Page 82 of Praising the Pitcher

I brush my thumb across her bottom lip. “These lips are plump and pink, always looking like you have lipstick on, even though you don’t—probably because you bite them so much.” I bring my mouth to her ear. “And now that I know how good they feel wrapped around my cock, I’m even more partial to them.”

She stays silent, but an adorable blush creeps on her cheeks, and she squirms the slightest bit. But her eyes stare at me, waiting for more.

Wanting more.

“Your smile is contagious, and when you smile at me—” I sigh, grinning at her. “I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do if you asked me and flashed a Gigi Jacobs smile.” I pause. “And not a fake one either. I’m talking a real one, Smoke.”

Our eyes meet, like she knows what I’m going to compliment next.

“One of my favorite things about you? Your eyes. I look in them and instantly, I feel calmer.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “I can see the pain in them. I know you carry a lot, yet you’ve never let it turn you cold. After everything, you are one of the most genuine, sweetest people I know.”

Her lip trembles, and when a single tear streams down her cheek, I swipe it away before I drag my finger to her chest. As I graze her tits, cupping one in each hand, my dick jumps, but I keep it together.

It’s not about me right now. It’s about her.

“Your tits make my dick hard from one look. And I can’t wait to watch them bounce later while you ride my cock until I’m coming inside you.” A small, soft moan slips from her lips, and I release my hold on her tits, bringing one finger a little higher on her chest.

“What’s in here? That’s what I love most.” As soon as I say the words, I’m worried I’ve freaked her out. I didn’t say I love you, although I’m not far from it, I can tell. But I love so many things about her.

Scratch that, I love everything about her.

I just want her to love it too.

“So I’m going to ask you a question, Smoke. It’s important, and I want you to be honest with me.”

Her eyes widen a little with worry. I’m sure she has no idea what to expect.

“I asked you earlier what you wanted, and I wasn’t just talking about in the moment. I wasn’t just talking about sex, Gigi.” I turn her to face me, staring down at her gorgeous, angelic face. “What do you want? From me?”

I may be the football player who the campus sees as the carefree playboy, always wearing a smirk, but when it comes down to it, I’m not nearly as calm and collected as I come off.

And right now, standing in front of my dream girl, I’m fucking terrified. She could reject me right now. She could tell me she doesn’t want anything past today. Or she just wants sex. Still, even though it would tear me apart only ever to have that side of her, I’d do it if that’s what she asked from me.

“I don’t—” Her voice stops, no doubt not wanting to say it, and I can’t help but cut her off.

“I want to know what you want from me, Gigi,” I say, sharper than I probably mean to sound, but I can’t help it. I need her to speak from the heart and stop overthinking.

She looks down, ringing her hands together, lip trembling.

“I’m afraid even to say it out loud,” she whispers, her voice raising with the last few words. “I don’t want to look like a fool.”

“Try me,” I blurt out, my eyes narrowing. “Fucking try me, Smoke. I promise, you’re not going to look like a fool. Not with me.”

She grinds her back teeth together, shifting on her feet nervously. “I want …” She stops, another tear falling. “I want you. Like, all of you.”

“Even the fucked-up parts?” I mutter, worried that it’ll be too much for her, but she nods.

“What about when my insecurities come out?” I ask, cringing. “What if you get sick of reassuring me that you’re not leaving me?”

She steps closer, lifting her chin high like the queen she is.

“Well then, you’ll just have to practice what you preach,” she whispers. “You’ll have to trust me.” She reaches up, cupping my face. “Trust me the way I trust you.”

I suck in a breath before my lips crash to hers and I lift her up, letting her legs wrap around me. She’s like that first gasp of air when you’ve been holding your breath under water too long and when you finally come up, your lungs scream at you, dragging it in. And you realize how much you needed it. How you couldn’t have gone on without it.

She’s somehow engraved herself in every part of me. Her sadness makes me sad. When she smiles, it makes me want to smile.

I want her. I want all of her.