Scored

by Sloane Howell

  His mouth moved but the words barely registered. His touch had a way of unraveling every thread that was my body.

  “Huh?” I stepped away from his hand and pressed up against the counter. “Beer is fine.”

  He held up two fingers at the bartender and she scurried off before opening a clear refrigerator door and snagging two bottles.

  “Nice.” He nodded.

  “What is?”

  “Beer. I’m glad you ordered a beer.”

  “Do your dates usually order something else?”

  He didn’t miss a beat and went right past my little phishing question. “My sister-in-law orders wine because she knows it irritates me.”

  He comes to concerts with his sister. Isn’t that just adorable?

  I grinned like an idiot until I caught him smiling at the idiotic face I was surely making.

  I started to defend my adoring grin when he cut me off.

  “She’s the only other girl I’ve ever brought here.”

  Say what?

  “Huh?” I stood there, dumbfounded. “I thought you said you liked music?”

  “Love it.”

  “Why would you not bring other dates here?”

  “They’re not you.” He grabbed the two beers with one of his giant bear paws and snagged my hand with the other. I followed where he walked with a ridiculous smile plastered onto my face.

  I was so screwed.

  Chapter 5

  “When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while.”

  —Bruno Mars

  Matt Stallworth

  I knew the day I walked into Kelsey’s record store that she’d be difficult to win over. But fuck, she resisted—hard. The more she tried to push away the more it became a competition. My life was spiraling out of control and I knew I was wiring up a bomb with the possibility of it blowing up in my face.

  I looked down at my situation below. Her resistance the other day wasn’t the only thing that was hard.

  Fuck, the things she did to me just by being in the same room.

  When she’d opened her door and I caught a glimpse of the thin fabric of her Spinderellas tee clinging tight to her curves and amazing tits—I thought my dick was going to explode.

  And here we were at Bizzell, my favorite place on the planet. I handed Kelsey her beer. I’d been waiting for this concert forever and now all I could think about was Kelsey—and Kelsey naked—oh, and Kelsey’s naked boobs. Kelsified brain; it was a thing.

  She lifted the bottle to her lips and took a long drink. I cursed the beer bottle silently. Her lips belonged pressed against mine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want them wrapped around my cock, too, but Jesus, even just a kiss would be heaven.

  Still, I hadn’t foreseen the pushback all night long. The date had gone totally differently in my mind. I’d pick her up. We’d go to the show. She’d realize I’m a decent guy and we’d talk about music. Maybe one thing would lead to another and I’d stop things after a kiss, so she’d know I was a good guy who wasn’t just looking to get laid.

  Her incessant need to push me away only made me want her more. I mean, she should’ve known I was an athlete. Saying I was competitive would be an understatement.

  “I think they’re about to come on.” About the time Kelsey mentioned it, the lights dimmed down.

  “This is going to be fucking awesome!” I smiled at her and held out my bottle of beer.

  She tapped it with hers. “Definitely.” She paused and did this sort of frown thing and then looked up.

  She always did it when she thought about what to say. Her eyes roamed back over to mine. “Thank you for bringing me.”

  “Can’t think of anyone I’d rather be here with.” I grinned.

  Jesus, that was lame.

  It was becoming very real to me that I liked Kelsey, a lot. Originally, I’d thought I’d ask her out and see if there was any chemistry, and if not we both loved music so we’d just be friends maybe. I didn’t know any other guys on the team who were into vinyl records and had refined and eclectic musical tastes. Even Ethan’s eyes would glaze over when I would talk about new wave post-modern punk.

  Plus, she worked at a record store. How fucking cool was that?

  I hadn’t planned on things being so gray instead of black-and-white, though. I stared down at the way her Levi’s hugged her hips and ass just right. Her shirt was cut so that it rode up just over her hip and revealed the slightest bit of the soft flesh there.

  Fuck.

  I turned my head and bit down on a knuckle, trying to will away the thought of digging my fingers into her hips while I fucked an orgasm out of her. Kelsey moaning my name over and over.

