It’s fucking hot. She’s hot.

  And I’m one happy man.

  Hartley’s sitting on the couch, tossing a football in the air. When I hit the bottom step, he tosses the ball at me and I catch it with one hand, then run toward Rusty, who nearly tackles me to the floor.

  “Nothing gets through this brick house,” Rusty says, as I attempt to catch my balance but fall to my ass instead.

  Hutton laughs his ass off and says, “I wish I caught that on video. The great Lincoln Castle taken down would have gotten me at least two thousand more followers on TikTok.”

  “Dude, are you really on TikTok?” Asher asks, coming into the room while holding a bowl of cereal. I haven’t seen him around in a while, nor has he been very vocal lately. It’s concerning, but I’m not going to press him because when Asher is ready to talk, he will talk.

  “Hell yeah, I’m on TikTok. Scar and I did a dance together yesterday.”

  The room falls silence as we all stare at Hutton.

  Scar?

  Dancing?

  Something has happened to our manwhore friend.

  “What?” Hutton looks around. “Am I not allowed to have fun?”

  “You just referred to Scarlett as Scar and you’re doing dances with her on TikTok. Sorry if we’re a little shocked.”

  He just shrugs. “It is what it is.”

  “And what is it exactly?” Hartley asks.

  “My life, so keep the hell out of it.”

  Deacon comes down the stairs and starts clapping his hands. “Today’s the day, boys. We win this, we go to the bowl.”

  “In the bag,” Hutton says casually. “Nebraska has no idea what kind of freight train is coming for them.”

  “Don’t be too cocky,” Hartley says. “We show the work on the field.”

  “Dude, we got this,” Hutton says, standing and going to the kitchen where I hear him root around in the pantry.

  Rusty walks up to Hartley and pats him on the shoulder. “We do, man. Stop worrying. We got this.”

  “Worrying?” I ask, plopping down on the couch. I toss the ball back to Hartley and ask, “When have you ever been worried?”

  He looks back at the kitchen and then leans in toward me. “Not worried, just . . . nervous. My dad and Jake Taylor are coming to the game today. They have field passes.”

  “Ah, and you want to impress.”

  “Who doesn’t want to impress their parents?”

  “True, it feels like additional adrenaline rushes through me when my moms are in the stands.”

  “Exactly, but it isn’t just my dad . . . ” He tosses the ball in the air and I make the connection.

  “Alice’s dad will be there. Does he know about you guys?”

  He shakes his head. “He doesn’t, and I’m not sure he’d be cool with it, either.” Hartley rubs his hand over his face. “They want to go out to dinner after. I’m not going to be cool about it, especially if we lose.”

  “Hey.” I take the ball from him and then lightly toss it back. He catches it and finds the seams. “Focus on the game, the rest will come to you. But the most important thing is blocking out your personal life and pushing the ball down the field.”

  “Yeah, I know you’re right.” He sighs and then says, “So, Scarlett told Hutton about your orgasm fest the other day with Indie.” Hartley grins, and I’m instantly annoyed. Of course, Hutton wouldn’t keep his mouth shut. “What’s going on there? You dating?”

  “No,” I answer. “Just having fun.”

  “Just having fun.” He nods and tosses the ball, catching it himself. “Okay, because that seems like a good idea.”

  “It is,” I answer. “We’re both in a spot where we can’t get into anything serious, so we’re just going to have fun, hang out, and if she happens to sit on my dick, then so be it.”

  Hartley chuckles to himself and then says, “Sounds like a recipe for disaster.”

  “How so?”

  He gives me a very good side-eye. “Come on, you really think you’re not going to grow feelings for the girl? I’ve already noticed a change in you. Convince yourself all you want, but when the time comes to part, it’s going to be a lot more painful than you think.”

  “Aren’t you a ray of sunshine today?” I stand from the couch and Hartley blocks my path.

  “Sorry, man. Just stressed.”

  “I know.” I give him a fist pump. “You’re going to be awesome. You’re not an All-American for no reason. Focus on seeing the field and then concentrate on everything else after that.”

