-25-
JAY
My mom was on me the minute I walked through my dorm room door. Her hugs were legendary in my family. You felt them for minutes after they were over.
I dropped my bag, hugged my dad, and grinned at the blonde girl sitting on the edge of my bed, her arms crossed over her red OSU shirt. Had she worn that all day? She was crazy, and I tried not to laugh. No doubt her stubbornness had gotten her shit. Not from my parents because, like me, they didn’t care much about the rivalry. But others? Yeah, lots of people cared.
“You were amazing,” my mom said. She picked up my bag off the floor, unzipped it, and began to put my shit away. I let her, because she liked doing it, and I was too amped to see Kayla. Talking to her onscreen for the last two weeks didn’t compare to her in real life.
“Thanks,” I said, distracted. Kayla hadn’t leapt to her feet when I came in. Hell, she hadn’t even looked at me yet. Spending the day in Ann Arbor hadn’t been easy for her, and she looked pissed.
“That was some game,” Dad said. He hitched a thumb toward Kayla. “This one can’t stop talking about it.”
Finally, her attention turned up to me, but her expression was dark. “What’s it cost to buy an NCAA ref?”
I blinked. “What?”
My dad rubbed a hand on his neck, like it’d been a long day. “She thinks a facemask penalty should have been called.”
I flexed my jaw, instantly irritated. “If it’s got her worked up, then I’m sure it was against us.”
“During your touchdown,” she announced.
Was she kidding me? I looked at her plainly. “Blown calls happen all the time.” I turned to my parents. “Did you guys already eat?”
“We did. I got you a burger and fries.” The second my mom pointed to the takeout container on my desk, the delicious smell hit me. Fuck me, I was starving.
“Awesome, thanks.” I threw the container open and dug in. Didn’t care if it was rude. My stomach had growled the whole time during my postgame shower.
“We can’t stay,” my dad said. “With traffic, it’ll be eleven before we get home.”
“Yeah,” I said, my mouth full of burger. “Thanks for coming.”
Cue the waterworks from my mom. She wiped at her glistening eyes. “We’re so proud of you. Keep it up, sweetie.”
“But don’t forget what we talked about,” my dad added.
I slowed my chewing and swallowed the large bite. My father’s meaning was so heavy, it dragged me down into reality. The way he’d lectured me earlier about school made me feel like I was five years old. “I won’t.”
When my folks said their goodbyes, Kayla stood and endured my mother’s python-squeeze hug. I didn’t have to ask if they liked her. My mom beamed at Kayla like she was already planning the wedding in her head.
We watched them go, and after I shut the door, I turned my full attention on her. “Hi.”
“Did you tell your parents I’m your girlfriend?” She put her hands on her hips.
“I dunno. Maybe.”
Her mouth went slack. “But—”
“What did you want me to tell them?”
Her annoyance flagged. “That we’re friends.”
She was pissing me off, and I needed to prove a point. “Oh, is that what we are?”
I didn’t give her a chance to respond. I slid a hand down her back, gripping a handful of her ass and hauled her up into my hard kiss. Her little yelp of surprise ended as soon as our lips met, and her arms banded around my neck. Then, her legs folded around my waist, like she needed to hold on for dear life against the attack of my mouth.
I’d tried not to push Kayla on our relationship status, but she’d also told me she only slept with a guy when he was her boyfriend, so wasn’t I now slotted in that position?
The facemask call had gotten her worked up, and maybe not entirely in a bad way, and my tongue moving over hers made her forget all about the penalty she’d wanted.
“What was that about?” She said it between kisses. “What your dad said.”
My bed was shoved in the corner of the room, and she clung to me as I shuffled to it and took a knee, lowering us to the mattress. I’d had enough to eat of the burger and now was hungry for something else. Lust made my brain slow. What was she asking about? Oh, yeah.
“Just stuff about graduating,” I said, “and getting a job after.”
She sat upright, forcing me to do the same, and looked stunned. “They don’t want you to try to go pro?”
I was so fucking hot for her, I didn’t want deep conversation right now. I needed to be face-down in her pussy, hearing her moan. I wanted her lips wrapped around my dick. Having her in the stands, watching my game today turned me on like crazy. I was proud as a caveman, showing his woman his impressive kill. The adrenaline of my touchdown still pumped in my system, itching for release.
“My parents want whatever I want, but they also want me to be realistic.” I shifted beside her, trying to find a good position so I could maneuver her back down.
“They want you to get your degree in case stuff doesn’t work out.”
I nodded, and moved again, annoyed at the lack of space. “You made this twin bed look big. I forgot, you’re travel-sized for my convenience.”
“You’re a riot. Hey, any chance you’d let me redecorate in here?” She eyed my U-M stuff on the walls like they were Nickelback posters.
Really? I temporarily gave up on my plans. “Okay, we need to talk.”
“Uh, oh.” She said it with amusement, but I watched the swift change in her mood.
“This rivalry thing was cute at first.”
She took in a serious breath. “But not anymore?”
Kayla needed to get her school loyalty in check. “Darius is cool with us. Well, not cool. More like, tolerant. The rest of the team . . .” I frowned.
“Aw, are they giving you a hard time?” She batted her eyes at me, as if saying I told you so.
“Let me put it this way, I get more shit than the kicker does when he misses an easy three.” I put my hand on her leg, and watched her fight her desire at my touch. Good. I wasn’t going to play fair to get her on my side. “I need you with me, Kayla.”
