Page 24

quinn

W e end up at Insanity. JT is full of adrenaline and still riding a high from the win, which I assume is the reason why he’s not shying away from touching me. I’m not complaining at all but I’m pretty sure the way his arm is currently draped across my shoulders might not do much to quell the rumours springing up all over school about the two of us.

I let Mum take my car so she could drive Gran home after the game which means we can both have a drink tonight. I buy JT a blood orange gin and soda while I order myself a whiskey. I think nothing of this choice, but JT’s eyes darken as the bartender sets the highball glass down in front of me.

“You’re so classy, Quinn,” he murmurs. “I don’t know what you’re doing with a punk like me.”

“I keep you around cos you’re quality eye candy,” I inform him which has him grinning.

The team has managed to squeeze in around a couple of green velvet booths and JT drags me down with him. We’re packed in so tight that everyone is up close and personal, and nobody really notices that JT is basically sitting on my lap. I land one hand on his waist and cannot resist dipping a finger underneath his shirt which makes him shiver. He reaches over and takes a sip of my whiskey. I let him.

Later, JT ends up on the dance floor which I don’t exactly discourage. I like watching him out there, so free and uninhibited and so freaking gorgeous, even if I’m not the only one who notices. That’s just JT though. Effortlessly attractive.

Eventually I’m the only one left in the booth and I sip on my whiskey while I keep my eyes pinned on JT. I’m wearing his basketball medals, and I like the feel of them around my neck, like some kind of claim over me. I know I could join him out there, but I really like watching him, the way he has his head tipped up and body swaying to the beat. Trey is dancing beside him, up close and personal with a random girl he probably just met. Vince is there too, and he seems to have caught Chanel’s attention for the night as they dance together and something about that pleases me.

JT spins around, eyes searching until they land on me. He grins when he finds me watching him and I almost see the flicker of challenge dart through his eyes. He bites on his lower lip as he decides to put on a little dance show just for me. I know he thinks he’s being funny as he pulls out some cheesy stripper moves but my blood starts to rapidly pool, and I have to shift in my seat. He suddenly drops into a full body crump, hips and ass popping and I am not okay.

He must realise I am no longer laughing, or maybe he sees the undisguised heat in my eyes, because he suddenly stops moving, eyes clamping on mine. I palm myself and JT’s eyes zone right in there as people dance around him, but I see nobody but him.

He steps towards me, and I watch him come, not stopping until he’s suddenly straddling my thighs, one naughty hand squeezing between us to cup me. He’s so uninhibited tonight, almost like he doesn’t care if everyone knows we’re together.

“Take me home, Quinn,” he demands, eyes as dark as mine. I’m drunk on him, drunk with lust and heat and so much desire it’s going to be a miracle if I can actually get him out of here.

“On your feet then, baby,” I rasp, voice all gravelly and foreign in my ears. JT complies instantly and I grab his hand and haul him out of the club onto the street. We pile into a waiting taxi and I give the driver my address. I’m holding JT’s hand, his thigh pressed to mine and his eyes still watching me, but I don’t do anything. I just sit there and slowly combust in flames as the driver takes his merry time winding up the hills to my house.

Mum has gone for her shift and the house is dark as I pay the taxi fare and meet JT on the street. We haven’t said a word to each other since the club, but I grab onto his hand again and haul him to the front door.

I lose my grip the moment the door is closed behind us, pushing him up against the wall and plundering his mouth with mine. JT’s already whimpering, grinding against me as I kiss him the way I’ve wanted to do all night. I can’t get enough of him. It’s like he sprinkled some kind of lust magic all over me and he’s all I want, all I can think about.

I break the kiss, tracing my mouth along his jaw and down his neck to that spot that always has him whimpering.

“Quinn,” he breathes, his voice finally registering and breaking through the hold that lust has on me. I look at him, pouty lips all puffy and swollen from our kiss, eyes hooded and blown, hair mussed from my hands. Utterly fuckable.

“Do you want to come upstairs?” I ask, not sure why. It’s where we were always heading. JT just nods. I take hold of his hand, and we walk at a steadier pace up the stairs to my room. But it’s like a flick has been switched and the desire burning between us shifts into something else, something cooler but also something more .