  He nods, so I take off toward the kitchen where the rest of the guys have congregated. There’s an air in the house: playoff air. The boys are buzzing, testosterone is flowing, and I can feel great things are in the works.

  * * *

  “I seriously feel like I’m going to throw up,” Indie says next to me. “I’m never this nervous during my own games, so why am I a lunatic now?”

  I lift my ball cap and push my hand through my hair, feeling as uneasy as the rest of the crowd around us.

  Fifteen seconds left to play, Brentwood is down by four points. We need a touchdown.

  Hartley has been magic on the field all day, but he threw one interception while being tackled that has put them behind.

  “Yeah, I’m nervous too,” I say, hopping up and down. My boys are all around us, Scarlett is next to Indie, and the buzz of the game has us all shaken up.

  The boys take the field and Hartley gets into position, pointing out defensive moves to look for. His deep grunt is heard around the stadium. The ball is snapped, he falls into the pocket, the lineman giving him time to find Hutton, who’s cutting down the right side of the field.

  Everyone in the crowd holds their breath as Hartley falls back and throws the ball. It sails in the air. Indie grabs my arm and Hutton’s arms reach to catch the ball. He pulls it into his chest and makes a run for the end zone.

  The crowd erupts.

  Nebraska’s hot on his heels, but the man is a machine. He kicks up the speed, escaping a tackle and diving into the end zone before being taken down.

  The refs hold up their arms for a touchdown and the stadium bursts into cheers.

  Indie and Scarlett jump up and down together as both my hands go to my head. Fuck. That was phenomenal.

  The boys celebrate on the field while the stands shake with excitement.

  They’re going to the Governor’s Bowl. Third year in a row.

  “Oh my God, I’m going to bang him so hard tonight,” Scarlett announces to us as she claps.

  There’s no doubt in my mind that’s going to happen.

  “This calls for a party,” I say. “We need to celebrate.”

  * * *

  Hartley’s nowhere to be found, but we can’t hold off any longer. I lift my red cup to the air and say, “To the boys who represented today.”

  They lift their cups as well.

  “Kick some ass at the Governor’s.”

  They all cheer and most of them drain their cups, then head to the keg for a refill.

  We kept the party “small.” It’s just the football team, baseball team, and people’s significant others slash fuck buddies. Just enough to celebrate, but not too many where you can’t move in the house.

  I hop off the counter and go straight to Indie, where I grip her around the waist and spin her around. She laughs and grips my shirt to keep herself steady. I lean down and press a kiss to her lips that she quickly returns while holding on to my cheeks. If people didn’t know we were together before, they know now.

  I hear a few people call out my name in celebration, and I just wave at them while I keep my lips on Indie’s, who opens her mouth, inviting me in. I groan against her mouth and slip my tongue inside. I find a wall and back her up against it. Her hands fall to the loops of my jeans and she tugs on them while I press my hands against the wall behind her, keeping my mouth fused with hers.

  Sweet and titillating, she tastes so fucking good, like strawberries and beer.

  We didn’t drink at the game like everyone else, and we’ve only had one beer at the party. I think it’s because we’re both aware of what’s going to happen tonight and we want to be alert when it does.

  I haven’t seen her all week other than in class, as our schedules have clashed, so when I picked her and Scarlett up for the game, I was more than ready to take her back to my bedroom. Now, it’s all I want to do.

  I pull away and lean closer to her ear where I whisper, “Want to go upstairs?”

  “Can you?” she asks, looking up at me with those stunning eyes of hers.

  “I can do whatever the hell I want.”

  She smiles and then nods. Taking my hand in hers, we walk through the living room to the stairs and straight back to my bedroom.

  I close the door behind me with my foot and then lean against it, taking her in. She wore a Brentwood U shirt and a pair of skinny jeans. Her hair is straight, and well, fuck, she’s stunning.

  Nodding at her, I say, “Strip for me, babe.”

