Two Minutes for Holding

Knox stood across from me, anger in his eyes, his right hand in a fist ready to hit me. In that moment, as I stared at him trying to figure out what to say before he hit me, I wished I'd never walked into that little dive bar.

Actually, that wasn't true because that was the night that changed my life forever.

That was the night I saved Knox's little sister, Peyton, from making what I was certain was a huge mistake I'd figure she'd regret for the rest of her life.

We all had a code among the players on the team. We all looked after one another, and that included family members. So, when I saw some guy hitting on Peyton, I stepped in. I pretended to be her boyfriend to get rid of the guy who'd been hitting on her and when she turned those big hazel eyes on me things didn't stop there. I bought her drinks, let her vent out her frustrations about the fight she'd just had with her brother and then one thing led to another, and she ended up wrapped up in my sheets.

A few months later, the memory of her and that night remains fresh in my mind and soon she is all I can think about. Thankfully, I get to see her again at the season's end barbeque. Armed with good intentions, that is when I find out everything is about to change in not only my life but hers, including my friendship with her brother.

The guys on the team had always told me love would hit me when I least expected it, either that or I'd get a girl in trouble. I just never believed they would both happen at the same time.