Page 25

TWENTY-THREE

JACKSON

“Okay, hear me out,” Ace says with a hiccup, downing what’s left of his third beer. The dude is a total lightweight for his size. “What if the entire Tide team fails a PED test at the same time and gets disqualified? They’d have no choice but to send us to the division series, right? Or,” he continues, waving his hand animatedly in the air, “what if the highway caves in and swallows their whole bus on the way to the airport? And they were just… poof! Gone .” His eyes go wide as he considers his own ridiculous question.

Lark sets a gentle hand on his shoulder. He stumbles for a second but recovers, steadying himself before looking over at her with hearts in his eyes. “Baby, this is why we don’t let you drink,” she says sympathetically. “You can’t handle your shit.”

“You’re pretty,” he sighs, fluttering his lashes. She rolls her eyes, pretending to be annoyed before pushing to her tiptoes and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. The whole situation would actually be hilarious if I wasn’t so fucking frustrated.

We’ve been standing in Riggs and Monroe’s kitchen for over an hour, and the entire time, Hawk has been touching Arden. Whether it’s a hand on her lower back, an arm around her waist, or her leaning into him as she sips on her wine, it’s pissing me off. Not because I’m envious that she’s giving him attention, but because I feel like I can’t do any of those things.

I trust everyone here. The guys are my brothers, and their girls are the most welcoming, non-judgmental people I’ve ever met. I don’t give a fuck if they know about us, not that I think they’d care even if they did. But would Hawk and Arden feel the same if I walked over and touched her, too? I know that if we decide to move forward as a unit, my decisions affect more than just myself. I’m okay with that, but are they? It’s been an emotional night, and while I enjoy the camaraderie of being around my teammates, I just want to hold my girl for a second.

“I have to pee,” Arden says quietly, and Hawk nods in response as she slips out of the room. I look around, noticing all the others in deep conversation before trading a look with my best friend. He lifts his chin in understanding, and I sneak away, nonchalantly making my way down the hall until I reach the bathroom. I stand there like a fucking creep, listening carefully as she flushes the toilet and turns on the faucet to wash her hands. As soon as the lock disengages, I push my way in, making her gasp in surprise as I shut the door behind me.

“Jacks, what the f?—”

I cut her off by taking her face in my hands and dropping my mouth to hers in a desperate kiss. She fists the cotton of my t-shirt as I drive my tongue past her lips, earning another hungry sound. I feel like I’m racing against the buzzer to get my fill of her before we have to go back out there and act like it isn’t killing us to be so far away from each other.

“Fuck, I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to touch you,” I say on a harsh exhale, delving back in for more as my hands slide down her body, unable to settle on one spot for long because it’s just not enough.

“Touch me. Hurry,” she whispers frantically, and it’s like music to my fucking ears as I spin her in my arms, so her back is pressed tightly to my front. Our eyes lock onto one another in the mirror, and my heart swells in my chest as I take her in. Her cheeks are flushed, her lips are swollen, and she’s so incredibly mine .

Gliding my hands down her stomach, I bring my mouth to her ear, never breaking my gaze from our reflection. “Look at us,” I tell her, dipping a hand under the waistband of her leggings and panties. “After all these years, I finally have you the way I’ve always wanted. I can’t tell you how many nights I’ve dreamed about being able to touch this pussy—to make it come all over me. And now that I can, I’m obsessed.” She whimpers as I slide down further, brushing the tip of my middle finger along her wet slit, then dragging it back up to rub soft circles on her swollen bundle of nerves. “I’ve stroked myself to the thought of what you’d sound like as I worked you toward the edge, making you so needy that you’d beg for me to fuck you.”

“Jackson. Oh my God .” She exhales a shaky breath, her hips bucking against my palm. My cock is like steel under my sweatpants, soaking the inside of my boxers with precum, but I don’t care. I literally have the girl of my dreams in the palm of my hand, and nothing else matters.

“Say my name again, baby,” I demand. “Look me in my eyes and say my fucking name when I make you come.” I’m desperate to hear it from her lips as I pick up speed, massaging her clit while it begins to spasm under my touch. I can’t look away from her face in the mirror. She’s more beautiful than ever, rocking into me until her mouth falls open and she sings my name, finding her release.

“Jackson.” It’s barely a whisper, but her pleading expression tells me everything I need to know. She wants me like I want her. Not just physically, but in every way I’ve longed for her since I was a teenager. I don’t know how, but we’re going to make this work. Me, Arden, and Hawk. I want to give her everything.

“That’s a good girl, Princess,” I praise, stroking my finger along her opening and gathering the wetness as she recovers. I pull her tightly to my body while her legs shake with aftershocks, and I can’t stop myself from ghosting gentle kisses on her face and neck as she hums in satisfaction. The words I’ve been holding back are threatening to fight their way out, but I need more time. We only just confessed our feelings for one another yesterday, and I don’t want to reveal too much, too soon—even though I’ve spent a lifetime keeping them inside.

