Scoring the Quarterback

by SM Soto

  My mouth plops open in…shock? Anger? Surprise? I don’t even know.

  Snapping my mouth shut, I fix him with a withering glare before whirling around. This time, as I push through the crowd of people, I’m able to get through without Luke stopping me. I catch up with Aliza and Sam, practically begging for us to leave but of course, nothing is ever that simple with Samantha.

  “Oh, c’mon, we’re having a great time! Don’t be such a party pooper, Natalia.”

  “You,” I say pointing to her, “may be having a good time, but I sure as hell am not!”

  “Natalia, don’t be such a—”

  “Such a what, Sam? I didn’t even want to be here. Especially not with Luke and the goddam playboy bunnies!”

  “She’s right, Sam. Maybe we should just call it a night,” Aliza says, shifting back and forth on her heels.

  “Leaving so early?”

  A deep voice says from somewhere behind me. I internally groan. I really don’t need this right now. A heavy arm is slung over my shoulder, and a fresh piney scent wafts around me. Luke.

  I shrug off his arm. “I don’t want to be here anymore,” I grumble snarkily. Luke grabs a hold of my elbow and lifts a finger up to the girls.

  “Give us a moment?”

  He drags me away from the girls, and I protest the entire time.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “This has gone on long enough. We’re gonna have a talk, Natalia. Once and for all.”

  “And if I don’t want to talk?” I arch a brow at him. He grips my arm and drags me toward the exit.

  “Too fucking bad.”

  A few texts to Sam and Aliza later, I’m inside Luke’s car on the way to IHOP. It’s the only place around here that’s open all night where we can have an actual conversation without yelling over music. Once I started drinking, I had given my keys to Aliza, so I didn’t have to worry about them getting home. That’s good for the girls, not so much for me.

  “I’m sorry,” Luke says suddenly, in the silence of the car. I look at him out of the corner of my eye, refusing to give him my full attention.

  “For what, exactly?”

  “For being a dick. For not talking to you. For kissing you on that field where I took other girls. Mostly for being angry with you just because you said the kiss didn’t mean anything to you.”

  I whip my head toward him, giving myself a kink in my neck.

  “When I kissed you on the field, I couldn’t stop myself. That wasn’t me just kissing some random girl, and when you said it meant nothing to you… I lost it. I was just so pissed off. So, I’m sorry. It’s taken me a while to get over it. To get over myself. You’re not like other girls. I don’t know why I thought the kiss would change things.”

  I open my mouth to say something. Anything. But nothing comes out. I’m rendered completely speechless. Luke Caldwell wanted to kiss me. I wasn’t just another girl to him.

  “So…so, you wanted to kiss me?”

  Luke chuckles, and runs a hand through his hair. “Natalia, I’ve wanted to kiss you since that first day at the party where I saw you running your smart mouth.”

  I sputter an incredulous laugh, still trying to process what he’s saying. This whole time, he’s wanted to kiss me?

  “Wow…I…I don’t even know what to say to that.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted you to know I’m sorry, and I promise I won’t kiss you again.”

  I know I should correct him, tell him I want nothing more than to kiss him again, but I don’t. Instead, I force a smile and nod my head, accepting his truce, and apology.

  After parking his car in the IHOP parking lot, Luke pulls me into a tight hug before leading me inside. His scent clings to my clothes and my skin, and I didn’t realize until now how much I’ve missed being close to him. As we eat our stacks of pancakes, I have to convince myself that friendship is all I can offer Luke, even if he does surprisingly want more.

  Who would’ve thought?

  This time around, I’m being smart. No more foolish slip-ups. I won’t be losing my heart to Luke Caldwell anytime soon.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Natalia

  The professor dismisses us for the day, and I can’t help feeling overwhelmingly giddy. So far, I have straight A’s in all my classes. My friendship with Luke is back to normal—it’s better than ever actually. We’ve finally taken a rest on the football lessons with his season under wraps. The Aztecs are participating in this year’s Armed Forces Bowl, so the team has been training like mad. With scouts showing up at almost every game, Luke’s been training extra hard at the school’s gym. We both decided to take a break with his lessons to avoid overworking him. Can’t have the star quarterback throwing out his arm teaching some random girl the rules of the game.

