“Why?” It came out as condescending instead of confusion.
“My doctor put me on it sophomore year for my cramps.” She explained this as though she were telling me the grass was green, coupled with a bit of a shrug.
“How come you never mentioned that before?”
“My menstrual cycle doesn’t really rile me into a verbal frenzy.”
Her laugh was cute, but it died when my lips crashed into hers. I’d never been so thankful for PMS as I was at this moment. Carefully, I laid her down on the bed and crawled between her legs, mindful to keep my weight from crushing her. Ellie and I had never kept secrets—well, except for this whole birth control thing, except I wasn’t counting that—and I refused to start now.
So I told her the truth. “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing here, E.T.”
“Me either.” She offered me a kind smile, the one that had comforted me throughout life. Her thighs fell open, then her feet hooked on my ass. “We’ll figure it out the same way we do everything else…together.” And she gently applied pressure with her heels to pull me closer.
The head of my cock hovered at her warm entrance. I was terrified and exhilarated at the same time. I wanted nothing more than to sink deep inside her; however, I knew this was going to hurt. Her, not me. I hoped if I took it slowly, she’d adjust to my size, but I met a barrier with only a couple inches in. My body shook with pleasure and restraint. I’d never felt anything so glorious as the warmth of a woman, yet I was aware of what came next.
“It’s going to hurt.” I stared into her eyes, dreading a change of heart.
She nodded and let her lids fall closed. Tears slipped down the sides of her face when I tried to ease my way in. I couldn’t stand the thought of causing her pain. “I’m sorry,” I whispered into her ear as I clenched my ass and forced my way through.
Her back arched, her fingers dug into my sides, and she gasped for air. Kissing her neck and stroking her head, I waited for her to relax. My thumbs brushed the wetness from her face, and after a moment, she started to move. The rhythm was awkward—she’d pull away at the same time I did, and then we’d painfully bump together. Then, after a few minutes, our bodies fell into the synchrony they naturally existed in.
I tried to hold off my orgasm, but it felt too good. Every time she moved, the way she clenched inside, hugging my cock like it was made for her, brought me closer to the edge. I wasn’t going to last, and I’d done nothing for her pleasure. “I-I’m going to come, El.”
To my surprise, she worked her hand between the two of us and rubbed circles on her clit while I continued to move inside her. Distracted by the way she pleased herself, I withheld my explosion until she pulsed around me. Her hand moved faster, and she held her breath just before she called out my name.
“Coby…”
My God, that was a sound I could die peacefully after hearing. It was as if angels had sung a two-syllable chorus in my honor. And then my own fireworks detonated inside her. The bursts of color behind my eyelids were brilliant. But when I finally glanced at the clock, I realized my moment of sexual glory had lasted roughly four minutes.
Chapter 3
Ellie
If you wish to see the test of a person’s true character, take note of how they are when someone suddenly becomes famous. When Coby and I came back from New Jersey, the summer was in full swing, a time of year we normally spent in my backyard lounging in the sun or his living room watching movies. But now, every time we turned around, someone was calling Coby or stopping him on the sidewalk or ringing his doorbell. And it wasn’t the media. All those kids we’d grown up with since elementary school—the ones we’d shared classes with, the same ones who’d ignored us in the halls and let us sit alone at lunch every day for twelve years—came out of the woodwork with some daydreamed perception of their ties to Coby. It made me sick, and he didn’t have a clue what to do with the attention.
I hated that my friend recognized their advances for what they were, but at the same time, I was glad he wasn’t fooled. What should have been the best summer of our lives turned into hiding from people we didn’t care to hang out with and trying to keep the local, gold-digging hoochies from latching onto a suddenly wealthy Coby. He’d signed with the Titans not long after we were in New Jersey, and the girls lined up on his doorstep. I only had him for another few days before he had to report to training in Tuscaloosa. I couldn’t wait to get him out of this town, but I would miss him like crazy until I went to school. The girls in DeArmanville, Alabama, were bad enough; it hadn’t dawned on me how trifling women he’d never met would be.
That was, until he helped me move into my dorm at UAT. He managed to swing a day away from his new team to help me but he didn’t have a ton of time. The Titans pretty well dictated his life now. I hadn’t anticipated any of my time with him being taken up by people asking for autographs or stopping him with his arms full of boxes to chitchat. Coby Kyler was now a household name in the state of Alabama. Every high school kid believed dreams could come true if a no-namer could defy the odds and not only make the first round, but go straight to the Majors, skipping the Minors. I loved the attention he got from those people, the ones who believed in him. I hated the women who saw him as an opportunity.
“That’s the last of it, E.T.” Coby stood by the door after setting down the final box. With his hands on his hips, he assessed the situation. “Are you sure you want to stay here?”
“We’ve talked about this a hundred times. I can’t commute two hours to class every day.” I rolled my eyes and heaved my suitcase onto my bed to unload it.
“You wouldn’t have to once I buy a house. I can put you in a hotel until then. This place is like a Crackerjack box without the prize inside. The guys on this floor are creepy, and what if you hate your roomie?” He wouldn’t like it if Jesus lived next door. There was nothing wrong with the guys in the building.
