Page 37 of The Surprise Play (Nolan U Football #3)

WILY

“So, you’ve got the hots for another tutor,” Blake teases me.

I roll my eyes, suddenly wishing I hadn’t called to check in on her. I hadn’t heard from her in over a week and figured I should be a good big brother.

And now I’m the one getting grilled.

How did “What’s up with you?” turn into me telling her I took Satch out on a date?

“Wait. This isn’t Lemon Face, is it?” Blake’s voice pitches. “You’re banging Lemon Face?”

Anger flares through me hot and fast, and I hold up my fingers, counting off my comebacks as I list them off. “One, she’s not a lemon face—that was just a really bad photo. She’s got a stunning smile that lights up an entire room when she lets it show.”

“Lights up an entire room?” Blake mocks me. “Oh, shithead, what has happened to you?”

I ignore her teasing in order to clarify, “And two, I’m not banging her. ”

She snorts. “Yeah, right.”

“I’m not!” I bark at my phone, slowing down at the stop sign and growling as I check the intersection. As if I would bang sweet Satch. I’ve never had a problem with that terminology until now, and hearing it out of my sister’s mouth is pissing me off.

“Wait, are you serious? You’re not sleeping with her?”

“No!”

“But you said you took her out on a date.”

“Shit, you really do think I’m a full-blown manwhore.”

“Okay, let me rephrase,” Blake comes back, annoyingly calm. “When was the last time you took a girl out and didn’t end up in bed with her?”

I open my mouth to respond… and I’ve got nothing.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Shut up,” I mutter. “She’s different.”

“Obviously.”

“I mean it, Blakey. She’s really different.”

My sister can sense the shift in my tone, and the teasing lilt drops from her voice. “What makes her so special?”

“I don’t know.” I shrug, a smile tugging at my lips.

“She’s sweet and funny and smart. She listens when I talk, you know?

Like, she really listens. There’s no ulterior motive—she just seems genuinely interested in what I have to say.

And she doesn’t look at me like I’m some dumb jock who’s only good at football and sex. ”

“Wow,” Blake murmurs. “Is this freaking you out?”

“No.” I tap my finger on the wheel as I wait for a father and his son to cross the road, then pause again for the chick with bouncing tits to dart across behind them. She waves a thank-you at me, and I lift my chin in acknowledgment before easing over those zebra lines.

“It’s got to be freaking you out a little bit.”

“It’s not.”

“It is,” she singsongs.

“It’s—” I huff. “Okay, fine, it is. I don’t know what to do with this. I haven’t had a serious girlfriend since high school.”

“Whoa. One date and she’s your girlfriend already?”

“I don’t know.” My voice pitches. “But she’s something, and?—”

“Don’t tell Mom and Dad you have a girlfriend. They’ll lose their shit and go off about how you can’t get distracted this close to getting drafted .” Blake puts on a voice that sounds nothing like either of our parents.

“Exactly.” I nod. “And they’re right. I should be throwing all my time and attention into the game, but all I can think about is my next tutoring session or when I’ll get to see her again.

She’s taking up serious headspace that I can’t afford to lose, but when I went to tell her that the other night, I just couldn’t do it, and we ended up making out. ”

“Making out.” Blake snickers at me like I’m some blushing grade-schooler.

“I mean, what am I supposed to do here? I really like her. Like like her. She’s not some one-and-done. I want to keep hanging out with her, but what if things get all serious? How am I supposed to leave her and?—”

“Okay, dude. Take a breath.” Blake’s voice is sharp down the line. “You’re getting way ahead of yourself here. One date and you’re scrawling her initials all over your brain? Just chill. For all you know, she’ll be totally sick of you by the time you graduate, and it won’t even be a thing.”

The thought’s a punch to the ball sack, and I grunt in response.

“I’m just saying to slow the hell down and take it one date at a time.”

“But should I keep hanging out with her or cut ties now to avoid heartache later?” I groan, hating the idea of cutting ties. I love hanging out with Satch. That’s where I’m headed right now. I don’t want to face the rest of the year trying to avoid her. That would suck.

My sister goes quiet for a beat, and I hold my breath, waiting for one of her usually wise responses.

She’s a pain in the ass, but she’s got some smarts on her, and she’s often the first person I go to for life advice.