  I glanced back to her as she took another drink of her beer and all I could see was her lips on the bottle. My cock went to war with my zipper.

  Beyond her tits and ass and hips and flat stomach, though, she was just insanely beautiful. My eyes roamed her dirty-blond hair and when she stared at me with those honey-colored eyes it took me to another place.

  “What?” Her word had a hollow echo to it and I realized I was still staring right at her ponytail that fell down and curled at the end, framing her face. She held the bottle of beer next to her lips and had asked the question into the bottle.

  With the lights dimmed and reflecting off her eyes and the anticipation of the band about to walk on the stage, my hand naturally went and pushed a few stray strands of hair behind her ear. When my fingers made contact with the smooth skin on the side of her face her eyelashes fluttered.

  For a brief moment we just stared at each other. She looked right at me and it’s like we had an entire conversation with no words. But I could tell everything she was thinking and responded clear as day.

  We can’t do this.

  It’ll be fine. Just trust me.

  I’m too busy. I don’t have time to date.

  Neither do I. But do you feel this between us?

  What about Jenny and Ethan? It’ll be awkward if something goes wrong.

  I want to see where this goes.

  I do, too. But it’s a bad idea.

  Bad ideas are fun.

  She grinned and I returned the gesture before raucous cheers severed us from our unspoken moment. The band walked out and the place went ballistic along with Kelsey and me.

  The Spinderellas were amazing. Their music was sort of bluesy-folk but with some electric instruments and occasionally even some techno backing. Very different, but they just had a sound. You could hear any song of theirs and know who it was. I loved that about them.

  The lead singer was tall and skinny with tattoos covering damn near every square inch of him. He wore a bright suit and top hat. I always referred to him as Willy Wonka. The cheering died down as he approached the microphone. We were about twenty feet away in the middle of the standing crowd.

  “Glad I got the golden ticket in my chocolate bar today.” Kelsey looked up at me and smiled.

  I busted out laughing and shook my head.

  “Don’t shake your head and laugh. It’s true. He kicks ass but he’s totally Willy Wonka.”

  I bent down to her in case the music started. Kelsey wasn’t short per se, but I was six foot five and was used to bending down for everyone anyway. “That’s not why I’m laughing. I’ve never told anyone else, but I always call him Willy Wonka, too.”

  She gave me a playful look that said, Don’t fuck around with me.

  I shrugged. “It’s true. I promise.” I took a sip of my beer and could feel her eyes still searing into me. I raised both eyebrows and my eyes widened with the bottle still pressed to my lips. “I’m not kidding. Don’t chew any gum in this place. You might blow up into a blueberry.”

  The deafening guitar chords rang out. I couldn’t hear Kelsey but it definitely appeared like she snorted. I went in for the kill and my mouth was right on her ear.

  “I don’t want to have to roll you out of here.”

  Who would’ve thought a bratty Roald
Dahl character would score me some comic relief points on a date?

  Kelsey laughed her ass off and couldn’t stop grinning after. The first song they played was one of my favorites. Light on vocals and heavy on instrumentals. The guitar player was a fucking virtuoso in my opinion. I couldn’t play an instrument if I tried and I think that was something that always drew me to music. When you can’t do something it makes you want to be a part of it even more.

  Kelsey appeared to be loosening up and her head began to move in sync with the bass line. I followed suit. Something was different, though.

  The music was spot on and the whole thing was perfect, but it didn’t hold me captive like it usually did. The song fought like hell for my attention, but Kelsey transcended the rest of my surroundings.

  I wanted to sit back and watch her. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to know more about her.

  Everything in me longed to keep talking in her ear and to hear what she had to say in return, but no way was I going to ruin the concert for her. The last thing an audiophile wanted was someone yapping in their ear during a show.

  I bobbed my head in time and played along, but I stole a glance at her every chance I had.

