The Perfect Game (11 page)

His lips were instantly back on mine, his tongue passionately exploring the inside of my mouth. With one easy thrust, I felt him inside me. I inhaled quickly, a pleasure-filled moan escaping my lips.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his movement slowing.

“I’m fine, keep going.” I closed my eyes, wanting more.

“Oh my God, you feel incredible.” He breathed heavily against my ear. “Holy shit, I may never recover from this.” 

His hands pressed against my shoulders, his muscles flexing as he worked his body gently in and out of mine. I moved my hips in time with his, causing a throaty growl to escape from within him.

I opened my eyes and raked my fingers through his hair. I followed the lines of his body down his back where beads of sweat were pooling. The muscles in his back tensed as I reached my arms around him. My hands came to rest on his backside and I pulled him deeper into me with every thrust. Another throaty moan and he pressed his sweaty cheek against mine, his labored breathing whooshing in and out of my ear. 

His breath was hot against my neck. “I’ve never loved anyone before, so go easy on me.”

I turned my head to face him and pressed my mouth against his. “Jack,” I whispered with a sigh. “Don’t stop.” I continued pulling him to me as our bodies slid against each other. His thrusts caused a tension to build inside me, growing quickly as I felt myself striving to meet them desperately, grasping for something I’d never experienced quite this strongly before.

My body tingled everywhere, from my scalp all the way down to my toes. A heated wave of sensation and emotion swept over me, engulfing me as my body seized in a contraction of pulses, all centered at my core.

His movements quickened with urgency in response to mine, and I lifted my hips to rise and fall in time with his. “Cassie…” He stared into my eyes and I smiled bravely, yet for a moment, I felt completely exposed. 

“It’s okay,” I said softly, and tightened my intimate grip around him. He bit his bottom lip and his eyes narrowed as I felt him explode and pulsate inside me. He quivered before relaxing and allowing his body to fall on top of mine.

“I…can’t…breathe,” I complained playfully, pushing at his shoulders. 

“Sorry.” He laughed and rolled onto his side. “That…was amazing,” he said between labored breaths. 

He leaned into me, kissing my nose before propping up on one arm. “I love you. I’m sure I’ll fuck it up because I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Just promise me that you’ll be patient with me. Grade me on a learning curve or something?”

“You should really go into sales, you know that?” I teased, rolling my eyes.

“Promise me, Kitten. Patience.” 

“Only if you promise not to do anything that embarrasses me or makes me look stupid.” 

“Deal.” He grinned and I leaned in to kiss his dimples, my limbs tangled up with his. 

I’ll admit I was scared. We’d crossed the line and my heart would never be the same, no matter what happened from here on out. But if I wanted him to believe in us, I had to believe in him.

*****

I drove Jack to the baseball stadium at five the next morning. When we arrived, I looked over at the rumbling bus and Jack’s arriving teammates. I laughed when I noticed Jamie, a girlfriend of one of Jack’s teammates, driving a monster-sized truck. She looked terrified behind the wheel and her expression brought me relief since I assumed my face probably looked the same. Glancing over at me, she shrugged her shoulders, and I waved in response. 

Jack hopped out of his death machine, grabbed his bags, and sauntered over to the driver’s side where I reluctantly sat. 

“Take care of my pride and joy.” He grinned, his dimples making an appearance. 

“You know it’s just going to sit in the parking lot at my apartment, right?” I shrugged.

He laughed before grabbing the back of my neck and pulling me toward him. “I’ll text you when I get there.” His mouth covered mine as hoots and hollers filtered into the air. He pulled away, turned around, and flipped off his teammates. 

“Amateurs.” He laughed.

“It’s the first time they’ve ever been able to give you shit. They’re excited.” I pressed my lips together and smiled.

He leaned in, giving me one last kiss before walking away, his body disappearing behind his two large bags.

EIGHT

I sat in my Comm Law class as my professor droned on about the
legal regulations of mass communication
as it applied to freedom of speech and the press. Instead of taking notes, my
mind drift
ed to thoughts of Jack and our night together. I absentmindedly placed my pen near my mouth and started chewing on the cap, my eyes blurring over. 

Maryse, the gorgeous brunette next to me, nudged me with her elbow, breaking my trance. I turned to look at her and she lifted her chin toward the front of the class where our teacher was writing down topics for our next test.

“Thanks,” I whispered with a sideways glance.

“No problem.” She smiled. “You’re dating Jack Carter, right?” I nodded. “Screw this class, I’d be thinking about him too.” She giggled quietly. 

I stifled a laugh and let out a long, drawn-out breath, knowing I’d been caught. Our professor ended his lecture and Maryse stood up when I did, following behind me as the class dispersed. Once outside, she appeared next to me, her full hair bouncing with each step. “So how did you get the elusive Jack Carter to fall for you?”

“I really don’t know. I guess you’d have to ask him that.” I smiled and dropped my sunglasses over my eyes.

“Every girl at this school has been chasing him for years,” she said, acting as though this was new information to me.

“Maybe that’s just it. I didn’t chase him.” 

Her eyes widened. “Ahhh, so he chased you? That probably would be a first for him.” She applied a shiny gloss to her lips and puckered before pushing the tube back into her pocket. “Guys love the chase. It’s once you’re caught that you have to be careful.”

I glimpsed at her. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just saying a guy like Jack Carter isn’t fit to be tied down. I can see him enjoying a challenge, which is what you were. But you’re not anymore ’cause he has you. Where’s the fun in that?” 

I didn’t respond, unsure of what to say in my defense. What if she was right? What if it was all a game to him? At first he couldn’t have me, then he got me. Then I wouldn’t give it up, but I just did. There were no more challenges. 

The pathway split and Maryse peeled away to head in the other direction. “I have another class right now. Media Ethics. Snore.” She rolled her eyes. “I’ll see you Monday. Don’t forget to study!”

