Full Court Press (16 page)

“Try it again.”

She nodded and came at him again. This time, she used a crossover move and jump shot to try to get over him but he was too quick and tall, and wasn’t letting her have any for free.

He gave her the ball back. “Again.”

She clenched her teeth together. She was determined to at least get off a good shot this time. She dribbled right at him, connecting her shoulder with his chest and attempting to muscle him out of the way. It gave her enough room to get a decent shot off, even though it didn’t go in.

“Nice,” Beck said, grabbing the ball before it bounced away. “That’s what you need to be doing. You have the strength for it.”

“It didn’t go in.”

“No, you shot crooked. You need to square up.”

She stopped and put her hands on her hips to catch her breath. She liked this. She liked getting physical. These moves were going to be really useful to her in game. He was right, she wasn’t going to come up against any posts that were as tall or as strong as him. Even better, she was so busy focusing on what moves to use on him that the dream was out of her mind.

She still noticed when his hand ended up on her hip or waist but it didn’t bother her, at least not when they were on the court. This was nice Beck, who didn’t insult her or make crude jokes, and she liked it.

“Should we call it a day?” Beck asked, rubbing his chest. “I think I’m gonna bruise.”

“Yeah, we’ve been playing basketball all week. Our bodies deserve a rest.”

Beck nodded and set the ball back on the shelf with the others. “Yeah, they do deserve a rest. From basketball.”

It was spoken so casually that Carmondy wasn’t sure if it was suggestive or not. “We should go back inside, finish your homework. I’ve got to get home.”

“You’re going home?”

“Yeah, I’m out of clothes.”

“Ah, I see.”

She thought that she heard a shade of disappointment in his voice, but knew she must have imagined it.

They left the court and went back into the house.

“Your road is still blocked off, right?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’ll check on my way out, but I’m sure it is.”

“Are you coming back tonight then?”

“Uh, what do you mean?”

“Just that you either have to come back tonight or wake up hella early in the morning to make it to school on time.”

“Oh, yeah, I dunno. I’ll see how I feel, I guess.”

“You should come back tonight and swing by here,” Beck said, sitting down to his homework again.

Carmondy sat down at the table and picked up the pencil. “Why?”

Beck shrugged. “Do it and find out.”

“If you don’t have a reason, then—”

“I have a reason.”

“Well, what is it?” she demanded.

Suddenly Beck’s hand was on the back of her neck as he leaned in close. He brushed his lips against her ear and whispered, “You know exactly what it is.”

Carmondy shivered and waited to see if Beck was going to kiss her or not. He didn’t, just rubbed the nape of her neck for a moment before letting go, sliding his hand down her spine slowly. She clenched the pencil tightly until he dropped his hand. That wasn’t what she was looking for and he knew it. He was just teasing her, and she resented the fact that he had only known her a week and still seemed to be able to read her perfectly.

They finished the rest of the homework quickly and with as few words as possible. Carmondy was torn between wanting to leave and desperately wanting to stay, even though she knew it would be a mistake. She tried to tell herself that she didn’t want Beck, but even as she thought it, she knew it was a lie. It wasn’t her fault though, right? All bodies craved touch, all teenagers at least, right? But she wasn’t just craving touch. She was craving a lot more than that.

She pushed the chair back from the table and gathered up her stuff before she could change her mind. As she was walking out the door, Beck spoke.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

“Maybe.” She played with the door handle. “N-no, I don’t think so. Actually, I have a lot of homework and—”

“I’ll see you tonight,” he repeated, ignoring what she was saying.

She sighed and left quickly, closing the door behind her. The second she got in her Jeep, she wanted to go back inside and jump him. Why was she so attracted to him? She clenched the steering wheel tightly and wanted to bang her head against it to see if that would knock some of these crazy thoughts from her head. She still couldn’t figure out why. He was just a guy. A jerk, a tall...muscular...attractive...confident...jerk. There were lots of guys out there like that. What made him so special?

She started up her car and left the house, her mind still mulling over the questions.

