Draw Play: A Sports Romance Read online

  “Yeah.”

  “And you understand the play?”

  “Macbeth? Yeah.”

  “You’ll be okay. Just keep saying everything is a result of greed and guilt. That’s usually the right answer with that play.”

  I laughed to myself. Claire wasn’t wrong.

  We got to her room, and she got to work right away. “You can sit at Jess’s desk if you want. Or you can sit on my bed. It’s a little small, though.”

  “I’ll take the bed.” I sat with my back against the wall, legs hanging over the side. Dorm beds were so small. I was used to the double bed back at the frat house, and even that was a little small sometimes for my big frame.

  I flipped through Macbeth and looked through the notes I typed on my laptop. Damned if it wasn’t the best method I had ever used—I did remember more, because I had typed them out, and it was easier to follow the train of thought since nothing was abbreviated or scribbled.

  “What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?” I asked, taking a break at one point.

  “Romeo and Juliet,” she said, not even thinking twice.

  “Really? I expected you to say something less … popular.”

  She smiled. “Oh? What, I’m always so hoity-toity?”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Another word for a snob,” she smirked.

  “Oh. And sort of? You sure about that?”

  “Thanks, Jake.” She gave me a thumbs up.

  “Nah, I’m kidding,” I grinned. “I thought you would pick something that was a little less covered, is all. I mean, everybody reads that one. It’s like the Shakespeare play for high school kids. Like the teachers want to warn them away from sex or something.”

  She laughed. “They were married when they had sex, though.”

  “Okay, so they want to warn kids away from falling in love.”

  “Do you think they were in love? Really?”

  “Don’t you?” I put the laptop aside.

  “I don’t. I think they were in lust. Teenagers fall in lust all the time. But love? Eh, love’s deeper than that. It’s not all racing blood and pounding hearts. It’s connection. How could they have connected so quickly, and so young? They took what their bodies were going through—hardcore lust—and misinterpreted it as love. Then, the way teenagers do, they acted irrationally.”

  “Huh. I never thought of it that way.” I eyed her up. “I never assumed you were unromantic.”

  “I never said I was. Who doesn’t want to be swept up in something like that? But when you’re swept up, crazy things can happen. I mean, how many kids in the world have said, ‘Mom and Dad, I’ll hate you forever if you don’t let me date so-and-so. I’ll kill myself if I can’t be with them!’ Do they? Who knows? But is it right? Probably not.”

  “You want to get swept up in something like that?”

  She blushed. “Like I said, who doesn’t?”

  The room felt hot all of a sudden. I looked around, trying to find a way to change the subject. Her room was smaller than I thought it would be. “Wow. Dorm rooms are so fucking small,” I said, looking around.

  “You never lived in the dorms?”

  “No, I joined the frat in freshman year. I’m in because I’m on the football team. I’ve been living there ever since then.”

  “Wow.” She leaned back in the chair at her desk. “I don’t mean to be insulting—I really don’t—but that’s sort of a limited experience, wouldn’t you say?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Well, like, you never got to live in a dorm, with different types of people. You’ve always been right there in that frat, with the same people. Sure, they come and go as they graduate and new guys start school. But there’s nothing … else. Like in my case, I live with an actress. It’s interesting because she tells me all the things she does for her classes. Writing, building sets, and making costumes. That’s interesting. It’s not all football.”

  There it was, thinking we wouldn’t have a fight.

  “You have this way of making things sound like insults, even when you don’t mean them as insults. I could say the same thing about you. You’ve never been inside a frat house; you’ve never been to a frat party. I bet you’ve never been to a party, period. Right?”

  She turned red and looked at the floor.

  “See? I’m right. You sit in this small room all the time, studying. Big deal. You live in a dorm. I actually go other places, I see things. Like when we have games at other schools. Or when I go to parties, and I meet people there. I have fun. What do you do? Talk about limited experiences.”

  “You can be a dick sometimes, Jake.” she mumbled.

