A/N Happy Football Sunday friends! First, let me apologize if you sent a review and I didn't reply. FF had some issue with my email on Monday and Tuesday so nothing got through to me in the early part of the week. I fixed it and all seems to be well again, but if I didn't respond to you, that's why and I'm sorry! You all know I'd never ignore your reviews on purpose :)

Another undefeated fell yesterday. College football chaos continues! It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. That playoff committee is gonna have their hands full this first year. And let's face it, every year. haha But that's their problem and we'll all just yell about it if our teams get stiffed, right? At least we have a little bit of a playoff. When they accept that their bowls are outdated and turn them all into playoffs, a la March Madness, well, that'll be a beautiful thing.

I think a lot of you have been waiting for what happens in this chapter. hehe I hope you enjoy it! Have a great week ahead and I'll see you next week. Off to tinker (but not stinker, The League fans) with my lineups! Minor time skip this chapter, I'm not writing all the preseason or reg season games, but you'll get records and such, trust me :)

Getting Blitzed Chapter 8

"I really can't believe I'm doing this."

Rainbow eyed me as I put several bowls of chips and pretzels on the coffee table. Beer was chilling in the refrigerator, pizza was on the way, and the new, legitimate housekeeper had the place sparkling.

"I don't know how Jasper talked me into this. Or Sammy. Clearly Reed Girl's been gone too long. I've lost my damn mind."

Rainbow head-butted me as I walked past the couch to grab the remote. We'd played our third preseason game Thursday night, so we had the weekend off. Next week, the scrubs would battle it out to make the team. I might get in for a series, tops. I wasn't concerned about it. I'd done my job in the second game, and especially the third. I'd played that whole half, had no picks, two touchdowns, and I'd only been sacked once. I was ready to go, and Coach agreed with me. The team was officially mine.

Maybe I'd been on a high from that when I'd agreed to this bullshit. Surely I had been when I'd invited the guys over. They'd been giving me shit about seeing my place and meeting Rainbow, so I was finally giving in. I was high on football and sexually deprived. That made for a dangerous combination and had me stupidly letting my two different worlds collide.

"You're going to be as well-behaved as you possibly can be, aren't you?"

Rainbow rubbed up against my hand, purring and swishing her tail happily.

"I mean it. I already told those assholes that you're better than their dogs are, so you have to prove it. They're my teammates, and if you act all crazy, they're going to think I'm nuts, too."

She meowed, which I took as agreement. Then she stood on her back feet, so I took the hint and picked her ass up. She immediately head-butted my face, rubbing all over me and sounding like a fucking lawnmower as she purred away.

"Yeah, yeah. That better fucking mean yes. If you embarrass me, you'll sleep by yourself for a week." Damned if she didn't put a paw over my mouth when I said that. Even Rainbow knew I was spewing bullshit. "Okay, fine, you won't, but only because Reed Girl's not here and I can't sleep alone anymore."

That shit was fucked up, too. I used to love being alone in my bed, but in the past couple of years, I'd grown accustomed to Reed Girl taking up like sixty percent of the space and Rainbow hogging my pillow. I fucking liked it. Road games were going to suck ass this year. I never got used to being alone. And come December, I'd never have to again. Thank fuck.

The bell rang, and I eyed Rainbow again. "Here we go. Remember, best behavior. I like these guys, well-except for Colin. If you want to fuck with his fat ass, feel free."

I put her down, and she padded next to me to the door. That wasn't new. Rainbow was a weird-ass cat who acted like a dog in many ways. Emmett's wussy cat always hid the instant someone came to the door, and I was pretty sure Jasper's were brain dead, since they rarely moved at all, but Rainbow? She fucking walked right to the door to greet whoever was there and make damn sure that they planned on giving her the attention she felt she richly deserved. I shot her one more look before I opened the door.

"Hey, Rook! Where's the beer?" Brady's giant paw clapped down on my shoulder, nearly sending me pitching forward.

Fucking hell. Before I could warn him, Rainbow puffed up and took a swipe at his leg. For being nearly three-hundred pounds, he was agile as hell and just managed to dodge her claws.

"Whoa! Calm down, demon kitty!" He glared at me. "What the fuck, man?"

I shrugged and bent to pick her ass up before anybody else got taken out. "She thought you were hitting me. Rainbow protects me."

