A/N Happy Football Day! It's still happy for me because the Noles managed to win, despite playing like crapola yet again. And yes, I still didn't watch them play a down. It works for us. They win and I stay sane. And we all know my sanity is hanging by a thin thread at this point! hehe You'll see that when you read this chapter :) It's a fun one!

So, Miss State is out, now who's in? Ohio State who lost their starting QB? TCU? Baylor? I'm interested to see what that ridiculous committee comes up with this time. Seriously, I have no words for those people and their rankings. Well, I do, but some of them aren't fit to print. hehe You can deduce a few I'm sure.

Who's excited about the NE/GB game today? Not only do I have a lot of fantasy players involved, but it should be an awesome game. At least I hope so! I love me a competitive game with two terrific teams.

You'll be happy to know (or maybe you won't care, haha) that Team Watt's Up Cock? is back on the winning side again. And my sad little 2-10 team lost by a scant .2 points to Twilover76. .2! I'd like to thank Bill Belichick for not bothering to let Jonas Gray play one down, which might have made that .2 go away. Awesome.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I destroyed my diet and blew my budget but I had a good time, so I guess that's what it's all about. I'll stop yammering and let you get to it. I know some of you have missed a certain ball of fur, so this should give you a happy feel or seven. hehe Fun one! I hope you enjoy! See you next week :)

Getting Blitzed Chapter 13

Fuck, I hated losing. We were officially 2-2 after four games, which would be okay except for the fact that our losses were in our division to the Cowboys and the Eagles, as well as the fact that I didn't like losing. Now we were essentially an extra game behind in the NFC East. Watching film of Foles leading the game-winning drive against our defense made me sick. If only I'd completed that long pass to Embry the series before. They couldn't have caught us. Fuck.

"Are your ears still ringing?" Sammy asked as he plopped down on the bench beside me. "Coach Hopkins nearly had an aneurism when he replayed my drop in the third quarter. For real, I thought he was going to keel over right there, and then I'd have to give him mouth to mouth. That shit wouldn't have been pretty."

I laughed despite myself. "Nah, Coach bitched me out for the third-and-twelve play where I got intentional grounding, though." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Even though someone ran the wrong route."

He held up his hands. "Don't blame me, man! Jenkins was all over my ass. I had to cut in to get him off me. You should have anticipated that."

I rolled my eyes, but he was right. And he'd pretty much parroted Coach, minus about thirty-five "fucks" thrown in for good measure.

"Yeah, yeah. Are we still on for dinner?"

I'd been spending more time with the team, going out after some practices and games. I didn't go with them to their clubs, but I'd do dinner and a beer before heading home alone. Rainbow hadn't taken too kindly to change in our routine, but after she destroyed a couple of pairs of shoes, we'd reached an agreement of sorts. She didn't ruin shit, and I didn't lock her out of the bedroom as punishment. It worked for us.

"Yeah, we're hitting The Oaks tonight," he said, getting his shit out of his locker. "You wanna ride with me?"

I shrugged. "That depends. Are you going to the club after?"

He shook his head. "Nah, man. I can't deal with chicks tonight, not after Coach rode my ass all afternoon. I just want a burger and a beer, and then I want to watch the Skins get their asses kicked on Monday Night Football."

That would cheer us all up. They were a division foe I'd managed to defeat in week three. And they were winless, so at least we weren't in last place. It was something.

"Sounds good to me. Bring me back to get my car, and you can watch the game at my place if you want."

His grin flashed. "I'm in. I've gotta steal your girl from you anyway."

I laughed. "Good luck with that. Bella's got your number." She enjoyed the hell out of Sammy, but she'd never leave me.

"Not that girl. Rainbow. I'm gonna get her to like me best."

I snorted. "You'd have a better shot with Bella." Not really, because both my girls were loyal as fuck. Sammy was a cool guy, but he didn't stand a chance.

I grabbed my keys and phone, heading toward the door. "And we both know you don't have a shot in hell with her either."

Sammy came to a halt as he stepped into the hallway. "You're a lucky guy, Cullen. Bella's everything a guy could want."

