The Rulebreaker

by Claire Contreras

  “Because I can’t stop. And you came into my room.”

  “I always come into your room.”

  “I know, but it’s different now.”

  “So it did change things between us,” he says.

  “In a good way though.”

  “A good way?” He huffs out a breath that hits me on the forehead. “I don’t know what’s good about any of this.”

  I reach down and cup him over his thin gray pants.

  “Jesus, Rocky.” He groans loudly.

  “Are you going to stop me?” I whisper against his throat.

  “No, but I should. You should.”

  “I don’t want to.” I lower his cotton sleeping pants and find that he’s not wearing underwear.

  I’ve always wondered about that but never asked because it felt intrusive. Now I know. I palm his balls before moving onto his cock. I push him so that he’s flat on his back and lower myself to take him in my mouth. This is something I’ve done before. Not a ton of times, but enough that I know what I’m doing, and from the sounds Mav is making when I add my mouth to my hand movement, I know I’m on the right track. His fingers disappear into my hair and he tugs hard, making me moan against him. He picks up his body and starts to fuck my mouth, keeping me steady with his hands on the top of my head. I feel my eyes fill with tears after a moment because he’s so big and I’m not sure I can take any more, but pleasing him is making me wet, and I keep going. Suddenly, he pulls me off him and looks down at me with bewildered eyes.

  “Come here.”

  I wipe my mouth and crawl up toward him, undressing as I move, until only my panties are left. Maverick puts his hands on my ass and hoists me up to his face so that I’m practically sitting on him. My body is burning, yearning for him to do something, but all he does is hold me there, breathing, exhaling onto me, tickling me through the thin layer of my panties. I’m so wet I can hardly take it, and when he hooks a finger through my panties and pulls them aside, letting his tongue hit my clit, I start to shake uncontrollably. It should be embarrassing, the fact that he hasn’t done anything to elicit this orgasm from me, but it’s not, and he keeps going, licking me like I’m his favorite ice cream, sucking me into his mouth like he can’t let anything go to waste.

  My body has a mind of its own as I start grinding against his face. This is something I’ve never done before, and it strikes me that this is the kind of thing he thinks I may want to experience with someone else. I just don’t understand why? Why would I want that when he’s so fucking good at what he’s doing? I feel the orgasm build, crawling up through my toes and through my body as I arch my back and squirm, screaming his name. I try to be quiet, but it’s no use, there’s no hope for that. As I come down from it, Maverick brings me down his body slowly and turns me so that now I’m on my back and he’s on top of me. His hands brush stray hairs out of my face and he thrusts into me, inch by inch, slowly, looking into my eyes with each motion. I bite my lip hard because fuck, he’s big, and hard, and it doesn’t hurt at all this time. He just feels so damn good. He brings a hand between us and starts to play with my clit and suddenly it’s all too much and I’m coming again, and again.

  “Fuck, baby, I’m close,” he murmurs against me. “I’m going to . . . ”

  He pulls out of me before I can say anything and sputters all over my stomach. When we both catch our breaths, he pulls back.

  “Don’t move.” He climbs off me, jogs to the bathroom, and comes back with a wet towel, which he uses to wipe me.

  It’s all a blur from there, me getting up to use the bathroom, him beside me in there. When we get back in bed, both dressed, he throws an arm over me and kisses the top of my head.

  “I love you, Rocky.”

  “Love you too, Mav,” I say, tears in my eyes as I close them.

  It isn’t unusual for us, to say we love each other, because we do, and that’s how I know he’s not going to let this go to the next level. He’s too afraid of losing me to make me his girlfriend and I’m too afraid to lose him to push.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “You should’ve had that one dammit,” Leyla screams.

  “I know!” I’m running back, dribbling the soccer ball down the field.

  “There are scouts here. You need to get your shit together. Now,” she yells back, running up to me and taking the ball from my feet to give it to Ashley, who will start the play over.

