“Morning,” he whispers before pressing his lips against the top of my head.
Unable to resist looking at him, I tilt my head up. His hair is all over the place and he has a pillow crease in his cheek. I’m pretty sure he’s never looked better.
“Hey.”
“Why do you look so surprised to see me?” he asks, his eyes bouncing between mine.
“Thought you might have changed your mind and snuck out in the middle of the night,” I admit.
“You’re kidding, right? Why would I leave when I could be curled around you?”
“Many reasons,” I say, looking away from his soft eyes.
“Chels,” he warns.
“I’m sorry, this… this is just going to take a bit of getting used to. No one usually wants to hang around this long.”
“That’s because you haven’t allowed them to get to know you.”
I think about his words. They’re true. For the last… well, forever, I’ve put on this act. Pretended to be exactly what I thought everyone wanted from me, and I’ve kept everyone at arm’s length.
“What do you want to do today?” I ask, wanting to turn the conversation away from me.
“I could do with working out this morning.”
“Why? Didn’t you get enough exercise yesterday?” I ask with a wink.
His eyes darken before me and my core clenches with need.
Reaching forward, he tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.
“I could go for another day of that kind of exercise.” A smirk curls at his lips. “After a real workout. Just because the season is over, it doesn’t mean I can get out of shape.”
Pushing the covers down to expose his abs, I trail my finger over them and smile when his body flinches beneath my touch.
“Looks pretty impressive to me.”
“Oh yeah? I’m not sure how they look will help me with college football somehow.”
“If the coach was a woman, it might.”
“And you’d be okay with that, would you? Me showing off the goods to get my place.”
“Hmm… on second thought.”
“Exactly.”
“Can I come work out with you?”
“You think you can keep up?” he asks, teasingly.
“Cheer is a sport, you know. I put a lot of hours in to stay in peak condition.”
“As many hours as we do?”
Propping myself up on my elbow, I stare down at him.
“I guess we’re about to find out.”
I don’t know why I’m baiting him. I’m sure he could outrun me any day of the week, but I’m not one to back down from a challenge.
“Seems like we are.”
He slips from beneath me and sits on the edge of the bed.
“Hey,” I complain, rolling over onto my stomach.
Standing, he turns and rips the covers away from me.
“You won’t win by laz– fuck, I think I changed my mind.”
I glance down at myself. His jersey is hitched up around my waist, exposing my bare ass.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I ask innocently, rolling over to my back and parting my knees just slightly.
Shane clears his throat as he stares down at me, his cock trying to break free from his boxer briefs.
“You wearing only my number. Fuck. Do you know how many times I’ve fantasized about this?”
“Nope. But I think you should tell me all about it.” Lifting my hand, I trail my fingertip down my thigh. “Was I just like this?” He watches my movement, his lips parted and his chest already heaving.
“Fuck, Chels.”
“Was I totally bare beneath?” I part my legs wider and hook my finger under the hem of the jersey so he can see beneath. My nipples pebble and heat floods my core, my own words and his stare enough to turn me on.
Slipping one hand up my stomach, I make a show of pinching my own nipples and moaning in pleasure. It’s over the top but I can’t deny that they’re not a lot more sensitive since… no. I lock that down. Guilt hits me full force that I’m keeping this little–or huge–secret from him. He deserves to know, but spending this time together, getting to know each other, I don’t want it to end and I know that’s what’ll happen when I admit the truth.
I just need this right now. I need him and I’m too selfish right now to give him up.
“Yeah.” His voice is low and husky, it’s exactly what I need to help push those thoughts away and focus on right now.
“And did I touch myself like this?” Running my hand back down my stomach, I shamelessly part myself and run my fingers over my clit.
I arch my back and moan, keeping my eyes on him, fascinated by the way the muscle in his neck pulsates.
“Mmm…”
“Did you get yourself off while thinking about this?”
“What the fuck do you think?” he barks before diving forward and ripping my hand away from myself and replacing it with this tongue.
“Oh fuck, Shane,” I cry, my back arching for real this time as pleasure races through me.
Before we even leave the pool house to embark on our morning workout session, I already feel like I’ve run a few miles. My knees feel a little weak and my muscles pull from our earlier activity.
“We’ll leave my car at home and run down the beach?” Shane asks as he backs out of my driveway. Mom’s car is already gone but that’s not a surprise. She and Maddie have probably met for a morning yoga session. I’m sure they’re busy gossiping about the fact Shane turned up to see me yesterday afternoon by surprise.
“Yeah, sounds perfect,” I say, looking around for that truck but thankfully it’s nowhere to be seen.
“You okay?” he asks, obviously noticing that I’m not really with him.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.”
“If you’re worried that you’re not going to be able to keep up then all you’ve got to do is say so, I can go easy on you.”
“Shut up. I’ll run circles around you, Dunn.”
“That right?”
“Just wait and see.”
His driveway is equally as empty as mine, confirming my suspicion that our moms are together.