I knew that. And why the fuck was he yelling? I got the answer to that when I saw Heidi leaning against the wall in front of the exit. Fucking hell. I hadn't seen her since I'd left her pathetic ass standing in the parking lot a few weeks ago. She'd sent me a couple of e-mails suggesting that we needed to discuss my charities, but I'd responded with Reed Girl's number, telling her again that she was the one to talk to about that shit.

"Edward. You're a hard man to track down." Her smile was bright as hell. And her teeth were super fucking white. She'd glow in the dark at one of Sammy's nightclubs.

"I'm reachable when I want to be." Translation: I have no interest in talking to you. Be gone.

"We keep him busy," Sammy told her, putting a supporting hand on my shoulder. "And what time we don't take up, his girl does. You've met Bella, right?"

If Sammy hadn't already been my closest friend on the team, he'd have elevated to that status right at that moment.

Heidi looked a bit like she'd sucked on a lemon as she nodded. "I have. She seems very nice." She said "nice" like it was a bad word. Bitch. "We really do need to discuss some ideas for your Foundation," she hinted, taking a step toward me. I took an automatic step back.

"As I believe I already mentioned, Bella will be the one to take the lead on whatever it is I do. You two get together and figure it out. I'll do whatever she tells me to do." Yes, I was aware that my statement made me sound like a submissive idiot, but I didn't give a shit. I didn't have time to figure out charity shit, especially not with Heidi. Just tell me when and where to be, and I'd be there. What was so fucking hard to get about that?

"Yes. And I'll get with her over the music charity. But I wanted to talk to you about the SPCA." She had a fake-ass smile on her face. "Perhaps Sammy could give us some privacy?"

Fuck and no.

Before I could say anything, Sammy shook his head. "Sorry, I'm Edward's date for the night. We're heading out to meet some of the boys for dinner. We'd invite you, but no girls allowed."

Her smile was more of a grimace now, but she sighed. "Actually, I needed to speak to you as well. I've spoken with my bosses and several people at the SPCA, and we agree that we'd like to not only raise money, but also to encourage people to adopt animals." Well, duh. "And what better way to do that than to have our own New York Giants pose for pictures with their adopted pets, in a charity calendar?"

Fucking hell. I didn't even have to look at Sammy to see that his ass was laughing. He was no longer my favorite teammate.

She was looking at me expectantly.

"Well, hasn't the calendar thing been done already?"

She smiled. "Not by us. The New York firefighter calendar raises a ton of money every year. We could do a lot of good for the SPCA and get a lot of animals new homes."

Fuck. "What if we took pictures with animals that actually need homes? That would make more sense, right?" Yes, I was desperate. The thought of posing for pictures with Rainbow was fucking terrifying.

Heidi beamed at me. "We'll do that, too! The calendar itself will be players with their own adopted pets, and the website is going to feature tons of pictures of you guys posing with animals that actually need homes! I can see it already! A big defensive lineman like Jason Pierre-Paul holding a tiny kitten in his hands. Who could resist that?"

I shot a look at Sammy, but he wasn't any help. He was grinning his ass off. "I'd love to pose with my dogs, Heidi. They're both rescues."

She grinned at him. "Perfect! I'll e-mail you details. What do you say, Edward? This is your baby, after all."

I was fucked. There was no way I was getting out of this without being a major dick to a charity that I actually believed in.

"How would we do it?"

She smiled brightly, knowing she'd fucking won. "I think the best thing to do would be to set aside a day to take pictures at the practice field. It'd combine football with the animals. The shelter would bring over some of their adoptees, and we could get it all done in one place."

That was a fucking nightmare. "I can't see my pet being around all those other animals. She's a bit temperamental."

Some weird look passed over her face. "Well, maybe we could arrange a private session…"

Oh, fuck no. "Never mind. I'm sure she'll be okay." She might massacre everyone in the building, but then there'd be no calendar, so it was a win.

I lifted my hand to run my fingers through my hair, and Heidi gasped. "Oh my God, did you get married?"

