The Strike Out

by Quinn, Meghan

  She didn’t appreciate that.

  But it’s okay. I made up for it when I ate her out for the fifth time.

  Feeling an extra bounce in my step, I find an empty table and set down my backpack. I don’t have much to do, just some reading that could put me ahead in my classes, which would be clutch since I foresee some lost studying time from being between Harmony’s legs. Might as well jump ahead when I can.

  I unzip my backpack and pull out Computer Graphics for Engineering and a green highlighter, along with a notebook and a pen. I set everything up, flip open to the next chapter in the book, and poise my pen just as a shadow walks up to my table.

  I glance to the right to find a plaid skirt, tight button-up shirt, and a stack of books.

  Smiling, I say, “What’s up, Emory?”

  “Weren’t you here last night with the baseball team?” she asks.

  My boy Knox is obsessed with Emory Ealson. He’s been trying to win her affection since day one of classes. Actually, I think she was at a baseball party before classes started, if I recall correctly. I’ve been so occupied with my own pursuit that I can’t quite remember the details. All I know is she’s been giving Knox a run for his money, and I fucking love it.

  “Keeping tabs?” I ask while putting my pen behind my ear.

  “No, just making sure Knox didn’t send you here to spy on me.” She glances around the library as if looking for him. She interns here, and it’s the perfect place for Knox to come and disturb her whenever he wants.

  “Nah, I’m here spying on my own girl.”

  “Oh?” she says, a bit surprised. Since we share a class together, we’re pretty familiar with each other, so it’s no surprise when she props a hip on the side of my table. “Is that who you’re always texting in class?”

  “I don’t text and tell, Emory.”

  She laughs. “Uh-huh.” She glances around again. “Who is it?”

  “No way. You’re going to tell Knox.”

  “First of all, I think you should realize by now I’m trying to avoid that man—”

  “Because you’re in denial.” I wink. “He’ll wear you down, trust me. When he has his eyes set on something, he always wins.”

  “And second of all,” she continues, ignoring me, “you can trust me.”

  “And how do I know that?”

  She smirks. “Because I’m trustworthy.”

  “Oh, that’s really convincing,” I say sarcastically.

  “Yeah, it fell dead on my ears too.” She sighs. “Let me guess, you wore this girl down? Seems as if you baseball players know how to do that well.”

  “You telling me Knox is getting closer to his goal?”

  “I don’t suffer and tell,” she replies with a hint of sass.

  “Fair enough.” I lean back in my chair. “For what it’s worth, he’s a great guy. He’d treat you well, Emory.”

  She glances at the ground.

  “Not many like him, but I’m sure you know that, right?”

  “Yeah, I have some experience with shitty boyfriends, but we don’t need to get into that.” She looks up at me. “Hey, do you think you can do me a favor?”

  “Sure,” I say.

  “Can you not tell Knox we spoke?”

  “Why?”

  “Just don’t want to give him hope, since I really don’t know what I’m doing at this point.”

  “That’s fair.” I lean forward and stare up at her. “But just so you know, he’s worth the time. Okay?”

  She nods. “Okay.” She stands from the desk and nudges me with her foot. “Good luck with your spying.”

  “Thanks.” I wink and she gives me a short wave before taking off.

  Normally, I would reach for my phone and text Knox that I saw his girl, but I refrain. A promise is a promise, after all.

  * * *

  Holt: Babe, where are you?

  I’m at the entrance of the library. Her study session has cleared out, and there isn’t a Harmony in sight.

  My phone buzzes in my hand and I glance down to her text.

  Harmony: At your car.

  Confused, I tell her I’ll be right there. I quickly hustle out of the library and head toward the parking lot, where we scored a pretty sweet spot up front. Sure enough, she’s leaning against the passenger side door, arms crossed at her chest, her backpack hanging on her shoulders.

  I jog up to her and ask, “Hey, everything okay?”

  She looks up from her phone and I note the crease in her brow.

