Unrestricted (9 page)

“I want you, Tanner.”

“Fuck me, Tanner.”

“I need you, Tanner.”

I stroke myself harder, faster, squeezing my engorged head with every pass. Fantasy Ashley leans forward and licks my cock from root to tip, “Fuck my mouth, Tanner.” Her words in mind send me over the edge. I fuck my own hand mercilessly as I picture each spurt of cum landing on another part of Ashley’s body, marking her, claiming her as mine again. The relief of my orgasm only lasts a moment as the tension creeps back in.

It’s as though I’ve gone back to the very beginning, before we were together. I’m stuck picturing all the ways I want to fuck her while rubbing one out in the shower. It’s pure torture, and it’s draining me slowly. At this point, everyone has noticed that something’s off with me. The fact that I’ve been a complete asshole hasn’t helped, but I honestly don’t know what to do or where to go from here. I wish I had someone other than Alex and my parents to help me navigate my way through this mess. It sucks to realize that you’ve fallen in love with a woman who absolutely hates you.

Chapter 7

Quinn

“Where are we going?” I ask Alex when I realize we’re in the middle of a suburban neighborhood—nothing but tree-lined streets of enormous houses. I have no idea where we are. “I thought we were going to dinner.”

“We are. I just need to check on the swelling in one of the guy’s knees before we go.” A devious smile takes over his face as he reaches over the center console of the car to place his hand on my thigh.

“Oh, okay. You could have mentioned that, you know.” I smile back at him as I run my finger under the cuff of his jacket to get to the spot on the back of his wrist that drives him crazy. Seeing his smile reminds me how much of an easygoing guy he really is. Everything with Alex is fun and laid-back. I’d never thought I’d end up having a repeat guy, but with Alex, it’s effortless. I’ve grown to like it, but I’d never admit it out loud. Being with him breaks all my rules, but the sex is so spectacular that it’s definitely worth it—at least it will be until he turns out to be like every other shithead out there, lying and selfish.

We pull into the driveway of a beautiful mansion, bigger than most of the ones I’ve seen. But then again, the guy who lives here is a professional football player, so I don’t know why I’d expect to see anything less than a towering monstrosity like this one.

Alex hops out and walks around to get my door. “Come on,” he says, opening it.

“What? Why do you need me to come in? I’ll wait here. It’s fine,” I tell him but immediately second-guess the decision. “Unless you’re going to be a while. Is this going to take a long time?” I definitely don’t want to be sitting in the car for an hour.

“Whether it takes five minutes or three hours, you aren’t staying in the car. That would be very rude of me, don’t you think?” He offers his hand to help me out of the car. There’s a weird expression on his face I can’t decipher. It could be annoyance at me for wanting to wait in the car… or maybe nervousness about introducing me to the person inside. We don’t do things like meeting friends and family, which makes me wonder why he’s so hell-bent on me coming in.

I grab my purse from the floor of the car and take his hand apprehensively, following him through the garage to a door. My mind is going a mile a minute trying to figure out what in the world Alex is up to with this ‘meet the player’ game.

He punches in a security code on a keypad before opening the door. “Hello,” he yells as we enter.

There’s no answer, so we walk farther into the house, stopping in a massive black-and-white marble-filled kitchen. Everything is quiet, and it seems as though no one is home. I follow Alex to the other side of the house, and he stops in front a doorway hung with heavy blue floor-length curtains.

“Before we head in here, I need you to keep an open mind. Can you do that?” he asks, a very serious undercurrent in his tone.

Things seem to have just taken a hard turn into weird. “What the hell is this, Alex? The velvet curtains to your sex dungeon?” I ask, taking a step back.

“No, you dirty-minded little diva. It’s a screening room. I have a feeling that this is where he is.” He laughs as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, but he quickly turns serious again. “I’m serious, Quinn, can you keep an open mind until I explain things a little better?”

“Sure, I guess,” I say, clutching the straps of the purse slung over my shoulder. “But I have to say that you’re freaking me out.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of—you freaking out.” He pulls back a curtain and ushers me inside.