"I told you I was taken." Sammy smirked at me but didn't say anything. It wasn't a lie. I was taken, even if it wasn't official on paper yet.

Heidi didn't bother to try to hide the frown on her face. "Well, that changes things."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? What exactly does it change?"

"I mean, marketing you as a sexy, single guy was kind of where I was going."

"Because people won't want to adopt animals that are pictured with a married guy?" I didn't even bother to contain my snort at that idiocy.

She shifted. "Well, no, but…"

"Well, then. I look forward to you e-mailing the details. Rainbow and I will be there."

"Rainbow?" she asked, but I was already walking away.

Sammy jogged up next to me, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"What?" I asked, stopping at his car.

"You do realize that you had an out right there, don't you? You might not have had to do the picture thing."

Fucking hell. I'd been too irritated to take the out when it was right in front of my face. "Whatever. She pissed me off."

He unlocked the car with his remote. "I don't blame you. Now that she thinks you're married, maybe she'll back off for good."

I threw myself into his passenger seat. "I sure as fuck hope so. I'm getting tired of her shit."

He shot me a look before starting the car. "You know, you could report her."

I rolled my eyes. "For what? Wanting me? I'd have to report half the free world."

He cracked up at that. "Always with the healthy ego, my man."

"She really hasn't done anything inappropriate. She hints at shit, but she doesn't grab my junk or anything. It'd be hard to prove that she was doing anything other than making me uncomfortable, which just makes me sound like a pussy."

"Sexual harassment is real for men, too," Sammy intoned, sounding serious as hell before breaking into laughter. "You could do a PSA."

"Fuck off. Drive me to dinner, asshole. I need a drink."

He started out of the parking lot. "I really can't wait."

"For what?" I asked, looking over at him.

"For Ms. Rainbow to get a shot at Heidi. You won't have to file harassment charges if she makes a move on you. Rainbow will take care of that shit."

I bit back a groan. God help us all if Heidi did anything that pissed Rainbow off. Although I had to admit, the image I had of it had me smiling.

Sammy hooted with laughter. "It's going to be the best photo shoot ever! I can't wait to save some animals."

Some of those animals may need to be saved if they came across my Rainbow. What had I gotten myself into?

Xoxoxoxoxox

"Remind me again why I'm doing this?" I asked Reed Girl through the Skype app on my iPad.

"Because it's for charity. And animals. We love animals."

I glanced at Rainbow, who was preparing for her big moment in the sun by grooming herself next to me on the bed. "I don't know if I'm going to love them today. This is going to be bad."

To say I was dreading this photo shoot was an understatement. It had come together in record time, which told me that Heidi probably had this shit planned before she even cornered me. We were scheduled to leave for Jacksonville tomorrow, so Coach worked us hard in morning practice, giving us the afternoon to do the shoot and get our shit together to travel.

"You'll be a good girl for Daddy, won't you Rainbow?" Reed Girl cooed through the screen. "And what will you do if a nasty PR lady gets a little handsy with your dad?"

Rainbow responded by lifting her leg to lick her ass. Reed Girl laughed. "Well, I'm going to trust that you're going to do more than that, but if you're calling her an asshole, well said, Rainbow."

"You know she's going to go apeshit when I pose with other animals," I pointed out. Rainbow was territorial as fuck. One time I happened to be near one of Jasper's wastoid cats and there'd been a look of death in her eyes. Everybody said I was exaggerating, but I knew what I saw.

"Stash her in an office or something," she suggested. "I wish I could be there to help."

"To help or to ward off Heidi?" I asked, knowing the answer.

She scoffed. "I don't need to ward her off. She thinks we're married." The smile that lit her face was fucking gorgeous. "She'll back off if she knows what's good for her."

Fuck, she got me hard when she got possessive. "Are you going to fight for me, baby? Because I have to tell you, that would be hot as hell."

Reed Girl laughed. "In your prurient dreams, perv."

I smirked at her. "I'll dream it tonight."

"Good luck with that." She shook her head. "I'm saving my fantasies for the real thing tomorrow night."

And that, right there, was why I'd get through this ridiculous photo shoot. Because tomorrow, my girl and I would be together again. It had been three very long weeks without her. I couldn't wait to get her alone.

