Page 14

C harlotte

I look at myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a sexy nurse costume, which is apparently supposed to match Joel’s doctor’s costume. I feel a little silly, but he assured me that everyone would be dressed up for the party.

My cheeks turn pink as I remember how he kissed me in front of my class. I don’t know what it was about that kiss, but it changed something in me. It was like a veil had been lifted and I saw the world clearly for the first time.

I grab my house key and stick it in the world’s smallest pocket in the front of my outfit. The walk to Joel’s only takes five minutes, but I quickly regret not bringing a coat. By the time I knock on the door and he answers, I’m shivering.

“Hey, sexy nurse. Are you cold? Get your cute ass in here,” he demands, yanking me inside and against him, warming my body instantly with his. Somehow, just the feel of his arms around me warms me and relaxes me. This is where I’m meant to be right now.

“I forgot a coat,” I manage through the chatter of my teeth. “You f-feel s-so g-good. ” I really underestimated how cold it gets up here in the mountains in October.

I press my body closer to him, partly for the heat and partly because I love the hard lines of muscles on his torso. His hands run lines up and down my back and after a minute, I feel myself thawing.

“Come on, let’s get you a drink. It’ll warm you up,” he insists before stepping back and roaming his gaze over me. He smirks and I roll my eyes as he holds out his hand. I accept it and he leads me into the kitchen.

There are several young men standing around a counter filled with alcohol. Young women stand next to each of them, and everyone is in costumes.

“I think you’ve seen Grace, Kelsie, and Lucy around campus with me before.” He sweeps an arm out to encompass the three smiling beauties in the living room. “And these are their boyfriends and my former teammates, Emmett, Killian, and Hayes.”

I smile and wave. “Nice to officially meet you all.” There’s a round of “nice to meet you’s” and handshakes.

The tall blonde, who I think is Kelsie, chimes in. “We need to open up a bottle of something to toast the extraordinary woman who finally brought our Hendy here down to his knees.”

“Here, here!” the big guy named Killer says.

“Hey, Lottie. We just opened this bottle of wine my dad sent. He’s in Tuscany with his new girlfriend,” Grace says with a cheerful smile, pouring the dark red liquid into a Red Solo cup. Ahh. Reminds me of my uni days. “Would you like some?”

“Thanks. I love Tuscany.” I sniff the fragrant wine and then take a sip, immediately noting the varietal components. “Mmm…a Brunello di Montalcino.”

Killian looks at Joel. “Whoa, bro. Your professor knows her wines.”

Joel gives him a good punch on the arm. “Dude, she’s NOT my professor anymore.”

I feel the heat wash over my cheeks and take another fortifying drink.

“Sorry.” Killian apologies with a frown.

Grace rolls her eyes and Kelsie laughs. “Don’t mind Killer…he’s always been this dumb.”

We all chuckle but Grace sticks up for her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his tree trunk-sized neck. I don’t know what they feed this chap, but he’s a mighty big one.

“Come on, baby. We don’t have to take that from her,” she says in a soothing voice, throwing her friend a stink-eye glare, emphasized with a small raspberry noise. “Let’s go upstairs and I’ll remind you how smart you are.”

Their departure is followed by oohs and ahhs , and a “Go get ’er, Killer.”

Kelsie and Mac sit down at the large bench-style kitchen table and Joel and I take a seat across from them.

“So, Hayes, Joel tells me you’re still playing for the team as the kicker?” I ask, hoping I got that right. I have to admit, even though Joel has shared a lot with me about the team and game, I honestly find it hard to understand American football.

He nods. “Yep. And even though we don’t have our former star QB, our season is off to a good start. Isn’t that right, Coach?” Hayes grins at Joel.

“Yeah, you motherfuckers were sucking it until I showed up.”

Kelsie snorts. “Oh, Hendy. I thought you were a changed man, but you’re still full of yourself.”

“What can I say?” he says with a smirk. “When you got it, flaunt it.”

We finish the bottle of wine and Lucy and Emmett wander off from the kitchen, leaving just the four of us at the table.

“Hey, have you seen Journey around? I want to introduce her to Lottie,” Joel says to Kelsie.

She looks at the time on her phone. “I think she should be home from her date soon. They went to the Pizza Station and then to a movie.”

I was thrilled to learn that Joel had a younger sister attending CFU and found it sweet that he was so protective of her.

“I swear to God, if that hockey boy tries anything on my little sister, I will…”

I place a hand on his arm to calm him down. “Hey, why don’t you give me that tour now?”

“Okay…let me show you around.” He leans into my side and whispers in my ear, “And my bedroom.”

I follow him through the lower level of the crowded house as he introduces me to a few other former teammates and friends before we make our way upstairs. With my hand in his, he takes us down a long hallway on the second floor and opens the door at the end of it.

“I have the primary suite,” he explains, quickly shutting the door behind us, drowning out the sounds from the party below us. The only thing I can hear now is my heart thumping wildly in my chest.

I’m not sure what I expected Joel’s room to be like but definitely not this. It’s not your typical graduate student room. In it is a large four-poster mahogany bed with a dark blue comforter and matching sheets. He even has a fancy-looking throw pillow. There’s a matching dresser, two nightstands, and an antique chair and ottoman in the corner. The room’s color seems to perfectly match the sheets with a blue-on-blue striped pattern.

“Who helped you with your decor?” I ask, moving to the bureau to snoop around at his collection of photographs and trophies.

