by Liz Lovelock
“What?” I yell back, equally annoyed.
“He told her to leave him alone. That he’s with you now, and there’s no chance of him and her getting back together.”
Elsie’s words slowly sink in.
“Then why the hell didn’t he say that when I was standing right there?” I shout, my frustrations and anger getting the better of me.
Is that because I know Stacey was only trying to get under my skin?
And I let her. I’m so angry at myself.
“Perhaps they did catch up this morning. You know Stacey—she’s a manipulator, and she knew you and Parker had become close. She did this to get you not to trust him so she could keep trying. And it damn well worked.” Elsie releases a puff of air. “Stop thinking the worst.”
“I’m trying,” I yell back.
“Is everything okay in here?” Willow asks hesitantly as she pokes her head into the room.
“Yes,” Elsie and I yell in unison.
Willow quickly slinks back out the door.
A tense silence fills our bedroom as I collapse onto my bed.
“I’m sorry,” I say after a moment.
“Me too,” Elsie says as she comes and sits beside me.
“I let Stacey get under my skin, and come between Parker and me.”
“You did. Now you’ve realized this, you need to go and fix it.”
Rising from my bed, I grab my bag, ready to find Parker. I pull the door open, stopping in my tracks. There he stands with Willow.
“Well, well… look who it is,” Elsie says, nudging me. She has on her I-told-you-so face. I roll my eyes at her.
“Ah… did you hear that?” I ask nervously.
Parker chuckles, a playfulness in his stare. “Only a small part,” he replies holding up his finger and thumb showing me just how much. Parker turns to Elsie. “Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“Don’t go screwing it up, because if you do hurt her, I’ll castrate you.”
His hand drops. He grips his crotch, a worried expression on his face.
I burst out laughing. “Stop it, Elsie. It’ll be both of us doing it.”
A horrified look replaces the worried one on Parker’s face. “Come on, girls,” Parker groans. “You’re killing me here.”
We laugh, and Willow joins in.
“Come on, Willow. Let’s leave these two to talk,” Elsie says as she grabs her bag from the table and walks out the door, but Willow stares between the two of us.
“You need to fill me in, girl,” Willow states, pointing her finger at me.
“You know I will,” I promise.
Once they leave, Parker steps closer to me. My body ignites at his proximity. He cups my cheek. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I should have handled the situation better. Instead, I became so worried what you’d think if you found out that she came to see me. She’s been trying to get me back since I caught her with Hayden. You’re not really going to castrate me, are you?” He almost sounds nervous.
I giggle. “If you keep it in your pants then your bits will survive.” I pause for a moment, gathering my thoughts before continuing, “I’m sorry as well. I overreacted and thought the worst of you. I should have known she’d do something like this.”
Parker pulls me against his firm chest, his spicy scent wrapping around my senses and drawing me in. His hand grips the back of my neck. It’s like he’s massaging the desire within me, willing it to come out and play.
“You need to know. Yes, she came to see me. I told her I was with you now, and that she needed to leave me alone. She obviously took that as an invitation to try getting between us. I honestly thought it had worked.”
I glance up at him, and there’s a torn expression on his face.
“I feel like I’ve waited forever to have you, and now I’ve got you I don’t want to lose you,” he whispers, burying his face into my neck, causing goose bumps over my skin. My chest tightens with affection and want.
“I guess I have some insecurities to get over. You’ll have to put up with my mood swings,” I breathe. The way his hands trace over me makes me short of breath.
Parker peppers feather-light kisses along my neck before claiming my lips. He drives his tongue into my mouth. He tastes sweet.
“I’ll put up with anything when it comes to you, little mouse.” His breath tickles my lips. “I’m going to claim you as mine, and then everyone will know. You wait.” He sounds like a caveman, claiming what’s his. He can have me. My body tingles all over, thriving off every single breath and touch between us. He sets my soul on fire and I crave every part of him.
