Six months later…

“Pomp and Circumstance” blared through the speakers in the auditorium as I led the senior class down the long center aisle. Once we reached the end, the line parted and my classmates took their seats among the rows of metal folding chairs. Leaving them, I headed up a small set of stairs, taking my appointed place on stage. While everyone settled into their chairs, I braved a nervous glance at my classmates, my focus settling on the only face I’d thought about in months.

Eric’s.

Sometimes I wondered if it had all been a dream. It had been six long months since we parted ways in the coach’s office, but I could still remember how incredible his thick cock felt thrusting inside me, fucking me into a blissful oblivion. I had given him my innocence, and in exchange, he and his best friend had introduced me to a world of pleasure unlike anything I could have ever imagined.

I couldn't fathom how anything could ever top that. The delicious memory of the way he and Travis had filled me up was enough to make my pussy constantly ache for another round. But we were graduating now. I wasn’t sure what the summer would hold before we all left for college.

While Principal Morris addressed our senior class, I gave one last look at the note cards in my hand. I didn’t want to take any chances. This speech was simply too important for me to mess up.

Suddenly, all the hairs on my arm stood on end as a rush of energy hit me. Holding my breath, I slowly lifted my head and glanced out across the crowd.

One look.

That’s all it took for Eric Hayward’s potent stare to pin me to my chair.

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce this year’s valedictorian, Miss Clare Winston.” The principal announcing my name severed our powerful connection.

Rattled with nervous energy, I stood and smoothed down my gown. As I crossed the stage to stand behind the podium, I could feel Eric’s dark gaze follow, stripping me naked with his eyes. Shuffling my note cards in front of me, I forced a smile, took a deep breath, and addressed the full auditorium. Through each word I spoke, I silently coached myself not to look at him. But the longer I stood, the harder it became. Turning my head, I gave in to the overwhelming temptation.

Once my eyes locked to his, the large audience of parents and students seemed to fade away. A knowing look passed over his features, making every inch of my skin prickle with desire. When he slowly licked his lips, my clit throbbed, aching for his mouth.

A heated blush spread across my body. Gripping the sides of the podium, I braced myself, feeling my knees weaken. I took a deep breath and continued on with my speech. As I delivered the last line, I looked directly at Eric.

“And so I leave you tonight with this challenge, as you set out into the world. Never stop chasing your dreams. One day, they may come true.”

I realized now the whole thing could have referenced Eric and my feelings for him. He was my dream, but he was also an impossible future.

The sudden applause in the room broke our hypnotic spell, robbing me of our special connection. Keeping my head down, I took my seat beside the other speakers and focused on the scratched wooden floor in front of me.

Had he known I was talking about him? Could we ever be together again the way we had been?

The rest of the ceremony passed in a blur. I barely remembered lining up to receive my diploma. When we were done, loud cheers erupted and my classmates celebrated by throwing their caps high into the air. I didn’t bother joining in. Their gleeful celebration was just another painful reminder of how I never quite fit in at this school.

The once-calm scene suddenly became chaotic as families made their way from their seats to find the graduates. I scanned the large auditorium and spotted Eric just as a bright flash illuminated his handsome face. His family beamed with pride as they posed for pictures and captured the moment. More pain radiated through my chest.

No one had come to congratulate me. My father’s date with a bottle of Tito’s trumped watching his only daughter graduate at the top of her class. My mother’s sudden death in a car accident three years ago had shattered him. In a way, I lost both of them that night. For a long time, I’d held out hope he would heal enough to be a parent to me, but that never happened. Even though I’d learned to accept being disappointed, the pain of his absence tonight was almost unbearable. Unforgivable.

“Clare!” Megan, one of my best friends, ran toward me and threw her arms around my neck. When she pulled away, she was still bouncing with excitement.

“We did it! We’re done with this miserable school forever.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her little dance. She grabbed my hands and squeezed, squealing with delight.

“Just think, four weeks from now, you and I will be lying on the beach. No parents. No rules. Aren’t you excited?”

Excited wasn’t the word. I’d been counting down the days until our summer getaway for months. Booking the trip had taken a huge cut out of my savings account. I didn’t care, though. I would just have to work extra hard this summer at my waitressing job. Hopefully, if the country club clients tipped the way I expected, I’d have my balance built back up in no time at all.

Just as I was about to speak, Megan’s mother shouted her name and waved her over.

“Shit, I’ve got to go back to my family. You’re going to Travis’s graduation party later, right?” She raised her eyebrow at me.

I hesitated with my answer, chewing on my bottom lip as I thought about what to say. The entire school had been buzzing about Travis’s party all week. But after what had happened between us, I didn’t know how to act around him. How would I start a conversation after what we’d done?

