Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
When it was 12-14, us, Madelyn huddled us in the middle.
“Alright, this is it,” she screamed over the music. “Watch each other. Be smart. Wave if the ball is yours, and don’t call ones you can’t get. This is our set.”
Riley and Clay nodded in determination. I watched Madelyn with that ache in my chest re-emerging, and when I looked at Mary, she was smirking at me like she knew something I didn’t.
We threw our hands into the middle, launching them into the air on a win! before we all took our places.
It was Clay’s serve, and he launched it perfectly to Leo.
Leo volleyed it to Mary, who hit the ball straight up, right in line for me to spike it. I hit it hard over the net and straight down, but Zeke caught it in time, sending it up into the air again. Their team volleyed it twice, and then it was sent up in front of Holden.
Who was jumping, and ready to spike.
It happened so fast I couldn’t register it, couldn’t block it, and the ball zoomed past me toward the open space of court.
I cursed.
But then there was a blur of movement, and the ball soared high into the air.
Madelyn was sprawled out in the sand for only a second before she popped up again, getting out of the way, and Riley jumped to hit the ball to me next.
I hit it as hard as I could, and this time, it landed in the sand on the other side of the net with Braden unable to stop it.
We erupted, Mary and Clay high-fiving each other as Riley wrapped Madelyn in a fierce hug. When she pulled back, I swept Madelyn into my arms and up onto my shoulders.
“You fucking dove for it!” I screamed over the noise.
“And you’re surprised?” she asked, arching a brow down at me before she held her hands up in victory.
Giana turned the music down enough for us to gloat properly, me running around the court with Madelyn straddling my neck as the rest of our team did a synchronized dance in the middle.
After a few laps, I grabbed Madelyn’s hips in my hands, carefully helping her down.
Every inch of her body dragged against mine as I did, and when she was standing again, we were both breathing heavily, my hands on her waist, hers braced against my bare chest.
Around us, my friends teased each other and laughed and called for another round.
But we were still, her eyes dancing between mine as I swallowed and fought the urge to pull her closer.
All the noise had faded to the background, Madelyn’s skin hot where I held her.
She wet her lips, pressing up on her toes and sliding her arms around my neck.
“Don’t I get a kiss for that game-winning point?”
My chest sparked with possession, and I gave in, fisting my hands in her dress and pulling her flush against me.
“I think it was me who scored the winning point,” I combatted, nose flaring as I stared at her lips.
Those lips curled into a soft smile before they were touching mine, and I tasted her next words.
“Technicalities,” she whispered.
And I kissed her.
I sucked in a long, deep breath when I did, and Madelyn melted into my embrace, a whimper escaping her throat when I deepened the kiss. I slid my hands up and over her arms until I cradled her face, and then I tested that rule she’d made about not using any tongue.
I slicked mine against her lips, seeking access.
And she opened.
The moment my tongue swept across hers, she trembled, and I felt a shock of electricity shoot straight down to my cock. Her hands twisted in the hair at the back of my neck, holding me to her, her body arching against me as I wrapped her fully in my arms.
“Alright, alright, get a room, you two,” Braden joked as he jogged past us, and Madelyn broke the kiss, burying her face in my chest.
Braden caught my eye as he passed, arching his brow with a cocky grin, but my attention was pulled back to Madelyn as she backed away.
I snatched her hand in mine before she could go too far, and I held onto it until we slid into the back of one of the cars waiting to take us all back downtown.
My hand moved to her knee then, fingers wrapping around to the inside of her thigh as goosebumps raced from that point of contact all the way up under the hem of her dress.
I didn’t know what the fuck we were doing anymore.
But I knew there was nothing fake about what I had planned for when we got back to that hotel.
Madelyn
It was late when we got back to the hotel, everyone hugging and saying their goodnights in the lobby before dispersing.