Parker’s fingers grip the bottom of my shirt, and then he lifts it over my head in one swift move.
“Bedroom,” I whisper as his pecks leave their warmth along my collarbone.
Lifting me up, he takes me to the bedroom. I gesture to my bed. He kicks the door shut behind us and places me gently down on the mattress. His large frame hovers over the top of me. He dives in kissing me like he couldn’t breathe without me. I find the bottom of his shirt, pulling it off. Of course, he has to help me a little, since I’m slightly immobile with one of my hands.
Parker grinds himself against me, his bare chest brushing my breasts. I groan, throwing my head back as he devours my neck and nips his way toward my breasts. He unclasps my black lace bra, tossing it aside. Both his hands grip my breasts, and he slowly massages them, arousing me more, before his mouth gets busy with them.
“You taste so good,” he moans.
His skin against mine is smooth to the touch. I crave him. I want every part of him. I’ve never wanted something as badly as I want Parker Kent to claim my soul. He reaches down, undoing my jeans. Leaning back on his heels, he pulls them off and makes quick work of his own.
He stands before me. I’m left dumbfounded by his god-like body.
Slowly, he climbs over me. My fingerprints glide over every inch of his body. Goose bumps rise on his olive skin.
Our bodies soon become one entangled mess. His hand glides over my tenderness; his mouth swallows my moans. He makes me feel everything, every single emotion describable.
“Oh, little mouse, I should have tried harder for you a year ago. You’re something special.” He pecks a few more kisses on my lips and neck. “You’ve well and truly stolen my heart.”
“How was the make-up session?” Elsie asks as she walks in the door a few hours later. I’m planted on the couch in the main room of our dorm. Obviously, I didn’t make it to the remainder of my classes for the day. Parker left about twenty minutes ago since he has another practice session. He made me promise to come to his game on Friday, and of course, I said yes. How could I not after that? “Well?” Elsie prompts.
I’m sure my smile is blinding. “Yeah, good.” I sigh happily.
“That good, huh?” She drops down beside me. “There’s already rumors traveling around about you and Parker.”
“I don’t care. I’m done caring.”
Elsie’s eyebrows shoot up. “This is a side of you I like: relaxed and sated.” She giggles.
I shove her in the arm playfully. “Shut up.”
“Now really, how was he? I need some sort of details. I’m living vicariously through you right now.”
I laugh. I’m sure she’s been sated at the recent parties we’ve been to, but she only tells me about the memorable one-night stands.
“He was good,” I assure her.
“How good?”
“Think of your most favorite thing and times it by…” I pause, thinking. “Heck… I can’t even give you a number. Let’s say ten times better than Hayden. The way he caressed a certain part of my body.” I repress a groan. “I would have happily been locked in our room for a lot longer.”
Elsie screws her face up. “Eww… so our room smells like sex now.” I laugh. “Shut up! That’s nasty! I don’t want to smell everything.”
Tears fall down my face, and my chest hurts from laughing too much. “Oh, you’re kill
ing me, Elsie. Don’t worry. It won’t smell of sex.” I can’t contain myself.
“It better not, or there’ll be problems between us. It’s like you’re taunting me—that you’re getting good sex and I’m getting like nothing.”
“Oh, my goodness.” I fall to the floor, rolling around. Laughter fills the room. Elsie scowls at me from the couch. I can see she’s playing with me. I know she’s happy for me. She’s my best friend; she can’t stay mad forever.
After a moment of watching me writhing in fits of laughter at her expense, she says, “You better go spray that room with something. I don’t want anything assaulting my nostrils unless it smells pretty, or it’s me that’s made the room smell of sex.”
Slowly, I pull myself from the floor and go spray some body perfume around the room and over my bed, shaking my head as I do. Walking back to the couch, I tease, “The coast is clear.”
“I still love you,” she says, disappearing into the bedroom. “What the hell happened in here?”