I step into my room and JT follows, big eyes destroying me as he watches my every move. We stop in front of the bed, and I am admittedly feeling overwhelmed, like the full force of my emotions for him have decided to come out and present themselves.

I cup his face, and he chases my touch. My thumb traces his cheekbone before dropping to his lips. He is so very beautiful and so full of trust as those green eyes stare back at me. I want to give him the world.

My hand snakes into his hair and I pick up where I left off downstairs, kissing along his neck and down to his collarbone. JT’s breathing picks up again. I love that I have this effect on him.

“Quinn,” he breathes. I look up at him, into those eyes that seem to hold every feeling in the world, and I know exactly what he’s going to say next. “I want to have sex with you.”

My heart responds with one resounding thud in my chest. “Yes,” I say.

His eyebrows lift and his mouth tugs up at the sides. “Really? I thought you’d be all slow down, JT, or no need to rush things, JT .”

“Yes, well, that was before I had to sit there in that club and watch you dance like a little sex nymph.”

“You liked that, huh?” he asks, giving me a coy grin I know is all an act.

“I think you know exactly what you do to me, JT,” I reply, nipping his lower lip.

“So? We going to do this then?”

“Yeah,” I say, running my hands up his arms. “Let’s get you naked.”

He grins at me as my hands drop to the hem of his shirt and I lift it over his head. My chest aches at the perfection waiting for me there as I run my palms over his abs, up to his pecs, feeling him the way I always want to do. He watches me silently. I need to catch my breath and settle my adrenaline before we go any further, so I run my hands up his shoulders and then down to feel his biceps, my favourite part of his body.

JT is still watching me as my hands drift down to the button on his jeans. Our eyes find each other as I pop the button before slowly dragging his zip down. He kicks off his shoes and I lower to my knees as I drag his jeans and boxers down his legs.

I’m already in the perfect position so I lean forward and take him gently into my mouth. He sucks in a sharp breath, eyes never leaving mine. I want him relaxed and turned on, so I take it slow, his hand threading through my hair as I suck on him. He looks destroyed already as I press a kiss to his tip and rise to my feet.

“Quinn,” he whimpers, so much want and trust in that word.

“Lay down, JT,” I tell him, nodding to where I want him. He instantly complies and I smile to myself as I make quick work of shedding my clothes. I rifle through my bedside table for the lube and a box of condoms that haven’t seen the light of day for a little while and drop them on the quilt beside JT. He eyes them with a mixture of apprehension and nerves, like the sight of them has suddenly made this real.

“You okay?” I ask as I lay down on the bed beside him.

JT nods. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“We’ll take this slow,” I tell him as I slide a hand onto his stomach. “We can stop whenever you want.”

“I don’t want to stop, Quinn,” JT says. “I want this with you.”

I suck in the air my lungs sorely need, letting my eyes trace down his body before my hands join in the fun. I want him to enjoy this more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.

We kiss and I try to keep the simmer down to a manageable level but that’s always difficult whenever JT and I kiss. But I think he understands my need to keep this slow and steady, so he gives me the reins and lets me set the pace. I shift my body onto him which prompts him to open his legs to make a welcoming space for me. I kiss down his body as my fingers slide down to circle him.

I’ve been playing with him a bit there lately so it’s not a total shock when I press inside him, finding all those spots that he seems to like a lot if those filthy words coming out of his mouth are anything to go by.

“You like that?” I ask, watching him react to my touches.

“Yes. More,” he breathes. So I give him more, tamping down on my impatience while I make sure he’s ready for me.

“Quinn,” he pants, “I don’t think I can take any more. I want you.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for me?” I ask, withdrawing from him.

“Yes. Please.” He watches with big eyes as I sheath myself with the condom and then add even more lube before I move back into position over him. I stroke his inner thigh, moving us both into position. This is already proving to be too much for me — and I haven’t even made it inside him yet.

“Breathe in for me,” I say, waiting until he takes in a strong breath. On his exhale I push, pausing on his sharp intake of air. “You okay?”

“I’m okay. Keep going.”

