Expose: A Secret Baby Sports Romance Read online

  Expose

  Henley Maverick

  Contents

  Dedication

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  About the Author

  Also by Henley Maverick

  Check out Second Chances

  To my girls (when you’re older of course): Annabelle, Claire, Elena, Jane, and Kara. May you always follow your heart.

  Copyright © 2018 by Henley Maverick

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Chapter 1

  Lucas

  Lucas shoved the whole banana into his mouth and chomped on it like he had shovels for teeth. His best friend and team member who was seated beside him looked over at him, disgust clearly written on his face.

  “What?” Lucas asked with a shrug. His friend rolled his eyes and Lucas gave him the middle finger. He stood up and walked over to the balcony, looking out at the shimmering blue water of the Olympic sized pool. He grinned as he watched the girls lounging by the pool and those swimming, dressed in bikinis, some, one-pieces and some two-pieces. His eyes lingered on one of the girls who was just stepping out of the pool, running a hand through her wet and dripping hair. There was something about a wet girl in a bikini that turned him on.

  “Ooh man, there is plenty of action going on here,” he called to Colin.

  He could hear the sigh in Colin’s voice as he said, “How can you see anything from up here? We’re on the what? Twentieth story and that pool is like what? Eight stories below us?”

  “It’s not my fault that you have terrible eyesight and can’t have a taste of what I’m getting right now,” Lucas replied to his friend mockingly. He got an empty beer can to the back of his head for his trouble. He turned around, glaring at his friend, “Ouch! That hurt.”

  Colin shrugged and said, “It’s not my fault that you don’t have reflexes were quick enough to help you dodge.”

  “Touché,” Lucas managed to say. He rubbed the back of his head as he headed back to the lounge he had been sitting on. As the sun raised higher above them, he groaned and reached out for his dark shades which he shoved on his face.

  “You will be breaking some hearts by that action, man,” Colin said absentmindedly.

  Lucas’ brow furrowed as he looked at his friend. He was thumbing through his tablet and he could not help but wonder what he had been focused on since morning. What his friend just uttered suddenly clicked in his head and he said, “What?”

  “Your shades. You know how much the girls go gaga over your striking blue eyes, as they call them. They could die at the realization that you’ve covered those eyes,” Colin said seriously as he looked at Lucas but Lucas could see the hint of amusement and mischief in his friend’s eyes.

  Lucas groaned and threw a punch at his friend’s shoulder, one he barely managed to avoid. While his friend was distracted, trying to avoid the blow, Lucas snatched the tablet from his hold and flicked across the screen.

  “What have you had that head of yours buried in all this while?” he asked as he thumbed through. Finding his answer on the screen, he looked up at his friend, a puzzled look on his face. All Colin did was shrug. “Wait a minute. Are you thinking of quitting the game, Colin? For crying out loud, we are what? Twenty-four years old. You still have a long career ahead of you. What is going through your head, man? Are you on something?!”

  Colin puffed out a breath slowly and shook his head, saying, “I have no plans of leaving the game or the team, man.”

  “Well, it kind of looks like it, Colin. The evidence is all over this screen. What are you doing browsing about careers and opportunities in real estate when you are a footballer? There is no correlation except when you want to buy a house and this is certainly no house buying issue. I’m not stupid, you know,” Lucas glowered at his friend.

  Colin raised his hand in a peaceful gesture. “It’s simply about having options, Luc.”

  “I don’t understand,” Lucas said. To further buttress his point, he ran his fingers through his head of shaggy blond hair.

  Colin stood up and paced about. He turned around and looked at his friend, “It’s like this, man. Whether we like it or not, we are not going to be stars forever. Right now, we are the shining stars, the star boots of the game. Heck, you are the quarterback, you are the face of the Winton Warriors but it is not going to be like that forever. You, we, are not always going to play at topnotch level no matter how much we train because eventually old age catches up. We will not always be in demand because a new generation of stars will rise.”

  “I get what you’re trying to say but…” Lucas started to say but Colin raised his hand to silence him.

  “And another thing, we have no clue where we are going to be in the next year, even in the next six months. Events beyond our control can take place with the snap of the ball. What if there is an accident, what if you can’t ever play again? What if you decide that you don’t want to play again or what if you realize that you need to spend less time in the game and more time doing something else?”

  “That is never going to happen,” Lucas said without thinking about the last part of his friend’s statement. “Nothing and no one is ever going to make me want to leave the game or spend less time playing. So to say, I won’t ever leave the game of my own volition. I can’t ever decide to spend more time outside football voluntarily. It would have to be involuntarily. Football is my life. I will never make that choice.”

  “You know what they say, never say never,” Colin said in a knowing tone.

