26. Cohen

Voices driftedfrom the day room as I wandered out of the locker room, water drops glistening in my damp hair. My body slightly ached from my workout today, but I felt primed and ready to go for tomorrow. I was ready to kick ass.

“I’m bummed I can’t help more,” Tobin sighed, as I walked into the day room where Paolo, Zoe, and him were hanging out after a long day. He had his hurt ankle propped up on the coffee table in front of him.

“We’ll be sideline buddies,” Zoe joked as she sat beside him, her shoulder bumping against his.

Tobin cracked a smile and put his arm around her shoulders.

“I guess that doesn’t sound too bad,” he replied.

“You have the most important job, Tobin,” I commented as I sat down on the other side of Zoe, while Paolo remained seated in a cushioned chair across from us. “You have to look out for Zoe.”

Zoe smirked and cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Who said I need a babysitter?” she questioned me.

Even that little spark of defiance lit a flame within me. Even with tomorrow looming just ahead, I couldn’t ignore how drawn I was to her and her addictive attitude. That was why the thought of losing her killed me on the inside.

“It’ll help the rest of us focus if we know that you’re in good hands,” I explained. “We’ve all lost people in all sorts of ways. We won’t want to lose you too.”

Paolo nodded in agreement.

“You’re part of our lives now. We don’t want that to change,” he told Zoe. I could tell he harbored the same care for her that I and the others did.

That was one of many complicated problems in my life. My budding feelings for Zoe and how the other guys seemed to be feeling the same way. I wasn’t going to compete over her or anything like that because the guys were like my brothers, but I was curious if she felt the same way about any of us.

Or all of us.

“Change… my life has changed so much since the moment I stepped foot back in this town,” Zoe admitted, a sense of vulnerability lingering in her words. “It has scared me to death, but… I also think it has been for the best. It’s helped me heal from everything that happened before.”

“You just have to keep moving forward,” Tobin added. “Try not to let the past get to you.”

“And do your best. Even if you’re scared,” I told her.

“Which is way easier said than done,” Paolo muttered. “There are days when I don’t feel like the greatest dad in the world. Those days I get swept up in my grief or my self-doubt. I just want to make my kids proud.”

Tobin nodded in agreement.

“I’m the same way about my dad. He’s not even here, and I’m still trying to make him proud,” he sighed, sounding tired. He then looked over at Zoe. “I’m sure you can relate.”

Zoe’s eyes grew distant for a moment.

“We all strive to be as good as the best people we know and to be better than the worst ones we know,” she said, her hand still lingering on my arm. “How in the world do we not lose ourselves in that, though? It’s all I can think about sometimes.”

“I try to focus on the present. The things I like. The people I enjoy being around,” I spoke up as I shot Zoe a smile. “That helps me drown out the noise.”

Zoe slid her hand down to mine.

“Well, you need to teach me your ways because I seriously need to shift my focus elsewhere before I go crazy,” she insisted as she bumped her shoulder against mine. But she didn’t pull away. She continued to lean against me, our eyes locking.

“You should try to relax,” Paolo commented as he closely watched us.

“Maybe we could help you. Take your mind off things,” Tobin suggested, his hand moving to rest on the back of Zoe’s neck under her hair.

Zoe’s breath hitched as she looked between all of us.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t tempting. You guys are the only ones in the world who can draw me back from the edge,” she admitted, exposing a hint of vulnerability that made me want to wrap her up in my arms.

So, I did. I pulled her into a warm embrace, my lips brushing her cheek before hovering near her ear.

“Say the word. We’ll help you,” I promised her.

Zoe gripped the back of my t-shirt as she nodded, the tension in her shoulders evident.

“Please,” she breathed out.

I rose to my feet and picked her up with ease, carrying her to the dormitory and hearing Paolo and Tobin follow me. There were three twin-sized beds in the dormitory, so I dropped her down on the middle one that I typically took when I needed some shut-eye.

Paolo sat down on the bed to the left, his dark eyes trained on Zoe.

Tobin eased himself onto the bed, his back pressing against the headboard. He grabbed Zoe under her arms and pulled her back against his chest, his lips moving to her neck.

“Relax, baby,” he murmured.

Zoe’s eyes fluttered shut as she tilted her head, giving him more room to kiss all the sensitive spots on her neck.

I crawled across the bed toward her, my lips soon melding with hers in a heated kiss. She gladly opened her mouth to me, our tongues brushing as I ran my hands up her thighs. Fire burned within me as our kiss deepened, my cock already starting to harden and strain against my khakis.

“I’m already starting to relax,” Zoe murmured against my lips, her own curving into a playful smile.

“We’re only just getting started,” Tobin chuckled as he slipped his fingers under her tank top, drawing the thin material up her torso.

“Lift your arms,” Paolo told her.

I heard a pleased sound hitch in her throat in response, prompting me to grin. She liked being ordered around. I broke away to help Tobin take off her tank top and bra, exposing her perfect breasts and hard nipples. My mouth wrapped one of the stiff peaks, sucking hard to make her back arch.

