Crazy Thing Called Life Read online

  He's even more gorgeous in person. In the pictures around town, his blond hair is typically in a mohawk, but now it’s swept all over the place from running his hands through it. Sadly, little bits of dried blood are in his hair and scruffy beard from carrying Fuzzy. The collar of his long sleeve green and blue plaid button-down lets a peek of his tattoo show against his pale skin, which he can definitely rock.

  Trust me, the shirtless ad of him for the summer fun festivities with the team are a sight to behold. I'm surprised his biceps haven't bulged through the sleeves with how flexed they are right now. I have to concentrate extra hard not to look at the other bulge he's supposedly known for. The ad with him in only football pants and his hardened stare is one that creates wet dreams across the city.

  Hell, even the state.

  Err… nation. Yep.

  I’ve had many, many daydreams about this man, but I'll never tell him that. Or anyone else for that matter.

  Even though I've been around celebrities before, it's still hard for me to not get star struck in Colin Shaw's presence. My Aunt Miriam has had a few famous people come to the family vineyard in Napa Valley, but I have never gotten this distracted before. His green eyes still seem distraught over the accident, and I want to calm him down as best as I can like I do with all the other clients. I keep reminding myself it's not selfish, it’s for professional purposes. Part of being a veterinary student is to help the owners while Dr. Schultz did his full-scale exams.

  My dreams to be a veterinarian also meant dealing with real people along with their beloved pets and building relationships with them is very important. Growing up on a vineyard and inn, I was taught how to deal with people from all walks of life. I wasn’t shy around strangers.

  Clients and guests bring their pets into the office all the time, and I always enjoy playing with them. We have three dogs at home and horses in the barn. Growing up, the people staying at the inn would pay me to watch their pets for them while they did the tours and classes. I could never get enough of playing with the different breeds and species.

  While Dr. Schultz has Fuzzy in the X-ray room, I take the opportunity to talk to Mr. Shaw per Dr. Schultz's order rather than my own selfish desire to hear his voice.

  Mantra repeated: Professionalism over selfishness.

  "Mr. Shaw, are you okay to give me some information for Fuzzy's records so we can send them to her regular vet?"

  His demeanor has calmed down enough that his adrenaline is probably wearing off. Now he just looks confused. He runs his tongue around his lips, and I notice a silver ball moving across his top lip.

  He has a tongue piercing, too? How did I not know this?

  Oh lord in heaven, that's going to be added to my fantasies.

  He paces for another few seconds before speaking again. "I don't know who my brother planned to use as a regular vet. They only got her last week from a shelter for my nephew's seventh birthday. I don't even know what breed she is."

  I jot down some notes then reply, "Well, we would love to have Fuzzy be a part of our family as we offer a variety of animal care services. However, if your brother decides to go elsewhere, we can certainly provide today's information to the vet of his choosing."

  "We both don't live too far from here, so I'm sure he'll pick you guys. I just need the puppy to be okay. My nephew means a lot to me."

  Reaching out to touch his hand, I ignore the intense tingling in my body as I reassure him, "Dr. Schultz will take great care of her. From what we've both seen, Fuzzy just took a small tumble trying to keep up with you. You are an MVP after all."

  He squeezes my hand before his pacing begins again then I continue to type up the notes. Fifteen minutes’ pass before Dr. Schultz walks back in with a sleeping Fuzzy and talks to Colin.

  "Mr. Shaw, the x-rays confirmed one broken rib and a sprained ankle along with the cut ear. I already glued the ear shut so Natalie will wrap both her ankle and belly."

  Colin briefly looks at me then back at Dr. Schultz, a wary look on his chiseled face. "Umm…no offense to Natalie, sir, but is she qualified?"

  Normally, I would be not be offended by that question. Our older patients are reluctant to let a student touch their precious beings, but coming from him, my heart sinks. I may be one of the youngest vet students at U of H, but I'm also top five in my class.

