“Now I’m here.”
Tori’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. She looked at me like she was trying very,veryhard not to move any closer — like she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop if she did.
And I felt it, too. There was a wet spot in my boxers, where my dick was leaking drop after drop of pre-cum.
Tori’s breathing changed, and so did mine, synchronizing without either of us trying. Her gaze flicked down to my mouth before snapping back up again, so quick I almost thought I’d imagined it.
Almost.
“You’re sitting too close,” she deadpanned.
I was a full three feet away.
Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “You want me to move?”
She paused, and I was surprised she couldn’t hear my heart pounding against my ribcage in the silence settling between us.
“… No.” Her tone was softer than before.
My heart leapt and I exhaled in a rush.
“Alright,” I murmured.
We sat there for a moment, the charged energy between us crackling and sizzling.
I’d never experienced anything like it.
Then she cleared her throat sharply, as if she needed to break the spell before it consumed her. “If you’re staying, at least make yourself useful.”
“At what? Midnight chores?”
“I can try to help you.”
I blinked, shaking my head in confusion. “Help me?”
“Agility work.” She poked my knee with her toe. “For football. Since you can’t sleep and apparently the quiet makes you stupid.”
I snorted. I was sure she hadn’t meant it the way it sounded, but the words still made something soft unfurl somewhere behind my sternum.
“Alright,” I conceded, leaning forward slightly. “Coach me.”
For a long moment, we just kept looking at each other, tension humming low and steady like a pulse.
Then, almost reluctantly, she whispered, “Kai?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t make a habit of climbing into my window.”
“Can’t promise that.”
The tiniest crack appeared in her armor in the form of just the slightest twitch of her lips, and the heat between us coiled tight again, warm, dangerous and absolutely addictive.
“I hate you.” She narrowed her eyes.
But there was no edge to her words, no sharpness, and I didn’t pretend it didn’t thrill me to the core.
Her words hung in the air, and neither of us moved for a second. Then she blinked hard, like she’d just realized how close we were sitting.
