by Claire Adams
Jess wasn’t there, and neither were the other two girls who had come with us. I stood and waited; Jess was probably flirting with that guy and she’d be out soon enough once she’d made a date with him. There were some already-drunk students straggling out of the stadium, headed to parties around the campus, I was sure—probably at least one on frat row. It wasn’t that late, but I wanted nothing more than to go back to the dorms and get a shower, maybe catch an episode of one of my favorite shows on TV, and go to bed. I was tired.
While I waited for Jess to show up, the team started to come out of the stadium one by one or in pairs. They paid me no mind, talking amongst themselves and heading to the frats or their own parties. After winning such a big game, they’d all be partying it up, and I couldn’t really blame them. I called out “Good game!” to a few people, just to not look like too much of an idiot.
Zack came out of the stadium and started to walk past me, headed to the parking lot; I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to call any attention to myself, in spite of the warm fuzzy feeling I had from his success. But just like before, it didn’t matter; Zack spotted me and stopped in his tracks, smiling slowly. “I didn’t know you came to any of our games,” he said, grinning more broadly.
“First game I’ve been to,” I said, shrugging. “Jess made me come out and just my luck—you get to show off for me.” My heart was beating faster.
“Are you waiting for a ride, then?”
I shrugged. I wondered what was taking Jess so long. Normally when she flirted with a guy like the one in the stadium, she made a quick date and then was on her way. I wondered if she was making out with him in the nearly-empty seats.
“Kind of,” I said with a little smile. While it had given me a warm, fuzzy feeling to see Zack doing well, I was still uncomfortable around him.
Before I could make an excuse to go after her, or something that would help me get away from Zack, Jess came strutting out of the stadium with the guy she’d been talking to all night. Neither of the other two girls was around, and I wondered just what had happened to them.
“There you are, Evie!” The guy’s arm was around her waist. “Derek has this great party he wants to take me to. Can you grab a ride home? Unless you want to come with us.”
I considered going with them, but it was easy to see that it would be a party where I knew no one; Jess would go off with Derek somewhere and I’d be the sad sack in a corner nursing crappy beer and waiting for the chance to go home. Zack was still right there next to me.
“I can get you home,” he said cheerfully. Jess glanced from Zack to me and she grinned.
“A ride home from the winning QB? I’m a little jelly,” she quipped.
I bit back a retort; the last thing I wanted—or so I thought—was a lot of time alone with Zack. But for the moment, at least, it seemed like that would be a slightly better option than a strange party by myself waiting for Jess to finish hooking up with a new guy.
“Have a good time,” I said to Jess. She walked away quickly with the guy she’d taken up with for the night, headed to the parking lot and off to a party. I looked at Zack. “So, where are you parked?” Zack smiled slowly—a rueful, slightly guilty-looking smile.
“It’s… actually back at the frat,” he said.
I sighed. “Seriously? You offer a ride when your car isn’t even here?”
“Would you have hung around if I’d said my car was back at the frat?” I shook my head. “Besides, it’s not as far away as the dorms are. It’s only ten blocks.”
I looked down at my shoes. They were comfortable at least—much more so than the heels I had worn to the party the other night. I sighed. Ten blocks to the frat. It could be worse, but not much. I looked up at the sky and told myself that at least it wasn’t about to rain.
We walked back to the frat house together, and my irritation started to fade as Zack jollied me along. He hadn’t wanted to take his car to the stadium; it wasn’t that long of a walk, as he pointed out, and parking was always a nightmare. I could see his point. He was used to running several miles regularly as part of his practice and training; ten blocks was nothing to him. It was a little more than nothing to me, and by the time we arrived at the frat house, I was ready to take a break and sit down for a little bit.
It shocked me to see the house totally empty. “Everyone’s out at parties,” Zack explained. “Our sister sorority is throwing a victory party—if we’d lost, they’d have changed it to a condolence party.”