  With a tone of extreme professionalism and no rudeness whatsoever, Dr. Schultz replies, "Natalie is actually a final year veterinary student at the University of Houston and has over 500 hours of experience under her belt. She is more than qualified to wrap a rib and an ankle. Yes, I will be here to watch, but I have the utmost faith in her abilities."

  My heart warms at the words from Dr. Schultz, but to paying clients, they can mean absolutely nothing. Another glance at Colin shows the guilt on his face, and he immediately apologizes.

  "I didn't mean to offend you, I'm just worried about the puppy. I hope you understand."

  I give a slight nod and keep my reply professional. "Apology accepted. Now let’s take care of this little one."

  Quickly and quietly, I wrap the pup to avoid any discomfort on her end in case the medicine Dr. Schultz gave her starts to wear off.

  Colin drops into the chair in the corner of the room and covers his head with hands. When he lifts his head, his face is tired, and he starts to rub his right shoulder.

  I can't help myself. "I heard about the shoulder separation. Do you need an ice or heat pack?"

  His face holds a brief second of shock. "You know about my shoulder?"

  He's probably been bugged more about that model's accusations than his injury.

  "Yeah, I was listening to the game while studying."

  Dr. Schultz puts his hand on my shoulder. "Natalie is not only an excellent student, she's also an avid sports fan. Horse competitions and football are her favorites." Pride glows on his face as he brags on me. He's the father figure I have out here in Houston. My dad, Paul and him act like brothers whenever he comes to visit.

  I can also tell he's trying to butter Colin up to me after what he said earlier. I doubt it will work. I'm sure he has more models waiting for him the minute he walks out the door.

  I laugh at Dr. Schultz's matchmaking attempt then turn my attention back to Colin.

  "I'm sorry you're not playing on Sunday."

  He rubs his shoulder again as if it reminds him why he can't play.

  "I'm still flying out there. I hope you're still planning on keeping up with the team without me there."

  A smile crosses my face as I think about what I'll be doing Sunday. "I’ll be listening to the game as I pack to head home for the holidays. Never miss the chance to root for the Rams. The offense has been incredible this year."

  Colin gives me a look of shock and then an evil smile. We both know the team wouldn't have won half of their games this year if it hadn't been for him and the rest of the offense. The only reason they didn't make the playoffs is because of some meshing between the defensive coaching staff and losing a game by one point. Their confidence is shot right now.

  I look at the MVP and know he wishes he could play. His chest heaves as if he just ran across the field a dozen times, and I'm captivated.

  The air in the room rises a little by the deep stare Colin's giving me. He licks his lips again and before I jump off the chair to straddle him, our spell is broken by Dr. Schultz's voice.

  "Okay, Colin. Natalie's done a wonderful job with Fuzzy, and I don't see a reason to keep her here any longer. Take her home so she can rest. Now go make sure your backup does Houston proud, and you have a Merry Christmas, son."

  Once Dr. Schultz assured me that Fuzzy was going to be okay, relief washed over me; however, it was quickly replaced with guilt. I can't believe I fucking injured Danny's puppy. I was just trying to teach her to play fetch so that Danny can toss around some toys with her when they get back from California.

  Grant's going to kill me if Jamie's motherly hormones don’t kill me first.
<
br />   I didn't even attempt to get Fuzzy housebroken at all.

  On the way home, I bought the comfiest doggy bed I could find for Fuzzy to relax on and a six pack of beer for me.

  Okay, a twelve pack.

  I take an extra long shower to get the blood off me and have the warm water run over my shoulder. I stay in until it gets cold to help ease my attraction from the clinic earlier.

  Dropping onto the couch with a cold beer, I make sure Fuzzy is laying down in the bed. My thoughts drift back to the vet nurse, Natalie, who helped me.

  There were words coming from the vixen of a woman's mouth, but I couldn't actually comprehend them. I was in awe of the calmness and professionalism she had shown me the moment I ran through the doors. I had to wonder if she recognized me before the doctor had said anything and was just star struck.

