27 - Ethan
Ethan
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone about what was going on. And I was even less willing to do so with Elizabeth, because other people could be lied to. Not her.
She stood directly in front of me in the empty campus gym, her fingers firmly wrapped around my hands in an attempt to physically stop me from walking away. The lights cast a pale glow across the polished floor, and at that exact moment, even the quiet provided by the empty space felt too loud.
I could still hear the echo of the crowd in my head.
Their groans and frustrations and the way the energy drained from the stadium as our team fell apart play after play.
But that wasn’t really what bothered me or what kept me from opening up to Elizabeth.
The truth was far more complicated and devastating than I stupidly lost a game.
I looked down at our joined hands in astonishment. Her grip was warm, steady, and unbelievably unwavering.
“You’ve been elusive since we spoke at halftime,” she said, her voice softer than before.
I exhaled slowly. “I haven’t been avoiding you. Not once today did that thought cross my mind.”
“You haven’t even been looking at me. What do you expect me to think?”
“I have bigger problems right now, Elizabeth. I’m sorry, but your mental and emotional well-being isn’t at the top of my list right now.”
She tightened her grip on me and winced slightly. I had clearly hurt her, even though that was the last thing I wanted to do.
“That’s exactly why I’m here.”
I finally mustered the courage to meet her gaze and keep it. I could clearly see the concern in her eyes. It was stubborn and impossible to ignore. It made my heart clench so uncomfortably that it left a dull ache in my chest.
“You shouldn’t be,” I muttered.
“Why not?” she asked, sounding completely defeated.
“Because this has nothing to do with you.”
“If that were true, I wouldn’t be the one suffering the consequences of whatever it is that’s bothering you.”
She was absolutely right, but I wasn’t ready to tell her about my decision and the consequences it has for the two of us. I wasn’t ready to admit what I truly felt for her.
“Why did you play like you were trying to lose?” She asked again.
My jaw flexed, and I pulled one hand free to rake my fingers through my hair. I took a single step away from her before turning back again.
“You have no idea what’s been going on behind closed doors.”
“No, I don’t, but clearly you do. So why don’t you fill me in?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “You really don’t want to know.”
“You should know that I’m better than this. There isn’t a single thing you could throw my way that I couldn’t handle.”
The air evaporated from my lungs, and my chest tightened. The words were right there, at the tip of my tongue, pressing for their release, but saying them out loud felt dangerous. It felt like once they were out in the open, they couldn’t be taken back.
“You heard how everyone has been talking lately,” I finally said. “About the alumni and Mr. Pine putting pressure on the coach.”
“Yeah, but that’s typical of college sports,” she said carefully.
“That’s just the point, though. This isn’t just college sports. It’s a countdown.”
Her brows furrowed, and I hoped she was starting to get to the point. That I didn’t have to say it in so many words for her to get it.
“A countdown to what?”
“To the program collapsing.”
Elizabeth shook her head slightly, clearly not believing that such a dire outcome would be the result of our team’s inability to find common ground.
“You don’t know that for sure. You can’t. The team could still get out of this slump. The season isn’t even over yet.”
“Actually… I do know that, and it is a fact,” I mumbled.
I could still hear the conversation from the pep rally in my mind. Harris’s voice sharp with frustration, and Mr. Pine’s even colder tone cutting right through it. The mention of alumni scrutiny, our results, and their expectations. The conclusion was clear: either we win or we get replaced.
“Do you think the guys can’t feel the negativity? Like in the practice sessions and meetings?” I asked, my voice carrying the sadness I feel. “Because half of them have already started looking into transfer portals.”
Elizabeth ran her fingers over my jaw. “But you’re still here.”
I winced at her words. “For now.”
The words slipped out before I could stop them, and her eyes widened with shock.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, pulling her hand from mine.
“It means I’m not stupid enough to drown with the rest of them.”
I looked at the floor, unable to keep eye contact with her while the unbearable silence kept stretching between us. But I couldn’t keep it up for too long, and when I raised my gaze, she was studying me with a mixture of pain and determination.
“So you’re quitting?”
“I’m just being realistic.”
She grabbed onto my sleeves and stepped closer as her hands moved up my arms.
“You’re better than that,” she said, her voice hypnotizing.
“I thought you watched the game.”
Her arms wrapped around my neck, and her expression softened, but the determination didn’t fade.
“When I watched that game, I saw someone who was scared, trying to fight for his survival.”
She might as well have punched me in the gut.
“I’m not—”
She kissed me in a way that she had never done before.
It was searing hot and filled with so much passion that my cock instantly stood at attention.
The argument died as her tongue dueled with mine.
There was a fierceness in her. The kind that had the ability to steal breaths and make men crumble.
It was so intense that I just stood frozen in place for a good moment, but then my instincts took over and things got wild.
I pulled her against my body and kissed her back with a desperation I was sure she could taste.
Everything around us seemed to disappear, leaving only us and the scorching heat that was building between us.
Her fingers curled into the fabric of my shirt and she held on like it was a sin to let go, but then she broke the kiss and all the fears I had bottled up crashed down around me.
“Why do you care about this so much?” I asked.
