Scoring Chance (Carolina Comets)

Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

This is it. We’re done. Before we even had a chance to begin, Scout and I are done.

Why the hell did I just blurt out virgin? What the hell is wrong with me?

She’s just staring at me with her jaw dropped, her eyes wide. She’s thinking of bolting. I can see it. She probably thinks something is wrong with me or that I’m a total loser or—

“Okay.”

I rear back because there is no way she just said what I think she said.

“Huh?”

“I said, okay. Is that not what you want me to say?”

“No. I…”

Well, shit. I actually don’t know what I want her to say. Do I want her to be okay with this? Yes, because it’s not a big deal to me. But do I just want her to say okay…? I don’t know. I think really, I just want to know what she’s thinking about.

I sit up higher in my chair, leaning over the table and keeping my voice low. “Does it bother you?”

She shakes her head. “Not one bit. Should it?”

“I guess not, no.”

“Are you telling me because you want me to take your virginity?”

Fucking hell.

My face is on fire. I can feel the flames licking at my cheeks, can feel the sweat beginning to bead.

Scout take my virginity?

Well, I definitely don’t hate the idea of that.

She laughs. “I’m kidding.”

“But what if I did?”

All the humor drains from her face, and she looks just as surprised as I am by my words.

Do I mean them? Is that what I want? I don’t know.

“I mean, I’m not saying no…”

She giggles. “Then I won’t say no either.”

“Okay.”

I settle back in my seat, reaching for my glass of water, only to remember at the last minute that it’s empty. My nerves are shot, and my throat feels like I swallowed an entire box of nails. I’m pretty sure if I stood right now, my legs would give out.

Where the hell is the waiter? I’m sure I scared him off by screaming virgin at him, but I need a drink—stat.

Silence engulfs us. All Scout can do is stare at me, and all I can do is look anywhere but at her.

This dinner is awful. I ruined everything.

God, I’m such an idiot.

When I finally peek up, Scout’s head is tipped to the side, and she’s watching me closely. A piece of hair has fallen loose from the braid that’s lying over her shoulder, and I want to reach across the table and pull it between my fingers to see if it’s as soft as it looks. I want to drag her closer to me and kiss her, or just sit with her and talk for hours.

What I definitely don’t want is to sit in this damn restaurant for another minute.

Screw the drink. Screw the dinner. Screw this place.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

She nods enthusiastically. “Yes. Please.”

“Good. I know just the place.”

My chair scrapes loudly across the floor as I stand, drawing several eyes our way. It’s the same people whose stares I felt earlier, and I can’t say I’m bothered by them.

The waiter appears with my vodkas. I grab the glasses off his tray and set them on the table next to us.

“For your troubles,” I tell the women who I heard mention were on their first date. “I hope it goes better than the one I’m on.”

They both laugh, then pick the glasses up and clink them together before throwing them back in one gulp.

“We’re leaving,” I tell the waiter, digging my wallet from my back pocket and plucking out three one-hundred-dollar bills. I toss them onto his tray. “This should cover our bill.”

His wide eyes land on the pile of cash, and all he can do is nod because that covers our dinner and then some.

“Thank you, sir. I hope you have a lovely evening.”

He turns on his heel and walks away.

I look down at Scout, who is watching me with an amused grin, and extend my hand toward her.

“You ready?”

She slips her hand into mine. “Lead the way.”

We pull into the parking lot of the gas station.

“Is this the place you know?”

“Nah. We’re just here for snacks. I’m sure you’re probably hungry since we didn’t eat dinner, and I nervous-ate all the bread.”

“Yes! I’m starving.”

She throws the door open before I can tell her to wait, but I’m not surprised by it anymore. Scout’s going to do what Scout’s going to do, which is why I like her so much.

She’s just…Scout.

She’s entirely her own person, doing her own thing. She doesn’t put on a front or pretend to be someone she isn’t just so people will like her more. After growing up in the world I did with the parents I had where all they did was pretend, it’s nice to have someone real.

I shuffle past her, at least holding this door open for her.

“Drinks or snacks first?”

