The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise

Chapter Thirty

Dylan

A few months later…

It was the big day—draft day. I’d woken up before the sunrise in the hotel room we were staying at in Arlington, Texas, where the draft would be held. My dad, my mom, Amelia, Mason, my agent—everyone was there to support me. Well, all but one. The one person that was missing had just landed fifteen minutes ago, and I was getting restless and impatient waiting for her at the airport.

When she still hadn’t come out, I headed for a shop to grab a bottle of water. I wasn’t sure if my excitement was because I was about to see Zoe or because of the big day—probably a mixture of both—and even though it sounded ridiculous to miss her so much since it’d only been a handful days since I’d left her back in Los Angeles in the shitty little apartment we shared with another student, I’d already accepted that everything was different with her.

I’d never been a jealous person in my life, not to the extent that I was with Zoe, and while sometimes the intensity of my feelings for her scared the shit out of me, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. If it meant I’d feel like a Neanderthal trying to keep her away from every person who had a dick between their legs, I’d make my peace with it. As far as I knew, she had no complaints either, which might have had something to do with the fact that I kissed her senseless every time she was about to complain, but we’ll never know for sure.

As I waited in line to pay for my water, someone poked me in the shoulder. I turned around and there she was, smiling, glowing, bouncing on her feet, hands covering her mouth.

My lips stretched into a big grin.

“Where did you come from?”

Instead of answering, she squealed and wrapped her arms around me. Chuckling, I returned her hug and held her tighter. After a long moment, she looked up at me and smiled.

“I missed you.”

“Yeah?”

“You have no idea.”

Seeing how happy she was, I felt a little more centered. “Where have you been? I was going crazy without you,” I admitted into her ear then kissed her until I had to stop and pay when it was my turn in line.

Grabbing her carry-on, I linked our hands together, and we walked out of the airport, talking the entire way. As we waited for our Uber to come, she leaned back against me and I wrapped my arms just under her breasts, resting my chin on the top of her head.

“I think I’m starting to freak out, and look”—she raised her palms—“my hands are sweating.”

“Why are you freaking out again?”

“I’m about to meet your parents, Dylan, and your brother, and your sister. What if they don’t like me? What if they don’t like what I’m wearing? What if they think I have no right to be here? I want to be there with you, but if it’s going to be awkward for them, maybe I should wait back at the hotel with your brother and sister? But I don’t want to do that either…”

I gave her a squeeze and sighed. “Zoe, you’re not going to leave my side for a minute, and my parents will love you—they already do from everything I’ve told them about you. Amelia is even more shy than you are, so she’ll probably be quiet, but she’s sweet. You’ll love her.”

She grumbled a little under her breath but didn’t protest after that.

Only because I thought I should distract her, I pushed my hips forward so she could feel how hard I was for her then pressed a lingering kiss right under her ear.

Her body went rigid and her hands gripped my forearms tighter.

“That’s not fair,” she whispered, resting her head back on my shoulder.

I licked my lips and pressed another kiss on her neck. “What’s that?”

She wiggled her butt and groaned. We’d been going at each other like rabbits for months.

“I missed you,” I whispered.

“Do we even have time for that?” she whispered back.

I sighed and pulled back. “I don’t think so, not until after tonight.”

“Not even five minutes?”

I gently bit her earlobe and absorbed the way her body shivered. “You’re adorable. Does that feel like something you can take care of in just five minutes?”

There was a soft slap on my arm. “You’re adorable.”

I laughed, finally feeling complete after days of not seeing her. “Why do you make it sound like an insult? Of course I’m adorable.”

Our car showed up and we held hands through the entire car ride back to the hotel where my family was waiting for us. We’d become one of those obnoxious couples everyone hated who had to touch each other at all times. I loved it.

“Are you scared?” Zoe asked when we were a few minutes away from the hotel. “About tonight.”

“Scared, no, but I am excited. I want to get it over with so we’ll know where we have to move.” I tried to act casual and started playing with her fingers. We hadn’t had that talk yet. For me, it wasn’t necessary—I wanted her with me no matter what—but I didn’t know how she was feeling about it. I knew she wanted to move to New York because of her photography work, and one of the teams that had wanted to talk to me and my agent was the Giants—along with several other teams that were nowhere near the northeast—but I didn’t want to tell her anything until it was certain. Unfortunately, nothing was certain when it came to the NFL. You could feel pretty good about yourself, confident that you’d be picked in the first round—maybe even in the top ten—and then out of nowhere you could end up going in the third round, if you got picked up at all.

I had no idea where I’d end up or how long I’d have to wait.

