Swipe Me: A Friends-to-Lovers College Football Romance (Covey U Book 1)
Swipe Me: Chapter 4

Waking up, I’m absolutely wrecked. My body is still limp and my muscles ache from overuse. Last night was indescribable. Four times? I didn’t even think that was possible in one night. I’ve only ever seen that happen on The Bachelor and that involved a magical windmill. The only thing magical about last night was Cole’s dick. Even after sleeping next to it, I still can’t think straight.

As the sunlight starts to stream into the room, I squint, trying to adjust to the light. Just as I try to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I realize I can’t move my hand. Cole’s hard, warm body is spooning me, and his arm is draped across my body so he can lace his fingers with mine. We’ve been holding hands while we sleep. It’s kind of sweet in a way. We’re both still naked and after everything we did last night, he could be groping me but nope. He’s just innocently holding my hand instead.

It’s strange how comfortable I felt with him. I was doing things I would never even consider with Clay. Now that it’s morning and the sex-fest haze is starting to fade; I wonder what I’m supposed to do now. I have no idea what the appropriate etiquette after a one-night stand. Do I offer him a drink? Maybe a towel to freshen up?

Instead of fretting, I focus on Cole’s warm snuggly body, burying my butt further into his crotch, feeling him harden. His arms pull me in tighter and his breath tickles against my shoulder as he gently kisses it up and down. Just a few touches and he’s already got me ready for more. His hands skate down to my hips, digging in as he presses himself against me. ‘Good morning.’ His voice is husky with tiredness. I respond with a muffled giggle, nuzzling my face into the pillow because I’m enjoying his touch a little too much.

Unsatisfied with the greeting, he turns me around in his arms and I carefully look up. Morning breath can be a real mood killer, so I purse my lips shut. ‘How many orgasms does a girl need to get a good morning?’ He chuckled, kissing my forehead. A move that feels much more intimate than I think a one-night stand should.

Hitting his chest, ‘Stop!’ I giggle as his fingers grip my hips tighter, drawing me in. Without the alcohol coursing through my veins, this whole thing feels different and as I bury my face into his neck, I let him hold me tighter for just a minute longer, enjoying the closeness. I haven’t felt this connected to anything or anyone in years.

Kissing my forehead again, he asks, ‘Did you have a good time?’ I wanted to laugh. Is he seriously asking me that? Surely it would have been obvious. I feel the curve of a smile grow on his lips near my cheek. Considering he gave me five orgasms in the span of a few hours, I’m sure he knows the answer to that. I hazard a peek at him and he looks just as gorgeous as he did when I first saw him last night except with bed head. I think I like a sleepy Cole.

His hooded eyes watched me, waiting for me to answer. ‘Yeah.’ I say wistfully, drawing circles on his abs. I don’t have the guts to admit that was the best experience I’ve ever had with a guy. That he is a unicorn amongst horses. That probably wouldn’t go down well.

His laugh reverberates through his chest into me. ‘That good huh?’ One of his fingers trails up my back and down, sending hot sensations to my core. You’d think I’d be wiped out after everything that happened last night, but the minute he touches me, it’s like my body immediately wants more.

I giggled, resting my forehead on his chest so he couldn’t see me blushing. ‘It wasn’t what I was expecting. Let’s just leave it at that.’

‘What were you expecting?’ He probes, still lightly touching my back, going down a little further with every caress. I’m seriously considering shutting him up with another round, but I just don’t think my body could handle it.

‘I wasn’t expecting it to be so good.’ I squeak out.

‘It was, wasn’t it?’ He rolls onto his back, firmly placing me next to him on his side as he brings a hand up to support his head.

‘Well, I guess you do this a lot right? So, thanks for sharing your expertise.’ I grimaced the minute I let the words fall out of my mouth. Really Reign? What the hell? Who says that?! I’m shockingly bad at one-nighters apparently.

‘No, I don’t,’ He said sternly, watching my reaction. ‘I told you before, this is my first time hooking up like this.’ He sounds quieter. I didn’t mean to offend him but it’s hard to believe a guy with his ability doesn’t get around.

‘Oh, come on. You don’t expect me to believe that.’ I smiled trying to lighten the mood. He looks contemplative as he lightly flicks a long strand of my hair over my shoulder.

‘Well yeah I mean I’ve slept with girls don’t get me wrong, but I’ve never gone into it knowing it would be a one-time thing and I usually take them on a date first.’

‘Same.’ I drawled out. Why is it that I kind of want to see that side of him? We agreed on a one-time thing and I’m in no way ready to jump into anything, but there’s something about Cole that makes me feel safe. I promised myself I would finally give myself time to heal from everything that happened. Not just with Clay, but with my parents. After a couple of minutes of comfortable silence, curiosity gets the better of me. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Why were you on that app in the first place?’ His face draws a contagious smile and I stupidly start grinning back like a toothless child waiting for money from the tooth fairy.

‘What do you mean?’

