Page 36 of Ready to Score

“You’re incredibly obstinate. Has anyone ever told you that?” Lim asked her.

“My whole life,” Jade said blandly. “I’m not trying to be, I swear.I just know that no one is going to fight for what I want besides me. I have to go hard, or I won’t get anything.”

“I’m not denying that,” Lim said as she pushed away from the sink and walked forward, stopping close enough for Jade to bury her nose in the little brown birthmark near her collarbone, if she wanted to. “I don’t begrudge you for it either. I’m just saying… you’ve been viewing me as an enemy when I could be an ally.”

Jade’s mouth watered, and she had to swallow. She felt like a teenager locked in a closet with another girl for the first time, eyes wide, anticipating something she was simultaneously desperate for and ignorant of.

What the fuck was happening? How many people had she kissed? Hell, how many people had she fucked? And this woman of all people was making her sweat bullets like some kind of wet-behind-the-ears virgin.

Instinctively, Jade’s body leaned in toward Lim’s. Millimeters apart, their foreheads practically touched.

“We can’t be allies.” Jade’s voice was a whisper. Anything louder felt like it might disrupt the moment. And as much as she knew they shouldn’t have been having it, she didn’t want it to end yet.

“Why not?” Lim inched closer until the tip of her nose brushed against Jade’s cheek.

The warm flesh, the subtle touch, it made Jade’s entire body ache. Her nipples hardened under her shirt. Her belly filled with heat. “Because… uh, because…”

Lim reached up slowly, putting her hand on the same cheek she’d just brushed her nose against. Her thumb, a little rough to the touch, glided over Jade’s warm skin and left a path of heat in its wake.

“Francesca…” Jade breathed the name out slowly, enjoying every bit of it on her tongue.

Francesca’s eyes sparkled. “You’ve never called me that before,”she said. She leaned in farther, until their lips were almost but not quite touching. “Say it again, Jade. Say my name, please. I need to hear it.”

Jade swallowed, her hands instinctively going to rest on Francesca’s hips.

“Francesca,” she said. “Francesca. Francesca. Franc—”

She was cut off by Francesca pressing their mouths together. Warm lips, a little wet from water, tasting like the dinner she’d just enjoyed. Jade shivered at the feeling, then nearly melted when she felt Francesca’s tongue rub against hers.

Their hips bumped together, both of them seeking closeness, needing friction. Little grunts and moans escaped between kisses that turned increasingly frantic.

Jade bit down on Francesca’s bottom lip, making her giggle so freely that Jade thought her heart might actually explode out of her chest. She tightened her grip on Francesca’s hips. The other woman raised her knee between Jade’s slightly parted ones. The second she felt the pressure against her clothed pussy, Jade shuddered, hard.

Their kiss broke naturally, both of them heavy-lidded and breathing hard. Francesca’s knee stayed right where it was, and Jade made little effort to stop her own hips from slowly bucking against it.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Francesca said to her lowly. “Even in those corny little visors and khaki shorts. How are you so fucking sexy?”

Jade groaned, her panties now completely soaked through. She wouldn’t have been surprised if the crotch of said khaki shorts was as well. “Shut up,” Jade breathed. “You should see yourself out there with all those tattoos and those long legs. It drives me up a wall every time I see you at practice.”

Francesca trailed a few kisses along the underside of Jade’s jaw. “We should have done this from the beginning. Saved ourselves the trouble.”

Inside, Jade was at war. Feelings versus logic. Future versus now. Everything was gamified, and she had no clue what play to run. This, right now, felt incredible. She didn’t think she’d ever had this heat with someone. No one had been able to turn her on like this in years—if ever. Everything about the woman in front of her was completely intoxicating, and she wanted to fall into it, to let herself get high and ride out the effects until she was completely blissed-out and problem-free.

She’d never been a throw-caution-to-the-wind type of person, though. Her plan Bs had plan Bs. If this turned out to be a mistake, she might as well have kissed her chance at head coach goodbye already. And as incredible as she felt here with Francesca, she’d had that dream nearly as long as she’d been alive.

“Fuck,” Jade groaned. “Fuuuuck.”

Francesca pulled away from where she was working a little passion mark into Jade’s neck to catch her eyes. “Is that a good fuck or a bad fuck?”

“It’s a…” Jade swallowed. “It’s a this-feels-too-good-to-be-real fuck.”

“It’s real.” Francesca grinned at her, all teeth. “It’s real enough that I can feel how wet you are through your pants.” She put a hand flat between Jade’s breasts. “I can feel how your heart thumps every time I kiss you.”

“I—”

“Tell me what you want, Jade.” Francesca’s tone was soft. “Just tell me and I’ll give it to you. Whatever it is.”

Jade had never let sex or the promise of it run or ruin her life. But this felt different. This felt like it was different from just rutting and moaning. She looked into Francesca’s eyes and saw something there that made her want to both hide away and show herself.

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