The Dare: Sterling U: Book 1

by Amanda Ray

  When we walk into the arena it's nothing but noise. Loud, overbearing, screams, moans, groans and voices. Sav and I look over at each other, feeling intimidated before making our way to the concession stand. "Wanna share a pretzel?" Savannah asks me and I nod, gazing around the stadium. It's a lot bigger than I would have expected for a college team but our university doesn't mess around when it comes to sports. Our football, lacrosse and soccer teams all have their own private fields, locker rooms and training facilities as well. We're next in line when I hear a familiar voice and look over. Red hair meets my gaze and I grimace a little.

  The long legged fox stands at the concession stand flirting with a popular lacrosse player, Declan, who's running the stand tonight. I narrow my eyes at her before rolling them. Every time I've seen her so far she's always been hanging on a guy. Not just any guys though, the sports guys. The popular guys. I don't know her, not really, but I've known girls like her and a part of me wants to run up to her and yell "stay away from my man!" I let out a small sigh before rolling my shoulders back. No. I won't do that. I trust Brooks and if he wanted to fall for a girl like Serena then he would be with her. He chose me. I'm his girlfriend.

  Savvy orders our beers and pretzel while I give myself a little pep talk. Serena recognizes me when I walk up next to Sav to take my drink. "Huh. Haven't seen you around the hockey arena. You guys just getting into the sport?" Savvy looks between me and her before narrowing her eyes at Serena, "Just here to enjoy the game. And a nice view. Maybe take home a hockey player or two," Savvy responds with a wicked tone, her eyes screaming try me bitch. I let out a small chuckle, shook my head and grabbed Savvy's arm walking us away. "Enjoy the game," I yell over my shoulder to Serena, who's watching us go.

  "That girl needs to keep her paws in check," Savvy says as we sit down in our seats. Five rows back and in the center. Perfect view of the ice and just close enough where the boys can see us. "Yeah, well, I think she's got her sights on any guy who might be going pro at some point. She hangs all over anyone in a jersey." I shake my head thinking about how she was hanging on Brooks at Nate's frat party. Making out with him. My blood starts to boil and I can feel Savvy watching me. "Well, little fox needs to stay the hell away from guys who are taken." I smirk at her, raising an eyebrow, "Does that include Nate?" She rolls her eyes at me, "Nate’s single I believe.” My eyes narrow at her, another eye roll before she says, “Hush, the game is starting."

  The entire game Savvy and I couldn't sit still. Brooks got slammed into the wall twice, Nate got put in the penalty box for starting a fight, Mason got slammed by two guys, Drew got hurt, getting taken out by the medics and at one point Ronnie’s helmet came off courtesy of one of the other teams players starting a fight and everyone in the stands went berserk. My adrenaline was pumping and I was on my feet screaming until my throat was raw every time we got a goal. The game was close, only winning at the ten second mark on the clock when Nate scored a slap shot past their goalie.

  When the game was over Sav and I grabbed another beer while we waited for the boys to finish up in the locker room. We were talking up against the wall when a giant hand grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back into their chest. I breathed in his scent when his lips found my neck. Brooks. My fingers laced with his, wrapping around my stomach and I tilted my head to the side to capture his lips with mine. A low moan came from his mouth and I breathed it in.

  "Alright. Alright. Enough of that. Come on! I wanna go celebrate!" Nate grumbled. Brooks and I broke apart looking over in time to watch him throw his arm around Savvy’s shoulders and give her a kiss on the cheek. Hmmm. Brooks and I exchanged a look and smiled. "Where do you wanna go Mr. Big shot?" I ask Nate, smiling when his eyes light up. "You saw how amazing that slap shot was? Ugh. Pure gold! I thought we were gonna be goners there for a second."

  "Nah, man. The minute I passed you the puck I knew you'd make it count." Brooks slaps him on the shoulder as we make our way out to the cars. "So, the frat house is having a party tonight or we can do something just the four of us? Maybe go grab some drinks at Wade's or go get something to eat?" Nate asks as he looks around at all of us.

  "You guys have the auction tomorrow night right?" I look up at Brooks who nods. "So let's just do something small. I wanna celebrate with you guys but I don't want you to get trashed and get in trouble with your coach."

