Virgin Playbook: Phoebe's First: College Football Sports Romance (5 page)

W
e failed the experiment
. Halfway through, the solution was supposed to fizzle and turn green—yet ours didn’t. It didn’t foam. It didn’t change color. It did
nothing
.

Without a proper solution, there was no way to finish the experiment successfully. Instead of waiting to receive my failing grade, I rushed out of the classroom.

Dr. Strickland seemed surprised when she saw that I did not know what I was doing. Usually, I was her best student. She gave me a disappointed glance that made me understand why Adam acted the way he did. Sometimes, it’s hard to balance college and a personal life. Lower expectations in school made the rest easier.

For the first time in my life, I wished that I was worse at academics and better at social situations.

A
s I walked
down the hallway, my keys jingling in my hand, I heard footsteps behind me.

“Why did you leave?”

It was Adam. I groaned.

“Because I’m an idiot, Adam!” I said, turning on my heel. “Because no matter what I do, I’ll never be able to balance school, a social life and all the things I’m supposed to do. Either I give up school, or I give up my social life. I can’t have both.”

He was getting closer to me. As soon as he was close enough, he pulled me close to his chest. I didn’t reach out to hug him back.

“Of course, you can. You can’t give up on happiness and friends, Phoebe. Nobody’s perfect. One failed test isn’t the end, okay? I promise.”

I let my head fall to his chest and broke down.

“You act like it meant nothing,” I sobbed into his shoulder. “How am I supposed to know I’m not just a rebound?”

“A rebound?” he asked with a frown. “Phoebe, I liked you
while
I was dating Ariana. You do get that, right?”

I looked up at him and wiped the tears from my eyes.

“Really?” I asked. “You aren’t just saying that to get in my pants again?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Of
course,
not. I care about you, Phoebe,” he said, softly. “A lot.”

I smiled.

“I like you a lot too.”

“Good! Will you let me take you out, then?”

I laughed a little. “When?”

“Right now!” He grinned.

W
e went
to a pizzeria on the other side of town. I had never heard of the place, mostly because it was at least ten miles away from campus. The thin crust pie was even better than my mother’s home cooking, so it certainly was worth the long drive. I knew my parents were probably wondering where I was, but I was having far too much fun with Adam to care. About half a slice in, I turned my phone off so we wouldn’t be bothered.

“See, this is why I like you,” he said, taking a large bite of his slice. “You’ll sit down and eat pizza and then go see
Blood Master 6
with me. I could never get Ariana to do this. She lives on Caesar salad and
Dollhouse Downtown
reruns.”

I smiled and sipped on my iced tea.

“I loved the first five,” I admitted. “I hope the sixth one is as good.”

“You actually watched the
Blood Master
series?” he asked. “Good God, you
are
my dream girl.”

I laughed a little. “You almost done? We can pack away the leftovers and sneak them into the theater. My mom taught me that when I was a kid—before she got her weight loss surgery.”

He gobbled down the rest of his slice and motioned to the waitress.

“Box please,” he requested, mouth full of dough. “Thank you.”

She brought us the box and set it down on the table along with the check. Adam gave her his credit card. As soon as she brought it back with a receipt, I smiled.

“Ready to go?”

He grinned.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“
N
ot
as good
as I hoped it would be,” Adam sputtered as we walked out of the movie theater. “Bad acting. I wish they would’ve kept the original cast.”

“Me too!” I complained, following him to his car. “I can’t believe they got rid of Asia Strauss. It’s not
Blood Master
without her.”

“Totally,” he agreed, opening the car door for me.

I blushed and thanked him as I slid into the passenger’s seat. It was late and, just like the rest of the city, the parking lot behind the movie theater was void of all life—except us. Adam walked around the car and, as he got into the driver’s seat, I felt my heart start to race. He started the car, but he didn’t put it in drive. Instead, he leaned over and gave me a soft, sweet kiss.

“What was that for?” I whispered.

“Because you’re beautiful,” he murmured, pulling me close to him for another peck. “That one was because you’re my girl.”

My eyes widened.

“I-I am?” I stuttered. “I didn’t know we were . . . you know. Exclusive.”

“Do you want to be?” he asked, kissing my lips again.

I kissed him back as his hands ran up my shirt.

“I do,” I whispered between kisses. “I just didn’t know
you
wanted to.”

He lowered his lips to my neck, and I let out a soft moan. He already knew how to turn me on. It was like he knew my body better than I did.

