Faking the Play (Hot Mess Harems #2)

15. Amelia

Chapter fifteen

Amelia

G oing on a date with Ethan was nothing like going on a date with Ryan. Their personalities were so different to begin with that it didn’t really surprise me. What did surprise me was that, despite parties not really being my preferred activity, I didn’t protest when Ethan asked if our date could be the party the football team was having after their game. Maybe it was because I knew that if I didn’t want to go to the party, it’d be at least a week before I’d have the chance to go out with him, or maybe I didn’t mind parties as much when I knew he’d be with me the whole time.

Things got off to a great start when he knocked on my door five minutes before he said he’d be here to pick me up, and they got even better when I opened the door and found him standing there with a bouquet of daisies. Not only were they my favorite flowers, but they matched the ones on the pink halter I wore.

“You look great,” he said as he leaned down to give me a chaste kiss on the cheek.

I tried not to feel too disappointed that he hadn’t gone for a real kiss, but as I took the flowers to put them in some water, I reminded myself that our kiss at his place had been during a game, and we’d never talked about it. He was clearly trying to be a gentleman and not make assumptions.

“Ready?” He held out his hand and I took it, letting him thread his fingers between mine.

His hands were different from Ryan’s. Not smaller, exactly, but a little thinner. Sort of like how Ryan had bulky muscle and Ethan’s body was leaner. But still appealing.

Okay, more than appealing. Both of them were hot. And so was Logan.

Which made me a horrible person.

“Everything all right?” Ethan asked as we got into his car.

I shook my head. “Where did you say the party is?”

“A couple of the guys on the team actually have a small house off campus. It’s about fifteen minutes from here.” He looked over at me, concern on his face. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

“You guys won against our rivals,” I said. “You deserve to celebrate and I want to be with you, so I’m definitely okay with it.”

“All right,” he said, “but if you want to leave at any time, you just tell me, got it? This is a date, and I don’t want you to feel obligated.”

I reached over and squeezed his forearm. “I don’t, and if I want to go, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

My answer seemed to satisfy him because he didn’t say anything else about it as he pulled out of the parking lot. Instead, we talked about the game. I’d gone to support the guys, but I wanted to hear about the things I wouldn’t have seen from the stands. The things that were important to Ethan, Ryan, and Logan. Because they were important to me. We hadn’t been reconnected for long, but already they’d fallen back into those spaces they left behind years ago.

“Just a warning,” Ethan said as he turned into a packed driveway. “Things can get a little crazy after a win like today.”

He pulled into an empty spot in the yard just as two guys covered in green and gold body paint—and only paint—ran out of the house toward the road, chanting something I couldn’t quite make out.

The concern on Ethan’s face as he looked over at me warmed my heart.

“I really hope they put on a lot of bug spray or they’re going to be really miserable when they sober up,” I said with a smile.

That seemed to reassure him, and we headed for the party, hand in hand. We got a couple drinks, chatted with some people, and I started to feel like this might not be such a bad date after all. Then Ryan passed by and didn’t even look our way.

“Excuse me,” I mumbled to Ethan. “I need some air.”

Yanking my hand out of his, I made for the quickest exit, which happened to be the back door. I pushed my way through the crowd on the patio, not stopping until I reached a small shed at the back of the property. After checking to make sure no one was using the space behind it for some alone time, I disappeared behind it and finally breathed.

It was too much. I thought being around a lot of people would help me forget how much this past week had sucked, but seeing Ryan walk by me without even a glance in my direction had been the proverbial straw that broke this camel’s back.

“Amelia?”

Ethan appeared at the corner of the shed, his worry sending a stab of guilt through me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m being a lousy date tonight. You’re being so nice trying to help me and I’m not pulling my own weight. You deserve to have fun.” My heart hurt at the thought of what that fun might entail. “Find some girl to—”

“I don’t want some girl,” Ethan said firmly. He came over to me, hands casually tucked in his pockets. “I’m here with you because I want to be. Now, tell me what’s wrong.”

I started to shake my head and then realized that keeping it all inside was just going to make everything worse.

“I think I messed up,” I blurted out. “I slept with Ryan and now he doesn’t want to go on another date with me and I thought it was fine because we were good afterward but now I don’t know because I haven’t talked to him and—”

Ethan put his finger on my lips to stop the flow of words I couldn’t seem to control. “When I asked you out, if I made it sound like Ryan told me that I needed to take you out because he didn’t want to, I’m sorry. That’s not what happened.”

That made me feel a little better. “Okay.”

Taking his finger away from my mouth, Ethan reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. “Relax. Breathe.”

After I took a few deep breaths, he explained.

“When the three of us talked about taking you out, we figured we’d do a couple dates each, and a lot of it would depend on how we were doing in our classes. At the moment, my workload is easier than Ryan’s. We were just being practical.”

That last sentence didn’t ring quite as true as some of the other things he said, but I let it go.

“I’m guessing practicality was Logan’s idea.”

Ethan laughed. “It was.”

“Ryan’s not blowing me off because he had sex with me?”