"Is there any way we can ditch…"

She stopped me with a laugh. "You know that Jasper's chomping at the bit to see you and talk shop. He's been talking about seeing you more than I have." That was just fucked up. "We'll have the whole night, though."

I guess. Dinner with the gang wouldn't be that bad, as long as Jasper didn't try to molest me or anything.

"I can't wait, baby."

"Me either." She glanced at her watch and winced. "I have to go. Class awaits."

Fuck. "Me, too."

She giggled at my pained expression. "It'll be fine. Rainbow was meant for the limelight, and we both know you already live there."

Maybe. "But she's a cat."

She laughed. "She's the coolest cat ever, which you've said yourself. Let her show her stuff. Nobody will make fun of you."

Sure, that was easy for her to say. "Why couldn't she be a dog?"

"Because she's Rainbow. And you don't want her to be anything other than what she is."

"Not on most days."

She shook her head. "Not ever. Go. Kick some ass. Make sure Rainbow gets within striking distance of Heidi. And call me when you get done."

Like she even had to ask. I'd definitely need her after this. Probably I'd need a few years of therapy, too.

"I will."

"Good. I love you." She blew us kisses.

"Love you, too."

We disconnected, and I faced Rainbow, who stopped grooming and stretched, arching her back, looking for all the world like she was getting ready for what lay ahead.

I pointed a finger at her. "You will not embarrass me. You will not attack any other animal, particularly one that doesn't have an awesome home like you do. You will also not attack any of my teammates, even Colin, who still sort of deserves it. You won't shit, pee, or puke on or in anyone's personal items. You will not freak out. Do we have an agreement?"

She responded by nibbling on the end of my finger. Fucking hell.

"I take it you're not going to get into the cat carrier?" I asked, like I even had to.

Rainbow responded by hopping off the bed and walking past said carrier, tail swishing in the air. Fuck that noise. I didn't have it in me to wrestle with her for the next half hour or so, which was the approximate amount of time it took to get her into one of those things. I didn't bother most of the time.

I followed her out of the room and scooped her up. She eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm not putting you in the damn carrier. But I swear to fuck, if you act up, I'm going to leave you with the shelter people and I'll bring home a nice big German Shepherd to take your place."

She head-butted me, purring as I carried her toward the door. "You could at least pretend to fear that I mean it."

But, of course, Rainbow knew how to call me on my shit, just like Reed Girl did. She snuggled into my neck, purring away.

"Fine. I won't get a German Shepherd. You're probably more protective than it could ever be."

More purrs and head-butts accompanied that. Rainbow knew she won. She always did.

"Let's get this shit over with."

Xoxoxoxoxoxox

I pulled up in the parking lot, groaning at the number of cars that remained. There was no way I was getting out of this without the entire building knowing about Rainbow.

"Remember," I warned her, getting out with Rainbow draped across my chest.

We didn't even get to the door before Jennings was calling my name, running up with some giant-ass dog, which looked like some kind of golden-lab mix.

"So, this is the famous Rainbow. I've heard all about you, kitty."

Rainbow was too busy eying his dog to respond. I couldn't say for certain, but it looked like she was looking down her nose at the animal. Could cats sneer? Because that's what she seemed to be doing.

I tightened my grip on her, even though the dog seemed completely disinterested in her. He was busy wrapping his leash around his owner's feet. No wonder Rainbow was sneering. She'd only do that if she wanted to trip the fuck out of someone. And she would never do it to me.

He cursed and worked on disentangling himself. "Damn it, Duke." He shook his head. "We've had issues with leash training."

"I can see that." I laughed as he got free. "My girl tried putting a leash on Rainbow once. She lay there like a limp noodle and wouldn't move at all until she was free." Rainbow didn't believe in being led around; she did the leading.

He chuckled. "Yeah, I don't think many cats like leashes. She sure seems content in your arms."

"Here's hoping it stays that way," I muttered.

He shot me a look but shrugged. "Let's get to it."

