Scoring The Coach ✔️

chapter twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-Three

It was easy to get wrapped up in the bliss of summer.

One warm morning I dressed in a white, flowy sundress and an old pair of sneakers before riding my bike across town to surprise Jared at his apartment. I practically ran up the stairs, tapping a set of freshly painted nails against my thigh as I waited for him to answer the door. For a few seconds, I stood uselessly outside, wondering if he wasn't awake yet.

Thankfully, before my brain could slip into irrational thinking, hands slid around my waist from behind and pulled me up off my feet, familiar lips peppering my jaw with kisses.

"Put me down, Jared!" I giggled, kicking my legs.

He obliged, smirking when I turned to face him. His hair was stuck to his forehead and his cheeks were bright red. He was out of breath, shirtless, and standing in front of me looking wickedly sexy.

"You stink." I crinkled my nose for emphasis.

Jared gave an indifferent shrug. "I just ran five miles and it's summer, so I'm sweating."

I stepped back, making a face. "You need a shower."

"Is that a proposition?" He raised an eyebrow. "I would love to shower with you."

I shamelessly stole glances at his shirtless form when he wasn't looking at me. "I already took a shower this morning."

He scoffed as he fumbled for his keys. "Like that's ever stopped us."

When we got inside his apartment, he went into the kitchen and returned with a cold water bottle pressed to his forehead, another in his hand for me.

I took it gratefully. "I rode my bike here for you. In a dress, no less."

"I could have picked you up," he said. "I would have picked you up."

"I wanted to surprise you," I replied.

The way his face lit up melted me. People talk all the time about how women like romantic gestures, but I think that speaks true for anyone in a relationship. I didn't tell him that part of the reason I had been acting this way was that I felt like, at some level, I had failed him all those months ago. Obviously, he had taken me back, ready to offer me all the love in the world, yet I still felt like I owed it to him.

"Uh-oh," Jared said playfully, in between gulps of cold water. "You've got that thinking face on again. What are you thinking about, baby?"

Oh, just the fact that our sort of break-up has been bothering me for a long time. "Nothing really, just that I want to kiss you but you're all sweaty."

"I've kissed you when you were sweaty," he reminded me. "Ergo, I think you should just kiss me anyway."

"Take a shower," I said again. "I mean it."

He sighed before dragging his feet into the bathroom. I watched him disappear before settling on his couch, waiting.

A few minutes passed before he practically ran out of his room is nothing but his boxers, skin a little wet from the shower, smelling like soap and his shampoo.

"Can I kiss you now?" he asked, eyes wide.

I laughed before grabbing his forearm and pulling him down to the sofa. He pinned me under him, his touch lingering as his palms roamed over me. I was already filling with familiar heat, wanting him as the tension grew.

I kissed him firmly on the mouth, no longer patient enough to wait. He was sweet and slow with this kiss, one of his hands sliding up and down my thigh, just under the hem of my dress. I loved the feeling of his skin against mine, a new wave of warmth spreading throughout my body.