  No, everything is not okay.

  “Can you let me in?” she asks.

  “Sure.” I unlock the car and open the door for her. I watch her slide in quickly and then let out a big breath.

  Feeling uneasy, I shut her door. Then I hurry around to the driver’s seat, depositing my bag in the back. I don’t start the car right away, but instead turn to her and hope for the best when I ask, “What’s going on?”

  She fidgets with her hands and says, “Just stupid shit.”

  “Okay. Well, do you want to talk about it?”

  “Not really,” she says but then looks me in the eye. “But I’m assuming we’re going to talk about it at some point, so might as well get it over with, right?”

  “Uh . . . yeah,” I say, cautiously.

  She turns in the seat and because she’s small enough, she can lean her back against the door and pull her legs in toward her chest. “It wasn’t the best study session.”

  “Why not?”

  “Chet McKay was there.”

  “McKay, from the football team?” I ask, confused. Dude is a total meathead. A lineman who thinks he’s hot shit, but in reality, his grades suck, his reputation is shitty at best, and he’s a flat-out dick. Does Harmony know him?

  “Yeah. I didn’t think he was going to be there, but apparently he needs the study group badly and showed up.”

  “Did he bother you?”

  Harmony tilts her head to the side and looks me in the eyes. “He’s the football player I was talking about, Holt.”

  As if she just threw gasoline onto flames, my body rages into an inferno. “McKay?” I grip the steering wheel, my vision turning black. “Chet fucking pumped and dumped you? I’m going to kill him.”

  I reach for the door handle just as Harmony stretches over the console and grabs my hand.

  “Let go, Harmony,” I say, my voice dripping with anger.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “Going to find the asshole. It’s Sunday night. He’s either at the dining hall or his house. Only one way to find out.”

  “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me,” she says, struggling to hold me in place.

  “Uh, as your boyfriend—and yes, I’m your fucking boyfriend—it’s my job to fight your battles.”

  “That’s awfully barbaric of you, don’t you think?”

  Hand still on the door handle, I look at her over my shoulder and say, “You’re my girl. I’m supposed to protect you. He did you wrong, and I’m going to rectify that.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Harmony, I’m not fucking kidding.”

  “Neither am I,” she says in a stern voice. “Leave this car and don’t plan on seeing me again.”

  “Are you serious?” I ask, letting go of the handle. “You can’t just throw down like that.”

  “When I’m this serious, yes, I can,” she counters, sitting back into her seat, seeming to recognize she has me by the balls.

  “Is that how this is going to be? You’re going to threaten to give up on this, on us, every time you don’t agree with something?”

  “This is exactly why I didn’t want to talk about this.” She shakes her head as she twists forward in her seat and buckles up. “Just take me home, Holt.”

  “My pleasure,” I say angrily.

  I start the car and put it in reverse, zooming out of the parking spot faster than expected. I spin the wheel and take off toward her townhome. The
entire time, my hands practically rip the leather off my steering wheel as I think about McKay fucking over Harmony. Sure, I’ll take her home, and then I’ll drive straight to the football house looking for the piece of shit.

  The drive is deathly silent, both of us stewing, so when I pull up to her townhome, I’m not surprised when she abruptly opens the door and unbuckles herself.

  She’s halfway out the door when she says, “Turn off the car, Holt.”

  “What?”

  From over her shoulder, she says, “You think I’m stupid? I know you’re planning on finding Chet once you drop me off. Turn off the car and get out.”

  Damn it.

  I switch off the car and grumpily get out. I follow closely behind her as she walks into her townhome. The place is empty since Priya is working at the diner, but Harmony doesn’t bother switching on any lights. She heads straight up to her room. I stay put.

  “What am I supposed to do? Follow you to your room?”

  “Yup,” she says, her voice laced with attitude.

  “What if I don’t fucking want to?”

  She pauses and then walks down the stairs again so she can see me. “Get upstairs, Holt.”

