Page 34 of Unforgettable Player

I imagine letting myself into Scout’s room and crawling into bed with him. Scout’s snores telling us she’s fast asleep as I take his face into my hands and kiss him. Sliding my hand under the blanket and feeling his warm skin against my palm.

Fuck, what is wrong with me? I run my hand over my face and head to the kitchen to grab a drink. I hesitate over the OJ for a second, thinking about all that sugar and liquid calories. How sluggish I felt in the last practice. How much faster those kids will be than me in a few years.

The lock on the front door snicks open. I close the fridge and spin around, heart pounding in my ears.

By the time Elliot’s let himself into the house, I’ve come out to join him in the hallway.

He freezes with his keys in hand when he sees me. I study him, trying to read his expression. Did the date go well? I’m so relieved not to find him grinning like a lovesick teenager that I could cry.

He looks … tired. Tired because he had the most boring night of his life? Or tired because he spent the last few hours having sex with Cute Bookstore Guy?

“Connor,” he says at the same time I ask him how his date went.

He looks down, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “It was … okay.”

Okay … good, that’s good.

“Why are you smiling?” he asks.

“Honestly?”

He nods.

“I was jealous.”

He blinks at me.

“Why are you surprised?”

“I …” He shakes his head. “It’s just crazy that you’d be jealous.”

“Why?” I frown.

He bites his lip. It forces me to focus on his mouth. How good he tasted when I kissed him. I take a step closer, close enough to touch him. He looks up at me, his hair in his eyes, worn in that messier style he’s been wearing it in recently. I reach out and brush it out of his face, leaving my fingers in his hair as I repeat my question. “Why are you surprised that I’m jealous?”

“Because you’re you and I’m⁠—”

I don’t let him finish that sentence. Instead, I slide my hand down to cup his face and kiss him. Unlike last time, this kiss isn’t hesitant or unsure. This kiss knows exactly what it wants.

His back bumps against the door as we take a step together. I press my chest against his body, feeling his heat pulse through me. His hand is on my hand, cupping his face. My tongue in his mouth. Tasting Sprite and popcorn.

I pull away, admiring how plump his lips look and how wrecked his hair is. “Did you kiss Cute Bookstore Guy?”

He shakes his head.

“Why not?”

“I didn’t want to.”

I cradle his face in both hands and dive back in, ignoring the evidence of his date and focusing on him instead. His lips, his tongue, the graze of his teeth.

Elliot puts his arms around me and slides his hand under my shirt, dropping his keys. His fingers are a little cool from being outside. My skin is on fire. He grasps and scratches with blunt nails, hands fanning out over my shoulder blades.

When I grind against him, I can feel him getting hard. The first time I ever felt another guy’s hard cock against me was such a thrill. There was a mix of fear and desire I hadn’t felt since I lost my virginity to a girl in high school. I’d told myself that being with a guy was a novelty. That the thrill would wear off. And it did, to a degree. Though it never got boring. But this … this is like the first everything all over again.

I pull away enough to see his swollen lips and feel his breath on my face. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful, Eli.”

He squeezes his eyes closed, like my words are hurting him. “Connor, don’t.”