  "Yeah. You're right," Nate agrees, "Let's do something small. How about takeout and a nice fire at your place, B?"

  "Sounds good. Let's go." We split up as Brooks takes me in his car and Nate takes Savvy. After a few hours of take out, a nice fire, games and talking, we say goodbye to Savvy and Nate. The minute they're out the door Brooks looks over to me and lets out a small sigh, "I have to tell you something." My heart skips and I'm momentarily frozen. The look in his eyes terrifies me and I'm preparing myself for the worst. Brooks moves closer to me and my eyes dance between his. He cups my cheeks and a stray tear falls down them. I didn't even realize I was crying. "Baby, why are you crying? What's wrong?"

  I look up at him, guilt and sadness written in his eyes. "I don't know what you're about to say but I can tell that whatever it is, it's going to change everything." He looks down and scuffs his feet, whispering, "Yeah. Yeah, it is." I shake my head at him. Sucking down my pride and swallowing the lump in my throat, "Then don't say it. Not yet. Let me enjoy this for a little bit longer. Let me enjoy you for a little bit longer. Please." Brooks looks between my eyes, he's trying to read me and I know he sees how much he can break me. He nods before leaning in, touching my lips with his. Soft and barely there. "I didn't cheat on you, Letty. Nothing like that. I’d never do that. I’m not interested in anyone else. Only you. But there is something I haven't told you. Something I need to. I'll wait, but I need to tell you. Tomorrow?"

  I nod, "Tomorrow night. After your auction." I look up at him through my wet lashes. I had planned to tell him I love him tomorrow anyway, I was going to take him to the secret spot he told me about where he and his brother used to hide out and play. It's a bit of a drive but I already packed snacks and was planning to take his Jeep. Nate gave me directions and everything after talking to his parents. I guess tomorrow I'll find out if I should really tell him or if I should keep it to myself. But for tonight he's mine. For tonight, we're us.

  I lean up on my tip toes, grab his hair at the base of his neck and pull him into me. Devouring his mouth with mine, our tongues dance and fight to taste one another. Brooks' hands cup my cheeks as he makes a low growl. My hands slowly drag down his neck, tracing down his shirt, feeling his strained muscles through the material. I reach his sweat pants and can already feel that he's hard for me. Wasting no time, I slipped my hand inside and grabbed his throbbing shaft. Brooks let's out a hiss and bites my lower lip, dragging it out between his teeth. I whimper; it hurts but feels so good.

  His hands find my ass and squeeze. Kneading harder and harder as I stroke him. He pulls me closer to him, lifting one of my legs to hook around his waist. I smile when I feel him against my core through the fabric. Brooks doesn't waste any time, he slowly takes my hand off of his erection, places it around his neck, grabs my ass and picks me up. My other leg wraps around him and I hang on him like a chimpanzee as he walks us to his bedroom.

  Brooks places me down slowly, caressing my skin as he slowly peels away my clothes. I shiver at his touch and try to absorb every sensation that he's giving me. My eyes flutter and my stomach tightens as he makes a trail of kisses up my thighs, over my hip bone, up my stomach before landing onto my hard nipple. I gasp when he takes one into his mouth, lavishing it with his tongue. My hips buck up trying to meet his and I bite my lip when I feel that his pants are gone. We're skin to skin and I'm aching, pulsating for him to be inside of me.

  "Brooks, Brooks..." I pant over and over as his tongue swirls over my nipple and his fingers make their way up my thigh before playing with my folds. I'm biting my lip so hard I can taste blood but I don't care because the pure torture, pur
e ecstasy that I'm getting in this moment is too damn good. Brooks moves up my body placing feather-like kisses before slipping a finger inside of me. I whimper at the impact, so slow, so lazy. I want rough and hard but he's making me beg for it.

  "Faster. Harder." I grab his head, pulling him up to me to devour his mouth once more. I need to show him what I want. I push him over so he's laying on his back, before straddling his body. His fingers slip back inside me and I withered under them. I grab his shoulders and throw my head back. God, I need him inside me. Now! "Ride my fingers, baby. I want to take you nice and slow tonight with my cock, so if you want rough... If you want dirty, hard and fast, then you better fuck my fingers long and hard because I'm taking my time with you after this." He bites my neck and I lose control. I slam down on his fingers, riding them just how he said. Fast. Hard. And rough. When he curls them and uses his thumb to rub my clit I go overboard.

