Chapter 15
Willa
I’m not upset with Carter. Our drunken one-night stand was my idea, and I don’t expect anything to come out of it. But seeing him in his car with another girl opened up some closed wounds I forgot about.
I’ve always had a thought that Vic was cheating on me and I didn’t want to believe it. Along with that thought, there had been others like how I believed I wasn’t good enough for him. That it was my inept ability to make him happy that made him cheat on me.
Why else would he feel the need to sleep with other women or seek others out for more pleasure? It’s because I wasn’t enough.
“I can wait for you in the car,” Carter helps me in and points behind him to the door. “I could use a nap.”
“No, you’re going to keep me company and tell me all about why you think your day has been shitty.” I smile and lead the way to the exam table after checking in.
Carter stays completely silent with his arms crossed.
The place is empty with the exception of a couple of students who injured themselves, completing their therapy on the other side.
“Fine,” I say before the therapist comes over. “If you won’t talk, then I’m going to ask questions.”
He slumps in his chair and rolls his eyes at me.
“Did you ask her to slap you around?” I jump right in to lighten his mood. Carter’s eyes widen at me. “You seemed to enjoy that.”
He doesn’t move, making no motion to answer me.
“Not being able to come during sex would definitely make a shitty day even shittier.” I poke his leg, making him flinch. “So, what happened? Not enough fore—”
“Yes,” Carter groans to shut me up as the therapist comes to check my ankle in its boot.
I’m supposed to wear the boot around campus for a while. It’s so clunky and annoying, but anything is better than the cast.
“Ms. Tomlin, how are you feeling?”
“Better than this guy.” I motion to Carter, who glares at me. “Not really any pain, unless I bang it or hit it. And I only did that twice. It’s hard to get out of the desks with it.” The therapist laughs and removes my boot.
“I’m going to wait in the car.” Carter moves to get up, but I grab his arm and pull him back down.
“No, you’re not. We’re not done with our conversation.”
For some reason, he listens to me and plops back down.
“Was it not hard enough?” I ask while the therapist runs some range of motion and strength tests. “The slap?”
“No, it wasn’t hard enough,” he mutters quietly.
“She looked dainty.” I nod. “You know, there are lots of girls on the hockey team that would love to—”
“No.” Carter shuts my idea down.
“Did she smell?” I ask to keep him talking.
He looks at me like I’ve gone insane. Luca and I used to talk about this stuff all the time. Except with Luca, I didn’t have to ask the questions. He’d willingly give me every disgusting detail that I didn’t ask for.
“No,” he says slowly, with a shake of his head.
“Some girls smell.” I shrug. It’s no big deal. “Vic didn’t enjoy going down on me because I’d get sweaty from playing hockey.” Carter slams his fist on the nearby table.
“Uh, I’ll be back,” the therapist stutters and gets up to either give us some privacy or get my chart.
“You scared him away.”
“Willa,” Carter leans over to get my attention, “Vic is an asshole. He should’ve never said those things to you.”
“It’s no big deal. I get it. Sweat is funky.” I shrug. “I’m an athlete.”
Carter opens his mouth to say something, but the therapist comes back and brings me to the first station.
The tension coming off Carter is thick as he follows me from station to station, watching me struggle to complete each exercise. The exercises weren”t even anything intense, but I’m a hot and sweating mess, looking like I just finished three periods of a game without any bench time. I’m happy I wore my shorts and sports bra underneath my thick clothes.
It’s only been a month and I’m so out of shape.
“How do I look? Hot, right?” I joke and flash Carter a smile. He hasn’t said another word the entire time. “I feel gross. Let’s go.”
He helps carry my bag, but once in the hall, he drags me into a private exam room, locking the door behind us.
Carter throws my bag down and paces in front of me.
“Are you ready to talk now?” I stand before him, waiting for the floodgates to open.
He needs to let out all that tension and steam he’s holding in and I’ve been patient, not pushing it like I want to.
He stops and nods his head. “Take off your pants.”
“What?” I laugh, but he is dead serious. “Carter, I’m not having sex with you.”