  “In this case, I can. Anyway, I do understand that there are circumstances that can force me out of the game, like an accident or a disease, something I hope would never happen. That is the only reason that will keep me out of the game. Anyway, I believe I can beat those odds. I’m retiring at a very old age, when I can’t play anymore. Till then, man, I’m dedicating and giving my all to the game, nothing and no one is stopping me.”

  “Well except the asses and the booze that you can’t get enough of,” Colin said sagely, referring to his friend wild life that was always all over the news. Never did a weekend go by that he was not on Entertainment news or featured in the tabloids.

  Lucas laughed heartily and his friend joined him. When he finally regained his composure, he grinned and said. “But I never let them distract me, girls or the money. I am always at the top of my game, man, no matter how much sex or booze I get.”

  Colin smiled and said, “And that’s the reason you get away with it all. Coach knows that you always put the game first no matter how wasted you get.”

  Lucas chuckled as he picked up a can of beer and popped the cap. It was his third that afternoon. He downed half of it in a go and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “So, I get your point and I have to admit that I have never thought of things like that, you know, leaving the game because of health reasons.”

  “Or could even be because you want to start a family,” Colin said quietly as picked up a beer as well.

  Suddenly, coughing ensued from Lucas’ direction and Colin’s head bolted up. Lu
cas coughed as if he had choked on his drink. He pulled off his shades when he was better and stared horrified at his friend.

  “Are you insane? Getting married? Me? Oh please man; all that stuff about marriage and love is not for me so let’s just wind it down. I just can’t give up on this great life I have now and be tied down by chains, it is so not happening.”

  Colin chuckled and deciding to change the subject, said, “I am thinking of investing into real estate, so I can have an alternate form of income, to prepare for a rainy day, so to say, and I will advise you do that, Luc.”

  Lucas tilted his head back and downed the rest of his drink, “I could think about it. It could probably bring me a nice nest egg and…”

  “Whooo! Party!!!” Cheers reached the guys as the doors to the hotel room inside burst open and their teammates ran out through the sliding doors to the balcony to meet them; they held six-packs and a large cooler.

  Lucas jumped to his feet and screamed alongside them.

  “I take it we’ve got the venue locked!” Colin had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard.

  “Ooh yes, it’s gonna be a weekend of hot, wild sex and booze, man!” one of them shouted in response as they pulled Colin into the screaming fold.

  Lucas grinned at his reflection in the mirror as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked great. His hair was spiky and he laughed at his reflection. Still, it didn’t matter. He knew that no matter how terrible he looked, he would remain who he was, to his coach, his teammate and all football enthusiasts, he was Lucas Dennison, the star quarterback of the Winton Warriors, and the one who could get them out of any tight situation and make the winning goal even in the last minute; to his friends and his team and the tabloids, he was a party animal; to the females, he was a panty wetting, walking sex machine, dripping of pure testosterone goodness and also, he was the irresistible heartthrob. Every woman out there wanted a piece of him and who could blame him if he loved that fact? They wanted him and he wanted them. It was all consensual.

  He stepped away and he lifted his hand to check the time on his wristwatch. It was just before seven pm. The party was not going to start really well till about ten pm. That was when all the fun would truly be on. He grinned as he stepped out of the house. There was nothing he liked more than Friday parties except football, well and a good fuck and pizza; okay there was a lot he loved more than Friday parties but heck, he still loved them.

  It was Friday night and they had been able to get the house in Green Grove for the weekend so without a second’s delay, they had let out the information about the party on Instafame. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the house would be crawling with hot chicks, all eager to grace celebrated athletes’ beds, even if for one night. And of course, they were eager to bed the hot and wet women too. Who wouldn’t?

  He headed down to the main floor where drinks were still being brought in. All surfaces were covered with glasses, disposable cups, wine bottles, canned drinks and beer bottles as well. Literally, drinks were flowing.

  “Did you rob a liquor store or what?” Lucas asked his teammate, Thinko, as he walked up to him and clapped him on the back. He was the one supervising the drinks as they were being brought in

  “Not one, four actually,” Thinko replied, his eyes shining with delight.

  Lucas’ blue eyes narrowed and his hand on Thinko’s shoulder tightened and the man winced, “You do know that we have a game this weekend, don’t you, Thinko?”

  “Yes... but…” Thinko’s eyes widened. Lucas’ behavior was unusual.

  Lucas broke into a laugh and he slapped Thinko’s shoulder. “I am just messing with you man! Oh, you should have seen your face!”

  “Lucas!” Thinko glared at him but then, he broke into laughter.

  “When has a game ever stopped us from partying?!” Lucas called as he backed away.

  “Never!” Thinko replied, still laughing.

  Lucas headed to the kitchen where there were drinks but there was also food as well. After all, what was a party without food? They were going to be doing lots of drinking and fucking and food was needed for both actions. He picked up a bag of chips and sidestepped one of the deliverymen.