He looked at her with what might have been respect. "Can she teach my lab that shit? I'm pretty sure if I was getting my ass kicked in my own living room, he'd just lick the perpetrator."

I laughed at that image. No way would Rainbow tolerate that shit.

"Rainbow is vengeful as hell, man. Bella's ex pissed me off, and she sliced his ear, made him fall on his ass, and pissed in his shoes." I turned to smile at Colin, who loomed in the doorway. "If I don't like someone, Rainbow doesn't like them."

He smirked and looked at her as if she was vermin. He was taking his life in his hands, and he didn't even have a fucking clue.

"Man, it smells like the wrong kind of pussy in here. Where's your girl?"

Oh, fuck no. My fist shot out and connected with his jaw before I even had a chance to think about it. I pressed him against the wall, a hand on each shoulder. Rainbow yowled and started spitting and hissing.

"You will not disrespect Bella, whether she's here or not. And if you ever fucking say one word about her, it'll be your last."

Rainbow punctuated my speech with a growl, and she stood on my shoulder at the ready in case he tried to strike me back.

"Chill, man. Edward invited us over, and you're gonna act like a dick before you even get past the front door? What the fuck is your problem?" Paul smacked him upside the head as he and Sammy stepped inside.

Colin's eyes were narrowed and his nostrils flared. We eyed each other, and I slowly released him. He swiped a hand across his busted lip, never breaking my gaze.

"It was just a joke."

"You can give me shit about anything but my girl. She's off limits, always."

"He's just jealous because he doesn't have one." Sammy smiled, trying to diffuse the tension. "So this is the famous Rainbow. Hello! Aren't you a fierce one, protecting your dad? Can I touch you, or will you try to take my finger off?"

I saw that her fur had started to go back down and figured it was safe. "Hold your hand out to her, and she'll decide if you're worthy."

He laughed and did so. She eyed him, saw his smile, glanced at me, and I gave her a nod. She gave him a head-butt and rubbed against his hand, making him laugh.

"Well, there now. Who's a good girl? And so smart! You know who the best guy here is, don't you?"

And damned if Rainbow didn't rub her head against my jaw that comment. Everyone laughed at that, even Colin.

"Sorry, man. It really was a joke. Rookie hazing, you know?"

No, I didn't know. But he was one of my linemen, and I needed to trust him to protect my ass every Sunday.

"No harm, no foul. Just leave Bella out of it."

"Done." He held out a hand, and I shook it. Rainbow growled low but didn't lash out at him. He was on her list, though, and I knew she'd never like him. Rainbow held grudges like nobody's business.

"So, are we doing this shit or what?" Brady called from the living room.

I ushered the rest of the guys in and found him sprawled over my couch. "Get up, douche. We have enough room for everyone if you don't take up the whole couch."

"Where's the food?" Paul asked, already helping himself to a handful of chips.

"On its way." I'd ordered five pizzas, and there were only five of us here. That should be enough, even knowing how Colin and Brady could eat. Well, all of us, really.

Brady sat up, and I took my recliner before one of those fuckers even thought about it.

Sammy was wandering around the room, checking out the view and looking at the pictures of Reed Girl and me that decorated the bookshelves.

"Nice pad, Cullen. What did this set you back?"

I shifted uncomfortably at the question. We all had money, obviously, but I had more than even the vets in the room did. "A couple mill." Give or take another million.

He whistled. "Must be nice to be a quarterback."

I rolled my eyes. "Like you're begging for change in the streets? You make more than I do." For now.

"Until you add up your endorsements." He pointed at the Rolex on my wrist. "Timex wants me to model their plastic line. A thousand bucks!"

We all laughed at his stupid ass, but I had to admit he'd dispelled some of the tension between Colin and me. We shot the shit for a few minutes until the food came. Then they all ate like they hadn't been fed in months.

After most of the food was demolished and a couple beers consumed apiece, Brady grinned at me. "So, are we doing this or what?"

I glanced at the clock and bit back a sigh. I still couldn't believe I'd agreed to this.

"Okay, but remember, I warned you. He's not…"

"Normal. Yeah, yeah, man, just get him on the thing." Paul gestured at my iPad.

I grabbed my laptop while they got out their phones and tablets, logging in to my wifi. I sent a silent prayer to the football gods that he wouldn't do anything stupid, and then connected to Skype.

"Edward!" There was no hiding the utter joy in the word and the grin on his goofy face.