“Snacks. Drink always depends on snack. You have to make sure they pair well together.”

“Hm. I like the way you think.”

We head for the snack aisle. She instantly grabs a packet of Reese’s Pieces, snags peanut butter M&M’S next, and then selects a packet of Sour Skittles and some sour gummies.

“That’s quite the jump,” I comment.

“The Skittles and gummies are for me, the rest for you.”

“For me?”

She nods. “You love peanut butter, right? That’s why you always get the Chocolate Nutty Butter.”

I don’t know why I’m surprised she’s caught on that I have a weird love affair with peanut butter, but I like that she noticed. “I fucking love peanut butter.”

She grins. “I figured. Which means your drink is…” She leads us to the cooler section, perusing them until she finds just what she’s looking for. She pops the door open, reaches in, and hands me a glass bottle. “A Yoo-hoo.”

“A Yoo-hoo, huh?”

“Yep.”

I grab the bottle, reading the label. “So, it’s chocolate water?” My nose scrunches up. “Yeah, I don’t know about that. Can’t I just have chocolate milk instead?”

“Wait a minute—you’ve never had a Yoo-hoo before?”

I shake my head. “No. I wasn’t really allowed sweets as a kid. It didn’t fit in with my hockey routine.”

Her jaw drops, and I slip a finger under her chin, pushing it back up.

“I can’t believe you’re twenty-four and have never had a Yoo-hoo.”

“I’ve never had sex either.”

“Miller!” A laugh bursts out of her, drawing the attention of the two other people in the store, but she doesn’t care, and screw it—I don’t care either.

I shrug. “It’s true.”

“I know.” She closes the cooler, then moves down two more before swinging the door open and plucking out a root beer. It’s the same thing she ordered when we had pizza. I wonder if it’s her favorite and she would have gotten it no matter what snacks she picked.

“Is that all? We’re just having candy?”

She screws her face up. “No. This is just our appetizer.” She dips her head toward the island in the middle of the store. “We’re having nachos.”

So, we make nachos. At a freaking gas station. It’s safe to say this date has definitely gone in a different direction than I originally planned.

We take our items to the register, where she adds two scratch-off lottery tickets to our pile.

Candy, nachos, and drinks in hand, we slip back into the car. Scout reaches over and turns on the radio as I pull out of the parking lot. I can’t help but laugh at what’s on and turn the Taylor Swift song up to full blast.

I head east, knowing just where I want to take us. Five minutes later, we’re pulling into the parking lot of an old, run-down drive-in theater.

“What are we doing here? Didn’t this place close a few years back?”

I don’t answer her as I park the car in the middle of the lot directly in front of the old screen that’s still up. There’s a tear down the center, probably from some local high schoolers, and weeds almost as tall as the front of the car are sticking up out of the cracks in the pavement.

“I can’t believe how much it’s changed in two years. It’s like the theater never even existed.”

“You used to come here?”

I nod. “Back when I first joined the Comets, yeah. Only made it a few times before it shut down, but I always loved it.”

She looks out at the vacant lot, a wistful look in her eye. “I used to come here with my dads all the time. Sundays were family days, which usually meant a movie or bowling. Stevie would always pick bowling, but I always wanted to go to the movies.” She looks over at me with a smile. “For the stories, of course. Pops loved it too.”

“Tell me a story, then.”

“What? No way.”

“Yes way.” I point to the bag sitting at her feet. “But first, hand me that bag. I need my snacks for this.”

“I’m not telling you a story,” she says, but she hands me the bag anyway. I fish out my peanut butter treats along with my Yoo-hoo, then drop her sour candies onto the center console and set her root beer in the cup holder.

I open my mouth.

“Umm…” she says, staring at me.

“Nacho me.”

“I am not feeding you, Miller.”

“How rude.” I pluck a chip from the plastic container, then another for good measure. “This is going to be awful with my chocolate water.”

“Oh, disgusting for sure.” She pops a chip into her mouth, moaning as she chews. “How is it something so cheap and what should be absolutely awful tastes so good?”

I shrug. “It’s the way of life, I guess.”

“I suppose.”