  Finding himself out in the large sprawling lawn, Lucas looked around and sighed, a smug look on his face, a look showing how satisfied he was. In a matter of a few hours, the whole place was going to be riddled with partiers, high on booze but never drugs. He grimaced at the thought of drugs. That was one thing that the teammates never approved of; they were not only concerned about the danger and how addictive it could be but also the danger it would pose to their careers.

  Lucas could hardly wait for the party to be in full swing. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he broke into laughter. Had Colin seriously mentioned marriage to him? What on earth would make him do that? He, Lucas Dennison. Married? Now that was something that was never going to happen. There was no girl in the world, no girl out there that could make him give up his life, give up even a little bit of his time and start a family. No, that was never going to happen. This was his life. He loved it and it was not going to change. Heck, he was Lucas Dennison and he was never going to fall in love. He was a hundred percent sure about that.

  As he looked down the driveway, a Porsche was rolling up. He stepped back and turned around; the party was soon about to start, he might as well get ready. As he walked towards the house, he could not help but wonder if there was something his best friend was keeping from him. Was he thinking of getting married? Else, where did that idea spring from?

  True to Lucas’ prediction, the party was in full swing by 10 p.m. He was already downstairs and mingling by 9:30. A beer in hand and a pizza in the other, Lucas did his rounds, his eyes flitting around the room, taking in all the sights. Now and then, his eyes lingered on one or the other but he still had not found what he was looking for. He had no idea what it was but he knew that he would know it when he saw it.

  As he wiped his hands on a napkin and threw it into a tray, his eyes found a corner of the room and he saw her. He quirked a brow as he watched her, a brunette with glasses on. She was not usually his type but there was something about her that drew him to her. He had no idea what it was but to know what it was, he had to make a move. As he got closer, he observed her body language. Her hands were crossed in front of her and he could see her eyes flitting around underneath the glasses, as if she was looking for someone. Well, it was just the loss of that someone that he would not be having her tonight.

  “Hi,” Lucas said as he stepped in front of her, ensuring to place his body in front of her completely so that her view of anything else was blocked.

  She looked up at him with narrowed eyes and rather than reply, she looked away which was a pretty vain attempt because now she was looking at his shoulder.

  “Would you like a drink?” Lucas asked. He had no plans of giving up. She was soon going to know how persistent he was once he set his mind on something.

  She looked up at him, a frustrated look on her face and for a moment, she looked like she was about to say no and he was already thinking of the next line to use when she nodded, and then said, “Sure.”

  “Great,” Lucas said. He nodded and turned to someone passing by. He grabbed the two bottles, ignoring the surprised look on the guy’s face. He tilted his head in the other direction and said, “Thanks.”

  He turned back and gave her his killer smile. He unscrewed the cap of the bottle and extended the cold bottle to her, “Here you go.”

  He watched her raise the bottle to her lips with unsteady fingers and he smiled as he leaned a hand above her head casually and drank with the other.

  “So… are you enjoying the party?” he asked, trying to make conversation but not deep enough that he got to know anything intense about her. That was not how he rolled. He was never interested in anything beyond the surface. Good sex, that was all he was after.

  “It’s okay,” she said with a small smile. She f
inished her drink a few gulps later, and he asked, “Want another?”

  “Sure,” the girl whose name he did not know said. This time she smiled more widely, exposing perfect white teeth.

  He nodded at a waiter and picked up two glasses brimming with wine. He shooed the guy away and turned back to her. She raised a brow and said,

  “Hmm… first beer and now wine.”

  “Ooh yeah,” he raised his glass and did a mock toast.

  He watched her lift the glass to her small, pouty lips once more and he smiled. What could he say? He was imagining those lips in some really intimate places. And just then, he felt a strain against his trousers and he looked down and groaned.

  “So, do you want to go upstairs or something?” he managed to ask. He looked at her and he winked.

  She blushed and nodded. He placed his arm around her and smiled down at her. Then, he took the glass from her. As they walked towards the stairwell, he set it aside and they headed up.

  Chapter 2

  Amanda

  Earlier on Friday

  “Mandy! Mandy! Where is this girl for crying out loud?!” a voice called from the stairwell. Still there was no response. The door to the den opened up and the person on the balcony was still unaware that there was someone behind her as she typed away on her computer. Her head bopped along in time with the music playing from the headphones around her head.

  Amanda’s sister sighed in exasperation as she crossed the den, heading over to her sister. She pushed open the sliding doors and stepped out onto the balcony. She pulled the headphones off and Amanda jumped in shock. When she saw that it was her sister, she heaved a sigh of relief.

  “Oh, it’s you,” she whispered, her hand on her chest. “You scared me, May.”

  “Who did you think it was? The bogeyman?” May teased as she settled on the banister of the railing.