Seventeen
Reece
Our boys are up by one touchdown and the crowd is rowdy as hell.
It’s our second home game of the season. The air has that chilly fall feeling and the midday sun is brilliant. Plus, I’ve got my flyer back and we’re nailing each game day routine as we tick into the final few minutes of the football game.
It’s a perfect day.
Even if Stacy wasn’t keen on my idea of sleeping together to help us stick more stunts.
I’m not even sure if I meant it when it came out of my mouth. It was a pretty boneheaded thing to say but I’d been thinking it and figured, why not? Worse she can do is say no, right?
She did say no, and it was probably for the best. I have to keep reminding myself that Stacy is my stunt partner but she’s also a very important part of my personal life right now.
I need her for family events, especially with the holidays right around the corner.
I can’t show up to my family’s Thanksgiving or Christmas without her, and I certainly can’t make it through any wedding festivities alone .
No, it doesn’t matter how much I want it. Sex with Stacy would cause something of a mess for us and I need to keep things friendly and respectful.
Even if I spent far too much of my Thursday afternoon daydreaming about what it would be like for Stacy to take me up on my offer.
I thought about it so much that I wasn’t even sure I could stand straight up after class and I spaced during the entirety of my physiology lecture thanks to my fantasies.
When I got back to my apartment Thursday evening, I thought about texting Chelsea.
I needed some kind of release and inviting her over to spend the night would’ve been simple enough.
She would’ve said yes and I could’ve gotten my mind off of Stace, but something about the thought felt wrong.
Like I’d be doing Stacy a disservice, even though we’re not actually dating.
Not to mention, I would’ve thought about Stacy the whole time and that wouldn’t have been fair to Chelsea either.
Basically, I’m a masochist and I’ve decided to torture myself for the foreseeable future.
“Two minutes left, Shark fans. Get on your feet!” The announcer’s voice rings through the stadium and the air crackles with excitement. The roar of the crowd grows as I dismount Stacy from a torch, my hands resting on her waist for a second too long once she makes it to the ground.
Touching her just feels so good. So right, so natural. The feeling of her skin against mine has started to consume my mind but I’ve got to get a grip. Fast .
“S-H-A…” Stacy starts to lead the crowd’s favorite chant and I manage to get my head back in the game as the clock dwindles down .
The energy is palpable as the time runs out, the Sharks beating our rival team by seven.
Our squad is hyped as the football team celebrates on the field, students and fans alike screaming their heads off in the stands.
The vibes are unmatched and I already know the celebratory football party tonight is going to be out of this world.
“See? Every stunt, Dunn. We crushed every one,” I tell Stacy when we get back to the practice facility to collect our stuff.
She rolls her eyes but there’s a smirk on her face as she pulls on her cheer jacket over her uniform.
Her tight and tiny uniform. That skirt that ends right under the curve of her ass, the top that shows just enough midriff to drive me insane.
Reece! Get it together!
“That’s because we don’t have a hands to hands in any of our game day routines. Don’t get cocky on me, Taylor,” she says, taking the bright blue bow out of her hair and shoving it into her gym bag.
I shrug and grin at her. “Still stuck ‘em all.”
“And we did it all without having sex,” she whispers like she’s scandalized before turning to see Drew, Mae, and Jamie approaching us. “Good job, guys!”
Mae pulls her best friend in for a quick hug, her chaotic red curls already falling out of her game day ponytail. “Football party tonight, yes?” she says, looking around at all of us.
“Um, hell yes,” Drew enthuses.
“One hundred percent,” Stacy agrees as Jamie nods.
Excitement blooms in my stomach thinking about the night ahead and I note duly that I’m more excited to hang with Stacy than I am to actually go to the party .
“Anyone want to run to Sip Society with me to fuel up for the night? Miles is headed there now and I was going to meet up with him.” I hike my thumb over my shoulder.
The group glances at each other before Stacy shrugs and speaks for them all. “Sure.”
“Only if I can dump hot coffee on Miles,” Mae mumbles as we head out of the gym.
“What’s going on with you two?” Drew asks as we push out of the side doors. “Anytime I ask Miles, he just smiles and says some vague, perverted shit.”
Mae huffs and juts her chin out. “ Nothing is going on with us. Nothing ever will and nothing ever—” She cuts herself off, pressing her lips together.
I glance at Stace with an eyebrow raised and she shrugs, suggesting she knows just as much as I do about Miles and Mae.
We’ve barely made it past the campus quad when I hear a syrupy “Reece!” in the distance. I glance over to see Chelsea walking towards our group with a couple of her friends, most likely headed back to their sorority house from the game.
Or, weaving back, I should say. Needless to say, Chelsea presumably knocked back a few at the tailgate.
She meanders up to us, her two friends flanking her.
Chelsea’s pretty, something that’s impossible to deny.
She’s got long caramel hair with bangs cut straight across her forehead, dark eyes, and adorable dimples that seem to be ever present on her face whether she’s frowning or smiling.
It’s easy to see that Chelsea values her time at the gym with the outfit she’s got on: a tight, black mini skirt and a fitted Sharks crop top with thigh high boots. She looks good. Really good .
But I realize with a start that she’s not doing anything for me. Not anymore, not with Stacy right next to me. I’ve slept with Chelsea more times than I can count in the past year and all the sudden, nothing’s happening for me when I look at her.
Well. Fuck. That can’t be good.
Chelsea reaches us and throws her arm around my neck, her familiar floral scent surrounding me. “I’ve missed you,” she murmurs as she stumbles back.
Oh, yeah. Definitely drunk because sober Chelsea would never show any kind of affection towards me outside of a casual conversation before we get naked together.
I reach out my hand to steady her by her elbow. “Missed you too,” I lie.
My circle of friends has taken a slight step away, giving us space while still in earshot. I hear Drew mumbling something to Stacy and I hate that I’m more interested in their conversation than I am with the girl in front of me who I’ve seen quite literally all of.
“I’ve been thinking of you,” she hiccups as she sways. “I almost texted you the other night but then I fell asleep. I was really fucking horny, so,” she slurs, waving her manicured hand around.
Alright, not drunk. Hammered.
I hear Drew snort behind me as someone else gasps. Heat creeps up my neck and I’m suddenly very thankful I didn’t reach out to Chelsea a couple of days ago.
“I think you might need a nap and some water, Chels,” I say lightly, shooting her a soft smile so I don’t hurt her feelings.
She shrugs. “I can think of something else we could do that might sober me up.” Chelsea puts a hand on one of my pecs and I truly don’t know if she’s flirting or holding herself up.
“Water, a nap, and maybe some fried food?” I suggest, peering over at her friends who are nodding and closing in on Chelsea.
“Alright, Chels. Let’s get you back to the house,” a blonde I know as Hanna says, taking her friend’s elbow from me.
“Are you going out tonight?” Chelsea says as her friend starts to tote her away. “Text me if you do and I can meet you. Maybe I’ll spend the night? I’ll do that thing you like with my tongue.” She giggles, her other sorority sister coming up to help Hanna pull her away.
“Okay, babe, time to go home,” Hanna murmurs, shooting me an apologetic look and mouthing “sorry” at me before leading Chelsea towards Greek Row.
Turning, I find my dumbfounded friends staring at me. I shake off the heat in my cheeks and clap my hands together before jabbing my thumb in the direction of Sip Society. “Shall we?”