I take my time pushing inside him, encouraging him until I am fully inside. It’s only then I take the moment to look down at us, heart pressing up inside my chest at the way he is looking up at me. Neither of us says anything as we breathe through the moment, his eyes never leaving mine.

I know that this is not going to be just sex between JT and me. It was never going to be just sex. Not with the way he is looking up at me like I am everything, something I am sure is mirrored in the way I am looking back at him.

I feel the moment he starts to relax around me, and I try out a few shallow moves which he seems to like. So I give him what he wants, moving inside him slowly and carefully. We take our time, building things up oh-so-sweetly and gently, letting him get a feel for this, soft and slow.

That is until everything suddenly catches fire. It's like a match is lit and I forget everything I ever learned, instincts taking over until I am consumed with him. He arches into me so perfectly and I am officially undone. And the sounds he is making—just kill me now.

Every moment I have had with JT is incredible and this is no different. We waited a while for this, but I can categorically confirm every minute has been worth the wait. For this. For him.

I want to give him everything. I want this moment to last forever but of course it can’t. And just when I think I can’t take it any longer his back arches and everything shutters to white before we both shatter together.

“JT,” I groan. “ Jethro .”

I don’t have a clue where that name popped out from, but he doesn’t correct me as I slowly float down from a cloud, that name filling the space between us. I flop down on him afterwards, pressed against his warm, sticky chest.

It takes me a while before I recover my airways sufficiently to slide off JT. He is looking slightly awed as I scoot to his side, arm trailing over his stomach.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m so good, Quinn,” he says, turning his head to look at me. “That was … so good.”

I smile. “Yeah, for me too.”

“I just … wow.” I smile again, pressing a kiss to his neck which tastes slightly salty from his sweat. “When can we do that again?”

I snort out a laugh. “We can do that whenever you want, baby. But maybe see how your ass is feeling before we think about round two.” My words seem to bring some sense into the moment, and he shifts on his backside before huffing a laugh.

“Yeah. Maybe later,” he agrees before he sighs. “Oh, but Quinn. I never knew it would be that good.”

“It’s not always that good. I think it’s because it was you and me.”

“Yeah. I think so too,” he says, mulling on my words. He turns to look at me again, face suddenly shy. “You called me Jethro.”

“I know,” I groan. “It just popped out.”

He chews on his lower lip, eyes assessing my face. “I liked it,” he admits quietly. “I’ve never liked anyone using that name, but I really liked it when you called me that.”

“Did you?” I ask. He nods and I can’t stop myself from kissing his nose. “I can call you Jethro whenever you like.”

“Hmm, maybe not all the time,” he smiles. “Just on special occasions.”

“Like when I’m in the middle of an orgasm?” I grin which has him laughing.

“Exactly like that.”

“Okay. Deal,” I agree, squeezing him tighter. “It will be our little secret name.”

“I have so many already. What’s one more?” JT shrugs.

“I have one more for you,” I drop, back to trailing my fingers through his warm skin.

“Yeah?”

“How about boyfriend ?” I say, breath held tight in my throat. JT relaxes into a smile, the kind that lights up his eyes.

“Well, I thought you were my boyfriend all along. But yes, I definitely like that name,” he says. “And I think it’s what I’d like everyone else to know too.”

“Really, JT?” I ask. “I don’t want to rush you with that. I know it’s a big deal coming out to people so if you — ”

He presses a finger to my lips, effectively silencing my spiel. “I told my teammates earlier tonight,” he says. I blink a few times, not sure I heard my surprising little boyfriend correctly.

“You told your teammates?” I repeat. “Like, the basketball guys?”

He laughs. “Well, I don’t have any other teammates than the basketball guys. But yeah. I told them after the game. They know about us.”

“I am … actually speechless,” I finally manage, tugging him even tighter to me.

“I don’t want to hide who you are to me, Quinn,” JT says, sliding his hand onto my backside. “Besides, I’m pretty sure everyone has guessed by now anyway.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh. “Yeah, I think it was getting a little hard to hide — especially since I suddenly became the Dukes’ number one ticket holder.”

“And now I’m your number one ticket holder,” he replies, running his nose up my neck.

“Pretty sure you already were,” I reply, bringing his face up to mine so that I can kiss him like he deserves.