Sweat. It was all I could smell and feel. I couldn't believe that my body could even produce so much sweat. It was absurd. My calves were throbbing, and I'd barely even done anything. This was merely stretching. Observing the girls beside me, I mentally reprimanded myself for not being able to keep up with them. I could feel my running shorts creeping up my arse. A loud grunt left my lips as I stooped down to touch my toes, listening to the instructions of the team captain, Charlie.

For a Monday morning, I felt utterly horrible. And I had a feeling it had something to do with Ashley. Last night when Kenzie left, Ashley and a girl named Harper - who was the Right Winger on the team - showed up to my dorm to apologise for what happened in the common room.

At first, I felt weird. But then I felt guilty because Ashley was trying to fix things between us and start off on the right foot. It helped that they had hot chocolate. And we spent the night watching Disney movies.

But based on how I was feeling, I was thinking there was something in that hot chocolate. My muscles ached before I even got onto the field, my throat was parched, there was a pang in my stomach and my eyes were way too bloody sensitive to light this morning.

Before I headed to practice, I was summoned to Coach Greg's office. Why do you ask? Because someone told him I was drinking the previous night, breaking a rule. I couldn't even deny that I didn't have a hangover because I was so obviously displaying the symptoms of one. It was a disastrous way to begin my morning.

And I hated that Charlie might be disappointed in me, but she'd been nothing but kind during practice because. Before that, I pulled her aside and revealed my hypothesis: Ashley and Harper spiked the hot chocolate they gave me. It was sabotage at its finest. I had no idea what they'd get from it though, besides me getting in trouble. They both flung me grins when I first saw them.

"Come on, baby girl," Charlie spoke to me as she wandered around the recruits. "I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're my future sister-in-law." I flushed even though she whispered.

I pouted and bent down to touch my toes before receiving a heavy slap on the arse from Charlie. I shrieked in surprise and stood up, face red as I watched Charlie wander back towards the front of the group with a smile. Kenzie snorted from her spot next to me, and I shook my head jokingly. I'd been super sensitive ever since my night with Christian. It was just like he said; it seemed like he awakened a sexual beast. My thoughts were constantly filled with him.

"Go, Eden! That's my friend!" Astrid's roars were coming from the bleachers and I laughed into my hand before waving at the dancing girl. I could barely even hear her cheers over the rowdiness of the male soccer team who was practising on the field next to us. I had to get used to saying soccer instead of football because I ended up confusing many people.

"Alright!" Charlie yelled out and clapped her hands together, hoping that she was audible to us. She probably couldn't deal with how turbulent the boys were being. "You have to be fit if you're a soccer player. I wanna see you try to get your head as close to your legs as possible. Wrap your arms around your legs and try to get your head to touch your knees!"

I was thankful that we started with stretches first and that we'd be focused on it for a while before we started playing an actual game. In order to prevent me from being further humiliated, I needed to get my emotions in order. It'd been years since I played a proper game. Usually, I'd just kick the ball around with my cousins or sisters, but it regularly left me feeling miserable afterwards. The sport brought back too many memories.

I fanned myself dramatically, blowing a raspberry at a chortling Nolan who stood to the side, watching the practice. His attention was then pulled away from me by Christian, who patted him on the shoulder. I had to stop myself from drooling - not like I had any saliva for it, that's how parched I was.

The soccer uniform practically fit him like a glove. The black shorts accentuated his muscular thighs, and the shirt allowed me to get an eyeful of how buff he was. Of course, I had the privilege of seeing him without a shirt. I remembered something that I read about last night, called thigh riding. The thought made me flush. Couple that with the heat of the sun murdering me - I must've looked like a tomato.

"Eden!" Jeremy hollered out to me and smirked. Oh boy. He then rubbed at his mouth. "You've got a bit of drool. Right there."

Christian pulled his lip into his mouth to abstain from laughing. He then glimpsed over at me as I coloured a startling tint of red. "Thirsty, baby?"

I shifted to see that a few of the soccer girls were paying attention to our conversation, and I grimaced inwardly. Christian noticed and understood immediately. I didn't want to make the target on my back bigger than it already was. If they knew I was dating one of the coaches, they all would be deeper up my arse than the shorts I was wearing.

Charlie studied Jeremy, Christian, and a few other soccer players who had stopped at the area we were practising. "Hey! Quit distracting my girls! Back to stretching, girls. I want to see your forehead flat against your legs."

I moaned and slipped my attention back to Charlie, resolute on doing the exercises to the best of my ability even though my head was pulsating. I cracked my neck before doubling over, binding my arms around my legs, and grinning as I felt my moist forehead come in contact with my knees.

