Scorched Turf

by Lilah Grey

  37

  Corinne

  The referee whistled three times, marking the end of the first half of play. For a brief moment, I had to cover my ears to block out the deafening hum of the crowd, and not to mention, Chloe’s shrieks.

  “Woooooo-yeah! Go Jack!” Chloe screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth as she bounced around next to me.

  The stadium was packed—not an open seat to be seen. Jack McGregor led the defense, preventing the Portland Predators from scoring while James headed up the offense, putting the Stars up by two goals. The players and coaching staff filtered off the field and into the tunnels that led to the locker rooms.

  “This. Is. Amazing!” Chloe’s eyes were so wide that I thought they were going to fall out of her head. Her hair was a wild mess, strands shot out in all directions as she vibrated with glee.

  My stomach rumbled as I watched a child, slung over her father’s shoulder, happily munching away on a soft pretzel. Her adorable face scrunched up into a frown when she saw me eyeing her pretzel.

  “I’m starving. Let’s eat,” Chloe said, reading my mind.

  After fighting our way through the crowd, and waiting in line for what felt like hours, I finally had a warm, doughy-goodness-infused soft pretzel in my hands. I was bringing the warm, delicious goodness to my mouth when Chloe interrupted me.

  “So tell me what’s going on between you and James.”

  Uh-bwah-what? My mind went haywire.

  Chloe sipped on her cherry Icee and then said, “Come on, spill.”

  “How did you…”

  “Know,” Chloe said, finishing my sentence. “I didn’t. Not until a few seconds ago.” She flashed a quick grin and then took another sip of her drink. Ice crunched and cracked as she stirred her drink. She looked at me, waiting.

  I took a deep breath and started from the beginning, as well as I knew it, ending with the night James kissed me. I saved what happened after that kiss; she didn’t need to know everything. By the time I was finished, Chloe was slurping the remnants of her Icee; my soft pretzel was hard and cold, and rather than eating it, I started picking away at it, turning it into a crumbled mess as we sat at a table next to one of the concession stands.

  “Does anyone else know about this?” I said, dragging a napkin over the remains of my pretzel like a white sheet over a corpse.

  “No. Not really. There’s been some rumors circulating from Rylee, but I don’t think anyone actually believes them,” Chloe said.

  A wave of relief rushed over me. “Good,” I said.

  “She’s really determined to pin something on you, though.”

  With everything I’d been going through this season, I’d sort’ve been detached from the rest of the team. I was glad that I still had Chloe as a link.

  “Well,” Chloe said, getting up from the table. “I’m happy for you two. I just wish you told me earlier.”

  “Yeah,” I said with a sigh. “I didn’t know what to say.”

  I felt bad. Chloe was one of my best friends, but with everything on the line, I wanted to keep it a secret.

  She frowned at me. “Didn’t know what to say?” Chloe stood in front of me, put her hands on my shoulders, leaned in, and said in a matter of fact tone, “You say, ‘Chloe, I’m fucking James.’ That’s all you needed to say.”

  Before I had a chance to respond, Chloe grabbed me by the arm, pulled me to my feet, and dragged me behind her.

  “Come on! I want to see Jack come out of the tunnel.”

  We weaved in and out of packs of people. There was already a large crowd forming along the railing above the tunnel when we finally made it. That didn’t deter Chloe. If her tank top had sleeves, I’m sure she would’ve rolled them up before lowering her head and forcing her way into the fray.

  “Excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me.” Chloe elbowed her way through the mass of people with relative ease. Within a few moments, both of us were leaning against the railing, waiting for Jack and the rest of the team to walk out of the tunnel.

  “Do you see Jack?” Chloe asked as she scanned field. She vibrated with excitement, so much so that she let out strange, soft chirps, like a cat that had spotted a bird. Cheers erupted around us and my heart raced as I spotted James and Jack walk out of the tunnel together.

  “Yeah, Jack! Woo!” Chloe screamed as they walked onto the field without acknowledging the crowd behind them.