Maybe it was because he was so good at basketball. She shook her head. She needed to stop kidding herself. It was because of the way he talked to her, the way he bossed her around and took control. She’d never had that before and it was nice not to be in control, not to have to be the one to instigate things. It was almost a given that she would try to reject him. That was part of the game. Whether she liked it or not, she wanted him. Bad. She was going to have to come to terms with that. Maybe it was just a temporary thing that she needed to get out of her system. She really had no idea. All she knew was that her body craved him. She was a slave to her endorphins and hormones, and there was nothing she could do about it.

As Carmondy drove by Anderson’s on her way back from her house later that evening, she saw his car in the driveway and knew that she should just turn, pull in, and park beside it. She kept going and turned into Beck’s driveway instead.

She knocked. Beck answered the door a few moments later. He wasn’t surprised to see her and opened the door for her to enter without a word.

She came in and set her keys and phone on the little table, shrugging out of her jacket and slinging it across a chair. Beck was still behind her, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn around. She didn’t have to. There was suddenly a light touch on her back. His fingers walked up her spine, all the way up to the base of her neck, making her shiver.

Then he was in front of her, leaning against the kitchen counter and crossing his arms over his chest. A corner of his mouth twisted up into an amused half-smile. He was just teasing her. Again.

“Look who showed up.” He smirked.

She frowned. So that’s how he was going to play it? It was obvious that he wasn’t surprised. He just wanted to mess with her a little. Fine. She’d play it that way.

“Yeah, you said if I stopped by you had something for me.”

This made his amused smile grow. That probably hadn’t been the best choice of words.

“Yeah. I’ve got something for you.” He dropped a hand and hooked a thumb into the front of his jeans, the motion overtly sexual yet casual at the same time. “Do you want it?”

His words caused her to remember her dream when he had asked her something very similar. His words sent a tingle through her, and she suddenly felt dirty again.

“I—” Another image pushed into her head, a vision of her, spread eagle on his bed.

“There’s something on your mind,” he said, a statement, not a question.

“No...I mean, of course I’ve got a little brain activity going on.” She sighed. “Do we have to do this, Beck?”

He cocked an eyebrow.

She shook her head. “I mean this annoying talking part where you try to get under my skin. Can’t we skip it?”

“Impatient, are we? You want it that bad? You been craving me?” He was clearly having a good time with this.

She didn’t answer.

“Ahh, you have. Been thinking about me? Can’t get it off your mind? Daydreams or, even better, wet dreams?”

She shifted uncomfortably and gulped. This was a bad time for him to be reading her perfectly.

He cracked a laugh. “Really. You dreamed about getting it from me?” He hopped up onto the counter, legs dangling. “This I gotta hear.”

“Beck.” Did she want to tell him? What would he say? Would he laugh?

“Ohh, oh oh, wait a minute.” He slid off the counter right away and stepped closer to her. “Has this got anything to do with those cute little comments you were whispering to Andy the other day?”

She gasped and looked up. How could he know? His face told her that he was determined to find out.

“Well, if I was in it, then I think I’ve got a right to know about it.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t want to tell me? Why not? We’ve had sex already, so I don’t know why you’re so shy about it.” His hand took her arm and pulled her toward him and then around. Her lower back bumped against the counter as he released her.

“It was nothing. Besides, you can’t control what you dream about.”

“No, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some sort of meaning.” He leaned into her, causing her to lean back over the counter to keep a safe distance. “You don’t want to tell me?”

“It’s not that exactly. I just—” His hand found her hip, running back and forth slowly. He was just messing with her. Beck wasn’t the touchy-feely type but he knew that it would affect her.

“Go on,” he commanded.

“I’m afraid that if I told you, you would take it wrong.”

“Well, tell me and we’ll find out.” He leaned closer.

Carmondy remembered what Kendall had said. Beck may pressure her on some things but he wasn’t going to make her do something that she didn’t want to do. She could tell that right now this was just to get information out of her, because he was curious. Luckily for him, it was working quite well.