“No, but I’m going to prove to you that Vic was nothing more than a spineless, gaslighting fool.” He comes closer and backs me into the bench at the center of the small room. “You’re sweating now. Let’s see what you smell like.”
“You’re nuts.” I try to push him back, but he lifts me onto the exam bench and pulls at my shorts. “Carter, I”m disgusting right now.” I squeal and hold him back.
“Prove it. I bet I’ll prove you wrong.” He breathes in the side of my neck. “Mmm, you smell good to me. Now, let’s see what that pussy smells like.”
“You know I don’t like that word.” I punch his arm, making him stumble back.
“And you know, I like it when you hit me.” He smirks and comes right back between my legs.
“Carter, I’m serious.” I hold his shoulders back to stop him with his thumbs tucked into the waistband of my shorts. “We’re just friends. We can’t do this.”
“Exactly. We’re friends.” He nods with a determined look in his eyes. “We’ve already had sex, and that hasn’t changed.” His shoulders relax and his forehead falls against mine. “But I can’t sit around and do nothing, letting you believe anything that cock-stain told you to be true. I’ll tell you over and over again, last night was the best sex I’ve ever had. Drunk or not, it’s never been that good. And now, I’m going to prove that your vagina doesn’t smell, no matter how sweaty you are.”
I let what he’s saying sink in. There’s been so many things Vic has said that I waved off, but they’re also the things that made me stick around. It made me feel like I couldn’t do better. Like I wasn’t good enough for him or anyone else.
“Do you promise to be honest? Even if it smells like old cheese or a dead fish?”
Carter throws his head back in a laugh. “I promise.” He tightens his grip on my shorts.
“And this changes nothing between us, right?” I stop him from pulling them down. “We’re still just friends?”
He nods to agree with me, but waits for me to give the ok to continue. “Are you ok with that? I would never want to hurt you.”
“Yes,” I agree.
We had sex and I still feel nothing.
I don’t feel that same spark I felt when I first met Vic. But I care about Carter and I always will.
I lean back and lift my hips for him to pull my shorts off. He doesn’t bother removing my boot and lets them hang off my leg.
“Aw, you shaved for me.” He teases with a sly smirk.
“Jerk.” The slap to his arm is met with a soft groan from his chest.
We’ll have to decipher his reaction to being slapped another time, but everyone has their kinks.
He leans in slowly, taking his time to run his nose up my thigh. By the time he gets to my center, I’m leaning back with my eyes rolling closed.
With a long, exaggerated whiff, he breathes in.
“So fucking good,” He groans and goes back in for another. “Is that cherry?”
“Mmhmm,” I try to hold back the moan that comes out when I answer him. “My body wash is Cherry Blossom.”
“Mmm.” He runs his nose up my slit with a soft hum.
“How…” My breath is coming out in short pants. “How does it taste?”
Oh god, what am I doing? This wasn’t what we talked about, but if he doesn’t stick his tongue on me, I may die.
Carter’s chest heaves before he leans back down. His knuckles whiten against the hard cushion as another soft moan hums against my clit.
His tongue slides up the entire length of my slit. “Salty.”
“Carter.” I want to tell him to stop. It’s too much, too good, but I don’t want him to stop. The words are caught in my chest and I let him go in for more.
“Sweet.” He sucks me in with a flick. “With a hint of that smoky cherry flavor.”
He looks up, seeing what a mess I’ve become with the minimal amount of pressure he’s giving me.
“You taste so fucking good.” Without breaking eye contact, he reaches in and swipes his finger up the line. “Here,” he holds it out an inch from my lip. “See for yourself.”
I hesitate but part my lips for him to slip his finger in. My tongue hits the tip and I pucker around it to suck it in. I’m not sure what I’m tasting, but my hips lift, feeling an arousal flow from the taste buds stimulating the nerve endings in my core.
“Want me to keep going?” Carter’s brow lifts in question at my eagerness. “Tell me what you want.”
He moves his face lower to hover over my center, waiting for my answer.
“Yes, keep going.” I breathe out and let out a loud moan when his tongue flattens against me. “Yes.”