  “Me? Really?”

  “I wasn’t trying to insult you. I really wasn’t. I just think you’re more than a football player who goes to parties, is all. That was what I meant.”

  We both went quiet. I thought about what Claire said for a long time. “Nah, that’s not what you meant.”

  “Yes, it is!” She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “You don’t get it, do you? I’ve been beating my brains out, trying to make you see how smart and valuable you are. You’re not just another stupid jock, but that’s all you allow yourself to be. I don’t know who messed you up, but somebody did, and they did a good job.”

  “Wow.” I scratched my head. “Why are you even crying?”

  “Because you hurt my feelings!” She wiped her cheeks with the palm of her hands. “I’m a person! I’m only trying to help you, and you lash out at me and make me feel fucking terrible about myself. I was only trying to get you to see things another way. That was all.”

  “Why do you even care about me?”

  “Why not?” She looked at me, and I looked back at her.

  For the first time, I saw all of her. I had gotten so used to her, and so comfortable around her in a short period, that it was easy for me to forget she was a girl.

  I got off her bed and knelt by the chair. She turned away from me.

  “Just leave me alone, Jake. It’s whatever.”

  “Hey. Hey, come on. Don’t be like that.” I took her by the chin, turning her head to me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off like that. You’re right—it was rude, and I apologize, Claire.”

  She was still crying, and I felt terrible. Who was I, thinking I could judge her? She had never done anything but try to help me.

  “You really think that way about me? That I’m not just a football player?”

  “Of course, I do. Geez, do you think I do this for fun?”

  “No, I believe you do it for money.”

  “I’ve already done what I needed to do for the money. I taught you how to study and do your best. You’re taking it from there. I could sit back and coast, now. But I don’t. Because you’re worth more than just coasting to me.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I rocked back on my heels, away from her. She turned red, pulling out a handful of tissues from the tissue box on her desk.

  “Sorry. I’m overly emotional today, I guess. I’m so upset about the bathroom getting backed up.” She blew her nose while I chuckled.

  “It’s okay. I made you feel like shit, and that’s not cool. It’s completely my fault, and I would have been upset if somebody talked to me that way, too. You deserved to flip out on me.”

  “I must look like shit,” she whispered.

  “No, you don’t. You don’t at all.”

  What was I doing? It was insanity. It felt like she hypnotized me. Did she hypnotize me? She must have done something, because the next thing I knew, I was leaning toward her.

  She leaned toward me.

  Our lips touched.

  12

  Claire

  I couldn’t believe it was happening. My head spun, my knees were weak. I thought I might pass out. I hoped I didn’t. It would be just like me to do something like that.

  I never thought he would kiss me. It was the last thing on my mind. Who would want to kiss a
girl when she was all snotty and teary? I couldn’t imagine. But there he was, leaning toward me, and my heart almost stopped in that last split second before our mouths met.

  When they did, it felt like the entire world burst open into a ball of light and fire. It felt so right, though I couldn’t imagine why.

  All I could do was give into it.

  His lips were firm but soft. They moved over mine as he moved closer to me. I opened my legs enough to let him kneel between them, and he wrapped his arms around my waist when he did my arms circled his neck. The kiss deepened. I sighed when I felt his tongue dart around my lips. I opened my mouth, letting him inside. When his tongue touched mine, sparks of electricity went off throughout my body—mostly between my legs, where it was suddenly sweltering and very wet.

  He moaned, crushing my body to his. I held on to him with my legs. I wanted more. I needed him. It was all so unexpected and exciting—I felt like a different person. It seemed natural to go with it, to see where we could take it.

  So when he stood, pulling me up with him, I didn’t hesitate. When he positioned himself against me, his hardness skewering my hip, I didn’t pull away. Instead, I pressed myself right back against him. I moaned, his mouth muffling the sound. He pulled me tighter to him, almost growling. We were saying so much without saying a word.