“I’ll get changed and then we can head out the back.”
“Sure.”
I follow him through his house but only once before have I followed him toward his bedroom. That night. The night when all this started and sealed our fate. My hand comes up to rest on my belly.
It was just meant to be a bit of fun. I was bored, lonely and pissed off that Tasha had left me alone to hook up. Tormenting Camila had been the wrong thing to do, so was sleeping with Shane some might say. But I can hardly regret it now. I’m pretty sure that decision might be the best of my life. No matter what happens when I tell him about what we created that night. I can’t regret it. Excitement and anticipation swirl in my stomach as I think about what the coming months will hold.
“Didn’t think I’d get invited back in here,” I say as I take a seat on the end of his bed.
“I didn’t think you’d ever be in here in the first place.”
“I can understand that.”
“You rocked my fucking world that night, you know that?” he asks as he pulls some clothes from a drawer and goes about changing.
“Oh yeah? You weren’t too bad either.”
“Whoa, thanks for the glowing report.”
“I’m joking. You were amazing. I was shocked. I’d have put money on you being a virgin,” I say with a laugh, but I soon stop when he stills and looks over his shoulder at me.
“I was,” he admits, making my chin drop.
“Fuck off you were. You knew exactly what you were doing,” I say like I was an expert that night. I’d only been with Jake before him, and that was forgettable at best. I had such high hopes for my first time and when I got the chance for it to be with Jake, I thought all my dreams were coming true. Well, a drunken, painful fumble wasn’t exactly what my fantasies were made of.
I watch as he pulls a clean shirt over his head. “I’m not lying, Chels. You were my first.”
“Well, shit.” And what a first that was.
“Well, your male ego will be pleased to know that I had no idea.”
“It wasn’t exactly hard.”
“I think you’ll find it was,” I say with a wink.
He chuckles. “What the fuck am I going to do with you?” He walks over to the bed and reaches for my hand.
I stand the second he tugs and our chests brush.
“So I stood up to the guys from your past then?” he whispers in my ear.
“Shane,” I say on a sigh. “I told you, it wasn’t like that. I’m not like that.”
“You’re not going to try to tell me that you were a virgin too, are you?”
“Um… no. But I have less experience than you think.”
He pulls back and looks into my eyes. He studies me for a moment and I expect him to ask me to explain, but he doesn’t. Instead he drops his lips to mine for a brief kiss before he pulls me from the room.
We make our way to the end of his yard and out to an alleyway that eventually leads us to the beach.
We warm up on the dry sand before taking off.
The sun beams down on us and sparkles on the calm sea to our side. The beach is almost empty with it still being a little chilly despite the bright morning sun.
I breathe in lungfuls of fresh sea air and smile. I really fucking needed this.
When I first discovered I was pregnant, I did a lot of research on what I was and wasn’t allowed to do. I was terrified that I’d lose the escape I got when I was working out and that I’d have to give up all my favorite foods. I had no real clue what growing a person entailed, but I was relieved to read that I could mostly continue as normal, for now at least.
My heart pounds as my muscles burn.
Shane runs right beside me, every few seconds he glances over to make sure I’m still keeping up.
He really does underestimate me. What does he think I did when I wasn’t barking orders at the squad or partying?
I have no idea how long we run, but eventually Shane slows to a stop.
“That all you got, Dunn?” I ask as he bends at the waist and places his hands on his knees.
He looks up at me, a smile breaks across his face as he shakes his head.
“What?”
“You really are full of surprises, aren’t you?”
“I told you. Cheer is hardcore, and I work out… hard.”
“So I see.”
Standing up straight, he steps toward me. His fingers wrap around my ponytail and tugs so I’ve got no choice but to look up at him.
He stares down at me, his green eyes sparkling with something I can’t quite read.
“I really fucking like you,” he admits.
He looks nervous when I don’t immediately respond.
“That’s good.” He lifts an eyebrow. “Because I really fucking like you too.”
He seals his lips over mine and kisses the life out of me in the middle of the beach.
“Get a fucking room,” a familiar voice calls.
“Fucking hell,” Shane mutters against my lips before pressing his forehead against mine. “Sorry.”
“I can handle these guys,” I say, turning to see who our visitors are. “Morning, Zayn, Ethan.” I can’t help but laugh at the shocked look on Ethan’s face. Fair play to Rae because she clearly didn’t share my secret with her boy like I expected her to.
“Should have fucking known you were otherwise engaged when you bailed yesterday morning,” Zayn says with a laugh. “Thought you’d fucked it up on Friday night, man.”
“It’s going to take more than a stupid fucking dare to get to me, Zayn. You should know that by now.”
Ethan remains mute as he looks between the two of us like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“I’m sorry but have I walked into the fucking twilight zone or something. You two?” he asks, pointing between us. “You and you?”
Shane laughs as he pulls me into his side and possessively wraps an arm around my waist. I fucking love it.
“Yeh,” Shane agrees. “Us two.”
