Thrown: Studs in Spurs, Book 6 (5 page)

“Oh my God.” Aaron’s eyes widened. “Skeet, have you never been with a girl?”

“That’s not… I mean I’ve…” Skeeter let out a breath. This was harder to admit out loud than he’d thought it would be. “All right, technically I haven’t done
everything
.”

Aaron stood silent, his mouth hanging open before he pulled his jaw closed. “But after that event when my sister was visiting, you and that girl were in the truck for like an hour.”

“Yeah, and we made out. That’s it.”

The furrow in Aaron’s brow remained. “So like what? You’re waiting for marriage or something?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then what are you waiting on?”

Skeeter let out a breath. “I guess I just never felt like it was the right time. Or the right girl. Hell, I don’t know. It just hasn’t happened yet. That’s all.”

“This is a pretty freaking huge revelation here, Skeets. We’ve been traveling together, sharing rooms, together day and night for years and you never told me this?” Aaron shook his head. “Now I feel like I know nothing about you.”

“Stop. You know me. It just never came up. And you never brought me a takeout girl before.” Skeeter tried to make a joke, but Aaron didn’t smile.

“So what do we do? You want me to leave? Take the girls and go—hell, I don’t know—somewhere?”

“No. Just stay. We’ll have a little party and then…see what happens.”

Aaron’s stare kept Skeeter pinned. “You sure you’re okay with that? I mean I don’t want to be the one to force you into breaking your vow of chastity or whatever.”

“Shut up. It’s not a vow.” And the word
chastity
seemed as bad if not worse than that other word he hated so much when used in relation to his technical status—virgin. Skeeter let out a loud breath. “Let’s just get back to the room. We’ve been gone awhile.”

Aaron hesitated before nodding. “All right. And no pressure, but if, you know, it turns out tonight is the night, there’s a box of condoms in my duffle bag.”

Skeeter’s first time was not going to be with a girl he’d just met and with Aaron in the room. That thought must have shown on his face because Aaron shook his head. “Crap. You’re not okay with this.”

“Aaron, stop. I’m fine. It’s all right.”

“Can you at least, you know, kiss her? Maybe it’ll take your mind off…things.”

Things
such as the fact he was no longer riding with the tour. That girl’s kisses would have to be pretty magical to wipe that knowledge completely from his mind, but maybe he should give it a try. What did he have to lose? She seemed nice enough and she’d said she thought he was cute.

“All right. I might kiss her.”

Aaron visibly brightened. “So you’ll give her a chance?”

“We’ll see how things go and take it from there.” Skeeter was still not convinced these girls had come to their room for anything more than some drinks with a couple of bull riders so they could tell their friends about it in the morning, no matter what Aaron hoped for.

“Good enough. Let’s go back.” Aaron took a step toward the hall as he mumbled, “A freaking virgin.”

God, how Skeeter hated that word. Maybe it was time he ditched that status, but it sure wasn’t going to be tonight. He blew out a breath and followed Aaron. Ready or not, they had a party to throw and two girls to entertain.

Ahead of him, Aaron reached the door first. He juggled the coke bottles in one hand while sliding the keycard into the door with the other. “We’re back. Time to get this party started.”

Skeeter braced himself and followed Aaron inside. He glanced at the brunette. His girl for the night. Wonderful.

Things might have felt different if Skeeter had gone to the bar with Aaron. If he’d spotted this girl eyeing him from across the room and had made the decision to talk to her on his own. If she’d decided she liked him and then wanted to come back to his room. But Skeeter hadn’t done any of that and now here she was perched on the edge of his bed watching him and he’d have to deal with it or risk ruining everyone’s night.

He put the ice bucket down on the desk while Aaron gathered the glasses the hotel had provided—two next to the ice bucket on the desk and two more from in the bathroom. Since Aaron was playing bartender, Skeeter figured the least he could do was talk to his girl.

He moved to stand next to the bed. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She smiled. “I stole another french fry while you were gone. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. Have as many as you want.”

