“My dad wouldn’t,” he says, swallowing hard. “He used to tell us all the time, either we found our own way out of the house, or we’d be stuck there… I didn’t want to be stuck there.” I start to open my mouth, but he claps his hands and then holds them out in front of him. “Here, throw it to me.”
I toss it back to him and he catches it easily with a grin on his face. “Alright, this time I’m going to throw it to you and then try to tackle you.”
My eyes widen as my jaw drops. “Are you being serious?”
He chucks it high up in the air. “I never kid about football. So, go long. It’ll give you more of a chance to outrun me.”
I back down the field, still doubting he’ll actually chase me and tackle me to the ground. When I’m fairly close to the touchdown zone, I stop and face him. “Are you really going to chase me down? Or, are you just trying to make me play better?”
He’s a ways away, but the deviousness masking his expression is evident. “Trust me, I’m not joking. In fact, I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
My heart skips at the gruffness of his voice. “Fine, throw the ball, but I’m going to win.”
He looks momentarily stunned, but then he backs up, his feet picking up momentum, before his arm swings forward and the ball spirals through the air toward me. My feet move quickly as I sprint backwards with my hands up in the air. At the last second, I give a little jump, and snag the ball in midair. When my feet touch the grass, I hesitate, still unsure if he’s going to chase me down.
As soon as I’m steady, he runs at me, like really runs. I whirl around on my toes and take off down the field. Thankfully, I’m close because there’s no way my tiny legs are going to be able to outrun his long ones for very long.
He’s laughing as he chases me and his heavy footsteps are approaching rapidly. My eyes zone in on the yellow poles at the end and the white line I need to make it over. When my foot crosses it, I spin around with my arms above my head.
Kayden slows to a jog, shaking his head and panting. “Okay, I think I might have underestimated you and given you too much of a head start.”
A grin spreads across my face as I throw the football at the grass. “What is it you guys do when you get a touchdown?” I put my finger to my chin, pretending to think deeply. “Oh, yeah.” I skip backwards, waving my hands in front of me, doing a silly little dance.
He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Wow, you have a cocky streak in you.”
I pick up the football, grab the pole with my free hand, and spin around it, feeling alive and weightless. For a second, I shut my eyes and enjoy the cool breeze against my cheeks, owning the moment. When I open my eyelids again, Kayden is walking toward me, taking leisurely strides with his hands tucked into his pockets.
I slow down, still holding onto the pole, watching him narrow the distance. He doesn’t say a word, his emerald eyes fastened on me with confusion and intensity in them. As he reaches me, I lean against the pole, fighting to keep my breathing steady against the desire flowing off him.
He takes the ball out of my hand and throws it over his shoulder toward the end of the field. “Let’s get rid of that stupid thing.”
“I thought that’s why you brought me here?” I say with an uneven voice, unable to take my eyes off his lips as he licks them. “To help you practice.”
His lips part, like he’s going to say something, but then he presses them together and rotates his hat backwards so the visor is behind his head. Inclining his body toward me, my back brushes the pole as his lips hover above mine. He deliberates, putting his hand on the pole next to my head, and then he kisses me.
It starts off soft, a light brush of our lips, but then his other hand grabs the pole and his body moves in until it presses against mine. Our legs tangle, our chests collide, and the tip of his tongue runs along my lips until I open my mouth and let him in.
A breathy noise escapes the back of my throat and at first I’m mortified, but it seems to encourage him. Desire and heat radiates through the entwining of our tongues. One of his hands grips my waist, just beneath the bottom of my shirt and my nerves jumble. His other hand travels down my side, his thumb tracing my ribs, before resting on my hip. Tightening his fingers around me, he lifts me up. Gasping, I hook my legs around his waist in a vice-grip.
My mind is flying about a million miles an hour. I’m afraid. Not of him, but everything connected to what he’s doing. Do I want this? Do I? The answer is yes. I want it. Badly.
I hope he doesn’t notice the anxious tremble of my body as his fingers slip underneath my shirt and he sketches his fingertips along my stomach. As he nips at my bottom lip, I let out an uncontrollable whimper.
He draws back, putting a sliver of space between our faces. His pupils are huge and shiny beneath the stadium lights and his untamed breath caresses against my cheek.
“Callie, I don’t want to…” He pauses, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I don’t want to push you.”
It’s like he can read my inexperience all over my face. I bite down on my lip, working to hide my embarrassment. “It’s fine.”
He wavers. “Are you… are you sure?”
I nod my head swiftly. “Yes.”
Without any more reluctance he crashes his lips against mine and a gasp falters from my throat at the heat his kiss brings to my body. His tongue enters my mouth again as his hands stay under my shirt, his palms touching my stomach. It’s the most frightening and most wonderful experience of my life. I don’t ever want to forget it.