He leaned closer, causing her to arch her back to maintain distance. “Okay, I’ll tell you, just—” She pushed on his chest. She needed a little room.

Beck backed off for moment but then grasped her waist and hoisted her up, setting her on the counter like a child. Her legs spread automatically and he stood between them, waiting.

She took a breath. This wasn’t quite what she had meant but she did have a little breathing room. She hesitated so he started off.

“So you had a dream about me, yes?”

She nodded.

“And what was happening in this dream. Sex?”

She nodded again.

“Speak up, why so shy? We’ve been there already, remember?” He slid his hands onto her thighs, rubbing from the outside of her knees to her ass, pressing her knees against his hips.

He was right. Why was she being so shy? She was going to tell him, so why not just say it?

She took her deep breath. “Yes. There was sex. And more.”

“Uh huh, like what?”

“Well.” She picked up his hand and played with his fingers a moment. “You used these,” she met his eyes and then reached out her other hand to touch his lips with her fingertips, “and these.”

Beck took her hand from his lips and rubbed it for a moment. “I used them for what?” He knew the answer of course, but wanted to hear her say it.

“To get me off,” she stated simply.

“And it worked well?”

“Twice.”

He grinned, still amused. “That sounds like a very interesting dream.”

“There’s more.”

He cocked his head and waited.

“It wasn’t just normal. You talked to me. Well, actually, it wasn’t a whole lot different from the way you talk now but you were...commanding. It got me so hot. That, and the chains that held me spread eagle on your bed.” She tried to say it very nonchalantly

His hands stopped rubbing and clenched on her legs. He suddenly seemed very, very interested. “What did you say?”

She smiled. “I think you heard me.”

“Say it again,” he ordered.

She grinned wider. “See? Like that, you told me what to do. And I did it, because I wanted to.”

“And the other part?”

“I was chained to your bed, arms wide, legs open, helpless.”

“Chains?”

“Well, the part around my wrists and ankles was like, leather or something, very snug. I struggled sometimes when I wanted to touch you but you never let me out.”

He seemed a little perturbed by this. “You were trying to get away?”

“Well...not escape, I just...wanted to touch you too.”

“You liked it,” he realized.

This was starting to get a little too heavy for her, and she dropped her head, a little embarrassed.

“Hey.” His hand slid up her neck and put pressure under her jaw, forcing her to look up at him again. “Tell me.”

“I wasn’t sure at first. I mean, you know how in a dream, things all make sense but when you wake up you don’t understand why? I don’t know about in real life, but in the dream the chains made it...exciting, a little scary...but in a good way. It’s hard to explain. But yeah...they turned me on, in the dream at least.”

He let go of her neck and dropped his hand back to her leg. “In real life, does thinking about doing it that way with me make you hot?”

“Thinking about doing it with you in any way at all makes me hot,” she answered honestly.

He smiled a little. “But you’re interested to try it, to see.”

Yes, she wanted to know, wanted to try it. But did she want to go there with Beck?

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

“What?”

“In your dream, did I hurt you? You know, it sounds pretty kinky to me and I know that kinky usually entails like...whips or stuff like that?”

She shook her head. “No, nothing like that. I talked to Kendall about this—” Wait, should she be telling him this?

He nodded. “She and Anderson were into that stuff. I’ve gotten more details than I ever wanted to hear about those two.”

“Oh, well yeah. She was saying for her, it wasn’t the pain thing like most people think. It’s just the being locked up part...it makes it interesting.”

“So you never craved that? Getting...hurt or whatever.”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. For me, in this dream at least, it was just the helplessness and the way you talked to me and looked at me like...like you owned me, at least in that moment, like you knew I would do what you told me.”

He was very intrigued by this. “That all sounds very interesting.” His hands resumed the stroking on her legs. “And you want to try it?”

“Do you?”

“I’m game.”

She shifted a little anxiously. “Kendall said that you have...something that belongs to her and Anderson.”