Darius the Great Deserves Better - Adib Khorram Page 0,30
mean, I did pee, but I didn’t actually have to.
I just needed to get away.
I washed my hands and sat on the edge of the bathtub with my phone. I read an article Coach Bentley had sent out to the team about post-game recovery, sent Mom a text to let her know the party was fine and Christian’s parents were home, took a quiz to find out Which Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Supporting Character Are You?
I thought about hiding in the bathroom for the rest of the party, but someone knocked on the door.
“Just a sec,” I said, and flushed the toilet again, so they wouldn’t know I’d been hiding. I washed my hands again too.
“Thanks,” Gabe said, and closed the door behind him.
I found Landon in the kitchen, drinking a bottle of orange Gatorade.
“Hey. Sorry.”
“No worries.” He pulled me in for an orangey kiss. “You good?”
“Yeah. Just needed a second away from the crowd.”
Landon’s arms slid down to my hips. He kissed me one more time, then pulled me toward the living room. I settled on the corner of the big beige couch, and Landon sat on my lap, his knees on either side of my hips and his butt resting on my thighs.
“Hey.” He kissed my nose. “You were awesome today.”
“Yeah?”
He kissed me again, on the corner of the mouth.
“Yeah. I loved watching you play.”
“Really?”
“Really. Have you seen yourself in those shorts?”
I couldn’t breathe.
“You like them?” I squeaked.
Landon’s eyes twinkled. “I do.” And then he kissed me again, and his tongue slipped into my mouth, and I decided breathing wasn’t all that important anyway.
I’m not going to lie: With all the kissing, I got an erection pretty quickly.
And I couldn’t tell for sure, but I thought Landon had one too. It was either that or his belt buckle rubbing against me as he rocked back and forth on his hips.
“Is this okay?” he whispered.
“Um.”
What Landon was doing felt good.
Really good.
If he didn’t stop, I was facing a containment breach of an entirely different sort.
Landon’s hands were wrapped around my love handles, and I couldn’t breathe because I was keeping my stomach sucked in.
And the whole team was downstairs.
Chip and Trent were downstairs.
“Wait.” I rested my hands on his hips to stop his rocking.
“Too much?”
I nodded.
“Sorry.” He smiled and kissed me again. His kisses trailed from my mouth to my neck, and then down to my collarbone, which felt weird. I giggled.
“What?”
“Sorry. That tickles.”
He sat back, biting his lip, and glanced down at my lap.
I wished I had worn jeans instead of my joggers.
“Do you want to go somewhere less . . . exposed?”
“Um.”
My heart thundered.
The idea was exhilarating.
And terrifying.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
Before I could answer, though, the sound of footsteps drumming against the basement stairs echoed up to us.
Chip poked his head into the living room, with Trent right behind him.
“Oh. Hey dude,” Chip said. He wasn’t grinning. Instead, his brows were scrunched up. “Landon, right?”
Landon cleared his throat. “Yeah.” I loved how red his cheeks were.
“Don’t let us stop you,” Trent said from behind Chip. “Dairy Queen could use some breaking in.”
My own cheeks reddened.
“Shame no one’s broken you in,” Landon muttered.
I snorted, and Chip grinned, but Trent said, “What?”
“Come on.” Chip dragged Trent away, mouthing sorry at us as he disappeared into the kitchen.
“Assholes,” Landon said.
“Trent is the worst,” I agreed. “But Chip’s not so bad.”
I don’t know why I felt like I had to defend Chip.
I was kind of mad at him too.
But I didn’t want Landon to be.
“Isn’t he the one who hit you in the balls, though?”
I winced.
“He’s nice, though. Usually.”
Landon stared at me for a long moment, biting his lip.
And then he let out this tiny sigh. “Hey. I better head home.”
“Already?”
“Yeah. I’ve got rehearsal tomorrow morning.”
“Oh.”
Landon kissed me and got off my lap.
Our encounter with Trent and Chip had removed any barriers that might have previously hindered that maneuver.
I waited in the kitchen with Landon until his ride showed up.
“You sure everything’s okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just checking.”
Landon kissed me on the cheek, zipped up his puffy coat, and left.
And I got this feeling. Like I had done something wrong.
Behind me, Chip cleared his throat.
“Hey. Sorry about all that.”
“Yeah. Well.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
I really did like Cyprian Cusumano, but he would never see Trent Bolger for who he truly was.
“I convinced the guys to switch to Mario Kart. Wanna play?”
“I guess.”
BIG RED ROBE
When I got home, I had a cup of tea and then lay in bed