Chapter 22
Landon
Weston bumps my helmet with his. “Fuck yeah, man! Great protection.”
“Thanks, Weston.”
He shakes his head. “Call me West.”
He runs off, congratulating each of the guys for our win. Ben sidles up beside me. “Great game, Cutie. Think we’re gonna go out and celebrate. Wanna make a date of it?”
Nerves rattle in my stomach. I know West is dating Darcy now, but there’s still a little fear lingering.
“We don’t have to,” Ben says gently. “We can just go as teammates.”
I shake my head, mind made up. “Nah. Fuck that. Let’s text Park, though, to make sure it’s okay with them.”
Ben grins. We jog off the field toward the locker room.
The crowd was electric tonight, and there’s nothing like playing to all those screams. There’s also nothing like watching Ben in action.
He’s fast, and he’s got magic hands. I have no idea how he’s able to run the routes he does and still manage to get the ball in such tight coverage, but he’s a real joy to watch.
If he wasn’t already mine, I’d be crushing hard.
Hell, I basically still am, if you can even call this a crush anymore. I’m sure my heart has doubled in size and found itself a nice home in Ben and Parker’s shared hands.
Ben drops down onto the bench, then pulls his phone out to text Parker.
Ben
Hey, Cotton Candy. The guys are going out to celebrate our win tonight. You okay if Lan and I make a date of it?
Cotton Candy
Duh. I’m at home with Darcy. He’s working on some paper, and I’m painting.
A few seconds later, a photo comes through.
Parker’s smiling face graces Ben’s phone.
I can’t possibly imagine what they’re painting.
From what I can tell, the only color they’re using is black.
Or at least it looks that way, given the black paint streaked through their hair and beside their temple.
Cotton Candy
Have fun! I’ll see you guys after.
Ben
If you get bored and wanna come, let me know. The invitation is there.
Ben shoves his phone back into his bag, then leans toward me like he’s about to kiss me before backing away. “Mmm, maybe not in the locker room.”
I shake my head. “No. But outside the locker room, yeah. Let’s go get showered.”
When we’re showered and changed, we step out into the cool night air. “I’m gonna get us a ride. The bar’s off campus.”
He orders an Uber, then pockets his phone. After a quick look around the building, he grabs my hand and tugs me around the building and out of sight.
I can’t help but laugh. “You’re making a real habit of dragging me beside and between buildings.”
He hums, leaning into my space and brushing his nose along mine. “Are we gonna stop this time?”
I shake my head. “No. Parker’s ours now.”
He groans. “Fucking unbelievable that I have you both.”
I don’t even have time to respond before he’s slamming his lips down on mine. My dick hardens rapidly, pressing against my zipper. Ben feels it—of course he does—and he uses the opportunity to grind against me, deepening our kiss as he moans against my lips.
I tangle my fingers in his hair, using his signature move on him, and tilting his head to the side. I’m not sure he was expecting that because he shivers, a deep moan vibrating in his chest.
“Fuck, Lan,” he groans.
Smiling, I nip his bottom lip, eliciting another deep sound from his throat.
He shoves his thigh between my legs, pressing his whole body flush against mine as he grinds his hard dick against my thigh.
Taking back control of the kiss, he slides his tongue along mine, then grips my jaw, turning my head to the side. The second he’s got me where he wants me, he breaks the kiss, then works his way down my jaw to my throat, sucking on the tender flesh just under my ear.
My breath punches out of me, but before he can go further, he stops and pulls back. “Car’s here.”
The look in his eyes is wild, pupils blown, and hair a mess from my fingers tangling in it. “What? How do you know?”
He grins, a shamelessly cocky sort of smile that tells me he knows the effect he has on me. “Phone buzzed.”
“Well, damn.”
He shakes his head with a laugh, stepping back and adjusting himself while I do the same. “Okay, let’s go. We can pick this up later.”
I follow him around the corner, where our car is indeed waiting for us.
I have a decent buzz. It’s nice. I’ve never drank before tonight, and even though I could probably get drunk and not think twice about it, I really don’t want to.
I like the way I feel right now. All fuzzy and good and warm, but I still have control of my mind, and I still feel mostly alert and aware.
“Want another drink, Cutie?” Ben says near my ear.
“Not right now, but maybe later.”
He grins, then slides into the booth next to me. The guys are wild tonight. A few have already left, pretty girls hanging off their arms, but I’m still here along with Ben, West, Devon, and Levi, crammed into this booth.
“Let’s take a selfie for Parker,” Ben whisper-shouts.
“Definitely.”
