Page 90 of The Longshot

I can’t tell if I nod my head to respond or not, but either way, it doesn’t matter, he continues.

“For everything between us to be perfect and this…” He looks around, eyes finally settling on the metal bench. “Well, it’s far from the California king you more than deserve.”

I scoff nervously with laughter, the heat still blaring through my cheeks as he brings me to my feet. It’s almost a challenge to stand. “It felt like one at the time,” I can’t help but joke, adjusting the skirt of my dress.

He smiles gently, leaning in. “That’s because you make everything feel perfect, Chelsie. You do.”

I hold him close.

“I’ve never held back with anyone before, Chelsie,” Gary reveals. “I go in guns blazing, only to be the one that gets burned. But with you… I can’t fuck this up. Not again.” He rests his head against mine. “So, maybe we should wait. We should wait a little bit longer. Do you uh—think that’s okay?”

My lips are dry as I think. He’s right. This was hasty, irrational, and not the right moment. I nod my head to agree, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be lying awake in sexual frustration tonight. Oh how I wish he could have reached this conclusion after I came...

“Say something, baby girl. Anything.”

I see the opportunity and cease it.

“This last part… it uh… doesn’t happen on all of your private tours, does it, Gary?” I anxiously search for some humor to mask this sexual intensity pulsating between my thighs.

He laughs, kissing my forehead before he works his way towards the tip of my nose. “I’ve only ever given one tour,” he admits, moving towards my right cheek. “And I only…” He switches to the left. “Ever.” He stops in front of my lips. “Will.” He plants a kiss.

Like two magnets, we’re drawn into each other and as we join as one, I’m left with no other choice than to believe that I’m in heaven. It feels like it, especially because all at once, every single light of the stadium flicks on, blinding both Gary and I to death as we pull apart in agony.

“Whoops.” I hear a voice in the distance, yet can’t quite make it out as I rub against my eyes, seeing stars in the process. “I must’ve accidentally hit the switch.”

“Coach?!” Gary cries out, furrowing his brows in frustration as he uses his hand to shield his eyes away from the light. “What the actual fuck?”

“‘What the actual fuck’ is right, Wilks.” I catch sight of Coach, aka Warren Park, who’s visibly unamused as he folds his arm in front of his chest. “I came back here to grab something from my office, not to catch you out here mid-act! What were you thinking?”

“Oh my gosh, I—I’m so sorry,” I profusely apologize before Gary can so much as mutter a peep. “This was my idea,” I take the blame. “Not the sex,” I immediately revoke a portion of my words, beet red in the face. “Which we weren’t having, by the way.” I’m quick to clarify. “I just wanted uh—a tour. It’s all my fault. I swear!”

“You’re alright, love.” Warren settles my frantic state, raising a hand before he looks back over at Gary like a father scolding his son. “I know a Wilks plan when I see one.”

Gary rolls his eyes—left unphased by the troubling look in Warren’s. “And I know the perfect time to call on a favor when I see one,” he retorts, leaving the two of us speechless.

Huh?

“What the hell are you on about?” Warren speaks up, though I can’t help but watch him loosen his collar.

Gary takes a step forward. “Do you happen to remember that one time I kept my lips shut for you, Coach?” He flashes him a look that reads, “You owe me one.”

Warren taps his foot impatiently, visibly unwilling to bend.

“C’mon, you remember, right?” Gary recites. “The changing room, wet hair, mix-matched buttons, the world's best secret keeper?—”

“Fuckin’ hell, Wilks,” Warren grumbles beneath his breath, flipping off the switch thereafter as the stadium goes dark once more, though it doesn’t conceal the way Warren seals his lips shut and throws away the key, throwing it in Gary’s direction before flashing him the middle finger and turning on his heel.

“You know you love me!” Gary calls out after him in laughter as Warren makes his way back through the tunnel.

“Yeah, yeah,” he calls back out, “I’m taking the cost to fix the security camera out of your wages by the way.”

“Works for me.” Gary laughs, rolling his eyes before he’s back to reaching for my hand and pulling me in close. “Sorry about that, baby girl. My boyfriend gets jealous sometimes. Now…” He tilts my chin up. “Where were we?”

TWENTY-THREE

W I L K S

Chelsie’s leg hasn’t stopped bouncing up and down for the past thirty minutes. I’m inclined to say something. Ask why she’s just so nervous—fidgety. I know the last time she went to her parents, things didn’t work out the way she wanted them to, given that her dickhead ex-boyfriend decided to show up, but what I said to her was true. If he even thinks about so much as knocking on the door tonight, he’s got another thing coming…

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