Never Again, a Sports Romance Short Story

Last month, I launched Never Again, Book 2 of the Risking It All short story romance series. This story features, Shea, a paralegal, who has lost faith in love because of her cheating ex-boyfriend. And then there’s Clay, the football player who wants to win her heart.

Read an excerpt from Never Again:

How the hell did Todd get her? Clay wondered that every time he saw Shea with his Miami Dolphins’ teammate, Todd Daily. She was his girlfriend, a short wisp of a thing with a blonde bob and mesmerizing green eyes that reminded Clay of a freshly cut football field. If a woman reminded him of football, his life’s passion, that had to mean something, didn’t it?

Every time Clay saw her, an image was tattooed in his mind. It wasn’t just her image but her voice—a husky, sexy purr that made him want to drag her to his lion’s den.

But she was off limits. She belonged to Todd Daily.

For now.

Clay watched Todd and Shea leave the stadium after a Sunday night home game. She had an arm wrapped around his waist and leaned into him. He draped his arm lazily over her shoulder.

“You’re going the wrong way,” Shea said to Clay, who was heading back into the stadium. That smile of hers etched its way into a corner of his brain, like her voice.

“I forgot something.”

Todd smirked. “Or somebody?”

Clay shook his head at Todd’s innuendo. No, Clay hadn’t doubled-back to stadium for any groupies. He had more sense than that—gotten it out of his system when he first entered the NFL. Now, at twenty-eight, a quick hit with a groupie didn’t satisfy him like it did before. He was picky.

He wanted a woman, not a groupie. 

He wanted someone like Shea. 

Her lip turned down at Todd’s snarky comment. Was she wondering if Todd had ever “forgotten somebody” before? Dipped in the groupie pool? 

Yes, Todd had. Clay had seen him leave the stadium with a girl a few days ago and a few days before that. And so on. 

Shea deserved better.

Her gaze flashed at Clay, as if she were gauging his response to Todd’s comment. The girl was smart. She’d figure Todd out on her own. Her dipshit boyfriend would mess up. Or hopefully, Shea would get bored before that and move on. And when that happened, Clay would have no problem being her fallback.

Clay tore his gaze from Shea, and it landed on one of the cheerleaders not too far away. Todd’s gaze had fallen in the same direction, lingering long enough for Shea to notice. She elbowed him in the ribs.

“What?” Todd groaned, even though he’d taken hits in the ribs twenty times worse during the game they’d played earlier.

Shea yanked her arm away from Todd’s waist. When Clay knitted his brows in concern, a swath of red flushed her cheeks.

It would only be a matter of time before Todd messed up.

That was the day Clay’s countdown clock began.