Page 89 of Hard Hitter

I'm sick of being "just friends," but what if he doesn't feel the same?

The decision to follow Quinn to Arizona was primarily predicated on the latter. Raelyn wasn't about to move to a state based on someone else's dream if that someone was going to hook up left and right with every other girl on campus. This was college, after all. When people hooked up, that meant sex, not giving over-the-pants handies and going to third base under the gym bleachers.

Okay, so, some people were having sex in high school. Raelyn just was not one of them.

She wasn't completely inexperienced. Her first boyfriend sophomore year had helped perfect her French kissing skills and had gotten to third base. She'd even let him stick his hand down her panties. Once. Then there was Liam.Ugh. As much of a disaster as that relationship had turned out to be, Raelyn still couldn't say she regretted it entirely. Sure, he'd been an entitled jackass, but he'd at least been sexually experienced enough to teach her a thing or two. Taking the glass-half-full approach, having dated Liam meant she at least wasn't heading into her senior year as a complete nun.

No such thoughts were troubling Quinn, she was sure. That boy, or man, perhaps she should say- he would be eighteen in a few days- had been by her side for the past ten years. And somehow he'd managed to get with just about every available girl in their school. Maybe even T.C. Central, who knows? The rumors ranged from steamy lip-lock sessions, to oral sex, tohook-ups. The vague term bothered Raelynbecause she had no idea if this meant sex or something else. She never had the guts, nor the desire, really, to ask him for clarification.

Back in December when they'd had their little fight and made up, Raelyn had realized for the first time that she was undeniably attracted to Quinn. Her body was physically and physiologically attracted to his. The scent of him at times would send her thoughts swimming around in a haze and she'd find herself daydreaming about kissing him the next time they were alone in her room together so she could breathe in his intoxicating musk up close. These dreams would leave her hot and flushed with a yearning ache between her thighs.

But Quinn kept her strictly and safely in the boundaries of the friend zone. At first, she thought this was for the best. Romantic feelings could get messy- What if it screwed up their friendship? But as the daydreams began creeping into her completely unconscious nighttime dreams, and became increasingly scandalous and heated, she just became frustrated. It was hard to get a moment at school when girls weren't trailing after him, and after school he was zeroed in on getting scouted.

Raelyn had thought offering to help him with his scouting and even tutoring him on the subjects he felt less sure about was the answer to this frustration. Setting up training drills, running together, and going to the weight room was certainly one way to get more time with him and to keep him away from all those other girls who, for some reason, thought they had a more important place in his life than she did. The training drills were fine, and they could run together for miles. But sweet baby Jesus, she could not keep it together when they were in the weight room.

If she'd thought the daydreams were bad before, they were nothing compared to the actual, physical proximity to him as he benched and curled and lifted all that weight. Raelyn would zone out and focus on the way his muscles rippled, contracting and extending with each movement. To make matters worse, he didn't think he had to worry about her feeling attracted to him like that so he often went shirtless. It became a dangerous task when she would be watching her own form inthe mirror as she performed deadlifts, and her eyes would wander over to where Quinn was lying back on the bench. Why did athletic pants make it so easy to see a man’s penis even when it was not erect?

The image of beads of sweat dripping down Quinn's chest as he used the fly machine, and watching a stream run down his spine to the small of his back while he flexed, doing lat pull-downs clouded Raelyn's vision. Her body felt hot, and yet a shiver ripped through her suddenly.

"Girl, you okay?" Brandi Davis’s smooth voice snapped her back to the present.

Raelyn blinked several times and looked at her friend. Brandi's dark skin contrasted with the white bikini she was now wearing, and she pulled her braids into a large bun on top of her head. Brandi was still looking at Raelyn curiously so she found her voice, "Oh, just thinking about...how there's too much AC in this house to comfortably try on a bathing suit."

"Yeah, about that," said Brandi, wandering over to the cubby drawer where Raelyn stored her swimsuits. "You have all, like,athleticsuits. Like there are some bikinis, but they look like sports bras. And some tankinis, which I'm not even going to ask why. Don't you have anything a little more...feminine?"

Raelyn winced and hesitated. She had bought one bikini that was way out of her comfort zone. She had planned to wear it the last time she and Quinn hung out in the hot tub, but completely chickened out. She got nervous about what he'd say or felt like he would ask what the special occasion was or...just focustoomuch on just how much of her it revealed. She didn't want to feel like all the girls at school who threw themselves at him shamelessly. But shedidwant him to notice her as a woman, with female parts, wants, and desires.

Inside her walk-in closet, Raelyn sifted to the back where she'd hung up and left that bikini with the tags on. She grabbed it and brought it out to show Brandi, whose eyes went wide and she smiled.

"Yes, girl, that's the one," she nodded.

"Wait, Rae has girl clothes?" Heather Perch interjected, checking out the small pieces of dark and light blue fabric hanging in Raelyn's hand.

"You have all seen me in a dress and in skinny jeans and, I think there was one time I wore a jean skirt. And I always wear skorts at soccer practice. That's feminine!" Raelyn defended.

Heather shook her head and her chestnut brown hair swung gracefully behind her. "Not when you put on shin guards and knee socks."

"There are going to be so many boys here," said Raelyn as she snapped the tag off the cinched bandeau top. "This is strapless. What if it falls and I flash everyone?"

"Then Quinn will finally realize you have ta-tas," Brandi remarked. She and Heather both laughed.

"Do I, though?" Raelyn glanced down at her 32-B's. "It's a good thing I've got a nice butt."

"You've got a whole nice thing going on," Melanie Sun, one of the swim team's best divers, chimed in, gesturing to Raelyn's whole body. "I thought you were aware of that."

Raelyn bit her lip anxiously and looked to Brandi for support. Thankfully, Brandi recognized the look and said calmly, "Rae's just a bit nervous about the possibility of her friendship with Quinn going somewhere else. Which is perfectly understandable. He's, ya know, Quinn Casey. The ladies sort of love him-"

"And he doesn't seem to do relationships, and I can't just have aflingwith my best friend!" Raelyn finished, feeling now like she might hyperventilate. "And if he hasn't noticed me by now, why would he today? I mean, we've known each other since we were seven!Seven!And just a few months ago, my stupid brain decides that I don't want him to look at me like that anymore. What if he still just sees the girl who, like, forced him to be her friend? Or the girl who played baseball with him like one of the boys?Oh my God!"Raelyn gasped, dramatically putting her hands to her face, "What if he thinks of me as a little sister?!"

Brandi put her hands on Raelyn's shoulders and backed her up, forcing her to sit down on the bed. "Rae-Rae, breathe. This is QuinnCasey we're talking about. I'm sure he sees that you are very much a woman. A hot one. But if he does see you like some kid or just his best friend who can hang with the boys," she grabbed the blue bathing suit and held it up, "I assure you, he will no longer feel that way after seeing you in this."

It was about a quarter after one when Chris pulled his Impala into the DeRoses' driveway with Quinn, Jett, and Chris's little brother Tyler in tow. Shutting the front passenger door behind him, Quinn looked around and couldn't help noticing there were more cars parked in the driveway than there had been at most of the previous end of summer parties. Camille and her friends wouldn't be there; she'd moved into her first college apartment at Northwood University three weeks prior.

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