I followed him through the door that led past the offices and media rooms. Before I knew it, we were at the entrance to the field.

"Behave," I said, before taking a deep breath and following my running back onto the field. A bunch of my teammates were lined up, all with dogs, of course, although JPP was holding some giant-ass iguana or something.

Rainbow lifted her head, and I felt her claws flex against my shirt. I'd definitely have holes in this shirt before it was all said and done. That was okay, though. I'd expected that.

Before I could head over to my teammates, Heidi came running up. "Oh my God. You have a cat! That's so-"she broke off at the look on my face "-different." At least she didn't say whatever slam she'd been about to.

"She's Bella's." Rainbow took that moment to give me a head-butt. Of-fucking-course she did. "Ours," I corrected, knowing Rainbow was probably going to make me pay if I denied her.

"She's absolutely adorable! Aren't you? Aren't you a pretty baby?" Heidi was cooing at her in some ridiculous voice that had those claws tightening in my shirt again. Too much more of that, and I knew Rainbow was going to strike. She liked attention but not babying, unless it was by Reed Girl.

"Yeah, she's great. How are we doing this? I'm going to have to put Rainbow away when I take pictures with other animals."

"Is that right? Would you be upset if you saw your daddy with other animals? A sweet little thing like you?" Heidi smiled at me. "I'm sure there's more than enough of him to go around. A good girl would share."

Fucking hell, was she for real? She was damn well playing with fire. If Rainbow didn't get her, Reed Girl was going to.

"I'm a one pussy guy," I said, running a hand over Rainbow, who was starting to growl, a low rumble coming out of her throat.

"Well, you can put her away. What she isn't there to see doesn't have to hurt her. I can be discreet." She tossed in a wink and a lick of her lips.

We both knew she wasn't talking about Rainbow. Fuck this noise.

"Look. I don't know what I have to say or do to get it through your thick skull. I'm not fucking interested. Not now. Not ever. You need to back the hell off, or I'll report you for harassment." No, I wouldn't, but she didn't need to know that.

Her blue eyes got really wide. "Edward, I don't know what you think I meant, but…"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I know when I'm being hit on. It happens all the time." I smirked at her dumb ass. "And all the time, I turn it down because I love my girl. That's not changing. And I'm never going to disrespect her by cheating on her. So stop with the innuendo, stop getting in my face, and stop playing stupid games with me. It's not going to work."

I didn't realize we had an audience until I heard stifled laughter coming from the left. I turned and saw that most of my teammates had crept into ear shot, along with Coach.

Heidi looked over at the same time I did and turned as red as a tomato. "I don't know what you thought I was talking about, but it was your cat. I'll just take her while you get those pictures."

And then, because she was a dumbass who clearly couldn't read signals, she reached for Rainbow. That was all it fucking took. She'd already been on edge from my tone and the other animals in the vicinity, so when a stranger tried to touch her, she lashed out.

Rainbow let out an unholy yowl and let those dagger claws of hers fly, causing five distinct tracks of blood to appear on Heidi's cheek. Heidi screamed, while Rainbow spit, hissed, and I swear to fuck she was trying to reach her for another swipe.

"She attacked me!" she screamed, throwing her hands over her face before turning and running across the field.

Rainbow continued to yell, her fur all puffed up, her ears flat on her head.

"Calm the fuck down. She's gone. You won. Holy shit."

I stroked her fur and murmured at her as she started to quiet down. "Nobody's taking you away from me. You're fine. You did what Reed Girl asked, didn't you? You protected my honor. You're a good girl. Good Rainbow."

She settled down, burying her face back in my neck eventually.

"You okay, man?"

I looked up at Sammy, who approached cautiously.

"I'm fine." I had a few claw marks of my own from Rainbow's back feet, but she hadn't meant to get me.

"What about you, killer? I think you scared every dog in this place." Sure enough, his had its tail tucked between its legs.

Rainbow lifted her head and regarded the crowd around her, seemingly unaffected by what had just gone down. Sammy held out a hand toward her, and she sniffed before giving him a head-butt in greeting.

