Page 71 of Playmaker

Christ. The images slam into my head all at once. His elbows beside my head as he drilled his hips against mine. Him pinning me against the shower wall as he fucked me senseless, never losing stamina or needing to stop for breaks.

He chuckles and slides his chair back as if he knows where my thoughts have gone. “Well, is that a yes?”

Not wanting him to see the effect he has on me, I stomp into the water until it’s at my waist, gulping when he trails in after me with slow, precise strides. In every room he walks into, he takes up the entirety of it. He consumes my thoughts, brings my fantasies to life, and has me in a state of tunnel vision, especially now, when droplets of water cling to his chest and trickle down his abs.

“Who’s going on your shoulders?” Cameron asks Ethan, who cuts him a glare.

“Maya,” he replies. “You know, for height purposes.”

Right, because myshortnesswould be the reason he loses.

“Guess you’re with me, then.” Cameron spins to face me, but when he does, his hand brushes between my legs under the water, hidden by his large frame. I close my eyes at the feeling, and while Ethan and Maya are distracted, he bends down to my ear to whisper, “How should we celebrate if we win?”

“Fucking hell.” I don’t realize I’ve said it out loud, but before Cameron can tease me about it, Maya claps her hands to announce the starting of the game.

Wrapping my thighs around Cameron’s head isnotwhat I need right now, especially when my body is a raging inferno, but Maya is already on Ethan’s shoulders, prepared and ready to strike.

Cameron wears that stupid smirk of his before he spins around again to dip under the water. My thighs wrap around his neck to sit over his shoulders, and when he rises easily to his feet, my hands are clutched in his curls as I attempt to gain my balance.

“Feel at home yet?” he mutters under his breath.

“I hate you,” I whisper back.

He laughs while Ethan and Maya draw closer. “Keep telling yourself that,Mads.”

The second Maya launches herself at me, I go at her with a force of my own, squeezing the sides of Cameron’s head with my thighs. He keeps his hands firmly around my knees, his legs holding his ground to create stability for me.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve gotten used to keeping Cameron in a headlock, but I hardly put in any effort at all before Maya crashes into the water and takes Ethan with her. The win is instantaneous, and when Maya calls for a rematch, we win again.

And again.

And again.

I’ve been on Cameron’s shoulders for over half an hour and the man hasn’t faltered once, a tribute to the training he’s so adamant about.

“Dude, just call it,” Cameron says when Ethan rises to the surface panting and out of breath. “You’ve got no chance.”

“Fuck you and your unnatural athletic ability,” Ethan shoots back.

Maya wrings out her hair as she adds, “Don’t sweat it, Ethan. I intended on getting wet, anyway.”

A coughing fit erupts from my brother at her choice of words, and I would have laughed but Cameron catches me off guard when his hands land on my waist and heliftsme over his head like I’m a damn feather before he sets me on my feet in front of him. My ass brushes his cock, and it takes every ounce of willpower for me to put distance between us.

“Honey?” my dad calls from the grill. The steaks are sizzling, the wind carrying over a charred, seasoned aroma that makes my stomach rumble. “Can you bring me out the pan for these steaks, please?”

A heartbeat later the glass door slides open and my mom appears at his side with the pan in hand. She glances at him, and the smile that lights up his face makes my chest tighten. The love between my parents has always been evident, but it’s in these small moments that I can really see the adoration they have for one another.

Stolen kisses while she’s doing dishes.

Holding every door open despite her refusal.

He gazes at her like she’s the only girl in the world to him, and after twenty-three years of marriage, they’re happier than ever.

It’s a love I hope to have of my own someday.

And it could be another coincidence when Cameron’s hand brushes mine beneath the water, but deep down, I’m desperately hoping it isn’t.

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