“I do,” he murmured. “I always want you. And right now, I
really
want you.”

He reached underneath my bra and started massaging my breast. I groaned, lustfully. Buttery words and sultry fingers were two of Adam’s greatest traits.

“Right here?” I asked. “In the middle of the—oh!”

His second hand started to rub me through my blue jeans making me forget all rhyme or reason.

“Are you complaining?” he asked as his fingers continued to pleasure me.

I gulped and shook my head. In a single movement, he had changed my mind.

“Make love to me again,” I whispered. “Please.”

He started to unbutton his jeans and kissed me. I giggled as he fumbled with his zipper.

“Next time it’ll be in bed. I promise.”

A
dam sucked
on my neck as he rubbed the tip of his manhood against my lower lips. I groaned and bucked my hips against his, urging him to start. Considering we were technically committing an act of indecent exposure, we could not stay long. As exciting as this was, I was grateful that we would try it in a bed the next time. Getting naked in a car in a public parking lot was even trickier than I imagined—not that I had ever really imagined doing that.

“Please, just put it in,” I breathed against his shoulder.

He nodded and pushed himself inside of me. I moaned and craned my neck. The small space was straining on the body, but as he filled me, I forgot all about where we were and how uncomfortable it was. All I cared about was him and the incredible sensations he made me feel.

“How’s that?” he whispered, moving slowly.

“I-it’s good,” I murmured. “Gentle.”

He nodded, moving his hips slowly against mine.

“I don’t want to push you too far too fast,” he said softly. “I care about you a lot, Phoebe. I want to make you happy.”

I smiled at him.

“Then go faster.”

He grinned and moved his hips against mine in one swift thrust. I let out a loud scream of mixed pleasure and surprise. As he did it again, I bit my lip to try and muffle the sound. The last thing I wanted was for someone to misconstrue the situation and call the police.

“Oh, my God!” I breathed. “That feels so good.”

He rotated his hips against mine, arching his back so he didn’t accidentally bump into the roof of the car, and continued to make my toes numb and my breath shallow until I was pulsating around him. When I was finished, he kept going, harder and faster until a second orgasm started to brew inside me.

I moved my hips against his, pulling him closer so I could kiss him. He snaked his tongue into my mouth and started kissing me with the same passion of his hips. A moan fell from between my lips.

“God, Adam. I’m about to—”

Before I could finish the sentence, we both climaxed together. He fell on top of me in a pile of cramped bliss.

“That was fantastic,” I breathed. “I should probably get my jeans back on, but I don’t want to move.”

He laughed and kissed me. “Me either.”

We stayed like that for a couple more moments before he pulled himself off of me and we both readjusted so we could get our pants on. He flashed me an oxytocin-laced smile, and I knew that things were about to get complicated.

I was falling in love with him, and I couldn’t stop myself.

M
y car was still
at the university, so Adam dropped me off by the parking structure. As I got out of the car, he gave me a sweet kiss and made me promise to text him when I got home.

The drive back to my parents’ house was faster than usual. Foo fast, actually. Usually, I would be happy about a lack of traffic, but that night, I could have used the distraction. The blackness of the night made me think too much.

Falling for Adam had never been in my plans. I wanted to focus on college and my career, not boys. Perhaps, I would have made an exception for someone that flaunted me and was proud to be seen with me. Adam, however, did not seem to be interested in that. Instead, he met me in secret and ran away whenever someone could witness our intimacy.

To be fair, we had not had many opportunities to meet in person. Flirting in class was frowned upon, and he was always busy with practices. The only person who had witnessed us together was Ariana, and that was a whole other can of worms.

I had to know if he was serious about me—serious enough to admit that he cared in front of others. Even though his fraternity brothers and his football team would probably make fun of him for it, he had to show me he was willing to be seen with me. I refused to be the girl he only hooked up with behind closed doors.

I started to devise a plan to give him one chance to prove that he cared about me. If he failed my test, I would break up with him and go on with my life.

A
fter two days of planning
, I finally knew how to get my relationship with Adam out of the shadows. I was going to go the very place I never planned to go: a fraternity house.

I put on my cutest sundress and curled my hair—something that I
never
did. Even my mother complimented me, which was saying something.

My heart was in my throat the entire drive to the Phi Alpha Alpha house. Since large groups of drunken people annoyed me, I had never ventured to the Greek village. For that reason, I had no idea where Adam’s house was and ended up driving aimlessly for longer than I would have liked.

