Play Hard: Bad Boy Sports Romance Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  NOTE

  THANKS

  Get Notified

  Play Hard

  ONE - Haley

  TWO - Haley

  THREE - James

  FOUR - James

  FIVE - Haley

  SIX - Haley

  SEVEN - James

  EIGHT - James

  NINE - Haley

  TEN - Haley

  ELEVEN - James

  TWELVE - James

  THIRTEEN - Haley

  FOURTEEN - Haley

  FIFTEEN - James

  SIXTEEN - James

  SEVENTEEN - Haley

  EIGHTEEN - Haley

  NINETEEN - James

  TWENTY - James

  TWENTY-ONE - Haley

  TWENTY-TWO - Haley

  TWENTY-THREE - James

  TWENTY-FOUR - James

  TWENTY-FIVE - Haley

  TWENTY-SIX - Haley

  TWENTY-SEVEN - James

  TWENTY-EIGHT - James

  TWENTY-NINE - Haley

  THIRTY - Haley

  THIRTY-ONE - James

  THIRTY-TWO - James

  THIRTY-THREE - Haley

  THIRTY-FOUR - Haley

  THIRTY-FIVE - James

  THIRTY-SIX - James

  THIRTY-SEVEN - Haley

  THIRTY-EIGHT - Haley

  THIRTY-NINE - James

  FORTY - James

  FORTY-ONE - James

  FORTY-TWO - James

  Bonus Novels

  Big Jock

  Stoned

  Stay Informed

  More Books

  ABOUT AUTHOR

  PLAY HARD

  Bad Boy Sports Romance

  by Abbi Hemp

  Copyright © 2016 Abbi Hemp

  All rights reserved.

  This is dedicated to every woman who has had a dream to become a full-time fiction writer - and done something about it.

  This novel contains adult language, situations, and themes. It is meant for adults only, please.

  Thanks for reading and supporting an indie writer.

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  Play Hard

  ONE

  Haley

  As I walked back to my apartment on the edge of campus, I considered how my first two years had gone. Buffalo State University. My dream.

  With a half-mile or so to go until I got home, I heard a group of drunk frat boys behind me. Why did I take the shortcut through the darkest part of campus? I scolded myself.

  I stepped up my pace, not daring to turn around.

  “Hey, baby. Wanna party?”

  I took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as I walked even faster.

  “Where you going, babe? We won’t take very long.”

  Laughter filled the air behind me. Why didn’t I call Tabby to come pick me up? I’d stayed late in the lab working on assignments before, but I had always made sure she came to get me.

  “You better fucking stop, bitch.”

  The tone of the taunting voice had changed. My heart beat faster as I clutched the straps of my backpack, wondering if I should stop or keep going. I glanced down the dark, deserted path ahead and saw nothing.

  “You hear me, bitch?”

  “Get her, Tom!” someone yelled.

  A hand grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. I stopped and spun around, phone in my hands.

  “I’m recording this,” I said, holding up the device.

  “Fuck your phone,” the man said then slapped it out of my hand.

  It skidded across the bricks of the walkway.

  “What the hell?”

  Don’t show fear!

  I took a step toward the phone. When I bent over to pick it up, the group of five guys whistled and made crude comments about my ass.

  “You’re lucky you didn’t break it,” I said as I stood up with it in my hand.

  “We’re going to break you in tonight,” the leader of the pack said.

  They reminded me of wolves as they circled around me. One took a swig from a fifth of whiskey then handed it to someone else.

  “Look, I’m calling the police. You don’t want to be here when they arrive.”

  I held my phone up and turned on the screen.

  “Fuck your phone,” the guy wearing a red polo-shirt said.

  He swiped at it again, sending it to the ground.

  “What the hell? You’re paying for the phone if it’s broke.”

  Would they leave if I acted calm and not afraid? That was my only hope.

  I bent to pick up the phone. Red-shirt rubbed my arm. I pulled away.

  “Come on,” he said. “Let me finger-bang you at least.”

  “No!” I shouted then attempted to walk past him.

  He and the others stopped me, closing the circle.

  “You’re not good enough to fuck, but I’ll finger-bang you,” red-shirt said.

  “Get her, Derek,” someone said.

  “Don’t use my name, dick-wad!” he shouted angrily.

  “Look, if you let me go on my way, we’ll call it a night, okay? No harm, no foul.”

  Fuck my phone, I need to get out of here. Now!

  “Like I said, let me finger-bang you, and I’ll let you go on your way.”