Daringly, I slip my hands underneath his shirt as I breathe ravenously. He winces as my hands wander along his well-defined abs covered with the bumpy lines of his scars.
I worry he’s going to reach up and tug my hands out of his shirt, but instead his hand explores higher up to the edge of my bra. His lips leave mine and touch the corner of my mouth, trailing kisses down my cheek, along my jawline, to the side of my neck where my pulse is racing. My head falls to the side uncontrollably as his palm moves over my breast just outside of my bra. Sucking in a deep breath, I wait for it to catch up with me, but all I can think about is him exploring my body more. I want to find out what it’s like to be touched by someone I trust; by someone I give my permission to.
His fingers start to move below my bra and my insides quiver as he strokes his thumb across my nipple. Heat blazes through my body and I grab onto his sides, grasping onto him with everything in me; feeling his scars, while he feels mine.
He lets out a groan as he sucks on the bottom of my neck and my body curves into his. “Callie,” he whispers. “If you want me to stop, just tell me.”
I don’t want him to stop. At all. It feels too good. “I don’t—”
There’s a deafening click and within seconds, every light flips off and darkness smothers us. I freeze, grabbing onto Kayden, as he pulls his mouth away from my neck. I feel his chest heaving where my fingers hold onto him and for a moment, we’re silent.
Then, Kayden starts to laugh. “Well, this is fun.”
“Can you see anything?” I whisper, turning my head and squinting.
He shakes his head. “Hold on.”
He removes his hand from my breast and I think he’s going to put me down, but instead he wraps his arms around my lower back, interlocking his fingers to hold up my weight. He walks through the dark, carrying me, and I tighten my legs around him, wishing I could see his face, because I want to know what he’s thinking.
His shoes scuff the grass and then we move up onto concrete. Seconds later, we exit out of a tunnel and into the parking lot, which is mostly vacant except for a few cars along the back row, which is lit up by lampposts.
The brightness stings at my eyes. “Why did that happen?”
His emerald eyes sparkle as he shrugs his shoulders. “I wonder if that was by accident, or if it was done intentionally to get us off the field?”
I adjust my hands a little so my arms are looped around the back of his neck. “Were you not supposed to be playing there?”
“Technically, no.” His smile grows like he’s enjoying the moment. “But I’m extremely glad I did.”
I let my head fall forward into his shoulder, breathing in his scent. “Now what do we do?”
He’s quiet for a while and I finally lean back to look him in the eyes. He appears conflicted by something and then he sets me down on the ground, lacing his fingers through mine.
“Should we see where the wind takes us?” he asks.
I stare at my hand in his and then look up at him. “That sounds good to me.”
Chapter 13
#9 Dance in the Rain
#13 Live in the Moment
#17 Be Yourself
Kayden
I’ll admit it. I had the whole thing planned and it ended up going where I hoped it would go. Ever since I told Callie about my father, we’d been getting close as friends. Which was fine, except I’m extremely fucking attracted to her, a revelation that came to me during an intense moment in the library.
She’d been helping me study for an English exam and when she showed up, she’d had a jacket on. As she was reading me some of her notes, she took off the jacket. Underneath it, she had on a white t-shirt and I could see the outline of her bra through it and her nipples poking up through the fabric. She probably didn’t realize it because she is not the kind of girl that would do that on purpose. In fact, if I pointed it out to her, her cheeks would get red and she’d run off.
“Kayden?” she asked, looking at me perplexedly. “Are you listening? You kind of look like you’re spacing off.”
I was leaning back in the chair with my arm on the table and a pen in my mouth as I chewed on the end. “I kind of was.”
She let out an exhausted sigh. “Do you want me to read it again?”
I nodded my head, barely paying attention. “Sure.”
She started reading from the book and my mind went back to dirty thoughts of what it would be like to touch her all over and make her moan underneath me as I rocked into her. I wondered if she’d let me if I tried. The friend’s thing seemed to be working for us. She made me laugh and smile and I was enjoying myself. My dark thoughts and problems had been contained more than they had in a long time.
It seemed like I should just let things be, but the more I watched her lips read the words from the book, the more I wanted to bite on them.
Her eyes rose up from the book and she was trying to look angry. “You’re not listening to me, are you?”
I shook my head, unable to stop myself from grinning at her. “Not really. Sorry. I’m kind of distracted.”
“With what?” she asks with uncertainty. “Do you want to talk about it?”
It took a lot not to smile and whisper in her ear every single detail about the very vivid images running through my mind. “No, that’s okay. Trust me. You probably don’t want to hear about it.”
Her forehead wrinkled as she tried to figure out why I was so happy. “Do you need a break?”