He grinned at me as he led me through the door. Without droves of people in the place it was easier to see that at one point it had been a really impressive house—huge, with wood floors and strong walls. There were scuffs and the monkey-house smell of a bunch of guys all living in one place, some of whom didn’t take as much trouble to stay clean as they should, but it wasn’t positively gross.
“I’m kind of surprised this place isn’t dirtier,” I said, sitting down tentatively on one of the couches in the main common area.
Zack laughed. “We make all the pledges keep everything tidy. It’s part of their job as the newest members; instills a sense of pride in the frat.”
I chuckled. “That’ll do it, I guess.”
Zack grinned. “Yeah, some of the guys get a little too into it; one of them cleans the baseboards with his toothbrush.” I shook my head at that. “Hey, hang out here for a second; I need to find my keys.”
I shrugged. It wasn’t exactly spick-and-span in the common area, but I had come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t contract an STD from the leather couch, and I was happy enough to stay seated for a few more minutes.
“I’ll be here.”
Zack went off to his room and I looked around. The frat house was enormous, and it was almost a little creepy to be in it while it was so empty. I had managed to avoid all of the frats and sororities since I’d started the semester, at least until the party that Jess had dragged me to. If I hadn’t known that this was the ‘bad boy’ frat on campus, I wouldn’t have been able to tell it from what good shape the whole place was in. It had the guy-reek, but the floors were clean and free of vomit, and the furniture was in good shape. I didn’t want to necessarily think of what all had gone on in the common area over the years, and I was sure that if I took out a black light, there would be more stuff on the walls than I would be comfortable knowing about, but for the moment it was decent.
Zack appeared once more a few moments after he had left, jiggling his keys to show he’d found them. He leaped over the back of the couch and came down next to me grinning.
“Why didn’t you join any sororities when you started?” he asked me curiously. “I mean, I know you’ve got your grades and all that, but the sororities are good for connections—good for networking.”
“It just didn’t really seem like my scene—throwing parties and stuff like that.”
I knew for a fact that some of the sorority sisters were pretty smart; that their giggling, wet t-shirt antics were only a counterpoint to sharp minds. But I couldn’t see myself fawning over some guy in a toga, or spending my time in a house with dozens of other girls. It was more than enough to hang out with Jess and hear about her conquests. Zack leaned against me slightly.
“Hey, I remember you gave great shoulder rubs back when we were in high school,” he said, giving me a suggestive look. I rolled my eyes. “No really, you were great at it—better than the physical therapists here. Can I get one from you now?”
I sighed. I shouldn’t—it was stupid—but I couldn’t completely deny him, not after he had won the game and not when he was going to drive me home.
“Turn around,” I said, stretching my hands and warming them up.
Zack turned his back to me and I reached up, running my fingers along the velvet-soft skin of his neck. He was a little sunburned in the gap between the helmet and his pads and jersey, the skin darker there than it was anywhere else. I started kneading away at the knots of tension I found along the back of his nec
k, working my way down to his shoulders. Up close, I could tell that Zack had managed to find time for a good shower after the game, before he’d shown up at the gate where I was waiting for Jess; he smelled clean and fresh and he still wore the same cologne he had when we were in high school together. I smiled to myself at that fact, shaking my head where he couldn’t see, paying attention to giving him a good, thorough shoulder rub. I worked my way down along his upper arms and then back up, knowing where the muscles would be the tightest from playing.
Zack groaned in pleasure, rolling his head around and turning into my touches, and I felt myself tingling all over. I smiled to myself again, my heart starting to beat a little faster. I shook my head at myself. I was being ridiculous. It didn’t mean anything to Zack; I was just convenient. He wanted a shoulder rub, and I was there and capable. Zack leaned back against me and my hands came to a stop, resting on his shoulders instead of kneading them.
“It’s just like back in the day,” Zack said, turning around and looking at me. “It’s like when I’d have a game in high school, and we’d hang out afterwards before the parties.”
I smiled. “Yeah, it is kind of like that. Down to the shoulder rub.”
Zack raised an eyebrow. “We’d fool around, too,” he pointed out, his hands going to my waist.
