Stadium of Lights: A Second Chance Sports Romance (23 page)

* * *

D
uring the intermission
, we stood in the ridiculously small lobby, sharing a soft pretzel from the makeshift concession stand by the door. I watched as she lifted a piece to her mouth and popped it in then she licked the mustard from her fingers. I wanted to ask if she needed any help. I had to get myself under control.

The buzz around us sounded pretty positive. It seemed like everybody liked the show. I liked it, too, but I thought more about Claire throughout the first act. Sitting with her, smelling her rose scented perfume.

“What do you think so far?” Claire asked.

I shook myself to stop acting like a fucking adolescent. “So far? I got to tell you, I like it.”

“You do?” She cocked her head to the side. “You’re lying.”

“No bullshit. I really do like it. I can see why it won awards.”

“You think you’ll remember enough about it to write a paper?” she asked.

“I thought that maybe you could remind me of the characters if I forget. And I have my program.” I pulled it out of the pocket of my laptop bag. “I’m set.”

All I had to do during the second act was stop thinking about Claire, and I would be all right.

I noticed the way a few of the girls in the lobby looked at me. I thought I recognized one of them as a girl I had screwed at a party. Maybe. It was dark then, and I was drunk. I didn’t want Claire to see her looking at me, so I stood between them.

I didn’t ask myself why until I sat back down in the theater.

“
W
hat did
you think about your first play?” I asked him as we walked out into the lobby after the show.

“It was good.”

“Just good?”

He grinned. “It was excellent. Okay? I really liked it.”

“You did?”

“Yes, Claire!” I chuckled. “Jess was awesome, too. She’s an awesome actress. I didn’t think college actors could be so good.”

“I believe she has a chance—a good chance. With her looks and her talent, she could go just about anywhere. I mean, it’ll take time, of course. But she’s got what it takes.” I looked around the lobby, where friends and family gathered to wait for their performers. “Do you mind waiting just a minute? I would love to let her know we were here.”

He seemed to hesitate, and I was about to tell him to go on without me. After all, we weren’t dating or anything. It might have been an awkward request. Instead of turning me down, though, he said, “Yeah, that’s fine. I would like to meet her.”

After that, there was no ignoring the pride I felt standing with him. He was with me!
Yes, other girls, bow down to my awesomeness. He’s here with me
, I wanted to say when I felt their eyes looking me up and down. I made it a point to ask what he thought about certain scenes, so when we talked, there was no way to miss that we were together. It was petty and a little childish, but I didn’t care. I never got the chance to go out with a man like Jake. He practically oozed sexuality, from his sharp jawline to the way he stood—I could go on. He was so cocky and sure of himself and made my knees a little weak.

And we’ve had sex!
I would have added, had I told the other girls off.
Twice!

Jess came out, cutting my vengeful thoughts short. “Sweetie, you were incredible!” I gave her a big hug. “Seriously, you made me cry.”

“Really?” She beamed then looked up at Jake. “Oh. Hello.”

“Jess, this is Jake. Jake, Jess.”

“You were great,” he said, shaking her hand.

“Thank you.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came. Hey! There’s a cast party tonight. You want to come?” She looked at us.

I glanced at Jake, who looked less-than-enthused. I was about to speak, but he beat me to it. “I have to type up my notes from the show. For the paper I need to write, you know. I want to do it while it’s all fresh.” He looked down at me. “Maybe you could help me with it?”

I felt myself tingle all over, starting from my chest, moving through my body in waves. “Uh, yes. Yes, I could do that. Sure.”

Jess cleared her throat. “Well, then. You two have fun. And thanks for coming!” She gave me another hug, then a brief squeeze. “Get it, girl!” she whispered, then hurried off.

I braced myself for the inquisition I knew I’d face the next day.

“So, do you really want to type up your notes, or was that just an excuse to get out of the cast party?” I asked with a smile as we left the building.

“No, I really do. I want to get it out while it’s still fresh.” He patted his bag. “Laptop’s in here, ready to go. Unless you had something else to do.”

What the heck else do I ever have to do?
“No, not at all. I’m happy to help you out. I can fill in anything you don’t remember.”