  After the first song ended everyone screamed and cheered. The whole place was electric and the crowd on fire.

  I turned to face Kelsey. “Man, these guys fucking rock!”

  “Yeah, they do!”

  The drums blasted as I started my next question and drowned it out. “So, you’re glad you came, then?”

  Shit!

  She mouthed, “What?”

  There was no way I could yell where she could hear. I leaned down to her ear again. I made sure to exhale warm breath on her neck before I spoke this time. I wrapped my arm around her waist and my fingers grazed the small soft area of exposed hip I’d stared at all goddamn night.

  “So, you’re glad you came, then?” I yelled next to her ear and exhaled directly into it.

  She leaned into my hold and I pulled her in a little closer. I moved my head back and she looked at me and nodded.

  I thought my heart would leap out of my chest and my dick out of my pants, all at the same time. God, she was so fucking sexy and vulnerable, like the music just cut through all the bullshit walls.

  I smiled and mouthed slowly, “Me, too.”

  I released her hip and stood up straight. Not because I wanted to—not at all. Because I knew she’d have felt guilty about exposing herself to me and I didn’t want to give her a chance to shrug my arm off her.

  Timing was everything and Kelsey Martin wasn’t a random hookup or a short-lived relationship in the making. Yeah, I wanted to fuck her. I’d be lying to myself if I said I didn’t. But I wanted to fuck her more than once, and for a very long time.

  Before I’d even noticed we were five songs in and both of us had pretty much found ourselves lost in a combination of each other’s stares and the music. My stomach twisted itself in a knot and adrenaline pumped through my veins any time she’d accidentally lean into me or graze me with her swaying hips.

  Some of the songs were up-tempo and people bounced and danced around, and some leaned more toward classic rock with long guitar and drum solos. I recognized the next song as soon as the light guitar riff started. It was one of their slower songs, very ballad-ish in nature.

  It was as close to a love song as the Spinderellas had in their catalog. I slid an arm around Kelsey when the lead singer belted out the lyrics and she leaned in close to me. Fuck, I was weightless, like I was floating on the words of the song. Bright blue streams of lights swirled around the room, creating vivid patterns on the walls.

  I pulled Kelsey in front of me and wrapped both of my arms around her. She nuzzled her cheek against my arm and moved a hand to one of my forearms. She fit perfectly inside my arms. Her breasts pressed into my hold and she backed her ass up against my cock. We swayed back and forth to the slow cadence of the song and I peeked around to steal a glance of every one of her reactions to our movements. Her eyes closed as she ground her hips back and forth against me. I knew she felt every inch of my rock-hard dick pressed against her, and for a split second her mouth formed an O coupled with a sigh.

  Goddamn! I could get used to these kinds of moments with her.

  I tightened my hold and rested my chin lightly in her sandy-colored hair. Even the smell of her shampoo was orgasmic.

  The song ended and it was like reality slammed into her chest. She blushed and stepped away from my embrace. Fuck it, that moment had been heaven and better than anything I’d imagined happening on a first date with her anyway.

  The rest of the songs and the encore were all gritty and heavy. They definitely kicked major ass live, and it was one of the best shows I’d ever seen. The house lights brightened and people spilled out of Bizzell.

  Kelsey turned to me. “Man, that was epic! Rock-solid performance.”

  I glanced down at my crotch and then back up to her. “Thanks.”

  She bit her lip and tried not to smile. “Couldn’t help yourself there, could you?”

  I grinned back at her and shrugged. “Nope. Would you like to help me out?”

  I had a feeling Kelsey didn’t blush much. She seemed like a pretty brash and open person all the times I’d met her. When her cheeks flushed with the slightest bit of pink I chalked it up as a victory and smiled.

  She stood there with her hands on her hips and shook her head. Part of me hoped she’d continue this whole resisting charade. It would only make me try that much harder.

  “You should do stand-up. Seriously.”

  I glanced down again for a second and then cocked an eyebrow up at her. “Already standing up.”