Megan would kill me if I said no. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened, but this wasn’t the time or place for those kinds of confessions.

“Uh…yeah, I’ll probably stop by for a little while,” I lied. I had absolutely no intention of going to that party.

“Yay! I’ll see you there.” She gave me another hug before running back to her waiting parents.

When I scanned the room once more, I caught Eric staring at me. His smoldering gaze sent another wave of desire rushing through my body. Excitement filled my chest when I realized he was heading toward me. But before he could cross the aisle, a pair of arms flew around his neck. Mandy was suddenly between us, pulling his face to hers, tugging at his sandy brown hair as she kissed him full on the lips. Stunned, I blinked hard, as if the image before me would somehow disappear like a mirage. But it didn’t. My chest tightened and I looked away, not expecting their kiss to hurt me so much.

It wasn’t like I didn’t know their history. They had broken up earlier in the year, not long before our little rendezvous. They weren’t officially an item, but seeing them touch like that made me think she still meant something to him. I’d hoped for another chance to be with him, but now I realized how foolish I had been to believe I’d ever get that chance. Some part of me always knew he’d never settle for someone like me when he could have a bombshell like her. God, I’d been such an idiot to think I ever stood a chance.

Dropping my head in defeat, I hurried in the opposite direction and shoved open the exit door. I wiggled between people gathered there and turned down the adjacent hallway, grateful to find it vacant. Now that I was alone, I could finally let out the tears I’d been holding back. I was so upset, I didn’t even pay attention to where I was going. I just kept walking deeper into the school. As I rounded the next corner, my body collided with a solid wall of muscle.

“Clare?”

Through my tears, I looked up into Travis’s handsome face. His spicy smell invaded my nose, settling me instantly. I hadn’t forgotten his scent.

His brows furrowed. “Are you okay?”

His question hit me hard. I wasn’t remotely okay. I was alone on the most important day of my life. I wanted to forget everything. There was only one way I could do that. I eyed him hard, allowing the idea to swirl in my head.

Fuck Eric Hayward.

Without hesitation, I grabbed hold of Travis’s graduation gown and pulled him toward me, crashing my lips to his just as Mandy had to Eric. At first, he didn’t return my kiss, and I worried that my forcefulness had caught him off guard. But as quickly as the doubt entered my mind, his erection was pressing against me, confirming that he was definitely on board with my plan.

I dropped my hand and cupped his hardness to show him how greedy I was to have it. Travis groaned into my mouth, shoving me back against the wall as he deepened our kiss. I wanted more. I wanted him to make me forget the person I really ached for. Eric. I was playing a sick and twisted game I knew I would probably regret, but right now I needed to come more than I needed to breathe.

Before I could blink, Travis had pulled me inside a nearby storage closet, slamming the door shut behind him. Through the darkness we fumbled, stripping off each other’s gowns and the clothes underneath. The only bit of light was what seeped in beneath the door, revealing my ripped panties beside my feet. Honestly, I was relieved that I couldn’t see Travis’s face. It made it easier to pretend he was Eric. I knew that would be the only way I could get through this.

I jerked the leather belt free from his waist and worked frantically to unfasten his pants. Using both hands, I forced them down with a wildness that surprised even me. Desire fueled my actions. I dropped to my knees, feeling blindly for his cock. He jerked in my grasp as I worked my hand up and down his shaft. The sounds of his appreciative moans only made the experience in the dark room more erotic. My strokes grew stronger as I grabbed the base of his long cock and squeezed his delicious girth with my fist. No wonder he’d made me come so hard.

“Clare.” He panted, pulling away from me. “Are you sure about this?”

By way of an answer, I took his thick length into my mouth, sucking with all my might. As if caught off guard, he stumbled back a step.

“Goddamn, baby,” he muttered. Then he came close again and placed his hand on the back of my head, urging me to take more of him.

I eagerly complied, feeling his length hit the back of my throat. The hint of his salty essence on my tongue made me moan in delight.

He gasped and pushed my shoulders back. When he pulled me up, my mouth made a loud popping noise as the sealed suction was broken.

Travis fumbled at his pants on the floor and then seconds later I heard the crinkling sounds of a condom wrapper. Thank God he was using his head. I certainly wasn’t.

He firmly gripped my waist, turning me around as he yanked my ass back toward him. I slapped the wall in front of me, barely managing to catch myself before my head hit. Travis slid his hand around to my front, gliding across my mound, inching toward my pussy.

“Mmm. You’re fucking dripping for me, aren’t you?”

Without waiting for an answer, he sank his long fingers inside me, stealing my breath as he fucked me with them. Just as I was about to come, he removed his hand. A small whimper left my lips at the empty feeling.

