Released: MC Secret Baby Romance (New Adult Contemporary Biker Romance) (87 page)

She thought that maybe, just maybe, crying it all out today would make her feel whole again tomorrow.

Chapter Eleven

“You’re an idiot,” his father told him, his tone completely deadpan as the both of them sat on Evan’s bed, and Evan finally admitted the truth about Chloe. Evan sighed.

“I know. I was scared of what you were going to say because you told me before that I shouldn’t take any girl seriously and just concentrate on playing football,” he argued. His father reached up and slapped him upside the head, making Evan yelp from the shock rather than the pain.

“That was because there were hardly any women here worth losing your concentration for,” his father cried, and Evan looked at him like he couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

His father sighed at the apparent stupidity of his son.

“Why don’t I give you ten minutes to tell me whatever you got going on, and tell me what you really feel about that girl? The truth, Evan,” his father told him. Evan bowed his head, taking a deep breath before he spoke up.

“I like playing football, dad. But, I… I don’t want it to be the center of my life anymore. Do you know I’m actually pretty smart? Chloe told me I could be anything I set my mind to, and I don’t want to be just another dumb jock that I’ve always been pretending to be. I want to do something different – something worthwhile for a change,” he said. He hesitated in telling his father the rest, but the encouraging look on his father’s face spurred him on.

“Chloe is majoring in biochemistry,” he started, making his father raise his eyebrows, impressed.

“That’s a mouthful. Smart?” his father asked.

“Very much. I’ve never thought about her, nor have I ever seen her before, but the moment I do, I can’t un-see her. She brings everything else out of focus whenever she’s close by, and she always leaves me watching her walk away, always three steps ahead of me, making me want to be better, be good enough to stop watching her walk away and start watching her walk beside me instead.”

Evan raised his head up and looked his father in the eye, showing him how serious he was. “She’s kind of like the end zone for me, dad. She’s the goal I keep running to, knowing that once I reach the end, everything will make sense. Everything will be worth it,” he admitted.

His father contemplated his answer for a while, and Evan waited for him to tell him no… which was why it shocked him when his father suddenly pulled him into an embrace and apologized. He hugged him back, patting his father awkwardly on the back before they pulled away from each other.

“Well, what are you still doing here, boy?” he asked Evan. “Rush the yard,” he said.

Evan blinked in disbelief before smiling at his dad and running out of the room. His father shook his head, smiling as he watched his son run toward the end zone.

Chapter Twelve

There was a loud banging on the door, and Chloe rolled her eyes. She didn’t have the energy for Vanessa’s drama right now and, if she was going to be pulling any attitude toward her, then she was ready to retaliate.

She had shed the jersey she was wearing earlier, favoring a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt. A tub of ice cream sat on her lap as she watched horror movies with her laptop. She wasn’t going to the game anymore. She didn’t want to have anything to do with someone who thought of her as nothing.

The banging continued and Chloe stood up, fed up of the noise, and moved to unlock it. The sight of Evan, sweaty and heaving on the other side, made her heart twinge painfully, but she held her ground, her face passive and waiting for him to speak.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and Chloe raised an eyebrow.

“Is that it?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“You don’t mean nothing to me. I didn’t mean it,” he continued, and Chloe laughed humorlessly.

“No, it’s okay. You were right,” she said. Evan opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe continued. “We’re from two different ends of the food chain, Evan. I’m the ghost of the halls, and you’re the star quarterback. We never should’ve been together in the first place. But I loved you anyway, and I was very wrong to do so,” she said. She was about to close the door when Evan stopped it with one hand, looking at her pleadingly.

“Please,” he begged. “Please give me another chance,” he said. Chloe looked at him and shook her head.

“You’re gonna be late for your game,” she replied. She forced the door closed and locked it, leaning her head against it as she willed herself not to cry again. She waited for Evan’s shadow to disappear before going back to the couch, sighing.

It frustrated her a little that, despite what he did to her, her heart was ready to go back into his arms as soon as she saw him.

Her parents were right – love makes you stupid, after all.

A few moments later, her cell phone rang and she saw that it was a text from Evan. She opened it, wincing at how immediate her reaction was, and read his message.

Evan C:
Please come to my game today
.

Evan C:
Please
.

Chapter Thirteen

Evan pushed his fingers through his hair, desperately searching for Chloe in the crowd. He had texted her an hour ago, asking her to come to his game, but he wasn’t sure if she was coming or not.

He was going to make it up to her today, even if it was the last thing he’d do.

He asked for his team’s help in putting his plan into motion and, although a few of them found it strange, they’d be willing to do this for Chloe. All of them agreed to help.

He was about to lose hope that Chloe was coming to watch when he finally saw her standing by the entrance to the bleachers. He raised his hand high and waved at her, but she didn’t wave back, making him lose his confidence slightly. He steeled himself, put his helmet on, and joined the huddle.

“Okay, guys. We’ve gotta play like there’s no tomorrow here, which I already know all of us are gonna do without me having to say it anyway. Seth, did you fix everything up with the cheer squad?” he asked one of the players who nodded.

