Page 66 of Fragile

She pants as I work her deeper. “Anyone could see my hands down your pants.”

Wetness coats my fingers as I talk, and I know it’s turning her on even more. “Oh, you like that. You like that we could get caught. Does my girl have a kink?” I muse.

Her eyes darken, and fuck if it doesn’t make my dick harder. “Faster. I need more.” She writhes, rocking her hips.

I want to give her everything. But I’ll be damned if the first time we have sex is in a public place. She deserves better than that. I might like the idea of getting caught, but there’s no way I’d actually let anyone see her like this.

My hand increases speed, along with my thundering heart rate and pulsing cock. She breathes harder, fighting against my handabove her head, but I don’t release her. I hold her steady, just as I feel her fluttering around my fingers.

“You gonna come, Queenie? Hmm, I think you are. I think you’re going to come thinking we could be caught any second,” I whisper darkly as she moans. “I think you’re also going to enjoy walking out there, pretending I didn’t have my fingers inside this sweet little cunt of yours.” I trail my tongue up her neck just as she clamps her mouth closed. The sight makes my blood run hotter. “I can feel you squeezing my fingers like you would my cock. So fucking beautiful.” She releases another whimper just as her orgasm hits its peak.

I let her hands go and she immediately wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me to her mouth to swallow her needy noises. I kiss and lick her until she calms, and her thighs relax around my hand. “I love listening to you.”

She reaches between us, running her fingers over my hard length. “I want to play.”

“I want that too.” I gently grasp her wrist, stopping her before I lose my mind. “But we’ve both been gone a while, and our friends are out there.”

She deflates against me. “We need to get better at doing this in a dorm. Preferably yours because you live alone.”

I hum, pulling her closer to me for one more kiss.

Pulling back, she looks up at me, flushed and sated. “I want you to touch me when you want to. I want us to do this thing, whatever it is. I want more. Just you.”

I don’t miss the confirmation in her words and something inside me melts. It’s exactly what I needed to hear. “Just me? No one else?”

Her head shakes. “No one else,” she confirms.

That makes me want to tell our friends, to march her out to the diner and blurt that she’s mine, but I know she’s not ready yet. And after everything she’s doing to help me be a better person,the least I can do is respect that. Because for as long as we’ve been friends, nothing about what we’re doing feels strange to me. It feels like the most natural thing in the world.

So, I’ll be as patient as she needs me to be. As long as I can keep her.

Chapter thirty-one

Quinn

My foot taps nervouslyon the floor. The cheer locker room feels stifling, despite the cool breeze drifting in from the open door. I wring my hands together, eyes darting to the clock every few seconds.

The game is supposed to start at 3 p.m., and it's already 2 p.m. He’s here already. I know because I saw him walk in with Seb and Hudson earlier as I made my way across the parking lot.

He’s here, he’s with the guys, everything is fine. We both blocked his dad’s number for today, so he can’t make him feel like shit over the phone. He’s going to be okay. Nothing is going to push him over the edge.

That doesn’t stop the questions whirling in my head, the niggle I feel that is interlaced with fear, the kind that tells me something could go really wrong. What if today is too much for him? What if he gives in before the game?

Standing up, I pace the empty room. The squad doesn’t usually get here as early as this, and I’m grateful because I’m so strung out. Trying to shake off the overwhelming sense of dread seemsimpossible. Deep breaths don’t seem to help; the air never feels like it’s reaching my lungs.

He can do this.You need to let him do this. Besides, he doesn’t have Levi’s number anymore. Taking one deep breath, I focus on the cheer routine for tonight. Okay, it’s all going to be fine. I breathe in and out, slow and steady as I smooth down my cheerleading uniform. The clock reads 2:12 p.m.

Is that all? Okay, I need to check on him. It won’t hurt, just one little check.

Grabbing my phone and tucking it in into the waistband of my skirt, I head out the door. The muffled sounds of the team filter toward me, getting louder as I turn the corner. I hear it then, Miles’s laugh, the one that rattles me to my bones. It’s an honest laugh, the kind that I imagine him clutching his belly, head thrown back, thick neck on show, the roses and vine tattoos peeking from his collar.

He's okay. He’s in there with his teammates and friends.

Realizing how ridiculous it would be, let alone obvious that we were more than friends, if I barged in there, I need to let him figure this out for himself. Just let him do his thing. Besides, athletes are notoriously superstitious, and if I interrupt his usual routine, that might throw everything. No, he’s going to be fine. I don’t need to see him. I trust him. I believe he can do this without feeling the need to fall back into old habits.

Resolute in believing in him, I turn on my heels and walk back to the cheer locker room.

On my way back, I notice two figures facing off up ahead. It's too dark to see them clearly, but as I get closer, I realize it's Jay and a girl with the bluest hair I've ever seen. She's gorgeous, all curves and a beautiful face that’s now a bit more visible. By the way she's standing, arms crossed and a serious 'hell no' look on her face, it's clear she's not in a good mood.

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