Then, I felt the heat of his breath at my ear. “Don’t worry. I’m gonna get you there, baby.”

He slapped his cock against my ass twice before lining himself up with my soaked opening. I ached to have him inside me…for him to relieve the throbbing that had been building for months.

“Please hurry,” I begged, my desperation growing by the second.

My lower lip trembled as I felt each delicious inch of him stretch me, filling me so deeply I thought I would cry from sheer pleasure.

“Jesus Christ,” he gasped, sinking in deeper. “No wonder Eric kept your pussy all to himself.”

I winced, because I didn’t want to think about Eric. Instead I focused on Travis, on the pleasure he was giving me as we fell into a perfect, hard rhythm. The erotic sounds of our bodies slapping against one another drove me closer to the edge. Travis’s forceful thrusts grew more feral, each push taking me closer and closer to the blissful edge of orgasm. Desperate to ride it out, I pushed my ass back into him. When I felt the tip of his cock hit my cervix, I rolled my eyes into the back of my head. Dear God, I could practically see stars.

“So. Fucking. Tight.”

His loud growl as he came only intensified my own climax. I couldn’t stop shaking as he collapsed against my back. Together, we sank to the concrete floor.

Several moments passed in silence, our bodies warm against each other, only our ragged breathing filling the tiny room. The heavy smell of sex permeated the air, clinging to my skin with the memory of Travis’s hands on me.

Part of me regretted what had just happened, but a deeper part of me fucking loved it. Travis had just proven to me that my options were limitless.

---

When I came to my senses, I pushed Mandy away from me, instantly breaking our kiss. Using the back of my hand, I wiped my mouth, disgusted by the thoughts that rushed through me. There was a time when all I did was dream about kissing those cherry-red lips. But that was before they’d been wrapped around the cocks of half the fucking football team. The bitch had just been with Travis last week, for fuck’s sake. I didn’t want my best friend’s dick on my mouth.

I narrowed my eyes. “What the hell was that all about?”

“Oh, come on, Eric. Don’t be like that. Let’s go somewhere we can celebrate for real.” She slid her hand over my chest, inching downward. I grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her hand away.

“Not interested.” I glanced around the auditorium full of people, searching for Clare, but she was gone. Damn it. I knew she’d seen Mandy kiss me. I could only imagine what she was thinking.

Using my arm, I pushed Mandy to the side and ran toward the nearest exit. I had to find Clare. Suddenly I was furious with myself for having waited so long to get to her again. But, just as before that one incredible night, our lives so rarely intersected. She was in all the honors classes, constantly busy with her work. She never frequented the parties that I went to, and she lived on the other side of town. We lived completely different lives, in and outside of school. But none of that mattered now. School was over, and I was done waiting. I needed to taste her, to feel her come apart in my arms again.

I used my height to my advantage, looking over the crowd for her. When my gaze landed on Clare’s best friend, I maneuvered through the sea of people until I reached her.

I tugged at her elbow to get her attention. “Hey.”

Megan’s eyes widened. Her expression conveyed complete shock that I was talking to her. I studied her reaction, wondering if she knew what happened between Clare and me.

“Oh, hi, Eric,” she stuttered, flushing as she tucked her red hair behind her ear.

“Have you seen Clare?”

“Yeah, I thought I saw her go that direction.” She pointed toward the long hallway that led back into the school. It didn’t make any sense to me why she’d go that way, but this was the only lead I had on her.

“Okay, thanks.”

I left Megan and headed back. As I turned down the quiet hallway, I realized this was probably the last time I’d be in this school. When I passed the large trophy case, I paused and stared through the glass at the tall championship trophy our team had won last fall. I could still remember how incredible it felt to have thrown the winning touchdown of the game. The cheers would echo in my ears for the rest of my life. It didn’t seem possible that all that was all over now.

I’d almost given up my search for Clare when I heard a door close nearby. Hope once again filled my chest. Picking up my pace, I turned the corner. Then I stopped dead in my tracks. Travis was fumbling to fasten his pants. Even from this distance, I couldn’t help but notice the huge satisfied expression plastered across his face.

I remembered countless times I’d seen my best friend doing the same thing after a hookup. Travis Whyte was the epitome of a manwhore. He craved pussy like it was fine cuisine. I shouldn’t have been surprised he’d score some at his own graduation. But something about his expression gave me pause.

Taking a step forward, I was just about to call his name when the door opened behind him. I bit my lip, waiting to see his latest conquest. As if in slow motion, the girl’s face lifted, revealing information I wished I could forget. But I couldn’t unsee it. My heart plummeted as our eyes met. Her name fell from my lips in a painful whisper.

“Clare.”