  He reached for my left breast. I pulled away. Someone behind me put his hands on my waist and said, “Settle down, bitch, and it will all be over quick.”

  I would never forget that creepy voice, or what happened next.

  Out of nowhere, James King, star Running Back for the Buffalo State Giants, appeared in between two of the others, joining their evil circle.

  “What’s up, fellas?” he said, putting his hands on the two shoulders next to him.

  “The fuck you want, James?” Derek, in the red shirt, asked haughtily.

  “Can’t you guys get laid back at the frat house? Do you need to be out here harassing young women like…” He looked over at me. “What’s your name?”

  “Haley,” I said in as steady of a voice as I could muster.

  “You don’t need to be harassing a nice lady like Haley. Not tonight.”

  “The fuck you have to do with her?” Derek asked.

  He and the others stepped back, surrounding James and myself.

  “Do you really want to do this?” James asked in a cocky voice.

  I stared at his body so fit, lithe, and ready for anything.

  “Let’s just go,” I pleaded.

  “No,” he said, not taking his eyes off Derek. “These frat-fucks need to learn a lesson.”

  “Yeah?” Derek and the others laughed. “What are you going to do about it? There’s more of us than you at the moment.”

  “You need a counting lesson.”

  James put his fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly. Four of his buddies yelled and hollered as they rushed up the path toward us. The frat guys stepped back, forming a line.

  “About time you guys caught up,” James said when the newcomers lined up next to us.

  I recognized two of them from the football team. One, Curtis, I had helped with a knee injury during summer break.


  “What’s going on?” Curtis, a defensive lineman, asked as he stared at the fraternity brothers.

  “The frat-fucks were just about to leave,” James said.

  He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned like nothing mattered in the world.

  “You’re fucking lucky, bitch,” Derek said, pointing a finger at me.

  James took two steps forward, followed by Curtis and the other beefy football players. The frat-fucks, as James as called them, took off running down the path, hooting and hollering as if they’d won the confrontation.

  Fucking idiots.

  I turned my attention to James. He dropped his arms and stared directly into my eyes.

  “Thank you,” I said as I put my hand on his arm.

  Those muscles, though!

  “No problem,” he said. “What are you doing out so late?”

  “I’m on my way home from the lab. I’m so glad you guys stopped by.”

  “We don’t usually walk this way. It must have been fate.”

  “Yeah, it must have been.”

  I maintained eye contact.

  “You’re Haley, right?” Curtis asked.

  “Yeah.” I turned to face him. “You remembered.”

  “You really helped with my knee.”

  “Good. Sports medicine is my dream.” I turned to James. “Thanks again, but I need to get home. My roommate is probably worried sick.”

  “I’ll walk you the rest of the way,” he said.

  “That’s not necessary.”

  Shut-up! Let him do it!

  “I insist.” He turned to Curtis. “I’ll see you guys at practice tomorrow.”

  “Don’t stay out too late,” the huge man said as he held out his fist.

  “For sure,” James said, bumping the fist with his own.

  As the others took off down the path toward the direction the frat boys had gone, James turned to me. He still had that cock-sure grin on his face as if everything always went his way.

  “You live close, don’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “Not too much farther. You don’t need to walk with me.”

  “No, but I want to walk with you.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “No problem. Where you live.”

  “This way…”

  TWO

  Haley

  We walked side by side, a thousand thoughts running through my mind.

  He walks so fast! Must be those long, powerful legs. Stop objectifying him!

  “You’re quiet,” he said.

  “Oh, not usually. I mean, I am when I meet someone the first time, but not when I get to know them. And this situation is rather strange. Ugh. I’m rambling.”

  He laughed.

  “Breathe. You’re fine now.”

  The way he said it made me want to believe him.

  “You guys are having a great season.”

  “Yeah, I’m the…”

  “I know who you are,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m at all the games. Usually.”

  “Nice. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Haley.”

  “Nice to meet you, Haley.”

  “And you too, James. What are the odds of you being out here at the right time?”

  “I’m no math whiz, but I bet they’re huge.”

  We reached the end of the path.

  “Seems you’re no math whiz either,” he said. “We’ve been walking forever.”

  “You can go,” I said. “I’m good from here.”

  “Nah, I got nothing better to do. And walking is good. We were on our way to a party somewhere on campus.”

  “I thought the football players weren’t allowed to party.”

  “Wrong,” he said. “We’re not allowed to drink or do drugs, but Coach is pretty lax on us having other types of fun.”

