Page 77 of Playmaker

She surprises me by twisting in my lap so that she’s straddling me. Her dress rides up, but thankfully my jacket hides anything that might be exposed. “I like when you call me that, too,baby.”

Hearing the nickname has my heart threatening to burst. It’s never sounded so right before, and my cock seems to like it too. This was supposed to be an emotional night and nothing more, but with Maddie I’m learning that the emotions are part of the intimacy between us. Having her call me a nickname, and holding her close and talking about life, are all factors that contribute to turning me on now.

It’s going to take some getting used to.

“What do you say we get out of here?” She trails her hands down my chest until she reaches my belt. “I recently found out I have a boyfriend, and I’mdesperateto show him just how much I appreciate him.”

I pull my lip back between my teeth when she caresses my hard cock, fighting for its life against the zipper of my pants. “Oh yeah? And who might that lucky guy be?”

With some teasing and all the confidence in the world, she scurries off my lap with a sly grin.

“You wouldn’t know him,” she says with a laugh. “He collects Pokémon cards. He doesn’t play football.”

I spring off the bench before she flees for the parking lot, using the restaurant’s outdoor porch stairs. She’s laughing her head off as I chase after her, and it doesn’t take long before my strides beat hers and I toss her over my shoulder.

“Cam!” She’s trying to breathe but she’s laughing too much. “My underwear is showing!”

“Good,” I reply, pinching her ass as a punishment for the teasing. “Easier access.”

I pull out my phone with my free hand to call an Uber, but I have two missed text messages from Ethan.

Took her back to the airbnb. Hot tub!!!

Then, an hour later,Dude, I don’t know what to tell Maddie, but we definitely crossed a line we shouldn’t have tonight. She’s going to hate me.

I can’t hide my grin when I place Maddie back on her feet and pull up the Uber app. I won’t reveal anything about his night until he or Maya decide to tell her. It’s not my business to share, but I’m really fucking happy for him. He took a leap of faith, and it worked out. He has no reason to worry when Maddie will be more than understanding about it. A part of me wishes she’d put him out of his misery and just tell him it’s okay already, but I get her reluctance. Telling Ethan it’s okay to date her best friend would persuade her to tell him about us, and I don’t know if she’s ready for that.

Why can’t I be like Ethan and push myself to do the same?

I went out on a limb by deciding to be Maddie’s boyfriend, but I’m holding myself back because of my fear of commitment and losing someone close to me again. I’m not who Maddie needs me to be, and I don’t know if I ever will be. And whether or not she decides my baggage is worth putting up with, she deservesbetter.

She’salwaysdeserved better.

“Maya said the date went well!” Maddie squeals while she checks her phone.

Clearly, we got two different texts.

“Is that what you’re calling tonight?” I tease. “Adate?”

She gets flustered before she says, “What? No. I mean, I don’t know. I can’t determine that.”

“Sure you do. Does this beat going to the movies or bowling or any other dates you’ve been on?”

She shakes her head, shifting her eyes up to mine. “I mean, I can’t determine that because I’ve never been on one.”

“A movie date, or bowling?”

“Neither. Well, I’ve been out to eat a few times with guys at school, but those were always with other friends, so it was never just the two of us. And I’ve been bowling and to the movies before in group settings, but if you mean a date as in a guy formally asking me out, showing up with flowers, and holding the door open for me? Then no.”

The word echoes in the silence, but I still can’t grasp that she said it. Maddie has never been on a proper date? What the hell is wrong with people? If Maddie and I were strangers and I saw her at a club, or even out at the mall, oranypublic place, really, I’d hit on her in an instant. She’s fucking stunning, and I know I’m not the only one to have this opinion since the waiter earlier tonight was seconds away from doing the same.

“Are you serious?” I ask. “What about Michael? He never picked you up or took you anywhere?”

Her nose wrinkles in disgust. “The few times he picked me up, we didn’tgoanywhere. He’d drive to a deserted spot, make conversation, and then try to make a move on me. He was only interested in the one thing I wouldn’t give him.”

For so long I’ve carried the burden of acting irrationally by punching that fucker in the face, but I won’t be carrying it anymore. Not after hearing that.

What a piece of garbage.

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