Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
ZANDER
Even though we’re in Kerian’s much larger bed, I still wake up with his hair tickling my nose as I hold him close. I breathe him in, smelling a hint of his soap and… me. The apples he claims I smell and taste like. Maybe it’s true, though I’ve never noticed.
I came home with him after the game, and Kerian fucked me slow and sweet, playing my body like only he can. His hands roamed, his teeth nipped, his lips sucked, and all the while, he told me how much he loves me. I enjoyed hearing that over and over more than the orgasms he gave me.
Though the orgasms were damn good.
I tighten my arm around his waist, sliding close enough to him to live in his skin.
In a sleep-soaked voice, Kerian says, “Wanna give me some room, Dimples?”
“Not really.” I slide even closer, kissing the back of his neck.
“You’re hot.”
“Thanks, babe. You are too.”
He chuckles and pushes his butt into me, making me laugh. “I mean you’re making me sweat, weirdo. Get off.”
I kiss him once more on the back of the neck and flop over. It’s really nice to have so much space in the bed when I roll away.
Kerian turns to me, propping himself up on his elbow. “No good-morning text?”
“Go away, dick,” I murmur around a yawn. “You can’t be mean to me and expect a good-morning text.”
“You got a lot of rules, Dimples—I can’t treat you like shit, I gotta be nice to you in the morning. I’m starting to think this whole relationship thing isn’t for me after all.”
Giving him a dry look, I say, “Those are normal rules for normal people, Slade. You’re a fucking alien.”
“The alien and the puppy. That could be a Disney movie.”
“Get away from me.” My smile takes the bite from my words.
Kerian lies on his back and I straddle him. His hands automatically go to my ass, squeezing tight. “What do you want to do today?” I ask. “I need to get my car from your school. It has my backpack in there.”
“Why do you need your backpack?”
“I want to do my homework. It’s just a paper, but I want to finish it. Mind if I borrow your laptop?”
“You can,” he says with a shrug. “Come on. I’ll take you to your car and then we can chill here for the day.”
We brush our teeth and Kerian gives me some of his clothes to wear. He tries to push a Meridian hoodie on me, but I draw the fucking line at wearing school paraphernalia. He shrugs and gives me a different sweatshirt, though I’m sure he would rather I was in Meridian gear from head to toe. While we’re out, we pick up breakfast. I would prefer the cafe close to my school, but I don’t think Kerian wants to go that far just for some food.
After we stuff our faces, I get started on my homework, while Kerian does his laundry and cleans up around the apartment. When he’s finished, he plops down on the bed and turns on some football highlights. I glance up every now and then, seeing some of Kerian’s plays.
I smile when a clip of Kerian making the game-winning pass shows on the screen. He was so fucking good yesterday, effortlessly making plays, avoiding turnovers, and reading the field. I hate to admit it, but he might actually be as good as me. Definitely not better, though.
A little while later, when I’m finishing up my paper, Kerian flicks my left ear.
I jump, looking at him like he’s lost his mind. “The fuck was that for?”
“I’m bored.”
I give him a dry look, but his answering smirk makes me smile. “Okay? You’re watching television. Find something else to watch besides fucking game highlights.”
“But I want you to entertain me,” he says with a pout. God, he’s so handsome when he’s playful like this.
He pulls the laptop away and tosses my books to the end of the bed. Even though I exhale like I’m extremely put out, Kerian straddles me and kisses me softly. I wrap my arms around him, pulling him closer as he devours my mouth. The kiss is warm and sweet, a contrast to how he usually kisses me. I lean into him, sighing against his lips.
Kerian pulls away and I chase his mouth for more. He chuckles and shakes his head. “No more until you give me attention.” I smile up at him, then flip him onto his back. Kerian laughs loudly, his face transforming, a light shining under his skin. When we first started this, he would never have shown me this side of him. I don’t want to go so far as to say I’ve made him better, but I’d like to think some of my openness has rubbed off on him, even if just a little.
Settling between his legs, I kiss him quickly. “Is this enough attention?”
“Nah, you can do better than that, Braithe.”
I kiss him deeper, hiking one of his legs higher on my waist. His hard cock rubs against mine and I grind against him, trying to get him off like this.
Kerian groans against me, his rough palms sliding down the back of my pants to grab my ass. He pulls me in over and over, not wanting more than what we’re doing.
My dick is painfully hard as I thrust against him, attacking his mouth roughly. Kerian threads his fingers in my hair, holding me close to his mouth. He strokes his tongue over mine eagerly, making me moan against his lips.
I snatch my mouth from his, attacking his neck with frantic kisses and sucking marks into him. Kerian is vocal, sounding off how good I’m making him feel. I want more, to touch him more, to be skin to skin with him, but I don’t want to stop what we’re doing.
There’s always later.
Kerian groans, locking his legs tighter around me. “Close, baby. Close.”
My cock erupts without warning when he calls me baby, wetting the front of my pants. It’s not something I expected from him, calling me anything other than Dimples, Zandy, or Braithe. Even when he’s balls deep inside me, he never calls me anything else. Hearing him call me baby sends me over the edge.
Even though I flooded my pants, I keep grinding against him so I can make him come. It doesn’t take long, Kerian tumbling off the cliff with a curse. His body shudders as his dick twitches against mine.
I collapse on top of him, breathing in his heady scent. Kerian holds me tightly as I kiss along the column of his throat, tasting the saltiness of his skin.
“Was that enough attention?” I ask against his throat.
