Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

I was repeatedly tapping my pencil against the table, not focusing on my accountancy essay in front of me. Every time that damn door would open, I’d get this stupid thrill of warmth shoot through me that it could be her.

I groaned in frustration, looking across the table. Logan sat there, leaning back in his chair, smirking his ass off at me.

“What?” I snapped, wanting to know what his problem was.

“Nothing.” He chuckled. “Just wondering when Mr. Big Man on Campus turned into a girl.”

Chunk laughed at his words, making me roll my eyes. If only they knew.

He frowned at me, fluffing the hair at the back of my head. “You’ve still got paint in your hair, man.”

I shrugged him off. “Shut your trap, Charlie.” I emphasized his name, knowing how much he hated it. The paint was the least of my problems, even if it was bright pink. My eyes wandered back to the door again.

Where the hell was she? Had she changed her mind? Did she regret last night?

Maybe I shouldn’t have kissed her. Fuck. I shouldn’t have kissed her.

Looking back at the door, I saw there was a girl holding the door open, helping her friend carry some boxes. The door was just wide enough for me to see the large crowd forming outside. I quickly scanned the room, looking for Sammy.

Fuck, he wasn’t there.

I shot up out of my seat, running to the door, hearing Chunk and Logan call my name.

He’d better not be in another fight.

Running out the door, I saw that the crowd was probably double the size of the last one. Pushing my way through, the space in front cleared in front of me, people turning to either gawk at me or whisper at me.

I got to the front, just in time to see Tillie push herself in between Sammy and the douche that wanted to rearrange his face. I kept calm long enough to see Tillie push him, looking up at him, attempting to look fierce. Instead she just looked like a scared kitten.

Before I could blink, the guy tried to push her out of the way. She retaliated by slapping him across the face. Damn, my girl could be fierce! The guy grabbed her, putting his hands on her hips. Which of course made me snap.

I marched forward, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt, throwing him backwards. “Hands off!” I looked her over, making sure she wasn’t hurt. “You okay?”

She nodded, turning to Sammy. She lifted her hand, assessing the damage on his lips before he shrugged her off and stormed past me.

“Hey! Sammy! Get back here!” I yelled after him.

Logan jogged after him, waving me off.

“I’m sorry about that,” I apologized, picking Sammy’s bag up off the floor. “He’s not usually like that.”

“That’s okay.” She reached over, stroking her fingers along the back of my hand.

I flipped it over, pulling her hand to my lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “Thank you for sticking up for him.”

“Don’t worry about it.” She leaned up on her tiptoes, pulling her hand from mine and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Do you think we should go and check on him?”

I shook my head negatively, resigned to let Logan deal with Sammy. He and I would be having words soon though.

“Sammy’s been a little…” I shrugged my shoulders resigned. “Different. Since moving here.” I shook my head, not liking the worry that came over her face.

“Then we should definitely go and check on him.” She took my hand, leading me toward the path that Logan and Sammy disappeared down.

Walking home, I kept her hand in mine, liking the feel of it. The mood couldn’t be ruined until she had to utter those words—the words I never really liked to hear coming from the female mouth, usually because they led to awkward conversations.

“So, after, can we talk?” she asked hesitantly, avoiding looking at me.

I tightened my hand on hers, swinging our arms between us slowly. “Sure.” I looked down at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

Walking into the house, I let her hand go, jogging up the stairs to check if Sammy was there.

Nothing.

His quilt was still messy and there was no sign of him.

Going back down, I took a seat next to Tillie, not ready for this talk. “So, what did you want to talk about?” I reached for her hand, but she moved it away, tucking it beneath her leg.

“I... uh... I just wanted to say...” She swallowed, looking down at her lap. “That if you wanted to... you know... if you wanted to...”

I sighed, leaned over her and pulled her over to me. Sitting her so that she was straddling me, her eyes widened at the sudden change of position.

“That's better. Now...” I leaned back against the sofa, relaxing my back. “What were you trying to say?”

She placed her hand on my shoulders, supporting her weight so that she wasn’t sitting on me.

“I don’t think I can share you,” she whispered, avoiding my eyes once again and staring at my chest.

I trailed my fingers up her sides before moving to her arms. Taking her face in my palms, I pulled her head down to mine, our foreheads pressing together. “What makes you think I want anyone else?” I tilted my face, needing to feel her lips on mine. “If I’m with you, I’m with only you. Okay?”

She nodded, closing her eyes. That was the only signal I needed.

I pulled her head down to mine, our lips meeting softly.

Tillie was going to be the death of me.

Since moving here, I had basically had women on tap whenever I wanted. I had never had to go slow with one before. However, I knew every touch and memory with Tillie would be worth it.

I softly licked the seal of her lips, wanting her to open for me but not sure if she would. She tightened her fingers in the back of my hair causing my hips to unconsciously buck up against her.

She gasped as my hardness rubbed against her, but she didn’t pull away, instead only held herself tighter to me.