  Gina has been MIA, and my father hasn’t tried to get in touch with me, other than a simple text here and there. I’ve gotten pretty close with Luke’s roommates. After one of their games, I made them a batch of lasagna, and I swear, I think they love me more than they love Luke now.

  What’s there not to be happy about?

  “What could you possibly be smiling about? We’re at school for fucks sake.”

  “Don’t be such a Debbie-Downer, Mr. QB,” I joke, nudging Luke in his arm. “Life is good right now. Don’t blow this for me.”

  His eyes gleam as he smirks down at me. “Wouldn’t dream of it, Babygirl. You’re still coming over after practice, right?”

  “Yeah,” I affirm, heading toward my next class. “I can only stay for an hour and a half. I do have a job to get to, you know.”

  “I can work with that!” he crows to my retreating form.

  I head home after my last class of the day. Usually, on the days I go to Luke’s place before work, I first go home, make something to eat, and hang out with Sam for a while. Then I gather my textbook, work clothes, and head over to Luke’s place. It’s become somewhat routine as of late, and today is no different.

  On the way to Luke’s, I belt out the lyrics to the remix of “Finesse” by Bruno Mars and Cardi B in the car, feeling carefree and surprisingly jubilant. It doesn’t bother me that I receive strange looks from other drivers on the road like it normally does. Instead, I just smile back, and next thing I know, I’m pulling up to the curb outside Luke’s place.

  I type out a quick text, letting him know I’m here, and bound up the steps eagerly, with a wide grin on my face.

  Today is such a good day.

  My grin falls when Luke opens his apartment door. Seriously? He has on a pair of low slung sweats, and nothing else. My stomach does a backflip of sorts. My eyes immediately gravitate toward his tan, perfectly sculpted chest and abdomen.

  Jesus, I wonder how many sit-ups he does to maintain those? I think to myself while staring at his abs. My gaze trails lower, following the deep muscles, shaped in a V, that run down into his sweats. His feet are bare, and I’m rendered completely speechless. I’ve seen Luke Caldwell in many forms before. But barefoot Luke? Up close? That’s a new one for me.

  “You…y…your feet,” I stammer, gaping at his pale feet.

  “What? You didn’t realize I had feet?” He laughs.

  “Yeah…well, no. I’ve just never seen your feet before. They’re so…white.” I cock my head to the side, still staring.

  “There you go acting weird again, what’s up with you today? And please don’t tell me you have some sort of foot fetish. That would make this weird.”

  That prompts me to lift my head up and frown. “God, no,” I say, disgust making me cringe. The idea of anyone having a foot fetish is repulsing. Luke’s mouth curves into a smile, and the corners of his eyes crinkle.

  “Get in here, already. I’m showing all the neighbors my goods.”

  I snort and roll my eyes, brushing past him inside his place. “Please, I’m sure everyone and their mom has seen your goods by now.”

  “You won’t hear me deny it.”

&n
bsp; “God you’re gross.”

  We settle in Luke’s bedroom, sitting side by side on the bed. His room was a lot cleaner than I originally expected. But it’s obvious a male sleeps in here. The walls are bare, there’s only a SDSU football calendar pinned on the back of his bedroom door. His hamper is nestled in the corner of his room, just outside his closet. I’m half surprised the floor is clean and no clothes are strewn anywhere. Although, I’m sure he had enough time to clean up before I got here.

  “Well, this is unexpected. Where are all the suggestive posters?” I tease. Luke laughs, and scrubs the back of his neck almost bashfully. It’s adorable.

  Hanging over his dresser is a small TV, and beside the dresser is a black desk where his laptop and textbooks rest. His room is the only one with a bathroom attached. The door is slightly ajar, and from what I can tell, it looks fairly clean inside. I can’t say anything for the toilet. His bed is covered with black sheets and a black comforter, and I secretively try to search for any white stains on the bed.