"Jasper. Guys, this is Jasper. Jasper, this is Paul, Sammy, Colin and Brady." I showed him each individual before placing him on the coffee table.

"Hi!" Jasper waved at them all. "Emmett will be here in a minute. You need to connect the chief."

Christ. Reed Girl owed me like five blowjobs for agreeing to this. I pulled up Charlie and added him to the call. He answered extremely eagerly, and I bit back a sigh when I saw that he was wearing my Giants jersey. He didn't look anywhere near as good as his daughter did in it.

"Edward! How are you, son? How's your arm? Are you ready for the season? You looked great on Thursday night!" It all came out in one quick breath.

"Hi, Charlie. I'm all good. These are a few of my teammates." I took him through the intros, and his eyes got really wide when he saw Paul and Sammy. "Guys, this is Bella's dad, Charlie."

They said hellos and went back to perusing their devices.

"Hi, Chief!" Jasper grinned. "I almost wore that exact same jersey, but then I decided it looked better on Bob." Oh, fuck no. But yes. The next thing I knew, Bob the bear was filling the screen, wearing a little version of my jersey.

"Would you put that thing away?" I hissed.

"Fine." Jasper looked all sulky about it, but he did. Of course, it was already too late. My teammates were looking at him as if he were some sort of mental case. Which, of course, he was.

"I'm so excited. I've never played before!" Charlie was flipping through several stacks of magazines. "Look, Edward, there you are!"

Fucking hell. "Yeah, it's pretty cool, Charlie."

"And Sammy, you're ranked pretty high here. And you too, Paul. I was going to take Percy, but maybe I'll take one of you." Charlie looked positively giddy that he could draft one of my teammates. "Edward, you'll throw a lot to whichever one I take, won't you?"

I snorted as they all stared at me.

"Dude, draft me! Then you'll throw to me more," Sammy begged, making us all laugh.

"Fuck that noise. I'm not taking any of you losers."

They flipped me off, and I laughed.

"Damn right you're not." Emmett leaned in front of Jasper, pointing at me through the iPad screen. "Rule number one, no Giants players get to draft Giants players. You have insider information."

I rolled my eyes. "And you'll be begging me for that insider information every week when you set your lineup."

"Of course I will. It's my right as your big brother." He grinned. "Hi, guys. I'm Edward's older, more handsome, and much more talented brother."

"He's also a lot dumber, so you'll likely get a win when you're up against him," I supplied helpfully.

"Fuck you. I'm serious, though. No taking yourselves."

That was fine with me. "I'm cool with that. Guys?"

There were some grumbles but everybody agreed.

"Okay, everybody log in."

I connected to and grinned when I saw I was second to draft. So much I could do there. I could take Manning if he didn't go one, or I could take any of the big running backs. Charles kicked ass last year, but so did McCoy with that fast-paced Eagle offense. Decisions, decisions. Then again, the Eagles were the enemy. Did I really want to root for a divisional foe? I shouldn't have played this year, but it was tradition at this point.

"Who in the hell is Gordon's Ganja Guru?" Colin asked, laughing at the screen.

Jesus fucking Christ. "Damn it, Jasper."

"What? He clearly needs me. He keeps failing tests! I could help him out!" Jasper nodded sagely.

"Don't you even attempt it, jackass. I'll tell Coach to test you every week."

"I'm not! I've been clean for ages. The only weed I've handled was for-" he broke off and looked around guiltily "-a friend."

I narrowed my eyes at that. "Are you fucking dealing? I swear to God, Jasper, I'll get Shorty right now and-"

"No! I gave it to my friend for free. It was a present! I would never!"

He sounded so worked up that I dialed it back a bit. "Fine. Just don't do it again. You represent my team now, you're the face of the Noles, and if you do anything to embarrass us, I'll kick your ass myself." Once a Nole, always a Nole. I wasn't going to let him fuck up what I'd built.

"I won't." He smiled. "I'm ready for Saturday! Thank you so much for helping me. I feel better now."

I nodded. "Good. Just remember to watch the safety blitz. Check off to the backs if they bring the heat. You'll be fine."

"Ahem." Charlie's moustache was twitching. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of that other part of your conversation."

Fuck, I forgot he was a cop. He never acted like one when I was around him.

"You don't do drugs, do you, Edward?"

