ROMANCE: Bad Boy Romance: GAINING YARDS (Alpha Male College Football Player and BBW First Time) (Contemporary New Adult Sports Romance) Read Online Free Page A

breathe, but all that happened was that her face turned red and panic seized her. She stood up, her heart racing, her knees weak, pushing on her rib cage with her hands as the sandwich she'd been eating stuck in her throat.
    She gasped for breath, feeling her head grow light. What do you do what do you do? Lectures from high school health class flashed back to her and she turned her body towards the lab table, wedging the edge of it against her ribs as pushed herself against it. Nothing happened. Oh God, I'm gonna die in biology lab. No one will even find me until tomorrow!
    Just as blackness was starting to overtake her a pair of strong hands tightened themselves around her, gripping her abdomen and pulling themselves against her. Within seconds the bit of uneaten sandwich that had nearly been her undoing was flying across the room. Emma gulped at the air, tasting the sweetness of it as it filled her lungs.
    "It's okay," Mason said. "You're alright. Just listen to my voice, alright? Emma look at me ."
    Emma turned her eyes to Mason. He swam in front of her, but slowly the dim edges of his face came into focus.
    "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked.
    "Two," Emma said.
    Mason looked at his hand and smiled. "Three, but close enough. Here," he said, leading her to a chair and helping her into it. "Just sit for a bit."
    The panic that had gripped her began to diffuse now as she realized she wasn't going to die. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled over her cheeks.
    "Oh hey, it's alright," Mason said, putting an arm around her and drawing her to him. "You're just fine now."
    She allowed herself an uncharacteristic moment to lean against the wall of muscle that was Mason's chest and just let herself be held by a man. He smelled so good. Finally, she pulled away from him and gave an embarrassed smile.
    "I'm sorry," she said.
    "For what?" Mason asked, confused. "For crying on you like that. I'm sure Zoey wouldn't like it very much."
    His expression changed. "Zoey and I broke up, so I don't really think she'd care a whole lot about what I did or who I did it with."
    "Oh," Emma said. "I'm sorry."
    Mason smiled. "Do you always apologize so much?"
    "Um, no. I don't think so. I just...Thank you for saving my life." She blushed and Mason handed her her bottle of water. She took a giant gulp and started coughing.
    "Easy there, I don't want to have to save you twice in one night. That's asking a lot of anyone."
    Emma giggled. Her face flushed. "Um, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Not that I'm complaining."
    "I came to help."
    "With the experiment?" she asked, surprised. "Did Professor Douglas say he'd change your grade after all?"
    "No," Mason said. "I'm getting an F. But I'm the one who messed it up, it's only right that I help you fix it."
    "Oh... uh, that's very... considerate." After the way Mason had acted in class, she was shocked to hear him talk like this.
    "Yeah, well. I'm sorry I was such a jerk today." His cheeks grew pink. "It's just my dad, you know? He doesn't want me putting too much pressure on myself about school. He wants me to focus on football."
    "So that means you have to act like a crazy person in biology?" she asked. She wasn't mad, she genuinely wanted to understand. How could someone so smart act so dumb?
    "If I don't try, the professors let me get by more easily. They just figure I'm a dumb jock and it can't be helped. Then I can focus on football without having to focus on grades. See?"
    "Yeah," Emma said. "I guess. Your dad actually wants you to do that?" Mason nodded. "Jeez, my parents would kill me if I came home with less than an A. I got an A minus once in gym class and they flipped out."
    Mason laughed. "My dad really doesn't like it at all that I even have to take tests. He thinks I should be excused from finals. I bombed a final once—got a straight up F—and he didn't care. But I fumbled the football once during a game, and he grounded me for a month."
    Emma laughed, but she felt bad for