“What the hell?” I laughed at them. They had no idea we’d already slept together. And there was a pretty good chance it would happen again if Slade didn’t mess everything up by being a resentful prick who held a grudge.
“Hey, since you haven’t slept with him yet, can I interest you in something a little rougher than what the pretty boy has to offer?”
I leveled my eyes on him. He sat back in a reclining wooden lounge chair, his wavy black hair in a freshly-showered mess on top of his head. He wasn’t as broad or as muscular as Slade, but he was about the same height. His gray eyes had a deeper, darker expression in them than anything I’d seen from Slade. Something a little rougher? I was afraid to know what he meant by that.
“I hate to break it to you, Evan, but if I ever sleep with a jock, you’d be at the bottom of the list.”
“Oh, that’s just disappointing,” Evan moaned from his chair. “I figured a smart girl like you would want something with a little more heat, a little more danger.”
I sighed. I wasn’t going to respond. Instead, I started back down the walkway to the road.
Evan rushed down behind me, putting an arm around my waist. “I’ll make you feel like a new woman,” he said in my ear. “You won’t be able to walk when I’m done with you.” I couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through my body. He was such a repulsive creep. “I’ll have you screaming my name, baby.”
“Please, Evan,” I started.
“Just like that, but louder.”
“Honestly, I’m going to vomit if you don’t quit. Or is that something the girls say to you as well?”
“Damn, you got spark,” he said, pulling his arm back and stepping away. “Well, if you ever get tired of your girlfriend not being able to give it to you right, you let your boy Evan know, okay? I’ll take good care of that sweet little ass.”
What the hell was his deal? Normally he was a prick, but he’d never acted like that before. Maybe it was because Slade was normally around to keep him in check. Where was Slade, anyway? Something was up with him, and I was starting to really get concerned. It was pretty clear Evan didn’t know about Slade and me, and probably didn’t realize we weren’t quite speaking. That was a bit of a surprise, given they were best friends and co-stars on the football field. If anyone counted how many times the pass went straight to Evan, they’d realize just how much Slade favored him. Most of us just shrugged it off, though, because it got us wins. And wins led to championships.
It was nice to know Slade hadn’t been bragging about us yet, either. Still, that should only have made it easier for him to understand why I wasn’t ready to parade around in front of everybody, especially since we hadn’t even talked about what was going on between us yet. It occurred to me that he could have been seeing one of those damn groupies always hanging around practice or the games, but I would have seen her around everyone. Someone would have known about it. That is, unless he wanted to keep it a secret, the same way he seemed to be keeping secrets from everyone.
I had to find out.
16
Slade
“Slade,” the voice echoed between the rows of houses in the night.
It wasn’t uncommon to come home to the frat house and find people drinking on the porch, so I wasn’t surprised when Evan stumbled down to hug me.
“Where ya been, man? Everyone’s been worried sick about ya,” he slurred in my face with a bottle of beer in one hand.
“I’ve been busy,” I said calmly. I was tired, and I wasn’t in the mood to be joking around with Evan or any of the rest of them tonight. I just wanted to get upstairs and climb into bed.
“Busy? You’ve been chasing tail.” He patted my chest and went back up the stairs to the porch. “Your brother here has been out trying to get his dick wet, boys. Did you finally nail that sweet little Ice Princess of yours?”
“What? No, that’s not what I was doing tonight.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame, son.”
“Evan. You bet against me,” I reminded him.
“And I would gladly lose my money if you were to prove me wrong, but so far, you haven’t.”
How the fuck do you know? “I haven’t, huh?”
“Not according to the Ice Princess herself,” he said.
“What are you talking about?” I stepped up to him so that we were standing face to face.
“She came by here earlier looking for you, and I asked her a thing or two.”
“And?” My patience was wearing thin. If he knew what was best for his pretty boy face, he’d get to the point.
“And she told me a thing or two.”
“About the bet?”
“Yeah, it was about that.”
“You fucking told her?”
“Sure, why not?”
I grabbed him by his shirt collar. I was seeing red. “You sorry son of a bitch. I ought to beat the crap out of you.”
“Hey, she was the one coming around asking questions. I just wanted to have a little fun with her.”
“Well, you may have just fucked everything up for me.” I turned and stormed down the steps back to the sidewalk.
“Hey, what the hell did I do?” he shouted after me as I walked back to my car.
He knew what he’d done. It was the same damn thing he always did. He ran his damn mouth and started shit with everyone around him. Then he wanted to pretend nothing was wrong when someone lost their shit over it.
I was back in the car. I had to get over to the dorm before curfew so I could get up to see Cassidy and set things right. I parked in front and snuck in when one of the other residents arrived. Hurrying upstairs to her room, I knocked on the door. After I’d blown her off for weeks, I wasn’t sure if she’d even answer, let alone talk to me. Miranda had probably kept her word and didn’t spill my secret yet.
Cassidy opened the door in just an oversized t-shirt. All I could think about was what she had on underneath.
“Oh…you…” She seemed surprised. Annoyed too. “You haven’t returned any of my texts. What do you want?”