He sounded depressed at the very thought of me doing drugs. "I've never touched the stuff, Charlie. My body is a temple."

"Yes, it is," Jasper agreed weirdly. Fucking freak. Thank God he was in Tallahassee and nowhere near me.

"That's good, then. Are you ready for your first game?"

I nodded. "We're getting there. My timing with these two is pretty good." I gestured at my receivers.

"You mean, we make your rookie ass look good," Paul corrected. "His arm is decent."

"I'll show you decent, motherfucker." I chucked one of the throw pillows at him, nailing him in the face as he sputtered and laughed. "Take that."

"All right, boys, we have some drafting to do!" Brady rubbed his hands gleefully.

The clock was ticking down. I pulled my laptop on my lap and got ready.

Rainbow deserted the arm of my chair and hopped on the back of the couch. I watched as she strolled past Paul and Sammy without incident and laughed when her tail whacked Colin right in the face. He spluttered and wiped at his mouth, where he'd gotten a mouth full of fur.

"What the fuck?" he demanded, turning to face her but she'd already hopped safely out of the way.

"She hates you," I told him.

"She hates me, too," Jasper said, still looking fucking sad about it. "Did you try to paint her nails?"

"What? Fuck no." Colin shook his head. "I pissed him off by joking about his girl, and she tried to attack my ass."

"And just what did you say about my daughter?" Charlie asked, sounding all cop again.

I laughed as Colin shifted uncomfortably under his angry gaze. "It was nothing. She seems like a great girl. Woman. Lovely."

"She is. Is that why your lip is swollen?"

Damn right it was.

Colin nodded. "Yeah." He glanced at me. "I had it coming."

"Good job, Edward."

I grinned. "Thanks, Charlie."

"Nice shot, bro! I'm impressed you'd take on a guy twice your size."

"Hey, I'm not that big!" Colin protested.

"Yeah, you are," Sammy told him. "You just ate an entire pie by yourself."

"So? I'll burn it all off next practice! And you ate nearly as much!"

"But look at how svelte I am." Sammy stood and gestured at his body. "You wish you had this body."

I had to nip this shit in the bud. "He wouldn't do me a hell of a lot of good on the line if he had your skinny body. Now, can we draft?" We were under the minute mark.

"Yes! Let's do this!" Paul sat forward eagerly.

"Your team is now on the clock," came through the iPad speakers.

Jasper grinned as he made his selection. I looked to see who I'd have to take off my draft board, but…oh, hell no.

"Dude, is he serious?" Brady asked, laughing at the screen.

"What?" Jasper asked, looking confused at being questioned.

"Damn it, I wanted to take him!" Charlie yelled, getting all red in the face.

"You don't… You can't…" I couldn't even begin to believe those two.

Emmett was laughing his fool head off. "Dude! I thought you wouldn't go until like the seventh round at the earliest."

That would have been a little more accurate. But no. Jasper had taken me with the first pick in the first round of the draft.

I was so dazed that my clock was ticking toward zero, so I quickly took Manning, not wanting to pick between McCoy and Charles. Peyton would light it up like he always did anyway.

"Now that's a worthy pick!" I glared at Colin, who shrugged. "I'm not saying you won't be, one day. But come on, man. You're a rookie! Nobody takes a rookie at number one. I don't care who he is."

"He's my best friend, and I'm supporting him." Jasper gave Colin the finger.

"Whatever, man. It'll be nice to get an easy win when I'm up against you."

"Hey, are you guys even allowed to play fantasy football?" Emmett suddenly asked, looking worried. "I don't want you to be ineligible."

I shook my head. "We can play so long as it isn't for money."

My brother looked relieved. "Oh, that's okay, then. We're playing for tattoos anyway."

I rolled my eyes. He was fucking obsessed with that insane tattoo league that ESPN liked to highlight every year.

"There is no way in fucking hell that I'm getting a tattoo picked out by any of you morons." Not that I was going to lose, mind you, but still. I wasn't agreeing to shit.

"You scared, Eddie? I think you'd look great with a picture of your cat on your chest." Paul nearly fell off the couch, he was laughing so hard at his own stupidity. And of course Rainbow chose that moment to hop up into my chair and wedge herself partly on my lap, squishing between my laptop and the side of the recliner.

Like fucking hell. Rainbow rocked, but no. "And you'd look great with a giant tattoo of DeAngelo Hall. He is the one who owned you last year, isn't he?"

