Prom King by Alexa Riley

Chapter Six

Apollo

While Coach Rose grabs a giant bag of sports equipment, everyone makes two lines with our partners across from us. Celeste blushes as she looks down at her feet, and I can’t help but smile at her. She’s so damn cute when she’s nervous. We’re close enough to touch at this point, and damn do I want to.

“I’m going to give your team a ball to toss back and forth. With every toss, I want you to take a step away from each other. While you do that I’m going to come around and make notes.”

“This is complete bullshit,” I hear Jackson complain after he’s handed a volleyball.

He’s on my right and has been partnered up with Lauren Shamrock. She’s captain of the volleyball team and is going to wipe the floor with him. I try to hide my smirk as I take a ball.

To my left is Amber, and across from her is Emerson. Amber's got an irritated scowl on her face and rolls her eyes as Emerson tosses her the ball. I ignore both of them as I focus on Celeste.

“Ready?” I ask, and she nods as she plants her feet and looks determined. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Okay, I’m just, um, not very good at sports.”

I lob the ball gently to her, and she catches it easily.

“See, you got this.”

“Whew.” She blows out a relieved breath and rolls the ball in her hands. “Okay, I got this,” she repeats as she tries to psych herself up.

Celeste does the same as me and tosses it underhanded. It’s no problem for me to snag it up, and I nod as we take a step further apart. We go slower than most of the other teams, but I’m not in a rush to put distance between us.

When we’re finally about ten feet apart, I toss the ball, and she has to step out to catch it. She makes the catch and then smiles so brightly I think she’s going to jump up and down. It’s infectious, and I hold my hands up in victory.

She raises the ball to throw it back, and just as she’s about to release it, a basketball comes flying out in front of me and directly at Celeste. I try to step out and block it, but it’s too late, and it smacks her hard right in the nose.

“Shit!” She swears as she grabs her face and falls to the ground.

I turn around, ready to rage on whoever threw that, and Amber is standing there with her hands out and an oops, my bad look on her face. She’s not the least bit sorry.

“What the fuck, Amber!” I shout as I rush over to Celeste.

“Oh my God, she’s bleeding,” Emerson says as he calls for the teacher.

“I’m okay,” Celeste mumbles around her hands, but it’s clear she’s got a bloody nose. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but she needs to go to the nurse.

“It’s all right. I’ve got you.” I scoop her off the ground and begin to walk out of the room.

“Crew, what’s going on?” Coach Rose asks as he jogs over to the exit.

“Amber busted her nose. I’m taking her to the nurse.” I’m not asking for permission, and I’m not waiting around for it either.

“Good man,” Coach says and pats me on the back.

“I can walk,” Celeste says, but it’s hard to hear her.

“It will be quicker this way.”

“I doubt that.” She rolls her eyes, and I smile.

“Okay.” I stop and look at her. “Tell me, which way do I turn to get to the infirmary?” I raise an eyebrow and wait a beat. “That’s what I thought.”

“I told you I was bad at sports.”

“Celeste.” I try to keep the laughter in my voice because the bigger part of me is worried that she’s not okay, and I don’t want to scare her. “That wasn’t a sport. That was a game of toss in a safe space. It’s not like you were rock climbing Mt. Rainier.”

“It might as well have been.” She shrugs, and I hold her close as I turn in to the nurse’s office. “Mrs. Swain, she’s had an accident.”

The nurse takes one look at Celeste, and her eyes widen. “Coordination test?” she asks, and I nod. “Coach Rose is a sadist.”

“See?” Celeste looks at me and raises her eyebrow this time.

“Bring her over here.” Mrs. Swain walks around to the long tabletop bed in the room and pulls out a sheet of fresh crinkle paper to go across it.

I place her down on top of the table and then take a step back. I pull out my phone and text the freshman rowing team that someone needs to get Celeste’s gym bag along with mine and bring them to the infirmary. First one to do it gets to pick rowing positions on Junior Varsity at next practice. After I send that text, I tuck my phone in my gym shorts and cross my arms over my chest.

“You can go back to class, Crew,” Mrs. Swain says, but I shake my head.

“Coach Rose wants me to stay with her to make sure it’s not a concussion.” Both Celeste and Mrs. Swain turn their eyes on me, but I just shrug. I’m not going anywhere.

“All right, let’s see what we’ve got here,” Mrs. Swain says as she pulls Celeste’s hands away.

There’s blood on her nose and mouth and down her chin, but it doesn’t look like anything is broken.

“Any tenderness here?” the nurse asks as she pulls on her gloves and begins to touch Celeste’s nose.

“No, I think it’s okay. I just got popped pretty hard.”

“Amber was being a bitch.”

“Crew,” Mrs. Swain warns, and I shrug.

“Just stating facts, ma’am.”

Mrs. Swain turns away from me, but I see her fighting a smile. “It doesn’t appear to be broken, but if you experience any pain later on today, significant swelling, anything at all, go to the emergency room, okay?” She brings a couple of clean bandages over to the bed and begins to wipe away the blood. It’s stopped bleeding already and only a little got on her shirt.