I rip open my M&M’S, tossing a handful back. They taste terrible with the cheese from the nachos. I twist open the Yoo-hoo and take a tentative sip.

“Well?” she asks.

“It’s not…bad. But it’s not great either.”

“Just wait. You’re going to be addicted to them.”

“We’ll see.” I take another drink, already liking it more. I cap the bottle, then set it back in the cup holder. “Enough stalling. Story time.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, I am. You’re a writer, aren’t you? A storyteller?”

“Yes. No. I mean, I want to be.”

“So, tell me a story, then.”

“Miller…this is so embarrassing.”

“More embarrassing than me yelling virgin in the middle of a restaurant where the average plate costs a hundred bucks?”

“Mine was only forty,” she mumbles. “I ordered a salad.”

“And you’re still stalling.”

“I totally am.” She sighs. “All right, fine. Once upon a time…”

I push my seat back and settle down into my seat as she launches into a fairy tale about an American high schooler who finds out she’s royalty. She gets sent to a foreign country to learn how to be part of the aristocracy, and at first, it’s a disaster, but in the end, she winds up winning the hearts of everyone around her.

The way she tells it…it’s enchanting, and I can’t look away from her. The details are astounding, making it feel like I’ve been transported to this magical country and I’m the fucking princess.

By the time she’s finished, I’ve eaten all of my M&M’S and half my bag of Reese’s Pieces, and my chocolate water—which I admittedly love—is gone. I’m so invested that when she says The End, there are actual tears in my eyes—not that I’d ever admit that shit out loud.

“Wow. That was…incredible. Is that something you wrote?”

She cocks her head to the side, wrinkling her nose. “No, Miller. That’s the plot of The Princess Diaries.”

“Wait…so it’s already a book?”

“Well, yes, but it’s also a Disney movie. Have you never seen it?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“I was wondering why you just let me keep going. Your face when you found out she went down the stairs on a mattress was priceless.”

“Because she’s a princess!”

She tosses her head back in laughter, her entire body shaking. I don’t even care that she’s making fun of me right now. I love seeing her like this, so carefree and relaxed.

After several moments, she wipes at her eyes, exhaling sharply. “Wow. I needed that laugh.”

“Long week?”

“Weird week.” She nibbles at her bottom lip. “It was strange not having you around. It threw me off.”

I grin. “I knew you liked me.”

She rolls her eyes. “You wish.”

“I do. Like you, I mean.”

She peers over at me. “You do?”

“Yes. Very much.”

The moonlight is bright enough that I don’t miss the way her cheeks pinken at my admission.

“You’re not what I was expecting, Miller.”

“The virgin thing?”

Her eyes widen for a brief moment. “Well, that too. Can we…talk about that?”

“What’s there to discuss?”

“Everything! Was I your first kiss?”

I laugh lightly. “No. That would be Abby Albertson in the eighth grade.”

“Well, that’s a relief, I guess. And…other stuff?”

“Are you asking me about my sexual history, Scout?”

“No!” Another deep blush. “Well, sort of, I suppose.”

“I’ve done things, just not everything.”

“I haven’t done everything either. Like butt stuff—I haven’t done that.” What she’s just blurted out hits her, and she sinks lower into her seat, covering her face with her hands. “Oh god. Kill me now.”

“Nah. I kind of like you.” I reach over, pulling her hands down. I grab her chin, tilting it my way. “I want to keep you around.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. Do you still want to keep me around? With the virgin thing, I mean.”

“Of course! It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m just curious how.”

“It’s really the lamest answer of all time.”

“Try me.”

“Hockey.”

“Huh?”

“Hockey.” I lift my shoulders. “I was playing hockey. It was my life. Everything was about the game. I didn’t do any of the normal teenage stuff because I wasn’t allowed to. The only thing that mattered was making it pro, and after I did, it was about making it last.” I swallow down the frustration that’s settling into my stomach. “The longer it went on, though, the harder it became, and then I didn’t want it to be with someone random. I…I wanted it to matter. I still want it to matter.”