“Thanks. Wanna sit?” She patted the bed next to her, her big brown eyes focused on him.

“Uh, sure.” Skeeter swallowed and sat. This girl was cute, and she seemed sweet. He needed to stop holding it against her that she’d been his unasked-for consolation prize from Aaron and give her a chance.

“Here you go. One for you and one for you.” Aaron handed a glass to each of them. He winked at Skeeter and then turned back to his date, who was sitting on his bed.

Vainly wishing for a bigger room, one with chairs or sofas to sit on rather than just beds, Skeeter took a sip of his drink. The cold liquid slid down his throat even as the alcohol blazed a hot trail all the way to his belly. Aaron had poured a strong drink and Skeeter knew why. He was trying to loosen him up so he’d relax with this girl.

Skeeter turned to her now. “So, uh, were you at the event tonight?”

“No. We were at the bar because there was line-dancing earlier. We didn’t even know about any event until a bunch of guys in cowboy hats and boots came walking in. What was it? Some sort of rodeo?”

“Bull ride,” Skeeter corrected. He saw from her blank expression she didn’t know the difference. Maybe that was a good thing. If he was going to get to know this girl better, it would help his psyche if she hadn’t seen him hit the dirt. Hadn’t heard the announcers talk about his getting thrown off the tour. The amplified words were still too fresh in his memory. Skeeter forced his focus back to Tammy and searched for more small talk. “So, uh, you girls go line-dancing a lot?”

“Yeah. About once a month, I guess. It’s a lot of fun. You ever do it?”

“Nah, I’m not much of a dancer—” Skeeter lost his train of thought as movement across the room captured his attention. Aaron was leaning toward the nightstand, where he put both his and the girl’s glasses down. He caught Skeeter’s eye and gave him a thumbs up before he turned to face the girl on his bed. Skeeter tried to remember what the conversation had been about as Aaron’s mouth covered the girls. “Um, so you go dancing a lot then?”

When he tore his attention away from the action in the next bed, he found Tammy smiling at him. “You don’t have to be nervous.”

“I’m not ner—” He couldn’t deny it totally. “All right, maybe I am a little. I wasn’t expecting…company.”

“Sometimes surprises are good.” Her gaze held his. “At least, I hope I’m a nice surprise.”

“You are. Very nice.”

Just feet from him, Aaron and Robin went from sitting to lying down. Skeeter took another sip of his drink. He glanced at Tammy to see if she’d noticed what was happening mere feet from them.

She smiled and took his glass from his hand. She put it along with hers on the table between the beds. “It will feel less awkward if we were doing what they’re doing.”

That point was up for debate as far as Skeeter was concerned, although he couldn’t imagine much that could be any more awkward than this situation he was in right now.

As Aaron reached for the button on his girl’s jeans, Skeeter yanked his gaze away, bringing it back to Tammy. She smiled and grabbed both of his hands. “You’re sweet. I like shy guys.”

Then she’d really love him. Skeeter could feel his cheeks grow hot. He was probably as red as the design on his bedspread. “Um, thanks. I just want you to know that if you want to go home—now, later, whenever—I’ve only had that one sip to drink so I’m fine. I can drive you, no problem.”

“Okay, but I’m not looking to go anywhere right now.” She leaned in and Skeeter decided it was time to man up. To stop being a wimp and acting like a damn virgin, even if he was one.

He’d made it clear she didn’t have to stay if she didn’t want to, but she’d chosen to anyway. Tammy liked him. He liked her too. At least what he knew of her. Really, what harm could a little kiss do? And like it or not, Aaron had been right. In the last five minutes or so, Skeeter hadn’t thought about the tour or his dimming future in the sport of bull riding. Having Tammy here had been so distracting, he hadn’t thought of anything but her.

Skeeter leaned forward to meet her. Soft, warm lips pressed against his. He closed his eyes and tried to let all of his thoughts and worries go.