“Yeah, it’s good to see you, too.”
“You don’t think I have a right to be upset?”
“Sure you do. Listen, I’m sorry. I’ve been really busy.” I crossed into her room without even being invited in. So far we weren’t getting off to a good start here, but I had a lot to say, and I wasn’t going to be denied the opportunity to say any of it.
“Did you at least bring the write-up?”
Holy shit.
“Damn, Cassidy, I’m sorry. I forgot all about it.” I was striking out here, and I knew it. Everything was falling apart right in front of me, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, so I improvised. “Look, I’ve got it all together and ready to go. I’ve just got to type it out.”
“You know what, Slade? Everyone was right about you,” she said, just dropping it on me like it had been weighing on her mind the entire time.
“Right about what?”
“That I’d end up with the whole project on my shoulders. I’ve been putting the pitch together. I’ve typed everything up. I even scheduled our meeting with the owner of The Pet Adoption House so we can sit down with them and give our pitch to him instead of to some stand-in from the prof.”
Here I was running myself ragged, and I couldn’t even tell her everything that was going on, and she was getting shit done on her end like it was nothing. I wanted to thank her, but I didn’t know what to say.
“And all you’ve managed to do is use the project to get me in bed.”
I closed my eyes. She knew. Evan told her about the bet. That fucking idiot.
“In fact that’s all that your boy Evan could talk about when I went by there earlier tonight, but I’m sure he told you everything. Otherwise, you probably wouldn’t have bothered coming here.”
Her words stung, but I’d earned it.
“I’m sorry about Evan,” I told her. “You know he’s an asshat. The guys just talk sometimes, an
d things got out of hand.”
“What are you saying?”
Now I was confused. What was she trying to tell me?
“Just talk to me, Cassidy. What did he say?”
“Evan didn’t know we’d slept together. He just kept asking if we were going to, or if we’d done it yet. It was like he expected us to. Hell, everyone acts like they expect us to. You’ve got quite a reputation to uphold Slade. I’m actually not as mad at you as I should be, because at least you haven’t been running around bragging about it.”
She didn’t know? She didn’t know! I needed to call it off before she found out.
“I wouldn’t do that, Cassidy.”
That was a half-lie. Before Cassidy had come around, I would have definitely bragged about it. That was how this whole bet came about. Now that we’d found some common ground, I’d never do that to her. Fuck. Stuff got complicated when my conscience kicked in.
“I’m sorry about everything since the other night when I ran out of here. Between that and all the guys talking shit, I’ve had to take some time to get my head clear, you know?”
Good cover.
“Yeah, I know,” she said, softening again. “Something else is going on, isn’t it?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
I took a chance and put an arm around her waist. It paid off. She relaxed and placed her head on my chest. Damn, even I felt good holding on to her like that.
“You can trust me, you know?”
I kissed the top of her head. “I know. I’ll take care of the write-up over Thanksgiving and everything else will be fine”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. We can hang out as that weekend shouldn’t be busy.”
“Shawn will be here. He’s not talking to me either.”
“He’ll come around.” I pulled back and looked down into her eyes. “So, we’re good?” I had no fucking idea where all this couples shit was coming from, but it felt real, so I didn’t fight it.
“I don’t know,” she purred. Christ, even when she was whining she was sexy. “I’m not sure I should let you off the hook so easily.”
I pulled her into my chest again, rubbing down her back until my hand was just above her ass. Ducking down to her ear, I whispered, “Of course you should. You know why?”
“Why?” She moaned, tilting her head to one side.
My lips brushed across her neck, then back to her ear. “Because you want to…” I walked her back to the bed. “And because you like having me around now…” I dropped to my knees, ran my hands up her legs and looked up at her with imploring eyes. “And mostly because you missed me.”
Her eyes closed, and her legs parted slightly as she stood there, breathless. I lifted the t-shirt and kissed her mound through the fabric of her panties. Her body shuddered. “Admit it.”
“I’ve missed you,” she groaned.
I slowly pulled her panties down her legs, kissing as I moved them lower, and once they were down to her ankles, I slid them off her feet and made sure she was looking at me when I tucked them into my shirt pocket.
“And you’ve been dreaming of me tasting you like this.” I lifted the t-shirt and pressed my lips to her mound. Her hands went into my hair, pulling my head tighter on her as she started tilting her hips to meet my mouth. My tongue flattened against her bud, sliding across her fold and then back to her sensitive heat, and soon I wasn’t sure she’d be able to stay on her feet. Still, I kept feasting on her, and her hips rocked, knees already weak and body shaking with need. I wanted this to be memorable, and she was a cheerleader, so I knew she could handle it. I lifted her legs over my shoulder, gripped her ass tightly, and told her one word.
“Ride.”
Cassidy let out a whimper and clamped her legs around my head, pleasuring herself with my tongue. She took every bit of enjoyment she could from this position until her inner thighs pulsed and trembled through her first climax. She wanted to return the favor when she caught her breath, but there’d be time for that later. Right now my dick wanted in on her warm, wet center. I stood up and lowered her to the bed, then felt around my pocket for a condom.