‘You clearly don’t need the help in the replaceing willing chicks department.’ I look him up and down, so he knows that I’m referring to his smoking hot body. ‘And I don’t buy that whole, you’re looking for a different type of girl trash you spouted last night.’

‘Want the honest answer?’ He bites his lip, and I wish it were my teeth sinking into it instead of his.

‘If we can’t be honest with each other now….’ I trailed off pointing between our still sweaty and still very naked bodies.

‘I was in competition with the guys I live with. Who could get the most matches in 24 hours.’ I wish I hadn’t asked. ‘But then I came across your profile, thought you were cute, and I found the statement on your profile… intriguing to say the least.’ I can’t even remember what I wrote. I think it was something punny about a one Knight stand, or something. Classy Reign. Real Classy.

‘Oh, okay’ What do you say to that? Great! I’m glad we just matched because you wanted me on your body count. It’s not like I was expecting some profound reason, but I guess I’d hoped that he felt the same kind of way I did when I saw him. Like butterflies had escaped their cages and made a home in his stomach. ‘Did you at least win?’ I asked, uninterested in the answer.

‘No of course not. I just downloaded the app so they thought I was playing along. I liked a few profiles but then I saw yours and stopped.’ I turn to look at him and this time he was staring at the ceiling. His face is stoic as he drawls out, ‘Kind of wanted to see if I could be your knight in shining armor.’ The sides of his lips curl and I groan. ‘Did you get it? Because your name is Reign and you wanted a one knight stand?’

‘Stop!’ I mumble into his chest, whacking his pec lightly. ‘How many times do you think I’ve heard that?’

‘Not enough.” His hands held mine in place, stopping me from whacking him and forcing me to look into his eyes. “Though after my performance last night, I thought you would promote me to King of your Heart.’ His eyebrows wiggle suggestively, and he makes it hard not to smile at him. What with that giant grin plastered across his face? I held back the smile through an eyeroll and groan.

‘These are terrible. Please quit while you’re ahead.’ I pulled the covers over my naked breasts and turned away forming a tight ball pretending to be annoyed. His corded arms wrapped around me as his breath caressed my ear which sent a tingle down my body that made me giggle. ‘Maybe you’re more of a Khaleesi kind of girl?’ He whispers. I turn around in his arms, letting them pull me in tighter because I kind of like his embrace. ‘I guess my question is, are kings the only ones you slay?’

Bringing my hand to his lips, ‘Okay, I’m officially stopping this.’ Amusement plays in his eyes as his tongue darts out, licking my hand. I immediately pull away, wiping my hand down his chest and leaving it to rest on his stomach so I can feel his slow, calming and even breaths.

‘Why were you on the dating app?’ He asks after several minutes of comfortable silence.

I shrug my shoulders. ‘I just heard it was the easiest way to get a no strings attached thing. You know?’ I say coolly. I feel his body tense slightly as his hold on me relaxes.

‘Why don’t you want a relationship?’ He asks, almost hesitantly. It feels like we’re skating out of the realm of one-night stands with these questions. ‘Most girls I’ve met at Covey U are looking for something serious like a relationship. You told me this was the first time you’ve done something like this, so I’m just curious.’ He elaborates, noting my hesitation.

‘Honestly?’ Mimicking what he said earlier. ‘I was in a relationship for three years and it kind of ended badly. Like really badly. So, I swore off men a year ago and I’m still not ready to dip my toes in the dating pool just yet. Sometimes though… you know. You just need some… uhhh…’ How do I put this without sounding like a total jerk?

‘Assistance?’ he offers, clearly seeing I’m struggling with what to say. I nod in agreement. Both out bodies start to tense with the omission and the reality of what we did starts to sink in. The way he’s looking between my eyes and lips is too much for my heart to handle and with daylight streaming in, I’m way more self-conscious than I was with four glasses of gin in my stomach. I backed away, doing my best to avoid any more intimacy and scanned the room to replace my clothes. They’re nowhere to be seen which means I have no option but to take a pillow and try to cover as much of my modesty as possible.

I manage to get out of the bed with a pillow covering all the vital parts and I’m met with Cole’s bemused expression. ‘You know I’ve seen it all already, right?’ he says with an eyebrow cocked and one arm resting under his head. ‘In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve licked it all too.’ He pointed to the small amount of fabric covering my modesty.

Grabbing another pillow to hide my backside, I grumble out a response, waddling towards the adjoining bathroom. ‘I’m well aware Einstein. It’s just different in daylight, okay?’ He shakes his head, relaxing into my bed, and closing his eyes. Why does he have to look so good mixed up in my sheets?

‘You’re right. You’re even more beautiful.’ He drawled out, eyes still closed and a smile on his face as if he’s remembering everything that happened last night. With my hand on the doorknob, I take one final look at his bulky frame, and breathe in. ‘I’m going to take a shower.’

‘Need company?’ He coos, moving to get out of the bed. He lifted the covers off his legs and my eyes widen. There’s no way I can see that anaconda again.