I slowly slid my tongue in to press against hers, groaning at the sensation.

Fuck, she was amazing.

She wrapped her arms tighter around my shoulders, crushing her chest to mine. I fisted my hand in the back of her hair, loving how she felt in my arms. Pressing my tongue against hers, I tried to remember that this was probably a little fast for her, but I couldn’t stop when I had her sexy body on mine.

She pulled her lips from mine, pulling her head away.

A beautiful blush stained her cheeks, traveling down to the column of her neck.

Fuck, did she blush all over when she was turned on?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She gasped, her chest heaving right in front of me. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She shook her head, her palms resting on my shoulders. “I’m not ready for that.”

I rubbed my hands up and down her sides, trying to comfort her. “It’s okay,” I whispered, trying to control the raging lust running through me.

She had no clue just how sexy she was. She quickly moved, choosing to sit next to me instead.

Watching her remove her jacket, I had to leave her for a few minutes.

Walking into the bathroom, I leaned my ass against the sink, trying to calm things down. Doing the two times table, I tried thinking of things to get rid of my problem. I couldn’t sit next to her fully erect. She wasn’t ready for my ‘horny asshole’ routine and to be with me intimately.

To be honest, I don’t think I was even ready.

I had never had someone in my life that I wanted around for more than one night. She was perfect for me. Perfect to me. I didn’t want to mess that up.

Walking back in the room, I saw she already had her pencil out and had begun twirling it in her hand. Taking my seat back beside her, I held my hand out, trying to show her that it was okay and hoping she would take it.

She smiled, entwining her hand with mine and resting her shoulder on mine. Leaning my head against hers, I sighed happily.

Whoever thought I would be so soft with a girl?

She cuddled into me, heaving out a blissful sigh, content. Just like I was, hopefully.

My eyes shot open when a loud bang echoed from the doorway.

“Wake up, love birds,” Chunk yelled, joining us on the sofa. He grinned down at Tillie, holding his hand out to her.

She gave him a shy smile, slipping her hand into his to shake it.

“Where’s Sammy?” I asked, looking over Tillie’s head.

Right then, the front door opened, and Sammy and Logan came in.

“Sit,” I ordered, pointing to the chair opposite us. “Explain.”

He sat, heaving out a deep breath. He looked at Tillie, giving her a small smile before his eyes settled on me. He looked exhausted and it made me want to smack him. This shit was not needed just a few weeks before the first game of the season.

“I may have laid some bets down on the other teams in my last year of high school.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yelled, directing my anger at Sammy. Tillie squeaked in surprise at my outburst. “Sorry,” I apologized, hating that I was losing my shit in front of her. My eyes flickered to Logan stood behind him. “Did you know about this”

“He’s not a child, dude,” Logan defended.

“Obviously he is!” I paced in between them. This shit should not be happening. “You would be thrown off the team if the coach found out about this.” My eyes shot to Chunk and I could see the look of disappointment on his face. I shook my head negatively. If Chunk weren’t my best friend, Sammy would be completely screwed. “What does that have to do with you getting your ass kicked all the time?” I stared at him, waiting for a response.

I still didn’t get an answer. He remained staring at the floor.

Before I could lose my last bit of patience, Tillie placed her hand on my arm, moving past me. She leaned down on her knees, right in front of Sammy. “Sammy,” she whispered, rubbing his knee. “I know you and I don’t know each other well, but I’d like to change that. Please talk to us. What happened?”

I smiled at her, trying to reach out to Sammy.

She was right, she didn’t know him, but she wasn’t letting that stop her. His eyes flicked up to hers, assessing her.

“We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on,” she said quietly, trying to make him comfortable and giving him another knee rub. “Come on, Sammy.”

I loved her use of the word ‘we’.

He held his hands out for hers and she immediately took them. This was going to be bad, especially if he needed to hold her hand.

“Just before graduation, Mom’s health insurance increased.” He was talking to me although his eyes remained fixed on Tillie. “It wasn’t a problem, really, thanks to Dad’s life insurance payments, but there was a cockup at the pharmacy. They said it would take thirty days before the insurance update reached them.” His eyes flicked to mine and away in a few seconds. “She needed the pain killers.” His eyes filled up, making me frustrated. “So, I took a bet from a few guys and I never paid them the money.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?” I snapped, frustrated at not only him but my mother as well. Before leaving, I had told her several times that if there were any problems to let me know and to not let Sammy get involved.

“Sammy, that was really brave of you,” Tillie cooed at him.

I rolled my eyes. He had her wrapped around his little finger already.

“Johnny,” she said, turning to me. “Do you…” Her gaze flicked to Sammy and then back to me. “Can you help him?” She turned her Bambi eyes on me, making me weak.

“Sure.” I nodded my head. It was times like this I was thankful Dad had ensured to leave a life insurance policy behind for us.

“Why don’t you go and pay those boys and I’ll stay here with Sammy.” She gave me a sweet smile.

I rolled my eyes, walking toward the main door.