Loud whistles rang throughout the area and the girls halted as we heard hollering. I suddenly felt a hand on my bottom before I was pulled up to my full height, back flush against a muscular chest. Christian reached around and settled a large hand on my stomach. I reddened at the attention I was suddenly receiving.

With the way he was touching me, it was obvious there was something going on between us. Interestingly enough, Ashley was glaring daggers at me. I wondered if she was afraid I'd snitch on her hot chocolate plan.

Christian scowled at the men, still holding a protective arm around me as Caleb barked something at his team. They seemed disappointed and even some girls too. I understood now. The guys were checking out the girls. One guy, dark-haired and smiling, tossed Kenzie a wink before whistling and saying, "Looking good, sexy."

I didn't like the gleam in his eyes, the overconfident way he was handling himself. It reminded me of what happened at the karaoke bar, bringing back memories I'd rather forget. The thought of Kenzie experiencing those same emotions made me unsettled. It didn't matter that he wasn't touching her, in his head - he already was.

"Hello," I intervened, seeing that he was just there and Kenzie stood next to me. As soon as the words left my mouth, I was already regretting it, but I couldn't stop. "I'm Eden," I introduced myself as he stared over my head at what was no doubt a scowling Christian. "And you are?"

He cleared his throat. "Um, I'm Ricky." Ricky glanced to his teammates in confusion, but they avoided eye contact. Bless Christian's frightening stare.

"Can I ask you a favour, Ricky?" He seemed perplexed at my inquisition, but agreed anyway when Christian growled. "Please don't objectify women like that. It's revolting. Kenzie isn't a dog to be whistled at like that, nor is she a piece of meat. She's more than her looks, so please treat her with respect." I turned my head to look at Kenzie. "I find Kenzie to be utterly gorgeous. Don't you think so, Ricky?"

His pale face rusted under the scrutiny of everyone. "Yes. I do."

I grinned, visibly relieving his tension, and I noticed Kenzie look down shyly. "Men who objectify women are rats. Do you want to be a rat, Ricky?" He shook his head. "Good." Nolan smirked at me as Caleb huddled up his team and led them away.

Kenzie teasingly pushed my shoulder, although there was a smile on her lips. I flushed red immediately after, realising that it was the first time I stood up for someone. It transported me to a time when I was younger, standing up for myself and Ruben to our bullies.

I was about to tell Christian that he could leave, but he then grabbed my smaller hand in his own before dragging me away. "Hey!" Charlie yelled with her arms crossed. "You can't just pull my girl away from training!"

Christian stopped, me nearly knocking into his back. He turned around slowly, eyebrow raised in amusement. "Your girl?" I fidgeted when seeing that he captured some of his teammates' attention again. This was what I was trying to avoid, dear Lord. Luckily, the girls were occupied by new stretches. Charlie looked at me, probably thinking about the hangover I had, and nodded.

With that, we began walking again. Christian led me to a bench in the shade, which was partially secluded, before rummaging through what I assumed was his bag. I plopped myself onto the bench on my stomach and groaned. Last night I kept going to the bathroom to pee, and I now realised it was because of the alcohol. I was dehydrated because I kept needing to empty my bladder.

Christian grumbled before slapping my arse, hard. "Ow!" I squeaked and jumped up, running a small hand over the stinging area. I was thinking he was, as they say - an ass man. And what was with the James siblings and touching my arse? I swear if Caleb was next - "What was that for?" I pouted.

He shook his head and took out his water bottle, "do you know how tiny your running shorts are? You're giving the entire soccer team quite the show. I don't want them staring at my baby's ass." He then handed the bottle to me, watching as I raised my eyebrows in bewilderment. "You look like you need it."

"Thanks," I whispered in gratitude, ignoring the fluttering in my heart. I began chugging down the ice-cold water whilst holding one hand over the still prickling spot on my left arse cheek. My hand was suddenly smacked away before I felt a larger one replace it.

"I'm sorry," Christian murmured, his icy gaze trained on the practising soccer teams as he massaged the stinging cheek. "That slap sounded like it was painful."

I flicked him as he continued rubbing the sore spot, "It was painful, twat." He chuckled before patting the stinging area. I could sense someone eyeing me and when I twisted my head, I found Ashley standing with crossed arms, glowering at me. "Don't get mad."

Christian glanced down at me. "Why?"

I handed him his bottle back. "This morning I got in trouble with your father. Someone told him I was hungover this morning and been drinking last night. He issued me a warning."

"The fuck?" he growled, spinning me so that I could face him. "I wasn't told about any of this. Were Charlie and Caleb there?" I nodded, and he hissed, probably upset because he wasn't called to the meeting - for obvious reasons. "Are you, though? Hungover?"

