Page 37 of The Player

When we pull into the garage, I turn the car off and look at him. “Aaron…”

“Don’t, Jules. Let’s get into the house and go to sleep.” He’s shutting down, and that hurts. Every time I picked him up from a party or a friend’s house, he’d shut down. There’s no use in trying to get him to talk.

“Do you need help to get in?” I don’t ask to upset him, but he glares at me.

“I’m not a baby. I can get into the damn house by myself.”

“Got it.” Getting out of the car, I slam the door, wishing things were different.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Fuck! Every time I turn around, I’m hurting Julie. Why the hell can’t I come out and tell her I love her? Limping into the house, I watch Julie place the teakettle on the stove, and she looks back at me.

“Lennox is asleep. Be nice, you two,” my sister sing-songs before kissing Julie’s cheek and coming over to me.

“Be on your best behavior and don’t hurt her.” She glares at me, and the guilt keeps rising.

Kaylee leaves and I sigh, getting ready to ask for forgiveness, but Julie beats me to talking.

“You should be in bed. Therapy starts at seven.” Her voice sounds so resigned. It kills me.

“Are you going to stay up?” I don’t want to go to bed with the way things are between us. Hell, she won’t even look at me.

“No. I’m getting this ready for an easy morning. I always oversleep.”

I should tell her thank you or at least be nice and say good night. Instead, I do exactly what I don’t want to do and stalk off to the bedroom. Ten minutes later, I hear the door above me shut. Images of Julie undressing flash before my eyes. Mm. Taking my cock into my hand, I stroke it slow and steady.

Clear as day, her body moves over me, touching every single inch of me. It makes me tremble as I think about her hot pussy sliding down my cock. Those sexy curves of hers bouncing on top of me as she takes my cock deep into her pussy. Fuck. I don’t last four strokes before I’m going off. “Julie.” Her name is a whisper on my lips while I watch my semen leave my still throbbing manhood.

Damn, I haven’t come that fast since I was a teenager. Groaning, I get up and clean myself. Looking in the mirror, I assess myself. Can I ever be the man she deserves? Taking a deep breath, I decide to go upstairs. I want—no, need—to see Julie. My dick throbs as I put on a pair of sweats. Slowly, I limp toward the stairs and take it one at a time. By the fourth step, my knee gives out.

I grip the banister but tumble down as my knee twists and pain shoots through me. I’m like a damn slinky, falling all the way down until I’m on the floor. My knee isn’t working, so I can’t get off my stomach. Lights flood the hallway as I lie here, feeling sorry for myself.

“Aaron!” Julie comes running down to me. Fuck, she’s only in a flimsy T-shirt and boy-short panties. This is the most I’ve seen of her body, and goddamn, her legs are gorgeous.

I want to reach out and run my hands up her legs and see if she’s wet for me. My mind doesn’t stop as she bends down beside me and helps me to my back. “Oh, A-bear, what were you doing?”

I can’t exactly tell her I was coming up the stairs to watch her sleep and jack off on her. Shit, even thinking about it makes me sound like a creep.

“I wanted to apologize.” It’s not a complete lie. She deserves an explanation.

“A-bear, you could have told me in the morning. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.”

The way she’s taking care of me and talking like she used to when we were younger makes me smile. “Thanks, Sugar Plum.” That beautiful blush creeps up on her cheeks, and she grants me a sincere smile.

Fuck. The nickname came out before I could stop it.

“What…what did you just call me?”

Her hands are crushing my arms as we stand there, looking at each other. “Julie…” My words slip from me as I wobble.

“No. You… You called me Sugar Plum.”

Do I deny it? Do I ask her why she’s acting so weird? No. I hobble over to her and pull her in my arms. “Yes, I did.” Kissing her lips, I moan into her open mouth. I’ve taken her by surprise, but I run my hands through her hair, and I plunder her mouth with my tongue.

We say nothing as she helps me walk back to the bedroom. I can hear her breathing and know she’s overthinking things. Is she going to call me out for calling her that? Will she ask me about the night at the ball? So many fucking questions when all I want to do is pull her onto the bed and fuck her.

Julie tucks me in, and I grab her hand. “Stay with me.” Dammit, the words are out of me before I can stop them. I want her to be with me more than anything, but I’m afraid I’ll never be good enough for her.

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