“We, huh?”

I stiffened in my seat and stopped playing with her hand. She picked up from where I’d left off, linking and unlinking our hands.

“Flash?” I prompted when nothing else came from her lips.

“Hmmm?”

“You didn’t answer.”

“Sorry, did you ask something?”

All of a sudden, the car was parking in front of the hotel and we had to get out. I put her carry-on bag on the ground and waited. She got out too and stood in front of me.

“Zoe…”

“What?”

I tilted my head and waited.

“What! You never asked me. We got so busy trying to find a place to live, and then there was the combine. How am I supposed to know whether you want me there or not? Plus, I have one more year, and maybe you—”

I let go of the handle of her carry-on and cradled her face in my hands. She was still trying to talk when I slipped my tongue into her mouth and kissed her senseless right there in front of the strangers walking in and out of the hotel.

“I always want you with me—don’t you know that by now? It’s been months.” I groaned against her lips, my breathing already heavy, my heart racing. “I’ve always wanted you, Zoe Clarke.”

“I wasn’t sure.”

I rested my brows against hers and let her arms snake around my shoulders.

“I’ll go wherever you are, probably the day I graduate, Dylan Reed. You’re the best roommate I’ve ever had, and I won’t let go that easily.”

I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding and pulled her body flat against mine.

Someone cleared their throat pretty loudly, but neither one of us cared about it enough to break apart.

Then I heard my mom’s voice.

“Dylan, I’d like to see your girlfriend, please. Stop mauling her face.”

Before my mom was even finished with her sentence, Zoe had pushed me away with unexpected force and her face was already turning that beautiful shade of pink I loved so much. She licked her lips and when that wasn’t enough, she swiped them with the back of her hand a few times, her face flushing even brighter.

“Mrs. Reed, it’s so nice to meet you.”

My mom looked at my grinning face and shook her head. Then she was in front of Zoe and pulling her into her arms. “Just Lauren. I’ve been dying to meet you. I’m so happy you could take a few days off and meet us here.”

When my mom let her go, she was still flushed, but instead of that mortified look on her face, she was smiling softly.

“And look at you,” my mom gushed, cupping Zoe’s face. “Gosh, you’re gorgeous. Look at her eyes, Dylan. She is beautiful.”

Zoe sent me a helpless look and I laughed, reaching for her hand.

“I know, Mom. That’s why I’m keeping her—so I’ll have something nice to look at for the rest of my life.. What are you doing out here? The rest of the gang still at the restaurant?”

Finally she let go of Zoe and turned to me. Pulling my face down, she kissed my cheek.

“I couldn’t sit down and wait, and, I admit”—she sent Zoe a quick wink—“I wanted to see Zoe before everyone else. Now she is here and everything is so perfect. I’m so proud of you, Dylan. We’re so excited.”

I groaned. “Lauren Reed, if you start crying again, so help me—”

“No crying, not yet. Oh, okay. Maybe a little bit of crying.” She quickly brushed away her tears. “Come on, let’s take Zoe inside so she can meet everyone before you disappear for those interviews.”

With one of my hands suffering a death grip in Zoe’s, I grabbed the handle of her luggage with my free hand and took two of my favorite women inside.

* * *

The lights at the stadium,the hushed conversations, the camera guys walking around the tables—all the people around us were starting to get to me. I felt Zoe’s hand on my leg, stopping me from bouncing it against the table.

The show was about to start in less than ten minutes.

“You, okay?” she asked, leaning toward me, her eyes worried.

I grabbed her hand under the table and held on. “Everything’s good.”

She didn’t look like she believed me, but her touch calmed me down just enough.

My parents were talking with my agent when I felt a hand close on my shoulder.

“What’s up, man?” Chris greeted me with a huge grin on his face when I twisted in my seat to look back.

I rose and we gave each other a quick hug.

“I called you on the way here, wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

He sighed and played with his tie. “Just a little late, that’s all.” When Zoe pushed her chair back and joined us, Chris leaned down and kissed her cheek.

She was beaming up at him.

“Hi, Zoe.”

“Hey. I texted you earlier to wish you luck, wasn’t sure I’d get to talk to you here.”

“I called you, but I guess you can’t hear a thing with everything going on.”

Zoe stood beside me as her eyes skittered around, no doubt looking to see if Mark was around.

“He’s not here,” Chris commented before I could say anything.

Zoe’s frown deepened. “This is the biggest day of your life, how could h—”

Chris turned to me. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Didn’t come up,” I replied, avoiding Zoe’s curious gaze as I absentmindedly stroked her back.