“Shh,” he chuckles against me. “You don’t want to get caught, do you?”
I try to make a retort, but he goes right back in, sucking and flicking his tongue against me, turning anything I was about to say into a screeching cry for him to keep going.
I clamp my mouth shut to stay quiet, whimpering while he devours me as if I’m his last meal.
He lifts away, but my hand shoots out. Tugging at his short strands and pushing to hold him down.
With a rumbling groan, Carter squeezes my hips up and dives in deeper, fucking me with his tongue and sucking in every drop as I come flying down the slope he’s built for me.
“Get dressed.” Carter pulls me off the bench and slides my shorts back on without giving me time to settle into a post orgasm comfort.
Grabbing my sweats from the bag, he passes them for me to slip on over my shorts and a sweatshirt to cover my sports bra and my heaving chest.
The door rattles with a knock. “Why is this door locked?” A man’s voice booms in the hall.
“Shit,” I mutter, and let Carter dress me.
“I got it,” he says and holds my bag up in front of him.
“Wait.” I stop him to fix his hair and wipe the sheen of my cum off his face with my sleeve.
He winks with a grin before unlocking the door and helping me hobble out in my boot and crutches.
“What were you two doing in there?” One of the resident doctors comes down the hall with a set of keys.
I freeze and suck in a sharp breath.
“She had to change.” Carter shrugs. “We didn’t do anything. She just finished therapy, and it’s cold outside.”
I reach down and clutch onto Carter’s hand to save us. Getting caught is the last thing I need. I’m lucky to not be getting expelled after the shit I pulled going up the mountain in a storm. Putting other students in danger and getting myself injured in the process. They take the health of their athletes seriously, and I don’t need another meeting with the dean.
The doctor eyes us wearily, but he can’t prove anything. “Next time, use the wheelchairs to get to the locker rooms or use the bathroom.” He huffs and walks past us.
I don’t relax until he’s long gone and through another set of doors down the hall.
Carter pulls me along through the hall and out to his truck. He helps me in the passenger seat before moving around the car to the driver”s side, sliding in after shoving my bag and crutches to the back.
“It’s ok.” He rubs my knee as he drives out of the lot toward my house, but quickly moves it away. “You’re ok, right?” He clears his throat.
“Yeah, fine.” I’m not sure how to answer that, but I feel better than I have in weeks after that orgasm I just experienced. I didn’t need the heart pounding adrenaline rush for almost getting caught after.
“I’m hungry,” I state as my stomach rumbles.
“I’m dropping you home.” He looks down and back to the road. “I have a whale in my fucking pants ready to blow.”
“Oh shit.” I cover my mouth with a snort and eye the huge boner pushing against Carter’s jeans.
“Yeah, fuck you.” He quickly glares at me and looks back at the road. “I was fine until you grabbed my hair.”
“Oh, did you like that?” I reach over and grab a handful at the top of his head to give it a sharp tug.
“Fuck,” he groans in pain and shifts in his seat while that monster in his pants pushes further to come out. “Please, stop. Unless… you want to do something about it?” He bites his lip and wags his eyebrows as he drives through the campus roads.
“No offense, but that thing was in someone else today.” I eye the backseat. “I’m sorry, but I have to pass.”
“You never know where this thing is going or where it’s been.” He smirks, tipping his head back to look at me as he pulls to a stop in front of my house. “But thanks for lunch.”
“Oh, anytime!” My voice squeaks as I grab my bag and open the door. “I got this.”
“Uh, wait.” Carter stops me, cringing as he scratches his head. “I was moved to defense. I didn’t want you to find out and get mad I didn’t say anything.”
“What? That’s great!” I close the door again to see if he keeps talking. “I, of course, love playing defense.”
“Yeah, my dad isn’t as excited for me.” He grips the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. “And they said it’s my second chance. Fuck this up and I get nothing.”
And here it is, the reason for his awful day.
“That’s ok,” I try to soothe his arm, but he pulls it away. He’d prefer if I beat the shit out of him. “You’re going to do great on defense. Coach Renan would’ve benched you without any other chance if he didn’t believe that too.”