  I fold my arms over my chest, anger still pouring through me, controlling my actions. “No.”

  Her eyes narrow, and her nostrils flare. Stomping toward me, she snags my hand and tries to drag me up the stairs behind her, but I don’t budge. “Holt, stop.”

  “You stop.”

  She spins around. “Is this really how fights are going to be? You’re going to act like a child?”

  “How the hell am I acting like a child?” I ask, agitated. “Because I want to defend my girl, I’m acting like a child?”

  “I don’t need you defending me. I need you comforting me,” she yells, and those words switch my entire mindset.

  Shit.

  She’s right.

  I am completely neglecting how seeing him might have affected her. I’m focused on my feelings, my anger.

  “Fuck,” I say quietly while pulling her in close by the hand. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  “Can we just go upstairs?” Her voice shakes.

  “Yes,” I say, taking her hand in mine and following closely behind her as we make our way to her room.

  She heads straight for her chair as I shut the door behind me. She should know by now that she can’t sit in that by herself. Her ass barely touches the cushion before I’m pulling her up and sitting down first, only to sit her on my lap once I’m settled. I slip my hand under the back of her sweater and rub her back while my other hand grips her thigh.

  “I’m sorry, Harmony,” I say. “That was fucked up of me, to bypass your feelings. I just, hell, I saw red and I needed to do something about it.”

  Still stiff in my arms, she says, “Do you really mean that?”

  “Mean what?” I ask.

  “That you wanted to do something about it.”

  “Babe, I’m vibrating with anger, and I think the only way to get rid of that is a confrontation with McKay. Of course I mean that.”

  She twists her hands in her lap, and I see there’s something else she’s not telling me. I shake her leg.

  “Hey, what’s going on?”

  She bites down on the corner of her lip before she says, “I saw you talking with that girl in the library. You looked . . . flirty, and I know that sounds stupid and territorial, but it was already a shitty night with Chet there, and then when I saw you talking to her, I got self-conscious, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

  “You saw me talking with Emory?”

  “The one in the schoolgirl outfit. You know her?”

  “Yeah.” I try not to chuckle. “I have a class with her.”

  “Oh.” Her shoulders droop some more, and I hate seeing my strong, confident girl like this.

  “And my buddy Knox is obsessed with her.” Harmony’s eyes lift to mine. I rub her leg soothingly. “We were talking about how he likes her the entire time and I was convincing her to give him a shot. Spoiler alert—I think she might.”

  She looks away and exhales. “Ugh, I hate myself.” She tries to get off me but I hold her in place. She drops her head in her hands. “I’m not this girl. I’m not the jealous type or the one who worries about her man. I don’t have trust issues.” She takes a deep breath and looks at me. “But for some reason, I do with you, and not by your doing. I just think . . . ugh, this is so stupid.”

  “It’s not stupid. Talk to me.”

  “You’re just—I feel as though you’re too good to be true. I’m waiting for the ball to drop, so to speak.”

  Wanting to make things as crystal clear as possible, I tilt her head toward mine with two fingers to her chin. Looking her in the eyes, I say, “Do you remember what I said earlier to Priya in the kitchen?”

  She nods. “I do.”

  “I meant it. I really fucking like you, Harmony.” Looking her square in the eyes, I say, “You have nothing to worry about when it comes to me. I’m all yours, babe. You’re all I want. You’re all I’ve wanted for a while and now that I have you, I can’t get enough. You’re going to have to do a whole hell of a lot to get rid of me.”

  She lets out a deep breath. “I know. Ugh.” She pushes her hands through her hair. “I know. I’m sorry. God, I feel stupid.”

  “Don’t.” I twist her so she’s straddling my lap and forced to face me. “This is new for both of us, and I think our connection is stronger than either of us anticipated.”

  “It is.” Her hands fall to my chest, where they play with the fabric of my shirt. “It’s why I avoided you for so long, because the draw I feel toward you scares me.”

  “It scares me too, babe. But we can work through it together.”

