Songs for Cricket by Laine, E. (best books to read in your 20s TXT) 📗

I snagged her hand and kissed her fingers. “If only I’d known.”

“We wouldn’t have wasted so much time.”

“Exactly. And I don’t plan to waste another minute.”

For the next few hours, I found something I might have enjoyed more than music. Kissing and holding Finley like I’d wanted for so long turned out to be my new favorite pastime.

The only thing I was unenthusiastic about was letting her go. It was getting close to the time she needed to leave for practice.

“You’re not going?” she asked.

Conflicting thoughts collided in my head.

“What if someone has connected me to my father?”

Her amazing hazel eyes flashed with sincerity. “You’re not him.”

I swallowed. It was my greatest fear just eclipsing losing her to someone else.

“People will see what they want when it comes out, and it will come out.”

Riled up, she rolled off the bed and gathered her clothes. “Which is why you need to go to practice. Show them that you have no reason to hide because you’ve done nothing wrong.”

I only followed as far as sitting on the bed. I was afraid if I stood, I would find a way inside her again. Regardless of my decision to go or not, she had to.

With the bundle in her arms not covering the pink buds of her beautiful tits, I instantly grew hard.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

There was an invitation in her flirty statement. Then she was gone.

It took monumental will and a steadfast resolve not to follow her. As I waited, I heard the melody in my head and began to write in my notebook.

Eyes of Fire

Eyes of Gold

Being inside you

Was like no story ever told

Though I’ve reach my destination

We still have many places to go

Together was my destiny

Forever is my goal

When the bathroom door opened, I stopped. She gave me a gorgeous smile before disappearing in her room.

She was right. It would be cowardly to stay home and miss practice. I’d done nothing wrong. So I gathered my things and went to take my own shower.

It was hard keeping my hands off of her, especially since we were alone. When she asked me to drive, I’d thought good, maybe I could make it to practice without pulling over and touching her again.

As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Finley found it extremely amusing to get me hard and watch me squirm.

“I’m going to get you later,” I said when we parked.

“I’m counting on it,” she said.

Damn her for the sexy wink she tossed over her shoulder. I watched her for a second and allowed male pride to swell in my chest as she hopped out and walked toward the door with a hitch in her step. It only reminded me how deep I’d buried myself inside her that we ceased to be individuals and became one.

Finally, I got out and that’s when I noticed the TV van pulling up. If not for fear they were there to harass her, I might have ducked out of sight, worried that her little show that morning when I’d been arrested would have them tying us together.

I jogged through the doors as they were still unloading equipment at the curb. I spotted Tori and hesitated. Remembering that Finley was more important than any condemnation I might get if Tori had heard about my troubles. I went to her.

“There is a news van outside,” I said.

She nodded and smiled warmly at me. “I know. They reached out to the main office, and we were alerted. I’m going to help Finley through it.”

I gave her a thumbs-up and left, unsure if she was on my side or if she hadn’t yet heard about Lacey’s accusations.

After a second of waiting at the locker room door, I pushed inside. A few guys stopped talking when I appeared, but no one said anything directly to me.

Though the guys seemed either oblivious or uncaring about what had happened that morning, I knew the worst was yet to come.

The idea that girls on campus would shun me or, worse, walk the other direction out of misplaced fear was something I might face in the days to come.

If not for Finley and finally being able to call her mine, I might not have anything to look forward to.

25

finley

The ache between my legs was never more apparent than when I walked. I’d tried to hide it from Shepard because he’d already felt bad about inflicting unavoidable pain.

Alone in the locker room something else rivaled the pain between my legs. When I looked in the mirror prodding at my face, I realized that the cause was the smile that hadn’t left my face. I don’t think I’d ever been this happy. I would have skipped my way to the main locker room if I hadn’t run smack into Tori who’d been waiting for me in front of the pool area exit.

“Jeez, you scared me,” I said, clutching at my chest.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m sure you caught the local news reporter from channel five.”

I hadn’t paid attention to what station they were from, only that it wasn’t the best time for their arrival.

“How did they find out about me?” I asked.

I wondered if the President of the University was planning to use me for some marketing campaign to prove that we were a school of inclusion and equal rights for all.

Tori jaw unhinged. “You don’t know.”

Worry for Shepard and the anonymity from being linked to his father filled my chest. I shook my head.

“That mini game you had last Friday was taped and uploaded to YouTube. You’ve gone viral, my friend.”

I rubbed my head, finding a new pain that overtook everything else.

“Don’t worry. My mom was a local congresswoman before she died. I’ve had a crash course on how to handle the press.”

I had no desire for fame, which I knew was odd given my choice of sports. Still, I wanted to play for the love of the game and knowing I could do it,