I erupt again, knowing that would be her response. Standing, I glide into the bedroom.
“I don’t know what you mean. Isn’t the room always this messy?”
My clothes are scattered around the room from where they landed when Parker stripped me; some are even on her bed. Parker’s shirt also lays across her belongings.
“Don’t act so innocent. You’re not my friend anymore,” she shouts. “Did he leave half-naked or something?”
I giggle. “No, he put on a spare shirt he had in his bag and left that one here. I’ll be claiming that now.”
She throws all of my stuff over on my bed, huffing as she does it. “We’ll need some ground rules if this is going to be a regular occurrence. I’m happy for you, though.” She loves me too much to be annoyed at me.
“Sure, ground rules.” I nod, still grinning.
“Even as you sit there I can tell by the little glint in your eyes that you have no intention of following rules.”
I shrug.
Elsie walks away shaking her head. “You owe me dinner tonight as payment for using the room for sex.”
I pick up Parker’s shirt and bring it to my nose. Inhaling his scent sends a quiver shooting through my stomach.
I can’t wait to see him again.
I sit with Elsie, Willow, and Jane as we watch everyone pile into the basketball stadium. It’s the first game of the season, and electricity is in the air. Stacey and her cheerleading squad are doing their dance on the court. There’s a lot of cheering and excitement. From the corner of my vision, I spot someone waving. It’s Paislee. I smile and give her a wave back.
“Who are you waving at?” Elsie asks, her voice raised to speak over the noise.
“Parker’s sister. It looks like she’s coming toward us.”
Paislee makes her way through the crowd to our seats. “Hey,” she squeals, giving me a hug.
“Hey! How are you?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m enjoying doing nothing at home. Although, I think Mom isn’t happy about it.”
We laugh together.
“Oh, sorry, these are my friends Elsie, Willow, and Jane.” All the girls wave and give a hello. “Girls, this is Paislee. Parker’s sister.”
Their mouths form perfect Os as they most likely see the resemblance to her brother.
“She’ll be going here hopefully next week as a freshman,” I say.
Suddenly, loud cheering erupts around us. I turn my focus to the court as I spot the trio coming on with their fellow teammates.
We all cheer and clap. Paislee and Elsie whistle. My eyes are glued to the number-two jersey. The boys begin warming up. Parker scans the stands, stopping when he spots me. I’m sure nothing can wipe away the silly grin plastered across my face.
He graces me with one of his heart-melting smiles. He presses his index and middle finger to his lips, then sends the kiss my way with a wink. My stomach flutters and some of the faces in the crowd turn my way—mostly girls.’
“Oh my goodness, my brother is smooching all over you,” Paislee says excitedly. “Did you see the girls giving you dirty looks just now?”
“I don’t really care. They can hate me, but I have the guy.” I give her a cheeky wink.
“I love you.” She bounces excitedly, gripping my good arm. Thankfully.
The whistle blows, and the guys on the court get moving. I trace every movement Parker makes. He’s so fluid, his every move precise and flawless. Jimmy and Dane are always close at hand, as are the other players.
I hold my breath as Parker drives the ball down the court. He hits the three-pointer line and takes a shot. As the ball leaves his hands, a player from the other team slams him in the side. My hands fly to my mouth. A series of boos fills the stadium. Parker falls to the ground. He doesn’t move for a moment. Dane and Jimmy are by his side immediately. I shoot to my feet, my fingers in my mouth as I chew on my nails waiting for Parker to make some movement.
“What’s going on?” I ask the girls around me, hoping they can give me something. My question is pointless, but I still ask it.
“It’s all right; he’s been hit like this before. He’s probably winded. Don’t stress.” Paislee’s assurance is only a small comfort. Of course, she’s watched her brother a number of times. My brain continues to try and assure my racing heart.
The coach calls for a time-out. As he gets to Parker, Parker sits and gives a thumbs-up. Cheers and clapping surrounds us. I release the breath I’ve been holding. Oh, thank goodness. He jumps to his feet, and his eyes meet mine. Again, he kisses those two fingers and sends them my way followed by a wink.