“See you Monday,” I answered with half a smile as my mind raced.

I wandered toward the student union, noticing the lack of activity that normally bustled around it. It was weird to admit that a sports team had that much of a presence on campus, but they really did. The lack of energy when they were gone was noticeable. 

When I opened the door, the usual obnoxious sound of girlish chatter was absent. I glanced around the almost empty space and laughed to myself as I headed toward Melissa and Dean. If the team wasn’t here, then the fan-girls weren’t either. That revelation was almost as weird as it was disturbing.

I hadn’t taken two steps before an overly friendly blonde reached out a tanned arm to stop me.

“Hi. It’s Cassie, right? I’m Mollie, and I was just wondering if you and Jack were still dating?” She made sure her voice was loud enough for her three eavesdropping friends to hear.

I pinched my eyebrows together, my body tensing. “Why?”

“Well, it’s just that my friend from
Texas
sent me this photo last night from her cell. That
is
Jack, right?” she asked, holding her phone out where I could see it and giggling while her friends anxiously waited for my reaction. 

I leaned toward the phone and squinted at the grainy photo on its screen. It was definitely Jack holding open a hotel room door as a skinny, dark-haired girl walked through it. 

“And this one too.” She scrolled to another photo of Jack smiling while closing the door behind his new friend.

I fought off the heat rising in my body. “It looks like him.” I sniffed in dismissal and forced myself to hold it together while I walked away with my head held high.

The sound of giggling echoed in my ears as I forced back the tears that burned in my eyes. I refused to let the mean girls see me crumble. 

I strode toward Dean, my gaze burning holes through him. “What was that?” he asked when I got close enough to hear.

I dropped into a seat at their table. “That was a picture of some chick walking into Jack’s hotel room.” My eyes began blurring from the tears that threatened to fall. “And then another one of him closing the door behind her. Did I mention the smile plastered all over his face?”

“No way.” Dean shook his head. 

“
Yes, way.”
Unease quickly spread throughout my body, making itself at home. “
Fuck.
I’m such an idiot.” 

Dean put his hands on top of mine and squeezed. “Maybe they’re old?”

“What are you talking about?” I yanked my hands away.

“There are a lot of pictures of Jack and other girls out there, Cass. Maybe they’re old?” He shrugged. 

I winced, suddenly feeling vulnerable in my surroundings as the mean girls watched me greedily like coyotes from several tables away. 

“Jack wouldn’t do that to you.” Melissa attempted to reassure my splintering ego.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” I choked out the words, my tone cold.

Melissa frowned at me with annoyance. “Why would you say that?” 

“Because she knows my brother.” Dean glanced at Melissa before looking back at me. “And she’s waiting for him to screw up because he keeps telling her he’s going to.”

“Well, for the record, I want it noted that I don’t believe it. Not for one second,” Melissa said with confidence.

“I don’t either.” Dean gave me a soft smile. 

“Well, it was definitely Jack in those pictures. And the shirt he was wearing was packed in his bag. I saw it the other night.” I could no longer hold back the tears as they rolled slowly down my cheeks. Refusing to allow my tears to be fodder for the mean girls’ gossip, I rose from the table and darted into the bathroom. 

Once I was safely behind the locked stall door, I let the teardrops fall. My heart ached inside my battered chest. I felt stupid and embarrassed for letting Jack Carter ever get close to me. 

A knock on the stall door caused my breath to catch. “Cass?” Melissa asked in a soft voice. Without a word, I unlocked the latch and she pushed the door open. She took one look at my tear-stained face before grabbing me in her arms. 

Hugging my best friend only made the tears fall harder. “Why would he do this? I don’t understand.”

“Cassie, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but you’re really jumping to conclusions here.” 

“You’d do the same thing if you were suddenly dating the one guy who’d never dated anyone before.” I winced, my head pounding in time with my heartbeat.

“I know it looks bad, but didn’t he call you last night?”

“So what
? He calls and texts me all the time. Doesn’t mean he can’t hook up with some girl after we get off the phone. Doesn’t mean he can’t send me a text while some random chick is in his room.” The logic made perfect sense to me.

“That’s true, Cass, but I just think you should give him a chance to explain.”

“Explain that I’ve been a complete idiot? That I got played by the biggest player on campus? You even warned me about him.” I buried my head in my hands, my chest literally aching with each breath I took.

“But I was wrong. I mean, I wasn’t wrong that he was a jerk to all those other girls. But he’s not that way with you. You know that, Cassie. There has to be some sort of explanation.” 

“Why are you defending him?” I glared at her through my sobs.

“Because I see the way he looks at you. And I hear the way he talks about you.” Melissa’s forehead creased in sympathy. 

“I don’t want to look like a fool in front of everyone! Those girls with those pictures…” I paused to gasp a sob. “I’m mortified. Do you know how embarrassing that was?”

“Those girls got exactly what they wanted. They don’t care about you. They’re so
freaking
fucking
bitter that you’re the one with Jack that they’ll do and say anything to tear you two apart. Can’t you see that?” Melissa tried to reason with me, her voice tinged with disappointment.

But nothing she said made me feel any better. I couldn’t get the image of Jack’s smiling face as he ushered the girl inside that hotel room out of my head. It was simply that easy to make me question everything and assume the worst. 

“I have to go.” I pushed past Melissa and stormed out the bathroom door. 

My mind didn’t stop racing until I got to our apartment and crashed on top of my bed. I begged my brain to shut off and pleaded for my body to find some peace in sleep. The sound of my cell phone beeping startled me. I glanced at the screen, which read
O
ne
new
text message from Jack
. My stomach dropped as I read his name. I pressed the Read button.
Heading off to the field. Call you after the game. Miss you like crazy
.