She stared up at me, and all I could think about was that she had exposed me once again.
My vulnerability was right there, playing on my lips.
The air rushed from my lungs as something cracked open in my chest. Her silence was destroying me, and I needed to do something about it before I had nothing left.
Before I could even think of second-guessing myself, I lifted her into the air and pushed her back into the wall behind me.
Her surprise quickly dissolved when I kissed her again and her legs wrapped around my waist. Her fingers found my hair, and she pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.
It was so much more intense than any other time we had been together.
I could feel her warmth mixed with the trust she had in me and the terrifying realization that she could see right through me. I had fought it from the very beginning, but today I decided to stop. All I wanted was to actually feel the effect she had on me.
“I want you to fuck me like there’s no tomorrow,” she said before biting my ear.
I hissed in a breath. “I’ll screw you so hard your pussy will have a permanent imprint of my cock.”
She smiled against my lips, and in that moment, I became feral.
I didn’t take her feelings into account, and I didn’t think about who could walk in on us.
I just grabbed her shirt and pulled until it tore away from her body.
She sucked in a breath as I took her hard nipple into my mouth and bit down slightly.
Her back arched, pushing it deeper in, so I gave it a deep suck, but that wasn’t really where I wanted to be.
My erection had been begging for her heat since the pep rally, and I no longer had the patience to keep it waiting.
I was physically starving for her delicious pussy and mentally I was in desperate need of her comfort.
So I put her down on the floor, pulled her tight little pants down and shoved my tongue deep into her core.
She writhed beneath me, moaning in delight. It was torture at its best.
“Fuck me!” she said, grabbing my head and pushing it down. “Make me come all over your cock.”
My erection liked the sound of that so much it pulsed. “Don’t you want more of this?”
“We were interrupted in the locker room, and I won’t risk that again. Take me now, Ethan. I want it now. No more waiting.”
The sound of her desperation tore me apart.
As if my life depended on it, I shoved my cock all the way into her tight, wet little pussy.
I went so deep that she cried out with pleasure, and that was all I needed to destroy her.
Using all my strength, I slammed into her until her body shook and her legs trembled with it.
“Dear God,” she breathed as if she were begging for mercy. “Don’t stop.”
I didn’t want to stop, but I was so close to exploding myself, and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to hold on.
“Elizabeth,” I whispered, desperately trying to hold back. “I need you.”
For just a moment, she stopped breathing.
Her eyes locked onto mine as her hand moved down my body.
I thrust wildly, trying to think of anything but her, but then she sank her sharp nails into my ass and pushed me all the way into her.
There was nothing else I could do to stop myself.
My entire body stiffened like a board, my toes curled, and my eyes rolled back in my head as my come shot deep into her soaking core.
“No,” I cried out, not ready for the moment to end.
Elizabeth wasn’t done with me yet, though.
She put her hand on my chest and pushed me all the way back.
I held on to her as I fell, and suddenly she was on top.
She slipped her hand beneath my shirt as she started riding my cock.
She was using it as her own personal dildo with my come being her lube.
It was by far the hottest thing I had ever experienced in my life.
She lifted herself all the way up and gathered some of our mixed juices before sinking back down.
She used those juices to moisten her clit so she could play with it while she fucked me like the sex doll she wanted me to be at that exact moment.
I didn’t complain. How could I? It was so perfect on so many levels that I wished I could come continuously just to serve her needs.
“You don’t get to make decisions without me,” she said, her breathing growing heavier. “I own you. Don’t you ever forget that.”
To any other man, that would be an insult, but to me it was a comfort. I wanted her to own me, and I wanted her to be there for all the serious decisions I needed to make in my life.
“I’m yours,” I breathed, and she liked that. A lot.
Her chest rose and fell as her orgasm washed over her in waves.
She whispered something I couldn’t understand, and then her nails bit into the skin of my chest as she cried out in pleasure.
Her inner walls milked my cock until it was completely drained and utterly exhausted. And then she collapsed against me.
The silence that followed was different. The storm in my head hadn’t vanished, but it had softened enough to allow me to catch my breath.
“Why do you care so much?” I asked her again.
She lifted her head so that she could look at me. “Because you’re important to me.”
“That doesn’t explain why this stupid team means so much to you.”
“Sure it does. You care about football, it’s why you came to this college, and I care about you. So I automatically care about the team too.”
I took a moment to process that. It made sense to a degree and extent. What I didn’t get was how she could put so much effort into a team that couldn’t even do that for themselves.
“I’m one of the players who are looking into a transfer,” I admitted.
Her entire mood shifted. “When?”
“Next semester, if I can.”
She pushed herself up and moved to sit in front of me. All I could see was her back, but I could tell that I had just shattered her heart. We never labeled our relationship, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any feelings.
“I have a problem, though,” I added shyly. “I don’t want to lose you.”
“But I’ll be here and you’ll be wherever.”
“I’ve been trying to think of ways to make it work, but I keep coming up empty, so I was hoping you could help me.”
The uncertainty in my voice was raw now, stripped of all the defenses I usually tried to hide behind.
“All I know is…” I put my hands on her shoulders and squeezed. “I don’t want this thing between us to end.”