  She had something soothing about her. She was clearly used to dealing with nervous and frantic people, which obviously I was. The smooth grace of her voice and body movements was enough to help me focus while the doctor helped Fuzzy. Immediately on red alert, I acted like a jerk to avoid the physical effect she had on me. I feel shitty that I questioned her skills, but in all fairness, I thought she was just an assistant. I didn't want to show her that I was attracted to her after only five seconds of talking. Dr. Schultz's speech brought me back to the reality of the situation, and the guilt ate at me more than the soreness in my shoulder.

  Her asking about my shoulder sent a shock wave through me. My attraction to her grew, and I was grateful when Dr. Schultz interrupted.

  Loves horses and football? Now that's my kind of woman, and I had forgotten about my shoulder.

  When I was sitting in the exam room with my tail between my legs, pun intended, I finally took a good, long look at her.

  Her image is forever in my brain. This was a woman who didn't know how beautiful she was because she definitely didn't flaunt it. I'm an average five-feet-eleven, but she’s at least half a foot shorter than me.

  Maybe more. God, I could have some fun with her.

  With long and wavy light brown hair, I had to resist the urge to run my fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. Her heart-shaped face held big blue eyes that lit up when our hands touched, which somehow seemed to calm me down in a less than ideal situation.

  I could not get hard while I had puppy blood on me.

  She wore little makeup on her ivory, freckled skin that looked desperate to have my tongue trace. Her body held a runner's build to her petite frame, with curves in all the right places.

  Mouthwatering curves that begged for my hands to roam free across every inch.

  My dick hardens to a point where I would need to take another cold shower today.

  Or three.

  She’s definitely a woman that I need to stay away from. I can't bring a woman into my life right now.

  I rub my hands over my face and groan at the feeling of my gym shorts tenting even more. My dick is pushing to come from the top of the elastic, begging for her hands to wrap around me and stroke me roughly until she needs me to make her scream.

  Between the pressure of next year, my offseason commitments, and trying to stay under the radar, I wouldn't be able to give a woman like her the attention and care she deserves.

  I know I’ll probably regret not even asking her out, but this is a risk I can't take. No matter how sweet and beautiful she is.

  ***

  The days after the incident are boring as I try to not leave the house unless Fuzzy is comfortable or Mrs. Cortez can watch her. I've gone stir crazy from not being at practice, but I'm pretty useless for our last game. Keeping an eye on the puppy is the only thing stopping me from going to the practice field every day and hounding my backup to work harder. Sadly for him, he's gonna fucking hate me at today's afternoon tape session and walk-through practice.

  Grant's coming to pick up Fuzzy today, and it took a little imagination trying to hide the wrap around Fuzzy's ribs. I ordered a puppy-sized team jersey with my number on it and long football socks to try covering up the little wrap around her ankle, too.

  She's relaxing in her "Colin's house" puppy bed when my doorbell rings, followed by the door opening and closing, with my brother walking into my living room.

  I don't even look at him when I speak, "Seriously, Grant, why'd you bother ringing the doorbell if you were just gonna let yourself in?"

  He slaps the back of my head and stands in front of my TV, blocking my view of the sports channel.

  "Because I'm your older brother and you have our dog, so I'm entitled to do as I want. Mom would agree. Now hand over Fuzzy."

  "She's chillin' in her bed. Leave her be."

  He walks over to the sleeping puppy. The confused look I've been anticipating and dreading has come across his face. He asks, "Why does Fuzzy have a dog-sized jersey on her and weird looking football socks?"

  I pull a swig of my beer before replying, "She wanted to show team spirit for her new favorite uncle."

  He crouches down next to her and starts to mess with the jersey. "I'm taking this ridiculous thing off of her before she hurts herself."

  As he's taking the jersey off, he sees the belly wrap.

  I prepare for the worst.

  Raking my hand through my hair, "Yeah, about the hurting herself."

  Grant jumps up and plants his hands on his hips. "You injured Fuzzy?!"

