My fingers gripped his hair. “Are you sure you want to start this again?”
“This is my present to you for winning the game.” He lowered himself to eye level with my hard-on. “And after this, I want you to fuck me until I can’t walk. After that, you have to hold me and never let go. Okay?”
“Whatever you need,” I whispered. “I see someone’s horny.”
Alex’s tongue glided over my tip, and then he peered up at me. “Only for you.”
The second we secured the win, Coach spammed our phones with texts regarding meetups and practices leading up to the NCAA. He talked about Selection Sunday, which was when we would find out where and who we were playing. Then, he gave us our practice schedule, which was every day until Thursday—the day we’d leave for the hotel.
Since the timeline before March Madness was so narrow, we had practice on selection day. The team gathered together to watch the broadcast on TV, which Coach set up in the locker room. He even brought some athlete-approved snacks to drive home the excitement of the watch party.
It was revealed on the big screen that we would play in Indiana. Advancing to regionals, which we’d play in another state, would happen if we won against them and the following team. NCAA was a game of a lot of advancing, but making it even this far was more than we could ask for.
If only my dad could see me now.
After more celebrations for advancing to March Madness, Coach told us to get ready for the most gruesome practices of our lives. With my arm still injured, I couldn’t practice, but Coach said if I rested it until the game, I might be good enough to play a bit. He didn’t have to worry. I’d be ready.
As I sat on the bench while the others changed, I couldn’t help but think about how far away I would be from Alex.
I had been away from him for over seven years, and I only just got him back. The thought of being apart for more than a day made my skin crawl, but I was more worried about how Alex would feel.
Sometimes he acted like I was a jungle gym with the way he climbed atop me and entangled himself in me. Don’t get me wrong—I wasn’t complaining, but it made me worry about how he’d fare with me being away.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had to babysit Millie today, he’d be in my bedroom waiting for me to get home from practice. I wished I could take all the credit and say he was simply attached to me, but I knew part of it was him wanting to be away from his disgusting roommate.
Speaking of the aforementioned disgusting roommate…
Salem stood in the corner of the locker room, already dressed and ready for practice, as he scrolled through his phone. My blood boiled at how casually he stood, as if he wasn’t causing my boyfriend unnecessary stress because he didn’t want to clean up after himself. As much as I loved that Alex had an excuse to stay with me, someone needed to put Salem in his place.
The locker shook as I leaned against it, startling Salem. “Hey.”
“Uh, hey?” Salem raised an eyebrow.
I glanced casually at my fingernails. “Do you enjoy being filthy?”
He wasn’t getting me. “What?”
“Do you enjoy leaving messes everywhere you go and expecting others to pick up behind you?”
Finally getting it, Salem’s hands raised. “Look, dude. If this is about Alex, I never told him to pick my shit up.”
“But you know he isn’t going to let it stay there.” I leaned down to his eye level. “You’re dirty, you’re a prick, and you aren’t very good at basketball. What do you have going for you, man?”
I ticked the list off my fingers and earned a harsh scowl from Salem as he tried to walk away. “Piss off.”
My hands pushed against his chest, not enough to knock him down, but to stop him. Then, I leaned close to him so no teammates could hear. “If Alex utters one more syllable about that apartment being a mess, everyone will know why you can’t keep a girlfriend—or a starting spot. You feel me?”
Coach summoned everyone to the courts, and teammates poured out of the locker room. I refused to let Salem go.
At first, I thought he was going to cuss me clean out and cause a scene. He was a quiet one, but I could see the fire inside waiting to come out when he really got angry. I didn’t get to see it today, though.
“I get it,” he gritted through his teeth.
I smiled condescendingly. “You better.”
My arm fell to my side, and Salem stormed out of the room. All I knew was that the asshole better have kept his word.
Chapter Twenty-One
