Stroke It (A Standalone Sports Romance) Read online

  What was I thinking, dropping out of school? It wasn’t going to work out for me. Tears began to well up in my eyes, and I fought hard to not let them spill down my cheeks. I didn’t want anyone to see me cry.

  “Hailey?” Jillian put her hand on my knee, and I jumped. I stared at her in a daze and couldn’t fight the tears any longer. They poured down my cheeks, making me feel even more foolish.

  “C’mon, let’s go.”

  I stood up with Jillian and started to make my way out of the auditorium. As I was walking by other people, I noticed that I wasn’t the only one who looked crushed. I wasn’t the only one feeling disillusioned about the ordeal. Everyone there was banking their lives on that reality show. Failure. The whole day had been one big failure, and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I had no other prospects. I just had to go back home and wait for another gig to spring up.

  We got outside into the sunlight, and even that couldn’t cheer me up. Jillian almost ran into me when I stopped suddenly in front of her. “What are you doing?”

  “That’s exactly my thought.”

  She looked confused as she adjusted her glasses. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about my life, more specifically, my career. This is stupid. I need to just quit. Find a regular job, go back to school. I don’t know, but I can’t keep doing this.”

  “I can’t believe you are saying this. This is your dream. You can’t give up now.”

  “When do I give up? When I’m middle-aged and doing Vaseline commercials?”

  Jillian rolled her eyes, “You are 22, Hailey, you are pretty young to be this jaded. Shouldn’t you be optimistic with stars in your eyes?”

  “Maybe, but you don’t have two parents who think that you screwed up your life. I get almost daily calls from them, trying to talk me into going back home and getting back to school.”

  “Do you know how many actors out there have the same issue as you? Do you really believe all those Oscars speeches where they thank momma for always believing in them? C’mon, half those parents probably laid awake at night worrying themselves sick about their children.”

  I stared at her feeling like shit. I just wanted my life to start. I didn’t expect to be in the next blockbuster – I knew I had to pay my dues – but nothing was coming my way.

  “I don’t know what to do, Jillian. I’m scared.”

  She sighed. “I know what you’re going to do. You’re going to pick yourself up and wipe those silly tears away. Things are going to be okay. I know it’s not easy and that you are putting yourself out there. Getting rejected is not fun, but you are beautiful, Hailey, and talented. We will find the right role for you.”

  “You really think I shouldn’t quit?”

  “No, quitting isn’t going to work, Hailey. I know you’re feeling bad right now, but that’s an easy fix. Just go out and get laid.”

  I burst out laughing. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

  Jillian pulled me in for a hug, and it felt nice to be held. I was feeling instantly better, especially knowing that my agent believed in me. It was her job, but she had a reputation for taking on people who were a success. She thought it was pointless to have clients she couldn’t sell; it was no way to make money. With her behind me, how could I fail? Things were going to be okay; I just had to believe in myself as much as Jillian believed in me.

  Chapter Three

  Caleb

  The new club was hopping; the music was intense, and the whole room seemed to be throbbing with energy. As I looked around the room at all the warm bodies, I felt alive. This was certainly the place to be if you wanted to be surrounded by plenty of women gyrating all over the floor.

  The club was packed, and the crowd was filtering in and out of the club onto the beach. I couldn’t figure out what party was better – the one inside the club or the one out on the sand. It was already an amazing night. I looked over at Matthew, my best friend, and winked. I couldn’t wait to get on the dance floor with some chick and get dancing.

  “Pretty cool party, right?” he yelled over the crowd.

  “Yeah, this is awesome.”

  I was happy to have Matthew with me that night; he was the guy who could cheer me up from anything. Our friendship went as far back as high school, and I knew that I could depend on him for anything – he always had my back no matter what.

  He, too, used to be on the golf circuit, but his career took a tumble when he tore his rotator cuff a few years back. He had been playing together all through high school and college, and the fact that he couldn’t play golf any longer had devastated him considerably. He hadn’t let it get him down, though; he wasn’t the kind of guy that would fall into a depression. He was always laughing, the life of the party, and his outlook on life was always positive. That was why I loved being around him all the time. It was hard to feel bad about yourself when you were with a guy that loved life.

  These days, Matthew worked with me. He hadn’t wanted to give up on golf and had a personal mission to make sure I got to the majors and succeeded. It was awesome to have a friend like that behind you every step of the way. What more could a guy ask for?

  He had agreed to work as my caddie, and having him on the courses with me was beyond what I could ever hope for in regards to a support system. It was certainly more than my father did – though I couldn’t discredit the money he put into making sure I was a success. Matthew and I spent a lot of time in the gym, as well, staying fit and getting ready for the tournaments.

  I smiled as a few girls approached our booth and asked if they could come in. We had a private area with bottle service, and people had been in and out all night. We never had a problem attracting women, especially Matthew, with his blond hair and blue eyes. He attracted so many that it really wasn’t fair to the rest of the men in the room.

  As the girls started chatting amongst each other in the booth, Matthew started pouring them some drinks. He looked over at me, and I nodded for him to make me another.

  “So, your father was harsh with you today?”