Bringing his phone up, he holds it out in front of him, cheesing into the camera. I do the same, and he snaps a couple of photos before kissing my cheek.
That’s another thing about alcohol. With the buzz burning through my veins, all my fears seem silly.
First off, these are good guys. And second off, I’m two hundred thirty pounds and over six feet tall.
I’d be hard-pressed to think someone’s gonna try something with me.
And even if they did, I could hold my own.
“We need to talk to Park about going to meet my mom.”
Ben’s eyes widen. “Yeah?”
I nod, leaning closer to him. “I’m tired of hiding.”
Ben gives me an indulgent smile. “I’m not sure if you realize it or not, Cutie, but you’ve been pretty handsy tonight. If you’re trying to hide, you’re not doing a very good job of it.”
Following his eyes as they drop to his lap, I laugh when I realize my hand is firmly gripping his thigh. “That’s fair.”
He leans closer, brushing his nose along my throat. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m ready. And I’m sure Parker will be too.”
“I miss them.”
Ben hums. “Me too, Cutie.”
Pulling back, Ben takes his phone out of his pocket and drops a pin in our group chat. “There,” he says, glancing at me. “Now they know where to find us if they decide to take us up on the offer.”
West slides into the booth beside Ben, and I look up at him. “Hey, man.”
“Hey!”
Ben turns. “How are things with you and Darcy?”
I’ve never seen West look as happy as he does right now. “So good, actually. I’ve honestly been thinking about skipping out so I can get back to him.”
Ben laughs. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he’s with Park right now. Even if you leave, you’re gonna be stuck alone. Or waiting on him to get back.”
Is he pouting right now? Damn. I think he’s pouting. Ben shakes his head, a loud laugh bursting from his chest. “Wanna go dance, Lan?”
“I’m sure I’m not very good at it.”
“Nah, it’s easy. I already know you’ve got good rhythm.” He waggles his eyebrows, and my cheeks burn hot. “Come on. Let’s go.”
West gets up to let us out just as Devon and Levi get back to the table. The two of them are usually inseparable, although earlier when Devon went to the bathroom, Levi was talking to some girl. She’s gone now, and he’s back to being glued to Devon’s side, so I don’t know what that was all about.
“Alright, fine,” I say, mostly because I don’t want to let him down.
West sits back down when I slide out after Ben, and the two of us make our way to the dance floor.
It’s pretty sparse, with most people hanging off to the sides, and I don’t know if that makes it better or worse, but when Ben loops his arm around my waist and drags me into him, all the anxiety melts away, and I truly couldn’t care either way what everyone else thinks.
“Alright, it’s easy,” he murmurs close to my ear. “You just move your hips…” He rocks his hips back and forth to the low beat of the song. “To the music.”
I follow suit, closing my eyes as I let the beat take over.
He sways against me, his hands all over my sides and back.
Is it strange that this is turning me on?
To be fair, it’s Ben, and he’s touching me and grinding against me and just generally ridiculously hot, so really I don’t think it can be helped.
After two songs fade into a third, my dick is so hard it hurts, and my buzz is starting to fade.
“Let’s get another drink,” Ben practically yells over the music, his hips slowing and then stopping entirely.
That’s probably a good idea; otherwise, I might be tempted to dry hump him against the wall until we’re both filling our jeans with cum. Definitely not the best outcome for the night.
Grabbing my hand, he leads me across the floor to the bar, and a few minutes later, he’s pressing a drink into my hand. It’s disgusting, really, but I’ve always been told beer is an acquired taste. I’m starting to see why people say that.
After a few sips, the taste doesn’t really matter to me, and by the time I’m almost through the glass, the warmth from before is returning.
“This is fun.”
“Dancing?” Ben asks, turning his head to look at me.
“Drinking,” I say, laughing. “But yeah, dancing too.”
He digs his phone out of his pocket, then smiles. “Look.”
Cotton Candy
I talked Darcy into abandoning his paper. We’re on the way.
My heart thumps. “Hell yes.”
Ben gestures to the booth. “Let’s go sit down.”
I nod, taking his offered hand, and he leads me back to the booth. West stands when he sees us coming, then lets us slide in before taking his seat again.
“We could have sat on the end,” Ben says.
“Yeah, but then I wouldn’t be able to make a hasty escape. I’m just waiting on Darcy to tell me when he leaves Parker’s.”
I almost can’t fight my grin, but I quite like the idea of letting West have a little surprise.
“Oh, come on. Hang out with us for a little while longer,” Devon says, beating me to it.
West huffs. “Alright, fine.” He glances down at his phone. “Thirty minutes, and that’s all I’m gonna give you.”