9. Mattie
CHAPTER 9
MATTIE
Dylan was holding my hand.
Dylan is holding my hand! Almost like he knew I was thinking about the way our fingers tangled together, he squeezed, and I smiled up at him.
“You want a coffee?” He pointed with his free hand, and my eyes moved to the little coffee cart.
“Sure,” I agreed and then chewed on my bottom lip.
“What’s that look about?” he asked, not attempting to hide his curiosity.
“Would you judge me if I didn’t get coffee but maybe a hot chocolate?”
“Not at all.”
“It’s just… if I have coffee right now, I’ll stay up till three in the morning,” I shared.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing. I mean, we could have a movie night,” he suggested, and my feet stopped moving. He stopped, too, and watched me for a moment.
Not only was the seriously hot cornerback holding my hand after beating up someone who had called me fat, and asked me out for the next day, but it almost seemed like he was trying to come up with any reason that wouldn’t let the night end.
“You want to have a movie night?” I asked, and his gaze dropped to my lips.
“Yeah,” he answered, his tone rough and almost gravel like. My body trembled as butterflies took flight in my stomach.
I’d dreamt of this.
I was halfway tempted to pinch myself to make sure I was awake. That’s when everything he had spouted off when we argued came back to me. Every single word . The passion in his voice. The seriousness. Especially the whole him liking me thing. I like you a lot.
“You really like me?” I asked. Without a blink of hesitation, Dylan’s arm reached for my waist and pulled me right to him. His body was hard and muscled and warm. My hand rested just above his abs. His body was insane. I might not have seen him without a shirt, but there was no denying the power and muscles that lay beneath my palm, especially when they twitched under my touch.
“Shortcake, I like you. A lot.” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and I found myself smiling.
“I feel like I walked into the Twilight Zone ,” I admitted like a complete nerd and winced. Not that I had time to dwell on it when his big body shook with rich laughter.
“No Twilight Zone here, baby. I promise.” The sincerity in his voice made me want to believe him.
“Why do you call me shortcake?” I blurted, curiosity getting the better of me.
Dylan leaned in lower, and everything inside of me froze. Suddenly, not that there were that many people around us, everything and everyone around us disappeared. White heat rushed through me. Anticipation pumped heavily in my blood. His full lips skimmed the shell of my ear, and my skin flared up with goose flesh.
“You smell like the most amazing strawberry shortcake ever made, Mattie. Like strawberries and cream with vanilla,” he rasped, and when his lips touched my ear, a soft moan escaped past my lips.
“I don’t have a roommate,” I found myself saying, and he pulled back. Not a lot, just enough to rest his forehead on mine.
“Mattie.” I had no idea how he made my name sound like a warning and a prayer all at the same time, but it made my insides feel all gooey.
“For the movie night,” I quickly kept talking. “I mean, if you’re serious about coffee and a movie night.”
“Baby, anything that gets me more time with you, I’m good with.”
“Okay,” I breathed. “I like that.” There was a softness to his gaze that made my brain get all fuzzy and loose lipped. “I don’t think I’m ready for the night to end,” I stupidly admitted.
I should have been playing it cool.
He had ignored me after finals, after a semester of mixed signals. Now suddenly, what felt like out of nowhere, there he was, declaring he liked me at a frat party. Fighting for my honor. I should have been smarter. I had never been a playing games kinda girl. Not that I had a whole bunch of experience, but I was just me. Always. No matter what, what you saw was what you got with me.
“I’m know I’m not.” He smiled before brushing his lips on my cheek and pulling away.
Excitement prickled at the back of my neck as disappointment struck my gut that he hadn’t kissed me. On the lips, that was. But I didn’t have a whole bunch of time to dwell on it when Dylan’s hand took mine. There was something about the simple connection that left me feeling content and light. Like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
True to his word, he led us straight to the coffee cart, where we each ordered a large coffee with milk and sugar and an almond croissant. We sat down on a bench and people watched while we ate and drank.
It was nice. More than nice, it was perfect. I’d never felt the way I did around a guy like I did with Dylan.
“This was good,” he shared, popping the last bite of the croissant into his mouth. “You sure you don’t want another?” he offered. My eyes widened and my lips twitched. I hadn’t even finished half yet.
“I’m good.”
“I eat a lot.” He shrugged, and I glanced down at the baked good on my lap and squirmed. I eat a lot. My dirty mind went to all sorts of places, and I had a feeling he could see it written all over my face. But like a gentleman, he didn’t bring it up.