  Holy shit! This is actually happening, I thought as he turned my back to the bed, he then lowered me onto it. He broke the kiss long enough to pull the yellow UM T-shirt over his head and toss it to the floor. When I first saw his body, my eyes couldn’t help but widen. I didn’t think bodies like his existed outside of fantasies.

  I reached for him without thinking about it, my fingertips skimming the rippling muscles of his tanned chest and abs. I ran them over his shoulders, down his arms. His body was a work of art. I held on to his massive biceps as he lowered himself over me. My heart raced in anticipation, and I held my breath.

  He kissed me again, deeply, passionately, both of us grunting and moaning in a breathless frenzy. I felt his bulge between my legs, where he rested against me and knowing it was there only turned me on more. I moved my hips, searching for it. He drove it against me, and I gasped, breaking our kiss. He was so big, I could tell. Passion rushed through me. I let out a faint cry, one I didn’t recognize as coming from me.

  His mouth traveled down my neck, setting a trail of fire, which extended down to my clavicle, then my chest. My nipples grew hard in anticipation.

  He kissed the tops of my breasts, melting me. I moaned, holding his head close, pushing myself upward to meet his mouth. I was desperate, greedy for more. He had freed something inside me, and it begged for satisfaction.

  He slid the straps of my tank over my shoulders, and I pulled my arms from them. He took the fabric with his teeth then slowly lowered it over my breasts. My heart nearly stopped. I was so thrilled, waiting for his next move. My white bra came into view next.

  His hand slid over my chest, then around to my back. I rolled to the side, and he unclasped the hooks like a pro. I wondered how much practice he’d had, but the panic that quickly set in when I realized what was about to happen pushed other thoughts aside.

  “Jake, hang on a second, please.” I tried to catch my breath.

  “What is it? Did I do something wrong?”

  “No, no, you didn’t. Trust me. I just … I’m a little nervous.”

  “About what? Being undressed?”

  I nodded, feeling like such an idiot.

  He only smiled. “It’ll be okay. If you don’t want me to, I get it. But I want to. I want to see you and taste you.”

  His words stirred new depths of desire. They held so much promise. Yes. I wanted to be seen, to be felt. I nodded my head and closed my eyes, and he pulled the bra away from me. His low, animal growl told me what I needed to know. His tongue flicking at my nipple said everything else.

  “Oh, yes!” I whispered, arching my back. It was unreal. I had no idea. While his mouth worked on one, his hand worked on the other, touching and kneading, until I writhed beneath him. He ground into me again, and this time, I humped back. We moved together, desperate for satisfaction.

  “Yes, baby,” he whispered, sliding a hand up my skirt.

  I gasped as his strong hand made its way up my quivering thighs. I couldn’t help but softly whimper; he cupped my mound through my panties.

  “So warm and wet,” he whispered as he rubbed through the thin cotton. I went crazy, riding his hand, grinding against it, his mouth still working on my breasts and neck, my fingers tangled in his hair, then digging into his shoulders as I climbed higher and higher … until … it all shattered around me, and I screamed softly, my body shaking. The scent of his intoxicating woodsy cologne and his animalistic flesh put me into a mild frenzy.

  “Oh my God…” I moaned, trembling.

  He held me for a minute as I recovered, and I could have kissed him for it. I did, actually, thanking him.

  “No need to thank me,” he murmured, then drove his hips down again. My spark turned into a flame again, so quickly. I moaned, running my hands up his back, over his shoulders.

  “Yes,” I whispered. It was the only thing I could think to say. I had no idea how to act. How did a woman ask a man to enter her? I didn’t think she said it in so many words. It wasn’t very sexy.

  He did the talking for me. “Do you want to?” he asked, his breath coming in sharp gasps.

  “Yes,” I said again.

  Jake’s eyes lit up, and I pulled him to me for a quick kiss before watching him strip off the rest of his clothes. Off came the shorts. Then the black Calvin Klein boxers. I gasped softly when I saw his erect member spring free.