  “What are you looking for?” he asks.

  “I’m looking for sex stains. I don’t want to sit where all the action happens.”

  Luke chuckles. “Don’t worry, I don’t sleep with girls in my bed. It’s kind of my rule.”

  I look up at him, my brows knitted together. “Really? Where then?”

  He looks down and me and arches a single brow. “You really want to know?”

  A shiver runs down my body. “On second thought, no.” I point to his bare chest. “Can you put on a shirt now? I don’t know why you think it’s okay to walk around half naked.”

  He laughs down at me and pinches my cheek lightly. “Aww. Is my body distracting you, Natalia?” he goads.

  “No, you jackass. It just makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Fine.” He rises to his feet, opens the top drawer on his dresser, and pulls out a gray shirt. He slips it over his head, effectively covering himself, and I’m finally able to breathe and think clearly.

  Much better.

  Luke and I work in silence as each of us finish assignments for our classes. His phone blares, jolting me out of my train of thought. My eyes drift over to his phone and I roll my eyes. The picture ID is of a girl doing duck lips toward the camera. Classy.

  Luke hits decline and turns his focus back to his work, but it’s not that simple for me.

  “How do you do it?” I blurt.

  He lifts his head and the crease between his brows deepens. “Do what?”

  “Get all these girls to fall all over you? How do you do it? I mean seriously. It’s like you don’t even try.”

  “I don’t.”

  “Then how?” I press. He cocks his head to the side, and stares at me. Like really stares at me, the look makes me shift uncomfortably next to him on the bed.

  “What can I say? I’ve got game. It all comes naturally,” he says with a careless shrug.

  “What a load of crap,” I scoff.

  “You don’t believe me? I’ll show you,” he says, getting off the bed and standing. He reaches behind his back and pulls his shirt over his head before I have a chance to object.

  “What the hell, Luke!” I screech. Completely ignoring me, he sits down next to me on the bed again, only this time, he’s facing me and he’s closer. Much closer.

  Without warning he grips my hand and places it over the contours of his abs. I suck in a sharp breath at the warmth radiating underneath my hand. His body is firm and hard, not a shred of fat. I look up at him through my lashes and stop breathing. The way he’s looking down at me…it makes my insides coil tightly. His eyes blaze with a look of pure lust and need. It hits me right in my core, and the apex between my thighs dampens. His pupils flare, and my heart is beating so loud, I’m certain he can hear it in the quiet of his room.

  “Do you feel anything?” he asks in a low, husky voice. I rub my lips together, trying to control my breathing. I swallow thickly.

  “No.” The word sounds like a croak coming out of my mouth. The corner of his mouth quirks, and his eyes light up. I suck in a gasp of air when his finger lightly touches the base of my throat. He trails his finger up toward my jaw, then down to my chest, stopping just before my cleavage. His touch leaves a trail of fire in its wake as he drags it across my skin. My breasts heave with each intake of breath, and my nipples involuntarily harden into erect points.

  Luke watches me and my reaction through hooded eyes, and I swear, I have never seen a look as sexy as the one he’s wearing right now. He inches closer, and his head cranes down toward my face like he’s going to kiss me. His cool breath wisps across the skin of my neck, and a tingle of arousal runs down my spine. Luke seductively licks his bottom lip, making it look enticing. Bringing his face near my ear, he whispers, “Feel anything, yet?”

  The words hit me down there, and my pussy clenches. His lips just barely graze the shell of my ear, and his breath tickles my neck with each soft-spoken word. My eyes flutter closed, and I let out an embarrassing pant of breath. I bite my bottom lip to keep from making any further noises. A pant was humiliating enough.

  “Natalia.”

  “Natalia.” He says a little louder this time.

  “Hmmm?”

  “It’s almost 4:30.”

  My eyes fling open, and I shoot away from him nearly falling off the bed. “Shit! I gotta go. I’m gonna be late!”

  “I know.” Luke chuckles. I hurriedly gather my books, stuffing everything in my bag, then fly out the door without saying goodbye. Luke’s laughter follows me till I’m outside.

