Page 32 of Save the Game

“Not tonight,” he says, and I immediately pull my hand away.

“Sorry.” My voice sounds raspy with desire, and my pajama pants aren’t hiding anything. Two minutes of kissing and touching his stomach, and I’m ready to blow my damn load. Pulling his head away so that he can look at me, he catches my bottom lip with his thumb.

“Want to make out like teenagers for a couple hours?” He asks.

“Sure, as long as you don’t mind if I come in my pants like one,” I retort and he tips his head back and laughs. I can’t resist leaning forward and kissing his exposed throat.

He slides down until he’s lying flat on his back. He curls an arm around me as I lay down as well, pulling me to him. I’m half laying on top of him, held in place by a loose arm around my middle. There is a question in his eyes that makes my stomach sink; he’s nervous about me freaking out again. Instead of opening that can of worms again, I kiss him.

Later—much, much later—I’ve got my head on his shoulder and a leg thrown over his hips as we give our swollen lips a break. He’s trailing his fingertips up and down my spine, the touch barely discernible through the fabric of my shirt. I’m cursing the presence of his own, and wishing my face was resting directly against his skin.

“I should go,” he says, sounding apologetic.

“Stay,” I request, and flinch the moment the word is spoken. As much as I like him, I’m not sure I’m ready to spend an entire night together. What if I have a nightmare, or wake up in the middle of the night with his arm around me and freak out because I can’t remember who it is? I don’t need to give him any more reasons to give up on this thing between us; nor do I want him to look too hard at possible reasons why I have panic attacks and nightmares.

“I’ve got weights early tomorrow, before class,” he says, pressing three quick kisses to my hair. “But how about dinner this Sunday and if you want, we can hang out at my place after?”

“Sure, that would work. We have an early game on Sunday, so I’ll be free.”

“I know,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “I checked your schedule.”

“Who’s the possessive one now,” I joke, and he pinches my hip, gently.

“Me,” he admits, rubbing my lower back. “Get up, you, I’ve got to get home, jerk off, and go to bed.”

Laughing, I roll over and prop myself up on an elbow so I can watch him as he slips his shoes back on. Pinching my chin between thumb and forefinger, he leans down to give me three kisses, the same way he just did to the top of my head. I follow him to standing, shaking my pajama pants back down where they’d gotten rucked up my legs.

Walking him to the front door, I lean against the doorframe as he turns to look at me on the landing.

“Sunday,” he says.

“Sunday,” I agree, nodding. Grinning, he turns and jogs down the stairs. I wait until he’s out of sight before going back in and locking the door behind me. Knowing I won’t be able to concentrate on schoolwork, I send Marcos a quick text to let him know I’m still alive and at home, before crawling into bed and inhaling Luke’s scent on the sheets as I fall asleep.

9

Luke

“Hello, ladies,” I singsong as I walk through the front door. A chorus of high, female voices answers me, and I wave off an invitation to join them. “Sorry, I’m a one girl kind of guy.”

I lope up the stairs two at a time and knock on Margot’s door before pushing inside without waiting for an answer. She’s stretched out on her bed, bowl of popcorn balancing on her stomach, and hair tied up in an alarmingly high bun. Her laptop is resting on the mattress beside her. She scowls at me, popping one headphone out of her ear.

“I could have been naked in here,” she protests. I snort, climbing into bed beside her with the laptop between us.

“That would have been terribly exciting for me, I’m sure.”

“Hey,” she smacks me in the chest, almost overbalancing the bowl of popcorn.

“Careful, there,” I snatch the bowl and grab a handful of popcorn, grinning as she scowls at me. “Don’t give me that look, you love me.”

“God only knows why,” she grumbles, reaching out and closing the laptop. I move closer to her and offer her the bowl.

“You coming to my game Saturday?”

“Of course. Oh, and I’ve got you two tickets for my show, in case you want to bring someone.” She moves the laptop to her side table and closes the distance between us so that she doesn’t have to reach as far for the popcorn.

“Cool. I’ll see if Max wants to go.”

She looks at me sideways. “Hm. So, you came to a decision, then?”

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