She looks into the mirror, catching my gaze again as I pull my fingers from her panties and suck them into my mouth. My eyes roll back as the taste of her explodes on my tongue, and I’m suddenly hit with another pang of envy, because I’m sure Hawk has already licked the heaven between her legs, and now I want it, too.

“I can’t wait to eat your pussy,” I say quietly. “I can already tell I’ll never want another meal for as long as I live.” She turns her head, and I press my lips to hers, leisurely kissing her until there’s a loud knock on the door. We both startle, and she stiffens in my arms, pulling away with a hand over her mouth.

“Just a minute!” I say, widening my eyes at Arden because I have no idea what to do. Even though I think our friends would be cool with us being together, I’m not sure getting busted after hooking up in the bathroom would be a great way to inform them.

“Blake?” Ace slurs, his voice muffled by the thick wood between us. “What are you doing in there?”

“Oh my God!” Arden whisper-shouts. “This is so embarrassing! He’s going to know what we were doing!”

I chuckle quietly. “It’s fine. He’s hammered. He probably won’t even notice, and if he does, he’ll forget by the time he gets back to the kitchen. Act natural.” She opens her mouth to protest, but I yank on the door, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her into the hallway while she attempts to hide her face like she’s passing the goddamn paparazzi.

Ace’s brows bunch in confusion. “Wait. Isn’t that your—” he says, pointing at her. “I thought she was with?—”

“Alright, buddy!” I cut him off, patting him on the shoulder. “Be careful in there. See you in the kitchen, you handsome devil.” His perplexed expression fades, only to be replaced by a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, okay,” he replies. “I’ll see you in a minute.” Stepping through the door, it closes behind him and Arden breathes a sigh of relief. But I’m not feeling it. In fact, it’s the exact opposite now that we’re back out in the open.

“What’s wrong?” she asks.

I shrug. “I just hate having to keep our distance when people are around. I know everything is new, but I’m in this with you guys, and I don’t want to feel like I’m not. The whole night, I’ve watched him subtly touch you, and it sucks not being able to do the same. Will it always have to be like this?”

She grabs the fabric of my shirt, pulling me close, her expression full of understanding. “Nobody said you couldn’t touch me. The girls kind of already know what’s going on, anyway. They could tell by the way you two were looking at me, and I didn’t really deny it. Obviously, we have to be careful in public, but if you trust these guys not to out us before we’re ready, I’m okay with it.”

“I trust them,” I say with complete certainty. My teammates know how hard it is to keep our private lives private, and as much as we joke around and pull pranks, we always have each other’s backs when it comes to the women we love.

“Alright, then.” She pushes up to her toes, kissing me again as I wrap my arms around her waist and back her into the wall. Pressing into her body, I hungrily plunge my tongue into her mouth, tasting every part of her that I can. I should be able to control myself better than this, but with Arden, everything is different—more intense—and I just can’t get enough. I’m not sure if I ever will. My hands glide down, palming her ass, and just as I swallow the quiet moan that works its way up her chest, Ace opens the door and enters the hall. Once again, he looks bewildered, catching us together for the second time in five minutes. This time, there’s no hiding what we were doing.

“So,” he says, pointing between us. “You’re together.”

“Yes,” I blurt. Arden looks my way, but I don’t acknowledge it—because, yes , we are.

His lips pull to one side, contemplating my answer before focusing back on her. “But you and Hawk…”

“Also together,” I cut in. Maybe I shouldn’t be speaking for them when I’m not entirely sure where they stand, but I know my best friend, and he’s just as ready for wherever this thing leads us as I am. If there’s only a handful of people we can do it freely around right now, why waste another second holding it back?

Realization hits him—at least as well as it can, considering he’s three sheets to the goddamn wind—and a silly smile blooms across his face. But before it settles in, his eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, shit! Do you know what sounds really good right now? Hot dogs. I haven’t had a hot dog in forever. Hey, Sweets!” he yells, blowing past us and heading toward the kitchen. “We should get hot dogs!” Arden and I exchange a befuddled look before she giggles quietly, making all the tension in my body melt away now that we talked.

“C’mon, Princess,” I say, taking her by the hand and leading her back the way we came. Everyone is still deep in conversation when we arrive, barely even giving us a second look as we step up next to Hawk and he wraps a possessive arm around her waist. Keeping her hand in mine, I lean in and drop a chaste kiss to her lips, feeling the weight of the world fall off my shoulders as she smiles up at me adoringly. If any of our friends notice both gestures as they happen simultaneously, they don’t let on, continuing to turn the shitty evening into an amazing one, just like they always do after a tough loss.

The rest of the night flies by, and we’re exhausted by the time we pour ourselves into Hawk’s bed at three in the morning. I consider sleeping in my own room, but the thought of not holding Arden as she drifts off, with him stroking her hair and gently scraping his teeth along the soft skin of her shoulders, just seems wrong tonight. She deserves all of this and more, so if that means not returning to my bed, so be it.

I spent too many nights wishing I had this, and waking up without the most important people in my life beside me is no longer an option I want to accept.