“Okay. What can I do?” I would do anything for him to help get that look off his face.Anything.No one should deal with this pain. His chiseled face was meant to smile and laugh.
He didn’t reply, instead cupping my face. He closed the distance between us and kissed me hard. It wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t soft. He danced his tongue against mine, searching for something that I wanted to give him. He moaned into my mouth and the sound startled me. It wasn’t pleasure…it was sadness.
“Aaron, come on.” I pulled back, dragging him to his bedroom. I shut the lights off, and stripped off my shirt. It was easier without the lights. I could lose myself in the pleasure of the moment instead of the rapid pace of my heart, which was trying to tell me something. I ignored it and focused on Aaron. My best friend. I pushed him onto the bed and straddled him. I kissed his neck, pulling his shirt off and tossing it to the floor. His muscles felt tight and hard. I dragged my tongue down his impeccable abdomen, stopping when I reached his belt. He moved to undo it, but I stopped him. “Let me.”
I undid it with shaking hands. The darkness surrounded us, cutting off any distractions besides our bodies. I slid off his clothes and took him in my mouth. No more thoughts of his family. No more thoughts of our fake arrangement. None of that. It was about him. And me.
“God, Greta. Yes. So good.” He fisted my hair on the top of my head, pulling ever so slightly, but the pain enticed me. I sucked a little harder, using my hands to bring him as much joy as I could. His legs stiffened and I knew he was close, just a little longer. “Stop.”
I froze at his command. I glanced up at him even though I couldn’t see much. The sheets rustled, the tension between us drowning me. My limbs shook with need andsomethingbut Aaron cupped my face before I could think. “Baby, I want you to ride me. Can you do that?”
“Yes,” I whispered between kisses. I gently shoved him back down, fumbled with a condom and put it on him. Then I straddled the beast of a man. I slid down, farther and farther until he entered me. “Jesus.” He cupped my breast, applying the right pressure where he knew I would tremble. “Aaron, please.”
“Mm,” he hummed, his strong hands gripping my hips and forcing me to move up and down at the perfect pace. I matched it, figuring out the exact momentum we needed and I rocked. I arched my back, shoving my hips forward as he pushed up and the result was… It made me scream. “Shh, baby.”
He sat up and moved my legs around his waist. Flesh to flesh, chest to chest, I had no time to think before he kissed me. This felt different. He tasted like leftover gum and desperation. My eyes stung at the tender way he held me, but I forgot about all that when the first wave of an orgasm hit me. I bucked against him, his mouth swallowing my cries. He didn’t stop, though. No, he knew me. He knew I was just getting started and he continued our gentle escape from reality. He tilted me back and hit me at an angle that sent me over the edge, and this time, tears leaked out.
It wasn’t until later, way later in fact, that my eyes closed for the night. Aaron’s body surrounded me, his legs intertwined with mine as our breathing matched. We hadn’t spoken. We didn’t need to. But I was royally fucked.
I’d fallen in love with my best friend, with my fake boyfriend, with a guy with an unhealthy aversion to relationships.Great.
Chapter Eighteen
Aaron
Three days later, Coach called me into his office with a half-smile on his face. My chest felt about the size of a peanut with all the anxiety I had. My voice came out gruff, raspy, as if I’d smoked a pack that morning. “You wanted to talk?”
“Hilly, I heard about your dad this weekend. How’s he doing?” His large, lean frame plopped into the chair with a soft thud. I gulped, wiping my palm on the hem of my shorts.
“He was released yesterday. He’s doing good. Just a bad flu. It escalated quickly because…well, you know why.” I cleared my throat and met his eyes. “How did you know?”
He chuckled softly and typed something into his computer. “I didn’t read it anywhere, don’t worry. Zade told me, that’s all. I wanted to check. I know you aren’t open for discussions all the time. I have good news for you, son.”
“Yeah?” Hope blossomed from the pit of my stomach.
“The athletic director and I had to meet to go over stuff you’ll never have to worry about. Quite boring, if I’m honest with you. Anyway, he asked about your situation and said no one has inquired about the photographs and no one at his end is worried about it. I’ve had a handful of scouts contact me about observing some workouts. Not a damn word about what happened.”
“Jesus.” I released a long breath of air. It was like pounds of stress left me. “That’s awesome news.”
“Yeah, I thought that might make you happy.” He shoved his computer around to me and pointed to the picture on the screen. “There’s going to be a charity function for the chancellor in a month. I’m not saying you need to go, but I don’t think it would hurt. Bring Greta. Behave. It’ll do a lot. Network. What do you think?”
“I’ll talk to Greta about it. If she’s in, I’ll be there.”
“Good. I’m asking Zade and one of the younger kids, too. You could all go together if you want. You figure it out. Let me know tomorrow, okay? If not, I’ll find another schmuk.”
“Yes, Coach. Thank you.” I stood to leave and he motioned for me to wait.
“You’ve been playing well. Keep it up.”
I nodded and left his office. I leaned against the wall outside, rubbing the spot right between my eyes. The headache that seemed to live inside me softened. I knew better than to get my hopes up, but damn, I needed that news.
I took my time walking back. I was in no rush—I had no homework and no one would be back at the house. Sitting in a silence sounded like an awful idea. The shops and little downtown area always had people and laughter. I preferred sound to silence. A couple of guys nodded at me, the girls smiling with hidden meaning. I ignored them and found myself standing in front of a jewelry shop. Kenzie had rambled on when Greta and I had taken her out to brunch before we left. She’d rolled her eyes about how silly girls were nowadays, how they wore a necklace with the name of the guy they were ‘with’. She’d scoffed but I think Greta and I both knew she wanted one. She would never admit it, but Kenzie had a major crush going on.
I would be the second to last person she would talk to about it, the first being our dad. I chuckled at the thought of making fun of her as soon as I found out who. The gold chain caught my eye, and although it was stupid, I smiled. Aaron wasn’t an entirely odd name and I found it without much trouble. I bought it, wrapped it in a white tissue-paper thing and put it in my pocket. I smiled.
Greta: Did I just spy you leaving a hipster store? Who are you?
I glanced around, wondering how Greta had seen me, but that blonde hair was nowhere to be found. Blue Street stood in the center of the east campus and contained a multitude of stores and restaurants, but not many class buildings. I checked my watch. Greta had class right now.
