Free Down to the Bone by Thirteen Page A

football and anything I do will be related to it.”
    “Jarrett—”
    “And I still intend to play next season,” he warned, perhaps a little too defensively. “And maybe the one after that if I can and if I’m still wanted. I’m not done with it yet, and it is part of my contract with the college. Do you think you could come to those games and be there for me, even if you can’t cheer me on? I mean, until I graduate and find myself a profession that isn’t so hard on my bones?”
    Her dark eyes were shining now, beautiful as deep, dark waters. “Oh, yes.” She gripped him tightly. “That, I can do. But you’d better survive because I don’t want to go on without you.”
    “We’re together on that,” he said, gripping her back. “I want a future with you. That is my new goal.”
     

MAY
     
    His father had gone all out for the Memorial Day barbecue. There were T-bones and ribs, and the weather was playing along as well. The smoke from the roasting meat wafted up into clear and sunny skies, and the green backyard held the smells and promise of summer.
    Jarrett sat under the shade of the blossoming apple tree, drinking down an orange soda and listening with half-an-ear to his father chatting up the neighbors.
    “I wasn’t too happy about it at first,” his father admitted, “but he pointed out that being a chiropractor to football players means he’ll be making steady money till he’s old and gray. And he’ll still be involved in the game. He just started taking the classes this last semester, but his teachers think he’s a natural. Getting all A’s.”
    Jarrett grinned. Things were better between him and his dad, and they’d improved with Frankie as well. His brother was working the grill, head up, his shoulders squared. Now and then, as he deposited a steak or rib on a plate, he even smiled.
    A pair of small hands appeared on Jarrett’s broad shoulders and snaked down his chest. The left one bore a modest, diamond engagement ring. A feminine cheek rested against his.
    “I shouldn’t have worn a sleeveless top,” Liddy murmured in his ear. “Everyone keeps staring at my tattoo.”
    “Just tell them you belong to a motorcycle gang,” he murmured back, and pulled her around into his lap. Her plump ass and thighs wiggled until she was comfortable and he was warmly aroused.
    “Oh, they haven’t been asking me about it,” she said. “They’ve been asking your father.”
    “Uh-oh. What’s he been saying?”
    “Actually, he’s been explaining it quite well. And he’s been boasting about Frankie’s academic awards, too. Says it looks like Frankie’s going to get his own scholarship to college.”
    “Well, that’s something the old man can boast about for sure. That he didn’t have to pay for either of us to get a higher education.”
    She laughed, her glasses flashing in the sun. “Well, you should also know he’s boasting about what a clever girl you got yourself. He seems quite as proud of that as anything.”
    “You sound surprised,” Jarrett retorted. “You shouldn’t be. All he did was evolve. Isn’t that what we Homo sapiens do best? Evolve?”
    “It’s in our bones,” Liddy agreed, removing her glasses.
    That was all the invitation Jarrett needed. He leaned in and exchanged with her a very primal kiss.
     
    THIRTEEN
     
     
     
     
    To read more works by Thirteen, check out:
    Christmas Lantern
    Exchange Value
    Full Disclosure
    Garden of Earthly Delights, The
    Pretty as a Picture
    Special Occasion, A
    Valentine Prayers
     

THIRTEEN
     
    In the Fall of 2005, Thirteen felt a desire to read some romantic erotica and went to an online website to indulge. Halfway through this indulgence, it occurred to her that she had a few erotic and romantic stories she wanted to tell. Six years, four awards—including one from a French website—and twenty-two stories later, she's still writing erotic romances. Who knew such large rewards would come from such a small indulgence?