  Just as the cheers softened, Chloe screamed, “Yeah, Jack! Fuck ‘em up!”

  A few gasps, mixed with chuckles, spread from the crowd. My face flushed as Jack and James stopped and turned around. I dropped down to the ground and Chloe followed. Unfortunately for both of us, the bars did little to shield us from either Jack or James.

  “Will do!” Jack yelled with a salute, the crowd erupting in laughter. James stood next to Jack, arms crossed under his chest, his eyes locked onto mine. Jack whispered something into James’s ear and he nodded, his eyes still trained on me.

  “Chloe,” I whispered. “What were you thinking?”

  She shrugged. “Sometimes I get excited.”

  I couldn’t stay mad at Chloe; she was like a puppy. An adorable, impulsive puppy.

  “Chloe, I swear this is where James wanted us to wait.”

  Chloe paced in a line no longer than five steps as we waited by a brick building outside the stadium.

  “I can show you the text again.”

  Chloe paused as though she were going to say something, but then continued pacing.

  I let out a sigh, checking my phone again. James was taking his sweet time, but I guess that’s to be expected. The press, and not to mention his fans, were probably all over him. A burst of jealousy rose in my chest, but I reminded myself that he was mine. A small smile crossed my lips and then grew large when I spotted two large figures come into view.

  “Chloe,” I said, grabbing her arm.

  “What?”

  “Uh, Chloe.”

  “Oh,” she said. And then a lower, more drawn out, “Ohhhhhh. My God.”

  My heart hammered with every step James and Jack took. They both wore tailored, navy blue suits that fit their bodies perfectly. I’d never seen James in a suit before, but I could definitely get used to it.

  James, rather than his usual just-out-rolled-out-of-bed hair, styled his hair in a classic side part that highlighted his masculine bone structure. His cheeks and jawline were peppered with dark scruff, and though he was a few feet away, I could smell his cologne. It flared my nostrils and I could feel myself being drawn into his magnetic pull.

  Although I considered James to be the most attractive man I’d met, as my eyes flitted to Jack, I had to admit that he wasn’t too hard on the eyes either. Chloe had a starstruck, dazed expression on her face, and I could’ve sworn she was drooling.

  “Jack.” James’s voice had a rough edge to it that I could feel all over my skin. “This is Corinne.”

  Jack tilted his head as his eyes narrowed, smiling after a few moments. “Glad to meet you, Corinne. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he said, shaking my hand.

  Jack’s accent caught me off guard, but not as much as hearing that James talked to him about me. My cheeks flushed, but I did my best mask the excitement in my voice.

  “Nice to meet you too, Jack.”

  “And this,” James said, turning his attention away from me, “is Chloe. She’s a star defender, much like yourself.”

  “Chloe,” Jack said as though he were testing of the feel of her name on his tongue. “I like that.” He offered his hand, but Chloe remained frozen in place.

  I nudged her with my elbow, but she didn’t budge.

  “Chloe,” I whispered, leaning in. “Shake his hand!”

  “How?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes still locked on Jack.

  “Just reach out and grab it,” I said, trying to bite back a laugh.

  Finally, she grabbed his hand, but rather than placing her palm flat against his, she grabbed the tips of his
fingers and shook.

  “That’s a fine handshake you’ve got there,” Jack said. I was now biting my lips in an attempt to distract myself. I had never seen Chloe so discombobulated before.

  “Chloe,” I whispered. “You can let go now.”

  After a few seconds, she let go and her arm snapped right back to her side.

  “Thanks for your kind words earlier,” Jack said with a smile. “I think we did, as you said, ‘Fuck ‘em up.’ ”

  James and I burst into laughter and Chloe turned bright red. Fortunately, it seemed to loosen whatever had tightened around her.

  “I do what I can,” she said.

  “So how about we get out of here?” Jack said, “Sushi sound good?”

  “Fuck yeah,” Chloe blurted out.

  Oh my god… Chloe…

  “I mean, yes,” Chloe said, straightening her spine and pulling her shoulders back. “That would be most good.”

  James and I shared a look.