The tension nearly crackled between us as we walked the long path through the quad to the library. It stayed open twenty-four-seven to accommodate students with odd schedules or a noisy apartment. At nearly ten at night, there were only a few students there.

We took our regular secluded table, far away from the others. Jake opened his laptop.

“When is your paper due?” I asked.

“Not until after the break.”

“Smart—getting a head start on it. I can tell I’m having a good influence on you,” I teased.

“I would have said that myself, but you already did so I won’t bother.”

I laughed at him, and he laughed along with me. It felt so good to sit and laugh with him like we were just two ordinary people. Not like I wanted to jump his bones, which I most definitely did.

“Shh!” We both turned to see a student with his finger raised to his lips.

I stifled a giggle. “We're too loud,” I whispered.

“We’ll have to whisper very, very quietly,” he replied.

I dissolved into chuckles. “Okay, okay. Let’s get serious, or we’ll be here all night.” I stretched, shaking out my hands.

“What are you doing?” Jake asked, watching me with a smirk.

“Stretching. Getting ready to think. What’s so weird about that?”

“I didn’t say it was weird.”

“Your face did,” I said, stretching from the waist, touching the floor.

“Because it’s a little weird. But I wasn’t going to say it.”

I snickered again. “You have your warm-ups, I have mine.” I pointed to the screen. “All right. Go.”

He flexed his fingers. “So, Heidi was the main character.”

“Pretty good, seeing as how the play is named after her,” I muttered.

“Shut up. Heidi. Main character.” He typed. “She came of age in the sixties, then went through the whole seventies bullshit.”

“Oh, please, write that in your paper. Please.”

He smirked. “And then, when she got to the eighties and nineties, she wondered where she was going. Like, all the things she worked for, for so long, weren’t the answer at all. She didn’t know what she wanted. She had to go against everything she thought she wanted when she was younger. Plus, it wasn’t like any real change happened, anyway. She still had to work even harder to be heard.”

“That’s fascinating, the way you see it.”

“Is that wrong?”

“No, not at all. I mean it. There are different ways of saying it, but you got to the heart of it all.” I sat on the table, my feet on the chair beside him. “I think she felt betrayed.”

“Why?”

“Because she spent all this time with the women around her, the feminists. They were going to take their lives into their hands and rise above male repression and do their own thing. Only … the other women ended up falling into the old roles, the ones they fought against. And she was the only hold-out. She was lonely. She felt like they betrayed her.”

“Huh. That’s interesting.” He tapped his fingers along the keys, taking down what I said. “That makes sense.”

“Like, that consciousness-raising group. What a joke,” I said.

“You think so?”

“I do. They were all so full of it. They went right back to being who they said they didn’t want to be. That was how I saw it. They just went whichever way the wind blew them. Shifty bitches.”

He laughed. “Okay. That’s cool. Maybe I should add that to my paper, too.”

I had to laugh at myself—softly, so the student across the room didn’t get angry. He had his back to me, though so I couldn’t tell.

“I guess we take things based on how we feel,” I said. “Like you. Do you think the choice to play football is going to carry you through for the rest of your life?”

He frowned, looking up at me. “What?”

“You said Heidi crosses this two, three-decade span and winds up wondering if anything she did was worthwhile because she feels betrayed by the people she thought she was fighting alongside. Is that you? Do you worry that you’ll feel that way?”

He stared at the laptop screen, deep in thought. I hoped I hadn’t upset him … then again, I hoped I had. He needed to think his choices through. Football was dangerous. How many players were still coming forward, talking about brain injuries and things like that? I might not have watched the game, but I paid attention to the media.

“I don’t know.” He looked up again. “I don’t. I hope not.”

I nodded. “It’s pretty deep stuff. I know. We didn’t come here to talk about that.”

He didn’t return his attention to the laptop, though. Instead, his hand found my ankle.

“Whoa! What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Remember when he said. Shh.” He jerked his head in the direction of our friend, still reading on the other side of the room. Meanwhile, his hand began sliding up the inside of my leg.

“Jake, not here!” I mouthed, swatting his hand.

“Fine.” He grinned and grabbed his cell phone.

A few minutes later my phone vibrated on the table, and I read a text message that sent shivers down my body
. I want you, Claire. I'll make you beg. I'll fuck you until you can't feel your legs. Whisper in your ear to cum for me while you dig your nails into my back.