Their interaction was still awkward at best, nowhere near a normal sibling relationship, but I knew Chris wanted that…maybe not as much as Zoe wanted it, at least not yet, but I knew he was trying to get there.

A camera guy started to film us as he passed by, and Zoe inched closer to my side. “Tell me what?”

As Chris started to tell her how he’d basically forced Mark’s hand to make him resign from the team, Zoe’s fingers gripped my forearm tighter and tighter.

“It was either that or I was going to tell my mom I knew about the adoption. In his own weird, sick way, he cares about her…I think.” Chris must’ve seen the look on Zoe’s face because he shook his head and gave her the rest of the story. “It’s not just you, Zoe. He was messing around with students…girls. He was going to get himself into trouble eventually.”

We weren’t giving her the whole story, but I’d already spoken to Chris and he’d promised me he wouldn’t tell her how I’d broken his father’s nose soon after he was no longer our official coach. You see, Zoe had forgotten to tell me what had happened in the apartment right before I’d walked in that night. I’d learned about it only because Chris had made an offhand comment, thinking she’d already told me.

I slid my arm around Zoe’s waist and pulled her to my side just as they announced that the event was about to begin.

After promising to meet up after the night was over, we had to say goodbye so Chris could go to the table they had him seated at.

“It’s gonna be a long night,” Zoe murmured beside me, wringing her hands in her lap.

“How do you feel?” I asked into her ear.

She looked up at me. “About what?”

“Your dad.”

“He is not my dad,” she replied automatically. “I don’t feel anything.” She shrugged. “I don’t care one way or another, and he is the last person I want to talk about tonight.” She reached up to touch my cheek. “Tonight is all about you.” Her smile got bigger. “You made it, Dylan. All those shifts at the bar, all those morning workouts—which I enjoyed immensely, thank you very much—studying your ass off to graduate early…all your hard work, and look where you are. I’m so proud of you.”

Turning my head, I pressed a kiss to her palm. “Not yet, Flash. We don’t know anything yet. I have no idea where we’re gonna end up.”

“Oh, come on. I read some of the predictions—someone will snatch you up in the first round. Your NFL combine was legendary.”

I laughed. “Yeah? What do you know about it?”

“Nothing, but I know whichever team gets you will have one hell of a season next year with you on their side.”

I laughed harder and drew the attention of my parents. I nuzzled her neck. “You crack me up, Flash.”

She pushed me back. “You just keep making fun of me, buddy. I predict you’ll be in the top five.”

My eyes widened. I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and my smile softened. “Top five, huh?”

The commissioner was on the stage, and all the players sitting around us fell silent.

“Welcome to the NFL draft!”

The night began as he put the Cleveland Browns on the clock and the waiting game started. The table we were sharing with another player and his family got a lot quieter after that, and my dad changed seats with my agent, Scott, to sit next to me. My mom was next to Zoe and they were whispering discreetly.

The minutes ticked by, and with the first pick, the Cleveland Browns selected a quarterback from Oklahoma.

“For the overall second pick, the New York Giants are now on the clock.”

I closed my eyes and ran both of my hands over my head. I was so ready to find out what my future held.

Zoe touched my arm and I looked at her. “It’s going to be great. You got this,” she whispered, our heads tilted down, side by side.

Eight minutes passed.

“You have an idea which team will pick you?” my dad asked.

“No idea, Dad. If I don’t get picked…if I start dropping too much, my chances will get only lower.”

He thumped my back two times and shook his head. I could see how nervous and restless he was, but he was doing his best to not show it. We watched the commissioner walk back on stage, and all chatter quieted.

“With the second pick of the 2018 NFL draft, the New York Giants select Dylan Reed, wide receiver…”

It took me a second or two to process what I was hearing, what I was seeing on the screen. My dad, my mom, and Zoe were all standing, but I couldn’t hear a single thing because of the blood roaring in my ears.

I covered my head with my hands and slowly got up.

Both of my parents were crying, but I was still in shock. My dad was the first one to pull me into his arms. Everyone was clapping around us, and I felt my dad’s chest rapidly rising and falling with his silent tears. He pulled back and looked at me, his hands holding my face. He gently patted my cheek twice then let me go. My mom was standing right next to him, her eyes bright and wide and beautiful as always.

“Look at you,” she said, her voice broken but still strong and proud. “Look at my beautiful boy.”

When she let me go, I turned around.

She was standing right there, waiting for me, and that’s when I smiled. That’s when sound started to trickle back in, and she still just stood there, tears running down her cheeks. I went to her because I couldn’t look at her and not touch, not hold. Leaning down, I wrapped my arms around her waist, and she stood on her tiptoes to hug me back. I could feel her frantic heartbeats, her pulse beating wildly. Then we started laughing, my own eyes misted with unshed tears.