  She smiles softly. “You know, I’ve never had someone like you in my life. I’ve had friends, of course, but a guy who cares about me the way you do . . . A guy so open and honest, so up front. It’s cool knowing I can rely on you.”

  “And you can. Anything you need, I’m there for you.”

  “Anything?”

  “Of course.”

  A wicked smile crosses her face as she reaches behind herself and unsnaps her bra. She does some trickery with her sleeves and then pulls out her bra and drops it on the floor. My mouth waters, knowing what’s right below her crop-top sweater.

  She takes my hands in hers and places them on her stomach.

  Yup, I’ll give her anything she wants. Fucking anything.

  Slowly, she moves my hands up her stomach, over her ribs, to right below her breasts. The undersides rub against my knuckles and I feel myself go hard underneath her. That’s all it takes—a small graze—and my dick is raring to go. Her hips rotate on my lap and I’m in heaven.

  Being in this chair, all the memories from last night come flooding to my mind as all the blood in my body shoots straight to my dick.

  “Don’t get into it with Chet,” she says, moving my hands farther under her sweater so I’m now cupping her bare breasts.

  “Huh?”

  She rolls her hips again, and I swear my mind goes blank.

  She pauses as my fingers start toying with her nipples. She tips my chin up and forces me to look her in the eyes. “Chet.”

  “What about the fucker?”

  “Don’t get into it with him.”

  “Baby—”

  “I’m not kidding, Holt.” She grows incredibly serious and stops what she started. “I don’t need you fighting a fight that doesn’t need to be fought.”

  I grind my teeth together for many reasons. Because I’m turned on and don’t want to be having this conversation. Because I would love nothing more than to give McKay exactly what he deserves. Because he hurt a beautiful, confident girl. Because he hurt my girl.

  He needs to know that what he did was cruel and fucking wrong. All women are precious and deserve more than that. But most importantly, Harmony needs to know that I am the person who will always have her back
. Will always protect her.

  Because that is what she deserves.

  “I want to protect you,” I say.

  “You don’t need to protect me from the past. Focus on the present, Holt.”

  “The present—that’s exactly what I’m doing. He made you feel like shit today. That doesn’t fly with me.”

  Looking me in the eyes, she reaches for the hem of her sweater and pulls it over her head, revealing her tits, and, fuck, I’m so gone. They’re surprisingly bigger than I initially thought, and her sweet, dark nipples are pebbled, waiting for my mouth. Hell, begging for my mouth.

  She brings my hands back to her tits, and I take that moment to roll her nipples between my fingers, tweaking them just enough for her to inhale sharply before leaning forward and pressing her hand to my chest.

  “Do you love my tits, Holt?”

  “Fuck, yes.”

  “You love playing with my nipples?”

  “Yes.” I squeeze them and her head falls back, pressing her chest farther into my hands.

  “Do you love hearing me moan when you do that?”

  “Hell, babe, I love everything about being intimate with you.”

  She lifts back up and lowers her mouth to mine. Talking softly, she says, “Then stay away from Chet.”

  “Or what?” I ask, lifting one of her breasts and bringing it to my mouth.

  “Or you won’t be sucking on my nipples.”

  I pause. “You’re serious?”

  “Dead serious. Drop it, Holt.”

  I mull it over. My pride is telling me I need to take care of McKay, but my heart is telling me I need to listen to Harmony. If I want to keep this girl in my life, I need to listen to her.

  Pay attention. Make her feel special. Dig deep.

  Hearing my dad’s words again, I swallow my pride and say, “I’ll drop it.”

  Seeming shocked, she asks, “Really?”

  I cup her cheek. “Really.”

  A beautiful smile spreads across her face. “Thank you.”

  When I reach for a kiss, she slinks down between my legs and starts undoing my pants. She pulls on the waistband, along with my briefs, and I’m immediately brought back to last night as her tongue slips past her luscious lips and licks the head of my cock.