The room is dark and very theater-like, except there are couches instead of chairs and a huge flat screen hangs on the wall. I look around, trying to figure out why Alex brought me here and why I need to keep an open mind. Then I spot the answer.

“Why would you bring me here? To
his
house? ” I demand, doing my best to keep my voice low so as not to draw Tanner’s attention to me. I don’t know why Alex has brought me along, but I want no part of this meeting. I don’t want to talk to him, so I turn to head back into the hallway.

He stands in the entrance, blocking my escape. “Because he needs your help, and I’m asking you to do this for me… for Ashley… for the baby,” he says in a tired voice, his hands folded as though he’s begging. All that’s missing is the pout and a
pretty, pretty please
.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Now I understand all the weird shit back at the car. He was nervous about me kicking his ass for bringing me to Tanner’s house.

“Things are pretty pathetic over here. He’s a mess, and before you get all defensive, I thought he deserved what he’s been getting in the beginning too. What he did to Ashley was fucked up, but look at him.” He sighs, throwing his thumb over his shoulder drawing my attention toward Tanner. “He hasn’t even noticed that we’re standing here arguing, and I know as much as he’s trying to focus on that game film he’s watching, his mind is busy trying to figure how to win back Ashley. He’s a freaking train wreck, and I need him to see a little light at the end of the tunnel. I thought maybe if you talk to him and see that he’s really trying to make things better, then you might help me help them.”

He can’t be serious.

“You think I’m going to help you by going behind my best friend’s back and selling her out to him?”

“Please?” he asks, but
he
isn’t Alex. Tanner has finally acknowledged us. He must have overheard our argument. “Please, Quinn. I need to fix this.”

I take in his face, and even in the dimly lit room, I can tell that things have been wearing on him. He doesn’t look very much like the superstar I met back in September. His face is thinner. His eyes are bloodshot, and he’s sporting some serious bags under them. There’s no happiness radiating from him anymore. He looks like a man who’s had his world ripped away from him. It’s sad, but he’s done it to himself. I’ve seen Ashley look worse over the last month and half, but the difference is that she didn’t ask for it.

I take a step back and put my hands on hips. “Tell me why I should care that you want to fix this, Tanner. Why? So your conscience can feel clean and you can focus on football?” I ask in my most irritated tone. I’m irritated with Alex for bringing me here and with Tanner for being an asshole and now wanting my help.

“Because I love her, Quinn,” he says, looking me directly in the eye. There’s no hint of bullshit reflecting back at me, and that realization knocks me for a complete fucking loop.

“Fuck! Did you just finally say that out loud?” Alex asks, looking shocked. “Took you damn long enough…”

“You have a funny way of showing love, Tanner. If you treat all the people you love the way that you’ve treated Ashley, remind me to never get close enough to you for you to love me,” I say sarcastically.

“Excuse me,” Alex says, smacking my ass.

“Shut up,” I tell him. “I’m trying to make a point here.”

“You think that I don’t know how bad this sounds?” Tanner asks, his hands burying themselves in his hair. Everything about him radiates frustration. “I do. I made a mistake. Hasn’t something from your past ever made you question everything and react badly? When she said she was pregnant, it felt like I was right back in a place I swore I’d never end up again. It didn’t matter to me that it was Ashley. I couldn’t see that. I spent that entire drive back to your place that day worried to death about her. She was so sick, and I just wanted to make her feel better. Then she didn’t even want my help because she didn’t want me to get sick. I knew that she was different and that I was sunk even then. I knew I was falling in love her…” He sighs, sounding defeated. “Then she dropped one of my worst fears in my lap. I know I was wrong, and I’m trying to make it better. I don’t want to only be able to see my child every other weekend and holidays. That’s not a way for a family to live. Are the three of us supposed to suffer forever because I had a temporary lapse in judgment?” His voice is the saddest, most pathetic one I’ve ever heard a grown man use before.