But instead of giving me any, she tuts and says, “Look, I don’t know, man.”

“Come on, butt face,” I whine. “Help a brother out here.”

“Okay, fine.” I can see her eyes rolling as she lets out an exaggerated groan.

“Look, Mom and Dad would probably say yes, end this before it really starts, focus on the grand prize you’ve been working toward, but…

” She huffs. “Screw that, you know? I say live in the moment. Enjoy her company, see where it leads. Hang out, make out, have sex, don’t have sex.

Just go with the flow and see what unfolds. ”

My lips twitch, loving the idea of doing just that. So much of my life has been this big push for football. It’s like I’ve been on a one-way train without getting off at any of the stops.

Maybe Satch is my stop before the big leagues .

Maybe she’s just what I need to get me to graduation, and then…

Who knows?

Maybe she’ll be over me by then.

Maybe we’ll just naturally part ways.

Or maybe she’ll be my long-distance girl, and we’ll figure out a way to make it work.

I mull that over while Blake starts telling me she’s gotta go.

“Wait, wait, wait.” I pull into a parking spot outside the library. “I called to check on you, and we’ve spent the whole time talking about me.”

“But isn’t everything always about you?” she says sweetly.

“Hardy-har-har.” I deadpan. “Come on. What’s up with you at the moment? How’s college life treating my little freshman sister?”

She clears her throat. “It’s fine. It’s study and classes and work and?—”

“Parties?” I groan. “You’re not getting drunk every weekend, are you?”

“No.” She laughs. “Please. You know me. I’m the good girl, remember? I’m Mommy and Daddy’s little angel.”

“Yeah, right,” I tease, although that’s kind of accurate. She’s been that way since the day she was born. Always doing the right thing, being the smartest girl in the room, and getting all the accolades.

“But I really gots to go, bro.”

“Okay, but just one last thing…”

“What?”

“Are you happy?” I don’t know what compels me to ask that, but I need to know that my lil’ sis is doing okay .

She takes too long to answer, and I start to worry until she lets out a laugh. “Of course I am. I’m always happy.”

And then she’s gone.

Without even a goodbye, that cheeky little shit hangs up on me.

I gape at my phone for a second before texting her.

Me: Did you just hang up on me?

She replies a beat later with a laughing emoji and then the middle finger, then a quick text.

Butt Face: I told you I had to go. It’s not my fault you talk too much.

Me: You’re such a pain in the ass.

Butt Face: Love you too, shithead. Now leave me alone so I can get on with my day, loser.

I laugh and send back a string of GIFs before grabbing my bag and shouldering my door open.

Seriously. That girl.

She drives me crazy, but I love her like no one else.

Closing the door with my hip, I stare up at the library, fisting the bag in my hand and reminding myself to just go with the flow and stop trying to talk myself out of hanging with Satch.

So what if she’s living rent-free in my mind right now?

That’s not going to stop my football career, right?

There’s nothing wrong with having a friend who just happens to be a girl who I just happen to love making out with.

My blood stirs as I think about her wedged between my legs, her sweet tongue in my mouth and her lush body squished against mine.

Shit, that was hot.

I wanted to explore every one of those curves, and the fact that I have to wait before I’m allowed to do it makes it that much more tantalizing.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I weave my way through the stacks and around the corner.

Satch is waiting for me, hunched over her laptop and a notepad, reading, then scribbling, then playing with her bottom lip before typing something.

She must be working on one of her own assignments, and I feel bad for a second that she’s going to have to stop and help me with my shit.

Resting my shoulder against the end of the bookshelf, I watch her for a minute, drinking her in. My lips rise into a smile as I trace the line of her cheek and neck with my eyes. I let my gaze linger on her chin, remembering the taste of it when I nipped it between my lips.

And now I’m moving down her body, over the swell of her boobs and whatever else is hiding behind those loose skirts and dresses she wears. I want to explore every inch of her .

When she’s ready, Casanova! Calm the fuck down and walk over there, you idiot.

Jolting upright, I cut my sexy daydream short and quietly approach her.

Resting my hands on either side of the table around her, I lean down and whisper a soft greeting before nibbling the side of her neck.

