Page 38 of Play It Off

“I can’t even remember the last time I had sex with someone,” he admits.

Wait a minute. Did he really just say that?

“You don’t have to lie to me to make me feel better,” I reassure him, patting him on the chest. “You had a life before me.”

And you’ll have one after me,I almost say, but I clamp my lips shut before I can.

“Well yeah, but I’m serious, Sienna. I haven’t fucked someone in ... an embarrassingly long time.” He ducks his head so I can’t see his eyes. “I’ve been too caught up.”

“Too caught up in what? Football?”

“Football. School. Practice. My life.” He lifts his head. “You.”

The air between us crackles with tension at his admission, and I just—come on.

“Stop it,” I whisper. “You don’t mean that.”

“I do. I—I’ve been fighting my feelings. For you.” His gaze is almost pleading when it locks with mine. “You had to know that.”

“No. No, I really didn’t.” I’m in complete shock. What is he trying to tell me?

“And I know the timing isn’t the best. Us having sex right now. At the beginning of the season,” he continues, averting his head.

Uh-oh. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

His gaze finds mine once again. “I need to concentrate, Sienna. Everything is on the line this season. My future. Other people’s futures, like your brother’s. I can’t slip. Can’t get distracted.” He touches my hair. “And you are by far the biggest distraction I’ve ever had.”

He says that like I should take it as a compliment, but I don’t. More like it’s an insult, and I am so sick of being put on the back burner in everyone’s life. Didn’t I just tell him that? Didn’t I make my big confession to him last night? Look at how easily he forgets. I can’t trust him for shit.

He’s like everyone else. I deserve to be someone’s priority. I refuse to settle for pitiful slices of his life. I deserve the entire fucking pie.

I pull away from him. Roll right out of his bed, jump to my feet, and bend down to snatch my discarded T-shirt off the floor and hurriedly pull it on. Oh, I’m pissed. Furious. “What exactly was thisabout, huh? Did you try to sweet-talk your way into my panties and see if you could fuck me out of your system, and oops, it didn’t work?”

He sits up to watch me, the comforter pooling in his lap. Ugh, I am cursing him a thousand times in my head, but he looks mouthwateringly delicious with the mussed-up hair and the stubble all over his face. The muscular, broad chest and washboard stomach, and I am almost positive I can see his erection poking against the thin comforter in his lap.

I’m tempted. Tempted to jump right on him and have sex with him yet again, but that would be a major mistake. The man is sitting here trying to give me a speech about why we shouldn’t be together because I’m too much of adistraction. He’s got more important things to take care of first.

I pride myself on being a patient person. I understand football and its importance to this man probably more than any other woman at this university. I’ve witnessed it firsthand growing up with my brother. But I’m not going to sit around and wait for him to get his head out of his ass. I’ve had it.

“You know I like you. We’ve always been drawn to each other, and this—I didn’t expect for this to happen.” His lips curve into a gentle smile, like that’s going to soften the blow of his shitty words.

“Uh-huh.” I give up on trying to find my panties, and I grab my jeans and tug them on. They feel extra tight for some reason, and I work to pull them over my hips, wincing when I jerk the zipper into place and button them. I do not like wearing jeans without undies, and oh, I regret not finding those little red ones. Though maybe it’s a good thing that I’m leaving them behind. A nice souvenir for Gavin to come across later. Maybe he’ll even use them to jerk off with because he wants to keep up the fantasy with me long after the reality of me is gone.

That’ll serve him right.

“Are you mad?” He sounds incredulous.

I throw my hands up in the air. “What do you think?”

Not bothering to wait for his answer, I flee his bedroom, racing to the front door, and I hear heavy footsteps behind me. Feel his longfingers curl around my arm as he stops me from escaping. I whip around to face him, coming to a halt when I find him standing there completely naked, and my gaze drops to his dick because, Lord have mercy, it is beautiful.

And I don’t think dicks are beautiful. They definitely have their uses and are pretty freaking amazing, but Gavin’s penis is museum quality.

Clearly, I have lost all common sense after having sex with this man.

“Don’t be angry with me. I’m just—I’m asking you to be patient with me.” The pleading expression on his face is almost my undoing.

But not quite.

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