30. Parker

CHAPTER 30

Parker

I love the flowers, by the way,” Audrey murmured after we cleaned ourselves up. She’d pulled on a casual, flowy pink dress while I’d put on a pair of jeans, wishing I’d brought something nicer for dinner. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did.” Dipping my mouth down to hers, I kissed her, letting her taste herself on my mouth. Fuck, having Audrey’s sweet essence in my mouth as we went to dinner with her family was probably the worst idea I’d had. It was going to be the only thing I’d think about all night. My cock was aching, straining against my pants, but I didn’t let myself come. Because I hadn’t earned it yet. So, I’d be good tonight.

Because she deserved more.

I knew she wanted our first time to be special, and I did too. I wanted it to mean something for both of us.

Threading our fingers together, we both headed back out to the main lobby area, finding Audrey’s parents and Ella waiting for us.

“Is Cam coming to dinner?” Audrey asked her twin.

She shook her head. “He has a giant test he had to study for, so he had to run.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” I said, meaning it. I was a little bummed that I still hadn’t officially met Ella’s boyfriend, though I was sure it would happen soon enough.

“It’s good to see you again, Parker,” Audrey’s mom said, her eyes a little glassy. “You’re all grown up and so tall now.”

I cleared my throat. Leah and Stephen Ashford had been like a second set of parents to me growing up. Maybe one day, they’d be my in-laws. I hadn’t imagined seeing them again tonight, but I was glad they were here. “It’s good to see you too, Mrs. Ashford.”

“Please.” She smiled. “You can just call me Leah.”

Audrey’s dad stuck out a hand for me to shake. “Heard you’ve been taking good care of my daughter.”

“Yes, sir.” I shook his hand, his firm grip not deterring me in the slightest. He was tall and well-built, but I was taller. Plus, I was used to egos from being an athlete. I looked him in the eye, not cowering.

Stephen Ashford finally nodded. “Good, good. Well, shall we eat? Leah made us a reservation at a little Italian place down the road. We wanted to celebrate both of our girl’s special day.”

Ella blushed. “It’s really Audrey’s, not mine, Dad. I wasn’t even in the show.”

“Nonsense,” her mom said. “You designed all the costumes, and Audrey was the lead. Those are both a big deal.”

Audrey reached out, squeezing her twin’s hand, before coming and slipping an arm around my waist. “Are you okay with this?” She murmured.

I knew if I said no, that she would understand. That she wouldn’t push. But I was. I was ready for this. Everything that came with being in a relationship with her. If I could make it work while faking it, I knew nothing would stop me when it came to the real thing.

“Of course,” I said back, squeezing her hip. “Anywhere you are, that’s where I’ll be.”

Her responding smile was how I knew this was all worth it.

On Sunday, after the last performance of the musical, all the cast gathered for a party at one of the seniors’ houses. I was surprised anyone had any energy left, but drinks were flowing and the music was playing loud enough that individual conversations couldn’t be heard.

Audrey was leaning against me on the couch, her head resting on my shoulder. I hadn’t even had to coax her into sitting on my lap this time—she came here of her own free will. And there were plenty of free spaces to sit.

We couldn’t stop touching each other. But we hadn’t gone all the way yet, either. The musical was exhausting, and after we’d gotten back from dinner with her parents the first night, Audrey had passed out before she’d even changed into her pajamas. Also known as my shirt because she hardly wore anything else. And every night since it had been more of the same.

Call me crazy, but I just wanted some alone time with my girlfriend. The party was fun, and everyone was having a good time, but I was ready to go.

“Having fun?” I murmured in her ear as she took a sip of the strawberry lemonade cocktail I’d gotten her. Unlike the frat parties or lacrosse parties, there were a ton more fruity options here, which was good for my girl. I hadn’t had anything to drink tonight, even though we’d walked here and didn’t need to drive home.

“Yeah.” She hummed.

I brushed a strand of her blonde hair over her ear. “You can go hang out with your friends, you know. I’m okay here.” When had we become that couple who was too busy canoodling in the corner to talk to anyone else?

Audrey sighed, resting her forehead against my chest. “It’s okay. I see them plenty in class, anyway. I hate that you have an away game next weekend. I wanted to spend some time with just the two of us.” She bit her lip. “You know…”

“I know.” I smoothed my hand over her hair. “But I won’t be gone that long. And the season is almost over, which means everything is going to calm down soon.” Though we were in the runnings for the playoffs, and if we won, we’d be going to the championship, and that would mean a lot more games left to play. For the team, I wanted to win, but selfishly, I wanted to have more time to just relax with her.

She sighed. “The semester’s almost over, though. And then…”

“Then what?” I finished her thought.

Audrey nodded. “Exactly.”

“I wanted to do something special next weekend,” I admitted. “Take you out to dinner. A real date. The whole nine yards.”

“You’ve already done that for me, Parker,” she whispered against my lips.

But it was different. Because before, this hadn’t been real. I ran my hands up her thighs. “Still. Wanted to make sure we did it all right.”

She giggled. “You’re just a big softie, Parker Phillip.”

“Mmm.” I brushed my lips over hers.

“Get a room, you two,” Ella remarked, walking by and smirking at us.

Audrey stuck her tongue out at her big sister.

“We could, you know,” I rasped against her ear.

“What?” She blinked.

I swallowed roughly. “Get a room.” Sure, my bed was comfortable, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know that my teammates were on the other side of the wall the first time we had sex.

Not to mention, I just knew I wouldn’t last long once I got inside of her. These days, it felt like all it took was bringing up the image of her naked, those pretty pink nipples hard and wet from my mouth, and I was coming two pumps later in the shower.

There was no way I wanted to embarrass myself like that.