I know Coach Renan in passing and from watching the guys practice. He doesn’t take any shit and would definitely not give second chances unless he thinks they’d be worth it.
“Yeah, thanks,” he mumbles under his breath.
Putting aside what he wants, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and squeeze him in for a hug.
I hold him tight, trying my best to give him any positive energy I can. If I can get through this injury, then he can get through this semester. I’ll do whatever I can to help. It’s the least I can do for how he saved me.
After a few moments, he taps my forearm that lies across his chest.
“I really need to go jerk off.”
“Pig.” With a laugh, I lift off and push him away.
“You really need to stop that.” He groans and shifts his hips.
“Thanks for eating me out! See ya tomorrow?” I hop out of his truck as best I can.
“I’ll see you,” he mutters before I close the door, speeding off around the block to get home.
It takes me a while to lug my bag around and I’ll never admit it, but my ankle hurts. It has to be from therapy. They said it would hurt more before it gets better.
“Was that Carter dropping you off?” Jocelyn asks before I can even close the door behind me.
“Oh yeah, he was free and drove me to physical therapy.” I drop my bag on the steps and raid the kitchen for something to eat. “Do you want to order something for an early dinner? I’m famished.”
“What’s going on between you two?” She ignores my question and sits down across from me at the kitchen counter.
“Huh?” I open a small bag of chips and start munching.
“Are you hooking up with Carter?”
A chip gets caught in my throat and I choke, hacking and coughing to get it out. Jocelyn walks around and passes me a water bottle from the fridge, waiting for my answer.
“No,” I cough up after clearing my throat. “Not at all. We’re just friends.”
I hate lying. But technically we’re not hooking up. We’re just friends and it was only a onetime thing. What happened in the last twenty-four hours will never happen again. At least, I don’t think so. We didn’t really discuss terms.
“Really?” She looks sad as she asks, but I have no idea what she could be upset about.
“Yeah. I bug him and he drives me around. Nothing more.”
Her entire body deflates as she once again takes a seat on the stool in front of the small window that separates the kitchen from the living room.
“I don’t get it.” She looks up at the ceiling as I sit next to her. “He’ll sleep with anyone willing, but he barely looks my way, no matter how hard I flirt with him.”
“Wait.” I stop to think it over and figure out what she’s saying. “Do you like Carter?” How did I not know?
She never told me this. This is something a best friend should know, isn’t it?
We are definitely not hooking up anymore.
“I thought it was obvious.” She shakes her head. The long caramel blonde strands twist in her hand as she pulls them back. “I’m constantly flirting with him, but he hasn’t gotten the hint. I was thinking of asking him out. Do you think he’ll go for that?”
“Jocelyn.” I should just tell her. Rip the band aid off and tell her. It’s not my fault, I didn’t know. This is the first I’m hearing that my best friend has a crush on the guy I’ve slept with. If I’d known, I would’ve never asked him to do that. Dammit. “He sleeps around a lot.” That isn’t a lie. She needs to be warned first. “He uses those women. He doesn’t care about them.”
“If he’s such a bad guy, why are you hanging out with him?” She got me there.
“I am friends with him, but I’m not trying to date him. And he’s not that bad of a guy. He’s very misunderstood.” Defending him is not helping. I don’t want him to treat Jocelyn like those other girls.
“But maybe he’ll like me, right?” She laughs and rubs a hand down her face. “I’m crazy. I know, but I really, really like him.”
Oh god, I think I’m going to be sick.
“How ‘bout this?” This is the worst idea ever, but I can’t, not try. “I’ll talk to him. We can try to set up a date or I’ll feel him out and hype you up. You can hang out with us too!”
Such a bad, bad idea. But what if she’s right? What if Jocelyn is the girl for him to change his evil ways? Who am I to get in the middle of that?
“Really?” She jumps out of her chair with a huge grin and wraps me up in a tight hug. “Thanks Willa! You’re the best.”
We’ll see about that. He better not hurt her or I will kick his ass. But then again, me kicking his ass will only turn him on.
How did I get myself into this mess?