Page 41 of Catch Me

My breathing ratchets up. Short pants escape my mouth as he continues to tease my clit. “Reid, yes.”

He moans his approval, sending vibrations through my sensitive core.

“Yes, please. Oh God.”

The force of my orgasm pulls me off the bed. I sit up, staring down at his tongue stroking me as he pulls me closer to his mouth, forcing every last ounce of pleasure from me until I collapse back onto the bed.

He kisses up my stomach, chest, and eventually my neck before pulling me into his arms. Goosebumps crawl over my skin as I try to regain my composure. I turn to my side and nuzzle his chest, wishing for a moment that I didn’t have to go home. That this could be our life. Except preferably without parental units downstairs either. For a moment, I wonder if this will be our future.

I turn onto my side and rest my head on his muscular bicep. “Reid?”

“Hmm?”

I phrase my next words carefully because the last thing I want is to make Reid feel like I’m clingy, but at the same time, I am being fucking clingy. “What’s going to happen when we graduate?”

He turns toward me, then cusses under his breath, gets up to throw away the condom, and comes back. He pulls me close, his eyes glued to mine. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I know you want to go to Warner’s.”

“Yeah…”

I train my eyes on his chest. “I guess….well, I—.”

He puts his finger under my chin and lifts my face to meet his. “You don’t need to be uncomfortable around me. If this is about us going to school together. Yes, I fucking want you with me. Do I realize you have your own life to live?” His lips thin. “Yes, but fuck, Briar. This is real. All of it. Warner’s is a good school. Hell, it’s a great school. No, it’s not ivy league, but you could do so well there.” He runs his hands through my hair. “If all of that sounds anti-feminist, I’m sorry. I’m just speaking from the heart. I want to be with you. I want this, all day, every day.”

A smile pulls at my lips. “It’s on the downhill slide to anti-feminism, but I’ll allow it because I want to be with you too.”

He closes his eyes and sighs. Almost as if he’s been worried about the same thing and not had the chance to bring it up with me yet.

I blink. “You were worried about it too?”

He half laughs. “I know how smart you are. I know you could go anywhere you want, so if you do decide to go to Warner’s with me—if I get the scholarship and fucking Oscar doesn’t take my spot—then I’ll spend forever making it up to you.”

I shake my head. “You don’t have to make anything up to me. After Brady died, my priorities changed. Yes, I want to go to a good school and get a great job when we graduate, but you never know what’s going to happen, right? As long as you’re there, I’m there. That’s what matters.”

He nods his head knowingly. “Fate better not fuck with us because I’m all in.”

The depth of his eyes, the earnestness in his voice, it makes my heart give a solid thump until his words are etched on my heart forever.

19

By the time Halloween rolls around, it feels like Reid might snap. I can tell by the set of his shoulders and the bags under his eyes that he never thought he’d be out of commission this long. If we even bring up football, his jaw starts ticking and his foot starts tapping. Reid and Lex barely even speak even though nothing has changed as far as how close they are physically to one another. The only thing that’s happened since their fight is that Lex literally won’t look at me anymore. He doesn’t come around to make sure I’m okay. He doesn’t ask me questions. He stares at his food during lunch, only speaking up when Cade says something.

I’ll be fucking thrilled when the doctors okay Reid to start playing again. Not only will the hype around Oscar die down, but Reid will get his spot back—and his confidence.

On Halloween, the guys have a game. Jules and I watch from the sidelines while Reid stands next to Coach, looking on stiffly as Oscar commands the field. He really is good. He’s not better than Reid. He’s not outplaying him, but it must feel that way to someone who can’t even head out on the field and show everyone he can still do those things.

At the end of the second half, Reid storms to the locker room. Jules taps my leg, breathing out a breath that sounds like she’s been keeping inside for a while. “He’s a volcano waiting to erupt.”

We both watch as Sasha throws herself into Oscar’s arms, and they kiss like they have a semblance of privacy, which they don’t. The team catcalls them, whistles and shouts galore as they follow far behind Reid to the locker rooms. Yes, even Sasha. She laces her arm through Oscar’s and struts next to him like she belongs with the team. It must kill Reid to see her in there. To know what she did and not be able to say anything about it. To watch it all unfold when he can’t do a damn thing.

“I’ve had about enough of this shit,” I say, my fingers digging into my jeans. Not for the first time, I picture my fist connecting with her face, but other than some major satisfaction, what would that do? I need to think smarter. I definitely don’t need to get kicked out of school for fighting. Not now when I have a goal to get into Warner’s with Reid. He’s even sweating the fact that they might want Oscar instead of him, but for me, I’ll be pissed if missing school and running away and not caring about my grades stops me from going to college with Reid.

Eventually, Jules and I slowly make our way to Brady’s little memorial. Last week, we planted some hearty mums in deep, fall colors. The more we wait, the more my stomach twists. The guys are usually out by now. I watch the door and see a few second and third-stringers creep out, heading for the parking lot. Tonight, there’s a huge Halloween party being thrown at the same lake house Reid and Sasha broke up at.

Jules bumps my shoulder with her own. “Maybe you should go see what’s going on…”

I meet her eyes and see the same concern etched there that’s probably in mine. I know the guys can hold their own, but with Oscar and Sasha in there, I don’t want things to boil over, not with the way Reid’s been acting lately. “Yeah, I think you’re right.”

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