Waking up to Gracie's dark curls streaked with auburn and gold in a halo around my arms was a sight that wouldn't have to take time to get used to—not with how much I was already craving to greet me every morning. 

She was too beautiful to disturb, which was why the sounds of the house waking up in the aftermath of the party thrown the night before was such a shock to the system. 

Calvin hadn't come back to the room, as I'd predicted, and was either passed out on the front lawn wearing nothing but a sock on his unmentionables (which he'd done, more than once), or was passed out in Nate's bed (something that he'd also done more than once).

The day after a game, though—especially a victory—was always followed up by a seven in the morning practice.

Which meant that in approximately ten minutes, Calvin would be busting the door down to our shared room and would grab all his gear in the biggest hurry of his life to try and avoid coach's wrath. 

It meant that I had less than five minutes to look at Gracie's upturned nose and the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose. 

Less than five minutes to admire the way the way her perky—

BANG!

"Open up!"

Make that five seconds. 

Gracie stirred in her sleep against me, but before I could gently lay her back down against my pillows and tell whoever it was at the door to shut the fuck up, Nate was storming into the room with Calvin and none other than Colby fucking Hart trailing in after him. 

"What the fuck is she doing in here?"

"She was sleeping, asshole."

Gracie grabbed the blankets and pulled them up to her chin, pressing her body even further into my own until her head was tucked delicately under my chin, her arms going around my body in response to three guys barging in on us. 

It was clear to me the night before that she wasn't all that experienced—but it wasn't like I was judging seeing as I'd had all of two sexual parters, and she was the second—and the fact that these bastards were interrupting a completely perfect morning-after was seriously starting to piss me off. 

"If you don't live in this dorm, then you can get the fuck out."

"Oh?  And what about her?"

Hart glared at me as Gracie groaned and turned her head fully into my neck, choosing to ignore his bullshit instead of giving him any degree of attention. 

"She's my guest."

"Yeah, well she needs to be in her own dorm, not in her with you laid up like some—"

"I really hope you weren't going to finish that sentence the way I thought you were."

Something in my tone must've made him rethink his next statement, and I wasn't against getting out of bed half-naked and pummeling my fists into his face again just to teach him another lesson. 

"This is bullshit.  Come on, Gracie.  We're going."

"I don't think you can tell me what to do.  You're not my dad, Colby.  Please, just get out."

She turned her head outwards and shot daggers at him with her eyes as I pulled her in tighter, uncaring about the fact that we were absolutely going to be late, but then again, so was half the team so at least we wouldn't be doing suicide drills alone. 

"No, you know what, I'm not your dad.  But I wonder what he'd say about what you're doing here."

Gracie turned rigid as Nate and Calvin looked on while staying quiet, there to interrupt if he started getting too aggressive but not willing to make him shut the fuck up because for some reason the both of them were still holding out that he'd join them in the bedroom even despite the fact that he'd never once made it seem like he was curious in any way. 

"You don't talk to me about my father right now, Colby."

"Hey man, maybe you should go—"

"No, Nate.  I need to say this.  Your father would be so disappointed in you, Gracie.  I've kept it in because I thought this was just a passing crush, something you'd get over, but now I see I was wrong.  To hook up in college is one thing, but doing it with him?  You know what his family did to yours, Gracie.  How can you even look at him after what his father did?"

"I missed the part where it was any of your goddamned business, Colby?  Who I spend my time with is no one's business but my own and if my father has anything to say about it then I guess he'll have to wait in line at the fucking rehab center to call me up about it.  You think I give a shit what he thinks about who I'm with?  After his choices?  You really think he of all people can lecture me about disappointment to make me feel guilty?  Because if you do, you're more delusional than he was.  Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get dressed, and only one person in this room has seen me naked—I'd like to keep it that way."

Colby tried to argue again but Calvin's arm shot out, and while he was usually soft spoken and not one to show all his cards, then anger on his face was a dead giveaway that Colby had fucked up. 

"Time to leave, man."

"But I—"

"You heard him."

Colby whipped his head around to me but not before Nate shoved him backwards outside the open door where there were more guys congregated in the hallway when they heard shouting. 

The door was finally closed when Gracie groaned and curled her body in on me. 