It turned out to be easier to do than he thought it would be. Especially when Tammy slipped her hands beneath the bottom of his T-shirt. As her lips worked his, she continued the path, snaking her arms around him until her body pressed against his. He put his hands on her waist and felt the heat of her skin where her shirt didn’t quite meet the waist of her jeans.

The scent of her filled him—some light perfume that reminded him of the flowers on the bush his mother loved so much back home. It was nice. Her kisses were slow and soft. This was pretty good actually. Kissing. Touching her. Feeling her hands, warm against his skin.

They remained sitting upright, even though he was well aware of Aaron and Robin horizontal on the other bed, doing things Skeeter could only imagine. He tried to block out their presence. That got easier when Tammy slipped her tongue between his lips. It brought his attention fully back to her rather than listening to the sounds coming from across the room.

Breaking the lip-lock, Tammy put a hand on each of his shoulders and leaned into Skeeter, pushing him back onto the mattress. She knee-walked until she moved over him. With her braced over him, he didn’t have much choice of where to put his hands. The swell of her hips seemed like as good a place as any to rest them.

Sounds filtered over from the other side of the room. Skeeter could tell things were getting a little more heated in Aaron’s bed just as Tammy leaned in and kissed him again. He closed his eyes and tried harder to ignore Aaron and Robin as Tammy’s mouth worked his. He and Aaron were best friends, yes, but some things a man didn’t want to share with even his closest buddy.

Cupping her head with his hand, Skeeter tried to relax into the kiss. He stroked her tongue with his. She moaned and the sound had him growing hard against the zipper of his jeans. Apparently his body had no issue with the fact there were far too many people in this room.

Skeeter heard rustling in Aaron’s bed, and then a click as someone switched off the lamp. He sensed the darkness in the room even before he cracked open one eyelid and saw it. He sure as hell didn’t want to see what was going on with Aaron any more than he wanted Aaron to see him, but Skeeter wasn’t sure he was ready for the lights to be off. Being in the dark seemed to escalate things to the next level.

Tammy reached for his belt and he didn’t have much brainpower left to worry about Aaron or the lights. As she worked to unfasten his buckle in the dark, he found himself holding his breath. She got the job done and then unfastened the button of his jeans. There was no doubt what was coming after that. Tammy went the next step and slid down his zipper. She reached beneath the denim and Skeeter dragged in a ragged breath.

In spite of his current status as a virgin, he wasn’t inexperienced. When he’d had a serious girlfriend in high school, they’d done everything except have sex. And they’d come close to doing it once, but he’d stopped himself. She was younger than he was and he’d been about to graduate. It hadn’t seemed like the right time to take it to that next level. And they’d had no birth control whatsoever.

In hindsight, it had been a smart decision. He’d left to travel with the circuit, and she’s stayed at home to finish high school. Now and then, he’d run into her in town while he was home between events. They’d say hi and that’s it. If they’d been meant to be together, they would have reconnected by now. They hadn’t.

If having sex hadn’t been right back then, with a girl he’d cared about and was with exclusively for half of his senior year, it sure as hell wasn’t right now. Not with a stranger and his best friend in the room. But there was that whole gray area—the things they could do that were sexual, but not sex. Things his body was apparently ready, willing and able to do, judging by his hard-on.

It had been a while since he’d felt a girl’s hands on him. His body reacted to just the promise of her touch now. Tammy ran her fingers along the waistband of his underwear—his formerly lucky black boxer briefs that he bought in bulk because he’d won his first event while wearing a pair just like them.

Not so lucky anymore. That thought fled when she slipped beneath the cotton to grasp his length in her fist. Skeeter hissed in a breath through his nose at that first skin-on-skin contact.

She stroked him, slow and gentle. The feel of her hand on him was enough to make him wish they were alone so he could fully express his appreciation to her verbally. But they weren’t, so Skeeter would have to be quiet and show her instead. Grasping her head in both hands, he worked her mouth with his. In the back of his mind, it wasn’t lost on him how easily he’d slipped from protesting the girls even being in his room, to enjoying it as one of them stroked him. Things had moved fast.