When they told me I needed to go to the stage, Zoe pulled back and smiled. “Go, go, go.”

Everything that came after happened in slow motion, yet I still had trouble keeping up. Chris stopped me on my way and hugged me. I was still surprised…elated, shocked, honored, humbled. Then I was on stage and I could see myself on the big screen as the fans cheered. I took my new jersey with my name on it and smiled for the photographs. I’d made it.

I’d fucking made it.

I had everything I’d ever wanted and more.

* * *

As soon asI was off the stage, my phone rang, and I listened to my new coach welcoming me to the team. I don’t remember everything he said to me, but I remember repeating a lot of the same things: “Yes, sir.” “I won’t disappoint you, sir.” “I appreciate it, sir.”

It was surreal for sure, but it was also bittersweet. As soon as I hung up with my new coach, JP’s call came in. He hadn’t recovered back to his old self and the trainers didn’t think he had a future playing anymore, but he’d taken everything better than I would’ve if I were in his position. Still, I planned to try my best to help him in any way I could. We would always be a team.

When I made it back to the table, I found Chris and Zoe standing together, smiling and talking. As soon as I got back, I went another round with my mom and dad, and listened to them talk, still just as speechless as I’d been on the call with my coach. I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and see Mason and Amelia’s faces when they heard I was the second fucking overall pick. Mason was going to lose it.

Then it was just Zoe and me, resting our foreheads against each other and just breathing as I held her face in my hands. I tried to clear her tears with my thumbs, but I couldn’t keep up.

“We did it.”

She put her hands on my chest. “You did it, Dylan. This is all you and you’re amazing.”

“No. These last few months…you’ve been amazing, and it’s New York, baby! It’s where you wanted to live.”

“I’ll live anywhere with you, Dylan. I’ll go wherever you are.”

“Come with me.” Grabbing her hand, I dragged her behind me, dodging cameras and even more people. Breathless, she ran after me to keep up. If I could’ve kept my hands to myself for a little while, we would have heard that Chris had been picked by the Chicago Bears.

I stopped when we reached the bathrooms and pulled her in behind me, locking the door immediately.

I took a deep breath before I turned around to stare at her. She was leaning back against the sink, her beautiful smile soft and inviting.

“I can give you everything you want now. I know I couldn’t do much until now, but Flash, trust me, you’ll—”

“Shut up. I just want you, Dylan. Nothing else matters. We’ll figure everything out together, right?” I swallowed thickly. “Though I have to say, I can’t wait to see you wearing more suits from now on. You look so handsome.”

“You like it? You like me like this, Zoe?”

I went to her before she could answer and grabbed her waist to hoist her up. She locked her arms around my neck and hid her face in my throat, pulling me closer. I rested my head against her temple, just breathing, just the two of us, away from everything and all the noise.

“I love you. I’ve loved you for so long, I don’t even know when it started anymore,” she said quietly, so much emotion in her voice.

I drew back and looked into her watery eyes.

“You don’t know? The first time you saw me, you were grinning at my dick.”

She snorted then groaned to cover it up. “I did not fall in love with your dick, Dylan.”

“I think you did, but let’s go with your version. It’s a package deal anyway.” I started to drag her dress up her thighs and she let me. Wiggling her butt, she even let me remove her panties. Widening her legs, I yanked her toward me until we were perfectly aligned and I could feel her heat against my slacks. I didn’t even care if she gave me a wet spot. She moved closer, her arms already pulling me to her. “You could hardly look away,” I mumbled against her mouth, her breath already mingling with mine.

She took my lips in a heated kiss, her tongue pushing between them and demanding I give her what she liked. I kissed her and let her slowly unzip me with her sneaky fingers.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Not really,” she panted.

“I didn’t either, but then why would my eyes look for you in a crowd when I didn’t even know your name? Why would my pulse jump whenever I saw someone I thought was you?”

Moaning, her eyes closed and she played with my cock, making me hiss.

“You want me inside you?”

She nodded. “Always.”

I held my cock in my hand and parted her lips before slowly pushing in. She was slick with arousal, tight and ready for me, as always. My breaths were coming in harsh spurts when I gave her all my length, and her legs trembled around me.

“Will it always feel like this?” she asked, her eyes already unfocused, body restless.

“Always.”

“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I don’t know what to do with it all.”

“I love you too, Flash. On and off the field, you’re my hardest fall. No one has ever compared, and no one ever will. It was always going to be you for me.”