I’m not cut out to watch these games. I’m always worried someone I care about will get hurt. I’ve heard stories where people injure themselves so severely that they can’t play again. I’d hate for that to happen to Parker. He’d be devastated. I can see the passion he has for the game.
We’re finally at the last five minutes of the game. I swear I’ve held my breath so many times tonight, and cheered the loudest when our team got the ball in. The girls are equally as loud.
Elsie leans over. “It’s nice to see you finally enjoying yourself at a game instead of either not going, or just sitting and wallowing like you would do at Hayden’s football games.”
That statement’s true. I hated going to his games. Not once did I feel welcome.
“This, being with Parker—it feels different.”
“I know. I can see how happy you’ve been,” Elsie says.
The whistle blows, drawing my attention back to the game. I look at the scoreboard. It’s a tie, with one minute left on the clock. Seriously! This kind of thing happens in the NBA so much. It’s nail-biting stuff. I love close games like this.
“Come on, River Valley,” Elsie and Paislee shout in unison.
After the teams speak to their coaches, they take their spots across the court. Parker glances in my direction, a devious crooked grin on his face. My heart rate spikes.
“Go River Valley,” I shout, my voice followed by a number of loud cheers.
Everything around me fades away as the referee blows his whistle again, and then Parker has the ball passed to him from Dane. He drives the ball down the court, and slam dunks a shot. The other team quickly take their pass from the end of the court. They make their way to their hoop, taking a three-pointer shot, only to miss.
My heart sits in my throat as I watch the final minutes of the game. Elsie bounces in her seat, while Willow and Jane watch. Paislee is out of her seat, jumping up and down.
Jimmy catches the rebound and passes it to Parker who passes to Dane, who’s farther up the court. Dane takes it the whole way, and I look at the clock—there are ten seconds remaining.
I hear Parker shout, “Shoot it!”
Dane stops at the three-pointer line and takes the shot. I chew on my lip, holding my breath. Time slows down as the ball flies through the air and slowly sinks through the hoop.
I’m on my feet, cheering, as i
s the rest of the arena.
“Hell, yeah!” Paislee shouts. “Go, boys!”
The team all slap each other on their backs and give manly embraces. Parker turns my way. My smile is so huge that my cheeks hurt. Parker sprints off the court and comes up through the seats. People give him high-fives and slaps on the back, but his eyes remain focused on me.
“What’s he doing?” Elsie asks, and I shrug.
Parker makes his way to our row and comes toward me. Paislee stands on her seat, allowing him the space.
In one swift move, his arms slide around my waist, his fingers gripping my hips and his lips brush against mine. The air in my lungs whooshes out. I press myself against his body as we drink in the moment.
He pulls back, hunger burning in his eyes. I desperately didn’t want the kiss to end.
“Now they all know you belong to me,” he says.
I beam at him, throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him passionately once more.
We leave the arena with Paislee tagging along with us. She and Willow are hitting it off.
“Are you girls going to the party tonight?” Paislee asks as we walk back to our dorm.
“Which one?” Elsie asks. She’s the one who knows the details about each and every party going on around campus.
“The one at the basketball team house? Like, come on… you’re dating the captain of the team. You have to make an appearance.” Paislee gestures to me.
Going to a party hadn’t even crossed my mind. I have work tomorrow, but the thought of seeing Parker again makes my insides turn to mush.
“Yeah, I’ll go,” I say.
The girls all cheer.
“Let’s get wasted,” Elsie says excitedly.
In theory, it’s a good idea, yet after my last encounter with alcohol, the aftermath wasn’t so good.
“How about you all can get wasted, and I’ll watch.” I laugh.
“No!” all four of them shout at me.
I turn to Paislee. “How would Parker feel about seeing you drunk?” I ask.