"Alcohol dilates your blood vessels," I explained quietly. "Currently, my heart is pumping faster, and my blood vessels can't expand enough to accommodate all the blood. This explains the pounding in my head because blood vessel dilation is linked to migraines and headaches."

He grabbed a towel from the bench and wiped my forehead. "I find it hard to believe you got wasted on a night before practice considering you only had your first taste of beer on Tuesday."

"Don't freak out." His brows furrowed, but I spoke before he could. "I think Ashley put something in the hot chocolate she gave me last night."

Gone was Christian's good mood. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw clenched. "She fucking spiked your drink?!"

Pressing my fingers to his lips, I whispered, "shh. Let's not inform the entire world, okay. I already explained it to Charlie. As long as the two of you know that I'm not purposely hungover, then I'm fine. Let's just forget about Ashley. Let her have the supposed last laugh because I don't want to cause trouble."

I sighed and tugged at his arm, standing on my tiptoes to reach his forehead and rub at the creases forming because of his angry look. "I don't like this plan, baby," he grumbled.

"It's alright. Besides, this will make an interesting addition to my notes," I told him. The only good thing that came out of this ordeal with Ashley was the fact that I would get to document it. His fingers twitched, and I frowned. "You look jittery."

"Been craving a smoke, that's all."

Making sure that no one was watching, I pressed a quick kiss to his lips, relishing in his smile. I murmured, "there's peppermint gum in my bag. The sparkly purple one." Still feeling eyes on me, I shifted somewhat to see Ashley still glaring daggers at me. It was as if she was trying to butcher me with her stare alone.

Christian saw where I was looking and yanked me towards him, placing his lips on mine. As much as I told myself that it wasn't a good idea to parade around with him, I couldn't help but sink into his touch. My tongue fought with his, but he won, like always. His hand drifted down my back, groping my arse and pressing me directly against his covered length. A moan fell from my lips into his mouth.

All the sensations I was feeling were quite new to me. But Christian knew what he was doing, and I trusted him. He pulled away, twisting me around and forcing my back to his front. His hand gripped my chin and urged me to look at Ashley, who was still watching us. "Look her in the eye," he murmured, biting my earlobe and I moaned, doing as he said. "I want her to see your reaction when I tell you what I want to do to you."

Ashley was determined to not look away, as if she was convinced that Christian wasn't touching me the way he was. My eyes drifted away for a second, seeing that Charlie was helping the other girls with stretches, and they weren't paying attention to us. "What do you want to do?" I urged, my voice sounding drained.

Christian chuckled darkly, fisting my ponytail in his hand. "Bad things, baby. Bad things." He suckled on the skin of my neck and I gasped. "I want to bury my face in your pussy." I sucked in a deep breath and felt him smile against my skin. "Can you imagine that? Me eating your pussy like a starved man?" I nodded, on the verge of crying. Whatever Ashley saw on my face made her scowl and walk away, not bothering to continue practice. "I want your pretty thighs wrapped around my head."

My panties felt damp, something I'd never experienced until recently. Christian could do that to me with his voice alone. He noticed me moan at the word thighs and he paused, spinning me to face him again. "What-" Unable to help it, my stare dropped to his muscular thighs. I cleared my throat awkwardly, realising that we were still in public.

Surprising me yet again, Christian read my mind. He leaned down, placing a tender kiss on my lips. "You wanna ride my thigh, baby?" I clenched my eyes shut, feeling beyond mortified. He kissed my cheek. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. These urges are normal, I promise." I managed a bashful smile. "And I'm gonna take care of you later."

"Take care?" I raised a brow, seeing the boys' team heading off to the locker room. Probably because Charlie chased them off for distracting her girls.

Christian nodded his head at his brother before giving me his full attention again. "Yeah. I'm gonna put on some jeans later, and you're not gonna wear anything." I flushed crimson, and he smirked. "You're gonna rub your bare pussy all over my thigh while I play with your tits. How does that sound?" Once again, I must've looked like a dog in heat, making him chuckle. Luckily, I was saved from answering.

"Eden!" Charlie called. I looked up, noticing that the girls, minus Ashley, were now jogging around the field. "C'mon. We can hang at the back of the group. I'll go easy on that killer hangover of yours."

I took in a deep breath to calm myself down and began walking away from Christian, but was suddenly tugged back to him. "What?" I questioned, breathing still heavy as I watched him go through his bag again. I needed to get away from him before I threw myself at him.

Christian then pulled out a jumper, wrapping it around my waist before tying it. He turned my body around and tapped my arse before saying, "now you can go. I hope you're ready for later, baby."

With a choked response, I shook my head, making my way back to Charlie so that we could trail the girls. My body felt on fire and I wondered if this was how I'd be feeling constantly. "Bloody hell," I whispered to myself and began jogging alongside Charlie.