  I put my hands on my hips and take a breath while they do. I’m a thousand percent distracted and I can’t afford to be. Before the game, Mav texted me that he’s taking Rebecca to the Halloween party. I texted that I was okay with it, but I wasn’t, I’m not, and now it’s the only thing I can think about when I’m supposed to be out here playing my heart out and securing my fucking future. There are already seventy minutes on the clock and most of us are running a little slower, taking short breaks between one goal and the other. The day is full of gloom, and the overcast sky is not doing us any favors either. I pick up the pace and run alongside Leyla. Morgan has the ball now and is setting the pace, which I’m grateful for. Morgan takes her time. She’s all about the long game and getting us in the best position to score, rather than just running up the field and going for it.

  I turn and run the route I’ve run thousands of times at practice, but the opponent won’t leave me open for long. I side-step, waiting near the goal, then run to the open spot in front of it when Ashley takes control of the ball and kicks it in my direction—a long, high drive that sends it up, but not far enough to score it. I jump up, my opponent jumps with me, crashing into my shoulder, but my attention is just on the ball. I head butt it as hard as I can, and come down crashing, my opponent beneath me. I hear the yells and cheers and I know somehow, in the midst of the chaos, I scored the goal. I lay there catching my breath. My opponent starts to get up.

  “You good?”

  “Yeah.” I nod just as Leyla runs over to help me up with Ashley, Morgan, and a few others running behind them screaming.

  “You did that,” Leyla screams. “You fucking did that.”

  “Did it look good? I couldn’t even see.” I laugh.

  “It was ESPN worthy,” Morgan says laughing.

  We only have a second to enjoy it because we have to get right back to it. The game ends one to zero. Afterward, Coach has words for us, and when she’s done, I soak in one of the ice-filled tubs alongside Leyla and Morgan, who are talking about tonight’s Halloween bash.

  “I’m going as a pirate,” I say. “I got this costume last year after Halloween, and I’ve been looking forward to wearing it since.”

  “I’m going as Peter Pan,” Leyla says and continues talking when Morgan and I laugh loudly. “I’m not kidding. It’s cute!”

  “I’m going as a sexy flight attendant, you know, since we couldn’t fly last year,” Morgan says.

  “I’m not sure what that has to do with your costume,” I say, “but I’m sure you’ll look great.”

  “What’s Ashley going as?” Morgan asks.

  “No idea,” I say.

  “Ummm . . . I wanna say she’s going as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.” Leyla shrugs. “I don’t know.”

  “Are Maverick and Colson going?” Morgan asks.

  “I think so.” I close my eyes. “I’m dying to get out of here already.”

  “Same.” Leyla laughs.

  “So, you and Maverick,” Morgan says. “Are the rumors true?”

  “What rumors?” My eyes pop open. I glance over at Morgan.

  “I heard you were sort of seeing each other.” She smiles. “Which, I mean, freaking finally, right?”

  “Excuse me, you didn’t tell me this,” Leyla says. “Since when?”

  “Since never.” I take a breath and exhale loudly. “We hooked up but it doesn’t mean anything. I mean, it does, but it doesn’t, you know?”

  “No, I don’t know.” Leyla places both arms on the side of her tub and looks at me expectantly.

  “
What does that mean?” Morgan faces me as well.

  “It means I’m probably going to be in love with my best friend until I find someone else to fall in love with.”

  The two of them exchange looks, then look at me again.

  “I mean . . . ” Morgan starts, looking unsure.

  “You need to start by moving out and staying away from him for a while.”

  “Yeah, I’ll start next week. I’m supposed to go to Charlotte next weekend with his family for Jagger’s football game.” I wipe my face and with a groan, I realize that I’m actually crying.

  “Shit,” Morgan says. “I’m sorry, Keke.”

  “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not like there’s a solution, right?”

  Not a winning solution, anyway, but ignoring him seems like the only viable option right now and that’s what I’m going to try to do. It just absolutely sucks to ignore your best friend.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I look down at my phone and see a fourth text from Maverick.