  “Oh my God.” She looked away.

  “That’s what she said.”

  “Can you go all night like this?”

  I nodded. “Yes, Kelsey. Yes, indeed.”

  She giggled. I made the rocker chick giggle. I possessed a particular set of skills, apparently.

  “I can go all night,” I deadpanned.

  Kelsey burst into a fit of laughter. I thought for a second I might reach a score of infinity if I got her to snort where I could hear.

  I reached out and took her hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  We trailed the crowd heading toward the door and she kept looking up at me and smiling and then she’d look away.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing.”

  “It’s cool. You can tell me.”

  She stared at me. “Nothing, it’s just…” She paused. “Funny, hot, rich, popular…” She poked an index finger into my shoulder and smiled. “Excellent taste in music. Why aren’t you like married and having kids or anything by now?”

  I glanced down at her.

  She cringed a little. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—I didn’t mean to hit you with such a personal question like that. I just speak without thinking sometimes.”

  We walked through the door and I led her over to the side so that we weren’t blocking anyone’s path.

  She stared at the ground and I lifted her chin with my index finger so that we looked at each other. “It’s okay. Really. You can ask me stuff like that. I don’t mind.” I grinned to reassure her a little.

  Fact was, I wanted her to want to know more about me.

  “Okay, it just seemed like a tough question for a first date.”

  I chuckled.

  “What’s funny?”

  “Nothing, just—have you ever seen a press conference on television?”

  “Sure.”

  I held my hands out to the side like look what I do for a living.

  “Right.” She sighed and her shoulders relaxed. “People interview you all the time.”

  “Nothing you can ask will be more personal than what I get grilled about on national television. I promise.”

  “Okay.” She nodded.

  I took her by the hand again because I fucking loved the way it fit in mine and she hadn’t put
up a fight about it all evening. “And, I’m not sure. My job and schedule have been hard on relationships I’ve had. I’m always busy. But really, I’ve never felt that anyone I’ve dated before was the one, you know? It just never felt right.”

  “I suppose it’s a decent answer.”

  Kelsey glowed more now than she had earlier in the evening. I didn’t know how to describe it any better than that. When she was happy and relaxed and in her element—without sounding like too much of a hippie—it was almost like she had an energy about her. An aura radiated from her that wasn’t necessarily visible, but I could feel it.

  “Thank you for your approval.” I smirked, but a playful one this time.

  She nudged me in the ribs with her elbow.

  “I’ve just believed, even since I was a kid, that when you meet the person you’re supposed to end up with, you’ll just know. Everything in the world will just fall into place and make sense.”

  She shook her head and grinned but kept looking straight ahead toward the parking lot.

  “What’s so amusing?”

  “Nothing. Didn’t say a word.”

  “No, no. You shook your head. Now it’s time to fess up.”

  “Just a little surprised. Matt Stallworth is a romantic.”

  “So.”

  “I didn’t say it was a bad thing. Just stated a fact, sir.”

  “You said it like you were surprised. Like it was a girly trait for a guy.” I nudged her back with my elbow to emphasize that I was teasing her.

  “Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a feminine man. I’ve known lots of girly guys who were awesome.” She chuckled.

  I grabbed her by the shoulders and flipped her petite frame around so that she faced me. In another smooth motion I ran both of my palms to her cheeks and moved inches from her face. Her breath hitched and her eyes widened. Her whole body trembled and I could practically hear her heart pounding in her chest.

  “You’re so beautiful, everything else in the world fades away when you’re in front of me like this. There’s nothing I want more than to kiss you so hard that every ounce of air rushes from your body. When I take you home and walk you to your apartment later tonight it will take every ounce of resolve in my body to let go of your hand because I know that you’ll disappear when the door closes. And you’ll be all that I think about until I see you again.” I leaned in closer to her ear. “The only thing keeping my lips from yours right now is the fact that I want more than one amazing night with you. I want every single fucking one of them.”