Ethan’s hand tightened around mine. “No. I can promise you that isn’t the case. And if you’re thinking that’s why he didn’t say anything to us just now, it’s not. Tonight, he and Logan are the ‘party monitors.’” Ethan chuckled. “It’s a stupid title, but basically, last year the team decided they’d pick a couple guys at each party to keep an eye on things. Make sure no one’s taking advantage of anyone else, no idiot who’s had too much to drink gets into their car, that sort of thing.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. After a beat, I couldn’t help asking another question. “You weren’t surprised when I said I slept with Ryan.”

“He told me and Logan. No details, of course, but yeah, we both know.”

“And you’re not mad?” I couldn’t breathe while I waited for his answer. As much as it hurt that Ryan hadn’t sought me out after what happened between us, it was nothing compared to the thought that I’d done something to damage the friendship the four of us shared.

He reached out and caught my hand, bringing it up to brush his lips across my knuckles. “I swear, none of us are mad at you. Not for that and not for anything else. We want you to do what you want, not what you think we want.”

“Ryan didn’t push me into anything,” I said quickly. “He’d never do that.”

“Never crossed my mind,” Ethan said, lightly touching my cheek with his free hand. “None of us would pressure you into anything. If you tell us to stop, we’ll stop.”

He kept saying us and we , not I and me . Like he was speaking for all three of them. Like they weren’t just okay with my getting physical with all three of them, but they actually expected it. I had no idea what to do with that.

Then again, what else was new? I had no idea what to do with pretty much anything going on in my life right now. My shoulders slumped and I sighed. Maybe coming to the party had been a bad idea. I wasn’t exactly the life of the party when I was in the best mood, and right now, I wasn’t anywhere close to that.

“Something else is bothering you, isn’t it?” Ethan asked, tapping on my nose to get my attention.

He was always more observant than people gave him credit for.

“The ethics committee hasn’t cleared Dr. Isenberg or me yet and he’s getting a lot of pressure from the department head to fire me.” Sharing it with someone should’ve made me feel better, but I still couldn’t shake the cloud I’d had hanging over me all week.

“I’m not going to promise that Isenberg isn’t going to be a coward and cave, but I can promise that if he loses you, he’s going to regret it.” Ethan’s thumb stroked along my bottom lip.

Something in his tone made me wonder if we were still talking about Dr. Isenberg and my job, but I didn’t think I’d be able to handle the answer on top of everything else.

“I’m sorry I’m not better company tonight,” I said. “You should be having fun.”

“I want to be with you tonight,” Ethan said. “I don’t care where. If you want to go home, I’ll take you.” He leaned closer until I could smell the sandalwood aftershave he used. “But I have another idea. One that’ll make you feel a whole lot better. Let’s call it a lesson in letting someone take care of you.”

My heart gave an unsteady thump. “I like the sound of that.”

He stepped forward until his toes were touching mine, his face barely an inch away. “If you want me to stop, just say it.”

I nodded to show that I understood, my breathing already quickening in anticipation. We stared at each other as his hand skimmed down my side, barely touching the fabric of my dress until he got to the hem. I caught my breath when his hand went underneath, fingers brushing against my bare leg. Trails of heat followed his path around to the inside of my thigh and then further up until he brushed against my panties.

“I’m gonna make you feel good, baby,” he murmured. “But you can’t scream, okay? We don’t want anyone coming out here to investigate or maybe call the cops. Understand?”

He said all this as he stroked over the dampening fabric and I nodded frantically, needing him to just get on with it. I shifted, spreading my legs wider, and he laughed, but it wasn’t his usual laugh. No, this was something deeper, the kind of sound a man made when he knew exactly how crazy he made me.

“We need to be quick,” he added. “So don’t hold back. You come as soon as you can, okay?”

I nodded again, biting my bottom lip to keep from begging him to please touch me. He must’ve seen the need on my face though because he gave me one of those cocky smirks before sliding his hand up and then into my panties. His fingers moved through the thin curls on my mound and then down between my legs. I let out a shuddering breath as a single finger parted my folds and brushed over my clit.

I grabbed onto his forearm, not to stop him, but just because I needed to touch him. As he pushed his finger inside me, the heel of his hand pressed against my clit with just the right amount of pressure and friction. I started to moan, unable to stop the sound from escaping, and he immediately covered my lips with his. I opened for him eagerly, coaxing his tongue into my mouth even as he began to move his finger in and out of my body.

Pleasure began to build inside me and I rocked against his hand. He broke the kiss, then, to whisper two commands.

“Ride my hand. Make yourself come.”

Then his mouth slammed into mine, his teeth bruising, tongue plundering. I grabbed the front of his shirt, my hips jerking back and forth even as he added a second finger. The pressure was almost too much and I found myself hovering at the edge, unable to tip over. Frustrated tears formed and one slipped down my cheek.

“Amelia, baby, are you okay?” Ethan asked.

“Can’t come.”

Despite how roughly he was driving his fingers into me, his kiss to my cheek was gentle. “I’ve got you.”

And then he curled his fingers inside me, pressing against a spot that sent fireworks off through my entire body, and that pressure finally released in a flood of white-hot pleasure that burned away everything else.

Damn, I’d needed that.