Distraction

DISTRACTION

All Rights Reserved

Copyright © 2014 by Angela
McPherson

Cover Design © 2014
by Sean Hayden

Cover Photo © 2014 by
Geoff Goldswain

All rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not
be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written
permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.

Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of
the author's imagination and or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by Untold
Press LLC

114 NE Estia Lane

Port St Lucie, FL
34983

www.untoldpress.com

PRODUCED IN THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Dedication

This book is for Ali Childers,
whose support means so much to me.

And to all three of my kiddos:
Tailer, Thomas, and Trinity, and to my husband, Blake. I love y'all big-o,
big-o.

Acknowledgements

I have a ton of people to
thank. To the ladies at Talk Books To Me book blog, I love y'all so hard!
Brandi Baker, Karia Kaukinen and Dori Estabrook, you have no idea how much I
appreciate you answering my (many) late night football questions and listening to
me ramble about these characters. Rayna Rose, honey, you have been with me since
the beginning stages of Distraction, all the way to where it is today. Your
endless support kept me going when I didn't think I could. Heather Van Fleet,
my kick ass author friend, thank you for believing in Tristan and Elle's story
as much, if not more than me. Lynn Vroman, you are the best EVER! Distraction
wouldn't be the story it is today without your crazy-good editing skills. Jen
Wylie, thank you for listening to me cry over these characters and for teaching/pushing
me to be the best author I can be. I can't express my gratitude for all you've
done. I'm so super glad we're friends. Sean, thanks for all the laughs and for
being, well, you. Liz Swaffar and Kat Davis-Muynila with Four Chicks Flipping
Pages, you guys are the best and I appreciate all your awesome support. My
amazing coworkers at Pedi Med Center: Karen, Amanda, Jennifer, Kim, Jade, Sherina,
Tiffany, Olga, Irma, Laura, Teri, Nena, Leah, Dr. Castillo and Dr. Nabulsi,
thanks for putting up with me. To my husband and kids, thanks for letting me
stay in my writing cave for hours (days) at a time. I love you so much.

Chapter
1

Tristan

I couldn't seem to get my shit together today. The second I
got out of my car, my clothes stuck to my skin from the hot, humid air. It took
an entire year of college to get used to the fucking “sweat dripping down your
balls" weather up here. Being a football player didn
'
t help the
sweaty balls problem.

A few beads of moisture dripped down my forehead and into my
eyes as I jogged across campus. I stopped running and used the corner of my
gray T-shirt to wipe the sting away. Football made the heat bearable. Rushing,
guarding, receiving, and basically being a badass consumed me. I lived for the
rush of the game. The lights. The thrill of making an impossible catch, all of
it.

Next year, with being a junior, I
'
d have more pull
and therefore more play time. Not that I worried now. I dominated in my
position as wide receiver. My climb in national ranking was pretty awesome, and
rated up there with a good blow job. In fact, word is that after graduation I'm
expected to be among the top ten in the first round of the draft. Practice,
determination, and perseverance would get me to where I needed to be.

This year at the end of our season, we
'
d ranked in the
top five best college football teams in our region. Not bad, but we could do
better. We could be number one, and I wanted it. If only to prove a point to my
prick of a dad.

None of that
'
d matter, because if I didn
'
t get my ass to
the field house, I
'
d risk being bumped from my starting position. Nah, never
gonna happen, but I did need to hurry. I didn
'
t like being
late.

On my way I passed a few of our cheerleaders, and judging from
the post-glistening glow against their skin, they
'
d finished working
out. Kat and her friend Liz waved while their friend Karia flipped me off. Not
surprising, and I should
'
ve left well enough alone. Should
'
ve. Instead, I
responded with a wink and followed up with my famous
come-taste-me
grin. The same
look that got her to follow me back to my apartment for an all night fuck fest
my freshman year. Damn, the things she did with her tongue. Thinking about her
soft mouth gave me an instant hard-on. Too bad she wanted more when we
'
d finished. At
the time, I couldn't picture myself as a “more"
type of guy.