The rumble of his laughter makes my lips vibrate. “Yeah, Dimples. That’s enough attention.”
I raise up to look down at him. “Dimples? Not baby?”
Kerian tries to frown at me, but he’s too fucked out to manage it. “Don’t make it a thing, Zander .”
Dropping one more kiss to his lips, I move from between his legs and waddle to the bathroom. I get a spare washcloth, and after wetting it, bring it back to the room and clean him up. I do the same for myself and toss the cloth on the nightstand.
Climbing into bed, I lie beside him, resting my head on his chest. Kerian wraps his arms around me with a sigh. He opens his mouth to say something, but the growling of his stomach drowns out any words he wants to speak.
“Feed me, Zander,” he groans. “You make me nut and want to leave me starving. Is this what a relationship is like?”
“I hate you,” I murmur, smiling against his chest. “Come on. There’s a new vegetarian place that?—”
“If it’s not Sheila’s, I’m not going. I want a greasy burger, though. I just won a game, Zander. I deserve a burger. You can break your diet rule just this once.”
“Fine.”
We get dressed and head to Kerian’s car. Now that we’re on the way to get food, my stomach grumbles as well. I didn’t think it was that long since we had breakfast, but when I look at my phone, I see that we’d been back for close to four hours. At least I finished my paper.
Kerian pulls up to a local burger place about ten minutes away from Meridian. It looks cozy, like anyone who comes here is considered family.
We step inside, walking to the counter to order our food. I expect Kerian to want to go back to his place when our order is called, but he pulls me to a booth near the back of the restaurant.
“You come here often?” I ask, stuffing one of the fries into my mouth.
He shakes his head, taking a large bite of his burger. When he swallows, he says, “Only been here like two or three times. I usually go to my pizza place when I want something greasy.”
I hum and take a bite of my burger. It’s delicious, seasoned well and just as greasy as Kerian likes them.
We talk about mundane things while we eat, mainly me praising his game yesterday. Though Kerian looks smug, I can tell how much it means to him that I was there because I wanted to be there, not because he owed me his future.
He told me more about his parents, how his dad always said he would owe him when he turned pro. Even if I were to stop playing football right now, I wouldn’t expect Kerian to owe me anything. I love him for him , not for what he could possibly give me in the future.
I toss the last fry into my mouth, rubbing my belly. “Fuck that was good.”
“For someone who doesn’t like greasy food,” Kerian says around a mouth full of burger, “you sure cleared your plate.”
“Is that… judgement in your tone?”
He grins and dips a fry into ketchup, then holds it out for me. Even though I’m full to bursting, I would never turn down an opportunity to enjoy Kerian being all cute and domestic.
I take the fry, being sure to nip his fingers before he can pull them away.
He hisses with a smile. “Dick.”
“Maybe.” I smile back and lean over the table, giving him a quick kiss. “Let me use the restroom before we go.”
I hustle out of the booth and head to the restroom. Before I round the corner, I glance back at Kerian only to find him already staring at me. My cheeks heat as I duck my head, a smile stretching my face. Having the attention of someone like Kerian is a heady experience. Especially when he looks at me like he wants to eat me alive.
As I’m rounding the corner to the restroom, I bump into someone. It’s on the tip of my tongue to apologize, since I wasn’t paying attention, but when I look up, I see it’s Justin.
His lip curls in a sneer. “Watch where you’re going, bitch.”
I blow out a deep breath to calm myself. “Move.”
I try to step around him, but Justin blocks my path. “What are you doing here, Zander? Came with your new boyfriend?” He says the word boyfriend like it’s a taunt.
Lifting my chin, I say, “Yeah. I did. Looks like you’re here alone. Guess shit didn’t work out with Megan? Can’t say I’m surprised. If she was fucking you while she was fucking me, I’m sure you got the same treatment.”
It’s a low blow, but I’m sick of Justin and his shit.
He pushes me, making me stumble before I slam up against the wall. “What did you say, bitch?”
Yeah, fuck this noise. I don’t fight, but he won’t?—
Kerian comes out of nowhere, pushing Justin up against the wall, a hand on this throat. “Did I just see you put your fucking dick beaters on my boyfriend?”
Rolling my eyes, I go over to Kerian and pull against his arm. He’s not budging and Justin’s face is turning red, helpless gasps leaving his throat as he claws at Kerian’s hand.
“Enough, babe,” I whisper. “Let him go. He’s not fucking worth it. You know what he’ll be doing while we’re pro? He’ll be a fucking washed-up college football player, wishing he’d done things differently. Don’t throw away your future for him.” This time Kerian lets me pull his arm away. “Come on.”
Justin coughs, rubbing at the reddening skin on his throat. “This isn’t over,” he rasps, hustling around Kerian as he gives me a death glare.
I’m not worried about Justin. He’s all talk. Besides, he’s on the outs with the team, so if he tries something, I won’t be the only one who will want to beat his ass.
Before I can walk back to the table, Kerian pushes me against the wall, caging me in. “If that son of a bitch touches you again, I’ll fucking end him. Do you understand?”
I nod slowly, seeing the passion in his eyes. He’d throw it all away for me. He’d do everything he could to protect me. Just as I would for him. “Yeah, babe. I understand. Come on. Let’s go lie down. I’ll rub your back or something. Get all that frustration out.”
Kerian wraps his arms around me, palming my ass. “Or I could take it out on this sexy fucking hole.”
I grin, kissing him quickly. “I’d never turn that down.”