“If you want…”

Audrey cupped both of my cheeks. “Parker…” Her voice was soft as she kissed each of my cheeks before dropping one against my lips. “I hope you know I don’t need anything special or fancy. I just want you, okay?”

I nodded. “Next weekend?” I squeezed her thigh.

She bit her lip, a little moan slipping free. “ Yes.”

A few days later, my duffel bag stowed under the bus and backpack in hand, I loaded the bus for one of our last away games of the academic year. The playoffs didn’t start until mid-May, so we’d be focusing on finals along with the last few games we had for the rest of the semester.

Grabbing my earphones, I got ready to stick them in so I could listen to my new fantasy audiobook as soon as we got going.

Samuel stuck out his hand for a fist bump. “How are you feeling, Maxwell?”

I bumped him back with my fist. “Good. A lot less stressful since the musical is over.”

“That’s right! Damn dude, that was amazing. You were really great up there. Didn’t know you could sing so well.” He slid into the row across from me, and I knew I wouldn’t get any relaxing done on this road trip. Damn. It was better when I’d been running late from rehearsals all the time.

Taylor popped up from the row in front of me. “You could seriously make a career out of it.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “That was a one time thing. Just for Audrey.”

“Well, it was worth it if you got the girl out of it, wasn’t it?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah.” I grinned. “It was.”

“We should go on a double date sometime. I think Dani would love that.”

“Sure. But maybe like… next semester?”

He laughed. “Fair enough.”

“I can’t believe this season is almost over as it is. The exhaustion has basically seeped into my bones at this point,” I said.

A nap would be great. In fact, if I could sleep until finals week, that would be even better.

The other guys laughed. Derek, our team captain, got on the bus and sat in the row behind Samuel.

I nodded at him. “How’s it going, man?” I’d thanked them all for coming after the opening night of the musical. Part of me still couldn’t believe the way they’d shown up for me. Even if it had taken some of my attention off the team, they’d supported me. That meant more to me than I could properly express.

All this time, I’d thought of my last team like brothers until everything had gone down with Raf and Millie, but looking back, they were never as close as this team was. They wouldn’t have dropped everything to watch me sing and dance in a theater performance.

Transferring here had been the right call all along. I was glad to be a part of this team. Though some of them would graduate next month, I had one more year, and I wanted to make it count.

“You know, the usual. How do you think Coach is going to be tonight?”

We’d been on a winning streak, so the extra practices and drills he’d been having us run felt excessive. Though even I had to admit they were successful as long as we kept winning. So I shrugged.

“I’ve heard he’s having problems with his wife. Maybe that’s why he’s been so hard on you, Maxwell,” Taylor offered.

“Fuck if I know,” I muttered.

“I don’t think that’s why,” Derek offered. “I think he’s been watching you, Parker. You’re a skilled player. Especially after you bonded with the team. You’re good at reading passes and creating opportunities to score. I’m pretty sure he’s had his eye on you for captain next year.”

“Captain?” I repeated, my eyes practically bugging out of my head.

“Yup. But don’t tell him I told you that.” He grinned. “I’d be happy to leave this team in your hands, Maxwell.”

“Thanks, Stephens.” I looked around at all of them, even the teammates I wasn’t as close with as these three. “I’m really grateful I ended up at Castleton and met all of you. This has been a great season.” I meant it. Even without Audrey’s presence in my life, I’d had a fantastic time playing lacrosse with all of them.

And I was going to take these last few games to soak it all up and savor each moment.

The next day, we played hard. All of us knew what was at stake—the playoffs. A potential championship. None of us wanted to lose that. So we’d given them as few opportunities to score as possible, stealing the ball whenever we could and trying to make as many shots on goal as we could. We were on fire.

It wasn’t surprising, considering how harmoniously we all worked together. Offense and Defense were at the top of their game.

“That was fucking amazing,” Samuel said, slinging his arms over Derek and I. “We’re going all the way to the top, baby!” He shouted the last words from the top of his lungs in the parking lot as we returned to the hotel.

“Yeah, yeah,” I laughed. “Don’t go jinxing us.”

He rolled his eyes. “Not possible. We’re too good.”

“Too cocky,” Derek said.

Samuel grinned. “My girlfriend’s not complaining.”

“Ew.” I pushed him off of me, still laughing even as I feigned disgust. “Don’t need to know about your sex life, Samuel.”

“What about yours?” He smirked at me. “Isn’t that your girl?”

“What?” My head whipped up to where he was pointing.

Sure enough—there she was. A Castleton University hoodie on, a pair of jeans, and her white leather sneakers. Her cheeks were pink and her smile bright as our eyes caught. And fuck, how could I stay away?

“See you later,” I said, already jogging over to my girl.

My arms were already open when she met me in the middle, and I wrapped her up in a hug.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise from my voice.

Her voice was all breathy. “I missed you.”

I chuckled. “I missed you too, baby, but I’d have been back tomorrow.”

She hummed. “Maybe I just couldn’t wait anymore.” Her eyes were full of heat as she took in my appearance, her gaze lingering over one specific part of my body. While Coach insisted we show up to games looking nice and in suits, more often than not, we left wearing sweats after we showered.

I knew how much she loved these gray sweatpants.

“Mmm.” I pressed my nose into her hair. “But I’m sharing a room, sunshine.”

“I’m not.” Audrey slipped a room key into my hand. “Later,” she murmured into my ear. “Come up to room 259.”

I swallowed roughly.

“I’ll be waiting.” She pressed a kiss to my cheek and then disappeared into the elevator—to her room upstairs, where she’d be waiting for me.

Holy fuck.

I pressed my hand over my heart. Tonight. This was happening tonight.