“They’ve locked Vanessa up in the janitor’s closet, so they’re all yours,” Seth answered.

“Migs? The music?”

“All setup, captain. I don’t know about the steps, though.”

“It’s okay. All she’ll care about is the message after. Now, let’s go kill, gentlemen,” he said, clapping their hands once and going into position.

They played like madmen out on the field, obliterating the other team from the opening kickoff. Evan felt bad that he commanded the team to crush their opponent’s spirits early in the game, but they had more pressing matters to attend to.

Halftime arrived and, making sure that Chloe was still watching, he signaled for the music to play, and everyone immediately recognized the song.

“All the single ladies, all the single ladies…” Beyoncé’s voice blared from the speakers.

Chloe was completely gobsmacked as she watched Evan, the football team, and the cheer squad all dance to ‘Single Ladies’, complete with the iconic dance moves. The crowd started laughing and cheering for them, and she couldn’t believe that the popular kids were risking their reputations to be laughed at.

They started to form letters in the field and, once the song reached its end, Chloe gasped as she read the message:

I LOVE YOU CHLOE!

There were murmurs in the crowd, all of them wondering and asking who Chloe was, and they stopped speaking once Evan broke out of formation and started climbing up the steps toward the bleachers. Chloe went down, meeting him halfway until they were standing in front of each other.

Evan’s heart was beating fast and loud in his chest; he was scared it was going to burst out of his ribcage. He waited for Chloe to say something, his expression filled with hope, and Chloe moved closer to him, her violet orbs looking into his chocolate brown ones in amazement.

“You humiliated yourself for me,” she finally said.

Evan nodded.

“You told everyone what you feel about me,” she added.

He nodded again, not knowing where this was going.

“And, now you’re here.”

“And, now I’m here,” he repeated. He held her hand and pleaded once more. “Love me back. Please,” he begged.

Chloe pretended to think about it before wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a sweet kiss.

“I already do,” she murmured against his lips, and he smiled before he closed his eyes and deepened their kiss.

And, when the game was over and Evan’s team won, the two of them went back to Chloe’s room and expressed just how much they loved each other.

The End

Bonus – Carter - Biker

Chapter One

Hailee McAdams typed up the revisions to her paper like a mad woman. She had already finished her thesis on the topic of using classical conditioning in gaining affection from the opposite sex, and her professor had applauded her for her quick work. Even the female students that she used as subjects for her thesis thanked her for her help in ‘bagging their guy,’ as they called it.

She didn’t understand what the big deal was, though. It was literally a test of getting to know what a person is fond of, their likes and dislikes, and using those he likes as a sort of reward or offer. Isn’t that how getting to know a person is, basically? But if they’re that amazed by her work and willing to award her a high grade for it, then that’s fine by her.

She typed the last word in and clicked ‘Save’ because she was paranoid like that before raising her hands over her head and stretching her back to get the creaks out. She took a look at the clock and was surprised to find that it was already half past ten in the evening. She’d been working non-stop on her revisions for about six hours now, and she hadn’t realized it. As if on cue, her stomach growled and reminded her that she hasn’t eaten anything since she woke up for class sixteen hours ago, and she’d only had cereal and a granola bar for breakfast.

She got up from her seat to preheat one of those microwave mac n’ cheese boxes she bought with her measly allowance and caught a glance at herself in the mirror. She didn’t consider herself to be beautiful – just plain. Her glasses covered most of her eyes, so despite their rare shade of violet, no one actually took another shot at looking at them. Her brown hair was mousy and she didn’t take the time to fix herself up, so she mostly tied them in two braids going down her shoulders whenever she was at home, and in one braid whenever she went to class.

Her usual style of clothing consisted of jeans and an oversized tee that sometimes had some prints of emo bands or quotes from books or movies. Not a lot of people understood her shirts, and she was fine with that.

But sometimes, she’d find herself wishing that she was just like the rest of the girls here on campus – the ones that knew all the latest trends, had big, glamorous hair, and can walk around in four-inch heels with no problem.

Her best friend, Meaghan, was such a girl, and she never had a problem getting dates. Hailee was usually the one who got a pity date, if there was anyone who was willing to pity her, at that. Being the DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) in the group sucked big time.

“Well, at least I’m not failing,” she murmured. She was startled from her thoughts when three loud bangs sounded at her door. Her brows furrowed, and she opened the door a bit to check who it was, but then she was shoved out of the way and the door was pushed open fully.

“Hey, Hail! Get dressed, we’re going out for drinks at this bar just a little out of town,” Meaghan said. Hailee adjusted her glasses as she looked at her best friend, and their two friends, Karen and Trish, all dolled up like they’re going to a club, and she winced.

“I can’t. I’m still working on my paper,” Hailee said. Technically, she wasn’t lying. She really was working on her paper, but those were additions she could do in an hour tops. Meaghan’s eyes narrowed and Hailee could already tell her best friend knew she was lying.

“I have it on good authority that you’d already finished your thesis like, weeks ago. Whatever refining on your paper can wait; let’s celebrate that, in three weeks from now, we are graduating!” Meaghan exclaimed, and Hailee shook her head.