  I hold my hands up in surrender. Even with a healing shoulder, if he did want to fight, I could kick still his ass with no issues. "Yeah, but then I got her fixed. She has one broken rib, a slightly sprained ankle, and her ear is already healed!"

  "How am I supposed to explain to my seven-year-old that his new puppy has a wrap around her stomach?!"

  Pointing at the dog, I reply, "Put the jersey back on and tell him she was cold."

  Grant pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers and takes a few deep breaths. "Okay, now I see why we couldn't have pets around you when we were kids. Start from the beginning and tell me how you managed this one."

  As I tell him the story, I see his fist clench a few times, but he doesn't make any sudden movements because he remembers who could hurt him. Before I know it, Grant's cutting me off..."Whoa, what just happened with your face there?"

  "What are you talking about? My face is fine."

  "No. You were talking about the vet nurse, then your face turned red, and you got this goofy smile on your face."

  I take another pull of my beer. "Bite me. It did not."

  He falls on the couch laughing, "Dude, you have a crush on the vet nurse! That's adorable, little bro. Did you get her number?"

  "No, dipshit, I was too relieved about the puppy and left. I have the vet's info for you, though, so they can do her aftercare, and she's not a vet nurse. She's a vet student."

  "Hey, smartass, you realize if you have the vet's info for me that means you have a way to call her, right?"

  "I'm not going to use the vet's office to talk to Natalie. That'd be creepy."

  Sarcasm is evident in his voice. "Oh so her name's Natalie, huh? Yet remembering her name isn't slightly creepy?"

  I crack open another beer to avoid looking at him. "The doctor called her by name several times, and it was stitched on her scrubs. Plus, I was kind of a dick to her."

  "Because we all pay attention to women's boobs and what's specifically written on them. And you're a dick to everyone but your own family."

  Okay, so I stared at her tits and was a total dick to her because I wanted to stick my dick in her. Her name was stitched in big letters across her left breast and the clinic's logo on the right. I'd trace the letters of her name so slowly, she'd be begging me to feast on them with my legendary tongue piercing. I wonder if her nipples are a light or dark pink, small or large, or can take a little pain.

  I'm a lefty so I'll start on that side. Then I would give just as much attention to the other side, or double team them.

  I'm not picky.

 
I still feel bad over the accident with Fuzzy, and I plan to make it up to Danny as much as possible.

  My thoughts stray back to Natalie in a naughty nurse's outfit. I imagine the pinup version, with the short white dress, cleavage spilling out of the top zipper, and thigh-high white stockings that lead up to a lacy white thong for my hands to grab that delectable ass. The image of her sucking on a cherry red lollipop is a fantasy I plan on reliving over and...

  Smack!

  Another slap to the back of my head is the key to taking me out of my dirty daydream.

  "Colin! I'm still here. I don't wanna see you watch porn in your head. Now get up and help me load this stuff into the car."

  We leave Fuzzy napping in her spot while we load the toys and food he originally brought with him for me to watch her.

  As we're loading the stuff in the car, Grant asks, "So what's the game plan for the week?"

  I think about the schedule for a second before replying, "I go to California on Monday, then straight to Denver for the game, back here for Christmas, and then Oklahoma on the 30th."

  "What's the endorsement deal for again?"

  "Athletic equipment. They have offices here in Houston, but want me to see the headquarters in San Francisco." I roll my eyes before continuing, "They apparently want the bad boy of the Rams."

  Grant doubles over laughing, dropping some of Fuzzy's toys in the process. "I still love this lady killer diva crap they have on you. Lauren didn't fucking know what hit her when you found out."

  The slight anger I have when thinking of Lauren sits buzzing in my stomach. "The bitch didn't realize that I have a bigger following than she does. That article on me having severe anger issues and then the naked, cheating pictures started a fire that I put out quickly. I lay low just to not let Lauren win about that short fuse bullshit, and so far, I think I'm doing good. I still get mad at shit, but saying I trashed hotel rooms with a bunch of groupies went overboard."