Page 5 of Hot Receiver

Maybe that’s why he’s here, why he decided to keep the team.

Revenge.

I scrub a hand down the front of my face.

No. That’s stupid. We’re grown-ups with real responsibilities. I’m sure he’s got way more to focus on than tormenting me.

I brush off the nagging as fuck voices in the back of my mind and dial my father’s number when a familiar scent clouds my head space, my ability to think snuffed out like a candle on a cake.

“All these years later, and you’re clearly still living the dream.”

Zak Kacey’s voice hums against my ear, and I hang up before waiting for Dad to answer.

I shiver even though his breath scorches the back of my neck.

“But are you still living the lie, Matt?”

Chapter 3

Zak

“Jesus Christ.” Matt pulls away like I just touched a lit match to his ear. He does a full body twist to face me. “Zak.”

There’s apprehension in his voice, like he doesn’t know what to expect next.

He has no fucking idea.

“Are you really that surprised to see me? That I wouldn’t come over to say 'hi,' just for old time’s sake?” I force a smile but glare at him hard.

Matt’s head jerks left and right, but he must realize there’s no chance of escape for him. He clears his throat and adjusts his tie. “I didn’t expect to see…um, I only just found out that you took over ownership of the team. I’m, uh, sorry about your dad.”

“I’ll bet you are.” My eyes narrow, lips twisting at the memory I can’t ever forget, no matter how much I will my mind to incinerate it. “If he hadn’t gotten run over by that fucking idiot, he’d be the one here tonight. Not me.”

I inch toward him.

Then, I continue, “He didn’t know your secret. Life would be so much easier for you if he didn’t die, wouldn’t it?”

Matt’s fists ball up at his sides. Good. I want him to want to punch me. I want him to feel anger. God knows, I’ve lived with it long enough.

“Don’t say that.”

I shrug. “Why not? It’s true. I bet you’re thinking it right now.”

He lets out a snort. “Well, it’s damn obvious that you know me now about as well as you knew me back in college. Not fuckingat all.”

“I’m the only one who could see through you, Matt. Or did you bury that along with everything else that happened between us?”

His jaw tightens. “Look, it was a long time ago?—”

“Not to me,” I seethe. “Not when I’ve had to watch you parade around like the fucking king you think you are for the past eight years. You ruined me, and you didn’t give a good goddamn when my life went up in smoke. You just poked at the ashes.”

The color in Matt’s face drains, leaving his skin a pasty white color. “You never even let me explain?—”

“Explain that you didn’t want the world to slap the same stigma on you that they did on me? That you somehow had more to lose than I did? You were wrong. I was outed against my will. I suffered for my choices. I lost everything because of them. You think money can make that shit go away?”

He rakes a hand through his dark blond hair. I grit my teeth, and my fingers tingle. His hair was so soft, so thick. I remember wrapping my fingers around it when I came deep inside of him that night, how his body writhed against me as his cock exploded.

My heart clenches. I thought there was something realbetween us. I took a risk when I kissed him that first time back in college. We were freshmen, stars of the football team, and living the dream. I fell for him almost immediately, drawn to his looks, personality, and talent like a moth to a flame.

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