  I floor it all the way to work, getting there with only two minutes to spare before I have to clock in. I drop my head down onto the steering wheel and shakily blow out a deep breath.

  What the hell was that?

  How could I have let that happen?

  Luke’s seductive voice replays over and over in my head. I shake those thoughts away and hurry out of the car into work. The rest of my shift, my body tingles, still hyper-aware of Luke and his seductive touch. I try to focus, to think about anything else, but he’s made it impossible. I can’t stop thinking about him and the way my body throbs with the unfamiliar need of release.

  The next morning, I wake up to a handful of text messages, all from Luke.

  Luke Caldwell: Hope you didn’t get to work too late

  Luke Caldwell: How are you feeling? Worked up, I’m assuming.

  Luke Caldwell: I warned you not to doubt my abilities.

  Luke Caldwell: I guess I really haven’t lost it, after all.

  I roll my eyes at his messages. Cheeky bastard.

  I type out a quick response.

  Natalia: Quit tooting your own horn already. It’s unattractive.

  Luke Caldwell: Someone’s cranky this morning.

  Natalia: Not sleeping will do that to you.

  Luke Caldwell: Oops. Should I apologize now, or later?

  Natalia: Don’t flatter yourself. I had to work late.

  Luke Caldwell: Suuuure.

  I ignore the rest of his messages as I get ready for work. I’ll never admit it to him, but last night I couldn’t sleep because I was so wound up. Even had to resort to something I never do.

  I touched myself. While thinking of Luke.

  Damn, I’m so disappointed in myself.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Natalia

  I haven’t seen Luke since the day he stripped me of all sense inside his bedroom. And it honestly isn’t because I’ve been avoiding him either. I’ve had nonstop shifts at the Bar and Grille, and last night, he had the big bowl game against one of the team’s major rivals, Fresno State. With today being my only day off, I decide to go to the bank and get other errands done that I’ve been putting on hold. Much to my surprise, when I get home from running around all day, I find Sam participating in acts that one should never see unwillingly.

  I was glad that when I called Luke, he picked up on the first ring and said it was okay to come over. I’m thankful he
didn’t make anything awkward. He actually didn’t even bring up our last encounter, which I couldn’t be happier about.

  “I’m so glad you weren’t doing anything tonight,” I say. “Sam’s having another one of her…group parties.” I shiver and swallow down the bile rising in my throat.

  Sam and her damn orgies.

  Luke chuckles and gestures to the box of pizza on the table. “Drew invited me to a frat party, but I’m just not feeling it tonight. I’m exhausted after yesterday’s game.” Luke drops down onto the couch and devours the slice of pizza in his hand.

  What I would do to be that slice of pizza—nope not going there, I warn myself.

  Luke and I settle on the couch, watching Netflix as I wait out Sam. When I start to nod off, I check my phone, realizing two hours have already passed. I continue texting Sam, wondering when the hell her little romp will be over, but I don’t get a reply. I groan.

  C’mon Sammy, seriously. Not tonight.

  “What’s up?” Luke asks, hearing my groan. I shift my eyes to him. He’s dressed in basketball shorts and a SDSU football t-shirt.

  “Sam’s not answering and it’s starting to get late. I’m tired,” I groan.

  “You can stay here,” Luke offers. I turn to him with a look of incredulity on my face. At the thought of sleeping over, my stomach does a summersault, back bend, round hand spring—whatever, you get the point.

  “Hold up.” Luke walks toward his room with his phone in hand, and I’m left sitting here on the couch, completely speechless.

  Spend the night at Luke Caldwell’s place? Can I do that?

  I can barely manage spending time with him without wanting to jump his bones. Ugh. I’m so caught up in my head, and my own thoughts that when Luke strides back into the living room, it takes me a moment to get back on track.

  “So, Drew and Jared aren’t coming home tonight. I can take one of their beds and you can sleep in mine,” he offers like it’s no big deal. I scramble my brain for the right thing to say. I need to politely decline his invite.