  Mav: What the hell is up? You haven’t responded to my texts. I’m about to call you.

  Me: Been busy.

  Mav: You coming to the party?

  Me: Yeah, I’ll be there.

  I stuff the phone in my black fanny pack and zip it back up. I’m not lying about being busy after my game and I am buzzing with the news but I want to tell Maverick in person, not via text or phone call or FaceTime. In person. I walk out of the bathroom and into Leyla and Ashley’s living room, where they’re both waiting for me, looking at their phones.

  “Um, hello, how does this look?” I ask after a moment.

  “Hot,” Leyla says.

  “So hot, but I would definitely break the stockings a little more,” Ashley says, walking over to me and crouching down to rip holes into my already holey stockings. “There.”

  “Thanks.” I smile as I look down.

  The skirt is extremely short, but that’s the point of Halloween, right? Ashley and Leyla grab their purses and follow me outside, locking the door behind us. We decide to take an Uber, rather than drive, just in case any of us decides to drink tonight. We can usually bet on Ashley drinking, but Leyla and I are in celebration mode right now, so who knows what will happen.

  When we get to the sorority house, I’m the first to say I’m glad we didn’t drive here. It is the most crowded of any party this year and everyone seems to be in costume. The three of us get down and start walking toward the house.

  “Val said to meet her on the side of the house by the kegs,” Leyla says.

  Val is one of the sorority girls and Leyla’s current potential girlfriend. She calls her wifey during FaceTimes and Val seems like she loves it, so I don’t think this is one of Leyla’s “I thought I liked her, but just kidding” girls. Ashley and I look around as Leyla leads the way. Some of the costumes are definitely cool, much cooler than our store-bought costumes, but we barely have time to think, let alone make something out of scratch (which, let’s be honest, we don’t know how to do anyway).

  “Oh, look, there’s Brian, I think,” Ashley says, pointing in the direction of a guy dressed like a Ghostbuster. “Oh, and Colson and Maverick!”

  The fourth Ghostbuster is another guy from their hockey team and all of them look hot as fuck. The unbuttoned jumpsuit is something I totally would have made fun of Mav for if it weren’t for that. His perfect abs on display aren’t something to sneeze at though.

  “Who would’ve thought those costumes could be hot?” Ash asks. “We should’ve done that.”

  “I think we’re pretty naked and we look amazing.”

  “Rocky,” Maverick calls out, followed by the other three shouting, “Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, Rocky.”

  “Oh my God.” I cover my face with a groan, but can’t help my laugh. “They’re so embarrassing.”

  “Rockyyyyyy,” Maverick shouts.

  “Hold on!” I shoot him a look, but keep smiling as I jog over there.

  Thank God I opted to wear low heel boots and not the stripper heels that Leyla was trying to sell me on, which looked great, but I would have definitely face-planted wearing them.

  “Where have you been all day?” Maverick throws his arms around me and pulls me close.

  “I had a game, remember?” I pull away and tilt my head to look at him.

  “You look beautiful.”

  My stomach flutters.

  “Awww,” the guys around us say. I feel my skin grow hot.

  “You do,” Mav says. “You look fucking beautiful, my little pirate.”

  “My?” Colson says. “When did this happen?”

  Maverick shoots him a look.

  “What? I’m just asking for a friend.” Colson shrugs a shoulder.

  “Several friends, actually,” Brian chimes in.

  “Dad, you’re embarrassing me.” I slap a hand over my forehead and shimmy out of Maverick’s hold.

  “I have never been into that kink, but you can call me daddy whenever you want.” His gaze heats as he takes me in. “And wearing that? Fuck yes.”

  “Oh my God.” My jaw drops. “Maverick.”

  “What?”

  “Are you drunk?”

  “He’s drunk,” Colson says. “Sorry. He’s a lightweight and he just took five shots back-to-back.”

  “Jesus,” I breathe. “I mean, I guess it’s good that he can blame this display on that?”