Now it’s my face that’s turning red because it’s embarrassing. Guys aren’t supposed to care about who they have sex with. It’s socially acceptable for us to just bang and not give a crap, but that’s not who I am or how I’m wired. And I’m finally starting to accept that.

She gives me a small smile. “That’s not lame, Miller. It’s unexpectedly sweet.”

“Yeah? You don’t think I’m a total loser?”

“Not at all. I think you’re the exact opposite of that.”

Relief floods me because her words seem genuine, and I like having genuine people in my life.

“Have, uh, have you really never told anyone before?”

I shake my head. “Just Greer. There’s never really been anyone I’ve trusted.”

“But you trust me?”

I nod. “I do. Do you trust me?”

It’s her turn to nod. “I do.”

“Good.”

Then, I claim her mouth with mine.

She lets out a soft gasp, but it quickly turns into a low moan when my lips press against hers. I grip her waist, tugging her as close as I can in the confined space. Her hands find my hair, doing the same. This kiss is different from our last. It’s rougher and faster, more desperate, like we’ve both been dying for it since the moment our lips last touched.

I wish we weren’t in my car so I could properly feel her against me, so I could rake my hands over her whole body and touch every damn curve she has. She groans against my mouth like she’s just as frustrated as I am by our lack of room to maneuver.

I might not be able to haul her into my lap, but that doesn’t mean I can’t touch her. I slide my hand from her waist and over her stomach. I feel her tense for only a moment when I do this, but she relaxes when she realizes my destination is much lower.

When my fingers collide with her bare thighs, I’m so damn thankful she’s wearing a dress. She’s warm and soft, and I have a feeling being between her legs would feel like heaven.

I snake my hand under her dress, fingering the hem of the silky material. Her legs fall apart like she’s giving me permission to continue, and I don’t hesitate to seize the opportunity. She sighs when I drag a single knuckle against her already soaked panties. She arches into my touch, wanting more when I run my fingertip over the edge of them. And then, when I finally slip my finger underneath the material, she gasps.

“Please…” she whispers against my lips.

“Please what, Scout? What do you want?”

“Touch me.” It’s not a request, not really. It’s a demand—one I am more than happy to oblige.

I slide one finger over her clit, and she shivers. I do it again. Another shiver. This time a moan.

I tease and tease, knowing exactly what I’m doing when she’s panting in my ear.

“Grady…”

My name rolling off her lips drives me mad, and I can’t hold back any longer. I slant my mouth over hers just as I slide a finger into her, stroking her softly and slowly as I continue to brush my thumb against her clit.

She groans when I slide my finger out, only for it to turn into a low whimper when I dive back in with two, curling them up and finding the spot that has her bucking her hips off the seat.

She grips my forearm, holding me to her as she grinds against me. She’s fucking my fingers now, riding the wave that’s coursing through her.

“Oh god… I’m…” She cries out as she falls apart, gasping for air.

Tremors run through her body, and her nails dig into me, so rough I’m sure there will be a mark tomorrow, but I don’t care. I’ve never witnessed anything so damn sexy before as she falls apart in my arms.

I kiss her again, trailing my lips from hers and across her jaw, down her neck, and back up again until I reach her mouth once more, placing one final kiss there before pulling away.

She slumps back against her seat, looking absolutely drained in the best of ways. Her hair is a wreck, and there’s a sheen of sweat across her forehead.

I can’t help but laugh.

“What?” she asks, sounding so damn tired.

“Nothing. You just look adorable right now.”

She scrunches her nose. “Adorable? I’m not sure anyone has ever called me that before.”

“Well, they should, because it’s true.”

She lets out a soft yawn, covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I’ve clearly worn you out.”

“And we didn’t even have sex. Impressive.”

“Does this mean I’ve earned myself an A-plus yet?”

“Not quite.”

“Damn. I’ll just have to try again on the second date.”

She lifts her brows. “Second date, huh?”

“Or the third.” I shrug. “I’m willing to go as many times as needed for a perfect grade.”

“Don’t go getting too ahead of yourself.” She pats my cheeks. “Let’s see how date two goes first.”

I’ve never looked forward to a second date so much in my life.