Page 24 of Game Changer (Hidden Attractions #2)

Ethan

After a much-needed shower, three nervous breakdowns, and a self–pep talk, I rap my knuckles against Maya’s door and hold my breath in fear that I’ll hyperventilate if I don’t.

How are guys good at this stuff? I don’t have game . Not at all. I’m as shy as they come, so doing this? Seconds away from groveling at Maya’s feet? I’m surprised I haven’t upchucked all over the hallway linoleum.

The door swings open, and one look at Maya brings a swift punch to the gut.

Her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy, and she isn’t wearing makeup.

Her hair is piled up on her head in a bun, and she’s wearing an oversized T-shirt and pajama pants.

This woman is never not done up. Even her pajamas are silky and fancy.

Knowing she’s more than likely in this state because of me doesn’t make me feel better.

I hurt her, and yeah, she may have hurt me in the past, but two wrongs don’t make a right. Not in my eyes.

Still, she looks surprised to see me. I’m still holding my breath while she quickly recovers and clears her throat, darting her eyes to a box of tissues and her laptop on her bed. “What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?” My voice wavers, a clear indication of how fucking nervous I am, but she doesn’t seem to notice. “Please?”

With a heavy sigh, she moves over to allow me to pass.

I take a few steps into the room, inhaling deeply through my nose to try and get control of my anxiety.

It doesn’t work. This shouldn’t be so fucking hard, but a simple task such as telling the truth feels like the world is pressing in around me.

My chest feels tight. My lungs feel constricted.

And I can’t help thinking how weak this makes me. It’s fucking embarrassing.

“Are you okay?” Her eyebrows furrow before they dart down to my chest, which is currently heaving.

My heart is racing, my hands are shaking, and fucking hell, I genuinely think I’m going to pass out.

I’ve been on medicine for over a year now.

I’ve gone through therapy to learn coping mechanisms, but no breathing exercise is going to help me with this situation.

Not when this girl means everything to me.

There’s a chance she could walk away again, and it scares the living shit out of me. “Ethan, what’s going on?”

“Just give me a minute,” I plead, waving my hand as if it’s nothing. “Anxiety. It sucks.”

“Oh my god. Are you having an anxiety attack? Sit down.” She pulls on my arm and forces me to sit on her bed. I’ve been a complete dick to her, and yet here she is, sitting beside me and rubbing my back in gentle strokes. I don’t deserve it. “Does this happen often?” she whispers.

I shake my head. “It used to in high school, but after therapy and medication, not so much anymore. Just, stressful situations seem to trigger it.”

She rolls her lips together before she says, “I get it, Ethan. I understand if you regret what happened last night. I haven’t treated you fairly, so if you’re nervous about breaking the news, don’t be. I’ll be hurt, but I’ll get over it.”

Like someone taking a needle to a balloon, my anxiety bubble pops, allowing me clarity again. “You think that’s what I’m here to do? To end things?”

“Um, yes? Why else would you have left in the middle of the night and proceeded to avoid me all day?” She didn’t reach out to me, either, but now isn’t the time to point that out.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt. “For everything, Maya. What happened last night was everything I’ve waited for, but I got scared that you’d wake up and change your mind.

It hurt like hell when you left the first time, so knowing there was a possibility you’d wake up and regret it scared the fuck out of me.

It didn’t give me the right to leave without an explanation, and I hate miscommunication, so even though it’s difficult for me to do this with the whole—” I lift my hands to show her how badly they’re shaking.

“I’m powering through it because you’re worth it, and if there’s a chance you don’t regret what happened last night, then . . .”

She arches a brow. “Then what?”

“I’m not like those guys you watch on the Lifetime movies.

I can’t pull off big gestures in front of crowds or embarrass myself by holding a boom box outside your window, but I can be honest even if it’s hard for me to be.

I’m scared you don’t feel the same and that you’ll change your mind about us, but if you tell me that you don’t regret last night, then I’ll show you just how sorry I fucking am, Maya, until you aren’t left with any doubts. That I can promise you.”

With it all out in the open, I can hardly look at her, afraid of what I’ll see.

Instead, I focus on the empty wall where her roommates’ stuff should be, but no one has arrived yet.