  “No, babe, he always feels this way, he’s just finally letting his feelings out,” Colson says with a wink.

  “I hate you.”

  “Keke,” Maverick says. “Do you love me? Are you riding?”

  “Oh my God.” I start to laugh, then grab his hand and pull him away from the group. “I’ll bring him right back, guys.”

  “She’s going to do dirty things to me,” Maverick calls out over his shoulder. “I hope.”

  “What has gotten into you?” I ask, letting go of his hand when we’re far enough away from everyone.

  “Nothing.” He frowns. “Why?”

  “You’re being weird. Saying all these weird things in public.”

  “You want to keep me your dirty little secret? Because I will be.” He reaches for me.

  “No.” I yank my hand away. “Can you focus for one second or not?”

  “Yes.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out. “Okay, I’m ready. Are you going to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me all day?”

  “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

  “Okay. I’m ready. For real this time.” He grins.

  “I have a boyfriend.”

  His smile drops, mood morphing from silly to crestfallen in a split second. “What?”

  “I’m just kidding.” I punch him on the chest playfully. “But now I know that you don’t approve of that news.”

  “That’s not funny, Rocky.” He frowns. “At all.”

  “I was just kidding, dude. Chill.” I roll my eyes. “Can I tell you the real news now?”

  “Yeah, I guess, but you just absolutely killed the buzz I had going.”

  “Aw, sorry.” I smile wide, but deep down, I am shaking because Maverick does care if I get a boyfriend. That’s good to know.

  “What’s the news?”

  “The NWSL invited me to try out for them,” I say and can’t help my squeal at the end of it.

  “What?” he shouts, bringing his hands to his head. “What? I knew it, baby. I fucking knew it!”

  “It’s just a try-out.” I jump up and down, smiling, laughing, and add, “But still!”

  “They’re going to sign you day one.” Maverick is still shouting as he wraps his arms around me and lifts me off my feet, spinning me around. When he stops spinning, he buries his face on the side of my neck and murmurs, “This is your dream, baby.”

  “I know.”

  “I’m so fucking proud of you.” He pulls away, still carrying me, and looks into my eyes. “I really am, Rocky. This is your time to shine. You earned this. Congratulations.”

&nb
sp; “Thank you.” I’m still smiling, but I feel my eyes welling up. “I wanted you to be the first person I told but I didn’t want to do it over the phone or text.”

  “You haven’t told your parents?”

  I shake my head. “Only you. Well, Leyla knows since they also extended an invitation to her.”

  “I’m the first one you told?”

  “Yes, dummy. Best friends for life and all that.” I smile.

  “Yeah, best friends for life,” he says, his voice lower, his gaze a little more distant as he sets me back on my feet. He smiles again. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks.” I smile.

  “Let’s go take a shot to that!” he says excitedly again, and holds my hand as we walk back to our friends.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The invitation means more practice and more training. I’ve spent the entire week working on every single move and improving my techniques, to the point that I didn’t even show up for my classes so far this week, something my parents do not approve of. Still, the time away from Maverick and everyone else has given me some clarity on our situation and that is—if it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, I’m okay with it. I’m not sure how that’ll be once it’s actually tested and put into action, but so far, in my mind, I’m good with just staying friends with him and nothing else. Leyla doesn’t believe me. Neither does my own mother.

  It doesn’t matter though because after all the flirting and declarations he made at the party Saturday night, he practically ghosted me. He never came home that night, or Sunday, and by Monday I decided it was best because if I saw him, I would probably end our friendship and then it would’ve really been for nothing since we’re no longer hooking up. For real this time.

  I’m preparing a smoothie when I hear Maverick and Colson walk in talking about their game Friday night, and when I see him, I know my body didn’t get the memo about the moving on and no longer hooking up thing, because he’s not wearing a shirt and I can’t handle it. I tear my eyes away from his naked chest quickly and finish blending my smoothie.