"What if we just took the risk? I'm not afraid of Seren and I can be there with you when we tell her and your dad and whoever else we need to tell."
“Well, what about football?”
He sighs, letting go of me. And even with the flame of the candles flickering around us, I feel cold as he takes a step backward. I’m single-handedly ruining everything right now.
"If anyone, including my sister, has a fucking problem with you being happy, then they don’t have your best interest to begin with." His voice is a bit raised. “And your dad needs to know that you are going to grow up and move on, Livie. And football?Fuck, I would quit everything if it meant getting to be with. But what are you willing to do for this, Olivia? For us? Are you really willing to throw away a chance at happiness with me? Because I will burn the whole world down for you and I am ready to risk losing everythingjust to keep your heart beating next to mine.” I know we've had this conversation a few times over the last year so I can't expect him to not be irritated with the repetitiveness of it. "And even if you really still want to leave with Seren next weekend, we can make it work. I'll make the best out of my NIL deals and I'll pay for all of your travel and everything you could ever fucking need, Livie. As long as you're willing to take that risk with me."
"Wait," I pinch my brows in. "Didn't Seren tell you?"
"Tell me what?" He looks at me, confusion drawn on his face.
"Seren told me last night that she got a call from the landlord of the apartment we set a deposit for. They had to cancel our lease."
Trace smiles. I can tell he's trying not to make it obvious, but I can see his satisfaction. "No, she didn't mention that part," he says and I have to hide my grin.
But maybe he's right. Well, I know he is. I guess I just didn't think I was capable of making a decision that might make me happy, knowing it might disappoint someone else. But I deserve to be happy just like everyone else. And I can’t spend the rest of my life feeling like I am responsible for making sure everyone else is taken care of first. I can’t be responsible for my own heart break. And now knowing that I'm not actually obligated to leave with Ser next weekend, this might be my chance to make that move.
"You really want this?" I step up and ask, knowing that he has no problem telling me or anyone else who asks, exactly what he wants and what he's going to do to get it. He just hasn’t done that yet because he’s only been respectful of my wishes to keep us a secret.
"Olivia, do you really have to fucking ask that?" he answers, and I know without a doubt that I didn't need to, that he means with every bone in his body what he said.
"I'm sorry," I apologize, feeling guilty but also disappointed in myself for evading the inevitable this long.
I won't be able to fathom losing Trace and that’s exactly what I’m going to do if I keep this up.
In an instant, he rushes for me, picking me up by the back of my thighs to wrap my legs around his torso. He presses me up against the nearest wall and I feel the indent of broken wood press into my back as the wall creaks behind me. But I don't flinch. I let him push into me and I can feel his hard length centered at the apex of my thighs. I hold onto his shoulders, trying not to moan as he whispers that guttural tone of his in my ear.
"You don't ever have to be sorry for anything when it comes to me, love. But tell me you don't feel this. Tell me you don't feel every fucking nerve ending in your body explode when we're together, Olivia."
I can't talk, I can barely swallow. The sparks that ignite all over my body have me too weak for words; feeling lost in the way he handles me.
"Tell me," he demands again, his tone tight with need as I try to muster up my own response.
"I . . . I, umm-"
"Tell me, Olivia." This time he decides to entice me, to tease me just a little bit more. And god I feel it, I swear there's nothing like it.
He leans in closer, his cock pressing a little harder into me while his lips touch my neck. I can't help the way my body moves for him, my head tilts and my lipspart. He presses open mouth kisses over my skin, and I melt. I'm so close to getting lost in how euphoric it feels to be like this with Trace, knowing that we've haven't taken itall the wayyet. But I want to, more than anything I want him to be the one.
“God, Olivia. Tell me to fucking stop. Please." His request is on the cusp of begging, I can hear the desperation in his voice. But why would he ask me to stop him when this feels too fucking good to resist?
"I don't want you to stop," I admit, knowing that I sound drunk off the high he's giving me.
He closes his mouth against my skin and his cock twitches against me as I squirm in his arms.
"Olivia," he whispers darkly into my neck and I can't help but moan his name back.
"Trace."
The energy between us is enigmatic, explosive, and rhapsodic. And there's no way I'm going to tell him to stop. Instead, I find myself begging for the opposite.
"I need you," I tell him, and his body freezes for a split second before he pulls away slightly and looks me in my eyes.
"Are you sure?"
I nod, too dazed to say anything else but I’ve never been more sure in my life. I want him. I need him. I don’t ever want to let him go.
“Olivia, you have to be sure. Please don’t give in just for the heat of the moment.” His concern for my approval is enough to send me to heaven, calling me to the clouds that he’s laid out for me. How did I find myself in the gentle clutches of a ruthless football player who seems to only have eyes for me?