I thought about it for a second; he was right—normally as soon as he was out of the locker room, we’d make out, sometimes not even waiting until we left campus to do it. Zack had taken me under the bleachers more than once to fool around when we’d been together, and I’d tingled just like I was tingling now. When we started having sex, it wasn’t that exciting, but the making out had been thrilling.
“We shouldn’t,” I said, pulling back slightly.
Zack shrugged, pulling back a little bit as well. “You used to be a lot of fun, you know,” he said with a little grin. “I think you could be fun right now if you’d let go a little bit.”
I rolled my eyes. “You were a bad influence. You were the person who gave me my first drink.”
Zack laughed. “I was, wasn’t I? What was it—your parents’ New Years’ party, right?” I nodded, unable to keep myself from smiling a little bit.
“Yes and my parents gave me so much shit over how hungover I was the next day.”
“Yeah, well, I did tell you to hold off on that third drink.”
I pinned him down with a stare. “You poured it for me,” I pointed out.
Zack grinned slowly. “Yeah, I did. Fair enough, it was all my fault. I think you refused to talk to me for a week after.”
I shook my head. “Small difference: I was grounded for a week, I couldn’t talk to you.”
Zack laughed again. “Well, you were the only reason that I managed to get through twelfth grade literature.”
“You were pretty hopeless,” I told him with a grin. I thought about the fact that I’d seen him going into the library; part of me wanted to ask him about it, but then I thought of how creepy it would sound for me to admit to seeing him go in somewhere. “Are you a better student these days?”
“They help us along, but the frat—though we’ve got a reputation as a bunch of partiers—has pretty high standards for grades to stay in. If I slacked off too much I’d get kicked out.” Somehow, oddly, that pleased me. “You know, I know you said we shouldn’t,” Zack said, licking his lips. “But kissing you the other night… it made me remember all the times we made out in high school and how hot it was.”
I bit my bottom lip. It was a bad idea; I knew it was. But I was tingling all over, hot and cold rushes flashing through my body from how close Zack was, remembering what it was like to kiss him—both when we’d been dating and the night before.
Zack leaned in and pressed his lips to mine, and before I knew it I was kissing him back, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders, pressing my body up against his. It was eerily quiet in the frat house, but I didn’t care about it anymore. Zack tasted like chewing gum and the flavor I had always associated with him—kind of bittersweet, like good chocolate. His tongue swiped against my lips and I opened my mouth, closing my eyes and melting into the kiss. It was just like it had been before, my body heating up, my breasts tingling. Even my pussy tightened, and I could feel myself getting wet. Zack began to press me down against the couch, covering my body with his own; his weight settled against me and it was both like and unlike how it had been when we were teenagers.
The kiss deepened, and Zack’s hands began to move over my body, sliding over my curves. He lingered at my breasts and hips, touching and teasing. His body was hot against mine—tight and tense, getting more and more tense as every moment passed.
“Fuck, Evie,” Zack murmured, his lips barely parted from mine. “When I saw you the other night, I wanted you so fucking bad.”
He rocked his hips against mine, and I moaned against his lips, threading my fingers in his hair. It was just as soft as I remembered, silky against my fingers. Zack nibbled on my bottom lip, lapping at my sensitive skin with his tongue while he rubbed and grinded against me. His arms around me were so strong—stronger than they’d been in my memories.
Zack reached up and cupped my breasts in his hands, giving them a long, satisfying squeeze through my clothes. “Fuck,” I said, breaking away from his lips and panting.
I was trembling—it had been ages since I’d gotten this hot and heavy with anyone. Zack ducked his head down and began kissing and nibbling at my neck, finding the sensitive spot just below my ear, licking and sucking until I moaned out. It was so hot—I couldn’t think anymore. When Zack’s hands slipped up underneath my shirt, I didn’t stop him; I couldn’t make myself stop him. Instead, I found the buttons at the front of his shirt and started to unbutton them, my hands and fingers fumbling while Zack distracted me with more attention to my neck, my throat, along my jaw, back up to my lips. I arched into his touches, struggling to get him out of his shirt. I wanted to see what his body looked like now—I wanted to feel it pressed against me. Our sex together hadn’t been particularly hot—at least not for me—but there was something different now.