  My breathing is barely under control when Brooks grabs a condom, lays me on my side so we're facing one another and slips inside me. My leg wraps around his waist and he kisses me slowly and tenderly, occasionally pulling away to look at me as he moves painfully slow inside me. I'm so focused on his eyes, the tenderness, the love, the pain, that my orgasm sneaks up on me. Brooks grabs my chin, lifting my gaze to look at him while I come and a second later he follows me. We stare deep into each other's eyes while we reach our highs and I collapse into him when I come down.

  After a few minutes he pulls out of me, disposes of the condom and comes back to bed pulling me into his chest. Our heart beats even out and I'm about to pass out when I hear him whisper, "You mean everything to me, Letty. So much more than I ever thought you could. I don't want to lose you but you deserve to know the truth. I'll tell you everything tomorrow after the auction and then you can decide if you still want to be with me." I clench my eyes shut, biting my inner cheek to keep the tears at bay. I will sleep to come but my mind races with questions. What could be so bad that it's going to make me want to say goodbye to him? To this? To us? Tomorrow was something I was looking forward to. Something that was supposed to be happy and filled with love. Now I want to stay in this moment forever because I'm terrified of what tomorrow holds.

  Chapter 29

  Brooks

  New Year's Eve and I can already tell it's going to be the best year yet. Hopefully. My arms tighten around Letty's lengthy body. Her bare breasts against my chest. She nuzzles into me and I moaned a little. Damn, I can't get enough of this girl.

  "Morning, baby." I whisper in her ear, biting her lobe. I'm not sure if she's groaning at the sensation or because it's the ass crack of dawn. My body's so used to getting up for workouts and practice that even on my off days I can't seem to sleep in anymore. Letty hitches her leg over my hip and I take full advantage. I position myself just right so that our groins meet perfectly, swiveling just enough to feel that amazing friction. A low growl escapes me the moment I feel her warmth. "Fuuuuuck, babe. You're already wet for me and I didn't even have to do shit."

  "Mmm." She starts to kiss my chest but I can tell she's still a zombie. There's barely any pressure behind her lips caress so I decide to take control. I throw her on her back, hovering over her and start to leave a trail of kisses down her body. When I get to her folds I slowly spread them, breathing her in before licking her entire core. One swift movement and she's all over my mouth. I can't take it, she tastes too good and her tiny whimpers drive me insane. "You taste so fucking sweet, Letty. God, I can't get enough." I lick up her wetness, devouring her delicious taste before focusing on her swollen nub. I suck and suck, twirling my tongue faster and faster before pushing down and hearing her scream out my name in ecstasy.

  I can't take it anymore, I throw Letty over my shoulder, smacking her firm ass. "What are you doing?!" She squeals as I walk us into the bathroom. Turning on the shower, testing to make sure the water is the perfect temperature, I walk us under the steaming water giving her cheeks one last squeeze before letting her slide down my wet body. "Fuck, I can do this all day, every day." She pushes at my chest and I laugh. I bend down to kiss her, breathing her in. "Come on, baby. Let's get all dirty so we can get cleaned up." I smile down at her but before she can respond I grab her waist, lift her up against the tiled wall and I'm inside her once more.

  Her body's become my home. Her warmth, my sanctuary. She's my addiction and God help me because I don't want to quit it. Don't want to quit her. After two orgasms and a nice scrub down for both of us I make us breakfast before kissing her goodbye. The auction is tonight and I'm nervous as fuck. Nate is coming over early to help calm me the fuck down and get ready before the girls head over but my minds been racing non-stop. I know I have to tell her. She needs to know about the dare, about how we started, but there's a part of me that just wants to lock us away. Keep her from ever finding out and coming into contact with anyone who could ever tell her. But I know I can't. I can't be a coward. I need to own up to what I did, what this was. I never thought she'd mean anything to me. Never thought she'd mean so much to me.

