chest. I force a smile, too tired to even pull my lips up. How I managed to run 78 yards down the field without some prick catching up to me is still beyond me. I scored the final touchdown with 5 seconds left on the clock. I'm a QB, I can't run like the running backs and receivers. I'm glad I was able to end the game like that though. "Thanks," I breathe out. We've been in the locker room for less than two minutes now. Xander comes over and throws me a cold water. "Drink up, Cap." He pats my shoulder as I lean forward, elbows resting on my thighs.

I nod, twisting the cap off and chugging all of it. I throw the empty bottle into the nearby trashcan and began to undress out of my football attire. It's only 3 in the afternoon, but I woke up extra early this morning to get some studying in before we had to come down to the stadium. I need a nap because there is no way I'm going to stay up to study right now. My brain is fucking fried. I let Rhys drive the Benz home, too tired to even drive. I throw my duffel bag next to my bed and drop myself onto my bed, stomach down. Thank God I changed into comfortable clothes after the game. My eyes quickly flutter shut.

I hear the door to my room open and close really quickly and I groan, unmoving. Someone plops down on my bed, the mattress moving underneath me. "Rhys, get out!" I say, eyes still closed. "Rhys in female version!" Brynn says. My eyes open to the sound of her angelic voice. "Babe, it's not your time yet," I say, turning around. I close my eyes again and she wraps her arm around my waist. "It's actually well past my time. My time was during the game," she says. Her breath tickles my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow at 2:30, champ," I mumble, fatigue hitting me. Can you tell how serious I am about this schedule? She groans. "I have you until 5! It's barely going to be 4!"

"You can stay if you'll sleep," I reply, turning back around to face her. She smiles and gets up from the bed to get under the comforter. I follow after her, doing the same. She gets close to me and wraps her arm around my waist. "Sleep," she whispers. I smile, amused. "Night," I say. "It's afternoon," she quips. I groan, not closing my eyes just yet even though they're fighting me. "Okay, okay. Rest," she says, closing my lids for me. I try and hide my smile. "You're cute," I say. I feel her get closer to me. "Can I kiss you?" she says, her voice low. My eyes open at her question. Fuck, yes. "Always," I say. She smiles before kissing me.

I sigh tiredly into the kiss, pulling her closer to me. This will never get old. She pulls away after a short while and I groan. She giggles, "Okay, you can sleep now." My eyes take a second to open. "Now I'm not tired," I lie. I'm exhausted, but I want to kiss her again. Or do more. Whatever she wants. She plays with my hair that I've let grow out a bit longer. "You should buzz your hair," she says with a mischievous grin. I furrow my brows. "Why?" I ask. She looks down at my eyes. "You'd look very, very good," she says. I smirk, "You think?" She rolls her eyes playfully. "Yes, big head," she retorts. I laugh.

"Excited for football season to be over?" I ask her. She shakes her head. "I love the season. Watching you play, cheering with the girls, traveling. It's fun," she frowns, "and it's our last year." I nod. "It's tough. I don't want it to end," I admit. Football has been my whole life since I could pick one up. I'd never play professionally though, that life isn't for me. I already have my life planned out and it involves real estate. But it's hard to let go of something that helped me meet a second family. It's been a good pastime for me and saying goodbye sucks. I'm excited for the next chapter in my life, whatever that may be after I drop my parents.

Speaking of. . .

"By the way, I wanted to ask you something," I start. I haven't told Brynn about not going on the family trip this time around. Not completely at least. I also haven't told her what I'm going to do come next weekend. It's been eating me up so maybe telling someone will make me feel better. She nods me on. "I'm gonna stay in LA after we play LSU. Just until Monday. I was wondering if you wanted to stay with me. You can say no, obviously," I tell her. Just because she can say no doesn't mean I want her to. I need some type of moral support. She frowns. "I wish I could, but free transportation with the team. . ." she says. "I can buy your plane ticket," I say, quickly thinking of a solution.

