Page 53 of Fast Break
“Ditto, JT,” I tell him, pulling his body closer until he’s flush against me. “The first time I saw you walking by in the schoolyard I remember thinkingwho the fuck is he? Believe me, you are very,verymuch up my alley, Jethro Thomas Sterling.”
He smiles at me then, his eyes lighting up in that beautiful face. I have plenty more words for him but I don’t want to say them. I lean forward and press a kiss to his mouth instead. And then we are kissing, his tongue spearing my mouth and me invading his space as things take off between us again.
We end up in the shower because there’s no disguising what we’ve been up to, and I know I have to take him home soon. He smells like sex. I can’t deny how much I love the feel of his wet body against mine as I scrub him clean.
JT dresses back in his school uniform while I pull on a pair of sweats and a black top. We’ve used up most of our study time for sex but I don’t want him to go just yet as we stand facing each other, him with his tie wrapped loose around his wrist.
“You ready for that maths test tomorrow?” I ask, seeing if I can delay him a little.
He sighs. “I’m really not. I’m struggling with the material. It’s way harder at Evergreen than my last school.”
“Really?” I ask, tilting my head. He’s never mentioned it before other than in general terms. “Want to show me what you’re working on? I’m doing Specialist Maths so I’m sure I can work it out.”
“Would you really do that for me?” he asks in a way that has me stalling.
“Of course I would, JT. Why do you think you need to ask.”
“I don’t know. I just feel like you do enough for me already,” he admits.
“Get your maths books out, JT,” I say, striding over to my desk and sitting down.
“I like it when you’re bossy,” he grins, biting on his lip.
“Noted.” I valiantly ignore that delightful little morsel as I force my errant thoughts aside and wait for JT to take the seat beside me.
We spend an hour going through his maths homework and he is looking far brighter by the time I drop him home later that night, smelling like my citrus shower gel. I even let him drive all the way to his house which I know is illegal. But I’ve never been pulled over and don’t see why we will on this short drive between our houses. Besides, it’s worth it to see the way JT smiles at me as we pull up around the corner from his house. And it’s definitely worth it when he hauls me closer and shoves his tongue down my throat. I could sure get used to this type of gratitude.
“Thank you,” he says as he pulls away from me.
“No, JT. Thankyou,” I reply, clearing my throat as I shift in the passenger seat. He presses his forehead against mine, breathing in deeply.
“I hate walking away from you.” His voice is a whisper, dipped low. My heart gives a resounding thud, his words recognising themselves in me.
“Me too,” I tell him.
I slide a hand behind his neck and pull him across for one last kiss before the inevitable happens and he walks away from me. I hate that I have to sit here and not even make sure he gets into his house okay, knowing he can’t risk being seen with me.
Anyway, those are thoughts for another day as I climb across the console to the driver’s seat and head back towards home, quiet with my own thoughts.
***
I pull up into the school parking lot on Friday morning, surprised to find Jace standing there waiting for me, two takeaway coffee cups in hand. He hasn’t been here all week, not since our falling out last Friday night when he tricked me into a date.
I’m feeling a lot more forgiving towards him now, especially after everything that happened with JT since then which all really took off after I showed up at his game.
Jace has been moody ever since and has gone out of his way to avoid me. Even Benson started asking what was going on with us. Benson’s always been super protective of Jace and I don’t think he was pleased about me potentially breaking his heart. Not that I think that’s what happened between me and Jace. He just wanted to hookup, and he’s not used to hearing the word no. Nobody’s heart was broken on Friday night at Mare Bello’s.
Still, Jace looks contrite when I stride towards him, his hair braided into an intricate half ponytail today.
“Hi,” he says when I arrive at his side.
“Hello,” I reply. He shoves the coffee towards me, and I hesitate before taking it from him. I don’t want to give him the wrong impression which I think I might have been inadvertently contributing to before.
“Peace offering?” Jace says.
“Yeah?” I ask, taking a sip as I watch my friend.
“I’m sorry about Friday night,” he says. “I shouldn’t have tricked you into going on a date like that. I just want things to go back to normal.”