“I am with you. I mean, come on.” Her tone was laced with aggravation. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
I cocked an eyebrow and dropped my gaze down to her red OSU shirt. “Do you get that when you shit on Michigan, you’re shitting on the whole team? Which includes me.”
“No, I’m not.” She straightened her shoulders.
“Feels like it to me.”
The moment hung.
The quiet got more awkward by the second.
She sighed and her shoulders dropped. “Maybe it doesn’t seem like it, but I am trying. I hung out with your parents all day without you, and your freaking QB’s parents, which, by the way, you should have warned me about. I don’t like being blindsided.” She leaned into me, setting her chin on my shoulder. “Coming here today wasn’t easy for me, but I did it for you. Because you asked me to.”
Well, shit. Was I sort of being an asshole? “Okay, I might have been too excited to have you in the stands, I didn’t really think about . . . all that.”
“I can,” she said slowly, “try harder.” A playful look moved in on her expression. “And look at how far I’ve come. I’m in a Michigan football player’s bed.”
Oh, hell yeah, she was, and like me, she wasn’t playing fair either. I grinned. “You know what would help? If you took off that shirt.”
“You want me to change clothes?” She shot me a dubious expression.
I smiled back seductively. My goal was clear.
“Oh.” She nodded. “I see what you did there. If I have to get out of my school’s clothes, you do, too.”
“You drive a hard deal, McCarthy,” I said as I unzipped my warmup jacket. It was a race to see who could get their clothes off first, and—big surprise—I won.
She was still struggling out of her tight jeans when I put my hand on her shoulder and pushed her down, making her flop back on the bed, and her sexy-as-hell tits bounced. She giggled softly, and the sound was so fucking sweet.
I grabbed the ankles of her denim and tugged. I’d rip her pants off her if she’d let me. All that stood between me and her was a pair of underwear, and it was going down. I slid my fingertips beneath the straps at the sides and jerked—
A knock rattled my door. “Harris! We’re going out.”
Kayla jolted and she snaked her hands over her body, like she thought my door was going to burst open and Darius would see her. I wouldn’t let that happen. This gorgeously naked girl was mine, and mine alone.
My friend was cool. He’d understand I meant it in the nicest way possible. “Fuck off, Darius. I’m busy.”
“Asshole.” Heavy footfalls got quieter as he went away.
I finished peeling the scrap of fabric down her legs, and as I crawled between them, the smile on my lips had to be wicked. “If I’d figured out that was a thong, I would have left it on.”
She lifted her head and peered down at me. “You want me to put it—”
“No,” I said softly. “There’s no going back now.” To prove my point, I swooped down and ran my tongue deep between her legs. She gasped and bucked upward, arching her back at the sudden stroke.
She gave a soft whimper as I did it again, and blood thundered through my veins. It was awkward hanging off the edge of the bed, so I grabbed her hips and dragged her body across the sheets until she was lying diagonally across the mattress and I could kneel on the floor.
I peeled her open to me with my thumbs and licked until she was trembling all over, panting for air. My abs were strained, my body sore, but the only ache I felt was the one to slide into her and pound until we collapsed.
Christ, Kayla was killing me. All wet and pink, and waiting. I fumbled a hand into my desk drawer, found the strip of condoms, and tore one off. The foil packet ripped in my hurried hands, and as I rolled the latex on, I leaned forward and sucked at her clit.
She groaned. She had her hands on my shoulders, scratching and clawing, maybe trying to pull me up into a kiss. Or perhaps she was trying to remove my tattoo.
“Is this what you want?” I said in a low voice, shifting over her and bringing our lips together. “You need to taste yourself on my mouth?”
Her reactions were the best whenever I tried to dirty-talk. She inhaled sharply as if embarrassed, but her eyelids fluttered. It turned her on. I felt her body clench beneath me, and her kiss turned wild.
My raging hard-on hung between my legs, throbbing and demanding. There should have been more foreplay, but she was so goddamn wet, and it had been a lifetime since we’d been together.
“Oh, fuck.” Her voice was guttural as I pressed inside her. Her pussy fisted me, so tight and warm. I clenched my hands on her hips, holding her still as I continued to invade. When I was as deep as I could go, she pushed up on a hand and wrapped her arm around the back of my head, slamming her lips to mine.
I followed her back down to the bed with our lips still attached, and then I began to fuck her. Slow at first. I moved through her slick heat, which made me feel amazing, and sort of lightheaded. It didn’t take anything for me to run out of breath.
She tasted like sex.
I searched her mouth, unable to get enough. I wanted the flavor on my lips, on the tip of my tongue. The skin of her breasts was so soft. I ran my fingers up and down, sketching different routes over her curves.
The legs hugging my hips tightened. Her breathing went ragged. Her moans picked up in intensity, so I did, too. I squeezed one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder, and drove into her.
“Oh,” she moaned. “Oh!”
Her reaction was strange.
Was she . . . coming? She slapped a hand on my wrist and dug her nails in, as her face twisted with pleasure. I stared down at her, so turned on, but also confused. She gave a loud gasp, signaling she’d crossed over a peak, but her body didn’t pulse around me. There weren’t any aftershocks like she’d had before.
Her grip released me and her legs went slack. Her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a shy smile.
I slowed to a halt. “What just happened?”
Her smile froze. “I had an orgasm?”
Bull-fucking-shit. I leaned down and skimmed my lips over her neck. “If you just came, then I guess I did, too.”