I was going to take her virginity.
Against every obvious red flag telling me this was a bad idea, I couldn’t say no.
Somewhere deep inside me, that wild creature I’d tried so hard to tame smiled in victory…
And anticipation.
Clay
Our first away game was against the South Vermont University Vikings, and we clobbered them.
The field was a rainy mess from the time we jogged out onto it for warm-ups, our cleats and uniforms both covered completely in mud by the end of the first quarter. My knees ached from sprinting in the conditions, and my left ankle felt worse from all the sliding around than when I’d broken it in the sixth grade.
Still, the entire squad had been on fire, showcasing yet again that we were a team to contend with this season. After our bowl win last year, we had a lot of eyes on us — and now, we were two and zero, and had just defeated a team we barely scraped out a win against last year by more than twenty points.
“Um, excuse me,” Riley said, jogging up beside me after a post-game interview on the field. Her hair was soaked, dripping down over her shoulders and in her eyes as she hung her hands on her hips and glared up at me. “Do my three successful field goals not deserve a shoulder ride into the locker room?”
I grinned, reaching for her slight hips and easily helping her climb up. She saddled my shoulders, hands gripping mine as I stood before she lifted them in the air and started chanting one of our team cheers. Player after player filed in around her, joining in, and I ran her through the crowd for high-fives on our way toward the tunnel.
She laughed and squealed with every sliding step I took until I carefully placed her back on the ground once we were inside the stadium. As soon as I did, Zeke swept her up in a hug from behind.
“Nice pick out there, Johnson,” he said, and I clapped his hand when he held it up for mine.
“Next time it’ll be a touchdown. Mark my words,” I promised.
“I have no doubts.” He paused, giving Riley a look that apparently told her to get lost, because she made some excuse about needing to talk to Coach before she disappeared down the hall.
Zeke turned back to me.
“So,” he said. “How are things going with Giana?”
I smirked. “Nosy much?”
“Like you weren’t the same with me and Riley last year,” he shot back, deadpan.
“That was different. Giana and I are great. And not denying our feelings for each other like you two were.”
Something in my stomach rolled when I said those words, but I ignored it, throwing my arm around Zeke’s shoulders.
“Why are you so concerned?”
He sighed. “I don’t know, man. Giana is a nice girl. I… don’t take this the wrong way… I wanted to make sure she wasn’t just some sort of rebound.”
I cracked my neck, removing my arm from around him as Holden’s warning came back to memory. “Why is everyone assuming that’s what she is?”
“Because you were devastated over Maliyah breaking up with you like, a month ago, and now you’re making out with Giana every chance you get.”
“She’s hot. And fun to make out with. And my girlfriend,” I said. “I’m confused as to why this is such an issue for everyone to accept.”
“You’re right,” Zeke said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have assumed. I’m glad to see you doing so well, honestly. I was worried there at the start of the season.”
“You weren’t the only one,” I confessed, and as we rounded the corner toward the locker room, we were met by a dozen giggling cheerleaders.
Maliyah included.
She was soaked head to toe, every inch of her uniform sticking to her lean body. Water was still gliding down her arms, her abdomen, her legs, more and more of it being released from her hair and adding to the stream.
Her laugh stuttered when she saw me, and her eyes flicked from me to Zeke and back again while all the cheerleaders watched her.
Watched us.
“Hey,” she finally said.
I swallowed. “Hey.”
One of the cheerleaders looped arms with two others and pulled them forward, the rest of the girls following and leaving us alone. Zeke gave me a look, a tilt of his chin his only farewell before he ducked inside the locker room.
Then it was just the two of us.
“That was a great game out there,” Maliyah said, and something of a smile bloomed on her lips with the words. “You’re even faster than I remember. They don’t stand a chance of being open when you’re out there.”