"What the fuck was that?"

I couldn't help the shocked laugh that fell from my lips. 

"That, Gracie, was your best-friend's brother in all his jealous glory."

"Jealous?"

Her voice was incredulous, like she couldn't believe that someone like him would want her, as if I wasn't sitting there fighting the rock-hard length pressing up against her bare stomach just at the sight of her bedhead. 

"Yes, Gracie.  Jealous.  What he said was fucking wrong but it doesn't hide the reason he said it.  Its why he's picked so many fucking fights with me this year."

"Oh...I'm sorry he's been giving you trouble.  I tried to sort stuff out with him, but ever since we started hanging out it's like he's lost his damn mind or something.  I swore I was done with him but then my mom died and I hung out with his family and it just reminded me of when things were better, and I guess now he's back to being a jackass."

"You know you never have to apologize to me about anyone else's behavior, right?  You're not responsible for how people act."

"I know.  Ingrained response, I guess."

"I can relate."

With the both of us having grown up in not-so-great conditions, it was obvious there were going to be some communication issues. 

"You have to get ready for practice don't you?  Oh god and I'm just fucking sitting here, naked."

She scrambled up out of the bed, but not before I got a glorious view of her ass that had me groaning and rolling over into my pillow. 

"What's wrong?  Did I hurt you when I got out of the bed?"

"Yes.  You're absolutely killing me right now."

She edged onto the bed and hovered over me, eyes shining in concern for the fact that she thought she actually physically hurt me. 

"I'm sorry, are you okay?"

I grabbed her by the waist and tugged her on top of me, eliciting the most delicious squeal out of her I'd ever heard. 

"I'm much better now.  You're adorable, by the way."

"Kalen...you're gonna be in trouble with your coach if I make you any more late than you already are.  And doesn't your roommate need, I don't know, access to his own room?"

Glancing at the clock and realizing those precious few minutes were gone, I swore to myself and exhaled a deep sigh. 

"Gracie.  You're naked on top of me.  I don't give a fuck about anything else."

And then I flipped her until she was underneath me, grinding myself into her until her wetness soaked through my briefs.

"Fuck...."

"Kalen, I hate to have to, like, stop...but I really don't want to do it for the first time while you're late for basketball practice."

My eyes popped open at the mention of her virginity, cursing myself for letting it become an afterthought. 

She was just too soft under my hands, too gentle, too responsive to my touch. 

I placed a hand against her cheek and she melted into it, resting my forehead against hers until I reluctantly rolled over and she leaned until she found her panties, then her shirt. 

Then she was standing up and pulling on the jeans she was wearing from the night before. 

Her hair was still a jumbled mess. 

One sock, then the other. 

She was looking for her shoes, but I could've sworn they were hiding under the desk. 

Fuck. 

She was really leaving, wasn't she?

Her hand was on her purse when I stood up and tugged her body against mine. 

"You know that shit he said about your dad..."

"Even if it is true, it doesn't matter," she started, placing a hand on my bare chest to keep me in place. 

"But—"

"It doesn't matter, Kalen.  My father's done more in his lifetime to disappoint me than I could ever do to him.  What he's done and what I've done don't compare, and if he can't see past that then...well, then maybe he just doesn't realize the extent that he's hurt me, and I couldn't live with that if that's how he decides to act when I tell him."

"When you tell him?  So, you want this to be a thing?"

She smiled, the act so bright and intense I swear my heart stopped working for a second before she bit her lip and it started back again, only this time working double what it had been. 

"More than a thing.  Only if you want that, too?"

Fuck. 

I answered by leaning down and pressing my lips against her so hard I hoped they'd bruise and leave me with the memory, a reminder of her stamped against me for all to see. 

I pulled back to her flushed, breathless form, smirking at what just one kiss could do to her. 

"Oh, I fucking want."

I wanted her. 

I wanted her hands, her hips, her body, her skin, her attention, her everything. 

She was something I was finding was easy to lose myself in. 

And god, I didn't ever want to be fucking found. 

***

Author's Note:

What did you think of this chapter?

What do you think will happen next?

What do you want to happen next?

Favorite part of the book so far?

Until next time my lovely readers,
Kristen :)