  “Not so much harsh as he was making it obvious that I would not embarrass him again this tour.”

  Matthew laughed. “He acts like you do these things on purpose to aggravate him.”

  “Yeah, I know. Believe me; I want to win more than anything.”

  “You will, buddy, trust me. I have your back, and you are going all the way this time.”

  I smiled. It was exactly what I needed to hear. No judgments, no lectures, just straight up support. Why couldn’t my father do that instead of stringing me up every chance that he got? I wondered.

  “You bet your ass I am. I can’t wait. April is going to be killer, especially with you there with me. When I win, we are going to party like we never have before.”

  “How is that different than our regular life?”

  I laughed, “Yeah, I guess we do party pretty hard. Hell, we’ll figure something out.”

  One of the girls leaned over and held some pills out in her hand. “Are you guys up for doing something different tonight?”

  We both looked at the pills and shook their heads. “Hell, no,” I said. “Not our thing, ladies, but you go ahead. We have plenty of booze here for us, and that suits us just fine.”

  We proceeded to get quite wasted that night as both the bottles and the girls kept coming. They were all so beautiful. I noticed people using their phones throughout the night, but I didn’t think much of it. People were just having fun, and everyone took videos to remember a good time. We were in and out of the booth, dancing with women and just generally having a good time.

  While on the dance floor, I felt so free, so alive. There was a pretty blonde in front of me who was dancing close. She started to unbutton my shirt, and I shook my body even closer to her. She was hot as hell and had such a huge smile on her face.

  “I got this!” I yelled at her over the music and finished unbuttoning my shirt. I’ll give her a show; I’ll give t
hem all a show, I thought.

  Pulling off my shirt, I swung it above my head and threw it at Matthew. It hooked around his head, causing me to laugh hilariously. He looked so funny. Matthew tore the shirt off his head and threw it back my way, laughing. We were both pretty hammered at that point, not feeling much pain. The girl squealed as I started to unzip my jeans and pulled them down. I kicked them off as Matthew died laughing. I was wearing a pair of Under Armour boxer briefs, and I shook my bottom around.

  A few girls started to dance around me, and we really got into some serious dance moves. There was suddenly a camera in front of my face, and the girls started screaming for me to do a model pose. How could I deny these girls anything? I smiled for the camera, doing my best to pose like they do on the runway, pointing to the Under Armour symbol on the underwear. They were my sponsors, after all, and they deserved a good shout out for standing behind me while I was on tour. Not to mention they were some amazing boxer shorts; you barely even knew you were wearing them half the time.

  The girls were squealing their heads off, and I had hands all over my body. It was quite the trip. I couldn’t ask for a better, more fun night with my best friend than that.

  That same blonde came home with me that night, and we drunkenly stepped into my apartment. The luxury apartment that my father paid for was a chick magnet. She oohed and aahed all over the place before I pulled her close to me.

  I grabbed her by the neck, my lips meeting hers aggressively. She giggled under her breath, and I knew she thought that we were going to be an item after that night. They all thought that, even though I had a reputation of being a lady’s man. She kissed like a freight train, and it made me think of other naughtier things she could do with her mouth.

  Our tongues were teasing each other as we started ripping our clothes off in the normal fashion. We made a trail of clothing all the way to the bedroom. When we were naked, I took her breast in my mouth and sucked on it before pushing her down on the bed. She giggled again, looking up at me seductively. She was a real looker, and it instantly made me hard.

  She eagerly sucked on my tongue when I kissed her again. She was driving me wild, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to hold off.

  “I want you, Caleb.”

  That much was obvious, and I was about to give her exactly what she wanted. She looked at my cock and took it eagerly into her mouth. I groaned as she sucked me hard. She was sucking and playing with my balls as my eyes rolled back into my head. My hands went through her hair as I moaned loudly. She looked up at me in surprise as I pulled out of her mouth. I wanted inside of her immediately, though – it was time.

  “Lay back, sweetheart; I want to be inside of you.”

  She smiled that beautiful smile as I climbed on top of her. I slid inside of her easily, her pussy very wet. I loved the way she felt, all wet and warm. I couldn’t get enough of that feeling – women were just incredible beings; they could provide so much pleasure.

  She moaned my name wantonly, and I moved inside of her quickly, building up the intensity between the two of us. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I thrust into her deeply. She was a loud lover and made it well known how much she was enjoying herself. I smiled down at her, happy that I was bringing her pleasure. There was nothing like a girl’s face when she was in ecstasy.

  I moved into her deeper and deeper with each thrust. I could feel my orgasm coming, but I wanted to at least give her one before I came inside of her. I could tell by her face and her screaming that she had to be close. I thrust inside her again, and this time, she cried out. That was it for me. I was going to cum inside of her. The buildup was huge, and just a second later, I groaned, spilling inside of her. I collapsed on her chest and heard that familiar giggle again.

  She was not my type; all that giggling would get to me after awhile. I rolled off her, and she came with me, clinging to my chest like an old lover. She would have expectations I would not be able to fill. I just had no interest in it. There was no connection between the two of us, and I knew I wouldn’t see her again. I didn’t like attachments. Not that she wasn’t a nice girl, I’m sure that she was, but I just wasn’t into commitments of any kind. I would allow her to spend the night, but when morning came, she would have to go. I wasn’t okay with spending any more time than that with her.