“My mom.” He laughs and walks over to the chair, removing his white lab coat and sitting down. He still wears the blue scrubs and he most definitely looks the suave doctor part.

I press a hand to my chest. “Doctor, I don’t feel well. I might need an exam.”

With a wicked grin, he crooks a finger and beckons me to him. I move with a sexy sway of my hips, while his eyes remain glued to my body. I’ve never had a man stare at me this intensely.

I stop in front of him, our knees pressed together and he leans forward to run his hand along my bare thigh. I shiver from his light touch as his hand stops just at the hem of the short dress.

“Show me where it hurts and I’ll make it all better.” His voice is deep and gravelly, and I nearly collapse in on top of him when he cups me between my legs.

He slowly traces the creases at the top of my thigh with his finger and then skims beneath the silky fabric of my knickers. Thank God the music is loud downstairs, because the moan he elicits from my throat when he separates my folds and circles my clit is loud and needy.

My desire for him is so strong, I can barely remain standing.

“You’re so wet for me,” he murmurs, bending at his hips and kissing a trail along the inside of one leg before moving to the other. My hand grips at his shoulders as he slides his finger inside and thrusts in and out.

“That feels so good. I need more.”

He moves his head away and removes his finger, a disgruntled growl of protest escaping my lips.

“Come here,” he says, hands grasping my hips to pull me onto his lap. My knees squeeze into the tight space between his legs and the arms of the chair, locking me in place over his hard erection that tents his hospital scrubs.

We both breathe a sigh of relief, our chests heaving as he places a hand on the back of my head. Our lips crash together and I’m consumed by this man. I begin grinding shamelessly against him, needing to find my release.

“That’s right, baby. Use me to get yourself off,” he commands against my lips. His suggestive summons has me rocking back and forth, grinding and moving against him. He reaches between our bodies, stroking my clit with his thumb and coaxing me to come.

That’s all it takes for me to go crashing into bliss. He captures my cries of ecstasy with his lips and the pleasure from the release begins to subside and I slowly return to reality.

When I open my eyes, he’s watching me like I’m the most fascinating thing he’s ever seen.

“What?” I cock my head to the side, noting the slickness between my legs.

“You’re gorgeous,” he says, leaning back in the chair. He looks every part the former quarterback with his straining biceps and strong shoulders.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” I tease lightly, then wiggle to move off his lap but his hands stay firm on my hips.

“You’re not going anywhere, Nurse. I need to give you that shot of medicine.” His lips cover mine in a demanding kiss when suddenly there’s a loud commotion in the hallway.

“Hendy! Where the fuck are you, bro? Team shots!” Killian’s voice calls out, then hard-knocks on the door.

He groans and I fight a giggle, but he presses a finger to my lips with a slow shake of his head. “Shh…don’t say a word.”

“Don’t be a cockblocker, Killer! I’m kinda busy in here,” he says and from the other side of the door, Killer yells, “Getting laid!”

“Go the fuck away.”

Inspiration hits me then and I scoot off Joel’s lap and land on my knees in front of him. His eyes go from irritated at Killer to downright dark as midnight when he realizes what I’m about to do.

“Are you trying to seduce me, Professor?”

I loosen the knot at the front of his scrubs and untie the strings. The material opens and I slide it down to expose his erection that springs free, and I grasp it firmly in my hand.

“You’re not my student anymore. So, yes, I am trying to seduce you.” I give him a short, hard stroke, and he groans. “In fact, sucking you off has been my fantasy for weeks. Now be quiet and let me do it.” Then I wrap my lips around the head of his cock and eagerly swallow him down.

“Oh fuck, Lottie. You’re killing me.”

It doesn’t take much to get him to the point of no return and within minutes, the muscles of his thighs tighten underneath my hands and his curses grow louder, and he is soon releasing his hot orgasm down my throat.

As we clean ourselves up in his bathroom, I stare at our reflections in the mirror and wonder how I’ll feel going back downstairs to the party, to a room full of college-aged students.

I pause for a second and consider whether I’m even bothered by it. None of the students I met are my students. And even if they were, I don’t think I’d care. I’m with Joel now and everyone knows it.

He’s no longer a student of mine. He’s not a quarterback anymore. He’s a coach. And he’s also my boyfriend.

Holy shit, he’s my boyfriend.

“What?” Hendy asks, his reflection looking back at me with a concerned expression. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s nothing,” I murmur as heat creeps up my cheeks. He gives me a pointed look and I shrug, searching his eyes. “I was just looking at you and thinking how hot my boyfriend is.”

He’s perfectly still for a long moment and then a grin spreads across his gorgeous face. “Well, I think my girlfriend is pretty fucking hot too,” he says, leading me back out to the hallway with a possessive grip on my butt.

“Is that so?”

“Of course. Arguably, every quarterback in the history of football ends up with the hottest women,” he says matter-of-factly.

I roll my eyes and press my forehead to his. “Yeah, but you aren’t a quarterback anymore.”

“I’m one better…I’m a quarterback coach who just scored himself a fucking A+ professor.”

And just like that, we’re a couple.

Despite all that we went through to get here, I’m truly happy for the first time in a very long time. And as we re-enter the party and I listen to him and his former teammates tell stories, I realize I’ve fallen hard for this former quarterback.

Maybe I even fell for him that first night all those months ago.

The End