“Oh my God,” I blushed uncontrollably as his hand made its way back onto my legs. “Jake, stop!”

“Do you really want me to?” he whispered, moving steadily upward. “Tell me you really want me to, and I will.”

I should have. I knew that I should have. I should have made Jake stop. We were in the library, for crying out loud. People studied there. And we weren’t alone.

I looked around. I didn’t see any cameras. At the same time, that sneaky hand reached the inside of my thigh. I gasped, closing my eyes.

“I’ll stop. I will.” His hand disappeared up my skirt.

I opened my legs slightly, aching for his touch.

“Hmm,” he whispered, “I think you want me to keep going.”

“Shh,” I replied. I kept my eyes on the other student, terrified that he might turn around at any moment. Meanwhile, Jake rubbed the backs of his fingers against the mound of my pussy. He applied pressure to the spot right over my clit, grinding his knuckles in over my panties. I inched forward, moving my hips closer to the edge of the table, spreading my legs a little wider.

“Damn,” he whispered. His breathing was faster than before. He watched me, and our eyes locked for a moment just as he slid his hand beneath my panties. I almost arched off the table, sheer delight ripping through me. “You’re so wet, so fast,” he whispered, almost inaudibly.

I sighed, pressing my lips together to hold back the moans that threatened to rip loose at any moment. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t for fear of missing getting caught.

“Yes,” I whispered, moving my hips in time with his touch. He ran his thumb over my button in slow circles, driving me mad with pleasure. It raced through me, consuming me. I reached down and held his hand tight as the orgasm closed in and shuddered as quietly as I could when it hit me.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, shaking. I couldn’t believe it. And we had gotten away with it, too. My skin was flushed, my heart racing.

Jake wasn’t finished, though. He pushed back slightly, and I got a look at the impressive erection he sported. “What do you want to do with this?” he asked.

I licked my lips. He had other ideas, though.

“Come here.” He took my hand and pulled me from the table, then to the back of the bookcases. It was totally secluded where we went, giving us a measure of privacy. He pushed me against one of the bookcases, invading my mouth with his tongue. I moaned into his lips, overcome again. I couldn’t have stopped if I tried. He fumbled with the zipper of his cargo shorts as I held on to him, running my hands over his hard body. When his rigid member was free, I wrapped my hand partially around it, still amazed how big he was.

“You’re such a bad girl,” he whispered as I dropped to my knees and took him into my mouth. I was still relatively new to it, but I worked up and down, sucking, pressing my tongue to the underside of the shaft. He seemed to love it, holding my head in place as he thrust forward with his hips, then releasing me so I could bob up and down.

I sucked the head gently, stroking his shaft as I went. “Yeah … just like that…” he whispered, closing his eyes, throwing his head back. I glanced up to see him lost in pleasure, and my wetness between my thighs only increased. I loved knowing I could reduce him to a quaking pile of muscle.

“Quick,” he whispered, pulling out of my mouth. I stood, and he pushed me against the bookcase again. He fumbled with a condom. I held on to the shelves as he lifted my leg, pulling my panties aside to push his way into me.

I cried out softly before I could stop myself. He covered my mouth with his hand and fucked me hard, forcefully, driving himself again and again upward into my pussy. I couldn’t believe it was happening. The excitement of knowing we might be discovered at any moment was almost too much to take. His length filling me over and over, his mouth crushed against mine, his hands on my breasts, kneading, and pinching. It was all too much, and together it was enough to send me skyrocketing. A few more quick, sharp thrusts and he leaned against me, shaking, groaning against my neck.

I closed my eyes and leaned back on the shelves, working desperately to keep my gasps for air as quiet as possible. I lowered my leg once he left me, and we straightened ourselves out.

“I never thought I would like going to the library at night,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around me.

* * *

A
s we left the library
, still grinning like fools over getting away with a public quickie, I had a thought that wiped the smile from my face.

“Break starts tomorrow,” I said. A whole week and I wouldn’t be able to see Jake. I didn’t want to say anything about it to make him think I was upset about being apart … but I was upset about being apart.

“I know,” he said. “Are you going home?”