  “Just like that, you think I’m going to listen to your demands?” she asks, sticking her hands in her back pockets, pushing her breasts out even more.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  She chuckles and kicks off her shoes. I do the same. “I don’t know, I think I need to be convinced how much you want me.”

  I glance at my crotch and say, “Come feel me, and you’ll figure it out quickly.”

  “No, tell me something. Every admission will grant you a piece of clothing.”

  She wants to play a game? I’m down, especially if it means she’s stripping.

  “Okay. The first time I ever met you at Boondoggles, I couldn’t stop staring at the way your tits bounced when you celebrated a victory.”

  A sly smile spreads across her face. “I saw you checking me out.” She strips her shirt off, leaving her in a pink lacy bra.

  I drag my hand over my mouth. “Wear that just for me?”

  “Maybe. Now tell me something else.”

  “The first night you slept over, I desperately wanted to slip my hand under your shirt, anything to feel your skin. I was fucking burning for you like I am right now.”

  Satisfied with that answer, she pushes her pants down, revealing a matching thong. Clothes pushed away, she saunters over to me, and drags her hand up my shirt, taking it off. I stand there, enjoying her hands roaming the contours of my chest right before they fall to my jeans. She undoes them and pushes them all the way to the floor where I step out of them, leaving me in just my boxer briefs.

  She moves her hand to my groin and cups me in her palm. A sweet moan bubbles up and out of her throat as she falls to her knees and peels my briefs down.

  Leaning against the door, I suck in a sharp breath when she cups my balls and brings her lips to them where she presses a light kiss, her mouth just a whisper on me. My dick twitches above her with every touch of her mouth, begging to be taken in.

  Her tongue peeks out and draws a long line up the underside of my cock, and then she stands and brings me to the bed where she makes me sit. I lean back on my elbows, staring at her gorgeous body. My dick wants inside her. Urgently.

  Turning around, she shows me her sweet ass, the globes so perfect that I want to bite into each of them. She spreads my legs, grips my knees, and starts working her ass over my cock.

  “Ah, fuck, babe. Are you trying to kill me?”

  “No, just waiting for more evidence.”

  “Is my cock not evidence enough?”

  “I want to hear it from your lips.”

  My length falls between her two warm globes, and I suck in a sharp breath to keep myself from losing it.

  Fuuuck.

  “Our first training,” I groan out, my voice pained. “When you were squatting in your bike shorts, I couldn’t stop staring at your ass and the way your tits were practically spilling out of your sports bra.”

  She reaches behind her and unhooks her bra, dropping it to the floor. I sit up and look over her shoulder at her fantastic tits. I grip them, letting the weight of them float in my hands. Her head falls back on my shoulder as I massage her breasts, bringing my fingers to the points and rolling her nipples.

  “Yes,” she whispers, moving her hips over mine relentlessly. “One more, Lincoln. Tell me one more thing.”

  “Sit on top of me and I’ll tell you.”

  She gets up, so I lie on the bed where she straddles my lap and continues to move over me, her hand on my abdomen as she rocks.

  Like a goddamn goddess, she floats over me, reminding me with every pass of her hips how lucky I am to have her in my life, to be the guy she chose.

  Christ, the way she rubs against me, it feels so good, so fucking good, but there’s only one way to make it that much better.

  Reaching up, I take her breast in my hand, roll it around in my palm and say, “Remember the first time we showered in the locker room? After you left to get dressed in the bathroom stall, I jacked off in the shower.”

  She pauses, her eyes falling to mine. “Seriously?”

  I nod, biting my bottom lip. “Yeah, babe. It was too much for me. The entire workout, and then you naked only ten feet away, seeing the water cascade down your body. I was so goddamn hard there was no way I would have been able to walk out of there without doing something about it.”

  She gets off my lap, shimmies out of her thong and then climbs back on, but stays on all fours, taunting me.

  “I’ve masturbated to thoughts of you in the shower often. You’re not the only one who was turned on during that time.”

  “That’s fucking hot. Fingers or vibrator?”