He’s playing to my weaknesses too, whether he knows it or not. I know what it’s like to have one person ruin the way you look at things— to have your judgment clouded by one stupid asshole. And he just said the three of us. He’s including the baby—a baby that means the world to Ashley and a baby that I’m looking forward to meeting. That baby shouldn’t have to grow up without a father, especially if he has one that wants nothing more than to be a part of his life.

“Fine, I’ll help you.” I say, taking a seat on one of the couches. “But only because you admit that you were wrong and I know that before everything went haywire, Ashley was very much in love with you. Every child should have their father.” I probably shouldn’t have mentioned Ashley being in love him… Oh well!

Tanner’s eyes are suddenly full of hope. “She loves me?”

Yup, I definitely shouldn’t have told him that…

“Loved. She loved you until you broke her heart. Now? Now she hates you.” I feel bad saying it, but the truth is the truth, and he’s the one to blame.

“Hate is good. I can work with hate because that means that she still feels something for me. Just help me get her to realize that she doesn’t hate me, that it’s just anger. She has every right to be angry, but she needs to let me back in so I can make up for everything. I’ll make up for it forever if she just lets me,” he pleads.

Jesus, how can I say no to this?

“Okay, what do you have in mind?” I ask, conceding to the fact I’m now plotting against my best friend behind her back. I can only hope this is for her own good.

“I have no idea.” He sighs. “I don’t even know where to begin.”

“I’ll tell you this—that baby means everything to her. That might be your way back in. But I swear to God if you hurt her again, I will make a hat out of your penis and wear it to your funeral.” And I’d wear that bitch proudly.

“I like my penis where it is, thanks. I promise I won’t fuck it up again, Quinn,” he says earnestly. “When’s her next appointment? Does she have insurance? Is everything okay so far?” He asks his questions in such rapid succession it’s as if he’s afraid I’ll clam up and stop talking to him at any moment.

“I believe her next appointment is in two weeks, but I’ll have to check. I’ve been to them all so far, and yes, everything’s fine. Yes, she has insurance, but I’m not telling you anything more about the pregnancy. It’s not my place. You’re going to have to get her to open up to you about it. There are some lines that I won’t cross with this, Tanner,” I tell him. There’s help, and then there’s betrayal. I’m already tiptoeing along that fine line, and I don’t want to do that to Ashley.

“Can you at least tell me if she’s still getting sick like she was the last time I saw her?” he asks, giving me those pleading eyes that pull at my heartstrings. No wonder Ash has never been able to say no to this man… until recently, anyway.

“Not anymore. They gave her medication for it.”

“Medication? Is that safe for the baby?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.

“Yes, Tanner. I just told you that everything was fine,” I answer, mildly irritated that he’s doubting my, Ashley’s, and the doctor’s abilities to make sure she’s properly cared for, but it’s hard to be mad when he looks so concerned.

“Hey, Tag. I brought dinner!” A familiar female voice yells out from the other side of the house. I couldn’t forget that nasal voice if I tried. Why is that bitch here? And why is she bringing Tanner dinner if he’s pining away over losing Ashley?

I stand up and step toward Tanner. “You love her, huh? If you love her so much, why is that twat bringing you dinner?” I snarl at him as I cross my arms over my chest and shoot him a look of disdain. If he’s trying to win Ash back, he’d better not be anywhere near Melissa or Ash will never take him seriously. I still can’t believe that bitch had the nerve to come to our place and tell her to abort her baby. After talking with Tanner, I don’t think that message came from him. I never really had, especially after hearing Melissa had claimed she and Tanner were together, but I wasn’t going to tell Ashley that.

“I didn’t know she was coming by. I haven’t talked to her all week. And she’s just a friend,” he answers with a slight panic to his voice.

“Well, here’s your first piece of advice: get rid of that bitch. She isn’t who you think she is, and Ashley will
never
consider taking you back with her in the picture,” I tell him before heading back toward the door we came in. I need to leave. The longer I’m near her, the more likely I am to break her lying face.