Chapter Twenty Five
Raleigh
We finish up and begin making our way off the field at the same time as the football boys, many of the girls calling out their goodbyes as they split off to find their boyfriends. I run my hands over my arms, the cool late afternoon air causing goosebumps to break out on my sweat-slicked skin, now that we were done with practice, as I make my way over to Serenity.
Just as I reach her, a large, sweaty arm wraps around my shoulders and pulls me into an equally sweaty body. “Do you have plans tonight?” Brady asks, his hot breath tickling my ear but it’s not him that holds my attention, it’s the wide eyes and loss of color on Ser’s face, followed by her gasp of “Oh, shit!” that has a pool of dread forming in the pit of my stomach.
“What the fuck is this?” A familiar voice shouts before I even have the chance to follow her line of sight. Shrugging Brady’s arm from my shoulders, I turn around and take in a very pissed-off Lincoln stalking toward us.
“Lincoln,” I breathe out his name like a prayer, relieved to see him, even if it is while he’s pissed off and looking as though he wants to murder someone.
His eyes never leaving the guy beside me, Lincoln closes the space between us, then as he steps up to me, he shifts his focus to me as he glides his big hand into my hair, fisting the strands as he adjusts my head so he's my sole focus as he crushes his mouth to mine in a soul-melting, toe-curling kiss that should leave absolutely no question as to who’s girl I am.
A soft moan escapes me as he deepens the kiss, his tongue delving into my mouth and stroking against my own as his free hand wraps around my waist and pulls my body flush against his rock-hard frame, the evidence of his desire for me pressing against my lower belly, begging to be released from its denim prison.
The clearing of several throats breaks me free of the Lincoln-induced haze and I pull back slightly, breaking the kiss and burying my face in his chest as my cheeks flame red in embarrassment. I feel Lincoln wrap his other arm around my waist, holding me tightly to him as though he’s afraid to let me go.
But I realize that it’s just wishful thinking on my part, because as soon as I hear Brady shout, “What the hell do you think you're doing?” Lincoln pulls me from his embrace and moves me so that I’m standing behind him, his tall frame standing between Brady and me.
“I think I could ask you the same question,” Lincoln growls, stepping up to Brady until they are standing toe-to-toe, Lincoln’s hulking frame making Brady appear tiny in comparison. “What do you think you’re doing trying to move in on what’s mine?”
“*Yours?*” Brady balks, a sneer making its way onto his face that has my gut begin to churn all over again. “She’s been mine for *years.*”
*What the fuck?*
“Excuse me?” I shout as anger and confusion war within me at Brady’s statement. “What in the actual hell are you talking about?” I ask as I move from behind Lincoln, stepping up to where he and Brady are still facing off. “I am most definitely not *yours* and the last that I checked, I have never been *yours*.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” Brady says in that condescending way that you know that whatever comes out of their mouth next is going to royally piss you off. He reaches a hand out to caress my cheek, causing me to flinch back at the unwelcome touch, making him grin as his eyes flare with excitement. “You’ve always been mine, you just didn’t know it. I was just biding my time, playing the field, and having fun until I was ready to claim you.”
Shaking my head back and forth, I take a step back, no longer wanting to be within touching distance of Brady, my voice coming out barely above a whisper as I ask, “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Raleigh, don’t listen to a word that’s coming out of that jerk’s mouth,” Serenity shouts, pulling my attention from the two guys in front of me to my best friend that is struggling against Goob and Hudson’s hold on her. She’s shooting daggers at the two men restraining her but then turns pleading eyes on me when she realizes that she has my attention.
*What the hell is going on here?* I wonder in confusion.
“You really don’t know, do you?” Brady asks, a surprised laugh escaping him as he searches my face, my confusion having to be written all over it for everyone to see.
“All that I know is that Raleigh is mine and *you* need to back the fuck off!” Lincoln growls, getting in Brady’s face once more and effectively blocking his view of me. “Whatever claim you think you have on her…well, you had better think again! She is her own person and is free to choose to be with whomever she wants and nothing you say or do is going to change that.”
“She was promised to me!” Brady shouts angrily, spittle hitting Lincoln in the face as he chest bumps him, his veins protruding from his arms and fists clenched at his sides in restraint.
“I know fuck all about that, but what I do know is that this is a free country and Raleigh is free to make decisions for herself and last I checked, she chose me!” As soon as the last words leave Lincoln’s mouth, Brady’s fist is flying at his face and soon, they are both beating the shit out of each other.
“Stop!” I shout, tears filling my eyes as I watch my Lincoln fight someone who I had always thought of as another brother for me. “Stop it both of you!” When they refuse to stop, I try to reason with them, shouting, “You’re both going to get benched from playing in the playoffs if you don’t stop! It’s not worth it! *I’m* not worth it!”
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