  Jack didn’t seem to care about Chloe’s verbal outbursts. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying them. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, and his smile deepened.

  “I know a place,” James said, grabbing my hand. Butterflies flitted in my chest. “We can pick it up and take it back to my apartment. Sound good?”

  Neither Chloe or Jack responded; they were lost in their own little world.

  “Sound good?” James repeated, leaning in between them.

  “Sounds good,” Jack said, finally, clapping James’s shoulder.

  “What was that?” I whispered to James as we walked toward his car.

  James laughed. “I have no idea.”

  38

  James

  “You’re in trouble,” I said, shutting the door behind me. The lock clicked into place as I turned the latch, echoing in the cavernous bedroom. Corinne stood in the middle of room, biting her lip as she eyed me.

  “Me?” she said, blinking at me. “What did I do?”

  Her hair fanned out as she twirled around in the center of the room, pausing only for a moment to look at me over her shoulder. A light laugh left her mouth before she turned back around and walked slowly to the bed. She sat down at its edge, her legs spread wide as she stared at me, anticipating my next move.

  “I think you know.”

  Corinne had toyed with me all evening, pushing every boundary that she could, stopping just before crossing any of them. It all started with her hand. That soft, delicate hand. At first, it rested on my thigh. A squeeze every now and then, a reminder of sorts if my attention drifted. But as dinner with Chloe and Jack progressed, the closer it drew up my leg until finally it reached my cock.

  Corinne smiled at me innocently when I glanced at her, turning her attention back to the maki roll in front of her. It hadn’t ended there; she began massaging me through my pants. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it; talking with Jack and Chloe, both of them unaware of what was happening a few feet in front of them, turned me on even more.

  But then she stopped, retracting her hand just before I climaxed.

  The whispers started after that. Her warm breath tickling my neck as she told me, in detail, what she wanted me to do to her after dinner, once Jack had taken Chloe home. I was on edge the entire night, waiting for Jack and Chloe to leave, so I finally would have the release that had been building the entire night.

  But they didn’t leave. Corinne thought a movie was in order. Finding fucking Nemo. I don’t think I’d ever felt that much rage for a computer-animated fish before. And I don’t think I’d seen two girls more excited about a computer-animated fish. Jack and I looked at each other, shaking our heads as Corinne and Chloe bounced around the room like children hyped up on too much caffeine or sugar.

  So I sat there, watching a fish swim around in the ocean, all the while I thought about what I’d do to Corinne once the movie ended.

  Corinne pulled her legs up from the edge of the bed and tucked them under her, hiding them beneath her dress. She folded her hands on her lap, and said, “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about, James.”

  I crossed the room and stood in front of her. She sucked in her bottom lip, eyes locked on mine. Corinne’s performance was stellar, but I could see the slight tremors in her hands that she tried to hide; I could hear the shakiness in her uneven breaths.

  “But if I did something wrong,” Corinne said, shifting into a kneeling position, “I’ll gladly take my punishment.”

  Corinne wet her lips, dragging her front teeth across her bottom lip.

  Fuck, I wanted to taste those lips again. It had only been less than a day since we’d last kissed, but that length of time felt like an eternity.

  I cupped Corinne’s face with my palm; she turned her head, nuzzling it, kissing it. She reached out, sliding her palms along my legs and the underneath my shirt.

  “Do you think you could find it in your heart to forgive me?” Corinne said, her hands still roaming across my bare skin. “I know…” she said. “How about…”

  Corinne lowered her gaze to my waist and then began unbuckling my belt. A few seconds later, my pants were around my ankles. She rested her face against my thigh as she laid her palm on my throbbing cock.

  She slid her fingers underneath the waistband of my boxers and gently tugged them down. Her lips were wrapped around my cock before my boxers hit the floor.

  “Fuck,” I moaned, my head rolling back as I gripped a fistful of her hair.

  She gripped my ass as her lips slid along my length, taking every inch of me into her mouth.

  I pulled her head backward, stopping her. “No,” I said, looking down at Corinne’s puzzled expression. “It’s your turn.”