"Fuck you," Karia shouted as I walked past.

I smiled wider. "Already did that, sweetheart."

A slew of expletives flew out of her tightlipped mouth as I
reached the doors to the field house.

Walking into the locker room, I took a brief moment and
inhaled the funk air. There
'
s nothing like the smell of dirty socks, shoes, and armpit
sweat to get the blood pumping, ready for a hard practice. I headed to my
locker and sat on the bench next to Dan, our team's best linebacker.

"Man, are the rumors true?"

I looked at Dan and quirked a brow. "What the hell are you
talking about?"

Dan eyed the area cautiously before leaning closer in.
"Come on, you know."

No, I don
'
t. "Just spit whatever you're getting at out already."

"Word is, you
'
ve traded teams, and Coach is
pissed. I heard he
'
s been arguing with the head of the athletics department from
Tech all day."

I sat in frozen shock and stared at his dumfounded
expression. Yeah, I
'
d put in for a transfer, but never thought I'd actually be
approved.

Dan went on. "Dude, why the hell would you want to
transfer? I mean, you said you
'
d never play for them?"

"Um..."

Coach walked into the locker room, cutting me off. "Suit
up and get on the field, ladies." Coach turned and looked at me.
"Daniels, in my office."

"Yes, sir," I said, ignoring the curious glances
from my teammates, especially Dan
'
s.

Fuck me. My girlfriend, Kellie, talked me into applying for
Tech and their football team back in October. I only went along to appease her.
When I didn
'
t get a response letter, I figured they
'
d turned me
down, not that I cared, really.

Standing in front of the closed door, I took a few extra
breaths before going in. When I did, coach looked up and waved a hand for me to
sit down in the chair in front of his desk. I did.

"You wanted to see me, coach."

He sat back in his chair, hands across his stomach, and
stared at me. "Anything you want to tell me, son?"

Fuck.

"Um, I
'
m not really sure, sir." I gulped. Normally I didn
'
t get nervous,
but the calm expression he showed never proved to be a good sign.

He sighed. "I
'
ve been arguing with the head of
Tech
'
s football department." He paused, giving me enough time
for his words to sink in. "I
'
ve been informed you
'
re transferring and will be playing
for them next season." He leaned forward with a deep scowl.

"I asked for a transfer, but never thought I
'
d be approved."

"I see." Coach shook his head. "In all my
years of coaching, I
'
ve never seen this sort of thing happen." He pushed back
from his desk. The hair on the back of my neck rose from the sound of his chair
scraping along the linoleum floor as he stood. "No need in suiting up.
Turn your practice uniform in on your way out."

Still in shock, I continued to sit.

"I
'
m sorry," I finally admitted and stood, not knowing what
else to say.

He moved around his desk and headed for the door. "What
'
s done is done.
Good luck next year." Before leaving, he circled back around. "You
'
re a good
player, Daniels. But a piece of advice, don
'
t get mixed up
in politics. Just play the game God gifted you with playing."

"Yes, sir."

When he left his office, I went back to my locker. I couldn't
believe I wouldn
'
t be playing football for him next year. I mean, when Kellie
asked me to apply I laughed, but filled out the forms anyway.

Kellie wanted us going to the same school in the fall. She
'
d taken a year
off to intern at a high-end PR firm here in Austin, but would be starting the
fall semester at Tech.

I gave the locker room one final look before heading out. Two
years I
'
d played ball with this team and next year I
'
d be against
them. There were no words to describe what I felt: uncertainty, doubt,
surrealism.

Kellie would be happy about my transfer, but another name
filtered in my thoughts. My stomach twisted. I could call my parents, though I
had no desire to clue them in just yet, or more so my dad.

My dad refused to watch any of my games. The bastard was
still pissed I
'
d turned down Tech
'
s offer at the last minute, but how
could I accept after what I
'
d found out. He could be ruthless, but after hearing his deal
with the dean at Tech, I refused to play by his rules.