Chapter 23 #2
Deep down, I’ve always known I’m an experiment. Jayden is an investment.
“That’s not true. You’re better,” he says.
I laugh.
“Don’t do that,” he says, closing the remaining inches until our foreheads rest against one another.
“You’re sweet, Jayden. So very sweet. But I’m not better. There are a million other coaches who can tell you to close your stance and lean into your power.”
He shakes his head against mine.
“Then why hasn’t anyone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe other coaches are lazy. But there are better ones out there. And they won’t put your chance at getting called up at risk.”
“You don’t put that at risk, Colby. If Texas wants me, they’ll take me. When I’m ready.”
“Maybe. Or maybe not. What if they read all that shit online and decide they don’t want to take on more trouble?
I mean, it’s not like Adriel has set a smooth path for you.
And I doubt they’ll take anything I have to say seriously.
Maybe I should quit before they fire me.
I mean, you won’t get called up this season if I’m here. ”
“Then I’ll go next year. I’ll get my time.” He seems so certain, I find myself smiling at him with a sense of disbelief.
“That’s stupid, Jay,” I laugh out.
“You’re worth it.” Not even a half-second passes between my words and his. And my smile falters as he cups my face in his hands and forces my gaze on his.
“Why? Why am I worth it?”
Please say it. Please say it.
He scans my face, nothing about his expression looking nervous. His hesitation doesn’t seem to be about fear, but rather about taking his time. And when his eyes finally reach mine again, the crinkles around them give me the sign I am waiting for.
“Because I love you, Colby. I’ve loved you pretty much my whole damn life.” He pulls my mouth to his and dusts my top lip with his, saying the words again.
“I love you. There isn’t another person on this planet who can make me better than you. A better player. A better person. I’ve looked up to you since the day we met. And I don’t know when it happened, but all of a sudden, I quit wanting to be like you, and all I wanted was to be with you.
“I love you, Colby Kessler. And I don’t give a shit what kind of headache it makes for anyone, or what old-ass white man coach finds it inconvenient, or if it means I might not get called up to Texas. At all. I choose this.” He runs his thumb along my cheek, under my eye. “I choose you.”
And suddenly, it all feels so simple.
“I love you, too,” I say, the last of the knots in my chest unraveling as he smiles and walks me backward to my temporary bed, in this temporary place.
Everything in life is temporary. He’s right. My mom and his dad taught us that. We survived pain to learn this lesson, to know what’s important and to seize the day.
“I love you so much, Jayden,” I say, wrapping my arms around his neck as he lifts me up and spins before sitting on the edge of the bed and holding me on his lap.
His hands undress me slowly, sliding my shirt up and over my head, then slipping my bra straps down my shoulders.
He kisses each new inch of exposed skin as if he’s building a map of my body, his lips beginning at my collar bone then moving over the curve of my breast as his hands lower my bra until my nipples are exposed.
He grazes the hard peaks with the sides of his thumbs, and my center swells with need.
“Jayden,” I say, breathing out his name as I open my neck to his mouth.
He kisses my throat as my hands gather up his shirt, my fingers finding their home along his toned, muscular chest. I push him to his back, and he falls willingly. I push his shirt up to his neck, and he pulls it off the rest of the way while I dispose of my bra.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful, Colby.” He looks at me with wonder, and it makes me blush.
“This is one thing I have on the other coaches,” I tease.
He chuckles and glides his hands up my thighs, squeezing my ass and pulling me down against him. His hips rise, pushing his hard cock against my swollen pussy, and my head falls back in bliss.
“I fucking love you, Colby. I love you; I love you; I love you,” he says, grinding into me.
“Then fuck me, Jayden,” I whimper.
His expression morphs into something darker. Something . . . delicious. I move back to stand before him and pull my pants and panties down my legs while he pulls his cock out and strokes himself while watching me.
“Touch yourself,” he commands.
I slide my hand up my body, squeezing my nipple between the vice of my thumb and index finger, and I moan from the pleasure I give myself.
“Not there,” he says, dragging his gaze lower.
I rush with heat. I’ve never done that in front of anyone. I’ve done it while thinking about Jayden, though. I’ve done it a lot. Especially lately.
I swallow hard but trust him, moving my hand softly across my belly, then over the strip of hair above my pussy. I open my stance, spreading my legs a little, then glide my fingertips between them. My wet pussy pulses against my own touch.
“Ah,” I gasp.
The flicker of an orgasm shocks me, and Jayden nods as he continues to stroke his cock.
“Make yourself come,” he says.
I lower my gaze on his and touch myself with more pressure, gliding two fingers along my swollen skin, then pushing a finger inside. My lips part as my breathing steadies. My eyes zero in on his cock, on the tip covered with precum, and I grow selfish.
I shake my head and crawl on top of him. “No, I want you to do it. I want to come together. I need to know how that feels,” I say, words I know he understands.
He nods as I move my hand over his, guiding his cock to my entrance as I slide down on top of him.
“Oh, fuck,” I cry out, taking him deep. I let my body adjust to him before lifting my body just enough that he barely leaves me. He grabs his cock, holding it up so I can impale him again. And this time, I whimper.
“Touch yourself now,” he says, moving my hand to my clit.
His hand covers mine, guiding it in tiny circles as I begin to rock my hips.
Jayden’s heated gaze holds me hostage, and the only sound is our breathing and the small creek of the damn spring in my hotel bed.
Eventually, though, my pulse drowns it all out.
I follow the beat of my heart, chasing the edge with Jayden, my hips rolling as he lifts his from the bed, driving into me and urging me to give over completely.
The first wave renders my muscles weak and I collapse onto his body, letting him pull my hips into him again and again, forcing me to ride through every shock that rips through my core.
And just when I may pass out from sheer ecstasy, Jayden flips me to my back to find his own edge.
He pumps into me, filling me with his cum, and he remains inside me well after he’s empty.
My belly warms, and our bodies cool the longer we lie this way—naked and connected.
Together. In the face of all the reasons we shouldn’t be.
Fuck this game.