  After a workout and a few beers my mind is still racing by the time Nate shows up. Dressed in sweats with an Armani suit draped over his shoulder he comes into the kitchen. He takes one look at me, shakes his head and starts for the fridge. "You know I'm here for you man, right?" Nate grabs two beers and hands me one, "I know you gotta tell her. Man, you gotta tell her. Cause you know damn well if she finds out from anyone else you got no chance. At least if you tell her you have the opportunity to try to save this. I know this is all kinds of fucked up, hell, I'll be the first one to say I never thought you'd catch feelings for her but you did man. It's written all over your face. I just want you to be happy B, whatever that is. And clearly, she makes you happy, man. I'm here for you. Okay? Whatever you need. I'm here." Nate claps me in the back, shaking me to try to lift my spirits, "It'll be okay, B. Just do it."

  I let out a heavy sigh and try my damn hardest not to fucking cry. He's wrong. He's so wrong. I know the moment I tell her, I'm going to lose her. "I know," I whisper so low it's barely audible, "I'm gonna tell her as soon as it's over. As soon as we're back here alone. I just don't want anything messing up this night, Nate. Can you just do me a favor?" He nods, taking a sip of his beer, "Anything, bro, you know that."

  "Can you just help me make sure she's not alone tonight? I know Savvy will be there but I don't want her alone with any of the guys. I don't need one of them, especially Ky, getting to her before I can tell her the truth. Can you do that for me?" My eyes are brimming with tears and my throat feels like the Sahara. I try to clear it but it's no use, I can't hide how much this is affecting me. "Yeah, B. I'll watch her. Or rather, I'll watch them. Okay? Now let's put this shit aside, go get ready and have a fan-fucking-tastic night with the girls and some old ass broads who are going to bid on us to win some swanky dates." We both laugh, I nod in agreement.

  Two hours later and I'm standing in my doorway breathless at the sight of my girl. A red, satin, floor length gown drapes over her silky skin. There's a slit in the side that reveals her long, toned legs and black pumps. Her chest and shoulders are exposed in a sweetheart neckline with off the shoulder straps and her long brown hair cascades down the side of her shoulder in gorgeous curls. I'm pretty sure when people say "she left me speechless" this is what they mean. Being so stunned by someone's beauty you can't muster up a single word let alone a single sound. I feel like a statue, barely able to blink because I don't want to miss a single second of my gorgeous girl.

  Savvy let out a laugh, "Told you the red one was the way to go." Letty giggled and walked toward me. Her hand on my chest, feeling my rapid heartbeat. Leaning up, her mouth touching mine when she speaks, "It's like I shocked you in place or something. What do I have to do to wake you up?" Letty slides her hands down over my pants and just like that, me and my pants are both wide awake, standing tall.

  "God, you're beautiful." She giggles again, giving me a kiss, "Thank you. Now let's get out of here before yo
u guys are late. Can't have the auction without it's pieces." The girls laugh as Nate and I groan. "You better be bidding on us!" Nate says, pulling Savvy into his chest, her blue-gray gown almost the exact color of his eyes, "I don't want to end up with some old lady who's going to be groping me all night during dinner. Please, please, please, tell me you and Letty brought money to bid on us."

  "Oh, so you'd prefer if we were the ones groping you guys all night?" Savvy's smart remark earned a smile from Nate. "Fuck, yes." I chime in, grabbing Letty to pull her closer while we walk to the cars.

  Thirty minutes later we arrived at the banquet hall, half the team was already here. Some flying solo, some with dates, some with friends but everyone enjoying the opened bar and free buffet. The four of us found a table in the center, far enough from the stage but close enough to see everything. Mason, his friend Dominique, Ky and his date Serena -as luck would have it-. Drew and Ronnie, all decide to join our table. The minute Serena took the seat next to Ky I heard a low groan and huff from both Letty and Savvy. Nate and I looked at each other and let out a small laugh. Yeah, ladies. We don't care for them either.

  "Well, well, well. How's my two love birds doing on this lovely night?" Ky locks eyes with me before dragging them up and down Letty's body. I growl, gripping the table cloth in an attempt to stop my fists from flying in his face. "We're great. Thanks." Letty replies, placing her hand over mine to unclench them. Our fingers intertwine and I let out a small sigh when she reaches over to kiss me. God, I needed that.