‘No,’ I yell louder than necessary, holding my hand up and letting the pillow in the back fall. ‘You can stay right there.’ My voice is frantic as I try to calm down. ‘Or go. Whatever you want.’ I wave my hand, trying to act cool this time. I watch him as I enter the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I need him to go soon, this is starting to feel less like a hookup and I just need some space to free my mind. After turning the shower up as hot as I can get it, I hop in and let it scold my skin. There’s a faint knock on the door just as I’m conditioning my hair. ‘What is it?’

‘I was just going to…’ Cole’s voice is muffled by the spraying water.

Pulling the shower curtain back, I stick my head out and yell. ‘What?’ He slowly cracks the door open and I can just about make him out amongst all the steam.

‘Sorry,’ He says louder this time. ‘I just wanted to let you know that I was going to leave.’ He points his thumb behind him as he casually leans against the door with a lopsided smile on his face.

‘Really?’ I wiped my face down, trying to rid it of the water dripping over it, probably looking like a drowned rat. Why am I so disappointed he wants to go?

‘Yeah,’ He sounds confused as he scratched the back of his head. ‘I thought you wanted me out?’

Urgh, damn it. I’m such an idiot. I was trying to act like I was cool with everything, not like a class A bitch. ‘No, I’m sorry I’m just a grouch in the morning. I need coffee to wake up properly.’ I can’t see his facial expression through the mist, but his shoulders visibly relax. ‘Do you want to take a shower? I’m nearly done.’

‘Okay, I’ll wait in your bedroom.’ He turns around and the door shuts. I quickly finish up, jumping out and wrapping the towel tight around me. Opening the door, I relax when I see him sitting on the edge of my bed, playing on his phone with his boxers on. His eyes darken as I walk further into the room with my towel, fully capturing his attention. Much like last night, I enjoy the way he looks at me a little too much.

Instead of acknowledging it, I tossed him a fresh towel which he catches with ease. He thanks me with a kiss on my forehead as he walks past me into the bathroom. Yup, this is definitely moving away from hookup territory.

While he showered, I threw on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and tried to brush my wild hair. No amount of conditioner is a match for Cole’s prowling hands though. As the shower turned off, my mind started to vividly imagine Cole maneuvering himself around the tiny bathroom, water dripping down his chest, and patting himself dry with my towel. Just as my imagination is about to drop the towel, Cole saunters out of the bathroom. My jaw drops. There he is, standing there, droplets trickling down his torso and I’m thirsty. Turning away, I shut my mouth and pretended to look at something on my desk, desperately trying to forget what’s under that towel.

Then, the most agonizing noise happened behind me. His towel dropped. Closing my eyes, it takes all my restraint to stay looking at the desk and in the mirror. As much as I want to gawk, I don’t know where this will end if I turn around. ‘You know. I really did have fun last night.’ Cole mumbled while I hear the rustling of jeans being lifted up his legs.

‘Same.’ It’s all I can get out, too busy imaging his thick thighs and chiseled abs. He buckles his belt and I sigh with relief knowing I can focus. I turn around, fully expecting a clothed Cole in front of me. Nope. Abort. Abort. He’s still topless and I still want to trace his abs with my tongue. My eyes meet his and he tilts his head giving me a lopsided smile. For just a second, it’s all I see.

‘I know the plan was for this to be a one-night thing but if you ever need your itch scratched again, let me know.’ He speaks so casually while he shoves a shirt over his head, and I watch every muscle of his torso work hard to do it.

‘Yeah,’ I say wistfully. I’m non-committal because I’ve seen the movies. You start off as friends with benefits, and then all hell breaks loose, and I’m not about to be another statistic. Especially since I need to be relationship free for a while. To replace myself more than anything.

He shrugged his shoulder as he walked towards me. ‘I was just offering up my services, but I get it. One night.’ He looked like he’s about to head out and I panic. Am I supposed to offer him breakfast? I don’t think that’s a requirement for a hookup so instead, I give him a hug. A hug? Because that’s even more normal for a hookup. Why am I so awkward? His body tenses. Yup, I’ve screwed this whole thing up. He half-heartedly returns the hug and pulls away, leaving a lingering kiss on my forehead.

‘I guess I’ll see you around campus.’ I say, because what else is there to say now? Nice dick. I enjoyed riding it. Yeah, maybe not.

‘Yeah,’ He says wistfully, breaking the hug and I reluctantly step back. ‘I’ll show myself out. It was nice meeting you Reign.’ He flashes his lopsided smile and walks out of my room. His feet stomp against the hard wooden floor and I hear him greet my roommates as he shuts the front door behind him.

‘You, too.’ I call out. Turning back to my room, the towel he used is folded up on the side of my bed. The only evidence that he was in my room last night and there’s a pang of something in my chest. How could we go from the things we did last night to ‘it was nice meeting you?’ so easily?

Sighing, I looked around my room knowing I’ll need to pack it up and leave. In a way, I’m thankful I won’t have to face Gary and Rachel again after all that.