  I was always respectful of the women I slept with, but they were still usually upset the next morning when I wasn’t willing to spend the day with them. I offered them coffee and breakfast and always made sure they had a ride home, but they always left hurt. I could understand why – I was a golden ticket – but I never promised them anything that I wasn’t willing to give them.

  “That was really great, Caleb.”

  I smiled down at her. “It sure was; thank you for that.”

  “It was my pleasure.”

  “I’m going to get a glass of water; would you like one?” I said as I pulled away from her.

  “No, thank you.”

  I left the bed and walked back to the kitchen where I downed a couple of Tylenol and drank a glass of water. That would help with the hangover the next day. When I returned to the bedroom, the girl was passed out on the bed. I got in beside her, but I didn’t pull her close. I turned to my side of the bed and pulled the covers over me. It wasn’t long before I fell into a deep sleep as well.

  Chapter Four

  Hailey

  It was Friday night, and I was looking to forget my crushed dreams for at least a little while. It was just one of those days that I needed to learn to get over and let loose for a little bit.

  I was making light of the situation – when it came down to it, I was devastated that I didn’t get a role on the reality show. It could have meant everything to my career. What was saddening was that it was just a reality show. It wasn’t like I was depressed because I didn’t get cast in the next Leonardo DiCaprio flick.

  What was I thinking, quitting school? The last thing I needed was to prove my parents right. I would never hear the end of it, and that alone was enough to send fear creeping through my veins. Being a movie star was something I had dreamed about my whole life. I remember explaining to my parents as a child that one day they would see me walking up on stage to accept my Oscar. Of course, I would tell them, of course, I will thank you in my Oscar speech.

  In truth, they had never been supportive of acting, unless, of course, I was in school learning about it; then that was acceptable. So, they probably didn’t deserve a “thanks” when I won the Oscar. IF I ever won an Oscar. I was staring at myself in the mirror, my long brown hair curled around my shoulders. My green eyes had an intensity to them as I desperately tried to get myself into a better mood.

  “You look great,” my sister Mandy said as she poked her head into the bathroom.

  I smiled at my sister and then looked down at myself. I was wearing a tight red dress that hugged my curvy behind in all the right ways.

  “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.”

  We were planning on going out for dinner and drinks; it was exactly what I needed to get my mind off the day. My sister was always very supportive of my career, and I wasn’t sure what I would have done without her.

  Our parents lived in Europe, and when I chose to leave, I took Mandy with me. She had jumped at the opportunity to go with me, and considering her job, she could work anywhere. Mandy was a writer and freelanced often. I was glad to have her with me because that meant that I knew at least one person in the city. She helped me with my lines when I needed it, and I often gave her ideas for her writing – we were a team.

  Although we shared the same green eyes and brown hair, we didn’t look much alike. I took more after my mother in looks, while she favored our father. We couldn’t look more different if we weren’t related at all. Although she could sometimes be overbearing and bossy, we shared a close bond.

  “Let’s get going. You’re taking forever in there.”

  “Well, excuse me. I’m trying not to fall into a
depression.”

  “Oh get over yourself; let’s get to it.”

  We were feasting on an array of appetizers from the local Kelsey’s, and for the first time all day, I was starting to feel like myself again. I couldn’t believe the day I’d had, but considering Mandy was with me, things were starting to look up.

  “Maybe you should start dating someone to get your mind off things.”

  I laughed. “What are you talking about? That’s the last thing I need to do. I don’t have the time or the patience. I need to focus on my career, because right now, it’s falling apart.”

  “Oh, c’mon! It’s not that bad. Plus, you probably would have hated being on reality TV, anyway. Just focus on TV and movies for now. Look at Kim Kardashian; do you really want to walk in the footsteps of that train wreck?”

  Laughing, I said, “No, that wasn’t really my goal. But the thing is, it would have allowed me some exposure, and that has certainly launched a few careers.”

  “Eh, who needs it?”

  She was probably right. As much as I loved the idea of being an actress, reality TV would have completely taken me out of my comfort zone. I just wanted it all too much. Jillian was working on new gigs as we spoke, and for all I knew, I would be getting a call tomorrow for a new gig, a better gig than the last one.

  “Let’s hit up the bar down the road for a few more drinks. I’m stuffed, so let’s get out of here.”

  I nodded as I wiped my mouth with a napkin and set it down at the table. She waved the waiter over so that we could pay our bill. Once that was completed, we got up from the table and headed outside.

  The bar was busy, but not overcrowded, so when we got up to the bar, we were served right away. We both ordered vodka drinks and sat at the bar. I followed Mandy’s gaze as she took in the room.

  She wanted a boyfriend, while I could think of nothing but my career. I wanted so badly to be rich and famous, to have the kind of career that had my image splashed all over magazine covers. I couldn’t even begin to think of my personal life. I had too much at stake – a boyfriend would be too distracting.