She tilts her head. "Cgc Scott, I'm not letting you buy me a 400-dollar plane ticket," she says. I roll my eyes. "Brynn. You're my girl. I'll buy you more than a goddamn plane ticket if I want to," I say. She smiles, but it disappears quickly. "No," she states. "I need moral support, please," I plead. She looks confused, so I explain. I tell her how I'm done with my parents and that I'm not planning on keeping connections with them after everything they've put me through these past months and my whole life. I also tell her how it won't be easy for me so I'll need her there to force me just in case I start to chicken out.

"Okay," she nods, "I'll be there." She looks at me for a long moment, one of her hands playing with the hair at the nape of my neck and the other playing with the silver chain around my neck. "Are you okay? This is a big decision, C. Like huge," she emphasizes. I sigh and nod. This isn't the first time I've thought about doing this but now that I'm graduating in a couple of months, I've decided it's now or never. "Those people have caused me the most emotional damage. After 21 years, I've finally decided that I won't stand for it anymore. It's not going to be easy, but fuck. I have to do this, Brynn."

"I agree. I think you should do this, I just don't want you to regret it," she says. Shit, maybe I will regret it one day. But it's something that needs to be done. I fear if I don't do it, they'll completely take over my life just like they did before I moved out to California. I deserve this peace. I need it. "The only reason I never did it was because I was scared to lose my family. But they're not my only family anymore. I have all of you guys who have made me feel more loved than they ever have. I think I'll be. . . good. Eventually," I breathe out. She smiles weakly and kisses my forehead.

"Yeah," she pauses, "their loss." I chuckle bitterly. I never wanted this. I wish they didn't have to make it come to this. "And you have me. Always," Brynn adds. Thousands of emotions flow through my veins at her words. I still can't believe she's mine. Like actually, mine. There were nights when I fell asleep thinking I'd never have her, but here she is. Relief overcomes me. I can't let this girl go. I won't.

I kiss her passionately, making sure she knows exactly how I feel about her. How she makes me feel. God, I have never felt this way before it's fucking insane. As scary as it may be, I don't think I ever want to stop feeling it. I just want her for as long as she'll have me. My fingertips touch the warm skin that peaks through the hem of her shirt and her high-waisted jean shorts. Our tongues meshing against one another perfectly. She cups my jaw, coming even closer to my body. I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and my hand slides down her body all the way to her thigh. She makes a breathy sound that undoes me. I inch back a bit as my dick starts to harden.

She doesn't seem to like that though, pressing her chest against mine again. She lifts her leg and wraps it around my waist, the heel of her foot digging into my ass. I squeeze her thigh as she pulls away slowly from our kiss, pulling my bottom lip between her teeth gently. "You tease," I say, catching my breath. She smiles and kisses the corner my mouth. I slide my hand up her thigh and she flinches lightly. She looks up at me with her gorgeous blues. "Yeah?" I ask for permission. She shakes her head but kisses me again. I don't hesitate to kiss her back. Brynn pushes my body flat against the mattress with her leg that wraps around me.

Then, she lifts herself up and straddles me, never pulling our mouths away. She sits right on my groin and I know she could feel my hardness beneath her, but she doesn't flinch. I grab onto her hips as she deepens our kiss. My entire body is on fire at this point, begging for more skin-on-skin contact. A groan escapes my throat, vibrating into her mouth. She grabs both of my hands and places them on her ass. I don't fight her on that, keeping them there, squeezing. She presses herself against me making me moan. "C," she says pulling away, her voice breathy. I hum in response. "I want-"

"Brynn." Rhys' voice sounds through, interrupting me. "Oh! Sorry!" He exits the room. Fuck, we didn't lock it. "It's fine, come in, Rhys," I say as Brynn gets off from on top of me. Rhys opens the door slightly and then all at once when he notices she's no longer on top of me. "Lauren is here. She said she's been texting you," Rhys says, looking at Brynn. She furrows her brows and leans over to grab her phone from the coffee table. "Shit," she says, shoving it into her back pocket. Brynn turns to look at me and I immediately know what that look is. We haven't told Lauren about what Aiyden said about her that night. It's been hard to find the words to say it especially since we both know how much she likes him.