“How’s practice going?” I asked, trying to make small talk and not think about how much he ate and he didn’t.
Especially since the wet heat pooled between my thighs. An image of him on his knees popped into my head. One I couldn’t blink away. Both of us exactly where we were, sitting on a bench, but without anyone around the campus cloaked in darkness. He’d slip off the bench and kneel in front of me, his muscular body shifting between my legs, so big and tall he might be able to block me from anyone’s view. I’d swallow hard, my sex throbbing for his attention. His big paw-like hands would touch the top of my thighs and leave trails of heat in their wake. His fingers would slowly, almost like the sweetest torture, move up the skirt of my dress, and without saying a word, his eyes would demand for me to open my thighs.
And I would.
Oh god, I didn’t think there would be anything I’d deny him when it came to him toying with my body. Dylan would place my feet on the edges of the bench, and when he’d look down, he’d tsk at me for going bare beneath my sundress. His blue green eyes would darken like the deepest pools of island waters before licking his lips.
“Mattie?” he called, and I shook my head. Oh god! I spaced out into a dirty fantasy.
“What?” I squeaked, and his brow rose.
“I was saying practice has been good.” I nodded, trying to pay attention while I ignored the heat on my face. He shrugged. “I mean, it’s hard with a new quarterback, but I think the rookie will be ready by the time the season starts.” I smiled. If he could tell what I had been thinking about, he didn’t let on.
“I think you’re right. He doesn’t look bad; he just needs to grow more of a relationship with the guys on the team,” I added. I had been watching every practice I could. Not because of Dylan but because I genuinely loved the sport.
“It doesn’t help that he just transferred and is new. I don’t think he has a crew of friends yet.”
“That’s so weird, isn’t it? A player like that in that kind of position, here of all places, not knowing anyone.”
“I don’t know. Bridges and Goodwin know what they’re doing, so hopefully, it will work out. Especially coming off such a great season.” They were state champions.
“I’m sure it will be okay. How’s your internship? How do you like working with the trainers?”
“I like it. I feel right at home there. I mean, some of the players?—“
“Tucker?”
“He’s just a jerk.” I shrugged off.
“Has he bothered you before?” I knew I couldn’t lie.
“Not really.”
“What does that mean?”
“He was in to get his calf iced and…” I sighed. “He got kinda pissy when I didn’t fawn over him trying to talk to me,” I shared quietly and watched his jaw clench so tightly it was almost painful. My hand moved up between us and stroked his face. “Relax, you’re going to hurt yourself,” I whispered. I loved the way he leaned into my touch.
“Mattie—“
“I promise, I’m fine. I just worry… You won’t get in trouble, will you?” My hands dropped from his face down to my lap.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” I responded. My hand sought his before I could stop myself, and his eyes turned warmer than I had ever seen them.
“You worried about me, Mattie?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
“Don’t be.” His hand squeezed mine. “If word gets to the coaches, which I doubt, but if it does, they will want to have a meeting and then probably a shitty practice, but I’ll be fine.”
“And Tucker?”
“Tucker is already on thin ice with them,” Dylan shared. It didn’t surprise me from everything I had seen out on the field. “He’s been half-assing it out on the field, and this wouldn’t be the first fight he’s been in at a party. It’s not even the third. The guy just knows how to shove his foot into his mouth.”
“I don’t know what to say about that.”
“You don’t need to say anything. Life is all about choices and the consequences of those choices.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you were a philosophy major.” He chuckled at my little jab.
“Ready to go?” I nodded.
“Yeah. You still sure you want to have a movie night?”
“More than ever.” He winked and smiled, even though my eyes dipped to the ground. We stood, and I patted down the swishy skirt of my dress.
“Where we going?” he asked.
“I’m living in the Remington Building.”
“Really?” His brow rose and his lips quirked up. “That’s where I live.”
“Small world,” I muttered because I felt a little breathless when he took hold of my hand. I looked down at our hands. Our fingers were intertwined, and my heart fluttered in the most beautiful way. I liked how our hands looked connected. My tanned skin and his lighter yet sun-kissed one from years outside playing a lifetime of football.
“What floor are you on?” he asked, and when I shared I was on the third, he stopped and laughed.
“Are you serious?” His voice was a little deeper, but something in his eyes flashed, something I couldn’t really make out.
“Yeah, why?” I asked, my head tilted
“We live on the same floor, shortcake.” I smiled. Small world.
We started to walk right over, and never, not until a week later, would I realize that he had ordered my coffee exactly how I loved it without asking.