She giggles and pulls away from me, turning her head to give me a reprimanding look. It makes me think of a sexy schoolteacher.

“Not until we’re done.” She holds up her finger between our noses. “Now, sit down, mister.”

“Seriously?” I plunk into my chair with an exaggerated huff. “Not even a hello kiss?”

“We’re doing this for your benefit.” She’s shaking her head as she nudges her chair away from me, rearranging the setup so I can’t even reach her anymore.

“You’re mean.” I pull my lips into a fake pout, and she fights a grin, her cheeks tinging pink.

“Get out your stuff. The sooner we get through your work, the sooner I can taste you again.”

Her sexy little comment has me sitting at attention like a well-trained dog.

And I do my very best to concentrate as we go through some finance problems she found online.

“This is probably what you’re going to be facing on your test.”

I work through them, focusing on the page in front of me and not how good she smells. I calculate that shit as fast as my brain can manage, and thank fuck it only takes forty-five minutes for me to pass the mini test she gives me .

Sitting beside her, my knee bobbing in agitation as she checks the last answer, I rest my chin in my hand and just let myself stare.

Her button nose wrinkles, her light brown eyebrows dipping as she looks over the last question. Her nose is cute. And I love the way her plump lips move as she whispers the calculations to herself and then nods, ticking my page with a smile before looking up at me.

“It’s official. You’re a finance wizard, and you’re totally going to pass this test.”

She’s talking shit, but if it means I get to kiss her in a second, then I’ll just let her go with it.

I reach for her face, but she sits back and gives me a pointed look. “You need to believe me, Coyote.”

Pausing, I take in her serious expression, my hands flopping onto the table.

“Tell me you’re going to pass this finance test.”

I open my mouth to do as I’m told, then stare at the pages sitting between us. “I’m gonna… I’m gonna try. Test situations tend to kill my brain, but I’ll?—”

Pinching my chin between her fingers, she moves in close, her eyes burning bright with conviction.

“You are capable of passing this test. And before that timer starts and you open that test booklet, I want you to say that to yourself. And I want you to believe it, because it’s true.

So… say it. I am capable of passing this test. ”

I suck in a breath and go for a joke. “You are capable of passing this test.”

“No.” She shakes my chin. “Wily Wilson, you say it. Just like you made me shout out that stuff outside the Humanities building. ”

“You want me to shout it?” I look around and give her a dubious frown.

“Stop trying to get out of this.” She grins, leaning forward in her chair until she’s stretched across the table in front of me. “I want you to say it.”

I gaze at her, studying those pretty eyes, so determined. So convinced.

Shit, what if she’s right?

Am I capable of doing as well as she thinks I can?

“I can pass this test,” I whisper, then clear my throat and say it with a little more conviction. “I can do this.”

“Yeah, you can.” She giggles. “Because you just passed the test I gave you, and it’s going to be no harder than that one. So you, my beautiful coyote, are going to nail this thing, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you.”

I grin, running my hands down her arms. “Think maybe passing this mock test is worth a celebration?”

“Most definitely.” She giggles again, checking the tables around us to make sure no one’s looking before reaching for me.

The second her mouth hits mine, I reach around her body, pulling her out of her chair and between my legs again.

Her laughter is sweet, but I cut the sound off with my tongue, running my hands up her body and threading my fingers into her hair.

Fuck, she smells good.

She tastes even better.

And this body is something else.

“Come on,” I whisper against her lips before jumping out of my seat and grabbing her hand.

Abandoning our stuff at the table, I pull her into the back corner of the library, hiding in the shadows of the very far aisle and pressing her back against the wall.

She lets out a soft whimper when I lean down and kiss her, her worries about our stuff getting stolen forgotten when I slide my tongue back into her mouth. She folds against the wall, turning to putty as we lose ourselves in these heady kisses.

Making out with her is the best. I can’t stop my hands from exploring her body, skimming her shape and rounding over her breasts.

After the first pass, I pause, pulling back so I can see her face.

Her eyes are bright with yearning, and she nods.

“It’s okay?” I double-check.

“Yeah.” She reaches for my hand, placing it back over her right boob. “I like it.”

Squeezing her soft tit, I feel a burst of desire fire through me before leaning back down to kiss her again.

She likes it.

And oh fuck… I like it too.