The door pushed open behind him. “What about your roomie?” A bright-eyed blonde floated into the room. Her personality seemed as big as her hair. She bypassed Coby and extended her hand in greeting. “I’m Melinda.”
“Ellie Teller. And this is my best friend, Coby.”
She turned around to face the man in our doorway. “Coby Kyler. Wow. My daddy will die when he finds out I met you.”
I prayed she didn’t swoon. I didn’t want to dislike her and really hoped we’d be friends. But my mouth fell open when she whistled through her teeth like a construction worker cat-calling.
“I had no idea nerdy-chic could be so hot.” Then she looked him up and down and waved her hand to fan her face before returning her attention to me. “I’m going down to check out the clubs around campus. I’ll catch you guys later.” And as quickly as she’d come, she grabbed her purse and left.
The groan I let out was louder than intended.
“Sure I can’t change your mind?” he teased, aware of just how much this crap drove me insane.
“Coby, you haven’t even begun to look at houses. Not to mention, you have no idea when you will get time to start. Then there’s the whole closing process. It just won’t work.” He’d already done enough.
My parents were comfortable financially, but they certainly weren’t well-to-do. College tuition was a struggle, and I’d taken out a loan to help with some of my expenses the first semester. But as soon as Coby signed the contract with the Titans, the first thing he did was pay for school and pay off the money I’d borrowed. We’d argued vehemently about it, but in the end, he’d won. I didn’t care if he was dirt poor or King Titan—he was just Coby in my world. I never wanted him to question that. And he made sure I always knew family came first, and he took care of those he loved.
“But you’ll move when I do buy one?” The question hung in the air like a promise waiting to be fulfilled.
I walked up and put my arms around his waist. Nothing about our relationship changed after the night we gave our virginity to each other, except that we were now far more
comfortable with physical exchanges than we ever had been. “Let’s see how this year goes, okay? Neither one of us has a clue what our lives will look like in the next month, much less nine.”
Disappointment shone in his eyes even though he offered me a plastic smile. “Yeah, all right.”
I worried about Coby’s transition into the baseball life. My path was traditional; I took the route most American kids do. Life in the dorm was the midway point between high school and adult freedom. While I was terrified of making new friends and not having my crutch to depend on, it kind of excited me, too. I wanted nothing more for Coby than to experience that in his path. He’d never had solid guy friends, and this was his chance to build relationships without me as his shadow.
Nothing could ever tear us apart. It wouldn’t matter who came into our lives or what career paths we took—Coby and Ellie couldn’t be broken.
He squeezed me tightly, pressing my face to his chest. I missed his scent so much I’d switched to Lever 2000 soap just to pretend he was around. He pulled back but didn’t break away. “Am I really nerdy-chic?”
I giggled. I wouldn’t lie to him. “Maybe.” A grin spread across my cheeks as I stared into his honey-colored eyes.
“We need to remedy that immediately. I have the money to change people’s perception, and I’ll be thrilled if I’m never referred to as a nerd again.”
“Coby, don’t feel obligated to change who you are to please the public. Just be yourself.”
He kissed my forehead and let me go. “I will, just a more refined version. Promise me you’ll help?”
“Anything for you, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“You’re absolutely right. If my goal is to never get laid again, my current style is perfect to ensure that.”
I wasn’t in love with Coby, and he wasn’t with me, but referring to our virginity in such a blasé manner rubbed me the wrong way. I didn’t have any desire to be with my best friend, but I didn’t care to be his last “lay,” either. It had been a connection, the final piece of ourselves we’d never shared with anyone else and could never give to another human being. While I didn’t expect a ring—ever—it would be nice if he’d considered it the same gift I had.
Men.
“Just tell me when. I’ll do what I can to help.”
He patted me on the butt like one of the players on his team and backed out the door. I laughed my ass off when he tripped over the Sam Hunt look-a-like behind him who’d been reaching up to knock. Coby landed in the arms of another man and scowled when I snorted at his predicament.
The laughter died a slow death when his rescuer turned out to be a rabid fan. Well, maybe he wasn’t overzealous, but I still thought it was funny.
“Are you Coby Kyler?” The rugged country boy had an award-winning smile and drenched my panties with the first word out of his Southern mouth. I didn’t even care that he fawned over Coby.
“Shit. This is awkward. Sorry, man.” Coby straightened his clothes and stood. “What’s your name?”
“Ryan McNally.”
“Oh shit, you play first base for UAT. You’re a sophomore walk-on, right?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome to meet you. I’m sure you hate people coming up to introduce themselves.”
“Nah, I’m glad you did. This is my best friend, Ellie Teller. I’m just helping her move in. Maybe you could keep an eye on her for me.”
Ryan offered me a genuine smile, and his eyes fixated on mine. He didn’t look away when he responded with, “Absolutely.”
As pretty as he was, I didn’t need one of Coby’s groupies tracking my movements. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any phone numbers exchanged, and as soon as Coby disappeared, so had his fan club.
