Page 84 of Before You
“I hope it goes without saying, but I’m not with you for your money,” he says, his arms tightening around me.
I wish I weren’t sick so we could talk more about this, but I’m hanging onto consciousness by a thread. “It went without saying,amore mio.Thank you for staying.”
“I’m here as long as you want me to be.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
JJ
I HAVE NEVER hated school more than I do right now, and I normally love it, so I think it says something.
Marley is finally feeling better from her sinus infection, and quite frankly, I didn’t really care if I got sick, but she did. I know she thought I was sick the week before, but the truth is, withdrawals fucking suck.
She wasn’t able to make it to our game last weekend, but she sent me a picture of it on her television, and I laughed when I spied “the rules of football” search on her computer screen caught in the bottom of the photo.
She has a huge chemistry exam in a few days, and I have a deadline coming up for my statistics project where I’m analyzing individual player stats and the effect they can have on a team’s performance as a whole. Our upcoming game is away, so I have to get it done before we’re scheduled to leave Thursday night.
I’d much rather take Marley to the beach to watch the sunset over the water.
The last thing I want is to be stuck on opposite ends of the room because I’m not sure I can keep my hands to myself if I’m sitting next to her.
“Oh, how the tables have turned,” she says, laughing quietly as she looks at me over the top of her laptop.
“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?” I ask, raising an eyebrow at my cheeky girlfriend, who apparently thinks she’s a comedian now.
Marley smiles, her eyes sparkling. “It’s not supposed to be fun, but it still has to be done,” she mocks, and I roll my eyes, regretting saying it in the first place.
“It does need to be done,” I relent, momentarily hating I chose a degree where I actually have shit to do instead of coasting through my classes without a second thought.Why did I do this to myself?
“I know, but you look so upset,” she says, laughing again at my misery.
“And it’s funny?”
She shakes her head, biting her lower lip to attempt to hide her smile. “Not funny at all. It reminds me a little of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum, though.”
“I hate math.”Yeah, I’m definitely throwing a temper tantrum.
“No, you don’t.”
I scoff, stretching as I fight every urge telling me to abandon this project to kiss the sass right out of Marley.
“I don’t hate math, but I hate it right now,” I grumble, looking away from her to the numbers swirling on my screen. I pinch the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes to try to get my mind right.Responsibilities first, then everything else.Numbers have always made sense to me, their reliability something I fell in love with growing up, but right now, I can’t make sense of the equations in front of me.
The sound of footsteps getting closer causes me to look up, and it’s really unfair how beautiful Marley looks wearing my Beaumont football sweatshirt. Her fingers curl around my laptop, pulling it away to tap a few things on the computer beforeclosing it. “Marley,” I say, intending to complain, but instead, it sounds like I’m begging.
“It’s okay to take a break,” she says, resting a hand on my shoulder to straddle my lap as my pants become uncomfortably tight.If I touch her, it’s game over.
Marley lifts her hand to comb her fingers through my hair, the feeling of her hands on me better than drugs. My eyes flutter shut, a moan slipping from the back of my throat. My grip on my willpower slips completely when her lips graze over mine, and I grab her hips, pulling her against me entirely.
She gasps, and the sound is pure fucking music to my ears. “Sweetheart, I’m a lot of things, but right now, I’m not sure I can be patient,” I warn, cupping the back of her smooth neck.
“JJ, have you considered I don’t want you to be patient?” she asks, shifting her hips against mine, andfuck being responsible.
The only thing I want is Marley.
I tug her closer, slanting my mouth over hers as Marley slides her hands over my chest to hold onto my shoulders. There’s nothing gentle about this kiss as I take what I want. She bites at my lower lip, lighting my body on fire as she rolls her hips, grinding against my stiff cock, desperate for more contact through our layers of clothing.My god, I’m fucking gone for her.
She could ask me for the moon right now, and I’d find a way to make it happen.