  He took his time with me, going more slowly than he had with himself. I unzipped my skirt, which he pulled over my legs. I sat up, raising my arms so he could remove my tank. I wrapped my arms around his waist for a moment, kissing his abs and inhaling his flesh. He moaned and stroked my head, then pulled it back so his mouth could meet mine again. While he kissed me, he lowered me back to the pillow.

  The panties were all I had left. I held my breath as Jake slid them down. That was it. He took me in with his eyes, his hands, kissing me again, getting me ready.

  I waited until he had a condom ready before I opened my legs, and he lowered his hips until his veiny, engorged member was lined up with me.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  This was it. No going back. I nodded. I had felt tremendous pressure before he pushed into me.

  “Jake!” I gasped, biting down on his shoulder.

  “You okay?”

  I could only nod again, squeezing my eyes shut. It had been a very long time, and he was enormous.

  “Please, keep going,” I whispered. I had to adjust, was all. Already, a deep, warm pleasure had started to build. Its origin was Jake’s thick, long rod as it moved in and out of me.

  “Yes … yes…” I gasped, rolling my head from side to side. It was almost too good. I never knew it could feel like that—my only experience had been underwhelming, to say the least. This was something entirely new, something incredible and amazing and sweet and sensual.

  Somewhere in my consciousness, I heard him groaning and grunting above me. The sound of his pleasure intensified my own so that after a short while we both cried out as his thrusts got harder, deeper, and faster.

  “Yes … like that…” I whimpered, too afraid to tell him what I needed but desperate for it nonetheless. I whispered my need, begging for more. All of him.

  I felt tightening in my core again, and I welcomed it. I didn’t want the moment to end, but I needed the almost unbearable pleasure to stop. I needed a release.

  “Yes! Oh God, Jake!” I screamed softly as I came, holding him as close as I could, my body instinctively curling around him. He thrust once, twice, and then came with me. His cries touched something deep inside me. He was totally naked, totally vulnerable. I had never seen him like that, and it was so precious to me.
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br />   That was it. It was over. I wished we could start again, but I didn’t dare hope for so much.

  I felt him leave me, and I sighed to myself. He rolled onto his side, facing me, his chest rising and falling as he caught his breath.

  I didn’t know what to do next. I was on my back, staring up at the ceiling. I reached down, fumbling around until I found the sheets at the bottom of the bed. I pulled them over me, clutching them to my chest.

  Holy cow. That just happened.

  Did he expect me to be cool about it? Should I act like it was no big deal? Should I roll toward him or snuggle up close to him? Should I get up and offer him a sandwich? No—I didn’t have a kitchen. I was totally out to sea.

  I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. His eyes were closed, his body uncovered. He was a chiseled masterpiece from head to toe. I could hardly believe the body I’d been drooling over for weeks was in my bed—naked, at that.

  My body still hummed in the aftermath of the grand climaxes he gifted me with. I couldn’t thank him enough for those. I was sure I shouldn’t, either.

  What was I supposed to do next?

  13

  Jake

  Shit. I had no idea what to do next.

  I hadn’t planned on that happening. I didn’t know I wanted it to happen until I was close to Claire, feeling sorry for making her cry. It all happened so fast after that. One minute I was trying to comfort her. The next minute we were kissing and my body took over after that.

  How would she act? Would it be some awkward thing where we didn’t know what to say to each other? Would she think it was weird if I left? I wanted to leave. I wanted to get the hell away from her before I did something stupid again.

  Leaving would be stupid, too. I knew that. It would hurt Claire even more. Would I ever do the right thing by her? It seemed like no matter what I did, it was the wrong thing.

  I silently cursed myself as we lay there together. My eyes were still closed, so I didn’t know what she was doing. She was silent, I could tell that much. Maybe she fell asleep? Did girls do that? I had never been with a girl who didn’t either get up right away—usually because I told her to—or try to cuddle. I wasn’t a fan of cuddling. I didn’t know a man who was.