Page 65 of Filthy Player

“And what the hell am I?” Beaux had asked.

“My little brother.” Her expression showed she meant every word, and I knew we’d get along perfectly. Because I loved that Beaux, even if he was technically a grown man, had someone like that in his life.

They left shortly after dinner, claiming they didn’t want to stay out too late and it was already closing in on ten, and they still had to drive back to their house outside Raleigh quite a distance.

As soon as Beaux had closed and locked the door behind them, engaged his security panel, he picked me up, flung me over his shoulder and carried me to bed.

Where we stayed for hours.

Not sleeping until much, much, later.

***

Life moved quickly over the next few weeks.

The Rough Riders were leading the league, undefeated, surprising no one.

I saw Beaux when I could, sometimes going to his place, sometimes him hanging out at mine with my dad and me. He stayed the night with me, despite my quiet protests he shouldn’t with my dad there.

He’d laughed at me and carried me to my room saying, “Your dad likes me, so I think we’re past the concern of him shooting me. And it’s not like he doesn’t know we sleep together when you’re at my place.”

Still, I kept the physical contact to either the bathroom or above the waist in the bed.

No girl wanted to have her dad hear her having an orgasm. With as effectively and powerfully as Beaux delivered them, it would have happened.

One Saturday when Beaux had left for an out of state game, Dad, Melanie, and I went to eat dinner at Ride’Em Rough. As much as I had been enjoying the freedom of having a life again, I was also missing Hannah and my job there. Unfortunately, she wasn’t working when we went in and I made a mental note to check in on her.

Sure the uniform sucked, getting ass-grabbed and propositioned every ten minutes wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, but while things were going well at the garage, the looming hospital bills I knew were coming from Dad’s surgery and recent hospital stay were already stressing me out.

We had decent insurance but even then, the bills were going to be astronomical.

I’d rested and spent time with Beaux like he’d wanted to have happen when he hired Melanie.

That didn’t mean I didn’t still have additional responsibilities.

And after our dinner the night at Ride’Em Rough, I talked to Paulie about returning in another week.

“About damn time,” he scolded me. “You’re lucky I haven’t replaced you yet.”

I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “You’re a sweetheart, Paulie, you know that?”

He’d growled at me. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

I hurried away but grinned the entire time. He blustered and puffed out his chest, but deep down even if he wouldn’t admit it, Paulie was a big ol’ softie.

Dad wasn’t only healing from his surgery and his leg, but his paralysis was continuing to improve. It was something we’d always known could happen, but with the additional therapy Melanie provided during the day, he was now spending more days out of his wheelchair than he ever had before.

Then he gained a different cast and crutches to use to hobble around the house, and Melanie was becoming less of a constant necessity. She took him to physical therapy appointments several days a week, but now that he was more mobile again and off his pain meds, she usually only stayed a few hours in the afternoon and overnights when I wasn’t there.

I was beginning to feel guilty Beaux was basically paying for her to be our friend.

When I mentioned it to both of them, they told me to be quiet and enjoy the help.

So I stayed quiet.

The garage business was picking up.

I assumed that had something to do with customers who had several times spotted Beaux leaving there when he stopped by to see me either over lunch or after he was done with practice. Candid pics had hit the Internet after that and made the rounds on fan sites and Instagram and Facebook.

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