“Fucking hell. I thought the most shocking thing to happen this year was me handing Rae my balls. Clearly, I was wrong. Shane Dunn and Chelsea Fierce. Fuck me,” he mutters to himself, making us all laugh.
“I’m glad you weren’t too hard on him. He was a miserable fuck without you,” Zayn says, making me very happy.
“Oh, is that right?” I ask, looking up at Shane.
“And you need to shut the fuck up,” he barks back, but the smile on his face counteracts his harsh words. He really couldn’t give a fuck about Zayn’s teasing.
“So when exactly did this happen?”
“Uh…” I start, not really sure how to answer that.
“She dug her claws in before she went away and left me wanting more.”
“And here we all were thinking you hated her.”
“Yeah, I kinda did, she can be pretty convincing though.”
Reaching up, I twist his nipple, laughing when he squeals like a little bitch.
When I look back to the guys, Ethan is nodding like he’s figuring something out. “I guess that makes sense.”
“What does?”
“That motherfucker started being our friend after you left. Digging to get information on you. Guess I should have seen straight through it.”
“You were otherwise distracted if I remember rightly,” Shane points out.
“True that. You do know that the rest of the school is going to have a field day with this, right?”
A ball of dread forms in my stomach at just the thought. But it’s not for me, it’s for Shane. He’s the one who’s going to be on the end of the bullshit. Everyone hates me. They’re not going to understand why he doesn’t.
“It’ll be fine,” he says with a confidence that I really don’t feel.
“Well, we’ve got your back.”
“Thank you, Ethan. I really appreciate it.”
“Tell me, did Rae know about this?”
“Um…”
“She’s in so much trouble.” A wicked smile curls at his lips as ideas form in his head.
“Well, this has been fun and all, but we need to get going,” Shane says, releasing me and taking a step forward.
“Do we?” I ask. He looks back over his shoulder at me and winks. “Oh yeah, we do. See you both tomorrow?”
“Already looking forward to it,” Zayn says with a smile.
“Zayn, we’d appreciate it if—”
“He won’t say anything until you’re ready, will you, Hunter?” Shane finishes for me.
“My lips are sealed.”
We say our goodbyes before taking off down the beach back toward Shane’s house.
We’re both silent as we run, but I can’t help but wonder if Shane’s head is full of thoughts about how we’ll handle this once tomorrow and school comes around.
There’s no way we’re going to keep it secret, we’ve already been discovered once, it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. But I hate to think what kind of backlash he’s going to get from this.
I must admit that by the time his house is visible in the distance that I’m more than ready to stop. My legs burn and my muscles ache, but I refuse to let him know that I’m starting to struggle.
“You ready to admit defeat yet?” he asks, getting ahead of me and turning to face me just to show off.
“Never.”
He must be able to see that I’m lying but he doesn’t say anything, instead he slows to a walk and comes back beside me. He reaches for my hand and tangles our fingers together as we make our way from the beach.
“I think I might have found my new favorite workout partner.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You’re much better to look at than Zayn.”
“I’m glad you think so,” I say with a laugh.
<
br /> His house is still in silence as we make our way back up to his room.
“I need to shower then get food.”
“How about you pack some stuff, we get food then shower at mine.”
“You mean together?”
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Can we get burgers?”
“If you want,” I say with a laugh.
“Okay, deal.”
I fall back on his bed while he pulls out a bag and starts shoving stuff inside.
“Fancy packing enough stuff for the night?”
He stops and looks my way.
“I like you on my bed,” he says, running his eyes down the length of me.
“I prefer you in mine. There’s no one who can overhear while I corrupt you.”
“I shouldn’t have admitted that earlier, should I?”
I’m silent for a moment while I think. “Did I give you all your firsts?”
His cheeks heat, it’s utterly adorable, although I don’t tell him that.
“Yeah,” he admits, not that he needed to, it was written all over his face.
“Mmm… I like that only I’ve touched you.”
“I hate that others have touched you.” He looks away and back to what he was packing.
“Hardly,” I admit.
He stops immediately and finds my eyes. He wants to ask, he wants to know the truth, but he’s scared of my answer.
“There was only Jake, and then you.”
His mouth opens and then closes as he takes on board what I’ve just said.
“But…”
“It’s all bullshit. Yeah, I’ve done more with them than I should,” I say with a wince. “But they’ve not touched me.”
“None of them?” he asks, his brows drawing together.
“Just one.”
“Jake.” He rolls his eyes.
Scrambling from the bed, I come to a stop in front of him and take both his hands in mine.
“Yeah, but let me tell you something.” I reach up on my tiptoes and kiss his lips. “You’re much better.”
He can’t fight the smile that pulls at the corners of his lips, and I’m so glad because it knocks me for a loop.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. You might not want to tell him that though.”
He barks a laugh and pulls me into his arms. “I know, that’s all that matters.”
FIERCE: A High School Enemies to Lovers Romance (Rosewood High Book 4) Page 20