Finally, I found it. It was located at the very end of the street with massive Greek letters mounted on the side. Dozens of cars were parked in the driveway. It was an odd sight.

I pulled up behind a sedan and parked. Anxiously, I got out, walked to the door and rang the doorbell.

After a few minutes, the door opened. A tall brunet boy with red eyes and a skunk-like smell greeted me.

“Oh, shit. Sorry, who’re you? I didn’t—I didn’t hear you knock.”

“I didn’t knock. I rang the doorbell,” I explained.

He held up a pack of cigarettes.

“I was just going out to smoke a cig. You want one?”

I shook my head. “No, thank you. Is Adam home?”

“Oh, you’re Adam’s girl? Yeah, he’s home,” the boy replied. He looked back into the house and yelled, “Yo, Adam! Your girlfriend is here!”

There was no response. I looked down at the ground.

“Maybe he didn’t hear you.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Adam’s mysterious brother said. “I’ll uh—I’ll take you to his room.”

He led me into the house and down a hallway lined with open doors. Inside most of the rooms were boys drinking beers and playing video games—two of them were Adam’s friends from lab class.

I was surprised to notice that it was a much more relaxed atmosphere than I thought it would be.

Adam’s frat brother came to a stop at the last door on the hallway and knocked. He began to giggle for no reason. That combined with the redness in his eyes and the god-awful smell that emanated from him made it quite clear that he had been smoking pot only a few minutes earlier.

“Adam! Yo! Your girlfriend is here!” the pothead yelled.

Despite the muffled voices inside, there was no response. The frat brother jiggled the doorknob until it opened.

Adam looked up at me and held up a finger. He was on the phone.

“Don’t be a jerk, dude,” stoner boy protested. “My girlfriend would
never
let me look at her like that.”

“Shut up,” Adam mouthed. “N-no, Dad. It’s just Jake. He’s confused.”

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Jake said with a shrug, before waltzing back down the hall.

“Dad, seriously, it’s not even a big deal. She’s just my lab partner!”

All of a sudden, my head hurt. Despite our conversation about the man, I hadn’t realized how harsh his father really was. Maybe
that
was why he wouldn’t show me off. He was afraid of what his father would think.

“I’m doing fine! Coach says I’ve improved tenfold.”

He looked tired as he listed to his father for a few moments. I kept my head held low and tried to breathe as silently as I could.

“She’s not!” Adam growled, angry and tired. “I hardly even know her. We hooked up a couple of times, but it’s nothing serious. I promise.”

My eyes instantly shot up to him. He mouthed the word “sorry” to me, but something told me that he wasn’t. He wouldn’t say such things if he actually regretted saying them.

Looking away from me, Adam continued, “He was
kidding!
Whenever I fuck a girl, Jake calls them my girlfriend. You know how it is.”

I couldn’t hold it in anymore. The tears began to fall, and I raced out of the room. I didn’t want a boy to ever talk about me in such a way, especially to his father. That was why I had stayed a virgin for so long.

Adam tore my heart out of my chest and stepped on it, and I was done.

“Whoa, you okay?” Jake asked as I zoomed past him.

He was sitting on the porch, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

I sniffled. “No, I’m not,” I sobbed. “Adam was a total asshole.”

He pulled the cigarette from his mouth and handed it to me. I had never smoked in my life, yet Adam had driven me to it. I took a long drag before returning it to him.

“What’d he do?” he asked, being kind enough not to make fun of my short coughing fit.

“He told his dad that I’m just some girl he fucks,” I spat. I shook my head and added, “I don’t know why I told you that.”

Jake shrugged. “Well, Adam’s dad is kind of a hard-ass. I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it.”

He held out the cigarette for me, and I waved it off. I learned my lesson after the first coughing fit and wasn’t looking to have another.

“Then, why would he say that?” I asked. “Ugh! He’s so confusing. I just want to go home.”

“You need a ride?”

“No,” I said a little too emphatically since he was still mostly stoned. “I drove here, but thanks.”

He nodded. “Well, I hope you understand that sometimes guys like Adam say stuff they don’t mean. Some of our brothers are douche-bags, but Adam isn’t one of them. If you make up with him, just know he’s a decent guy.”

I gave him a watery smile.

“You have to say that. You took an oath or something.”

He laughed and shook his head. “A
pledge
and I don’t have to say anything. I say whatever I want—and I say that Adam’s a good guy.”

I desperately wanted to believe him. I didn’t know that I could, though.

“I hope you’re right.”