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I huffed, drawing Collin’s attention again and quickly shaking my head to reassure him I was okay.

I couldn’t even imagine Elliot Vaughn underneath me, and honestly… I wasn’t sure that was what I wanted.

What do you want?

I inhaled slowly through my nose. It was a good question. What was my hesitation about having anal sex with Vaughn?

Pain. Making a fool out of myself. Giving him more fodder for humiliating me. Pain.

The guy’s cock was no joke. Would it be possible to take that dick and still play football without everyone asking me why the fuck I was limping?

The more I imagined having sex with Vaughn, the more intrigued I was by the idea. It wasn’t like I was a complete newbie to butt stuff. Arden and I had done it before. I’d just never imagined… receiving it.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my face with both hands. Fucking Christ.

This class was endless. Moreover, I would now associate the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment with anal for as long as I lived.

I remembered watching Vaughn fuck a guy. Growling at him to take it. Grunting as he drove into him. The way the man underneath Vaughn had whimpered and begged. The way I’d wondered what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of all of that. To be face down and ass up for Elliot Vaughn.

“Mr. McNeely,” my professor called out. “Tell us what you think about it, if you would, please, sir.”

I blinked and stared at him as Collin let out a soft chuckle and repeated the question under his breath.

Fucking Christ.

Maybe I’d been wrong not to consider Collin a friend. I opened my mouth and did my best to focus on the other kind of… taking.

Thankfully, my kicking coach wasn’t there for most of practice because of an appointment, so I did my usual conditioning until it was time to join the team for a few group drills. Once practice was over, I raced through the showers and headed back to the dorm, stopping partway there when I received a call from my mom.

“Your father wanted me to let you know we’ll be at the game next weekend,” she began.

I wanted to snap out a response asking why my father couldn’t have texted or called me himself, but I held back. It wasn’t her fault he was an asshole.

“Okay.”

“Please let Arden know she’s welcome to join us in the box or sit with her friends and come find us after the game for a few photo ops.”

“Arden and I broke up,” I said.

I didn’t think before speaking the words. I’d been holding on to this information for weeks, knowing my whole life would explode, but suddenly, they refused to be held back. It felt good to finally be free of it. A relief, even though it came with the next set of challenges. The parental disappointment. The campaign to remind me what a bad decision it would be. As if I hadn’t already made it.

“Oh, dear. Well…”

I wasn’t sure what I expected. An I’m sorry or how are you feeling would have been entirely out of character.

Still, it was a jolt to hear her say, “Your father’s not going to be happy about that.”

I laughed hollowly. “I’m not sure what business it is of his.”

But then, according to my father, everything I did was his business. My breakup with the pastor’s daughter wouldn’t be good for optics. The senator’s all-American son needed the girl next door on his arm for the campaign.

“I think you should consider asking her to, ah, delay for a few weeks, darling. She’s part of the campaign. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“That’s not happening,” I assured her.

“Maybe your father can⁠—”

“Absolutely not,” I said firmly. “Even if Arden agreed, I wouldn’t. Please drop it, Mom.”