Zack pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside, flashing a smile at me before he buried his face against the tops of my breasts. The rough stubble on his cheeks rasped against my sensitive skin, contrasting with the softness of his lips; I hadn’t even noticed it that much against my face, but as Zack tugged at the cups of my bra, trying to expose me, I could feel it against the tender skin there. It turned me on even more—Zack had barely been able to grow facial hair when we’d been together, and had been able to go days at a time not shaving without me noticing. Zack pulled my bra down and I gasped as he found one of my nipples with his mouth, sucking it between his lips and flicking his tongue against it until it hardened into a little nub. I moaned, my hands stopping in their progress, my whole body tensing up as my pussy flooded at the tingling, electric sensations that his mouth inspired in me.
Zack switched from one breast to the other, sucking and licking, while I struggled to get his shirt off. I tossed it aside and trailed my hands over his broad back, my nails digging in slightly as he carefully grazed my sensitive nipples with his teeth. He pulled back with a chuckle, bringing his mouth back up to mine and kissing me hungrily—as if he wanted to devour me. I pushed my hips down against his, holding his body tight against mine, loving the feeling of him pressed against me, the weight of him and how velvety his skin was. He still hadn’t grown hair on his chest—that amused me and turned me on all at once as I noticed it almost absently, squirming and writhing against him.
“You’re really into this, aren’t you, Evie?” Zack asked me, looking down. His dark eyes were glinting, his lips twitching with a little smile.
“You’re damn right I am,” I replied, not caring about the words that came out of my mouth.
All I could think of was getting him naked and feeling him inside of me. Jess’s questions from the other day filled my head—I could sort of remember what it had been
like to have sex with Zack, but not really, and suddenly, I wanted nothing more than to experience it again. It seemed so much hotter than it had been before, and I didn’t know if that was because my attitude towards sex had changed, or if Zack had gotten better with practice. I put the thought aside—I didn’t want to think about Zack practicing with other girls, not when I was pressed up against him, half naked and ready to screw his brains out. I pulled his face up to mine again and kissed him, reaching down to the waistband of his jeans. I could feel the hard ridge of his cock pressing at the front of his pants, rubbing up against me as we moved together. I was actually glad I had worn a skirt to the game—it would make it so much easier.
Zack pushed my skirt up to my waist and slipped his hand between my legs, caressing my inner thighs and making me shiver. He moved his hand upward slowly, making me squirm with anticipation, ready—more than ready—to feel him touching me. I grumbled slightly with impatience as he lingered just a few inches away from my soaking wet pussy, teasing me with the delay.
“God, you’re such a jerk,” I said, barely pulling back from his lips.
Zack chuckled and brought his fingertips up against my panties, barely touching me, the caress along my slick folds feather-light.
“Ooh, you’re soaking wet, Evie,” Zack said, his voice low with arousal. I blushed, feeling the heat spread from my face down to my chest. “God that’s fucking hot.”
Zack shook his head and my moment of near-humiliation passed; I had never managed to get very wet when we’d had sex—I had been too nervous to get fully aroused. Another guy I’d been with since breaking up with Zack had actually thought it was bad that I got soaking wet when I was turned on. Zack’s fingers pressed against me more firmly and I writhed against his touch, pushing my hips down, more than ready for more. Zack’s lips left mine and I almost protested—wanting everything all at once, wanting to feel him kissing me and touching me at the same time. But his lips began to move in a trail down from my mouth to my neck to my breasts. Zack pulled me up off of the couch and unhooked my bra in a quick movement, guiding it down off of my shoulders and over my arms before tossing it aside. He lingered at my breasts for a moment again, switching between my nipples, sucking and licking while he stroked me through the thin fabric of my panties.