  “Oh? Like what?”

  Idiot! You know what he’s talking about.

  He peered over at me and grinned.

  “All sorts of things.”

  “Yeah, I know all about your reputation.”

  Can I say one thing tonight that’s not stupid? Please?

  “My reputation, huh?”

  “You’re a player in more than one sense of the word.”

  “Clever.”

  “My house is right there. The blue one on the next block.”

  “You walk all this way yourself every night?”

  “No, I was at the lab late tonight. Tabby usually comes to pick me up, but we’ve been arguing.”

  “Tabby?”

  “My roommate.”

  I glanced over. He nodded his head.

  “Will your roommate be home?”

  “I’m not sure. Why?”

  “Oh, you know, I thought you might want to invite me inside to thank me.”

  I stopped. He continued for a few steps then did the same, turning around to face me.

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  “You’re no better than those frat-fucks.”

  “I’m offering you a choice and not groping you.” He stepped forward. “No offense, but I have no trouble getting laid. I thought you might want to…”

  His voice trailed off.

  “I might want to what? Do you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, I’m not just another woman for a notch in your belt. I’ll find my own way home.”

  I walked past him, brushing up against that hard, buff body.

  Why does he have to be so fucking hot?

  “Hold on,” he said.

  I felt his hand on my arm. I stopped and spun around.

  “What? Don’t you have women to go fuck or something?”

  “Calm down,” he said, which infuriated me even more.

  “Look, I appreciate your help, but I’m not the type of woman who just sleeps with a guy when I first meet him.”

  “Your loss.”

  Ugh. What an ass!

  “No, it’s your loss, Mr. Football Star.”

  He laughed.

  “You’re cute when you’re trying to be angry.”

  “I’ll walk home from here.”

  I turned and stormed toward my apartment.

  “Hey,” he called out. “Hold on.”

  Despite my reservations, I stopped.

  “What?” I asked, not turning around.

  He jogged up and put his hand on my shoulder.

  “I didn’t mean to be an asshole.”

  “It just comes naturally for you, huh?”

  “We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said. “Goodnight, James. Not very nice meeting you.”

  I took a step then another. Part of me hoped he would run up to me again, but he didn’t.

  When I reached the porch of my apartment on the bottom-half of an old house, I peered down the street, hoping I saw him. Had I been too rough on him? While an asshole, it might have been nice to fool around with such a hot guy.

  The front door opened, shaking me out of my thoughts. Tabby stepped out on the porch wearing red and green pajama pants with a pink tee-shirt two sizes too small for her breasts.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she said.

  “Yeah, I got jumped on the way home.”

  “Are you okay?”

  She rushed forward and put her hand on my arm.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you about it.”

  We walked into the living room. Her clothes, dirty dishes, a pizza box and other junk were spread about.

  “I cleaned up in here today,” I said. “What the hell happened?”

  She smiled innocently like it was all a joke.

  “I’m sowwy,” she said in a baby-voice.

  “Cut it out,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”

  “What happened?”

  After dropping my backpack on the floor, I crossed the room and sat down on my green recliner. It had seen better days, but I’d found it in the alley at the end of last s
emester and fell in love with it because it reminded me of my grandfather who had passed away two years earlier.

  She wouldn’t leave me alone until I told her the entire story, so I took a deep breath and told her the entire story. While I spoke, she sat on the edge of the couch, her hands over her mouth as if I were telling a ghost story around the campfire.

  When I got to the part about James saving me, she asked, “Where did he go? Did he just leave you there?”

  “No, he was walking me home, but we kind of got in an argument.”

  She laughed.

  “Kind of, huh? What did he do?”

  “Just your typical hot guy bullshit. I don’t have time for a man like that right now.”

  “You don’t need any kind of man.”

  She dropped her hands to her lap and pushed out her chest, nipples hard as rocks.

  “All you need is a woman like me to make you feel good all night long.”

  “Ew,” I said, scrunching my nose.

  “Ew?”

  “You know what I mean, Tabby. I told you I’m not interested in women that way. You’re an okay roommate, but you have to stop hitting on me.”

  “An okay roommate, huh?”

  She stood up and walked over to me while wiggling her fingers in the air.

  “It’s tickle-time!”

  “No,” I said, laughing before her hands even touched me. “I’m serious. Stop.”

  “You’re way too ticklish, woman,” she said.

  She stood with hands on her hips, staring down at me.