Shit.
I’d been working so much I didn’t have any on me.
What the fuck? This was a new record.
Cassidy flipped onto her side and searched the tiny drawer of the shared study desk until she pulled out a bright orange wrapper. The thing didn’t look big enough to fit on my member, but for the sake of pure need and what was turning out to be makeup sex, I could make it work. In a second I was climbing out of my pants and boxers, almost ripping my shirt before getting close enough for her to roll the condom up my stiff length. Once I was all ready, I pulled her top over her head. I needed to feel her soft breasts against my chest while I was inside her. Parting her legs, I positioned myself and made my way home, so deep inside her she was hissing and probably didn’t realize she’d called my name.
I lowered my chest to hers, slowly moving inside of her and back out, and in again, feeling every ridge and contour of her core surrounding me.
“You need to hurry,” she got out in between those sultry moans. “Miranda’s going to be home soon.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I can be quick with you.”
“Try.”
I pulled off of her and got us both off the bed, spinning her around in front of me and placing her hands on the side. Running my hands down her sides, I let them come to a stop at her hips, bent her further forward, and slipped in just past her opening. She pushed herself back onto my hardness, begging me to fuck her harder. So I gave her what she wanted, thrusting myself into her, so deep that she would let out a hiss each time I hit that special spot, and her core would tighten, and body tensed up against me. I reached forward with one hand and cupped one of her soft, full breasts, massaging it in time with each stroke.
Soon her knees were buckling and her head dropped to the bed, as she told me without words that she was coming. Her muscles contracting around me and her body went limp in my hands, and all I could do was hold her in place for a few more thrust until I followed her to my own orgasm. I lowered her back to the bed, and she stretched out along its narrow length, patting the space beside her for me to climb in with her.
“I can’t stay too long,” I whispered, getting in beside her. “This will get me way too comfortable, and with the exhaustion I’m feeling right now, I’m liable to pass out until morning.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck and held on to me like this was something we did all the time. “I don’t mind.”
I couldn’t remember a single girl I’d slept beside. That’s because no girl had gotten that privilege. I’d been with numerous partners, but there wasn’t one I’d said more than a few words to after, let alone held them. Come to think of it, there weren’t very many repeat offenders, and even then, it hadn’t become a thing the way this was.
“Tell me how much you missed me.”
She bit her lower lip and nodded, “A lot.”
“You’ve wanted me for years, haven’t you, Cassidy? Wanted this?” That wasn’t something I had any intention of asking, but it may have been sitting in the far corners of my consciousness, one of those slow burning, self-defining questions that should never be asked at a time like this because it would be answered truthfully.
“Yes.”
I nodded. This wasn’t the time to gloat.
“Just don’t run off like you did last time.”
“I won’t.” I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and got up to get dressed.
“Let’s not get your roommate too freaked out. I get the feeling she’d want to join in if she ever caught us together like this.”
Cassidy smiled and starting gathering her clothes too. She was back in bed, relaxing in her t-shirt when I remembered something.
“Wait, I almost forgot about this.”
“What?”
I dug around in my pocket for my wallet and pulled out a small, flat envelope.
“Open it.”
“What’s this?” She sat up, and pulled back the tiny flap, slipping two of her slender fingers inside. It was a thumbnail-sized vintage locket, with an amethyst-encrusted peacock engraved on one side. Her eyes widened when it fell into her hands. “Wait, this isn’t…”
“Yeah. It is.”
Back in high school, Cassidy had been over to our place to hang out with Shawn when she lost that locket. Everyone in the house had searched high and low for the damn thing, and months later, I found it in the bushes beside our front porch. Back then I was such a dick, I stuck it in my bedroom chest of drawers instead of giving it back to her.
She was awestruck. “How did you find this after all these years?”
“Okay don’t hate me.”
Cassidy ran her fingers over the ridges, just like she used to when it was around her neck. “No. Don’t tell me you’re the one who took it?”
“No, no. Nothing like that, but…shit…okay, I found it a few months after that day, and I kind of held on to it.”
“Oh my God, you’re not serious. You’ve had this all this time? That was like five or six years ago, Slade. Jesus.”
“I’m sorry. I never really found my opening to give it back.”
“You didn’t need a frigging opening. You could have run with, Hey Cassidy, I found this locket you’ve been hoping to find for years. Here ya go. Seriously Slade, I can’t believe you…” She looked at it again, then got off the bed and wrapped her hands around my neck, burying her face in my chest. “Thanks.”
“You’re thanking me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why the hell for?”
“Better late than never. I didn’t think I’d ever find this. Do you know I still have the necklace it came on? It’s back at my home, but I still have it… Maybe I’ll wear it for Thanksgiving dinner, and I’m definitely telling both our parents what you did!”
I ran my hand through my hair, embarrassed. “Crap. That’s what I was afraid of… Well, I deserve the public shaming. I’ll have to live with that. Anyway, I should get going.”
Go Deep: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Page 11