I feel the bed dip, and the breath stalls in my lungs when she sinks to her knees between my legs. “What are you doing?”

She places her hands on my thigh, her nails leaving goose bumps in their wake. “If I’m being honest, there is one thing I regret about last night.” I curse under my breath when she tugs at the band of my sweatpants. Her eyes are wild and devious and so her . “Stand up, Ethan.”

An order, not a suggestion.

My legs are shaking when I rise to my feet, and not because of anxiety. No. They’re shaking because I have a feeling that I know what’s about to come next, and nothing in my wildest dreams compares to the way she’s staring up at me right now.

“What do you think I regret about last night?” she asks sweetly, tugging the last barrier of clothing down. My cock springs free and bobs in front of her, and she greedily rakes her gaze over me while watching a bead of liquid drip onto the hardwood floor.

“Fuck,” I pant. “I don’t know.”

She wraps a perfectly manicured hand around my length and bats her eyes up at me, feigning innocence.

“The only thing I regret about last night is not reciprocating, Ethan, and my promise to you?” I almost fall to my knees when she darts her tongue out to lick the tip.

“You’re not going to leave this room with any doubts either. ”

“Maya.”

“Hmm?” She strokes me leisurely, which is ironic since her touch is nothing but sensational, even when she’s not trying. “I figured you’re in my head so damn much I might as well give you some, right? Have you gotten head before?”

“No,” I growl.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“Fuck, yes.” My head falls back before one of my hands instinctively slides into her hair. I tug the hair tie free to replace it with my fingers instead. “Always you.”

Maya hums in approval, licking me from base to tip.

“Then I’m only going to tell you this once, Ethan Davis.

Don’t ask me if I like it; the answer is yes .

Don’t ask me if I want to do this; the answer is yes .

You think of everyone but yourself, so right now, I want you to let me apologize for ghosting you the first time.

I want you to take , not give. And lastly?

” I’m not breathing when she smiles and says, “Don’t ask me if I want you to come down my throat because the answer is yes . ”

The wind is knocked out of me when she wraps her mouth around my cock and takes me to the back of her throat.

The sensation is . . . fuck. It’s otherworldly.

She’s holding me hostage with her eyes, which remain glued to mine, and my fingers tighten on her scalp in response.

She moans around my cock and presses her thighs together.

She releases me with a pop , her lips glistening with my arousal. “I said take , Ethan. We both know there’s a beast inside of you. I saw him last night, and I saw him the night of the hot tub. Let him out. Stop letting anxiety win.”

“What you’re doing is enough,” I groan. “I don’t need— fuck .

” Maya rubs my balls with one hand while working my shaft with the other.

She continues to suck the tip, her hips moving back and forth to try and gain friction that isn’t there.

Sucking me off turns her on, and hell if that doesn’t make me let my reservations go.

My hips jut forward, experimenting and seeing just how far she can take me. Maya smiles around my cock, opening wider for me, and when she gags, a chortled curse echoes into the room.

“You like that?” She gasps when she comes up for air. “When I gag on your cock?”

With one hand holding her hair away from her face, I use my free one to trace her bottom lip with my thumb.

Maya’s always been perfect, but with her lips all swollen and pink, she’s irresistible.

My breathing returns to normal, and all I want, all I’m focused on is enjoying her.

She wanted the beast? Well, now she’s going to get him.

“Such a dirty girl,” I mutter. “Do it again.”

Her eyes darken in response when I push inside, and when I find a rhythm, Maya doesn’t falter. She keeps up with the speed I desire, wrapping her hands around my ass to push me as far as I can go. With one glance at her watery eyes and mouth full of my cock, I shatter into a million pieces.

I come with a shout, stilling in her mouth and coming down her throat as requested. My legs shake when she continues to suck, getting every last drop. She sits back on her knees, tongue darting out to lick her lip. “That might just be my new favorite flavor.”

“Take your clothes off,” I instruct. “Hands on the bed. I’m not finished with you yet.

” Because she won’t swallow me whole and not get anything in return.

We’re both givers, but intimacy allows us to be in control.

We have such a lack of it in our lives that we both enjoy being dominant, which is why I let her steal the show while she went down on me. But now?