Halftime Heartbreaker

HALFTIME HEARTBREAKER A COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROMANTIC COMEDY TABATHA KISS CONTENTS Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Epilogue More from the Tabiverse… Also by Tabatha About the Author COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2023 by Tabatha Kiss All Rights Reserved. eBook Edition. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author. This is a work of fiction intended for mature audiences only. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Subscribe to my Newsletter for FREE books! Visit tabathakiss.com/newsletter for more info. For my family. Every last crazy one of them. CHAPTER 1 CONNOR The Start of Their Freshman Year “Hey, Heartbreaker, stop gawking at my sister.” I snap out of it, but my eyes don’t stray far from Dana’s legs. She… never wears sundresses. “I’m not,” I say, adjusting the football in my palm before throwing it back across the lawn. Alex catches it. “Better not be.” He gives me a scolding eye before tossing the ball. Still, my gaze targets Dana again outside of their father’s car on the street. Her blonde hair travels the full length of her back, stopping just before her wrists hanging by her sides. Her dress is yellow and short, her exposed legs smooth and sun-kissed and—she’s looking at me. She’s looking at me, looking at her. I wave at them as her parents exit the car. “Go long, Mr. Kirby!” I shout, readying the ball. He hops backward into the empty suburban street. I throw, putting some heat behind it. John Kirby, retired football royalty, doesn’t need me to go easy on him. The ball sails into his open hands. “Good arm, Connor,” he says, impressed. “Good enough to be scout quarterback?” I ask. He chuckles as he throws it back to me, hitting me with as much force as I hit him. “Don’t see why not.” He sniffs the air. “Your dad out back?” “At the grill last I saw,” I say. He grimaces. “Better get back there before he burns my steak.” I laugh and bow my head to the ladies. “Hi, Dr. Kirby. Dana.” “Hey,” Dana says, her voice barely above a whisper. “Good evening, Connor,” Dr. Rose Kirby says, her own blonde locks fixed in place in a casual ponytail. “Alex.” “Hey, Mom,” he grunts. “Where’s your brother?” “He’s inside, using the bathroom.” With a nod, she steps forward onto the walkway. “No tackling,” she warns us. “Yes, Mother,” Alex says. “Don’t get dirty before dinner.” “Okay, Mother.” “No worries, Dr. Kirby,” I say, flashing a smile. “We’ll be in soon.” “Will Julie be joining us?” she asks Alex. “Nope,” Alex says. “I broke up with her.” Rose stalls on the sidewalk. Dana, too. I stand still, having been there for the breakup itself. It… wasn’t pretty. “What?” Rose asks in surprise. “Why?” “Because I’m a college guy now,” Alex says, scoffing. “I don’t need some high school girl tying me down.” She tilts her head, disappointed, before resuming her stride toward the house. “What?” Alex asks, his hands turned up. I breathe a quiet laugh. Truthfully, I’m not sure I wouldn’t do the same in his shoes. We’ve been talking about college for ages now; all the things we’ll do as Northies, as Alpha Delta Xi brothers, as Bearhawks. Emotional attachments would just get in the way of that. Dana stays a step behind her parents. She glances over her shoulder, her blue eyes focusing on me for a moment before leering at her brother. “Connor!” Alex says. “Throw the rock, man.” I toss the ball back, adding a little extra heat to it. Just like his old man, Alex catches it without shifting a single dark hair on his head. “You really think you have it, don’t you?” he asks. I look at him, raising my hands just in time to catch the ball targeting my face. “Have what?” I ask. “Scout QB.” “Sure, why not?” I throw it back. “You think I don’t?” He catches it. “I think it’ll be harder than you think.” “Oh, really?” “Yeah.” “Why?” “Because you’re not at Chicago North High anymore, Dorothy,” he jokes. “This is Chicago North University. Home of the legendary Bearhawks.” “Yeah, so?” “So, star athletes from across the country are on the scout team, same as us. And guess what? They were QBs at their high schools, too.” I laugh it off. “Yeah, but they aren’t me.” “And who are you again?” I’m Connor fucking Morgan. Son of Junior Morgan. Grandson of— “You’re Connor fucking Morgan, right?” he says, mocking my thoughts. “Son of Junior Morgan? Grandson of Cary Pierce?” He stands tall, smirking. “That’s what you’re thinking, right?” “Okay, we’ve known each other for way too long.” “Or you’re just very predictable.” He throws the ball. “Daddy’s name will only get you so far.” I catch, chuckling as I throw it back. “I could say the same to you, man.” “Hey, at least Ben and I have a gimmick. You…” He checks me up and down. “You have no gimmick.” “Well, keep your eyes peeled, Alex,” I say. “This year, you’ll see something new.” “Big words.” He throws the ball. “For such a tiny man.” The ball arches over my head and into the hands of his brother, Ben. I swivel around, glancing upward to look him in the eye. Same towering height. Same dark brown hair. Same cocky Kirby smirk. Identical in nearly every physical way. Eighteen years I’ve known these guys and I wouldn’t be