“Crew,” I hear from behind me, and I turn around to see one of the freshman rowers. He holds out both of our bags eagerly, and I nod at him.

“Good job, Callum. You call next positions.” The kid beams as he takes off down the hall, and I shake my head. Freshmen.

“Well, there’s only about half an hour left in class. Do you want to stay here until the last bell?” Mrs. Swain asks Celeste.

“I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” I hold up her bag, and Mrs. Swain looks back to Celeste.

“Do you want to go with this turkey or stay with me?” She gives me a sly smile. “I’ve got a bag of chocolate I might share.”

“I’ll take the turkey,” Celeste says as she gets down off the tabletop bed.

“I don’t blame you.” Mrs. Swain sighs and shakes her head. “Be careful, Crew, and don’t get caught.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I wink at her, and she waves her hand at me as I take Celeste’s elbow and lead her out of the infirmary. “Are you okay to walk?” I ask as I thread my fingers with hers.

“Um yeah, I’m fine. I can call my mom to come get me. It’s totally fine.” She tries to protest, and I shake my head.

“Medically speaking, I should make sure you get home safe.” I give her my best cocky grin, and she bites her lip. “I told Mrs. Swain I'd get you home safe, and I’m no liar.”

“All right,” she concedes, and I lead us to the parking lot.

“Look at you with a fancy front row spot,” she says as I go around to the passenger door and open it for her.

“That’s what being captain will get you. Well, a nice parking spot and first choice of tuna casserole in the lunchroom.”

“Yeah, the parking spot is the real perk,” she agrees, and I hear her soft laughter as she gets into my car. When I get into the driver's seat, she looks over at me. “Nice ride too.”

“Thanks.” I don’t know what to say to that, so I just take the compliment. It was a present from my dad for making captain over the summer. “You pick the music.”

When I hand Celeste my phone, she looks at it and then up at me like it’s a bomb. “Okay.” She looks so nervous I can’t help my grin.

“Here.” I open my phone and choose the music app. “Scroll through and play something you like.”

“This feels like a test.” She bites her lip again, and I swear every time she does it, it drives me crazy.

“Not a test. I just want to know what you like.” I wink at her as I put the car in drive and exit the parking lot.

The first song she plays surprises me because it’s one of my favorites too. I’m not in a hurry to end our time together, so I drive around the island while she plays songs and we talk. It’s easy with Celeste, as easy as breathing, and it feels like I’m filling my lungs for the first time.

“I’m just at the end of the street,” she says and points to the blue house on the corner. As I make the turn, I notice the dark SUV coming in my direction. The way the sun is hitting against the windshield, I can’t see who it is, but it looks like my dad’s car.

“What’s wrong?” she asks as I pull into her driveway.

“Nothing, I just thought I saw someone I know.” There’s something tickling the back of my mind, and I’m wondering why my dad would be on this street. Maybe he was checking on a rental property or something. I push the thought away and put the car into park. While the music still plays softly, I turn to face Celeste.

“How bad is my face?” she asks as she looks up at me and then to her house. “My mom is going to ask a million questions.”

“You might have a bruise, but nothing major.” I take her hand again and rub the tips of my fingers against hers. How is her skin so damn soft?

“Thank you again for taking care of me. It seems like you’ve been doing that a lot lately.” She looks up at me through her lashes, and like this she looks so sweet and innocent.

“I hope to do it again.” I lean in close and slide my hand up her neck to cup the back of her head. “Maybe not so dramatically next time.” She smiles as I lean in closer, my lips only a breath from hers. “But yeah. I want to take care of you.”

Gently I press my lips to hers, and when I feel her mouth move against mine, I thread my fingers in her hair. Her hand goes to my chest, and I feel her grip my shirt as she pulls me closer. Her soft lips part, and I slide just the tip of my tongue along them, and she moans. The sound resonates through me like an electric shock, and I pull her closer, angry that the center console is separating us. The kiss goes from seeking permission to demanding submission in a nanosecond, and all of a sudden I’m a man with needs.

There’s a loud knock on the glass, and we pull apart to see a woman standing outside the car with her arms crossed.

“Shit, that’s my mom.” Celeste flushes and grabs her bag. “Sorry, I gotta go.”

“Hey.” I grab her wrist to stop her from jumping out so fast. “There’s a party at my place on Saturday. Will you come?”

“Um, I’ll see. Maybe if I’m not grounded.” She opens the door and looks back at me once more.

“I’ll text you,” I say quietly, and the corner of her lips turns up as she nods. “Hello, Mrs. Binx,” I say, and she scowls at me before slamming my car door. “Goodbye, Mrs. Binx,” I say, but neither of them can hear me as they go into the house.

This was not the way I wanted to be introduced to Celeste's mom. But kissing her is exactly how I imagined it would be.

Life-altering and perfect.