  I pushed Corinne back onto the mattress. Before she had the chance to react I was on her, pinning her legs down as I crawled on top of her. I slid my hands under the hem of her dress, found her panties, and slid them off.

  Corinne’s cheeks were already flushed, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice caught in her throat when my mouth found her wet folds. She bucked and kicked, but with my hands gripping her thighs, she wasn’t going anywhere. And the deep, guttural moans escaping her lips told me she didn’t want to go anyway.

  “Right there,” she muttered between moans, her hands gripping my head.

  And then the moaning became quieter and less frequent. Her body trembled as her thighs clenched against my head.

  I pulled away from Corinne, watching as she tilted her chin down to look at me. Confusion and anger swirled in her eyes, letting me know that stopping now would end in certain death.

  “Remember that time you forced me to sit through an animated movie about fish, prolonging the blue balls you gave me?”

  Corinne’s mouth opened and closed, reminding me of the fish in the movie we’d just watched.

  “I remember,” I said. “Payback.”

  “Wait—No—” Cori protested, lines forming along her forehead. “That—I didn’t mean it.”

  I laughed, knowing full well that I wasn’t going to stop. I only wanted to give Corinne a taste of what she put me through.

  “Promise it won’t happen again?”

  She nodded franticly. “Never again. Promise. Just please—”

  My mouth covered her wetness again, and within a few minutes, I felt Corinne’s body shudder as her orgasm rocked through her.

  I pulled out a condom, tore it, and rolled in on my cock as Corinne focused on the euphoric feelings coursing through her.

  “Mmm,” she said, running her hands along her body, up her neck, and through her hair as her body writhed against the sheets. “That was—”

  Corinne’s words caught in her throat. Her eyebrows forced themselves together as she gaped at me, eyes beginning to glaze over. My cock slid in and out of her in slow, rhythmic strokes. I pulled her head toward me, kissing her, my tongue tasting her hungrily.

  I tugged down harshly on her hair, her head rolling
back. My eyes raked over her face, every beautiful inch of it.

  “You’re beautiful, Cori,” I said. “I love you.”

  “I…” she began, “I…” Corinne’s eyes rolled back, and her eyelids shut tight as she bit down on her lip. I felt her clench against my cock. Fuck, it felt so good. Her legs trembled as I continued to thrust myself into her, finding my release moments later.

  We lay, holding each other without saying a word—we didn’t need to. Our body’s vibrated with energy, communicating everything that needed to be said through touch alone. The rise and fall of our chests were in sync, and I wanted to stay in this moment forever, bottle it up and stow it away some place to keep it forever. But I didn’t have to do that. This moment wasn’t going to be the last I shared with Corinne. My life would be filled them. Our lives.

  “James,” Corinne said. “Do you really love me?”

  I snorted at how absurd I thought the question was. Of course, I loved her. I don’t throw those words around easily. I meant them with all my heart and soul. Corinne was my world.

  I brushed a stray strand of hair of her forehead. “Of course,” I said.

  “Say it again,” she said.

  “Of course.”

  She pulled her head off my chest and frowned at me. “No. That you love me. Say it.”

  “I love you,” I said.

  The frown faded into a smile, and she nuzzled against my chest again.

  “I could get used to that.”

  “And you better,” I said. “You’re going to hear it often.”

  “Everyday?”

  “Everyday.”

  We fell asleep, Corinne listening the pitter patter of my heart, and me to her slow, steady breaths. There was no other place I wanted to be, and with no other person.

  “James!” Corinne prodded my chest.

  I groaned, rolling onto my side. “I don’t want any eggs right now,” I said, half asleep.

  “What? No.” She jabbed me again, but this time on my back, in between my ribs.

  I rolled onto my back.“What—I’m up. What?”

  “Listen!”

  “For what?”

  Corinne shushed me. Although it was pitch black in the bedroom, I could picture the annoyed look on Corinne’s face. I let out a sigh—quietly, of course—and listened, trying to figure out what in the world Corinne was so intent on me to hear.