Page 62 of The Baller

“I’ve been thinking about it, too. I’ve been thinking… I like you. I like spending time with you, and I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss you. So… if it’s okay...”

My finger pressed against her lips gently. “Stop talking.”

I dragged my eyes away from hers to glance in the mirror, turning around when I couldn’t see Ethan and Meg in the mirrors.

“They’re waiting outside. I asked them to give us privacy,” Radley said quietly.

Her face was so earnest and truthful, any doubt I had that she wanted this as much as I did vanished immediately. I stood up, pulling her with me.

“Where are we going?” she asked, while I almost lifted her so she could keep up with the speed I dragged her.

“The locker room.”

“Why?”

“Cameras.”

I didn’t get all the way inside before I used her body to slam the door shut behind us. The soft suction of the door closing may as well have removed all the oxygen too, because I was suddenly short of breath, while Radley’s was bursting out like she’d run a marathon.

Bracketing her legs between mine, I dropped to get as close to her as humanly possible without touching her, and looked down. I’d been dreaming about touching her for weeks, and I was about to have my first chance.

My eyes raked over her, focusing on the thump of her pulse directly below the soft patch of skin at the base of her throat. A lone bead of sweat rolled down the column and I caught it with the end of my thumb before it pooled in the little divot between her collar bones.

Using my thumb, I smeared that droplet across her skin until the pad rested above her pulse hammering and kicking hard under my touch, strong and forceful; just like the girl staring up at me with lust and fire blazing in her beautiful amber eyes. I might have been giving her the time and space until she was comfortable with us moving forward with whateverthiswas, but now she had, I was taking full control.

“Radley, you have one chance to change your mind, because once I start kissing you, there’s no going back. You understand?”

She nodded without hesitation. “Kiss me.”

I didn’t know someone could taste like happiness, but that is exactly what it was when my lips pressed into hers, smile on smile.

Time stood still. I knew from this moment on there would only be Before Radley and After Radley. There was no in-between.

Her cheeks were still damp from her workout as my hands found them. My fingers curled around her nape, desperate to pull her closer… or maybe she was pulling and I was sinking. Yeah, I was definitely sinking as her lips parted and my tongue met with hers; soft and warm tangling together, with a hint of the berry workout juice she’d been drinking. Berries and happiness.

It felt like I’d been waiting a lifetime for this moment. I took my time exploring her mouth, caressing her while my tongue and dick were already wondering what it would be like to explore every square inch of her, especially when a low moan rumbled up her throat.

Fuck me.

I wanted to feel that moan vibrate over my dick. I wanted to grab her ass and wrap her legs around my waist as I sunk into her hot, excited body. I wantedher.My fingers itched to see if she was as wet as my dick was hard – I was seconds away from finding out – but instead, I slowed down and moved half a step back before I could bear to separate us. Before I had to go without the feel of her lips on mine, because now I knew how amazing it felt, I’d need a regular fix, no doubt about it.

“Well, that was…”

My cheeks puffed, and I was thankful for the tight skins I had on under my gym shorts. Fuck me. I was a professional athlete, and here I was, catching my breath after one kiss.

If it wouldn’t have completely robbed me of my manhood, I’d have bent over double with my hands on my knees.

“Worth the wait?” Her eyelashes fluttered gently with a hint of insecurity, like she had no idea she hadn’t just put me on my ass.

I held her chin between my fingers so she could see the power she wielded over me. “I’d wait an entire fucking lifetime if I got to do that again.”

I’d been in the gym every day for ten years.

Hands down, best workout I’d ever had.

THIRTEEN

RADLEY

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