Everybody laughed as Paul straightened up and scowled at me. "Okay. No tattoo."

"Aww, man." Emmett looked like he was about to cry.

"Imagine Blondie's face if she saw the heart tattoo with some other girl's name on your chest, because that's what I'd make your stupid ass get for coming up with the idea in the first place."

He actually paled and visibly blanched. Ha! I fucking win, as always.

"You wouldn't!"

I raised an eyebrow, and he knew I wasn't fucking around. "Bella wouldn't let you."

He was probably right, but I sure as fuck wasn't admitting that now. "She asked me to get this league together, so she owes me." Ten blowjobs now that Jasper had taken me in the first round and made us both look ridiculous.

"Fine. No tattoos. But it would have been awesome."

I let Emmett sulk as the draft went on. The big backs were flying. Colin pumped a fist when he selected McCoy.

"At least now when the Eagles run all over our D, I'll benefit from it." He lifted his bulk off the couch. "Where's the bathroom?"

"First door on your right," I told him, pointing down the hallway.

Rainbow stood, and I swear she gave a happy little tail swish as she jumped off my lap. Colin started toward the bathroom, and suddenly, she darted between his feet. He lurched and his arms pinwheeled comically as he crashed to the floor. There was a moment of silence before everybody started laughing their asses off.

"What happened?" Emmett, Jasper, and Charlie all demanded since they couldn't see that part of the room.

"What the fuck?" Colin bellowed. "She fucking tripped me!"

Charlie snickered then. "Like with Riley?"

I gave him a nod as I scooped a triumphant Rainbow up when she came running my way, no doubt looking to me for protection if Colin decided to retaliate against her.

"Good job, Rainbow." Charlie nodded with approval before selecting Lynch with his pick. "If I can't have you, I'm getting Seahawks," he told me. Of course he was.

Colin stood, scowling at Rainbow and me. She was purring in my arms, proud as she always was when she deployed her fuckery on those who had it coming.

"She did that shit on purpose?" he asked, sounding like he didn't believe it.

"I told you she's smart as hell. You pissed me off, which made her hate you. You're lucky that's all she did."

His eyes narrowed even further. "She's lucky I don't hurt animals. I'll have to get you back, somehow."

"I'd say we're about even, all things considered." Not really. All I'd ever done was punch him. He'd been an asshole since I'd arrived at camp.

"Gotta earn your stripes, Rook." He shook his head and headed toward the bathroom.

"He's gonna do something to piss me off, isn't he?"

"More than likely." Brady shook his head. "Don't take it personally. He's testing you."

"And since I punched him in the face, I guess I failed."

"Like hell you did. Anybody insults my daughter; you go ahead and punch them. I'll make damn sure you're never charged," Charlie promised.

"Thanks, Charlie."

Colin came out of the bathroom and smiled. "So, are we drafting or what, bitches? Let's get this done."

I wasn't sure what had made him so fucking happy, but I wasn't going to waste my time worrying about what he was up to. The draft continued mostly without incident. Jasper drafted Josh Gordon in the fourth round, completely wasting a pick since he was suspended for the year, but told us that he did it in solidarity with his pot-loving brother. Fucktard. He killed me.

We had a good time trading insults and giving each other shit and I was pretty sure everybody had fun.

After the draft was over and I was finally rid of everybody, I headed toward the bedroom. It had been a long fucking night. Before I could reach it, though, a disgusting odor hit my nose. "Motherfucker!" I ran into the bathroom, and sure enough, my toilet was completely clogged with Colin's nasty shit and a bunch of toilet paper. Fucking asshole.

"You should have scratched the shit out of him," I told Rainbow. "I don't know how yet, but he's going to pay." I'd figure it out, eventually. For now, I had a fucking toilet to unclog. Fuck this noise. Reed Girl should totally let me have anal for dealing with this shit. Literally. It was the least she could do. Not that I was going to say that. She'd have my balls, and not in the good way.

"This is why it's better when it's just us," I told Rainbow. "Everyone else fucks things up."

She clearly agreed with me, rubbing against my ankles as I assessed the mess.

"Fuck it. Let's call maintenance. They can take care of it." I'd give them a big bonus. "Come on. Let's go plot against Colin."

I had no doubt if she could talk, Rainbow would have an epic idea. She was crafty like that. But I would figure something out. I always did.