I’d be lying if I said the first few months of my college career were all that enjoyable. My roommate seemed obsessed with my best friend. And every guy I met recognized me as the girl with Coby Kyler from the draft. I just wanted to enjoy my freshman year the way every other eighteen-year-old did, but my relationship with America’s Golden Boy sent that journey off the track at every curve.
The rap on my door knocked me out of my thought-induced irritation. “Come in.”
“Hey, Ellie. Want to go grab some lunch?” Ryan had been on a crusade to befriend me since the day he’d promised Coby he’d look after me.
“No, thanks.” I had midterms to study for and hoped to get out of here as quickly as possible for the holidays afterward. Coby and I had plans to look at houses while he had a few days away from the team before we went home to see our parents.
“Are you ever going to cut me any slack, Teller?” He hung on the doorframe wearing that same panty-dropping smile he gave me every time I saw him. But he didn’t reserve it for me, so therefore, it was meaningless.
“Depends. Will your interest in me ever go beyond my connection to Coby?” It was rude and totally out of character for me.
“Whoa, what?” He came in and closed the door behind him. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing, Ryan.” I tried to dismiss him the way I had since the start of school, but today seemed to be the time he decided to figure out why.
“No, don’t nothing me. You think the reason I come to your room every day has something to do with Coby? I don’t even know the guy.”
“Neither does anyone else on this campus, but it doesn’t stop them from asking me about him.” I turned my attention back to my books. “Or some other dumb guy on his team,” I muttered under my breath.
Ryan moved closer to me, invading my space. I hadn’t invited him in, not this far anyway, yet here he came just the same. My heart raced the moment I caught a whiff of his cologne. I’d refused to acknowledge how attractive he was or the way the tattoo that peeked out from under his sleeve called to me or just what his smile did to my lady bits, but one whiff of his cologne and I was a goner.
He sat on the edge of my bed and put his hand around my ankle. No one other than Coby had ever touched me. Where I expected it to feel strange, I found comfort. “I think it’s cool you’re close to a Major League player, but if I never saw Coby again, it wouldn’t change the fact I’d like to be your friend.”
“Why? You don’t know anything about me.”
That smile I tried to avoid graced his lips again. “You study more than you do anything else. You’re overly cautious about who you befriend. You don’t eat pork. You have an obsession with Converse shoes and must own a pair in every color of the rainbow. And I can see a sadness in your eyes that wasn’t there the day we met.”
“How do you know I don’t eat pork?” Probably the least relevant of all his observations.
“Do you?” He quirked his eyebrow at me in question.
“You’re insufferable.”
“And you want to be my friend, too, but you’re scared. True?”
“Absolutely not.” Lie.
“Not even a little?” The right side of his mouth twitched as he fought a grin.
“Not even a smidge.” My ability to maintain a straight face waned, and the smile won over my grumpy disposition. As much as I didn’t care to admit it, Ryan was right. Instead of continuing the charade, I conceded to the truth. “I’m clueless when it comes to making friends. I’m not outgoing and wasn’t popular in high school. I’ve always been more of a homebody, and that isn’t conducive to college life.”
“Okay, here’s your opportunity to change that. I have a ton of friends on campus. I’m outgoing enough for the both of us. You just have to trust me with a little bit of your time. Come on, let’s go eat lunch and learn a few things about each other.”
Something in the way he looked at me told me his offer was genuine. “Fine. Lunch only.”
I had no idea how that one concession would begin to shape college for me. Ryan introduced me to people as we walked through the quad, and a couple of guys from the baseball team joined us while we ate. They all brought up Coby, but their interest in him was casual, and as soon as they ackno
wledged their admiration, they moved on to other topics. Maybe I wasn’t giving people a fair shot. After two hours of cutting up with Ryan’s friends in the dining hall, he walked me back to my room. We exchanged numbers, because apparently, he didn’t live in my building and had to make trips across campus from the athletic dorms to get his daily dose of rejection from me.
After handing back his cell phone with my number stored in his contacts, I turned to open my door. Melinda sat at her desk, but I hadn’t seen her when I came in.
“You’re all about the hot baseball players, huh?” She scared the snot out of me.
“It’s not like that.” We hadn’t spent much time together. Every chance we got to hang out, just the two of us in our dorm, she brought up Coby or another player on his team.
“Oh come on, Ellie. I hear you talking to Coby all the time, and now Ryan McNally? It’s okay to have a thing for guys in uniforms. Any chance you might get some time with Mark Dawson?” She wasn’t condescending; she truly seemed to believe ballplayers were my type. I assumed Mark was another player for the Titans, but I couldn’t be sure.
Since the truth had worked with Ryan, I decided to try it with her. I plopped down on my bed, and the books I’d left there before lunch bounced with my weight. “Honestly, Melinda, I’m not good at making friends. I’m terribly shy and have always been a bit of an outcast. But I refuse to be defined by my relationship with Coby.”
“Seriously?” The expression on her face would have been comical had she not been so confused.
I nodded and cast my gaze to the blanket beneath my folded legs. Picking at a stray string that had pulled out of the seam, I offered her more. “Coby’s not just my best friend. He’s my only friend. We weren’t picked on in school, just ignored. I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships and zero when it comes to dating.”
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