Page 22 of Scoring Position

“That’s a wonderful story,” she says quietly, still holding me tight. “I bet you miss her so much.”

I fight the tears that sting the backs of my eyes. “I do. She made me who I am. I just wanted to make her proud, you know? I wanted her to see me graduate, knowing that she was the reason I did. I promised her I would, and now she’s not even here to enjoy it.” I press my cheek to the top of her head, breathing in her sweet scent.

“Hey,” she says, looking up at me. Her eyes are shining with emotion, and it makes me feel like I’m not alone. I consider my teammates to be my friends, but we haven’t known each other long enough for me to get this deep with them yet. It’s mind-boggling that I’ve known Lark for just under three weeks, but I’ve felt comfortable enough to open up to her on multiple occasions with zero regrets. She knows me better than anyone else in this world already. “She’s so proud of you, Ace. I’m sure of it. Just because she’s not physically here doesn’t mean she won’t be cheering for you on graduation day. I’ll save her a seat.”

Tears roll down my cheeks as I cup her face, pressing my lips gently to hers. I’m not doing it with the objective of taking things further. I just want to show her how I feel and how grateful I am that she’s here. “She’d love you,” I say softly, leaning my forehead against hers. “Although I think you’d be trouble together, ganging up on me left and right. Every day felt like aComedy Central Roastwith that woman.”

She giggles, loosening her hold on me before returning to her seat, and I wipe my face, settling back in front of my plate across from her. “She sounds amazing.”

We eat our dinner and keep the conversation light and fun while cleaning up. I insist on her relaxing while I load the dishwasher, but she refuses, standing beside me to help. We make quick work of getting the kitchen back to its previous, unused state before heading to the living room and sitting next to each other on the wraparound sofa.

“Wait!” I say, standing and running back to the kitchen, returning with the plastic container I picked up for her earlier. “I almost forgot about your dessert.” She smiles as she takes it, looking up at me with her brows pulled tightly in question.

“How come you always have candy for me?” she asks. “Don’t get me wrong—I love it. But why?”

“Well,”—I plop back down beside her—“when I was a kid, my grandma always told me that if you like a girl, you should bring her a sweet treat every time you see her.” It feels oddly intimate telling her that, considering I’ve been giving her candy since our second lesson together. It’s like I’m letting her in on my master plan to make her mine. But fuck it.I am.

“Thank you,” she says softly, a sincere look of gratitude on her face as her eyes connect with mine. She gets prettier every day, and I feel so lucky that she’s giving me the opportunity to really get to know her.

“You’re welcome,” I reply. We stay locked in the moment for a little longer, sitting in a comfortable silence before she remembers that we actually have work to do. At this point, though? If I had to choose between staring at Lark’s beautiful face for hours or passing this class, sign me up to retake it next semester.

Setting her candy aside, she takes the textbook out of her backpack and opens it up. “So, here’s the quiz you’re supposed totake. You don’t have to answer out loud. Just think about it, and then we’ll go in and mark that you’ve completed the assignment. Which, by the way, you won’t be getting a reward for, since it’s the easiest thing ever.”

I scoff. “Nope. That doesn’t work for me. How about we make it not so easy? You read me the questions, and I tell you my answers. If I do every one with complete honesty, no bullshit, I get my day of wholesome fun.”

She narrows her eyes at me, looking down at the page in front of her. “There’s some pretty personal questions on here,” she says. “You sure you want to expose all your deepest, darkest fantasies to me?”

You star in every one of them, Sweets.

I raise my chin confidently. “If it means getting my prize? One hundred percent.”

“It’s your funeral,” she says under her breath. “And you better not lie, because I’ll be able to tell.”

I nod my head tightly in agreement as she reads the first item out loud. “Letting my partner watch me masturbate. Just fantasy, fantasy you’d do in reality, or neither?”

“Fantasy I’d do in reality,” I say, making sure I look her in the eyes so she knows I’m telling the truth. She swallows, cheeks pinkening just the slightest bit as she focuses on the book in her lap.

“Sex in a public place.”

“Fantasy,” I reply. “I don’t think I could risk being seen. Or someone seeing what’s mine.” The thought of another person looking at Lark’s body while I fuck her makes me irrationally mad. She’s not mine. Not yet, anyway.

But she fucking feels like it.

“That’s understandable, given your past experiences,” she replies, smiling softly for a moment before reading the next item on the list. “Experimentation with sex toys.”

“Fantasy that I’d do in reality,” I say. “I think it would be hot to use a vibrator to make my girl scream until she begged me to stop. Or a paddle to turn her ass red before making it all better with my tongue.”

She sucks in a quiet gasp. “Jesus, Ace.” It’s barely a whisper, and I’m not even sure if she meant to say it out loud, but it makes my confidence grow by leaps and bounds. Since the day I met Lark, she’s been in control. The way my body reacts to her and how she commands the room every time we’re together is something I’ve gotten used to—and certainly don’t hate—but it’s time to show her that I’m not just some fumbling young guy who doesn’t know what he’s doing. I may not have sexual experiences like all my teammates do, but I know how to treat a woman. I can be whatever she needs.

“Experimentation with dirty talk,” she says, looking back up at me with wide eyes. This is my bread and butter. I’ve been reading romance novels since I was a teenager. My grandma always had these old, worn-out paperbacks with half-naked couples on the covers. She thought she was keeping them hidden, but as a naturally curious kid, I couldn’t help but look inside. From the first one I read, I was hooked. Yeah, the sex scenes were cheesy, and a lot of the dialogue made me cringe, but for some reason, I got sucked into the stories and found myself sneaking into her room to read every time she left for work.

When I got drafted, I quickly realized how lonely life on the road could be. I got an e-reader and filled it with contemporary romance, which has gottena lotbetter since the days of hiding under the bed with those old, yellowed copies so I wouldn’t get busted. Today’s smut is full of dirty activities and even dirtier talk, all of which I’ve paid close attention to. I have no doubt that I could make her head spin with the shit that comes out of my mouth.

“Definitely fantasy I’d turn into reality,” I rasp, watching as her lips part. “I’ve read dozens of smutty books this year and tooklotsof notes. In fact, I bet I could make you come with my words alone.” A shuddered breath leaves her as she shakes her head. “That’s highly unlikely. It might be common in books, but very few women can actually achieve orgasm with no physical touch. Most require a lot of time, patience, and centralized clitoral stimulation.”

“Most?” I question, moving closer so I can ghost my hand over the skin of her bare thigh. “Do you fall into that category? Does this gorgeous body need some extra attention? Or has nobody ever talked dirty to you the right way before?” I lean in so my mouth is pressed to her ear. “Because I bet I could make you soak these tiny shorts of yours by telling you all the filthy things I want to do to you.”

A moan tumbles from her lips, her eyes fluttering closed as her fists curl into tight balls at her sides. She wants this just as badly as I do. There’s no fucking way I won’t come in my pants from it, but I’m cool as long as she does too. The desperate urge to show her that I can blow her mind if she lets me is overwhelming all my rational thoughts at the moment.

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