"Well, at least she still likes me." He passed his dog off to Brady. "I think they're ready for you over there. I'll watch her for you, if she'll let me."

I glanced at Rainbow, who seemed over her snit. "We can try." I pried her claws out of my shirt and held her out to Sammy. Much to my relief, she went with him.

"You're a brave man."

He laughed. "Show them no fear, man. Go do your thing."

So I went and posed with a dog that seemed to love the smell of Rainbow. He sniffed the shit out of me. And I also held a cat that trembled in fear. I wasn't sure if that was just her personality or if the scent of Rainbow had her running scared.

When I was done, I headed over to the bench, where Sammy had Rainbow. He wasn't holding her. He and several of my teammates were gathered in a circle, laughing. I wasn't sure what they were laughing about, but I knew it couldn't be good.

"Hey, where's-"I broke off when I saw that Rainbow was just fine, strolling around the bench and looking mighty proud of herself.

"What are you all doing to my cat?" I demanded.

She immediately ran over to me when she heard my voice, doing her little reach that had me scooping her up.

"We didn't do anything, man. She did it all herself." Brady shook his head. "I know you told me about what she did before, but I kind of thought you were making shit up, until I saw her with my own eyes."

Oh, fucking hell. "What did she do?"

Rainbow purred and started rubbing herself all over me, either because she was proud of herself or because she was trying to take off the scent of the other animals from me. Probably both.

"What didn't she do? See that purse over there?" Sammy pointed at some pink bag on the ground, sitting underneath some files and shit on the bench. I had a bad feeling I didn't want the answer.

"She scratched the shit out of it!" Colin supplied, sounding positively giddy. "Then she climbed on it and peed on top of it. Fuck, man, I know I was pissed off at her for the way she acted at your house, but that shit is hilarious. She's awesome."

"I've never seen anything like it," Sammy said, looking baffled. "She wanted down, and since the dogs weren't close, I let her wander." He smiled. "I swear, I wasn't more than a couple feet away. I would have grabbed her if there was any trouble. She started sniffing and sniffing, just kept going until she found that bag and went to town. I was gonna stop her but, well, Heidi kinda had it coming."

"He did grab her when she started biting the papers. We figured those might be important," Paul said. "Damndest thing I ever saw. She really needs to teach my dogs that shit. I've got this neighbor who needs an ass kicking."

I lifted Rainbow in front of my face, taking in her expression. She looked quite satisfied with herself. I could get pissed at her, but honestly, she hadn't embarrassed me. We'd both embarrassed the shit out of Heidi, and I wasn't getting made fun of because Rainbow had gone all psycho on the bitch. All in all, it was kind of a win of a day.

"She's available for hire," I joked, shaking my head. Rainbow meowed and reached for me. I put her back in her spot. "For now, though, we've got pictures to take."

I took her across the field to the photo area, where the cameraman was ready for us. He called out directions, and I swear to shit, Rainbow posed and preened and acted like she was some Hollywood cat, trained just for this.

"I think we've got our cover," he told me, after one shot where Rainbow had leaned in to my face, putting us cheek to cheek.

"Go figure," I muttered, glad to be done.

Coach was standing by, watching it all with an amused smile on his face.

"Aren't you glad you gave us the day off for this?" I asked.

"Yeah, actually, I am." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Is she a problem?"

"Who? Rainbow? No, I'm used to her crazy."

He laughed. "No. Heidi. Is there a problem I need to address? I won't have her harassing you or anyone else."

I sighed. "She's indicated her interest in me, but I think after today, she's going to back the hell off. If she does anything else, I'll let you know."

"Good. That's all I ask. Though I guess you don't need me as a protector." He smiled and held out a hand to Rainbow. She gave him a head-butt. "I'm glad I'm not on your shit list."

I grinned at him. "Just remember I can sic her on you if you think about benching me."

He laughed. "Not a chance in hell, Cullen."

Damn right. This shit hadn't turned out to be so bad. Rainbow had behaved with the other animals, she'd gotten Heidi to back off, and we'd made the cover of the calendar. Edward Cullen had come up a winner, like always. As had Rainbow, of course. That went without saying.