Page 80 of His Reckless Freshman

I watch him, studying his expression quietly before lowering myself down beside him. “Are you okay?” I bypass pleasantries and decide to get this over with. “You seem… sad… or⁠—”

He sighs, his shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry. I’ve just had… a rough day.”

“What happened?” I reach for his hand without thinking, curling my fingers into his palm.

He gives me a gentle squeeze back, then starts telling me about how Coach packed up his office and left today. I listen to the story about Monday night’s game, wanting to cheer and congratulate him that they won, but I don’t get a chance because he shifts into his coach’s cancer news, and it seems wrong to cheer now.

Once he’s done, he falls silent, then blows out a breath. “Sorry, I should have canceled. You don’t want to hang out with me when I’m feeling this way.”

“Yes, I do.” I smile at him. “I like hanging out with you anytime.” Angling my body around, I tuck my foot under my leg and nestle a little closer to him. “And you’re allowed to feel sad and unsettled by this. You’re coach-less right now, and I’m sure you’re feeling kind of lost. I mean, you have the assistant coaches, I guess, but you don’t seem to have much faith in them.”

He glances at me, his lips rising into a sad smile when he nods.

“But you won’t stay lost forever. You’ll get a new coach, maybe. And the team is going to have their best season yet. I’m telling you, by the end, the arenas will be packed with cheering fans because you will have played your asses off.” I let out a small, awkward laugh. I don’t usually swear or say words like “ass,” but it seems appropriate right now. “In fact, I’m going to ask to write a follow-up article, mention your win in the next edition of the paper. Or maybe we can interview you guys for the Sports Digest. That’d be cool.”

Ben smiles at me, squeezing my hand. “It was pretty epic winning on Monday.”

“I wish I’d been there.”

“Yeah, we don’t usually get fans following us to away games… even when they’re as close as Lennox.”

“Well, maybe you will this year. Winning a preseason game is a great start.”

“Yeah, Jimmy played better than he ever has.”

“I’m sure you all stepped up. It’s a team effort.”

“True.” He nods, then turns to me and smiles. “I gotta thank you, because before the game, we decided to go out there and just have fun, play like we do at a practice. It took all the pressure off.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Your article. I was thinking about it before the game. What you wrote about us… it was inspiring.”

I’m sure I’m blushing as I let out a breathy laugh. Wow. Talk about making a girl feel special!

He brushes his finger down my cheek, and I glance up at him, our eyes connecting in this moment that feels… intimate.

The air seems to still around us for a second, and I’m pretty sure I’ve stopped breathing.

I swear, if this was a movie, romantic music would be softly swelling around us, increasing in volume as he leans forward to press his lips against mine and⁠—

“Well, um…” Ben suddenly looks away, clearing his throat and standing from the couch. “Should we get on with your next lesson?” Wiggling his eyebrows at me, I force a smile, my blush no doubt turning from a pale pink to a bright beetroot.

“Sure,” I squeak, standing up and slipping my shoes off.

He walks over to the bed, running a hand through his hair before turning to face me. “I thought I might show you what it’s like to have oral sex. If you’re comfortable with that.”

I swallow, not sure that I am, but I should give this a try, right?

He’s trying to show me things. Help me out. I should be open to it, and I can always say no if I’m uncomfortable. I trust Ben to listen to me.

Brushing my teeth over my bottom lip, I gingerly approach him.

“Hey, it’s okay if you don’t like it. I’ll stop if you don’t. You just have to tell me.”

Smiling up at him, my worries scuttle back into hiding, and I rise to my tiptoes and kiss him.

He captures me against him, tugging me close and kissing me back. I sink into it, trying to remind myself that this is just a lesson. There are no feelings here. Well, not on his part anyway.