“How does it feel?” Paolo asked, resting his hand in his lap over his erection.

“So good,” Zoe breathed out as she rested the back of her head against Tobin’s shoulder.

Tobin teasingly dragged his teeth along her earlobe, making her shudder.

I flicked my tongue across the other nipple before lowering my head, kissing my way down her stomach. I undid her shorts and slid them down her legs, her panties soon following. My lips caressed her inner thighs as I settled on my stomach.

Tobin cupped her breasts from behind, his tongue caressing the curve of her ear just to tease her.

Zoe gripped his pants leg, her mouth parting in pleased sounds.

“Please, touch me,” she begged me.

I lifted my eyes, watching her chest rise with a deep breath. Heat stirred within me as I admired her breasts and how she leaned into Tobin’s touch, dying for more. Magnetically hooked, I leaned forward and pressed my mouth flush against her core, sucking her clit into my mouth.

A pleased cry broke from her as she melted back into Tobin, bucking her hips against my face to chase my touch.

“Aren’t you gorgeous?” Paolo praised her as she writhed under my lips. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Zoe nodded and reached back, cupping Tobin through his jeans.

“Take your cock out,” she told him.

“I think you should ask more nicely,” Paolo stated, his voice dipping lower.

A strangled moan rumbled in her throat.

“Please, take your cock out,” she pleaded Tobin.

Tobin reached behind her and freed his cock from his pants, a groan sounding from him as Zoe reached back and started to stroke him.

“Fuck, that feels good,” he murmured as he watched her hand work on him.

I swiped my tongue up her center, enjoying her taste and scent. I drank it all in, shoving my tongue inside of her for more. My nose grazed her clit, her wetness covering my lips.

Zoe reached down with her free hand and gripped my hair, grinding herself against my face as she continued to stroke Tobin’s cock. Her head tilted back as moans poured from her, filling the whole dormitory.

“I want you to fall apart for us. Show us how good it feels,” Paolo demanded.

Zoe whimpered as she tensed beneath me, her breaths getting quicker.

I knew just how to finish her off. I pushed a finger inside of her and crooked it, pressing against that spot that made her tighten around me. My tongue attacked her clit, the combination shoving her right off the edge a few thrusts of my finger later.

“Oh… fuck…” Zoe gasped as she shuddered, her cheeks flushing as the heat overtook her.

I removed my finger and sucked it clean, reveling in her taste.

“I’m not done with you yet,” I said as I leaned forward to kiss her. “I’m going to give you my cock.”

Zoe smiled in excitement, a gasp sounding from her when Tobin and I spun her onto her hands and knees. She came face to face with Tobin’s cock as I pushed her top half down. She wrapped her fingers around his erection and slid her lips over the head.

“She knew exactly what to do,” Paolo chuckled. “What a good girl.”

“Good… girl,” Tobin breathed out as his head dropped back. He buried his fingers in her hair, following the bobs of her head.

I knelt behind her, rocking my erection through her folds before pushing inside of her.

“Oh, fuck,” I groaned as she took me so well. Inch by inch.

Zoe moaned around Tobin’s cock, sultry noises happening where I couldn’t see. I could imagine all the talented things she was doing with her mouth right now. She pushed back against me with her ass in the air, her nails digging into Tobin’s thighs.

“Greedy,” I said, clicking my tongue at her. “I love it.”

Paolo stroked himself as he watched me start to pound into her from behind, her muffled moans filling our ears. A perfect symphony.

I dropped my head, watching my cock disappear inside of her with every deep thrust. My restraint started to quickly fade, the pleasure becoming too addicting to resist. I needed this. Needed her.

“So good,” I praised her.

“Fuck!” Tobin gritted out as he tightened his grip on her hair, spilling into her mouth.

Like a damn champ, Zoe swallowed everything down, her lips popping off his cock with a gasp. She pressed her cheek against his thigh, catching her breath with glistening lips as I continued pounding into her.

“Please, come inside me,” she begged me as her eyes shifted to mine. “I need it.”

Oh, fuck. How did she expect me to last when she talked to me like that… looked at me like that? I dug my blunt nails into her hips, shoving her back against my cock over and over again until she was crying out. Her sweet sounds pushed me over, and the heat and pressure filled me to the brim.

The release felt like pure euphoria, tingling, numbing pleasure spreading all throughout my body. I came with a grunt, spilling deep inside of her until I was breathless and weak. I pulled out of her and collapsed on the next bed, nearly dizzy from the intensity.

“Come here, gorgeous,” Paolo encouraged Zoe, pulling her onto his lap.

Gathering my breath, I watched as they kissed. How she leaned into him. How he caressed her like she was the most precious thing on the planet.

I listened to her whimpers as he eased her down on his cock and his praises as she rode him hard and fast. My heart thudded heavily, heat still filling my head. The passion in the room was borderline overwhelming, but there were a lot of people and feelings involved.

As her cry of climax rang throughout the room, I grinned, hoping with everything that I had that she would stay with us. That this special, crazy thing we shared with her wouldn’t end. But our future depended on tomorrow, and everything was up in the air.