“Yes, dear,” I replied in a bored tone.

She giggled, bringing a smile to my face.

“I’ll come with you,” Chunk said, following me to the door. “I’ll show you where they hang around.”

* * *

Heading toward the sports grounds, I rolled my eyes at their choice of location. They were obviously just hanging around, waiting until Sammy decided to show up. They'd be surprised.

“So, about these bets,” Chunk said, starting the conversation that I was dreading. “How do you want to handle it?”

“I can’t tell you what to do, man.” I shook my head, frustrated. “You have to do what you feel is right.”

“This could cost you everything,” he snapped. “This last year you have played like a pro. You took a losing team and made them one of the top college teams.”

I shook my head, not accepting the compliment. I did fuck all. We were a team at the end of the day. I just did my part.

“Just promise me it’s over, bro. That's all I’m asking.” He looked at me, a vulnerable expression on his face.

“It’s over. I promise,” I vowed to him. I was determined to keep that promise even if it killed me.

He held his fist out to me and I thumped it with mine. He nodded his head, signalling we were there.

Making a quick detour to the cash machine, I withdrew a few hundred. I had a feeling this little meetup was going to be expensive.

Arriving at the field, I walked ahead, sizing the boys up. They weren’t a problem. Just little punks who thought they were bigger than they were. “Boys.” I nodded my head in greeting. “I’m sure you know who I am.”

A few nodded before one stepped forward, walking toward me and strutting from side to side with attitude.

“How much does he owe you?” I took my wallet out of my back pocket, ready to pay up. Sammy owed me big time.

“Five hundred,” he replied with attitude.

I cocked an eyebrow at him, staring down at him.

He rolled his eyes, his shoulders slouching.

“Three hundred.”

Handing the cash to him, I took note of the bruises on his knuckles. My hand tensed automatically, wanting to deliver every punch back at him. “No more beatings. We clear?” I threatened him.

He nodded, walking back to his friends. Hopefully that'd be the last of it.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Chunk commented, walking with me.

“So,” he continued. “I noticed you and Tillie seem to be spending a lot of time together. Is that...?” He raised his eyebrows, expecting me to fill him in on any sordid details.

“Is that what?” I asked, wanting to know just what the hell he was trying to ask me.

“Come on, bro. Is she your fuck buddy for this weekend?” He raised his eyebrows mockingly, jiggling them up and down.

Any other time he asked me that, I would have just laughed it off, but not with Tillie. No fucking way. It was different. She was no fuck buddy—never would be if I had anything to say about it, which I did.

“She’s different, man.” I looked at him seriously, hoping he'd try and understand. “She makes me feel... different. To all the rest.”

He nodded, his face clearing of any sarcasm.

“That’s cool, man.”

We spent the rest of the walk home, chatting about the game. We were both ready for it but now we just wanted to spend the next few weeks getting the rest of the boys ready. If we could get to the championships, we'd be one happy team.

Walking to the house, I could see Joy peeking through her blinds, probably wondering where Tillie was. I gave her a small wave, seeing her smile and wave back to me.

Walking in, I laughed at the scene in front of me. Logan was flat on his back in the middle of the lounge room with his headphones on and Sammy and Tillie both sat on the sofa, challenging each other to a game of Need for Speed.

Chunk shut the door and Sammy immediately paused the game.

“Did it go okay?” he asked, nervously.

I nodded my head. “Don’t let it happen again.” I pointed at him. “It’ll be more than a punch in the face next time.”

I turned and walked into the kitchen, needing some space. Stress and I did not go well together. My eyes trailed to the door, thinking of my punching bag. My feet twitched. I could escape down there and release some tension.

My attention was quickly diverted when Tillie entered the room. Before I could say anything, she walked straight up to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and resting her head on my chest. She squeezed herself to me and I wrapped my arms around her, gently rubbing her back.

“You are a good man, Johnny.” She looked up at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “A really good man.”

I leaned down, pressing my lips to hers. Humming against her taste, I wanted nothing more than to keep her here with me. I sighed, pulling away from her. “Joy was peeking through her window. I think she was worried about where you were.” I frowned down at her, hating that we couldn’t have had today to try to be normal

She sighed, looking as disappointed as I felt.

“Let me walk you home.” I took her hand, leading her out of the house.

She waved to all the boys, leaving them to their arguments over the game.

Walking across the street, we both smiled when we saw Joy’s window blinds twitch again.

“Sorry about today,” I apologized when we reached her wall.

“Don’t be.” She smiled up at me, tightening her grasp on mine. “Today helped to fill in some blanks for me.” She rested her head against my arm. “I feel like I know you more now.”

“So, you’re aware of how crazy my family is?” I joked, trying to make light of the situation.

She grinned, leaning up and pressing her lips to mine. “See you tomorrow.”

Watching her walk up the garden path, my eyes immediately shot to her jean-clad ass. She turned her head, grinning when she saw where I was staring.

I chuckled, turning around and heading back home. A long, cold shower was needed.