"Well, let's just do it now," Brynn says. I hesitate but nod. "I'll be in my room," Rhys says, knowingly. He leaves, closing the door. "I'll be down in a second," I tell Brynn. She looks at me confused but then glances down. She tucks her lips inside her mouth, holding back a laugh. "Thanks," I say sarcastically. "Don't take long," she whispers. I give her a what the fuck look before she exits. It only takes about three minutes for my hard-on to die before I return downstairs. She and Lauren sit on the couch and I notice Lauren's tear-streaked face. Aw, hell. Did she tell her without me?

Lauren stands and wipes her face when she sees me appear. "I should go. I know you guys haven't been spending a lot of time together, so I don't want to interrupt any longer," she says. I walk over to stand in front of her and shake my head. "No, sit down, Ren," I say, pushing down her shoulders gently. She sniffles and Brynn and I share thoughts through one single stare. Okay, she hasn't told her, yet. "What's wrong?" I ask Lauren. She shakes her head, "Just some family stuff." I sigh, knowing that's not it. "I know you're dating Aiyden and I assume this has something to do with him," I say bluntly. Her brown eyes widen slightly. "I didn't tell him," Brynn acknowledges, holding her hands up in defense.

"The guys told me," I tell her. "How did they know?" she wonders. "Because he was talking shit about you at a party last week." I don't sugarcoat anything because she deserves to know how much of an asshole this guy is. Brynn's eyes widen and she looks at me like I shouldn't have just said that. Lauren's lip starts to quiver. "What?" her voice cracks, but I don't regret what I just told her. "Fuck him, Laur. You-"

"What did he say?" She cuts me off. Brynn looks at me in warning. She doesn't want me to repeat it. I hold back a frustrated groan. If we don't tell her, she might give the guy another chance. She needs to know. "Hello?" she says when no one answers her. "Laur-" She interrupts Brynn this time. "No, don't coddle me. Just tell me what the fuck Aiyden said," Lauren says as she angrily wipes the tears that fall from her eyes. "He said he doesn't date black women and he's shocked at how attractive he finds you." I fucking hate repeating it for the second time, but she deserves to know. That's just the worst thing he said, but he said other things as well.

She opens her mouth to talk, but no words come out. Brynn glares at me, but it's not intimidating at all. "She needed to know," I tell Brynn. "I did. Thank you," Lauren says before Brynn could say something. "Well, I guess it makes sense that he just broke up with me," she adds. That's why she was already upset. Fuck, I feel like an asshole now. I should have asked what exactly happened between them before throwing this at her. "This is why I fucking hate dudes, man." Lauren chuckles bitterly, shaking her head. "Fuck him. You're way too good for him. He's the most pathetic person ever," Brynn says, rubbing her back. "Yeah. He's lucky my boy didn't knock him the fuck out," I scoff, "maybe if I was there I wouldn't have stopped him."

Lauren turns to look at me. "Who?" she asks. "Xander. The boys are the ones who heard him saying all that shit. They told me when they got home," I tell her. She smiles the smallest smile, but it fades quickly. "I feel like shit," she sniffles. Brynn puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her in for a hug. "Don't take anything that guy says seriously. He's seriously the biggest fucking asshole at this school. You're amazing and anyone would be lucky to have you. You're so beautiful and one of the best people I know," Brynn says, shaking her shoulder a bit. "For real," I add. Brynn looks up at me and smiles. She stands and holds her hand out for Lauren. "Come on."

Lauren looks at her confused. Brynn motions for her to grab her hand, so she does. "We are going to call Brina and Jude and whoever else, it can just be us if you want, and we're going to have a girl's day and night," Brynn says with a smile. "We don't have to," Lauren says. "You definitely should. My girl is great at cheering people up," I say. Lauren and Brynn both smile. "Yeah. She is," Lauren says, nodding after a moment. "Okay. Let's do it," she says. Brynn pulls her in for another hug and pulls away quickly to kiss me on the lips. "I'll see you later!" she tells me before grabbing Lauren and leaving the townhouse. I smile until she's out of sight, the front door shutting behind them.

Fuck. I think I might be in this shit deep.