  “Fingers. Scarlett is the one with the toys, not me.”

  “Babe.” I flip her onto her back. “I want to see you do that sometime.”

  “Get myself off?”

  I nod, bringing my mouth to her neck. “Yeah, I think it would be such a turn-on. But not tonight. Tonight, I need you for myself.” My mouth reaches her jaw. “All of you.”

  “I need that too.” Her hands fall to my back, down to my ass. She presses me down on her so my dick glides over her spread legs.

  “Hell, Indie,” I breathe against her skin. “I have a feeling I’m going to embarrass myself.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m right there with you.” She takes one of my hands and brings it between her legs and against her slick center. “I’m throbbing. Needing release. I need you to ease the pressure.” I go to move down her body with my mouth but she stops me. “No, I need you inside me. Please tell me you have condoms.”

  “I do,” I say, reaching into my nightstand and pulling one out. Once I’m sheathed, I lie back down on top, and she spreads her legs even wider. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, knowing this is the final line to cross when it comes to our relationship becoming full-fledged fuck buddies.

  “Positive,” she says, reaching down and positioning my cock at her entrance.

  There’s no turning back now. I slowly ease into her, her feral moan spurring me to keep going until I’m fully inserted. I still, catching my breath as I try to focus on what I’m doing, but that feels next to impossible. She feels so tight and warm around me. I swear, if there wasn’t a condom between us, I’d have come just from penetrating her, from the look of absolute satisfaction on her face when I sank into her.

  “So perfect,” she says. “You feel so perfect in me.” Her legs wrap around my waist, and she connects her hands with mine, bringing them above her head.

  Instead of moving my hips right away, I bring my lips to her heated skin and play with her nipples, lapping at them, pulling on them just enough with my teeth to extract a hiss from her, and sucking on them so her chest lifts off the bed.

  “Yes, Lincoln. God, you’re so good at this.”

  Trailing kisses back to her neck, I glide my tongue over her collarbone and then run my nose along the column of her neck. Her hips start to move as she groans into my ear when I kiss her jaw.

  I don’t give in to her eagerness. I trail my lips all the way to her mouth and then lift up a few inches. Her eyes open, those mossy-green beauties full of lust, and then I crash my mouth into hers as I pulse my hips.

  I capture her moan in my mouth and run my tongue along her lips, parting them so our tongues can meet. Her lips are warm and sweet, contradicting the desperation of her tongue. Her legs dig into my back, trying to help control the pace of my thrusts, but I hold strong as her hands grip mine tighter.

  Her head pulls away and she lets out a long breath. “Oh my God, Lincoln, please. I need more. You have me on the edge.”

  “Good,” I say, bringing my mouth back to hers, drinking in her sweetness and living out the moment, prolonging it as much as— “Oh fucking hell,” I say, my head falling to her shoulder.

  “Do you like that?” she asks, contracting her pussy around my aching cock.

  “Indie, don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Do that?” she asks as I pulse into her.

  “Jesus . . . fuck,” I hiss. My balls tighten, my mind starts to fade as everything around us begins to blacken. “Indie, I won’t last.”

  “Good. Make me come.”

  She releases my hands and reaches between us where she presses on her clit. I feel her pussy contract around me, and I can’t help it, my hips spike forward, faster, harder. I move her hand and replace it with mine, making circles over her clit.

  Her torso stiffens, her cries get louder, and her hands go to the back of my neck as an anchor while I pump into her, over and over again until I can’t feel anything else but the sensations pulling into my groin.

  “Babe, I’m—”

  “Oh God,” she yells as she spasms beneath me, her pussy contracting so tight that I feel like I can’t move.

  It’s my undoing.

  My body stiffens and unbridled heats rips through me as my cock swells inside Indie. Once again, euphoria hits me so hard, I black out as my cock spills inside of her.

  Fuck . . . ahh, fuck.

  Aftershocks hit both of us, spasms keeping us under the spell of our pleasure. I collapse on top of her and roll us both to the side so we can catch our breaths.